Surprise Offer 2: is a direct continuation of the story about Lily and her ‘brother’ Lance. Can she find acceptance and her place in the world as Lily instead of Lance? Emotions run high as Lily’s new best friend and ‘adoptive’ family members move things forward at lightning speed. Can she handle it all? How will a surprise just before Thanksgiving change everything? Lily and Sammie are back, ready to take on the world with pigtails and dancing, in a way only ten-year-old little girls can do.

Previously:

Finally, they went to Granny’s shop and were not two steps into the store before, “Why hello, Lily and Sammie,” rang out from the counter.

“Do you mind if we daydream in the girls’ aisle, Granny?” Lily asked.

Granny answered, “I do mind if you daydream, Princess.” 

Both of Lily's and Sammie’s faces fell before Granny continued, “You will not daydream by holding them up to you. You will put the costumes on instead, you two Princesses.”

“Yes, Granny, ” … “Yes, Ms. Gilbert,” the two girls said with huge smiles.

So the two kids went to the girls' aisle and looked at what costumes fit their fancy. Lily found a Tinker Bell costume after a lot of searching. She turned to look at her friend, who was holding a Snow White costume. Costumes in hand, they returned to Lily’s Granny. 

“We would like to try these on, Granny.”

“Catch,” Granny said while tossing Lily the keys to the changing rooms.

The girls took that as permission and headed to the rooms. After opening one room, both girls went into the same room. A short time later, the girls were in their costumes. They left the room after Sammie helped Lily put her wings on.

They returned to the counter, where Granny fussed with them. After looking at them, she went back to the aisle to grab something. She soon returned, handing Sammie a hoop skirt, requesting that Snow White go to the backroom to have Hanna help her put it on.

When Sammie returned later, Granny said, “If we were doing this for real, you would both need wigs, but this will be okay for now.”

Lily looked around the store and noticed the bridal and flower girl dresses by the measuring area. Her thought immediately went to a particular flower girl dress she loved, which had been on display behind the front counter, until Halloween costumes took over most of the store in mid-September. Aunty Hanna made both costumes and dresses for weddings. Now that Halloween is over, it appears the store will once again be more wedding stuff than costumes. Lily smiled as she considered the possibility that this year she might get to examine the beautiful dresses up close, especially that flower girl dress. 

“Lily,” Granny stated, bringing Lily out of her thoughts. “Why don’t you go back and show your aunt how well you look in her Tinker Bell outfit?”

While Lily was gone, Granny looked right at Sammie, “You, young lady, are the best and worst thing to happen to that girl.”

“Why the worst thing, Ms. Gilbert?”

“Because you don’t know the word slow, Sammie,” Ms. Gilbert explained. “But that is also part of the best thing. You forced Lily out of the closet and gave her a much-needed support system. Don’t change, Sweetie.”

Sammie was blushing when Lily returned from the backroom. While they were talking, the phone rang.

“Gilbert’s Costumes, Alison speaking.” …

“Hello, Lisa.” …

“You had two visitors? Ok?” …

“One knew your last name?” …

“Description?” ..,

“Preteen girls, one blonde, maybe seven, one brown, possibly an older sister,” Alison said while looking at the brown-haired Sammie and the blonde-haired Lily.

“The little blonde one knew your last name?” …

“Did they cause any trouble?” …

“Oh, they just walked through the store without touching anything.” …

“You’re just wondering if I had a clue who they were?” …

“Hold a second, Lisa. I have a customer,” Granny said while putting the phone on hold and turning to Lily and Sammie. “Can I tell her who you two are?”

Sammie nodded, and Lily hesitated but then decided to trust her Granny.

After she took the phone off hold, Granny said, “Sorry about that, Lisa. The blonde one is my granddaughter, Lily. The brown one is her best friend, Sammie.” …

“Yep, that is why I wanted to know if they caused any trouble. They wouldn’t have heard the end of it if you said they had.” …

“Actually, they are standing in front of me right now in costumes.” …

“With permission, obviously.” …

“Sure, talk to you later, Lisa,” Granny said before hanging up the phone. 

