More Dirty Dancing - The Reunion

I was always hoping that there would be a sequel to the film, so I made one up.  Here it is.

More Dirty Dancing - The Reunion

Prologue

It was hot for an early June morning.  The blacktop rippled in the heat making it look as if it were liquid.  Everything was still, there wasn’t a breeze blowing anywhere.

The car moved quickly in the right hand lane of the New York Thruway.  Traffic was light for the first summer weekend since Memorial Day.  It was usually jammed with vacationers. 

Frannie hit the gas pedal.  She had gotten a late start.  The rest of the crowd was already there, waiting for her.  This was her baby, her show.  She wanted everything to be perfect so she could surprise her parents for their twenty-fifth anniversary. 

It was going to be perfect.  She just knew it.  It was going to be big, bold and beautiful.  She had invited all of the best students that she had. 

And to think this whole thing started when she found that diary.

Frannie found it in one of the drawers of her dressing table.  It was a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation. Now it was Frannie’s turn.  But finding this diary was not an accident. It was left with the following inscription:

These are for you, Frannie.  The dressing table is for your clothes and personals.  The diary, of course, is to satisfy your curiosity.  Enjoy.

Frannie never forgot that.  This show would be her tribute to two wonderful people and to thank them for everything that they had given her throughout their years together.

She stopped the car at the nearest rest stop.  There was a beautiful overlook where she just wanted to rest for awhile.  So she’d be a little later.  It was only rehearsal anyway.  Tomorrow night would be the real thing. 

Frannie walked to the edge of the overlook and sat down on the stone wall.  She held the diary in her hand.  She wanted to check something, to make sure she got it right for the show.  She opened it up to the first page and began to read.

Chapter 1

The Diary, May 1966

I cannot believe that I have completed my third year at Mount Holyoke.  The premed course that I am taking at the moment will end next year and I will transfer to Columbia University in New York.  I already have spent two summers with the Peace Corps and would have this year, except that Penny Johnson is getting married at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral and I am invited to the wedding.  She is marrying one of the producers of show she’s in.  It’s not a big part, just a dancer in the chorus line, but it’s something.  His name is Philip Bowman and he’s a big name in the business, so I am told.

So I will be spending the summer with my family at their home in Great Neck, New York.  I am excited to see them.  I have been living on my own for almost three years now and will look forward to visiting with them.  My roommate and best friend, Rochelle Silver is coming with me.

It really reminds me of the last night we all spent together at Kellerman’s, the one night after the close of the season. 

My sister, Lisa and I stayed to help clean up after the show while my father and mother made plans to return the next year. 

I’ll never forget that summer. It was the summer that I lost my innocence, the summer of Kellerman’s and Johnny Castle.  We had lost touch over the years with me going to college and the Peace Corps.  Johnny was headed for New York, with Penny at his side.  After the last show of the season, Mr. Kellerman had apologized to Johnny and asked him to come back next season, but the answer Johnny had given him was no.  Two talent scouts had been in the audience and had approached Johnny with a deal.  They had been watching that last dance on stage and his partner, but I had said that I wasn’t Johnny’s partner at all. That’s when I identified Penny as his partner. 

But they already approached Penny and she had already told them that she would.    

You know, I hadn’t thought about it until now.  What happens if I run into Johnny at Penny’s wedding? Of course he’ll be there.  The two of them are very close to one another. 

I think I’ll worry about that when the time comes.  Now I must start to pack because we will be leaving soon.  Can’t wait to see New York again after three years.

Chapter 2

The Diary, June 3

  

Here I sit outside on my parents’ patio furniture, staring up at the stars.  The overhead light above the door shines above me as I write this.   

The trip from Massachusetts to Great Neck only took three and half hours, but it seemed like forever.  But we managed to make it and in record time.  Rochelle is a perfect driver.

My parents, Jake and Marge Houseman, were waiting as we made it up the driveway. The garage doors opened by remote control and we pulled right in. We hugged and kissed and my father took the bags inside the house.  There is a door in the garage that you can walk through to the house.

I am unable to fall asleep, different surroundings and all.  You would think that I would be comfortable because it is my parent’s house.  I have been out of here for so long and it feels a little awkward.  I hope that by the middle of the summer I would be used to it by now.  It has been three years after all.

After meeting Rochelle, we talked for a while to my father and mother.  Lisa is pregnant for the second time.  She married her instructor in interior decorating, Harold Miller.  The first baby showed up exactly nine months to the day that they had gotten married.  The first was a boy was named Jason, for Jason and the Argonauts. 

It was all very suspicious, Mom kept saying.  She knew she was pregnant, probably before the wedding and the baby did not look anything like her or her husband.   

But Lisa was lucky.  She had her own interior decorating shop, which turned out to be very successful.  Her small storefront is quite busy, as I have been told.  We will get the grand tour tomorrow until the show starts.

Well, must try to get some sleep.  We will be traveling into the city tomorrow to see Penny in her new show.  This should be interesting. 

Broadway, here I come!   

Chapter 3

The Diary June 4

Well, here we are on the Great White Way. Rochelle and I are standing in front of the St. James Theatre where the show “Dancing Feet” is playing.    We were looking for Penny’s name on the poster out front, but it wasn’t there.  She was only a part of the chorus.

What we did see was the name of the choreographer.  It stood out like a sore thumb in large black letters so that the all of New York could see.

“Johnny Castle,” Rochelle read off the poster.  She looked at my face to catch my reaction.

“Johnny Castle,” I repeated stupidly.  I felt as if I was back at Kellerman’s, the day after Penny’s abortion.  He walked away from me that day and I thought I would lose him and never see him again, so I called his name hoping he would stop and turn around. 

And he did. 

At that moment, a feeling of excitement swept over me, one that I have never felt before and haven’t felt since. 

But right now, that feeling is back and it’s all because I saw his name on a poster. 

Rochelle looked at me.  “Frannie?” she called, “Frannie?”  She waved a hand in front of my face.  “Are you alright?”

I turned back to look at her.  “Of course, Shel, I’m fine.”

The show was about to start so we headed for the entrance doors.

“Wow,” she said, looking at me as we walked in, “the two of you must have hit it off immediately.  I mean, you don’t look at my brother that way and he is your fiancé.

I smiled.  “I love him nevertheless,” I said, feeling a little guilty.  I never realized how much I still became excited as the mere mention of Johnny’s name.  Suddenly I was anxious to see if I could catch a glimpse of him and see if he remembered me. 

We hurried to our seats in the orchestra, eight rows from the front.  These were expensive tickets, eight dollars each.  I was hoping that they would be worth it. 

Penny had secured backstage passes for us. Maybe Johnny would be there; I was so hoping that he would be and that he would recognize me.  But I would have to wait and see.

Chapter 4

Summer, June 2000

Francine Silver put down the diary and breathed a sigh of relief.  She had remembered right, Johnny had been the choreographer.  She had remembered her mother telling her that he had become a big Broadway star.  And this wasn’t the first show that he had worked on either. 

He had gotten his big break when he had joined the cast of an off-Broadway production as one of the dancers in the chorus line.  The choreographer wanted something original.  He had been at Kellerman’s the night of the show and saw what Johnny could do.  Besides, he was the best dancer in the entire chorus line.   He had spoken to the director who was familiar with Johnny’s work and had talked to his agent.  He came highly recommended and Johnny became an assistant choreographer, at first helping out with the dances, changing them slightly and adding to and improving on the steps.

The added material helped to turn the show around and it became Broadway’s biggest hit.  A year later, Johnny was then offered the job as choreographer at this show, “Dancing Feet, which had sold out performances every single night.  Johnny Castle became an overnight sensation.

Francine smiled and shook her head. She loved Johnny almost as much as her mother did.  He was a warm, loving person and willing to help anyone.  It was from his inspiration as a dancer that she began to take ballet lessons, eventually, becoming a ballet teacher.          

She had gotten the idea for the tribute about a year ago when she overheard her parents talking about that night at Kellerman’s.  Their anniversary was coming up and she wanted to give them something special, a surprise that they would never forget. She wanted to use Kellerman’s as the place for the reunion, but she had heard that it closed down almost twenty-one years ago.  She had heard that the place had been bought, renovated and had just reopened last year, but she was not sure.  She had contacted a real estate agent that she knew and found that Kellerman’s had indeed reopened and she booked it right away

She trained her best students for the show and rehearsed them until she dropped.

And then she found this diary.

Now she could hardly wait until she got up there.  There was so much she had to check up on and refine.  She closed the diary and was about to put it back when she noticed something sticking out of it. She opened it to the page and began to read.

Chapter 5

The Diary, June 27, 1966

Penny’s wedding is in three days and the rehearsal is tonight.  The gowns have all arrived and I picked mine up today.

The rehearsal is at five followed by a small dinner. 

I was a last minute replacement, one of the bridesmaids became ill.  History seemed to be repeating itself more and more. 

I feel as if I am at Kellerman’s all over again. 

The show, by the way, was fantastic.  I think I have included a detailed description, but I don’t believe I have said how I actually felt. 

We did see Johnny after the show.  At first he didn’t recognize me.  He hadn’t changed at all.

“Baby?” he questioned, narrowing his eyes.  “Frances Houseman?”

“At your service,” I said, smiling, trying not to cry, but my voice caught in my throat and I could hardly speak.

