Sugar Plums for Dry Creek & At Home in Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

  Lizette looked over the rail of the loft and saw at least two ranch hands who had a piece of news print in their hands. It had to be the diagram.

  There was probably no chance that Judd hadn’t seen it, Lizette thought.

  “Do you get a newspaper at your house?” Lizette turned and asked Bobby.

  The boy shook his head. “Cousin Judd listens to the radio.”

  Maybe there was a chance, Lizette thought. Fortunately, no one on the radio was likely to have heard about the Hollywood Kiss Diagram, which was what Edna had referred to it as.

  Fifteen more minutes passed and Judd still hadn’t arrived. The barn had filled with a good-size crowd, and every one seemed to be having a good time.

  Lizette had decided she wouldn’t sell tickets to the ballet, but Linda had offered to put a bucket near the refreshment table where people could make donations to cover the costs of the production. There was a line now for the coffee, and it looked like most people held a dollar bill in their hand to put in the bucket.

  “I’ll go down and get the music ready to start,” Lizette said. It was five minutes until the time the ballet was scheduled to begin. She looked over at Madame Aprele and smiled. “You’d best get in the Nutcracker costume. When I come back up, I’ll wait a few minutes and then give Linda the signal to dim the lights and push the play but ton for the music.”

  Lizette walked down the stairs and onto the barn floor. Half of the chairs were filled with people drinking coffee or punch and waiting for the ballet to begin. The other half of the chairs would comfortably seat the people who were still in line for their beverage.

  Linda had suggested they serve the drinks be fore the ballet and then serve them again after the ballet when they brought out the pas tries.

  “Hi,” Linda said when she saw Lizette walking to ward the refreshment table. “We’ll be finishing up here in a few minutes.”

  Lizette nodded. “Judd’s not here yet, but he might not make it. When every one gets settled down here and back to their seats, just dim the lights and then a minute later start the music. The dancers will come down the stairs then and we’ll begin.”

  The chatter in the barn had a warm feeling to it, Lizette thought as she walked back to the stairs. People smiled and greeted her like an old friend in stead of a performer, and she liked that.

  Lizette climbed the stairs to the hayloft and gathered her dancers around her for a final word of encouragement.

  “This is for fun,” Lizette said to them all as she nodded to Madame Aprele, who was holding the Nutcracker’s hat but still hadn’t changed into the en tire costume. The older woman had more hope than Lizette did. “I don’t want you to worry if you make a mistake. Everything will be fine.”

  “I’m not going to make any mistakes,” Amanda said. She had her costume on, and the wings glittered pink and gold in the light that came into the loft. “I’m a Sugar Plum Fairy, and we don’t make mistakes.”

  “We try not to make mistakes,” Lizette agreed. “But some times we do.”

  “Like Cousin Judd,” Bobby said. “He’s making a mistake because he’s late.”

  Lizette put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It’s all right. It will be okay even if he doesn’t get here. We’ll all understand.”

  Lizette hoped that message would get to Judd through the children.

  “Uh-uh.” Amanda shook her head. “Cousin Judd needs to be here. He’s the Nutcracker. Who’s going to do the kiss if he’s not here?”

  Lizette exchanged a glance with Madame Aprele. The older woman would play the part of the Nutcracker. But—“Maybe there won’t be a kiss this time around.”

  “I’d be happy to do the kiss,” Pete said as he stepped out from be hind the curtain in his Mouse King costume.

  Lizette noticed the ranch hand had not flirted with her since he’d arrived. He wasn’t even flirting now.

  “On Judd’s be half, of course,” Pete added. “As a friend.”

  “Oh, well—” Lizette stammered. “No one needs to do a kiss.”

  Pete stepped closer to the edge of the loft and looked over. “I think they’re going to demand a kiss.”

  Lizette stepped closer to the edge of the loft just in time to see the barn door open.

  “Well, look who’s here,” Pete said with relief. “I knew he’d make it.”

  It was Judd walking through the door, along with a woman who was wrapped in a long black coat with a gray wool scarf wrapped around her face so that none of her hair or skin showed.

  Lizette tried not to be jealous of the fact that Judd was walking with his arm around the woman and leading her to one of the chairs in the back of the barn. Who Judd put his arm around was none of her business, Lizette told her self, even though he was carrying a huge bouquet of roses that he gave to the woman when she settled into her chair. Judd called Linda over to the woman be fore he looked up to the hay loft and saw Lizette and Pete.

  The chatter in the barn grew more excited as Judd walked over to the staircase leading up to the hayloft.

  “Cousin Judd!” Amanda squealed when she saw Judd coming up the stairs. “You came!”

  “Of course,” Judd said as he stood at the top of the stairs.

  “You need to get into your costume,” Pete said as he slapped Judd on the back. “We’ve got a ballet to do.”

  Linda dimmed the lights to signal the audience was ready. Judd was al ready walking over to Madame Aprele, who held out his costume to him. Then he headed for the curtain to change. “If you want to start, I can slip down in a few minutes.”

  Lizette nodded. “You don’t need to be in the first few minutes, any way. We thought we’d have the family sing a carol in front of the tree to start.”

