Love Can Move Mountains, Believe

Neither Ashlee nor I thought it would be possible for us to return to Las Vegas once again, but after saving every dime we had, we were planning a second trip exactly a year later. As soon as we knew what tickets we had, Ashlee and I tried to call Christine to let her know that we were returning, as she had asked us to. I was spending the night at Ashlee’s house, and we dialed Christine’s number. It rang several times, and eventually we got Christine’s answering machine. It was great to hear her voice again, and we weren’t surprised at how happy and upbeat she sounded on the recording. We left a message that we were returning, we left her the date, and asked her to give us a call.

A month passed and there was no response from Christine. My mom persuaded us to call again, which Ashlee and I were hesitant to do because we didn’t want to be annoying. This time her answering machine message was different, it said that she would be on a leave of absence, but would return soon. I continued to call periodically during the months leading up to our trip, receiving the same message. But during one of my last attempts at calling her, when Ashlee was staying with me, I got an answer. Her name was Elizabeth*, and she was also an assistant house manager. I told her my name was Ashley, which didn’t ring a bell at all. I then asked her, “Do you remember the Ashleys from Indiana?” That definitely rang a bell! “Oh, yes! Of course! The Ashleys! How are you?!” She then informed me that Christine was on medical leave. Immediately concerned, I asked, “Oh my God, is she ok?” Elizabeth* replied that it wasn’t serious, she had been on leave for a while already and it was uncertain when she would return. I explained to her that I was trying to reach Christine because she had asked us to call her if we were able to return to see the show again. She wanted to try to set up a meet and greet with Céline. Elizabeth* seemed unsure as to how Christine would have gone about setting that up, but she said she would try to help me out. She told me she didn’t want to get my hopes up or anything, but she gave me a number I could call. Her name was Lynne*. I thanked Elizabeth* for all of her help, and she wished us luck.

.

We then called Lynne*.

- "Hello?"
- "Yes, is this Lynne*?"
- "Yes, it is."
- "My name is Ashley, [skipping the confusion] the Ashleys from Indiana?"
- "Oh, yes!! The Ashleys! Hi!"
- [laughs] "Hi! Elizabeth* gave me your number, I hope you don’t mind."
- "That’s fine!"
- "We’ve been trying to reach Christine, but we understand she’s on medical leave."
- "Yes, she has been for a while."
- "The reason we were trying to reach her was to let her know we were returning to see the show again in a few weeks, and she wanted us to be sure to let her know. She mentioned trying to set up a meet and greet with Céline, if that was at all possible."
- "I’m sure Christine would love to hear from you! Let me get you her e-mail address."
[I wrote it down. She spelled everything out saying “C as in cat”.]
- "Thanks! Does she check her e-mail often?"
- "Yes, she does. It’s how all of us keep in touch with her."
- "Thank you so much!"
- "You’re very welcome!"
- "When will you be seeing the show?"
- "June 18th! We have fifth row!"
- "We’re all looking forward to seeing you again! Let me mark that on my calendar so I remember you are coming."
- "Thank you so much!"
- "You’re very welcome!"

Ashlee and I wrote an email immediately and sent it. It came back, it said the email address was unknown. We tried to send it again, with the same result. So we called Lynne* back, and told her the address didn’t work. She asked us to hold on a moment, and the recording of gladiator-type music started playing with an announcer advertising all of the events being held at the Colosseum, especially Céline. Lynne* came back on the line right away. She apologized, she had given us the wrong email address. She found the right one, and gave it to us. We thanked her once again for her help. Then we sent the email to the correct address, and it went through. So we waited.

Time was running out, and we were leaving for Las Vegas in less than a month. With no response from Christine, I was persuaded once again by my mom to call again. I did not want to be rude or annoying, it’s the last thing I wanted to do to them after all of the kindness Christine had shown us. But I called her once more. I explained to her that I had never received a response from Christine. I told her I didn’t want to bother her, but if there was anything she could do, I would be eternally grateful. She said she would try to do it herself. I heard her typing in the background the dates we would be there and the date we would see the show. She said she would try her very best, and would call me back within the week. I thanked her profusely for her kindness, and her willingness to give it a try for us.

After nearly two weeks, she called me around 4:00pm to tell me that they were unable to fulfill our request for a meet and greet with Céline. Although disappointed, I was so thankful she had tried for us, and proud of myself for being persistent. I knew it just wasn’t meant to happen like that, and that was okay.

- "All of us are still looking forward to your visit!"
- "We are too. Thank you so much for trying!"
- "You’re very welcome."

I called Ashlee, she was also disappointed, but we were returning to Las Vegas to see Céline Dion a second time, we had nothing to complain about! We were still incredibly lucky. In fact, we had no idea just how lucky we really were.

At the thought of meeting Céline after we returned from our first trip to Las Vegas, I began writing, or typing rather, a letter to Céline. I’d never written her before, but I began writing this letter for several reasons. Most of all because I thought we might be able to meet her if we returned, and I knew for a fact that I probably would not be able to speak to her or even stay conscious in her presence. So I thought that if we did meet her, I could give her the letter in person, of all the things I would say if I could speak, or breath, or you know - stay conscious. That would give me time to think it through properly and word everything perfectly. I kept the letter saved on my computer all year long and I would pick at it late at night, when I tend to get creative. I wrote everything from how much I love and adore her, to how amazing the show is. But when I found out that we wouldn’t be meeting Céline this time, I really didn’t give the letter much thought. However, for some reason, I printed it, put it in an envelope, and kept it in a drawer. While I was packing for the trip the night before we left for Las Vegas, Ashlee found the letter, and I let her read it. She was the only one I allowed to read it. She thought it was perfect. “She would love this!” I was hesitant, thinking Céline would never have the time to read my letter, if there was even a way to get it to her. She convinced me to just put it in with my clothes, makeup, shoes, etc. - just in case. So I indulged her. I packed the precious letter along with thank you cards for Lynne* and Christine, relatively certain that I would end up bringing the letter back home with me in a week.