“How are you, Johnny?” I began, but I never finished the sentence.  He ran to me, tears in eyes, embraced me and wouldn’t let me go. 

“Baby,” he whispered, in my ear.  “I missed you.”

“I did too, Johnny,” I answered, a little surprised at how I felt.

“Let me look at you.”   He released me and gently pushed me away to get a good look at my face.  He smiled.  “You have grown, haven’t you?  How old are you now, Baby?”

“Older than I was at Kellerman’s. I was sixteen then.  I am nineteen, going on twenty.”

“You are beautiful, Frances Houseman,” he whispered touching my face. He ran his fingers through my hair. 

“Not as beautiful as you, Johnny Castle.  You haven’t changed a bit.”

We started to talk and I introduced Rochelle around.

“Well then,” Penny said, “now that we are all here, let’s go out for a burger and a some Cokes and talk over some old times.”

“Sounds good,” Johnny said, “just let me get dressed and…”

“Johnny, you can’t do that,” a female voice whined from the back of the room. “Don’t you remember?  You promised to take me for a burger and a vanilla Coke “

Chapter 6

The Diary, June 27

The whiney voice belonged to Camille Peterson, the daughter of the Broadway director Joel Peterson, who has done numerous plays on the stage.  He is directing his first film as I write this and it is so far untitled. 

Camille was given a small part in the show, mostly because of who she was.  Not that she had any talent, far from it.  Johnny seems to think that she wanted to join the cast to get involved with him. 

They had gone on a few dates together, but nothing developed.  In fact, she was seeing other dancers as well.  Johnny considered Camille as an acquaintance and that the relationship wasn’t going anywhere.  Maybe she wanted more, but he could care less, at least that was how he had explained it to me.

Johnny and I had been meeting ever since that night in Penny’s dressing room.  Yes, we did all go out for burgers and I mean all, Camille, of course, tagged along, but Johnny paid hardly any attention to her.

He managed to find Rochelle and I small jobs working behind the scenes at the show.  We were mainly go-fors; we weren’t paid much, but at least it was something to do for the summer.

And I got close to Johnny.

I didn’t discuss my fiancé with him, though. I didn’t think I was ready.  Besides, Paul Silver and I weren’t officially engaged yet.  Not that he didn’t want to or hadn’t asked me over and over.  For some reason, I just kept putting him off. 

Paul was Rochelle’s older brother, though they hardly looked alike. He was twenty-three, just about Johnny’s age.   Paul had just graduated University of Maryland with a Liberal Arts degree.  This way, he said, he could do just about anything and wait for me to finish Mount Holyoke.      

He was taking a summer course in mathematics that would give him a certificate in Certified Public Accounting.  He was going to work for a prestigious firm in the fall.  He was excellent in math and wanted to be a mathematician all his life. The way that Paul explained it is that this would give him that opportunity.  Once he was established, he said, after we were married, he would open up his own firm.  He had so much confidence in himself that he knew it was going to work.

Paul Silver was very ambitious and a credit to any woman.  I just wasn’t sure if I was the right one.

Well, I must stop writing now and get ready for the rehearsal.  It is nearing three thirty.

Chapter 7

The Diary, June 27

So this is St. Pat’s.  Built in 1858 by architect James Renwick, it stands tall and proud in the middle of New York. It is opposite Radio City Music Hall, another great landmark.  Gothic architecture combined with Renaissance.  According to the pamphlet I picked up, it seats 2,200 people.  The exterior length is about 10 ft and the width is 274 feet.  The spires on either side rise 330 feet from street level.   

I have included the pamphlet and invitation to the wedding in this diary for safekeeping.

Johnny and I were miraculously paired up together.   Penny looked absolutely radiant with Philip as she walked down the center aisle.  I had to keep reminding myself it was only rehearsal. 

Of course, Camille tagged after Johnny.  She just stood there watching him all night; Rochelle couldn’t get two words out of her.   

After we all went to Little Italy at a restaurant called Vincent’s.  They had great food and pizza.  Penny had heard a little about Robbie Gould from a friend of hers. He had finished medical school at Yale and was now interning at one of the hospitals in Connecticut.  He was in a lot of trouble already as he was caught fooling around with most of the nurses. 

Rochelle asked the obvious question, who would use that jerk for a doctor?

Penny laughed, but I knew it hurt.  Penny had become pregnant by him and had to go through a horrible abortion.  She still talks about how grateful she is to my father for saving her life. 

We all shared different memories in our life, and despite Camille’s presence, Johnny put his arm around me.  It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. 

Johnny talked about his early dancing days with Penny.  Seems that they had been a couple, but it hadn’t worked out, so they had become close friends. 

Philip talked about his rise to Broadway producer and how he and Penny met. 

We talked until two in the morning.  Penny was willing to put us up in her apartment and the two of us stayed there.  I called my parents in the morning and promised to go home straight from work. 

I am getting excited.  I can’t wait until the beautiful wedding two days from now.

Chapter 8

Diary, June 29

Wedding day!!!!

St. Patrick’s was decorated to the hilt.  There were garlands of green everywhere, on the railings outside the church, on the pews inside, lining the wall and the altar.  I had never seen anything like it.  Flowers were everywhere.  No expense had been spared. 

Two bridesmaids were old friends and colleagues from Kellerman’s, one was Louise, a dancer from the current show and then there was me.  Penny’s sister, Sharon, was the Maid of Honor.  Her niece was the flower girl and her nephew, the ring bearer.  They were four-year-old blond haired twins and they were the cutest little darlings I had ever seen. 

There were three priests on hand and Cardinal O’Hara was waiting impatiently at the altar with Philip. 

Johnny would give Penny away, and then perform his duties as an usher.

Penny looked radiant as she glided down the aisle in her white empire waist gown with the longest train that I had ever seen. 

The mass was over an hour, but it was worth it every second.

The reception was at 6:00 at the St. James Theatre in one of the private reception rooms used for guests.  It would be directly after the Sunday matinee.

Rochelle and I had some time to kill, so we decided to go to Radio City Music Hall to see a movie and a show. 

We went to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building, then the 86th Observatory and stopped into the Central Park Zoo before heading back to the theatre.

The reception was amazing.  Everyone was there, including my parents, my sister and her husband.  Daddy and Johnny spoke to each other as if they were old friends.  At one point, my father put his arm around Johnny’s shoulders.  I smiled remembering back to 1963 when Johnny and I were standing on a hill watching my father walk out of the main house of Kellerman’s with his arms around Robbie Gould and Lisa. 

Well, Johnny’s wish came true.  Daddy finally put his arm around Johnny and was giving him his advice.  It made me feel good to watch this happen. 

Johnny and Penny did some dancing, as did the two of us. 

I forgot to mention Camille.  She was hanging all over Johnny and wouldn’t leave him alone.

We didn’t stay late; my parents drove us back to Great Neck that night.  It was such a beautiful wedding that I have included the invitation and the rose from the favor.  I will remember this day always.

Chapter 9

Summer, 2000

Frannie smiled as she examined the wedding invitation.  Penny had helped her with the dancing and her husband was producing this show.  He was the one who managed to premiere it on Pay-Per-View.  But this was a show about her parent’s and their life, plus the story of how they met.  It wasn’t all a happy story and Frannie knew it, as well as Philip.  It was a story told so many times over and over again that she almost changed her mind about doing it.

But in the end, her parents had come first.  This was their story, their anniversary.  And suddenly, she didn’t mind sharing it with the rest of the world.  She knew that they wanted to share it with her.

Frannie put the invitation back into its proper place and closed the diary, this time, she thought, for good.  There were only two more of her mother’s happy entries left. After that, things slid downhill.

Baby’s next two entries concerned themselves with the end of summer, of Johnny promising to wait for her to finish Mount Holyoke and marry next year during the summer of 1967, all with her parents’ permission. 

“Life is too wonderful,” she wrote, “something is bound to happen.”

And it did.

In October of 1966, Baby received a letter from Johnny that left her in tears.  He had broken the pact that they had made and ran off to Las Vegas to marry Camille.  At first, Baby didn’t believe it, this wasn’t like Johnny, she thought.  She called New York City and found that Camille had indeed gotten married and that Johnny wasn’t there.

She had never let the person on the other end finish and had hung up on them.  There was no need to explain to him then, that she was moving out of the dorm with Rochelle into an apartment to make room for other girls arriving for the new semester.  Before she left, she gave her parents all the information in case someone should want it. 

She had never left it with the school.

Then she called Paul.  She told him what he had wanted to hear, that she would marry him.  And so she did, right after school ended in December. 

They married and had come back to New York to look for an apartment.  They finally found one and were making arrangements to move in when Baby found herself pregnant.  She was six months along in June when the accident happened.  They were coming back from visiting her parents when the drunk driver hit them killing Paul instantly and putting Baby into a coma.

Frannie sighed and found the envelope.  She didn’t want to open it, but she did.  Paid up hospital bills, discharge papers and her original birth certificate.

She opened to the second half of the diary, except this time it wasn’t her mother doing the writing, now it was her stepfather. 

Chapter 10

Diary June 27, 1967

My little Francine,

There you are, you are finally awake.  Can you see me waving at you through the glass? 

Look at your big brown eyes and curly dark hair.  You look so much like your mother.  That’s why I named you Francine, angel.  You remind me of her. 

