Nellie reached up to put her hands on Myra’s shoulders. “For some reason, Myra, you always seem to underestimate me. Having said that, don’t be so sure. Five minutes and I’ll be ready to go riding.”

Myra sighed. “You’re a good friend, Nellie. What is it, fifty years?”

Nellie laughed, a robust sound. “Fifty-one and a half years. We met in Miss Dupré’s dance class. Neither one of us could dance worth a damn back then. We were ten years old. Time does fly, doesn’t it?”

“Sometimes, Nellie,” Myra said sadly, “time crawls by.”

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SANTA CRUISE

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Fern Michaels

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Chapter One

June

Ridgewood, New Jersey

The big banner read WELCOME RIDGEWOOD HIGH CLASSMATES! For some, it was a frightening experience. For others, it was an opportunity to show off how far they had come in the fifteen years since leaving high school.

Francesca (Frankie) Cappella was on the fence. She had built an excellent reputation in the publishing industry, marketing books for authors and publishers, but her love of music and the desire to perform had never left her. After graduating from a top music school, she had spent six years in New York City, auditioning for every part for which she thought she was suited. She had a “big voice” with a lot of nuance, but the producers were looking for a big nasal voice, something that made her cringe. Sure, she could sing that way if she had to, but she hated it. Why would she want to do something she hates? It took all the pleasure out of singing for her. Eventually, every singer sounded the same. She had spent too many years working on her own sound. Taking matters into her own hands, she found a producer and cut a few tracks. She got some radio airplay, but without the backing of a big record company, she could only go so far. During the years she had spent following her dream, to pay the rent she had worked as a temp for a number of large corporations, eventually taking a full-time job with a publisher of comic books. Her parents knew that working in corporate America wasn’t in her heart, but it was a living, and living in New York was challenging enough.

She eventually worked her way up to the top at a major publishing house, but she never felt as if she was a success, especially after the incident at the last reunion, when Drew Aikens said something right to her face. “Gee, Frankie, you were such a good singer. Too bad you never made it.” Those crushing words almost kept her from coming to this reunion, which included several classes besides hers. Still feeling the sting of those hurtful words, she thought to herself, Maybe that creep won’t show up.