The day we left for Las Vegas was June 15, 2004. The day “A New Day… Live in Las Vegas,” Céline’s new live album was released. Of course we had to have the album that morning, so we could listen to it on the way there. Yes, we had to have the album of the show we were about to go see! It may sound ridiculous, but you’d have to be a Céline fan to understand this. We left early and stopped to buy it at a local store where it was advertised to be. We searched for it, but it was no where in sight. We got on the information phone and asked if they had the CD, a guy informed us their shipment had not come in. In a panic, we rushed to Target, darted in, ran to the music section, and thankfully there it was! We bought it and we were back on our way to fabulous Las Vegas, to see the one and only Céline Dion, again!

Upon arrival as we walked off the plane, after a horrible flight I would rather forget, Céline was playing on the intercom at the airport. We both saw it as a good omen! Ashlee and I, on cue, began singing along, loudly. We got on a shuttle and we saw a bus with an A New Day.. logo pass by us! We got our rental car and drove to our hotel, the Flamingo, located directly across from Caesars Palace. I didn’t get a good look at the Colosseum before we drove into the valet parking, because we actually knew where it was this time. We stood in line for what seemed like an eternity, then realized it was the wrong line. But the nice lady helped us anyways, she also gave us a room with a view of the strip when we enquired about it, with no extra charge! We went up to our room, I was the first to walk in. The curtains were mostly closed, but through the crack I could see what our view was going to be, it was unmistakable. I dropped my luggage at the door, blocking everyone else’s path, and ran to the window screaming, “Look!!!!!” Everyone thought I’d officially lost my mind, until they managed to step over my luggage and look too. It was the absolute perfect view of the Colosseum and Céline’s larger than life sign, with the screen that plays clips from the show! Ashlee and I pressed our noses to the window and stared at it for a long time. We were back!

We arrived on a Tuesday, and didn’t see the show until Friday, so we visited other attractions. We also made several visits to the Céline store, which is to be expected! We pushed our bed up against the window to be closer to Céline, and to fall asleep and wake up to that amazing view!

On Wednesday, we waited outside the doors in the casino that the A New Day… cast exits from. We saw several faces we recognized, but didn’t bother them. We were just making sure they still came out this way. They did. I saw my mom’s “hottie” (she would eventually learn his name to be Don Bellamy), who Ashlee and I had met the year before. I saw him, he smiled and said, “Hi!” I smiled back! This was the second time he had done this, and both times I became frozen and unresponsive. I hoped I would get better at this, and work on not being so shy.

The next night, Thursday, we were going to "Célinify" ourselves. We wore our new Céline shirts that we had bought our first night in Las Vegas. They were black, sparkly ones with Céline’s picture on the front. We also wore black pants and heels. Our plan was to ask a few dancers to pose for a picture with us. This we had planned way in advance, after our missed opportunity to take pictures the previous year. We waited and waited. Tourists asked us questions, because they assumed we worked for Céline because of the way we were dressed, and we answered their questions anyways since we knew the answers. Finally some dancers began to exit the doors. We instantly became star struck and shy. My mom went up to a dancer, Amber Sorgato. She was tall, thin, with long curly red hair. She could not have been more sweet, shaking our hands and chatting with us. We took a picture with her, which she was more than happy to do. We thanked her, and then spotted Elijah Brown. He was one of the main dancers in the show, and we were really excited to be able to meet with him. Ashlee and I forced ourselves out of our shyness to go up to him, it was like walking uphill in a snow storm. My mom beat us to the punch, her loving Elijah just as much as we did if not more. She asked him if he wouldn’t mind taking a picture with us. I finally spoke, “We don’t want to bother you, but we’re huge fans!” He was so kind, and more than willing to take a picture. He talked to us for quite a while too, entirely his decision as we didn’t want to be rude and take up his time if he had somewhere he needed to be. We then met another male dancer, Francisco Avina. This was after my mom had stopped several ushers on accident, she seemed to stop everyone who exited the door with a figure! Francisco was so kind, and agreed to take a picture with us as well. Before he posed with us, pressing his cheek up against mine, he warned he was still all sweaty from the show that night. I told him it was fine! We were so thrilled to have met these dancers, who were all so kind. You might think they would want to be on their way and to not be bothered. After all, this is their job and they might want to just go home and relax. But they seemed to enjoy meeting us just as much as we enjoyed meeting them!