Alright, alright, so your mother’s name is Frances, I just didn’t want to mix the two of you up.

How I would love to come in to hold you and hug you and kiss you, but I have been forbidden to do so.  You see, my little girl, you have been born prematurely, three months to be exact.  Right now you lie in an incubator intended to keep you alive.  You have been asleep, Frannie, sometimes we even thought that you had died.

When I say we, love, I mean Dr. Houseman, your grandfather, the entire maternity staff of Great Neck Medical Center, and of course, yours truly.  We have been watching your progress for several hours now, waiting for some sign that you were alive.  Well, Frannie, here you are looking into my eyes.  My Lord, it’s good to see you awake.

Your mother is holding her own too, Frannie.  She is still not awake, but she is breathing finally without a respirator.  We watch and wait for her recovery also, but it has been four days since the accident and nothing has changed.

It’s a miracle how I found your mother.  I was driving back from Penny and Phil’s when I heard something on the police band about an accident and a pretty bad one at that.  Both drivers were killed instantly and a pregnant woman was among them.  She was still alive but unconscious. 

When I finally came around to the scene of the accident, things were a lot worse than I had imagined. 

I recognized Baby (oops Frances) right away.  She hadn’t changed much in a year’s time. Her husband had smashed his head through the windshield.  Baby had been thrown from the car, not very far at all. 

I carried her over to the ambulance and rushed to the hospital, where the doctors induced the pregnancy.   They gave her a Cesarean and pulled you out.  I went in, Frannie. I had to watch you being born.

It’s a long story how about how your mother and I hooked up again and

I will explain in the next chapter.  Right now I just want to look at your lovely face, those big brown eyes glaring straight at me. 

Chapter 11

The Diary, Early morning, June 28

Well, here goes.  I am not very good at writing, dancing is my strong point, so forgive me.  I want to do this for you, Frannie, when you get older.

Baby and I met four years ago at Kellerman’s when she was sixteen years old.  Two months later, she would turn seventeen and was looking forward to her first year at Mount Holyoke College for Women. 

Penny and I were the dance instructors that year, supposedly in charge of the others in the ensemble. We had seniority, it was my fifth time there, and for the rest of the dancers, their second.   My cousin, Billy was there to help organize activities and set up dance routines, even direct them in my absence.      

My first partner became pregnant and had to quit, so my old friend, Penny took over.  This was, if I hadn’t mentioned it earlier, her second time at Kellerman’s.

Penny looked the same as she had the year before; the only thing different was that she was pregnant with Robbie Gould’s baby, something that no one had known at that point in time.

Baby had come in with Billy and the rest, as they say, is history. 

I think I was attracted to your mother right away, Frannie.  She was different from most of the girls that I knew and she was a natural. Because Baby could move, I felt that she would be good enough to substitute for Penny during a gig at the Sheldrake Hotel while Penny went with Billy for a back street abortion.

If it weren’t for Baby’s father, love, Penny would have been dead.

I think that I fell in love with her…

Wait, one minute.  I think your mother is moving, Frannie.  Her fingers gripped mine, tightly for a moment, and her eye’s fluttered open, locking into mine.

"Johnny!" she said breathlessly and smiled.  I felt as if we were back at Kellerman's all over again.

"Yes, Baby?" I said, smiling at her.  She was alive.  Thank the Lord.

“Where am I, Johnny?” she said smiling at me, still gripping my hand.  “And what are you doing here? I thought that you had gotten married?"

I had no idea what to say, she took me by surprise.

"Baby," I whispered, my hand gripping her fingers.  I wanted to cry. 

"Rest now, my love," I told her, kneeling beside her.  I stroked her hair.  "We will explain everything to you in the morning.  Right now, I want you to get some sleep. I will be here when you wake up, I promise.  I‘m not going anywhere."

The nurses came in at that point and closed the curtains to shut me out, but that was not a problem.  I went outside the room and told Dr. Houseman.  Lisa and her husband had arrived by then as well as her mother.  It was going to be a long night.

Chapter 12

Diary, June 28, 4:00 am

I am back in Baby’s room now.  Funny, she was only awake for that minute. 

The reason I am with her now is that one of the nurses said that she asked for me.  They told everyone else to go home, the doctor asked me to stay just in case she wakes up again.

I have been asleep on and off, talking to Baby and writing down my thoughts in this diary. 

She asked if I was married, Frannie.  I don’t know what she meant by that; I didn’t marry anyone.  If she was talking about Camille Peterson, yes, we finally got rid of her.  She eloped with a two-bit dancer named Johnny Manning and no one ever heard from her again.  Good thing, too.

I found out later that she sent letters to every woman that I knew.  It was Penny who told me.  She received one of them and was sure Baby did as well. Camille had gotten Baby’s address at the dorm by stealing a piece of paper from my dressing room that I found in her possession one night.   She did it on a jealous whim, as I wouldn’t accept her advances towards me.   

I tried to find your mother, love, only she had left the school dorm and no one knew where she had gone.  I even went up to Massachusetts to try to find her, but turned up absolutely nothing.  Finally, I looked up Dr. Houseman’s name in the telephone book and called his office.  When he had returned me call, he explained to me that Baby had gotten married and they had just gotten an apartment in King’s Point, one town over from Great Neck. 

He gave me the address and the phone number, but I was so hurt and disappointed that I never called them.  That was three months ago.  I never expected to see your mother again.

As for the police band, I have always helped people out, especially when they needed it.  Maybe it was Baby’s influence; I always like to think that it is.  She changed me in so many ways and my life has improved because of it.  I wouldn’t be where I am today had I never met your mother.  She is a wonderful and wise woman and when the time is right, I will ask her to be my wife.  I want to watch you grow, Frannie.  I don’t want to leave the two of you behind ever again.  I would never forgive myself.

Your mother is moving again.  I am to call the doctor right away when she wakes up.  They don’t know how to break the news to her that Paul is dead, so we will wait a couple of days until we are sure that she will be able to handle it. 

We are not to mention you until your mother asks first, then we’ll tell her.  These are strict orders from the doctor.

I know she will be fine, Frannie.  The doctor thinks that she might have damaged her right knee on impact, but we will have to wait and see. He thinks that she hit the metal glove compartment in the car before she was thrown.  We were more worried about your fate, my little love.  I am so happy that the two of you are alive and that I found you. 

Chapter 13

Summer, 2000

Frannie put the diary down and smiled.  Johnny had written this part for her so she would know how he found her and had taken her into his care.

She knew the rest of the story.  When her mother had finally come out of her coma, the first thing she asked about was the baby and Johnny explained that to her.  The next thing she asked about was Paul, which Johnny found a little harder to answer because he didn’t want to upset her.  Considering the circumstances, she had taken the news quite calmly.  She did cry for a while and when Johnny reached for her to embrace her, she quickly backed away.

“You are married, aren’t you?” she had said.

Johnny had smiled and shook his head.  He explained the whole story and apologized for not calling or writing.  He started to cry and Baby put her arms around him to comfort him.  They were inseparable after that. 

Baby couldn’t attend Paul’s funeral, but Johnny and the Housemans’ went instead.  

Within a few weeks, Baby was well and out of the hospital.  As it turned out, Baby did smack her knee into the glove compartment and damaged some ligaments. 

She had to wear a plaster cast on her leg for three weeks, and then she went for physical therapy.

Johnny did return to the show, but he came to visit every single night and stayed until morning.  Supposedly, Frannie took a liking to Johnny right from the start and Johnny loved her as if she were his own daughter.

She was three months out of the hospital when Johnny proposed to Baby and Baby said yes right away.  They were married the next day by a justice of the peace with everyone’s blessing. 

The rest of the diary was filled with notes and papers from both of them, mostly directed toward her.  The entries were mostly of different incidents, important ones from their life together.  Some of these she would re-enact, others she decided not to.  It was the main part of the lives she wanted. 

Frannie sighed, put the diary back into her bag and looked at her watch.  My Lord, half the afternoon was gone already.  She was going to be late if she didn’t hurry.  She started the car and headed straight to Kellerman’s this time.  It wasn’t all that far.

Chapter 14

Summer 2000

Frannie sat in the hot car drumming her fingers.  She was only ten minutes away from Kellerman’s and the traffic was backed up for miles.  She had been a fool to believe that the roads were empty. 

She was so close, yet so far.  She was wondering if Penny and Christine were there.  Christine was Penny’s daughter and her Frannie’s assistant.  They weren’t that far apart in age.  Chrissy would turn thirty in just two months.  Frannie was only two years older. 

She married Christine’s older brother, Kevin, when she was twenty-seven years old.  It was a good marriage.  The two children had grown up together and went into the same line of work, dancing.  Kevin, though, was a modern dance instructor.  He was interested in her project because his mother had one of the characters in her story. Half of this tribute was to be modern and some ballet

The marriage had produced a two-year old named Dakota Frances, after her mother.  She couldn’t wait until the two of them arrived. 

She wanted to see her mother and her stepfather again.  She missed them.  She had been working out in California on a musical for two months.  She had come back to New York to join Kevin who was working on a new Broadway musical. 

Dr. Jake Houseman lost Marjorie Houseman to breast cancer last year. She was in her late seventies when she passed away.  Her grandfather never remarried. 

