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From: "Ann Douglas" <ann_douglas@hotmail.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} AnnD"Yesterday Once More"FF(1/2)  
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 17:10:03 -0400
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	Yesterday Once More
	by Ann Douglas

Part One

	Dorothy Kerr turned her head as
her daughter, Cassie, walked into the
kitchen.  To her disappointment, the soon
to be high school graduate still wore the
same look of disappointment she had
carried around all week.
	"I was just making some tea,"  the
thirty-eight year old brunette said,  "just
the thing for a rainy afternoon.  Would you
like some?"
	"No thanks, Mom,"  Cassie said as
she sat down at the kitchen table.
	Taking her tea mug in hand, Dorothy
sat down opposite her daughter.  She had
been trying to come up with a way to cheer
her up for the last few days with no
success.  Deep in her heart she knew her
daughter's mood wasn't her fault, but she
still felt responsible.
	"Could I say I'm sorry one more
time,"  Dorothy said.
	"You don't have to, Mom,"  Cassie
replied,  "It was my fault, not yours."
	"Still, maybe I shouldn't have even
brought it up unless I was totally sure,"
the older woman said.
	"No, you told me to keep it to
myself and instead I told Janet,"  Cassie
went on.  "What was it that Dad used to
say, a secret stops being a secret when a
third person learns about it.  I should've
known that Janet couldn't keep her mouth
shut.

	It had all started two weeks ago
when the band hired by the graduating
class for the Prom had cancelled their
appearance.  Two of the members had
been injured in an automobile accident and
wouldn't be able to play for months.  The
cancellation had set off a mad scramble to
find a replacement group.  Not the easiest
thing to do with half the proms in the
county all being on the same night.  At
least if you wanted to get a half decent
act.
	It was then that Dorothy had come
up with a suggestion that she thought
might make her daughter's Prom truly
memorable.  Why not, she told her
daughter, try and get someone famous to
appear in their place.
	"Yeah, right,"  Cassie had laughed,
"That kind of thing only happens in the
movies."
	"You never know,"  her mother had
replied.
	"In the movies, it usually involves
someone's dying wish or someone knows
the star personally,"  the seventeen year
old said.  "I don't suppose you know any
major stars, do you?"
	"Well actually ..."  Dorothy started
to say but was cut off by her daughter.
	"And Johnny Brown and the
Dreamboats doesn't count,"  she said,
bringing up the name of her uncle's old
time rock band which had a state wide
following among the over forty crowd.
	"Actually,"  Dorothy said slowly as
she debated even mentioning it, "I was
thinking more of Kassandra.  You have
heard of her, right?"
	"Shut up,"  Cassie shot back,
"There's no way you know Kassandra."
	Kassandra was one of those mega
stars that were known the world over by
just her first name.  She had taken the
music world by storm fifteen years earlier
and was only eclipsed by the likes of
Madonna.  It was nearly impossible to get
tickets to one of her concerts, much less
think she would ever appear at a high
school show.
	Yes way,"  Dorothy smiled,  "But
when I knew her she still had two names.
Back when I was your age and the world
was still flat."
	"You really know her?"  Cassie
repeated.
	"Yes I do,"  Dorothy likewise
repeated.  "There was a time when she was
just a small town girl as well.  We went to
school together back in Fort Bradford."
	"You think you could actually get her
to come to the Prom?"  Cassie asked.
	"I can try and ask,"  Dorothy said.
"I's a long shot, but who knows."
	"That would be so awesome,"  Cassie
bubbled.
	"Remember, this is really a long
shot,"  Dorothy reminded her daughter,
"so let's not say a word about it until I can
try and make some calls."
	"Oh wow, I can't believe my Mom
actually knows Kassandra,"  Cassie was
saying to herself, only half hearing the
rest of what Dorothy had said.
	Of course a secret this good just
had to be shared with her best friend,
Janet.  Then of course Janet had to share
it with Connie, promising her to secrecy as
well.  A promise that Connie made sure to
likewise extract from Kathy, and on and on
it went.  By the end of the weekend, most
of the senior class had heard that
Kassandra was coming to the Prom.  All of
this before Dorothy had even been able to
call Kassandra's manager on Monday
morning.

	A call that was having very little
success.  Despite her being able to call on
an unlisted line and asking for Mary Glenn,
the pseudonym Kassandra traveled under,
the business manager who screened the
call refused to put her through to the
singer.  He said that he had never heard of
her before and he had been with the star
almost from the beginning.
	"It was a good try lady,"  he said
before hanging up the phone.

	"Pigheaded ass,"  Dorothy said as
she hung up the phone.
	As she had told Cassie, it was a real
long shot, but it really annoyed her to get
shot down before even getting the chance
to even ask her personally.  She would've
understood if Kassandra couldn't do it.
After all, a star of that magnitude had
commitments the world over.
	It would've been nice to do
something really special for Cassie,
Dorothy had thought.  They'd all had a
rough year with the death of her father
last August.  As much as Dorothy hurt, she
had buried it in order to be there in every
way she could for her daughter and she
hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed.
Thankfully no one else even knew she had
tried to get the singer.