We waited a while longer, but decided to leave. We had met three amazing dancers, we were more than satisfied. Then a man walked out in a group, he was laughing, which is what made me glance his way to begin with. First I saw the smile, then the eyes, and then the unmistakable long, grey ponytail. I froze completely. I tried to open my mouth to speak, nothing would escape my lips. After a few moments, I pointed in the direction he’d gone and squealed, “Th-th-that was Céline’s brother!” No one else had seen him, and they began to freak out once what I was saying became audible. I would later think my reaction was completely ridiculous, but I was excited, and at that very moment, nothing could have been more thrilling! We couldn’t find him, and I assumed he was long gone into the rows of slot machines. I could not have been more disappointed in myself for letting the opportunity of meeting him pass by. But it wasn’t like I didn’t at least try to say something in time, I was just overwhelmed, really overwhelmed. Ashlee and I gave up our search and leaned against a wall in disappointment. My dad went on a search, more like a mission, to find Michel Dion. A few moments later he returned, signaling me to come to him. I walked towards him and he took me a short distance, pointing to a man sitting down at a table at a bar. The bar was called “The Slice” and it was directly across from the doors we had been standing at. I gasped, “It’s him!” I ran back to my mom and Ashlee in excitement, our opportunity was not lost, just simply postponed. Obviously Ashlee and I desperately wanted to meet him and take a picture with him. But going up to him was a million times more nerve racking then going up to any of the dancers we’d met that night, which my mom still had to assist with. Also, the want to meet him was not nearly as strong as our love and respect for Céline. I began to wonder whether or not she would want us to bother a member of her family, and more importantly whether or not he would want to be bothered. Before I could come up with a decision, my parents went up and sat down at a table right beside the one he was at. Ashlee and I watched from behind a wall whispering, “Don’t bother him!” My mom ignored our pleas, and tapped him on the shoulder, saying, “Excuse me?” He turned around and said with his thick French-Canadian accent, “Yes?” My mom asked, “Are you Céline Dion’s brother?” He smiled proudly and said, “Yes!” My mom asked him, “Would you mind taking a picture with these two girls over here?” He was up and out of his seat before my mom finished her question, “Yes, yes, of course!” I grabbed Ashlee’s hand and we held each other upright, something we tend to do when things get intense. Michel then asked as he reached the stairs, “Where?” He answered his own question when he looked up to see two very excited girls dressed to their full Céline fan potential. He saw our excitement in our huge smiles, and smiled just as big back at us while pointing at his sister on our shirts! He quickly came over to my side and I ended up being in the middle, with Ashlee on the other side, when it was obvious Michel should have been in the middle, but I was giving myself props for remaining on my feet. I was trying to keep an eye on my mom to make sure she was using the camera correctly, as it was new. This took every last bit of effort inside of me, as I was using the rest to you know, not pass out. Michel joked and pointed at the camera lens to make sure the lens cap was off, it was! I immediately picked up on the similarities to Céline, or should I say she has similarities to him. They joked around the same way, they were immediately comfortable and friendly with people they’d just met, it fascinated me. Also, his smile was the familiar Dion smile, that all of the siblings had. My mom asked him after she’d taken a picture, “Would you mind standing in the middle for one more?” Just as I had slightly relaxed, I looked up at him and our eyes met briefly as we switched spots. He had the same eyes as Céline, the exact same eyes. I think that was the moment who I was meeting finally began to register in my brain. As the second picture was being taken with Michel finally in the middle, so many thoughts began to race through my head. After each thought the only words that would escape my mouth were, “Oh my God.” He was her idol. “Oh my God.” She performed for the first time at his wedding when she was five. “Oh my God.” He’s the one who called René to make him listen to her tape! “Oh my God.” I wanted to tell him how much it meant to be able to meet him, and how thankful I was that he had taken the time to take a picture with us, but nothing would come out. I wasn’t going to allow this moment to go by without doing something besides say, “Oh my God.” So after the second picture he turned to me, he went to do the “air kiss” beside my cheeks, so I wrapped my arms around him and gave him the biggest hug I’d ever given anyone before, while saying what seemed to be the only three works left in my vocabulary, “Oh my God!” He smiled so big, while hugging me just as tightly. I finally found four new words, it wasn’t all that I wanted to say, but considering the state I was in, I suppose I should be thankful that they came to me at all, “Thank you so much!” He said, “My pleasure!” He was so gracious and polite. Then he turned to give Ashlee a hug as well, I don’t remember if she said anything, maybe a really high pitched, “Thank you!” followed by gasps of air. Well, she was breathing, wasn’t she? I was proud of her! He then walked back to his table, waving to us, as both of my parents thanked him. He replied, “My pleasure, anything else I can do?” while putting his hands together underneath his chin - a gesture Céline does too. They both said, “No, thank you so much!” Ashlee and I went into that familiar state of shock. We both stayed where we were, because we were too young to go into the bar with our parents, and too overwhelmed to move. So we stood there. Ashlee suddenly tried to hang onto me for balance, which is something she would have known not to do if she had been in a logical state of mind, so we both fell to the ground. We both started hysterically laughing, and thankfully no one saw us! We desperately needed to go somewhere else to freak out. We couldn’t do it there, because although it was a noisy casino, Michel was still only a short distance away and we didn’t need to embarrass ourselves any further. My parents wanted to finish their drinks at the bar, and after Ashlee rambled aimlessly, “I need to go, we need to go, I need to go now…” We went to the bathroom, promising we would stay together and only go there and back. We went into the bathroom, sat on the couch, and had our little moment. After we’d thoroughly frightened a few people who were already in there at the time, we managed to contain ourselves. We kept repeating to each other as if the other hadn’t witnessed it, “We just met Céline’s brother!” After a few minutes, which my mom would later say was much, much longer, we returned to them. They were still seated at the table next to Michel. We wanted to return to the hotel room, partially because we were tired, but also because we didn’t want Michel to think we were stalking him. My parents were still finishing their drinks and they didn’t want us to leave on our own. Michel got up and walked towards the bathroom, when he returned, my mom asked him for one more favor, an autograph for each of us. He kindly without question leaned down and signed two autographs for each of us, spelling our names correctly. Ashlee and I sent rays of disapproval with our eyes at my mom for bothering him again, but later thanked her for the autographs which we framed upon returning home. My mom thanked him profusely, and he once again smiled and said, “My pleasure, anything else I can do?” My dad was curious how to pronounce his name, and he graciously knelt down to explain. I then realized I need not worry about bothering Michel, he was more than happy to oblige, and seemed to be flattered by their interest. He explained to them that Michel was kind of the French version of Michael, and his name is pronounced like the girl’s name Michelle would be in English. Such a nice guy, Maman Dion did a wonderful job! Finally, at long last, my parents were finished with their drinks and we returned to our hotel room to freak out again and review the pictures for hours. While looking at our picture with Michel, a thought crossed my mind, thankfully I had regained the ability to do so. What if I could find Michel again and give him my letter for Céline?

The next day, Friday, June 18th, was the day we saw Céline! We woke up immediately in a good mood and went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. As the day went on, I began to feel sick. Not again. I promise, no alcoholic beverages were to blame this time. I wanted to go back to the hotel room. I told them they could go ahead and do whatever until the show, but I needed to rest. Ashlee was really tired too, so we decided to return to the room and take it easy. We also needed to paint our nails as we had planned. We painted them a sparkly red color, and with a silver paint pen we wrote the letters of Céline’s name on each nail. We thought it was pretty cool that her name had ten letters, which was perfect! We also painted our toes the same sparkly red color, and put a little rhinestone heart on each of our big toes. I slowly began to feel better after I had relaxed and taken something. We both sat by the window while our nails dried and we watched the entrance to the Colosseum, wondering if each black car could have Céline in it! Then we did our hair and make up perfectly, and put sparkles literally, everywhere! We wore our shirts, which were red this year. They said, “Céline” across the front in rhinestones, and then “The Ashleys, Las Vegas, 2004” on the back. They were a little more advanced than last year. We also had the same pin stripe pants. We were lookin’ good! We rushed my parents once they’d returned to the room, because we couldn’t wait a moment longer to get there! We rushed over to Caesars Palace, even though it was well over an hour before the show even started.