 

There was something that she thought of quickly and reached into her purse for the script.  She ended up pulling out both the diary and the script.  A few papers fell out with it.  She picked them up off the floor of the car. She would read them later; traffic was starting to move.

It was going to be a wonderful reunion and she couldn’t wait to get up there.

Chapter 15

Frannie hit the gas pedal hard.  She was finally free.  She remembered an old shortcut that her mother said she and Johnny used to use.  It sure beat sitting in all that traffic on the Thruway. 

It wasn’t an accident according to the radio; it had been a car fire.  She hated those things.  You couldn’t move in the first place, much less make room for the fire engines. 

She watched for the old Kellerman’s sign, but it had been taken down or moved, one or the other.  Anyway, she couldn’t see it.

She remembered one of the entries her parents added in the diary. 

In 1967, Max Kellerman had a stroke leaving him partially paralyzed and on doctor’s orders, was unable to run the hotel.  He left the management of the hotel to his grandson, Neil, who had finished the hotel management school two years earlier.

By this time, the crowds of young people had stopped coming with their parents and just the parents were coming. 

It took two years for Neil to run Kellerman’s into the ground.  Bad investments and horrible management took its toll and he lost the two hotels he had.  By 1972, the hotel was a ghost town. Neil had tried to save it, but had gone bankrupt and, in the end, lost his house along with his wife and children.

He had lost his grandfather as well.

When two big Broadway stars wrote that they were interested in buying the place and renovating it, Neil jumped at the chance.   He needed the money and badly. So he invited them up to his home to negotiate the terms.

Frannie smiled as she finally entered the lot and parked the car in the Visitor’s section.  She reached over the seat and grabbed the diary, the script and the papers on the floor.  She opened the letter and read it, and then she gasped.  This was too much.  It was a Bill of Sale for the property.  Three men, two of them Neil Kellerman and Philip Bowman, signed it.  It was the third signature that surprised her.  It belonged to her stepfather, Johnny Castle.

Chapter 16   

A three-paragraph newspaper clipping: New York Daily News, August 20, 1972. 

The war cry “Save Kellerman’s Mountain Lodge” will be forever silenced as a deal was struck this afternoon at Neil Kellerman’s exclusive East side apartment.  A surprise to say the least for Kellerman’s has not been open to the public since the summer of 1967. 

The two famous dance stars, Philip Bowman and Johnny Caste agreed to buy the hotel from Kellerman for an undisclosed amount.  Kellerman has been having financial troubles as of late. 

We wish good luck to the all three participant’s.        

Diary, summer, August 1972

Newspapers!  No clue as to what really happened, little Frannie.  By the way, I have included your age into every entry that I make.  You are already five years old.  Time really does fly

How it has been fun to watch you grow older.  You have become quite the little dancing star, even if it does happen to be in your own backyard.  You mimic me when I practice and I love picking you up when you fall. You are a fast learner, Frannie, like your mother.

Now on to what I like to call “THE DEAL.” 

Neil’s bankruptcy took me by surprise.  I never expected that he of all people should lose all of his money that quickly.  Well, let’s just see what he had done with his life, my little angel. 

He had married a young dancer who had been appearing nightly at Kellerman’s for the summer.  Her name was Sharon and she was only interested in Neil’s money. 

At first, she bought small packages, although they gradually became bigger and bigger.  She found herself pregnant two months later and bought everything and anything she could get her hands on. 

She had twins, a boy and a girl.  Sharon bought them the world and then some, bleeding Neil dry.  When there was nothing left, she moved out taking the twins with her.

The hotel began to fall apart and Neil could meet expenses.  He had tried everything he could think of. Between the collapse of Kellerman’s and Sharon’s demands, Neil filed for bankruptcy.

A few bad business deals hadn’t helped either. 

  

Now here he was unable to pay his bills and still forced to pay alimony, he needed help desperately.  And that’s how the two of us entered the picture.

Chapter 17

Diary, 1972

Had to continue this on the next page, Frannie, not enough room.  Stay with me now.

Phil was reading this article on defunct hotels and one of them among the list was Kellerman’s.  I found this interesting and at first I didn’t believe him, but he showed it to me.

I called an old number I had when I worked there, but it had been disconnected.  Then I called the telephone number that was written in the article.  It turned out to be, of all things, Neil Kellerman’s office (or what he was calling his office, little one).  Now Neil, if I haven’t explained him to you, was the boss’ grandson and the boss and owner was Max Kellerman. 

Neil was going to school to learn to manage the hotel in 1963 and Max held his hopes high.  In other words, Max wanted Neil to manage the hotel for him in case something should happen to him. 

But I am getting off the track, angel.  Enough talk of the past. 

We made an appointment for two-thirty with his secretary to see him later that afternoon, but we put it under the name of Philip Bowman, not Johnny Castle. 

I just couldn’t wait to see his face when we walked in that door. 

The meeting, by the way, was not held in his office. Neil didn’t have one or a secretary for that matter. 

It was held in his soon to be vacant apartment on the Upper East Side of New York.  

Running out of room again, Frannie.  Will continue on the next page.

Chapter 18

Well, Frannie let me tell you something about that apartment building.  It was a twenty-stories tall and built sometime in the 1930’s. The architecture of the building was in the style called Art Deco.  There was a doorman you had to report to before you could even enter.  There were statues and figures surrounding all areas of the building’s façade.

On the inside of the lobby mirrors covered the walls lined with maroon velvet.  A matching maroon carpet covered the floor.  A crystal chandelier with flame style bulbs hung from the ceiling.  A security guard sat at a small, cluttered desk on the right hand side of the lobby, closest to the stairs.     

Phil and I had to explain to the guard who we were and who we were going to visit with.  When the guard was satisfied, he led us to the elevators.  Yes, little girl, the elevators, there was one on either side of the lobby.

He led us to the one on the left.  Neil’s apartment wasn’t even in the building, it was the penthouse on the rooftop, which meant that we had to take the elevator to the top floor and walk up one flight of stairs to the top.

Frannie, you would never believe it.  The elevator led us out to the foot of stairs and we walked up to the door. There was a small, enclosed rooftop garden complete with waterfalls and palm trees. In front of the entranceway, were, at least twenty cardboard boxes full of Neil’s belongings, ready to be moved where and whenever.

Brushing past the garden, I knocked on his front door.

Neil opened it and a smile lit up his face. He shook his head.

“If it isn’t Johnny Castle, the big dancer and choreographer on Broadway. So how many shows are you working on now?  I hear your three shows are doing just fine. I guess we underestimated you.”  He looked him up and down, a stupid grin plastered on his face. “ Look at you, you don’t look at day over…”

“Quiet, Neil,” I said, knowing that I was probably wrong for speaking to him that way, but I didn’t care. 

“You know why we’re here.”

Neil’s smile disappeared.  He knew perfectly well why.  He had been waiting for this all afternoon.  “Where’s Phil Bowman?”

“Right here, Mr. Kellerman,” Phil said, extending his hand.   “We’re here to finalize this deal.”

“Come in, come in, gentlemen.”

And so we did.

Chapter 19

Last entry about Neil, I promise. 

He led us into an almost bare living room, with most of the furniture and knick-knacks already gone.  There was a bridge table set up in the middle of the room by the large front window. 

Neil gestured to the table, realizing that he only had two folding chairs, went off to find another. 

I think he was slightly embarrassed, Frannie, and he didn’t know what to do with me. 

Neil came back and placed the chair on the left side of him. 

“I hear that you married Baby Houseman,” Neil said, smiling.

“Yes and our three children came along for the ride,” I said, sitting down.  I wasn’t kidding.  You weren’t mine to begin with, but that didn’t stop me from thinking that you were.  You are very precious to me and always will be.  We brought you up as we had our own children, your brother Jonathan and your sister, Suzy. 

“Well, I suppose you’ve been busy,” he looked at me.  “I hear your oldest is five years old now.  When was she born, Johnny-boy, huh, Johnny?”

“Why you little…” I lost my temper again.  Thank the Lord Phil broke in when he did.

“We are here to sign those contracts now, if you don’t mind, Neil and then we’ll be on our way.”

“We wouldn’t be taking up much more of your time than we have to, Neil,” I said, dropping the papers and pushing them across toward him.  “I’ll answer all your questions before we go.”

 

Chapter 20

Summer, 2000

“Frannie, Frannie.”

She heard her name being called over and over again and by more than one voice.  She closed the diary quickly and threw it into her small pouch.  As she got out of the car, the crowd kept closer, surrounding her making it more difficult to walk away from the car. 

Her students were more like her friends. It was never Mrs. Bowman; she had told everyone to call her Frannie and it had stuck.

Behind the crowd of students stood Neil Kellerman. 

“Can I help you with your bags, Frannie?”

She smiled. “I have my two duffels, but that’s alright.  I can handle them.  Just tell me where my room is.”

But she didn’t get an answer.  Her students pressed against her, talking a mile a minute.

She was trying to remember what role Neil Kellerman had here.  Ah yes, the hotel manager.  Johnny let him have the job right after he bought the hotel.  It was much different from the role he played in 1963.  Johnny had bought the property, but it wasn’t a resort anymore.  This time, Kellerman’s was used for meetings, parties and weddings. 

And it was doing quite well too. 

This is what Johnny was most proud of, next to Baby and his three children.