Alison turned to Tinker Bell, “Your manners will get you in trouble one of these days. Greeting people formally by name when they had never met Lily before could cause problems. Lisa Serval will be trying to figure out how my granddaughter knows her last name. I will try to protect your brother, Lily.”

The bell on the door alerted them to a customer. The lady walked up to the counter, nodding at the two girls in costumes.

Granny greeted, “Can I help you?”

“My daughter would like face paint for her birthday,” the lady said.

Noticing the lady came in alone, Lily asked, “Where is she?”

“It isn’t her birthday today,” the lady stated, wondering why the little girl in the Tinker Bell costume was asking her the question. “I am trying to schedule an appointment.”

“How old, and when?” Granny asked.

The lady smiled, “She will be four, and her birthday is the 15th. I realize you are not open on Sundays. Saturday will be fine.”

“I have a particular face painter in mind that I think would be perfect for you,” Granny said before pulling a folder out from a filing cabinet behind the counter. “Here is that face painter’s portfolio.” 

As the lady flipped through four images, Sammie recognized her mouse face paint in the photos. She turned to look at Lily, who was standing in shock, looking at the pictures. Only the butterfly was missing from them. The rest of the faces were in there.

“This face painter is outstanding,” the customer commented. “They would be an excellent face painter for my daughter.”

“There is one hiccup, and that is age,” Granny stated.

The confused lady asked, “What do you mean by age? Is my daughter too young?”

“No, but the face painter might be. Tinker Bell is the face painter,” Granny said, gesturing towards Lily. “As you see, she is quite young.”

“You are quite good,” the lady commented, looking at the girl she guessed couldn’t be any older than seven. “I stand by my statements.”

“Thank … you, Miss. I didn’t even know that folder existed,” Lily said meekly.

Granny asked, “How many kids are we looking to paint?”

“We are only having a small party. On the kid front, it will just be my daughter and her good friend, so one, maybe two kids,” the Lady answered.

Granny said, “I will need to ask my Granddaughter’s parents for permission. As for dates, the 14th is possible after two, but Tinker Bell has commitments before that. The 15th may be available after one, but with it being a Sunday, there is a surcharge for that day. If she can’t do it, three other face painters, including myself, are on staff.”

The lady gave her phone number and walked out of the store. Tinker Bell looked at Granny with a deer-in-headlights look, “What the fiddlesticks just happened?”

“I got you a tentative face-painting gig,” Granny explained.

Lily asked, “For free, like before Halloween?”

“Of course not, Princess,” Granny said, with a massive grin on her face. “Cheek art is 20. Full face is at least double that. Of course, they also have the option to go with the hourly rate of $200. You keep 85 percent of that. That missing 15 percent pays for the face paint and other costs. And if she chooses Sunday, there is a 25 percent surcharge. There is another surcharge if she decides to use a different venue than Gilbert’s.”

Lily looked at her Granny with a shocked expression. Then she turned and gave that same look to Sammie. For a girl who only earns an allowance of five dollars a week, this was a lot of money for less than an hour of work. 

“You know, Lily,” Sammie looked at her friend. “With that money, you might be able to get that dollhouse.” 

Lily’s eyes went wide, and she hopped a little, “Yes, I could.”

“Dollhouse?” Granny inquired.

“There is a wooden dollhouse kit at the hobby shop. I have wanted it for a while, Granny, but my brother never felt like he could get such a thing.”

“That is interesting. I will remind you that Christmas is coming, however.”

The phone rang again. This time, it was Lily’s parents asking if Lily and Sammie were there. 

“Yes, Tinker Bell and Snow White are here,” Granny responded.

Granny looked at the two girls, “Your Mommie, Lily, says you are past due to come home for dinner. She pointed out that Heather hadn’t seen you two either. So get out of those costumes.”

As the girls walked away, they heard Granny say, “I was going to call you anyway. I got Lily a tentative face painting gig.”

The two girls went back into the changing room. Once they were back in their clothes, they brought the costumes to Granny, who was still on the phone. Lily asked, “Do we just hang these back on the costume racks?”

“Nope, give it to your aunty. She will inspect them and then rehang them. The next time you girls play dress up here, you do the same thing when you're done,” Granny explained.

Lily asked, “Next time?”