  This, Lizette thought, was what a family Christmas felt like even hundreds of years ago when the Nutcracker was writ ten. It was gathering your friends and family together be side a tree and celebrating a wonderful time of gifts and love.

  The carol the family sang was “Silent Night.” Mrs. Hargrove led every one in the barn in softly singing the song and the sound filled the whole structure with warmth.

  Lizette slowly danced ballet steps to show how a young girl would see the wonder of that night long ago when Christ was born. The audience was hushed. Lizette had not known until these past few days what it meant to be truly silent on that holy night.

  After the carol finished, Charley started to read the story of the Nutcracker.

  The Nutcracker came on the stage just when the presents were given to the children, and Lizette realized what she should have done. She should have taken a moment to warn Judd about the kiss. He must not know that every one had been talking about the kiss he was going to give her to night.

  Lizette danced the part of Clara’s excitement over her new gift, hoping to come close enough to whisper in Judd’s ear. Unfortunately, none of the steps got her close enough to say a few words to him that all of the others wouldn’t also hear.

  She’d have to wait for the battle scene, she thought. There would be enough noise with all of the mice attacking that no one would hear her talking to Judd.

  What was wrong with the Nutcracker? When they had practiced, Judd had held back as though he wasn’t part of the mice attack. He’d let the children attack him, but he hadn’t got ten into their play. Now, he attacked with abandon, lifting one mouse up in the air until the mouse giggled and then going after an other until even the tin soldier for got which side of the battle he was on and all of the children swarmed around the Nutcracker.

  Lizette didn’t have a chance to talk to Judd, so she just kept dancing. She twisted and turned and made it look like the whole stage was alive with ballet.

  Then Charley started to read about the attack of the Mouse King, and Pete burst out of the fire place with a roar that briefly overpowered the music.

  Now, Lizette said to her self, as she tried to dance closer to Judd to explain that he didn’t need to kiss her. There wasn’t a kiss in every Nutcra
cker production, and there wouldn’t be one in this one. The people of Dry Creek would have to get their romance else where this Christmas. Her friend ship with Judd was more important than the ballet, even if this ballet affected the future of her ballet school in this little community where she was making her home.

  “Psst,” Lizette hissed as she danced as close as she could to Pete and Judd.

  The Mouse King and the Nutcracker were engaged in a magnificent battle, and the audience was shouting encouragement to them both. There was enough noise that she could de liver her message to Judd if he’d only look her way.

  But the Mouse King had the Nutcracker in his grip, and Charley was clearing his throat.

  “The shoe.” Judd twisted his neck and finally looked at Lizette. “You need to throw your shoe.”

  Lizette figured she’d have to talk to Judd after she saved his life.

  Lizette’s shoe hit Pete on the shoulder, and he went down with a groan.

  The music swelled up and Charley threw sparkling confetti in the air as if it was a party.

  Judd moved closer.

  Finally, Lizette thought as she danced closer to him, she’d have a chance to tell him about the kiss.

  “You don’t need to do the kiss,” Lizette whispered as she came close to Judd.

  Judd had al ready taken his hat off, and he wasn’t frowning at all. In fact, Lizette thought he looked down right happy. Which meant only one thing. He hadn’t heard about the story in the newspaper.

  “Oh, yes, I do,” Judd said as he moved even closer to her until she had no room left to dance.

  “But—” Lizette said be fore Judd bent down and kissed her. It wasn’t a stage kiss, of course. He hadn’t taken any of her earlier suggestions. The funny thing was that she didn’t care. She had his kiss.

  Yes, she thought to her self, this was what Christmas and mistletoe and family were all about.

  Lizette was only dimly aware of the applause.

  “We’re not finished,” she murmured as she settled even closer to Judd, if that was possible.

  “Not by a long shot,” Judd agreed with his lips close to hers.

  “We still have the Sugar Plum Fairy.”

  “That, too,” Judd agreed as he smiled into her eyes and then kissed her again.

  The applause overpowered the music. Lizette thought there was some stomping, too.

  “Oh, yes,” Judd said as he slowly pulled him self away from her. “I al most for got—”

  Judd looked to his side where Linda stood with the hugest bouquet of red roses Lizette had ever seen.

  “These are for you,” Judd said to her as he took the roses from Linda and handed them to Lizette.

  She al most cried. Everything was perfect for the moment. But when some one said something about that diagram, she didn’t know what he would do.

  Judd then turned to the audience and said quite clearly, “And for those of you who are wondering about the secret to a Hollywood kiss, that’s it. Bring her roses, boys, that’s all there is to it.”

  The audience loved him. Lizette could see that. Odd that she still had the urge to cry.

  “That was a smart move,” she said to Judd. She couldn’t look him in the eye, but she could look at his chin, which was close enough. “They won’t tease you now. It was brilliant.”

  “Brilliant had nothing to do with it,” Judd whispered as he tipped her chin up so her eyes met his. “I’m hoping to kiss you a lot in the days ahead, and I don’t want some one stopping to draw a diagram of it every time I do.”

  “You do? Hope to kiss me?”

