Cinderfella
Fairy Tales with a Twist
"Justin, come sit down with me. I have something to tell you," Jennifer said,
indicating the chair by the fire. "Justin, I have been alone too long. I
am getting married again."
"I didn't know you were seeing anyone. Who is he? Do I know him?"
"His name is Craig. I think you'll like him. He has two sons who are going
to live with us, too. They're close to your age and you should get along
well."
Justin couldn't wait to meet his mother's boyfriend. Although he'd been happy,
he had also been quite lonely. It would feel good to have some brothers to
share things with a father around. He hardly remembered his own.
The wedding took place one month later. Everyone was very happy. Craig had
said how much he was going to enjoy having another son.
But things aren't always like they seem, Justin soon found out.
Shortly after the wedding, Jennifer was called away to her mother's to help
her after she broke her hip and gave Craig full powers over the running of
the house. Justin tried telling her what was going on, but she was so worried
and preoccupied with her mother that she didn't really listen to him. "It'll
be fine, Dear," she said over and over again.
Ted, Craig's oldest son, was allowed to sleep late and surf the net as much
as he wanted, usually spending his days searching for new and better porn
sites.
Michael, the younger son, was whiney and demanded that everything be done
his way and for him. He got whatever he wanted, Justin thought, just to make
him shut up for a few minutes.
And Justin? Well, Justin was left to do the housework
and cooking. He was up early to get a head start on his chores, and by the
end of the day, he was so dirty and sweaty that Ted and Michael started calling
him Cinderfella.
One day the newspaper printed a story about a big party that was going to
be held at
hairstylist there. Michael found just the right thing at
Wal-mart, with a clip on bow tie to match. Craig
was so proud of his boys that he planned on going to the party with them,
to make sure they met all the "right" people.
Justin was deciding what to wear when Michael came into his tiny room in
the basement to see why Justin hadn't made any dessert with supper.
"You're not going to the party, what do you think you're doing?
Daaaaadyyy, Justin
thinks he's going to the party. Tell him `No',
pleeeeease."
Ted heard the commotion and joined his brother. "Dad, Justin has to stay
home and wash my clothes. There's still some pink in my boxers from that
red sock of mine that he "accidentally" washed with them. I still don't believe
it WAS an accident."
"Justin," Craig said sternly. "You can't go to this party. There's too much
left here to do. Maybe we'll be able to bring you a piece of cake. But you
have stuff to finish here." With that, the mean stepfather and two
stepbrothers left the house, heading for the bright lights of
Justin moved slowly around the kitchen, drying dishes and putting them away.
When he was done he sat down with his pencil and sketch pad and started to
draw. He was so engrossed in what he was doing that, at first, he failed
to notice the soft tapping on the back door. When he finally answered it,
he was surprised to see a tall man, dressed in a purple sequined shirt standing
there.
"Hey, Sweetie. Aren't you going to let your Auntie
Em in? You know me. I'm your Fairy...Godfather. Fairy
Godfather. That's me. You can call me FG for short, though." Justin
stood back, unable to speak, as he watched Auntie Em glide past him. "Now,
Sweetie, why aren't you at that party? It says here in my planner that you
are on the guest list."
"I, uhhh...I'm not sure...."
"Hmmm. Okay. Let's get you ready." Em walked around the young man, thoughtfully
appraising the beautiful body. "Let's see, I think...yes. It would be perfect."
A second later, Justin was clad in tight leather pants and a silvery-blue
shirt, the color of his eyes.
"Definitely fabulous."
Justin looked at himself in the shiny chrome of the refrigerator, pleased
with what he saw. "Thank you, FG. These are great," Justin said happily.
"But, I can't go barefoot and I don't have any shoes to go with this. I don't
think my Nike's are quite right."
"Right, shoes." Justin watched FG ponder some more,
then found himself wearing a pair of blue glitter loafers.
"Uh, FG, are you sure?"
"Yes, Honey," Auntie Em said, with his arms flung wide. "Exquisite, if I
do say so myself. You'll be the belle of the ball, so to speak. You'll
see."
Justin shrugged, but decided to go along with his Fairy Godfather. "Well,
guess I'm off."
"Oh, my partner is out front with your limo. But remember, you have to leave
the party by
The next second Justin was in his driveway, staring at a metallic blue limo,
with a petite young girl holding the door open for him. "Justin, this is
Daphne. She will be your chauffeur for tonight. Now remember, she will be
outside
"I will," Justin said as he got into the back seat. "Thank you so much. Will
I see you again?"
"Of course you will, Honey. Any time you want. I'll be here." As the car
pulled out of the driveway, Em took a lavender hankie from his pocket and
dabbed a tear from the corner of his eye.
Within minutes, Daphne pulled up in front of
"No," she said. "I just got this job. It's been nice meeting you, though."
Justin smiled and nodded. "Maybe we'll see each other again."
He could hear the music as he entered the large building. There were men
everywhere, dancing, talking, drinking and who knows what else. But no matter
what else they seemed to be doing, they were
all paying particular attention to one man, who leaned against the bar, looking
totally bored. He was tall and lean, also dressed in black leather
pants that left nothing to the imagination. He had a shiny silk shirt on,
also black. He was facing away from Justin, but
asJustin continued to stare, the stranger turned
slowly and met his eyes. Everyone stopped as the dark haired man pushed himself
away from the bar and walked purposefully to the new arrival.
"Hi. You're late. Had a busy night?"
"Just...my ahh Fa...I
had some company."