We arrived and rushed in before my parents. After an usher scanned our tickets, we were directed over to get our photos taken. This wasn’t an option last year, so we were excited! There was a nice blonde lady who was taking the photos. She loved our shirts and our poses! The Colosseum looked the same as last year for the most part. We walked around and all of a sudden we heard people going, “Oh my God, look!” As excited as they were, I thought that Oprah was making an appearance or something, so Ashlee and I both looked behind us to see. We then noticed it was the ushers who were saying it, and they were looking at us! They continued, “Oh my God, it’s the Ashleys!” We could have died laughing! There were three ushers that walked up to us. One of them was a woman from Indianapolis not much older than us, she thought it was so cool that someone came here from Indiana! They were so excited to see that we were back! They loved the video, and they loved how fast paced the music videos were. We could not stop laughing! We asked if Ray was still an usher. He wasn’t, he had moved back to Washington, where he was originally from. We made sure he didn’t leave because of embarrassment of the girls on the video who couldn’t remember his name! They said he had been so flattered we included him, but everyone did tease him about it for a while! We talked to them some more, and thanked them for liking us and our video so much! We then began to look for Lynne*, but there was one problem - we didn’t have a clue as to what she looked like. I turned to ask the ushers we were just speaking to, but they were already busy escorting people to their seats. So we went up to another usher, who looked like he was in charge. While we were walking up to him, my head turned to look at a woman who was talking to a couple of people. I thought that was her, I don’t know how or why, I just did. When we asked the usher if he could tell us where Lynne* was, he pointed to that same woman! I don’t know how I could have ever known that was her. We walked up to her, and without pause she said, “Oh my God, I completely forgot you were here today! Hi!” We laughed, saying, “Hi!” back to her. We spoke for a while, and then I gave her a thank you card from us. She was touched, “Thank you so much!” I then handed her a second card and asked her if she would be able to get it to Christine for us. She said she would. Also in my purse was my letter to Céline, which I was going to attempt to give to Michel after the show, it was worth a try. Lynne* thanked us again for the cards. She told us she had spoken to Christine just the other day. She told her we were returning to see the show again, and she was so excited for us! I asked how she was doing. Lynne* paused for a moment, and said she was doing well. “You can’t tell us what’s wrong, can you?” I asked. Without hesitation, she told us she had an arthritic condition. She had, had it for most of her life. Lynne* said she had known Christine had this condition since the beginning, and knew inevitably that this time would come. “I couldn’t have imagined doing this, “ as she held her hands up, meaning the Colosseum, “without her involvement.” Lynne* said she isn‘t doing as well as everyone would like, but she is in good spirits. “The ushers and staff here at the Colosseum had a luncheon for her recently, and although she didn’t feel well, she was so happy to see everyone,” she said. Lynne* then apologized for not being able to set up a meet and greet for us, explaining she had pulled every string she had. “No, no, thank you so much for even trying, “ I said. Ashlee added, “It means to much to us that you tried.” Lynne* explained that the company she works for, is different than Céline’s company, so it’s very complicated when trying to make contact with the right people. Someone summoned her on her radio, and she had to go quickly. We thanked her again, and she told us to enjoy the show and that it was so good to meet us!

Soon after, my parents finally entered the Colosseum. We told them all they had missed, how the ushers had reacted to us, and that we had met Lynne*. We then went to the bathroom, but unfortunately, didn’t meet anyone exciting. While we were waiting for the doors to open, Ashlee and I spoke to two fans from Germany, who were actually living in Fishers, Indiana currently. They had made shirts as well! They told us about their experiences as we shared ours, they had once sat near René during a TV show, and they had also seen Garou (a famous French singer, who sang a duet with Céline, and had the help of René when launching his career) in concert when Céline was there. We told her about our meeting with Michel, whom they hadn’t met before. They were excited for us! The doors leading to the theatre were closed, and Ashlee and I both agreed you could hear Céline doing her sound check. She was singing a remixed version of “Love Can Move Mountains”! We resisted the urge to charge the doors and press our ears to the surface, but we did sing and dance along a little bit! When the doors finally opened, they ushered us to our seats in the fifth row, dead center. The excitement was almost too much! We settled in, and someone behind us inquired about our shirts. My mom, Ashlee, and I all explained briefly that we had become known here as “The Ashleys”. She looked confused and skeptical. Suddenly, someone beside her spilled their drink, and an usher came to help clean it up. When she looked up, she said, “Hey Ashleys!” The lady believed us then. After the usual camera zooming in on people part before the show, including a slightly large man who counted down from three to one on his fingers and then acted like he was going to start to strip, which was hysterical, the show began.

The same video played of Céline walking down the stairs played, although she still had blonde hair in the video, when I knew her hair was now back to her usual long, brown hairstyle. Then she finally appeared, I squealed really loud as Ashlee grabbed onto me. We held hands, well arms actually, as she began to sing, “Nature Boy”. My brain went on overload, I was actually seeing her again! She walked right up in front of us, she was so beautiful. While she sang, “The Power of Love”, Ashlee and I sang along, while still hanging on to each other, even trying to do the drums at the same time. Once again, I’m sure we were a sight to see. At the end of this song, Céline always throws her hands up in the air along with the last beats of the music. Ashlee and I did this right along with her in perfect unison! She began, “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”, and we saw Amber dancing to this song as well as Elijah walking around in the back. We were that much more excited, because we had met them the previous night. Then she sang, “Because You Loved Me, “and when she finished the last notes of this song accapella, we sang along just as loudly. Oops. We didn’t realize we were that loud until halfway through, but realized it was welcomed when Céline grinned down at us. She finished her medley with, “To Love You More”, which was so passionate. Then she paused to greet the audience, she looked down at us briefly. We screamed, yelled, and clapped as loud as we could! We even yelled to her that we loved her, but she couldn’t hear us over the applause. The crowd was amazing that night! She said, “Shall we go for it?” as she began, “I’m Alive”, which we danced and sang to. Céline really got into this song, being very playful with the audience. The show continued with, “Seduces Me” and “If I Could”. Then she went on to introduce the cover songs she performs. She said, “Throughout time there has been many, many fabulous voices…” Then an audience member shouted, “You’re better!” Everyone laughed, including Céline. Then she lost her words, and couldn’t remember what she was saying. I had my mouth open to tell her what to say, because I knew the dialogue just as well as she did, but she got it. “Where was I? Oh, yes!” She sang, “At Last”, “Fever”, and “I’ve Got the World on a String”. At this point, while Céline changes costumes, Elijah makes the saddest face ever at the audience. I think he saw us at this point, as we made boo-boo faces back at him! Then Céline returned to perform, “I Surrender”, once again shivers were sent up my spine! Then the Italian song, “Ammore Annascunnuto” which was very emotional, and my dad’s all time favorite. Then came one of my favorite numbers during the show, “I Wish”, but no one would get up to dance. Not to let that stop us, Ashlee and I began to chair dance with them! The dancers loved it, and kept shouting, “Yeah! Look at you! Wooo!” and pointed at us! Céline saw us too, and smiled at our enthusiasm. Next was “Love Can Move Mountains”, which finally got everyone up on their feet to dance. Ashlee and I had all the moves down, and Céline was impressed! She kept winking, smiling, and dancing along with us! We continued to chair dance all throughout "I Drove All Night", of course doing the drive motion along with her, for which we got a few winks and smiles! Then she left, only to come back with “My Heart Will Go On”, wearing a dress I hadn’t seen before, it was beautiful. She got her usual standing ovation after that song, and was visibly touched. She sang her final song “What A Wonderful World”, and before I knew it the show was over. She gave the rose, which she always gives to someone at the end of the show, to an elderly lady in the front row. Céline hugged her and looked as if she was about to cry. Céline returned to the stage waving and smiling for a long time. Then the show came to an end. It always amazes me how fast it goes by.