	When Cassie had gone to school
that Monday, she'd been shocked to
discover that everyone knew about her
mother trying to get Kassandra for the
Prom.  She was then devastated the next
day when she had to practically announce
that it wasn't going to happen.  Despite
the fact that she hadn't personally told a
single soul other than Janet, a great many
people seemed to act as if she had
promised the whole class.  A few even took
the position that her mother had never
known the star to begin with, and she had
just spread the rumor to make herself
popular.

	"I hung your Prom dress in your
closet,"  Dorothy said as she got up from
the table and turned on the tap to rinse
out her glass.
	"You know, Mom, I've been
thinking,"  Cassie said from the table.
"Maybe I'll just skip the Prom.  It's not
like ...."
	"You hold it right there, young lady,"
Dorothy interrupted.  "I don't want to
hear any such silly thing.  Of course you're
going to the Prom, and you're going to have
a great time."
	"Yeah but,"  Cassie started to say
when she was interrupted by the front
door bell.  "I'll get it,"  she said, rising
from her chair.

	"Not go to the Prom,"  Dorothy said
to herself as she put the now clean cup
back in the cabinet.  "Just because a few
other kids have big mouths ..."
	Dorothy's train of thought was
abruptly shattered as twin sounds cut
through the air.  A sudden scream in her
daughter's voice, and then the sound of a
body hitting the floor.  A sound Dorothy
remembered all too clearly from the night
Jimmy had his heart attack.
	"Oh My God!"  Cassie had screamed,
causing her mother to race out of the
kitchen towards the front door.
	When she reached the foyer,
Dorothy saw her daughter stretched out
on the floor.  Bent down and leaning over
her was a woman wearing a dark blue cape
and hood.  The angle of the hood obscured
her face.
	"Cassie!"  Dorothy screamed, the
color draining from her face.
	"She's all right,"  the cloaked
woman said as Cassie let out a soft moan.
"I think she just fainted for a moment."
	"Fainted?"  Dorothy repeated as to
her relief, Cassie opened her eyes and
began to sit up.
	"Take it easy, honey,"  the new
arrival said,  "Give yourself a chance to
catch your breath."
	"Oh my God,"  Cassie said again as
she remembered why she had fainted.
"Mom, it's really her!"
	It was only then that the cloaked
woman pulled back her hood, giving
Dorothy her first good look at the blond
tressed face beneath.  A face that was
both strange and familiar.
	"Cassie?"  Dorothy asked in a
surprised voice.
	"Yes,"  both her daughter and the
woman in blue answered at the same time.
	"Your name is Cassie too?"  a
surprised Cassie asked the woman.
	"Yes, short for Cassandra,"  came
her reply.  "Back when I used to spell it
with a C.  Didn't you know that?"
	"Why would I know that?"  a
confused Cassie asked.
	"Well after all,"  Kassandra smiled,
"you were named after me."
	"Oh my God,"  Cassie said a third
time in a more subdued tone.

	Once Cassie was up and off the
floor, the three women moved to the
kitchen.  Dorothy hung up Kassandra's wet
cloak and put the tea kettle back on.
	"I can't believe that you're really
here,"  Cassie said.  "I have like a million
things to ask."
	"Sweetheart, I'll be more than
happy to answer all your questions, but
later,"  Kassandra replied.  "If you don't
mind, could your mother and I have a few
moments.  It's been a long time since
we've had a chance to talk."
	"Oh sure,"  the excited teenager
said as she excused herself and headed up
to her room.  As she ran up the stairs, she
could just about be heard repeating over
and over, "She's really here."