  Judd nodded. “A man’s got to have hope even if he’s got no reason to.”

  Lizette smiled. “You have reason.”

  Judd grinned and kissed her again.

  Lizette danced the next scenes as she had never danced be fore. Madame Aprele was right about ballet being fun. The Snow Queen must have thought it was fun, too, because she al most frolicked during her scenes.

  Then there was the Sugar Plum Fairy. Amanda glowed as she stood at the edge of the stage area and started her dance. Lizette had had more time to teach Amanda dance steps than any of her other students, and the little girl was actually doing ballet.

  Lizette had given Amanda a solo part, and so Lizette had danced to the side lines to wait while Amanda completed it.

  Madame Aprele was standing next to Lizette. “She’s got promise, that one. She’s a natural.”

  Lizette nodded. It was good to know she had at least one student who was in it for the ballet in stead of the dough nuts.

  “There will be more,” Madame Aprele said with a nod to the audience. “You’ll find more students out there.”

  The applause at the end of Amanda’s solo was as loud as the kiss applause, and the little girl glowed under the shower of encouragement until one woman at the back of the seating area stood up to give her a standing ovation.

  “Mama,” Amanda squealed, and for got all about being the Sugar Plum Fairy as she ran down the aisle to her mother.

  Lizette swore there wasn’t a dry eye in the whole barn by the end of the ballet.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “We’re going to need more napkins,” Linda announced as Lizette man aged to walk through the crowd of well-wishers in order to check with Linda on how things were going. “Next time we should for get asking for contributions for coffee and just sell handkerchiefs. We’ll make a fortune. Even I was teary-eyed.”

  “Who wouldn’t cry when Amanda saw her mother?”

  “And you and Judd,” Linda said as she reached for a napkin. “That sent me over the edge.”

  “Well—” Lizette wanted to admit that it had sent her over the edge, too, but the man was no where around and so she wasn’t sure she should be thinking what she was thinking, so she didn’t want to say any thing.

  “I mean, when he gave you the second kiss, I knew—that’s the real thing.” Linda dabbed at her eyes. “Judd’s just so romantic. My boy friend used to be that way, too.”

  Lizette couldn’t help but think it would be a lot more romantic if Judd had actually hung around to talk to her after a kiss like that. At first she thought he was with the kids and their mother, but she’d looked over there and he wasn’t with them, either. She’d heard that Judd’s cousin had been in a hospital in Colorado until Sheriff Wall went there to convince her it was safe to come back. Judd had met her in Miles City and brought her out to the performance. After such a long day, maybe Judd was just tired. Maybe he’d just gone home with out a word to anyone.

  “Ah, there he is,” Linda said.

  Lizette turned to look in the direction of Linda’s gaze.

  So there was Judd, coming in the door with Pete right be hind him. They were both still in costume al though they had put on their hats and their coats, so they looked a little odd.

  Lizette could see Judd scanning the crowd and looking for some one until his eyes found hers and the scanning stopped. He started walking to ward her.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Linda said as she started to walk away from Lizette. “I think three might be a crowd right about now.”

  “Sorry,” Judd said as he stopped in front of Lizette. “I had to give Pete a key to my place and I’d left the key in my pickup.”

  “Pete?”

  “Yeah, I told him he could stay at my place for a few days until the teasing dies down about his tail.”

  Lizette smiled. “I didn’t think of that.”

  “Yeah, this having-a-friend business is a commitment, you know,” Judd said as he reached out and touched Lizette on the cheek. “Not that I’m op posed to commitments any more. I want you to know that. In fact, there’s one commitment I’ll welcome if I get a chance to make it.”

  “What’s that?” Lizette said.

  “This one.” Judd bent his head to kiss her.

  Epilogue

  From the Dry Creek Tidbits column appearing in the March 17 issue of the Billings newspaper:

&n
bsp; The bride, Lizette Baker, and the groom, Judd Bowman, were married in the church in Dry Creek last Saturday, March 14, at two o’clock in the afternoon. The groom’s little cousin, Amanda Strong, was the flower girl and her brother, Bobby Strong, was the ring bearer.

  Both children (who take lessons at the Baker School of Ballet along with eight other children) executed perfect pirouettes on their way down the aisle as a special gift to their ballet teacher.

  The bride and groom gave special thanks to the pastor of the church, who had baptized them and received their confession of faith several months prior to their marriage.

  Doughnuts were served at the reception along with a five-tiered wedding cake, both made by the bride, who offers her baking services at the Dry Creek Café.

  Readers of this column who want to send congratulation cards to Mr. and Mrs. Bowman can send cards to the Bowman Ranch, Dry Creek, Montana (the groom assured me there is no need to refer to their place as the Jenkins place any longer and I believe he’s right. It’s now the Bowman family’s place.)

  Readers of this column will also remember that the bride and groom were engaged shortly after demonstrating the Hollywood kiss that was diagrammed in this column. Their kiss after the wedding ceremony rivaled the one many readers saw at the Nutcracker ballet performance be fore Christmas.

  The bride was quoted as saying, “Finally, we have that kiss just right.”

  The groom offered to keep practicing.