Neil had been everything, part time custodian, part time handy man, caretaker and hotel manager. 

He was grateful for everything Johnny had done for him and always paid him respect and showed him nothing but kindness.

Her students who were talking her ear off herded Frannie through the door of Kellerman’s.  She had to find her parents and quickly.

Chapter 21

Frannie walked into the main lobby with her students still following her.

She tried to get a hold of one or two of them, but she couldn’t get their attention.

“Do you need a hand, Mrs. Bowman?”  a voice called from the void.

Everyone stopped talking and turned toward the voice and that included Frannie. 

“Chrissy!” she exclaimed.  A wide smile lit up her face as she went to embrace her sister in law. 

“Hello, Frannie,” she answered, as she hugged her ever tighter. The throng of students had miraculously moved on.  “What took you?” she asked, letting her go.

“Car fire on the New York Thruway. Took me an hour to find my way through that.”  She looked seriously at her assistant.  “How’s the show coming? Sorry I was late.”

“Lynn and Danny won’t be able recreate that dance your parents did here and in the film.”

Frannie nodded.  The movie was called Dirty Dancing.  Johnny’s amazing rise to fame, plus his book of the same name prompted the making of the film.  Frannie was going to recreate that movie in ballet form with some modern dancing mixed in. 

“Why?” Frannie asked, “What happened?”

Chrissy shrugged.  “Seems that Lynn broke her ankle while rehearsing and Danny refuses to perform without her.”

Frannie looked at her.  “Have you spoken with her?”

Chrissy nodded.

“Well, I’ll talk to her again.  I want to see that ankle.  Did you have it attended to?”

Chrissy nodded.  “I have the bills to prove it.  She’s in a cast resting in her room.”

“Just show me where it is.”

She looked around then back at Chrissy.  Have you seen Mom and Dad anywhere? I have to speak with them.”

“Right here, angel,” a male voice called out. 

Frannie turned around, a wide smile planted on her face.

“Daddy,” she called out and ran into his open arms.

Chapter 22

“Hello, baby girl,” he said, hugging her tightly.  “Seems like ages, even if was only six months ago.  Here, let me look at you.”  He released her and held her at arm’s length.

“I’m fine, Dad, just missed you and Mom terribly.  How are the two you?  You don’t look like you’ve changed a bit.”

She couldn’t get over how well he looked at sixty.  He looked as if he was ten years younger except of course with his snow-white hair. He wore it long and tied back in a queue.  He was still as handsome as ever. 

“And what’s all this I read in Variety this morning?  A new revival of two of your old shows on Broadway?”

Johnny Castle smiled.  “Yep, they asked permission to do it and they wanted me to direct and star.”  Johnny shook his head.  “I’ll have to think about that one.  But right now I am a consultant and the revivals look good.  It’s entirely all your mother’s fault writing that Dirty Dancing book.   How’s Hollywood?”

“Nothing like New York, Daddy.  I think I’ll try to get some jobs in New York from now on.”

Johnny looked at her.  “Maybe you know best, Frannie.  It’s a long way off and you have a family.”

“My place is here with them,” Frannie said. “How’s Mommy? Is she alright?”

Johnny grinned.  “Everything is fine, angel, and your show looks really good. I gave them some advice.  Not sure if they listened though.”

Frannie smiled.  “Speaking of the show, one of my dancers broke her ankle.  I am on my way to her room now.  I have to find two replacements because Danny won’t dance without her.”

Johnny frowned.  “What scene is that, Frannie?”

“You know, the dance scene at the end of the movie with you and Mom on stage.”

Johnny nodded.  “No one puts Baby in a corner,” he said, laughing.  “I don’t remember saying anything close to that.”

Frannie laughed. “Hollywood,” she said.  “Well I have to see Lynn about her…”

Johnny’s smile disappeared.  “You don’t have to find replacements, angel.  I have two right here.” 

“Who?” she asked before she realized what Johnny was talking about.  “You don’t mean…”

Chapter 23

“Of course we do,” another voice came from the background.  Frannie smiled at the sound.

“Mommy,” she said, running over to her.

Frances “Baby” Houseman Castle was now fifty-five years old and she hadn’t changed a bit.  Well, not exactly, Frannie thought, she graying a bit.  Other than that, everything looked the same. 

They hugged each other with Johnny looking on, beaming. 

“What have you been up to?” Frannie asked when her mother released her.  “Looks like you’ve become a waitress.”

Johnny walked over and put his arm around her.  He brought her up close and hugged her. 

“Your mother is a doctor, remember?  She’s become the house doctor as long as we live here, Frannie.  You should know that?”

Frannie had almost forgotten. There were so many other things that her mother was capable of doing.  She was a doctor it was true.  After her birth, Baby had gone back to school to finish what she started. They lived in the city where Johnny directed and starred in some of his Broadway plays. 

Baby didn’t work until Johnny retired and they moved upstate to what Baby called their “country cottage.”  They had bought not too far from Kellerman’s where Johnny could keep an eye on the renovation.  Baby practice began when one of the workers had fallen off a scaffold.

She had opened up her own office, more on popular demand than anything else. There really were no hometown doctors and Baby was good.   She became the most sought after physician in upstate New York, although she didn’t make too much money at it, it gave her satisfaction to know that she was helping people, just the same as she had done years earlier in the Peace Corps.

Now she was the Kellerman’s house physician and she wasn’t making a cent for her services

She loved it that way.

“So you were the one who treated Lynn?”

“Yes,” Baby said, “but it wasn’t such a bad break.  She has to stay off of it, Frannie, at least for a few weeks until she is out of the cast.”

“And the two of you intend to be take over for Lynn and Danny, if I understand correctly?”

Chapter 24

“It will be fun, Frannie,” Johnny said, smiling.  “Your mother and I have been practicing all year for this.  We were upset you hadn’t even asked us.”

One of the students ran up to her.  “Frannie?” she asked.  “Please come quick.  Chrissy wants you to look at this,”

“I will be there soon, Allie,” she answered.  “Right now I must see to…”

“Go Frannie,” Baby said, “I will check on Lynn for you and give you a report.  Work on your show.”  She walked over to her daughter and gave her a quick hug.  “I will speak to you later,” she whispered in her ear. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

Baby released her and stroked her short, curly brown hair, just like she did when she was a little girl. “Yes,” she answered, “I would like that.  Looking forward to it.”

“Good,” Baby said, “now go and don’t worry about anything. Everything will be just fine.”

Frannie followed Allie outside into the ballroom.  Her mother told her Johnny set it up exactly how it had been back in 1963.   She surveyed the room. The folding chairs were in place and everything looked exactly how it did in the movie.

“Frannie,” a voice called.  “Can you watch me? I need someone to watch me dance.”

She looked up and recognized her little sister, Suzanne Penelope.  What little, she thought, she was twenty-seven years old. She was engaged to David Jonas, one of her best students. The ceremony was in two months and was booked at Kellerman’s.

Now, Suzy,” Frannie smiled, “if you intend to be in the show, you have to dance like a professional.  Where is Jonathan? We need him for this scene.”

“Right here, sis,” Jonathan Castle said walking over to hug his sister. He was thirty- one and had not married, nor was he intending to.

He had been living the last five years with his girlfriend, Ashley, in New York City.

Johnny and Baby hated the arrangement, but they were getting used to it. 

  

“Alright then, where is the rest of the crew.  “Get up there, chorus line, go on,” she said, motioning the rest of the cast.  “ I want this scene done perfectly.  Then I’ll come over and hug the two of you.”

She looked around, “Have any of you seen Kev and little Cody?” she asked of her husband and two year girl.

Chapter 25

Kellerman’s was a family affair from the start.  It had been open since Johnny bought the place in 1972, but didn’t have total control until the title cleared two years later.  When that happened, Johnny began to open up Kellerman’s on a limited basis, inviting his cast and crew from his shows to rehearse and practice their lines.  He also tested out new ideas with Phil and Penny. 

Johnny had friends and relatives stay over every once in a while, accepting any ideas that they could give him.  He conducted surveys, held meetings and got lots of advice from Neil and spoke to other hotel managers. 

All this was done while the building was being renovated, which was ten years, four years longer than he had expected.

In 1985, when the renovation was complete, Johnny put the finishing touches on it.  Once again, it was open on a limited basis, and once again Johnny worked off of different people’s advice and opinions.

In 1990, Kellerman’s had started taking reservations when a fire developed in the restaurant’s kitchen.  It was shutdown for at least two years before the restaurant began again in 1994. 

The buildings opened again in 1995.  People started to come up, especially when they heard that it was Johnny’s hotel.  He kept it open in the winter for the skiing crowd. In the summer he opened for the hikers and traveler’s passing through. 

The idea for a meeting place came from a suggestion of one of his customers.  A lot of hotels now, he said, were run as convention and meeting centers, not to mention weddings, parties and reunions.  An extension had to be built and by the spring of 1999, Kellerman’s was ready to service the public in any capacity it wanted.  

 

After the first year, it became the most sought after place to spend the summer.

And that’s why Johnny always blamed Baby for it.  She wrote the book, Dirty Dancing and it became the movie.  The steady business that they had today was from the wildly successful book and movie.  He refused to believe that it was through word of mouth.    

Or was it because he had been a celebrity. 

Chapter 26

Baby was tending a bad bruise on a dancer’s leg when Frannie walked in. 

