Kady and her stepmother

 When Bassy brought his new wife home from his rendezvous in Sunlit Tides, he neglected to tell her that he had a teenage daughter - a teenage daughter from his relationship with one of her singing rivals, Madison Avenue.

When the two finally met, they had difficulty seeing eye-to-eye.  Cherise complained that Kaydence was 'always reading' or doing some homework on her electronic device (which was a gift from me, by the way, she uses hers more than my kids use theirs)

 Kaydence complained that Cherise hardly even spoke to her.

Now, Kady and the butler her dad had hired, Tasha Sorenson, had become quite close in the brief time Tasha had been working for the family. Tasha had become a confidant to her, especially late at night when she would be unable to sleep.  In fact, Tasha was the first person she'd confided in her desire to write.

The next morning, the morning after the couple had returned from the honeymoon, Kady, at Tasha's suggestion, heard stirring upstairs, so she went up to see who was awake. 

 "While Dad was knocked out sleeping," I said,

 "I saw my stepmother staring out of the window."

 "Good morning.  Did you rest well?" I asked her, attempting to make conversation. 

 "To my surprise, I saw a smile crease her usually serious face.  'I guess you could say that I did,' she answered me. 

 "I could tell she was still a little tired so rather than press my luck further I let her go back to sleep." 

 

 Apparently Kaydence wasn't the only person who had been confiding in Tasha the butler.  Cherise had been complaining about her to Tasha as well.

So Tasha, the butler and impartial observer, played mediator in this impasse between stepmother and stepdaughter.  She suggested they go do something fun together, get to know each other a little bit.

 They did as Tasha had suggested, went out to see a movie.  They got so engrossed in the movie that time basically flew.

 Even made silly faces at each other afterwards.  The movie they had seen was a screwball comedy, after all.

 A few days later, they did something much more to Kaydence's liking - entered a hot dog eating contest.  She is Bassy's daughter, after all, and she likes food.

  

 They entered alongside two people neither of them knew.  But as they proceeded to stuff their faces, it was clear that Cherise wasn't used to scarfing down that much food.

 Even poor Kady had to take a break....

 ...before returning to her plate.  By then, though, the woman next to her had already won the contest.

 Poor Cherise, though, couldn't take anymore, and her hot dogs ended up behind some flowers on the ground in the park. 

Prom Night

A while ago, I told you guys that Kady's friend, Terry, finally got up the courage to ask her to the prom.

And would you believe she said YES!

On the weekend she said yes to Terry taking her to the prom, she was over at Bassy's visiting her dad, stepmom, and her baby brother.  And she couldn't resist taking in a little of Halls of History.  That's her idea of a guilty pleasure.

A few moments later, she said, my brother walked in and interrupted her, asking her about her fave TV shows.

He talked about sports...

...while she talked about movies...

...and, proving she's every inch his kid, revealed she likes watching cooking shows, too.

A few hours later, after she'd changed into her prom dress, Bassy had told her that she looked like her mother.  Which she does.

She stepped outside, waiting for the limousine to arrive.  Her dress is in her favorite color.

It was a dreary evening in Sunset Valley as the limo arrived.

Terry and Kaydence sat in silence as they pulled away from Bassy's rental home.

They dodged light misty raindrops as they entered the school building.  Kady says Terry grabbed her hand and held it.

Kaydence walked in several hours later.  Her expression as she'd walked in said it all.  She'd had the time of her life.

She was greeted, she said, by her stepmother.  "Did you have fun, dear?" Cherise had asked.

Kaydence decided to tell her all about it.  She'd told me she'd had rather have had her real mom there at that moment, but since Cherise was there, she told her instead.

Aww, such a cute couple.

On top of everything else, she even won prom queen.

Secondary guardian

Nearly seven years ago, when Sebastian and Madison finally split, I went to court in Hidden Springs and helped him get custody of his daughter, Kaydence. 
Back then, the judge did something that was highly unusual in these types of cases.  When he awarded custody to my brother, he also made me a 'secondary guardian.' 

Of course, since he was living in Starlight Shores and I was in Hidden Springs and Moonlight Falls at the time, I wasn't able to really keep in tabs with the situation.
But apparently, when the judge made the unusual step of assigning a secondary guardian, he had access to information that I didn't, he knew things about the case that I didn't.
Knowing what I know now about the situation through the court papers and from Kaydence herself, not only was the assignment of the secondary guardian prudent, but necessary.  

And so, after Kaydence ran away following an argument with Sebastian and was found three days later in the cemetery next to my dad's grave, I used my powers as secondary guardian to get custody of her.  It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do... but damn it, one of the most satisfying, too.
This girl went through six years of hell with Madison, then six more years with Sebastian.
Her hell is over.   For good.

In a way, this was seven years in the making. 
I never talked about this, but the very night before we even went to court, there was a formal dinner party at Sebastian's rental house in Hidden Springs.  I was reading over the publisher's draft of my book at the time (Alys in Wonderland) and I looked out of the corner of my eye and there was a little girl beside me, reading a thick book.
It was Kaydence.
Keep in mind, I'd only talked to her once before, that day before, when I'd actually seen her in person for the very first time. 
When I saw this tiny little girl, blocking everything out with her nose in a book, I couldn't do anything but laugh to myself.  We were communicating without saying a word.  There was already an instant connection.

Not a lot's changed, actually... except instead of books, we're reading on tablets.   Madison used to straighten Kaydence's hair, but Kaydence stopped straightening it and prefers to wear it long and curly. 

Ever since I got custody she's been much happier.  She's even got a boyfriend - well, sort of, but so far she's managed to keep the fella at arm's length.  I don't know how much longer she can, though.  He seems rather persistent. 

Sit-down chat

The other night, I had my first real sit-down, face-to-face chat with my one and only baby brother since he left town to start work on his TV series.  He's back briefly, mostly because his wife Cherise gave birth to their son, Jazz Lyric.

Bassy still hasn't quite relented on my parental rights demand.  But it still stands, despite the birth of Jazz. 
"I told you you'd love her, Vanna," Bassy says with his disarming grin.  "Kady is just like you."
"She's not just like me, Bassy," I reminded him, "she's actually a lot more like you than you realize."

The one thing I cannot forgive Bassy for, is standing there and allowing Madison to abuse and neglect his daughter.  It's one thing for Madison to steamroll him, but she steamrolled his daughter, too, while he was standing and watching.

Bassy should have taken that little girl and ran, as fast as he could, far away from that evil woman.  Make the hell sure she never lays eyes on her again.

Last I heard, she wanted to join the criminal career.  Tells you something about her. 

I thought about telling him about Kady's alter ego character but decided against it; that she's basically created this utopia, this alternate universe, to give herself a childhood she never had.

 But I had to address his son.  Yes, that one.  The little terror he bestowed the name Jazz Lyric upon.  I will love him with everything I have, but something has to be done. 

He's terrorized the entire family, even Kaydence's bot. 

"What are you going to do to get your son under control?" I asked.
Bassy shrugged off my concerns.  "He's just high strung and will probably grow out of it."
As usual, he thinks everything is a joke.  But Jazz Lyric is not a joke. 

 

The only person who even seems to remotely be able to deal with him is Kaydence. 

 

 

There are signs, though, that Jazz Lyric may be living up to his name.  He appears to be musically inclined. 

 

 

Poor Cherise is going to end up in the mental ward before he turns teen. 

Give me a few days with him and I'll whip him into shape.