“Are you telling me this is a one-time urge?” Granny asked.

Lily hung her head. She had been to this shop on most days for the last year, dreaming of wearing different girl costumes and flower girl dresses, “Probably not.”

After dropping the costumes in the backroom and leaving the changing room key at the counter, the girls headed to the Vanderbilt manor for some, probably cold, late dinner.

Saturday morning found Lily walking across the grass dressed in her ballet leotard underneath her sweatsuit. She hadn’t put her wig on because she knew it was going to be removed anyway. She lets herself into the Berger’s house like she has been stressed to do multiple times.

Sammie’s Mommie said from the general direction of the living room, “Is that you, Lily?”

“Yes, Mrs. Berger,” the girl answered as she walked into the room.

Mrs. Berger told the petite ten-year-old, “Great, sit next to me and give me that bun.”

After the girl was sitting, the neighbor pulled Lily’s hair into a tight ponytail high on her head. The young girl thought it felt like she used fewer bobby pins, hair gel, and hair spray this time to control hair that didn’t actually fit in the tail. While that was being done, Sammie had walked into the room in her own ballet stuff. When the tail was done, the fake bun was pinned on before the base was wrapped with the pink ribbon. Sammie soon replaced Lily and got her hair put in a bun. The base of her own bun was also covered in a pink ribbon.

Twenty-five minutes later, Mrs. Berger was dropping them off at Anastasia’s Dance Academy. The new student had been encouraged to bring more water today. Sammie hung around to talk to her friends, but Lily decided to cut to the chase and went into her dance studio for her private lessons. After removing her shoes, she peeled off her sweat suit and folded it neatly on a table at the back of the room. She sat down and put on her ballet shoes, as Rebecca had shown her how to do. While waiting, she practiced the positions she had learned last week.

Rebecca said, “Excellent, Lily. When I didn’t see you out chit-chatting, I was afraid you didn’t come. Sammie told me I would find you here.” 

With a blush, Lily said, “Oh, I wouldn’t miss ballet, Miss Rebecca. I don’t know most of the other kids, so I decided just to practice while I was waiting.”

“Again, marvelous job, Lily. Let me retie your ribbons. It looks like you got them almost right. They just need to be a little tighter to give you proper support,” Rebecca told her ballet student. When the shoes were done, the two did some stretches before Lily was told to go to the barre facing the mirror. The teacher called that position en face front. The teenager went to the barre next to her student, “We are going to introduce a new move called a demi plié.” 

Miss Rebecca then showed her student how to make the move by bending the knees to the side to lower the body and then raising the body back up, “First position. Demi plié. Hold Lily.”

Lily did the moves she was instructed to do. She did find it hard to hold in the down portion of the demi plié. Rebecca was standing behind her, adjusting her knee positions.

The instructor corrected, “Your knees need to be more aligned with your body. Ok, you may go back to the first position. Second position. Demi plié. Perfect, Lily.”

Again, Lily made the requested moves. She was concentrating on her moves, so she had a blank look on her face.

“Smile, Lily. Good. Third position. Demi plié.” … “Fourth Position. Demi plié.” … Fifth Position. Demi plié,” Rebecca told the student. “That was very good, Lily. Let’s try that as centré practice.”

Lily smiled widely at her instructor's praise. She walked to the center of the room. Rebecca called positions again, “First position. Don’t forget your arm positions. Demi plié.”

When Lily did the demi plié, she shook slightly but didn’t lose her balance. She wasn’t used to making these moves with her legs turned so far out.

Rebecca continued, “Let’s try that position again. First position. Demi plié.” … “Very good.” … “Second position. Demi plié.” … “Third position. Demi plié.” … “Fourth position. Demi plié.” … “Fifth position. Demi plié. Excellent, Lily, relax.”

Lily had gotten a workout but was really enjoying herself.  She walked over to her water and took a good-sized sip. 

Rebecca said, “We have another 30 minutes. We are going to add another move. Back to the barre with you. Face towards me, Lily.”

Lily went to the barre again, facing the way Rebecca had told her to, called en face right. This time, the mirror was at her side, and she was only holding the barre with one hand. The teacher then demonstrated a move, this time tendu devant. The outside leg went gradually in front of her with the toes pointed. Once it was extended, it was slowly pulled back to the body again.