	Both older women waited until they
heard Cassie's bedroom door close behind
her.  What they had to say to each other
wasn't for her ears.
	"It's really so good to see you again,
Cass,"  Dorothy said as she smiled at the
friend of her younger years.  "I think of
you often."
	"It's good to see you too, DD,"
Kassandra replied, using the nickname
Dorothy had gone by in her high school
days.  "And before I say anything else, I
want to say how deeply sorry I am."
	"For what?"  Dorothy asked,  "That
your manager didn't take me seriously
when I called.  That was hardly your
fault."
	"No, not that,"  she replied as
Dorothy put a cup of hot tea in front of
her.  "Although that shouldn't have
happened either.  I'm so sorry I wasn't
here for you when Jim died.  I didn't find
out until after the funeral and I was on
tour in Tokyo and ..."
	"You don't have to explain, Cass,"
Dorothy interrupted.  "I understood and I
really appreciated the letter you send.  It
meant a lot to me."
	"You know I could never talk on the
phone if it was something important,"  the
blond said.  "In hindsight though, what I
really should've done was got on the first
plane back to the states and come to see
you no matter what."
	"That wouldn't have been fair to all
the people who were waiting to see you,"
Dorothy said.  "I understood, and Jim
would've too."
	"I loved him you know,"  Kassandra
said.  "I really did.  I loved the both of
you."
	"He knew, we knew,"  said Dorothy,
"and we also knew that of the three of us,
you had the best chance of making it big.
We were so happy for you."
	"That's a load of crap and you know
it,"  the singer said unexpectedly.  "You
were a lot more talented than I was."
	"Then maybe you just wanted it
more."
	"Do you ever think about it?"
Kassandra asked.  "What might have
happened if I was the one who got
pregnant and you went to Los Angeles
instead.  You know the way the three of us
were back then, it could've just as well
have been me."
	"I really don't dwell on what might
have beens,"  Dorothy said as she took a
sip of tea.  "We had a happy life together,
that was enough."
	"I can't get over Cassie,"  Kassandra
said, changing the subject.  "She looks so
much like both you and Jim.  I haven't
seen her since she was six and the
photographs you've sent over the years
don't do her justice."
	"She's a really great girl,"  the
brunette smiled,  "life wouldn't been the
same if we didn't have her.  I wouldn't
have survived losing Jim without her."
	"She didn't know she was named
after me,"  Kassandra noted.  "I take it
then you never told her about all of us and
the band we had.  Or what we all meant to
each other."
	"No, we didn't,"  Dorothy admitted,
"but not because we were ashamed of any
of it.  We just thought it was a topic that
could wait until we were all older.  It
seemed a much better idea that she think
that her folks were always the no fun
squares people sometimes took us to be."
	"Now, that I can't believe,"
Kassandra laughed.  "You might not be as
wild as we were back then, but I refuse to
believe that you and Jim turned into
anything like that."
	"Well, maybe not that bad."
	"I thought so."

	"So are you happy being one of the
beautiful people?"  Dorothy asked.
	"To tell you the truth, DD,"  her old
friend said,  "and I think you are the one
person that I can be totally honest with,
I can't really say that I am."
	"I'm surprised"
	"Oh I love performing, making all
those people happy,"  she explained.  "It's
just that so much of it all this is so phony.
So many people that'll say anything to you,
just to have a piece of the action."
	"You were married twice,"  Dorothy
said,  "wasn't that for love?"
	"I thought so, at least at first,"
Kassandra replied,  "but both of them just
wanted what they could get as part of the
Kassandra Express."
	"I read about you all the time in
People and some of the other magazines.
You seem to lead an exciting life."
	"Most of that is pure unadulterated
crap,"  the singer laughed.  "If I slept with
every man and woman they've reported me
with, I'd never have time for anything
else."
	"So they're all made up?"  Dorothy
asked out of curiosity.
	"Well let's just say half of them
are,"  Kassandra grinned.  "What was it we
used to call it back in the day?  Working
off the strain, or something like that"
	"Something like that,"  Dorothy
agreed with a broad smile as she
remembered days and nights long past.

	They chatted for a few minutes
more as Kassandra explained how she had
finally learned of Dorothy's call.  Her
manager had brought over some papers for
her to sign before she left for a
promotional tour in Hawaii and happened to
mention that he thought they should
change her private line and code name
again.
	"Why is that?"  she asked as she
read the papers he handed her.
	"Because we got another fan calling
last Monday claiming to be a long lost
friend who had to speak to you," he said.
"That's the fourth time this month.  It's
only a matter of time before they post it
on the Internet."
	"Okay, take care of it,"  Kassandra
said as she put her signature on the
papers.  "Just out of curiosity, what did
this one want?"
	"I'd give this one credit, although
I'm not sure for imagination or audacity,"
he said as he collected the papers and put
them in his attache case.  "She wanted you
to sing at her daughter's high school Prom.
Imagine that, asking a woman who
regularly fills Madison Square Garden to
sing in some school gym."
	"Might be fun,"  Kassandra mused.
	"You can't be serious."
	"No, I guess not,"  she said,
remembering how long it'd been since
she'd sang in a place where she could
actually connect with her fans without a
small army of security between them.
"Did you at least get her name and
address?  We should at least send her
daughter a personal letter congratulating
her on finishing high school."
	"Let me think,"  her manager said,
"Dorothy Kenny, no not Kenny,  I think it
was Dorothy Kerr, from some place called
Orange Rock in California."
	Kassandra didn't take another
breath before she told him to cancel the
Hawaii trip.  Tell them that I need to take
a rest, she told him.
	"What better place to rest than
Hawaii?"  he had asked, unable to
understand her sudden decision.
	"And I want you to find out what
school that girl goes to and make
arrangements for me to sing there,"  she
went on,  "I don't care if you have to call
every school in Orange Rock but I want
you to do it without calling Mrs. Kerr back.
I want it to be a surprise."
	"Look, Kassandra, could you explain
to me what the hell you're doing," he said.
"A lot of people are expecting you in
Hawaii."
	"I'm correcting a mistake I never
should've made,"  she said in a tone that
he knew meant that she wasn't going to
explain any further.  "Just make it happen,
understand."

(missing parts may be found at)

Ann Douglas Web Page

http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Ann_Douglas/www/

ASSTR Donation Page

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