“Hi Frannie, Zach should be up and about in no time.  I think he might even be able to dance tomorrow night…”

She looked at her face and suddenly became very concerned.  “Something go wrong at the rehearsal?”

Frannie nodded her head.

“Mommy, something horrible has happened to Daddy and I really need to…Oh, sorry Zach, I didn’t see you.”

Baby looked up from Zach’s leg.  He had been kicked in the ankle and it was twice its normal size.

“What happened, Frannie?” she asked without looking up.

“Well, some drunk who goes by the name of Robbie walked into the ballroom and started screaming about…”

Baby looked up.  “Robbie?” she asked.

“Robbie Gould, Baby,” a voice called from outside, “he was older and drunk, but I’d recognize that voice anywhere. “

Johnny hobbled in and Baby stared at him.  His pants were filthy and ripped.  The left sleeve of his shirt was ripped down the length of his arm and there was one starting on his right. 

As he got closer to the chair, Zach got up to let Johnny sit.

Johnny winced as he climbed into the chair.

“Look at you,” Baby scolded.  “I am surprised you are not bleeding.  Here, let me help you.” 

She looked up at Frannie with a frown.

“What the heck happened out there in that ballroom?”

Chapter 27

Johnny and Frannie were working on the dance scene at the end of the movie where all the dancers come together down the aisle.

“You really think that you can still do it, don’t you, Pop,” she asked, playfully. “I mean, hey, at your age?”

Johnny looked up and smiled.  “Young lady,” he said, “I am not as old as you think I am, besides, as I said, your mother and I have been practicing.  Right now she’s got Zach in there, but after that I know that she will be coming here to join me.  Then you can watch us both do the lift.”

Frannie smiled.  “Well, it’s getting late and we all should be getting to bed soon.” she sighed. She turned to the dancers who were stopped now and waiting for further instructions.  “All right, gang, let’s call it a night.  We still have tomorrow morning, but it really looks good now.  Kristen, you have progressed beautifully from yesterday.  You really know how to make this dance work.  Hellen, I just wanted to tell how natural you look on the dance floor.  Now everyone, I want you back in this very spot tomorrow early in the morning.  We have a big day tomorrow and I want you all to be…”

“Well, well, well, will you look at this,” a drunken male voice called from the ballroom entrance. 

Johnny and Frannie both turned to see a middle aged man, reeling and lurching from side to side, a half-filled bottle of vodka in his hand.  “Hey Cammy, come here, will you look at this? Hasn’t changed a bit.”

Frannie was a little confused as she turned to look at her father, but she noticed he wasn’t looking back at her.  Johnny was looking in the direction of the drunken man and smiling.

“So this is what happens to disgraced doctors who lose their licenses.”

 Frannie frowned.  “Daddy, whatever are you talking about?”

Johnny wasn’t listening.  He was slowly advancing toward the man.

Frannie looked at the dancers who stood frozen in their spots.  Frannie waved her hand and they all scattered.

“Pop?” she asked, but Johnny was out of hearing range.

She watched as her father crept closer and closer to the drunken stranger who was now calling out the name of some woman.  It sounded like Camille. 

Then she saw the stranger stop and look at Johnny.  He began to smile.

“Well,” he said, “if it isn’t the rich and famous Johnny Castle.”

Chapter 28

“And if it isn’t the infamous Robbie Gould,” Johnny said, smiling.  “So tell me Dr. Gould, or is it ex Dr. Gould, how it feel to be a failure?”

Robbie didn’t say anything, just picked up the bottle and took a long swig.

“Camille,” he yelled again.

“How did you get here anyway?  I mean, how did you know Kellerman’s was even open again?”

“He had connections, Johnny,” a female voice called out.  She walked out of the darkness into the light of the ballroom.  She held a full bottle of vodka in her hand, which she quickly swapped for the now empty one in Robbie’s hand. 

“Camille Peterson,” Johnny and Frannie said together.  Johnny turned and found his daughter standing next to him.

“Frannie, go find your mother.”

Frannie shook her head.  “No, Pop, not now.”

Robbie smiled.  “Your daughter?”   He took another swig from the bottle and walked closer. 

“And what if it is?” Johnny said.  “Now why don’t the two of you just get out of here before I call the police.”

“Is that what you think is going to happen?” Robbie said, taking another swig.  He moved closer to Johnny.  “Well, that’s not even close.  This is what’s really going to happen.”

He swung at Johnny, but missed and fell on the floor instead.  Johnny smiled and bent down.

“I told you that you weren’t worth it back in 63,” he laughed. “You haven’t changed a bit, I see.  You’re still not worth it.”

He turned toward Frannie and smiled. 

“Daddy, look out, behind you.”

Johnny turned around to find Camille grinning at him.  She held a knife in her hand, which Johnny was able to knock away.  She began clawing and kicking him ripping his right sleeve and started on his left. 

Robbie was still sprawled out the floor. 

Suddenly, Neil and the camera crew showed up surrounded by security.  Frannie was surprised to see them as well as Johnny.

“They aren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow,” Johnny and Frannie both said together.

Chapter 29

“So,” Baby said, looking at Johnny, “You didn’t fight Robbie,” She looked down to examine his ripped shirt.  There were no open wounds on his skin; in fact there was no blood at all.  

“No,” Johnny smiled, looking up at Baby, “but you don’t know how much I wanted to.”

“He was drunk, Daddy, he could hardly stand.” Frannie looked at her mother.  “Camille Peterson Manning did all this to him.”

“Camille?” Baby asked, looking at Johnny. “Is this the same woman who..”

“Yes,” Johnny and Frannie answered together.  They looked at each other and laughed. 

“Well,” Baby said, “we all know that Frannie has read the diary, but now we have proof of that.”

Frannie looked at both her parents with a smile.

“Mommy,” she said, changing the subject, “Daddy says that the two of you have been practicing and that both of you are going to do the lift.  Is this true?”

Baby looked at Johnny with a smile on her face.  He looked back at her with a grin. 

“Well?” Frannie asked, looking from her mother to her father and back again.

Baby looked up at her daughter.  “I wasn’t finished with what I was saying, Frannie,” she said.

“I want to know what happened to Camille and Robbie and why I hadn’t heard all the commotion.”

She looked back at Johnny to examine him further.  “You’re fine,” she said, “no blood or broken skin. Apparently, she just damaged your shirt, which is not what she originally had in mind.”

Chapter 30

“Oh, is that right,” Johnny said, looking up at his wife with a grin.  “Now what exactly did you think that her intention would be?”

“I think I am still trying to figure out why Robbie showed up?” Frannie asked.

“Well,” Baby said, looking at her daughter, “that’s an easy one.  Robbie was jealous of Johnny’s fame and fortune.  He did lose his license to practice medicine.   First it was a suspension for having sex with a patient’s wife then it was revoked for practicing on a patient while he was high on drugs.” 

“How did they know that?” Frannie asked. 

“He passed out during an operation.  When they did a blood test, they found out he was high on cocaine most of the time.”

“Not only that,” Johnny said, “but he drank as well, remember?  They found traces of alcohol in his system.  Not only that but his secretary swears that he used to come in drunk half the time from his lunch hour.”

“How long ago was this?” Frannie asked.

Johnny looked at Baby.  “Back in the early nineties is when he lost his license.  But he’s been flirting with danger ever since he interned at some major hospital in Connecticut.”

“What are you talking about?” Frannie asked.  “What did he do? The diary says that he fooled around with some nurses.”

Baby nodded.  “That’s exactly what he was doing, among other things.  They hadn’t caught him stealing drugs from the hospital yet.”

Johnny stood up from the chair and turned to Frannie who hadn’t said a word. 

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Baby said, looking at Frannie and Johnny.

“Which is?” Johnny said.

“What was her original intention? And why didn’t I hear anything?”

Johnny smiled.  “Remember where you are, Baby,” he said, “Your office is in the former dancer’s quarters of Kellerman’s.  You had no idea what went on in the main building. It’s no different now.“

He looked at her, but didn’t answer right away. 

Chapter 31

“I am not sure exactly what Camille wanted, Baby,” Johnny said.  “I can only assume that the two showed up here to cause trouble. What kind of trouble I really couldn’t say.  Robbie was too drunk for anything to happen.”

“Daddy’s right, Mom,” Frannie said, “Robbie just fell down and stayed on the ground.  He hadn’t moved a muscle from the time he fell until the time the security people picked him up.”

Baby giggled in spite of herself.  “Somehow I always knew that Robbie Gould would turn out to be a creep.”  She looked at Johnny.  “I’ll never forget when the two of you were fighting. You threw him down on the ground and told him that he wasn’t worth it.”

“And,” Johnny smiled, “I said the same thing to him again.  I don’t know if he heard me or not.”

They all laughed. 

“What about Camille?” Baby asked. 

“Camille was escorted out of the ballroom by security guards.  I don’t exactly know what they did with her.”

“Well, let’s hope they have her under control,” Baby said, looking at Frannie.  “You said that Pay Per View crew has just arrived.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Frannie said, looking at her mother.  “They came a day early.  And their security is tighter than a drum.”

“Which means,” Johnny said, “you think that the Robbie and Camille matter has been taken care of.”

Frannie nodded her head and smiled. She turned back to her mother.