Before we left, we walked up to the stage and asked the security guy if we could touch the steps. He looked as us like we were insane, but said we could as long as we didn’t walk onto it. We touched the steps, and were thrilled. As we walked out, the elderly lady that got the rose was standing in the aisle with an usher, leaning against the railing. She was crying and shaking. At first I thought something was wrong with her, and I put my hand on her back, which is something I wouldn’t normally do to someone I didn‘t know. She looked up at me, her eyes full of tears. I instantly knew that everything was just fine, she was simply overcome with joy because she had, had her moment with Céline. The one we all dream about had finally come true tonight, for her. I smiled at her and said, “You’re so lucky!” She smiled and said in a shaky voice, “Oh, I know I am. I know!” I smiled at her as I continued towards the exit. We looked for Lynne* briefly to say goodbye, but couldn’t find her.

We walked out into the casino, and went to look at the photos we’d taken before the show. The blonde lady cut us a deal because she liked us and we got all the pictures we’d taken. Then we went over to see if we could spot Michel. We waited, and waited. An usher walked past us, catching us off guard, “Hey Ashleys, you made it back!” We laughed and waved! I debated on whether or not to continue to wait for him, or to just let it go. My parents got bored and left us there to wait. Just as I was about to grab Ashlee and go find them, Michel walked out. He saw us immediately and smiled really big! I walked right up to him, instantly proud of myself, and he put his arm on my shoulder. I said, “Hi, Michel! I promise I won’t bother you any further, I just wondered if you could give this letter to Céline for me?” His smile widened as he responded, “Oh, no problem at all!” He took the letter from my hands, and put it gently into his shirt pocket. It was such a simple gesture for him, but it meant the world to me. Knowing that my words would find there way to Céline was an indescribable feeling. I looked into his Dion eyes, and he could see my gratitude. I put my hand on his shoulder, and said with words that didn’t seem to have enough meaning, “Thank you so much!” He said, “No problem, no problem! Anything else I can do?” I said, “No, thank you so, so much!” We then left him quickly, not to keep him any longer. My letter was on it’s way… to Céline. Wow.

The next day we went to several places in Las Vegas, it was fun, but it wasn’t Céline. I was still on a high from seeing the show the night before, don’t get me wrong, and I was beyond thankful that I had been able to see it two times altogether! But because I was still on a bit of a Céline high, and thinking a bit irrationally…a lot irrationally, it was my idea. “Why don’t we call the box office to see if they have any of the cheaper seats left?” I honestly didn’t think they would have any left, the show had been sold out since it opened, and tickets go on sale months in advance. But something inside me told me that we needed to at least check it out. Ashlee and I both had money left, to shop or possibly see another show. But there was nothing more worth buying than another experience with Céline! So we called, and I was told there were plenty of tickets left. I was almost hoping they would have said they were sold out, because I really didn’t need to be spending that kind of money, and it’s totally unlike me to spend that amount all at once. So we walked over to the box office with my dad, correction - we ran! As we reached the box office, gasping for air, we asked what tickets they had for today… and we were told there were only single seats left in the top balcony. He also told us they had the same fifth row seats we had sat in the previous night. We went back and forth with him, but he didn’t seem to be in any mood to help us. To this day, this was the only time anyone hadn’t been anything but kind to me at the box office. He told us that the only seats that we could purchase and sit together would be the most expensive ones we had, had the previous night, which we couldn’t afford again. We went back to the hotel room, proud of ourselves for at least trying. My mom said, “Give me the phone.” She called the box office and said, “Ok, this is the mom!” She talked to a lady, and got the information immediately. She confirmed with her that the only seats available together would be for the following Sunday night, for $175 a ticket. We were confused because the guy we had spoken to had never told us that when we had inquired about the following night. Ashlee and I counted our money, we even counted the pennies, and it was exactly what each of us had. After negotiating that my parents would feed Ashlee until the end of the trip, and she would reimburse them later, we darted back to the box office. Just imagine these two girls from Indiana, running across several lanes of traffic on the strip, then running through the casino - we really wanted these tickets! And without a moment’s hesitation, we bought them. Neither of us had ever spent money like that so spontaneously. It felt good, but even now looking back, I can’t believe I did that! Ok, I can - it is Céline after all! We had permanent smiles on our face, we were going to see Céline again!

That night we went up in the Eiffel Tower and watched the fountains of the Bellagio from up there, it was one of the things on our list we had not done the previous year. As soon as we arrived at the top and looked down, “My Heart Will Go On” began to play, the water flowing with the music. If that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what was! We also made our daily visit to the Céline store. As we were passing by the Colosseum, as the show was letting out, we both stopped dead in our tracks, putting our hands over our hearts. We both thought we had seen René, but it was just a look-a-like. We both laughed as people swerved to get around us, as we attempted to jump start our hearts!