"Let's dance. I'm going to call you Sunshine. My very own
Sunshine." With that, Brian pulled Justin into his arms and danced
away into the middle of the startled crowd. They danced together for hours.
No matter who tried to cut in, they were rejected, until finally, no one
tried.
Ted, Michael and Craig watched the blond monopolize the guest of honor's
time. "Who is that little Twink, anyway?" Michael whined to his brother and
father.
"He looks like someone I should know," Ted pouted.
"I told you both to make yourself available to him, but no. Now he seems
to be interested in that kid. You lost your chance."
Justin and the handsome man danced for hours, oblivious to the rest of the
jealous crowd. Hours later, but seeming only a few minutes to the two men,
a catchy little tune by the Drifters started to play. When Justin heard the
phrase `save the last dance for me', he remembered his promise to Auntie
Em.
"What time is it?" he asked with a look of panic on his face.
"11:58. Why?" But the blond didn't answer. Instead
he pulled out of
his partner's arms and
fled across the dance floor. As he got to the door he tripped on an unseen
foot and stumbled. He quickly caught himself, and didn't realize he
had lost his right shoe in the process. The blue limo was
waiting as expected and Justin jumped in as the car sped off
toward home.
The tall man tried to follow the mysterious blond, but lost him at the door.
A sparkle caught his eye as he turned to go back in, and when he looked down,
he saw the blue glitter loafer so recently left behind.
"I must find him. Let me see if anyone knows who he is." Brian asked among
the crowd, but no one admitted to knowing who it was. With a deep sigh, Brian
left the party, vowing to find the owner if it took to his dying day.
Meanwhile, Justin arrived home just as the limo and his fancy clothes
disappeared, but he didn't care. His thoughts were only of the beautiful
stranger whom he danced with all night. He was starting to doze when he heard
the front door opening and his step father and step brothers entering the
house. They seemed to be arguing about something. He heard bits and pieces
of the loud conversation and smiled to himself when he realized they were
arguing over him and his
dance partner.
Justin felt a sense of calm and love wash over him. He had never met anyone
like him before. He knew he was in love halfway through the first dance.
It couldn't be anything else. "Why didn't I get his name?" he berated himself.
He figured he would probably never see him again, so what did it matter anyhow?
It was just one wondrous night in his entire life.
The next morning Ted and Michael were still grousing about the blond stranger.
"It's no fair," Michael whined. "We are just as good looking as he was."
"And we danced just as well," Ted added.
When they saw Justin, they put on their happy faces and started talking about
how wonderful the dance was, how good the food and wine were, and how
handsome the guest of honor was, They even added that they each had
danced several times with him during the evening. Justin feigned interest
and added "wow's" and "good for you's" whenever
he felt necessary.
Back at Brian's mansion, Brian was on the phone trying to find out if any
one knew who the young stranger was, but again, no one claimed knowledge
of him. Brian's Uncle Victor saw how disheartened his favorite nephew was
and suggested he try and track down the unusual shoe. But that came to a
dead end, too.
"I'll find him if I have to go house to house," Brian vowed, sitting down
next to his friend Lindsay.
"Brian, my friend, I know many of the families there. Perhaps I can go with
you, and we'll start with those."
Feeling it was his last hope, the two friends got into the
`vette and started the search. Six hours later,
and no closer to the solution, Lindsay suggested stopping and picking up
the next morning.
"No," Brian said. "Just one more. Please, Linds?"
Lindsay was never able to turn Brian down when he batted his hazel eyes in
her direction, so off they went to visit one more household. They pulled
up in front of a modest house in the suburbs and walked up the driveway to
the front door.
"Justin, answer the door," Michael yelled to Justin from the living room.
Justin had been cleaning the oven and his face and arms were covered in old
grease. A blue bandana covered his golden hair. He sighed as he walked past
Michael and Ted lounging on the sofa in front of the TV.
When he opened the door and saw the handsome hazel-eyed man from the night
before, he was speechless. The man was holding up a blue glitter loafer,
asking if he had ever seen it before. Still too stunned to answer, he wasn't
even aware that Michael had pushed him aside when he heard the familiar voice.
"Justin, Stupid, let them in, now." Justin opened the screen and held the
door as the man and a woman entered.
Brian explained what he wanted and Michael and Ted figured one
of
them would fit the shoe.
Michael was first. He sat on the sofa as Brian kneeled before him and tried
to place the shoe on his foot. No amount of pushing could get the delicate
shoe on Michael's wide foot. Michael mumbled some four letter words under
his breath as he watched his brother. But Ted's foot was way too long. Brian
was about to give up when Justin came back into the room. The bandana was
gone and his blond hair glistened in the sunlight. All the grease had been
cleaned from his face and arms.
Brian knew it was him. "Come try the shoe on," he said, motioning to the
sofa.
"I...I...don't know." But he sat anyway.
The blue glitter loafer slipped easily on the pale foot, like it had been
made especially for him.
"Sunshine. I've found you at last," Brian murmured,
trying to keep his emotions intact. Their eyes met and for a few minutes
they were the only ones in the room.
"It's not fair. He didn't even go to the party. How come the slipper fits
him? Daaaady, it's not fair."
"I did go to the party, Michael, and I dance all evening with...with..."
"Brian, Sunshine. It's Brian."
"My name's Justin."
"Come with me, now. There's nothing here you need. I can buy you anything
you want."
"Wait. There is something I need." Justin ran down to the basement and was
back in just two minutes. He carried the sketchbook he had been using just
before his FG arrived. In it were sketches of the man standing before him.
Brian kissed Justin softly on the lips, put an arm around his shoulders and
together they left the house.