Princess of St. Vincent

Chapter 40

1 year and sometime later...

"Vada... Get down here!"

Vada sighed and put down her magazine.

"BOooo." She called, dragging herself out of her room and towards the stairs. "What is it?"

She continued to walk as she spoke, feeling quite tired. She'd been at rehearsal all morning and she still hadn't had a chance to rest. That's why she had moved to Manhattan- it took much too long to get in and out of Manhattan everyday. Still, here she was, spending the winter in the family home. It was nearly Christmas and after the new year, the house would be flooded with guests for Georgina Carlton's wedding.

"George is here!" Nora replied, shaking her head with a sigh, thinking how difficult it had become to deal with Vada. Sure, she was still sweet and kind but she had also become quite rebellious and demanding of her independence, something which was driving Brian quite insane lately.

First with her announcement that she had no intention of returning to EPI because she was accepting a winter spot at school. This they could work with- of course they contact Davide and Matteo and they were both very understanding... but then they realized Vada wasn't talk about NYU.

She'd gone behind their backs and auditioned for the Manhattan School of Dance... and she got in.

Brian and Nora were speechless. Vada had never before indicated she wanted to dance professionally... or maybe they weren't listening.

Of course Brian had gone through the roof, what had gotten into her? But after watching how determined she was to do this, with or without them, they decided to support her. It didn't take long for them to see this was the real deal. She was as dedicated as possible and spent all her extra money taking lessons.

"Hi George." Vada said calmly, approaching her sister coolly and hugging her lightly.

Nora watched perplexed- last time they'd run into each other arms and today, they practically greeted each other like strangers. It was strange. Something had to have happened, something must have changed but what it was... she had no clue.

"Wow! You look amazing." George said in a friendly tone, looking over Vada.

"It's all those rehearsals." Nora chimed in, looking over her younger daughter who in the last year had shed any vestige of baby fat and replaced it all with muscle.

"They keep us busy." Vada said, looking bored.

"I can tell. I wish I had more time to work out." Georgina said and Vada scoffed. Another habit that she had picked up over the last year.

"Please, you're skin and bones." Vada said, looking over her sister, who was much taller and slimmer.

"What I would give for some of your muscle." George said. Vada shrugged.

"So..." Vada said, looking around behind her. "Where is he?" George sighed. Vada was not going to make any of this easy. She was mad at her. She'd been mad at her since last year. It was hard on George too, not being able to tell Vada the truth...

"He's not here until after Christmas, which means it's just us for the next week and a half." George said with a smile. "I can't wait to spend some time with you."

"Well, this afternoon I have to go into the city for rehearsal." Vada said, rejecting Georgina's advancements.

"That's right- Vada has her first performance in a couple of nights." Nora said with a smile and George's face lit up.

"Really? I'd love to see it." George said.

"Of course. We're all going, even your brothers." Nora said.