On this Sunday, June 20, which also happened to be Fathers’ Day - Ashlee and I were on cloud nine. We went to do all of the Harley things my dad wanted to do, because it was his day after all. I was still amazed at how something inside me told me we needed to go back, and then could it have been a coincidence that we each had the exact amount needed to purchase the only two tickets available seated together? I had a feeling something incredible was going to happen, I just didn’t know what. Fate was working it's magic! We were running late, so we didn’t have nearly as much time to get ready as we did on Friday. We wore matching outfits again, including our red shirts! And we hurriedly made our way to the Colosseum!

We walked in and my heart was racing! So many things had happened so fast. We had met dancers, Michel, and my letter was going to make it into Céline’s hands! Wow. We got our pictures taken again, the blonde lady saying, “You’re back! Yay!” She said we weren’t the only ones who had come back more than once, but she said she was extra happy to see us back. She could tell we were big fans, who didn’t have a ton of money, and were simply in love with Céline. We posed for her, she really got a kick out of our excitement! We were blowing kisses, and throwing our arms up in the air! After thoroughly making a fool of ourselves, but entertaining the staff that loves us for it, we attempted to figure out how to get onto a higher level. We had only been seated in the first five rows, in the orchestra! We found an escalator that led to the next level, which I realized was decorated a bit differently then the lower level. We were taken to our seats, which were located all the way to the right. This was an entirely different perspective, and I was stunned at how close we were still going to be to the stage! There was a group of women sitting next to us, and they asked us all about the show. Upon realizing how much we knew not only about the show, but Céline as well, they asked us if we’d ever met her. We explained how close we had come, but that it hadn’t happened officially. At the last minute, as usual, I felt the nervousness and excitement and went to the bathroom. I never actually have to go, but feel like I do nonetheless. When I returned, I saw Michel walking around with his headset on! Then Ashlee and I saw one of the ushers we’d spoken to on Friday night. We couldn’t remember her name, but when we heard someone call her Elaina, we screamed it! She looked up, smiled, and waved! She said, “Hey! You guys made it back! How many times does this make?!” We held three fingers up, smiling proudly. Then she asked the ushers near her, “Do you remember the Ashleys?” They immediately did, looking up at us and waving! The women beside us laughed!

Then the show began. We were actually seeing the show again! Céline performed the first few songs beautifully. I was immediately thankful at the chance to see two performances so close together, because this gave me the incredible gift of being a bit more relaxed. During the past two shows I had attended, I needed to spend most of the time convincing myself my surroundings were real. This time I knew she was really in front of me, and this gave me the ability to take it all in. Céline began to speak after a few songs, and to my excitement she began talking to us off script. I love when this happens. She just starts talking to us like she’s known us all forever, and in a way you could say, she has. She told us what a wonderful day she had, and then went on to wish us all a Happy Fathers’ Day! I had become concerned she might be sad on this day, because she had only lost her own father the year before. I’m sure she was thinking of him, but she didn’t let it show. She was in a great mood, having spent the day with her son and his father. She went on to mention Ray Charles, who had passed away recently as well. Then she went on to sing more beautiful songs for us, including “Seduces Me” with the shirtless dancers crawling all over the stage and Céline. After this song she always makes a joke, “I’m gonna give them a chance to, you know... put a shirt on!” Something came over me, and I yelled, “WHY?!” Everyone in the Colosseum burst into laughter, including Céline! She immediately looked up at me while laughing, replying, “Or nothing…” It was hysterical, I couldn’t believe how bold I had been. I thought Ashlee was going to die laughing, she could not believe that I had done that! I am usually so shy, but something came over me. It was a great moment, and you could tell Céline got a kick out of it! I was initially shocked at how well she could find me with her eyes, it seemed she really could see every face in the crowd, just as was the reasoning behind the intimate design. Soon after, she performed “I Wish”, this time Ashlee and I stood up to dance. We would sit down if someone asked us to, but we had spent too much money not to enjoy ourselves to the fullest capacity. We were the only ones dancing, and Céline appreciated it! She paid us a lot of attention, and kept gravitating towards our side to dance with us! She kept pointing, winking, and smiling! I don’t know if she could have possibly remembered our red shirts from Friday night, but I suppose it’s possible. I was sure she could tell how excited we were to be there with her, and she was feeding off of our energy! The interaction continued on through “I Drove All Night”, she seemed to stay on our side of the stage whenever choreography didn’t require her to be somewhere else. It was amazing, and thrilling that she still noticed us when we were higher up! After “My Heart Will Go On” she got a huge standing ovation, everyone began cheering without an end in sight! People began calling out to her saying, “We love you!”, “Je t’aime!”, and a group from Quebec yelled, “Viva Quebec!” Céline’s eyes just darted around the audience, she smiled, visibly touched. Then the music for “What A Wonderful World” began, but everyone still remained standing, applauding her. They had to stop the music! Then when the applause began to die down, I grabbed Ashlee, this was our moment! We yelled, some might say we screamed, “We love you Céline!!!!!” Then I screamed by myself, making my voice go hoarse, “We love you!!!!!” She instantly looked up at us, laughing so hard she covered her mouth, and you could even hear her giggling on the mike. This is significant because anyone who knows her story, knows she had to train herself to laugh without noise in order to save her voice. She had laughed with noise, she’d definitely heard us this time! Then her eyes got really big as she responded, “I looooove you too!” Everything went blurry again, and Ashlee grabbed me into a hug, I went to hug her back but found myself reaching for her as she fell onto the seat smashing her side into the cup holder and dragging me along with her. We cannot make a habit of this, seriously. She wasn’t feeling the pain of the bruise that would appear the following day, and we immediately got back up as we continued to cry, laugh, and hyperventilate. This night meant so much to us. Céline began “What A Wonderful World”, and we were in a trance. I leaned against the railing next to me and took it all in. Then she gave the rose to a guy in the front row who had attacked her earlier for a hug when she got close! She joked with him, faking her hesitancy to approach him - and eventually embracing him into a hug. Then she waved and smiled to everyone for a very long time, she was loving this crowd! She waved at us, a lot. She locked eyes with us and continued to wave as she was walking off stage, smiling at us! She even stopped just before she vanished from our sight, waving and smiling, just to us, blowing kisses. We waved back, smiling so big, returning several kisses! What an amazing night, could it get any better than this? We hadn’t met Céline as far as being able to hug her and take a picture, but we had shared priceless moments with her tonight - which means so much.