“Do you have any more patients, Mom, because you and Pop are going to show me how you did that last dance of the night.”

Baby smiled and looked at Johnny.  “What have you been filling her head with?”

Johnny smiled walking over to put his arms around his wife.  “Just the truth.”  He laughed.  “You ready?”

“Wait, just a minute,” Frannie said, looking at her watch.  “Has anyone seen my husband? Chrissy sent for him hours ago.”

“Right here,” Kevin Bowman answered.  Frannie squealed with delight.  She threw her arms around him, laughing. They embraced then let each other go. 

“Feels like you’ve been gone forever,” he whispered in her ear.

Frannie laughed.  “Me, what about you? The big shot whose been directing and choreographing my father’s two musical revivals on Broadway?  I don’t know when you’re coming or going anymore, Kev.”

He smiled and his bright blue eyes twinkled. He was two years younger than Frannie, but none of that bothered either of them.  They were too much in love.  He looked just like his mother, Penny Johnson Bowman and was the most beautiful guy in the whole world.

At least the way that’s how Frannie thought of him.

Baby and Johnny looked on in approval until Michelle; one of the leading dancers in the show came bursting into the room.

“There’s smoke coming from the back of the ballroom,” she said, her eyes bright with fear.  “I thought you should know.”

Chapter 32

It took the Catskill Mountains Fire Department most of the night to put the fire out. Thankfully, the ballroom didn’t burn to the ground as Frannie had first thought.  They had saved most of it, but not enough to host the upcoming reunion. 

The fire had begun in the kitchen, but it was determined that it had been deliberately set.  The clues had come from the small Coach handbag with the initials CPM burned into it.  The investigators had discovered a cigarette lighter hanging out of the bag and an empty gasoline can, which was left carelessly on the floor.  The fingerprints matched the handbag, the cigarette lighter and the gasoline can.  They didn’t have to go very far before they found their culprit, Camille Peterson Manning. She was in the men’s room trying to revive Robbie Gould who had remained passed out.  The two of them were arrested and taken into custody as suspects. 

Meanwhile, Frannie, Penny and Phil needed another place to hold this reunion.  Almost everyone had arrived and still more were expected to show up. 

“You can’t just cancel the whole show,” Frannie said, pacing back and forth.  “I have never worked so hard for anything in my life.  I won’t quit now.  This is everything I’ve ever dreamed about.”

“Half of the ballroom is ruined,” Penny said, watching Frannie’s eyes. “The ceiling is falling down. The walls are black; the curtains on stage are burnt to a crisp.  There is not enough room for the guests let alone the dancers.”

“Well,” another voice piped up.  “We can’t cancel.  It’s too late and people are arriving by the minute.” 

“Where do you propose we hold this little reunion?” Phil asked, looking at Frannie and Penny, and then he looked up and focused on the new arrival. 

“There’s the stage in the rehearsal studio where we used to do our dirty dancing after hours, remember?” Johnny said, looking at Penny.  He walked toward her.  “We could set up in there.”

“Do you really think that it’s big enough?”

Johnny smiled.  “It fit all those dancers didn’t it?”  He laughed.  “Penny, it just needs a quick fixing job.  If we start now, we will finish by late morning.”

Chapter 33

Johnny had been right.  The studio was just a bit larger than the ballroom was, at least according to the specs that he found, but that wasn’t the problem.  It was on the other side of the main house of Kellerman’s where the ballroom was located.

Jonny Castle, Baby and Johnny’s son, was a computer whiz.  Jonny had invented one of the most popular computer games in the country and was now negotiating with several companies for the rights. He was working on another one, which was already picked up by a prestigious computer firm. This was his hobby, as he called it.  

  

Jonny had become involved in dance only because his father and sister were in the business.  He helped out on Frannie’s shows, designing sets, costumes, and signs for the productions. 

He didn’t really have a steady job.  His girlfriend, Ashley, did however.  She was a model turned actress and was working right now on one of the soaps filmed in the city.

Jonny always brought his Mac I-Book wherever he went and this time was no exception.  Within a few hours, signs had been posted about the reunion change.

Johnny had been wrong.  It hadn’t taken a few hours; it only took forty-five minutes to clean everything up.  The only changes that were needed were new curtains and Penny found extras in the supply closet.  A lot of it had been cleaned up during the renovations to the hotel.

A short run-through was needed as chairs and tables were set up in the studio.  The only problem, of course, was who would dance the last dance that was left vacant by Lynn and Danny.  Johnny told Frannie that he and Baby would do it, but she hadn’t seen them even attempt it at all.

She was starting to wonder if he was pulling her leg.

Frannie had expected them to show up at the rehearsal studio, but the two hadn’t made it. 

She understood that the invited guests, which consisted of family and close friends, would be entering that evening, about five o’clock.

After a cocktail and small get together at six, the show would begin promptly at seven thirty.  It was a two-hour show and Frannie wasn’t sure how everyone would react to it.  

Frannie thought that they had begun greeting their respective families and old friends, but she wasn’t sure.  With Chrissy and Penny watching the last minute run through, she walked outside to search for them.

She didn’t have far to go.

Chapter 34

“Mommy?” Frannie asked, a little puzzled,  “Daddy?” 

The two of them were in a small lake out in back of the studio.  Baby and Johnny had forgotten about it when they first practiced the lift in the 60’s.  The dancers used that lake sometimes to practice different moves.  The lift was one of them.  Baby was high up in the air, being held by Johnny’s arms.  He was waste deep in the water.  They both looked toward Frannie when they heard her voice.  Johnny faltered a little and Baby made a shallow dive into the lake. 

“I am sorry, Mom, Pop,” Frannie said, trying not to smile, “but you still look wonderful together.  How could I ever have doubted the two of you.”

“I am a man of my word, Frannie,” Johnny said, turning away from her and looked back at Baby.  “Come on,” was all he said.”

Frannie watched as her mother jumped into her father’s arms.  This time it was done flawlessly. 

Frannie grinned from ear to ear.  She held out her hands and began to applaud. Again, it sent Baby into a shallow dive and the three of them burst out with laughter.

~~~~~~~~~

With the cocktail party over, the studio was filling up quickly now.  Lisa and her husband, Harold had arrived with Jake Houseman.  All of the old “dirty dancers” from Kellerman’s in 1963 began to trickle in, Baby, Johnny and Penny receiving and greeting each one. 

Baby embraced Johnny’s younger sister, Victoria, then her husband, Michael. 

Each of the guests could pick where they wanted to sit, there was no arranged seating.  

Baby told Frannie that she was expecting anywhere between forty to sixty people, she wasn’t sure if they were all coming.

The Pay Per View people had already began to set up the cameras and the lights. Miraculously, none of the equipment had been damaged from water or fire. 

Neil Kellerman walked onstage and held up his hands for silence.  It took a few minutes until everyone was seated and had settled down.

“On behalf of the everyone at Kellerman’s, we would like to welcome you all to the official opening of the new Kellerman’s Mountain Lodge.” Neil waited for the applause to die down before he spoke again.

“We have another important date to consider, one that I am sure means quite a lot to everyone in the audience tonight, especially Francine Castle Bowman, our special guest.  She is the daughter of Frances “Baby” Houseman and Johnny Castle whose twenty-fifth wedding anniversary we celebrate tonight.”

There were more cheers and applause.

Neil held his hands up again.  “So now, without further adieu, let me introduce to you the director of tonight’s show, Francine Castle Bowman.”

Chapter 35

Frannie looked around the room at all the faces.  Some faces she knew; some she did not.  She swallowed hard and smiled, not feeling the least bit nervous.

“Thank you all for this wonderful turnout.  We have gathered here in this makeshift ballroom tonight to honor my parent’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.”  Amid clapping and whistling, she gestured toward the first table where Baby and Johnny were sitting.  Frannie smiled and raised her hands in an effort to have them stand.  When they did, the clapping only got louder. 

“And some said that it would never last,” Frannie smiled, still clapping tears in her eyes.

“But,” she said loudly and waited for all the clapping to stop, “but they have made it to this day and they still adore each other and delight in each other’s company.”

“The show that you are about to see is based on the movie, “Dirty Dancing” inspired by my mother’s book of the same name.  It takes place at a small mountain lodge in the Catskills named Kellerman’s.”

The clapping began again, only briefly this time. Frannie held her hands up for silence. 

“For this particular show, ballet will tell the story, modern dance will be used for dancing sequences.  My husband and I have worked long hours to bring this show to you and Pay-Per-View, by popular demand, has agreed to film this and bring it to the public.  So as you sit here and watch, so do millions of other viewers who watch this performance live.  My husband and I have put in long, hard hours, but believe me, this has been a labor of love.  My parents mean everything to me and this is a tribute to their loving-kindness and caring.”

She looked around the room, tears glistening in her eyes and on her cheeks. 

“And as they say on Broadway, lets go on with the show.”

The entire room turned pitch black as all the lights had been turned off.  Suddenly, a female voice emanated from the loudspeaker.  It was Baby’s voice from the film, played by Jennifer Gray.

“That was the summer of 1963, when everybody called me Baby and it didn’t occur to me to mind.  That was before President Kennedy was shot, before the Beatles, when I couldn’t wait to join the Peace Corps and I thought I’d never find a guy as great as my dad.  That was the summer we went to Kellerman’s.”

The curtains parted and the lights came up.  The show was just beginning.

  

 Chapter 36

They are doing a splendid job, Frannie thought as she smiled from ear to ear.  She sat back and watched all of the hard work that she and Kevin put into this.  The performances on a whole were flawless and worked perfectly.  Not a single mistake had been made, well, nothing serious anyway until she saw Johnny and Baby getting up from their table right before the mambo scene.

She tried to follow them, but the dancers started to crowd around her and ask questions about the scenes that she thought had been filled. She was starting to wonder again if Johnny made any more changes to the dancing without telling her. 

Frannie returned backstage to watch the show and noticed that the mambo scene at the Sheldrake was the same as always.  She had used her two top dancers, Michelle and Zach and was very happy that they were still in it.  But her parents were up to something and she took a guess at what it might be. 

She would find out in a half an hour.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well,” Johnny asked Baby, “how does it look?”  He was showing off the new 50’s hairpiece he had found. 

“You look just like you did back in ’63, Johnny,” Baby said, smiling. “You still look good for your age.”

Johnny smiled at that. “And you my love, looked extremely pretty in that lovely dress.  You haven’t changed at all.”

The excitement had pumped them up and the two of them were ready for anything that came their way.

“Come,” Johnny said, taking Baby’s hand and putting it through his arm.  “Let’s get out there and show them that we still have it in us.”        

And they walked out arm in arm to take their places at the tables, awaiting their big scene.

Chapter 37

“I don’t believe this, Billy,” Johnny said to his cousin backstage.  “This jacket still fits.  Glad you saved it.”

Billy looked at Johnny and smiled.  “You look twenty years younger, Johnny.”

Johnny looked back at him.  “I know, Billy, I just better dance that way.”  He looked out into the audience to check if Baby was sitting where she was supposed to be sitting and she was.  He smiled.  “Billy, I hope my daughter doesn’t get too angry for changing around the show a little.” He checked his look again and smiled.  “Well, here goes.”

Billy hi-fived him.  “Break a leg, Johnny,” he said.