“Let us try that again. First position. Again, remember your hand positions along with your foot positions. Tendu devant.” … “Second position. Tendu devant.” … “Third position. Tendu devant.” … “Fourth position. Tendu devant.” … “Fifth position. Tendu devant.” … “Very good, Lily. Face en face left,” Rebecca said before repeating all the instructions another time. This time, Lily was told to use the other leg.

Rebecca continued, “Very good. First position. Demi plié. Tendu devant.” … “Second position. Tendu devant. Demi plié.” … “Third position. Demi plié. Tendu devant.” … “Fourth position. Tendu devant. Demi plié.” … “Fifth position.  Demi plié. Tendu devant. Demi plié.” … “Very good, Lily. Centre practice time.”

She repeated the various instructions away from the barre. Lily was a little wobbly with tendu devants without a barre to steady herself. Rebecca told her that she would improve as she practiced. 

Rebecca instructed, “Fifth position. Demi plié. Demi plié. Tendu devant.” … “Révérence.”

The last instruction had Lily surprised. She didn’t realize that class was over. But she gladly did révérence to her instructor. The girl was really enjoying ballet, but she was sore and tired. She was using muscles she wasn’t used to using. She was also turning her hips farther than she was used to.

Rebecca told her, as she removed her ballet shoes, “You are very limber for someone with no dance background. That will be a great help for you in the long run.”

Lily smiled at the teenager.

The teenager continued, “It was an excellent class. Keep that up, Lily.” 

The two girls were walking into the common room outside of the dance studios while this discussion was going on. Sammie’s class apparently had already been released. 

Sammie approached her friend, “That was very good, Lily. I knew you would be a good dancer.”

While blushing, Lily asked, “How much did you watch?”

“My class and I were only able to see the last fifth position moves. Mistress was watching, too,” Sammie said. Lily’s blush setting had been turned to full blast at that information. 

“She is a quick learner,” an older girl standing next to Sammie said.

Sammie introduced the older girl, “Lily, this is Tina.”

Tina stared at Lily, then commented, “Something is familiar about you. You almost reminded me of my sister, Megan.”

Lily just nervously shrugged in response to this Tina girl she had never met before, “I don't know any Megan.”

Mistress Anastasia came up to her newest student to give her own personal praise. She herself was impressed with how the dancing skills were coming in just two hours of classes. Mostly, the moves were how she would expect them to be after many hours of classes. Not how she would expect for the first class learning them. Sure, there were improvements to be made. All ballerinas need improvement in various things. But this is her newest student's first class learning pliés and tendus. The new student was also making it clear that she was very sincere with the classes. She didn’t joke around. She thought to herself, ‘Since I only saw the last bit, I will watch the tapes and then give Rebecca pointers on what to teach next week.’

Sammie and Lily retreated to Mrs. Berger’s car for the ride home. Since they lived on Oak Street, the girls had recently started calling the two houses, the Bergers' and the Vanderbilts', Oak Acres. When the car pulled into Oak Acres, Lily went to her home without her best friend because she wanted an hour or so for a nap.

As she walked into the house, Mommie said, “Your Grandma called to say you have a face painting gig tomorrow at two. She will take you directly there from her house after dinner tomorrow. She assured me she would be a chaperone for you during it, too.”

She was removing Lily’s bun while this discussion was happening, so it wouldn’t get ruined while the ballerina napped. Said ballerina soon crawled into bed about 15 minutes later for that nap.

Author's Notes:Comments and questions are always welcomed -- Thanks Becky

This story is complete, though we’re still wrapping up the proofreading process. I plan to post a chapter every Wednesday.

Four of the six short stories featuring side characters are already finished and will be released as we reach their places in the timeline. I’m currently writing the fifth side story while continuing to proofread this one.

In addition, I have plans for a sixth side story, a final chapter for KA, and a Katie Ann Universe Christmas story. Hopefully, that last one will be ready by Christmas—though, knowing me, I might miss that deadline.

As for Surprise Offer Book 3, the research is done, but I’m planning to take at least one story break from the series before starting it.