Everyone around us kept congratulating us, telling us how cute we were! There was an older couple in front of us, they said that we were adorable! I immediately became aware of my surroundings, “We didn’t hurt your ears did we? I’m so sorry if we did!“ They replied, laughing, “Well, you were plenty loud, but you made the show!“ They were so sweet. People from the audience continued to smile at us and congratulate us, people that I’m pretty sure weren’t even sitting near us during the show. We were in a trance. As we were walking out, we saw Lynne*. She said, “You made it back!” We both replied, “Yes! We’re broke, but we made it back!” She laughed. I asked her if she remembered how Céline had said she loved us too last year. She did, of course. I told her she had replied to us again, even when we were higher up! She was so happy for us. Then we told her how we had met Michel, and how so many ushers had recognized us! Ashlee asked her, “Who saw our tape, exactly?” Lynne* said, “The ushers and our staff of course saw it. We sent a copy to our company in California and I’m 99.9% sure they saw it. And a copy did get to Céline, and she did see it!” We both let our mouths hang open for a minute, saying, “Wow!” We thanked her again for everything, told her our goodbyes, and to send Christine our best wishes. As we turned to leave she asked us, “Have you ever been backstage?” We both were silent, nodding our heads, “No.” Then she proposed, “Well, how about we take a look backstage?” Ashlee and I gasped, clung to each other and tried to walk, it was a challenge. She took us back into the Colosseum, and it was such a sight to see the Colosseum empty. After all of the excitement and energy that had been in there just moments ago, it was so quiet. We walked up the steps, which was also a challenge after losing all feeling in our legs, temporarily. Once we had made it up the steps while shaking and uncoordinated in our high heels, we turned around. We both took in the view of what Céline sees every night, minus the audience of course. As I was standing on the stage I could almost feel the energy radiating off of it, the stage was still hot! Suddenly the lights flashed really quickly blinding us and scaring us. I wondered later on if Lapin saw the fanatics from that night and was doing that on purpose. I guess I’ll never know. Lynne* showed us the light you look at so you can tell you are center stage. That was how Céline knew where to stand. She told us about the humidity system and the LED screen, which we already knew about. We stood on all of the things that popped up from the stage, we stood in front of the door she came out, and touched the LED screen! As I was walking on the angled stage I immediately understood how hard it must be to perform on! I realize I was overwhelmed, but I could still tell that it would not be easy! Then we walked off stage where Céline had just moments ago walked off, literally following in her footsteps. Backstage there were all of the props, costumes, there was the piano and wedding dress, which we touched just so we could say we had. We looked up to see the instruments that fly across the stage, as well as the chandeliers. We saw the curtains which operate as changing rooms for the dancers. There was someone sweeping the floors, Lynne* said Sunday is the day they clean up. We walked down stairs to get under the stage where the musicians are, many were still down there. We looked out through the stairs on the stage, it was neat to see what their view of the show is like! Then we went down even more stairs, which was scary with our heels while shaking! Lynne* told us more than once to take our time, not to fall! We were then able to see under, under the stage where everything pops out, like the huge staircase Céline walks up during “The Power of Love”, and the tree that pops up during “If I Could”! Lynne* told us everything was hydraulic. As we made our way back up onto the first level, Ashlee joked that my parents were going to send out a search party. Lynne* said she would hurry, and both Ashlee and I immediately said, “No! Take your time, trust me, they will understand!” She then took us up more stairs to see the training room where the dancers rehearse! She told us no one was allowed in there, but we were an exception. Ashlee and I walked in, and both exclaimed, “Oprah flew in here!” Lynne* laughed so hard! We were referring to when Oprah did a show before the premiere of A New Day..., and she was in the training room. They put Oprah into a harness and she flew! Lynne* contained herself and then went on to tell us that the dancers take ballet classes every other day to stay in shape. Then we went back out, and instead of walking down stairs as we had come up, she took us into an elevator going down. There was another technician in there, and Lynne* greeted him. When the elevator opened, we walked out into a hallway, with several doors. The first one, Lynne* explained, was the wardrobe room. There was thread flying everywhere in there, but all of them stopped to wave at us as we peeked our heads in! Lynne* said they were the first people to arrive, and the last to leave. We saw the green room, which isn’t actually green. Then we saw the prop room, where they repair and create many of the props used in the show. Then Lynne* stopped, pointed to a wall and said, “On the other side of this wall is Céline’s half, which is bigger than my house!” Ashlee and I let it sink in that on the opposite side of this wall was not only Céline’s dressing room, but Céline. Then the door opened, can you say heart attack? The door, which was disguised as an exit, slowly opened revealing a rack of clothes, and Céline’s dress! The dress she had just worn at the end of the very show we had just witnessed! Lynne* had been talking to us and then began to laugh at us, when she realized we were no longer on planet Earth. Ashlee and I both pointed, our jaws to the floor, “I-I-It’s the d-d-dress!” The wardrobe lady, who was behind the rack of clothing stopped in front of us, laughing so hard! Ashlee and I both starred at the dress as if it were going to fly off the rack and perform for us, crazy I know, but you must understand - we’d had an exciting week and were no longer responsible for our actions due to brain overload. Ashlee and I whispered to the wardrobe lady, still laughing at us, “Can we touch it?” We begged, “Please? Really quick? We just want to be able to say we did!” She turned her head over her shoulder said, “Well, I’m not supposed to…” We didn’t get the hint. We said, “Please?” She replied, “Well, I’m not supposed to…” still keeping her head turned, while waving us to go ahead with her hand. Ashlee and I gently touched the dress. I touched the sleeve, which was such delicate, beautiful lace. Then I touched the silky part of the waist with the flowers on it. It was so pretty, and so unbelievably small! A surge of energy went through both Ashlee and I, and we did a little happy dance, and told the wardrobe lady we loved her! Lynne* and her both laughed at our reaction! Knowing we weren’t crazy as it might seem to some, just having a lot of fun. We thanked the wardrobe lady as she made her way down the hallway. Then we continued around a corner ourselves, we saw the dancers rooms where they could change and shower. There were several dancers coming out of those rooms, some of them we recognized, and they greeted us! We saw Francisco whom we had met that week, both of us said, “Hey, do you remember us?” He looked at us and said, “Hey! Yeah, I remember you!” In the hallways there were several collages of pictures from the show, articles, as well as lists of who had a birthday that month. Lynne* pointed to a picture taken during “Seduces Me” when all of the guys surround Céline with their shirts off, saying, “That’s my screensaver!“ Ashlee and I both laughed and then I told her what I had said after that song during the show! At the end of the hallway was where the ushers get their uniforms, Lynne* then said, “Oh, I forgot to get you passes!” She said we really didn’t need them since we were with her, but she knew that we would want them as a souvenir. She was so right! We had to sign a list, and then we were given stickers with the A New Day… logo on them with the date, which we immediately stuck to our shirts! Then we went back into an elevator, going up, and back onto the stage, this time walking on from the opposite side we had walked on. We stood there again, in awe. A security guy said something to Lynne* from all the way in the back, and you could hear him clearly. This immediately made me realize how well Céline must have been able to hear me when I called out to her. The acoustics in the Colosseum are like nothing else. As Ashlee and I stood there trying to take it all in, Lynne* asked us, “Do you have a camera?” We reminded her that you weren’t allowed to bring them into the show. She said, “Duh. Of course.” I then said, “My parents do, and they’re just outside!” She then said, “Well, let’s go get that camera, you have to have your picture on the stage!” Ashlee and I both squealed in excitement, that we would forever have documentation of standing on Céline’s stage, as we bolted towards the entrance! My mom was talking to the ushers outside, obviously interrogating them as to where we were! She saw us, and Ashlee and I both started tell her everything that happened, at the same time, all at once! “She still loves us, we went under the stairs, backstage, touched her dress, we need a camera, we’re on the stage, we need a picture…” There was no way in hell anyone would ever be able to understand what we were saying. Lynne*, bless her, translated for us. Then all of us, including my parents walked back into the Colosseum, Ashlee and I walking up onto the stage together as if we had done it as many times as Céline had. We posed for several pictures, my mom clicking away, my dad with the video camera. Both of them knew what a moment this was for both Ashlee and I, and they tried to document all they could for us. We also posed for a picture with Lynne*, her saying she was honored to. Then as we said our goodbyes to Lynne*, Ashlee and I sat on the stairs, exactly where Céline sits when she sings “If I Could”. We soon got up, wanting to let Lynne* get back to work so she could get home, she said she had to do payroll before she could leave. I ran to her and gave her the biggest hug, it definitely measures up, and may even surpass the one I’d given Michel earlier in the week. I thanked her over and over again, she kept saying, “You’re so welcome!” Ashlee then followed with a big hug, followed by tears and thank yous. She walked us out, the ushers opening the doors that had already been closed for the night. My dad turned to Lynne* as we walked out saying, “Thank you, you have no idea what you have done for them!” She said it was her pleasure. Thankfully we caught the photographer and were able to see the pictures we’d taken with all of our crazy poses. Ashlee and I were so hopelessly broke, but my mom decided she had to have them. The photographer was so excited that we had gone backstage. She said she had only seen Céline when she was asked to take a picture on occasion, and one time she had embarrassingly ran right into her, not looking where she was going, and Céline had been so kind about it, saying, “Oh excuse me, honey!” She said she was a huge Reba fan, but also after working with her, she was a Céline fan too. I honestly don’t remember what happened next, Ashlee and I were in a trace, and somehow made it to bed and fell asleep.