~~~~~~

Frannie watched as the older dancers got up from the separate tables.  She saw them go to the back of the room as they had done in the movie and frowned.  This wasn’t supposed to happen, she thought, as her cast came to the back of the room to join the older dancers. 

Then she smiled as she realized that Johnny must have had a hand in this change.  He was still a dancer and choreographer as well and a good one at that. 

She had noticed that her mother was sitting at the Houseman’s table in the corner, a little larger this time than the one in the movie.  Her father was on her left and her sister was her right.  Frannie shook her head.  This was not in the show.

But then Frannie shook her head and smiled.  She was beginning to look forward to it.  Johnny knew what pleased everyone; after all, he had three hit shows on Broadway.  She waited backstage to see what surprises Johnny had come up with. 

~~~~~~~
   

Johnny stepped into the ballroom doorway.  The dancers, old and new had greeted him with cheers and calls.

Then he turned toward the Houseman’s table.  He walked forward on his way to where Baby was sitting. 

Frannie watched in amazement.

“Nobody put Baby in a corner, she doesn’t belong there,” Johnny said to Jake Houseman and held out his hand. Baby turned her head toward him. Smiling, she took his hand and stood up.  Jake stood up too, but the two kept walking until Lisa put her hand out to stop him.

“You said the original line,” Baby whispered as Johnny laughed.  “Had to, Baby, you knew I couldn’t resist.  I always liked to stir up some kind of trouble.”

Baby smiled at him.  “That’s what I always loved about you, Johnny Castle.  I had never met anyone quite like you.”

Johnny led her up on stage and kissed her on the nose.  “That goes double for me,” he whispered in her ear.  Then he turned to the audience.

Frannie smiled.  She couldn’t wait for it.

“Sorry about the disruption, folks, but I always do the last dance of the season, but this year someone told me not to.  So I’m going to do my kind of dancing with a great partner; someone who’s not only a terrific dancer, but somebody who’s taught me that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them.  Somebody whose taught me” and here he looked over at Baby, “about the kind of person I want to be, Miss Frances Houseman.”

Then Johnny kissed her nose again and walked off stage.

Frannie nodded her head.  She had recited the entire speech with him.  She couldn’t wait to see what was coming next. 

Chapter 38

Frannie watched as her father walked out from backstage and crooked his index finger at Baby with a smile, all the while walking toward her.  She watched as her parents executed a flawless version of the last dance at Kellerman’s Mountain Lodge in 1963. The oooh’s and ahhh’s never failed to appear every time this scene was shown. This was the first time, however, that she experienced this particular scene in person. 

And she was enjoying it until Johnny left Baby and jumped off the stage.  It was a shorter stage, lower to the ground than the original ballroom stage, but she still couldn’t help herself.

“Pop,” she cried, standing up.

Johnny glanced her way once and when he did, she could see a huge bright smile on his face.  He loved this.

He turned to Baby as if he were seeking her approval.  He waited until she smiled and answered his silence by nodding her head.  He turned and looked for his eldest daughter, motioning for her to come join him.  She shook her head no, but Johnny wasn’t taking that for an answer.  Baby, meanwhile, had gotten her out on stage.  Johnny reached up for her, took her into his arms and brought her down to the floor. 

“There you go,” he said, putting her down.  Frannie looked at him a little concerned. 

“Go on,” he said, waving her away, “you know just what to do.”

She nodded and moved to the back of the room to join the other dancers.  Johnny had combined the old and new dancers together to form the dances troupe of his dreams.

  

Johnny got everyone going, exactly as he done thirty-six years ago, doing that Cuban rhythm soul dance that they had worked hard on all summer, the one Neil had told him not to do. He led them down the aisle and each of them had executed the dance steps with precision and grace.  Johnny now stopped in the middle of the aisle while the dancers parted around him, heading for the stage.  That’s where they stopped.

Johnny moved forward a bit and looked at Baby with a silent question. He seemed to be asking, “Are you ready?” and Baby nodded enthusiastically. 

That’s when Johnny brought his arms above his head.  Baby stepped back onto the stage and ran forward, taking a flying leap across the room, arms and legs outstretched, heading straight for those two hands reaching toward the ceiling.

Everyone held their breath, including Frannie.

Her mother made a perfect landing, right into those hands. Johnny held her up and Baby balanced perfectly.  He held her for a second or two before releasing her and pulling her into his arms.  They both laughed and hugged each other, a job well done.   They had a moment alone before all the dancers crowded around, congratulating them.

Frannie sighed with relief as the rest of the dancers crowded around them.  She was just as happy the last scene in the show was over.  The dance and the lift came off perfectly.  She couldn’t do a better job as if she had done it herself.

Frannie was about to walk away when she heard her father call her name.  She looked over and the sea of people had parted. Johnny and Baby held their outstretched hands toward her and she ran into them, feeling as if she were a little girl again.

Epilogue

Frannie looked around at the empty stage. She couldn’t believe the show that she had worked on all year was finally over.  Pay Per View was gone, having wrapped up their equipment earlier that morning. 

She looked around and picked up her bags.  She, Kevin and Cody were leaving on the next train back to New York City, where another job awaited her, that of a housewife and mother.   She hadn’t taken the Hollywood job, it wasn’t meant to be.  She would help Kevin for a while and mind Cody.  She needed a break and here was her perfect opportunity. She’ll get something else. Her father had been right all along.

“Frannie?” She looked up, and saw him, his eyes sparkling and grinning from ear to ear.  Speak of the devil.  

“You were wonderful out there, my little girl,” Johnny said, taking her in his arms and squeezed her tight. 

“So were you and Mom,” Frannie whispered, releasing him.  “ The two of you were sensational.”

Johnny grinned. “I have never felt better, Frannie.“

“And you looked the part,” Frannie agreed, smiling.

“So the three of you are going back to New York?”  Johnny asked.

Frannie nodded her head.  “Of course, Daddy. You know I quit the California job.  I’ll be helping Kevin for a while until I can find something on my own.”

“And you will, Frannie,” Johnny whispered, “believe me, you will.  Don’t rush it.”

Frannie smiled and nodded her head.

“When are you coming back?”

Johnny shook his head.  “I don’t know, Frannie.  We still have some renovating to finish, and we have to build a new ballroom.  We’ll be there for Thanksgiving and Christmas, count on it.”

They both smiled and hugged each other.  .      

Kevin walked out holding little Cody’s hand.  “Goodbye, Johnny,” he said holding his arm out in the gesture of a handshake.  “See you soon,” he picked Cody up turned around to go.

 

“Leaving so fast?” another voice called.  Baby walked out of the shadows and reached for her.

They hugged each other until they couldn’t anymore.

“I love you, Frannie,” Baby whispered.  “You know this.  You will be living in our building. Don’t be a stranger.”  She hugged Kevin next, then Cody.

“I won’t, Mommy,” she said, “don’t you worry.”

She turned around to leave when she remembered something. She turned toward her parents again.

“Don’t forget my car,” she called out and the two of them nodded and waved.  It was actually their car that she had brought up, not hers.  But they always returned it to her.

And the three of them parted.  It had been a wonderful reunion, Frannie wrote in her diary. She heard a scream, followed by laughter.  When she looked up, she noticed Kevin and Cody playing in the seat opposite her.  Then she turned to look out the train window.  It had been a wonderful reunion, one she would not forget anytime soon.