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We awoke to our final day in Las Vegas. We were so tired, emotionally drained - but so happy. We were still trying to work everything out in our heads, and tried so hard to make our brains believe it was true. We had seen Céline a second and third time, we had gone backstage and touched her dress, we had experienced incredible moments with her during the shows we attended. What more could we ever ask for?

When we returned home, we quickly made a video to send to the Colosseum to thank everyone, Lynne* most importantly. We also thanked Christine, because without her none of it would have ever been possible. Thank yous also went out to Michel, the ushers, dancers, and of course Céline! We sent an e-mail to Lynne*, and told her to let us know that she got it ok. She wrote back soon after and told us everyone had loved it! She was also going to send a copy to Céline when she returned from vacation! She also told us that we were, by far, the most entertaining backstage tour she has ever given! Gee, I wonder why!

Then in July, while Ashlee was visiting her sister in Florida, in between both of our birthdays, I received mail from CDA Productions. My parents and I had just returned from going out to eat for my birthday, and I opened it up while we were still driving into our driveway. At first I saw two identical pictures of Céline, the one from the cover of her A New Day Has Come album. I slowly pulled them out of the envelope revealing the written words, “To Ashley, Love, Céline Dion xo” I gasped, and proceeded not to breath! I pulled the second one out, and it said, “To Ashlee, Love Céline Dion xo”! Céline had read my letter and sent us personalized autographs! At this point, my parents are so alarmed they have stopped before entering the garage to turn around and see why I was gasping for air, repeating, “Oh my God!” They were both thrilled, that is after I started to breath again, that she had done this for us. Once I entered the house, I sat down at the table and simply started at the autographs for a long time in disbelief. She knew our names. Not only that, the fact that Ashlee received an autograph as well was proof she had read my letter. The letter was from me, but I had talked about Ashlee in it. And also, she had spelled both of our names correctly… such a simple gesture, but to us - it meant so much. I, of course, called Ashlee in Florida and told her the amazing news. I made sure she gripped her cell phone, or her sisters' cell phone I should say, and this time amidst the screaming, gasping, and the inevitable “Oh my God!” she didn’t break her phone this time! I also sent Michel a card soon after, thanking him for his kind gesture that had meant so much to me. I also told him, if I ever returned to see the show again, I owed him a big hug!

At the end of this trip, I simply could not believe how close I had come to Céline. I was so impressed at those who worked with her, for her, and around her who were not only dedicated to their work, and talented at what they do, but the kindest most generous people I’d ever encountered. They all know how much Céline’s fans love her, and they know what it means to them when they bring us a little bit closer to her. Sitting in the middle of my living room floor when I first heard her phenomenal voice, I would have never imagined it would lead to all of this. But as I soon discovered, the best was yet to come.

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*Name has been changed to protect identity.