The Spring Dance
Part 1
Saturday, April 28, 1984
“You’re sure it’s okay for me to take the Ford?” Dan asked his uncle as he struggled with the knot of his tie.
“I cleared it with Mr. Wheeler.” Regan explained for the third time, sitting on his sofa and watching his nephew. “He agreed that the station wagon is too small to fit all of you, plus your date. You and Mart take the Ford, and Jim and Brian will take the wagon.”
“But he’s okay with me driving it?”
“Danny, Mart doesn’t have a license yet, and Trixie and Honey wanted to ride together. Besides, Mr. Wheeler knows that you are a safe and responsible driver. Hell, you drive better than I do.” Regan reached out to straighten Dan’s tie. “There. You look ready.”
Dan grinned. “Thanks. I like the jacket.” He ran his hand down one navy sleeve, smoothing a nonexistent wrinkle.
“I figured a good suit coat would come in handy.” Regan reached into his pocket. “Here are the keys, and a little something in case you want to get a snack after the dance.”
Dan took the keys, but hesitated before taking the twenty-dollar bill. Regan cocked an eyebrow, and Dan slipped the twenty into his inside pocket. “Thanks, Uncle Bill.”
“You have a nice evening, and be careful. You and the car need to be back by midnight.” Regan squeezed his nephew’s shoulder. “Have fun.”
“Thanks, again. I won’t be late.” Dan said, picking up his corsage box as he left his uncle’s apartment and headed for the garage. The Ford LTD Crown Victoria was waiting for him in the driveway. He opened the door, and slid in, melting into the leather seats. Starting the car, he carefully backed down the drive, and headed to Crabapple Farm to pick up Mart.
At Crabapple Farm, Mrs. Belden straightened Dan’s tie as well as Mart’s, picking a piece of lint from the shoulder of Mart’s gray jacket. At the Lynch estate, Mrs. Lynch straightened both ties yet again, and snapped half a dozen pictures of Mart and Diana, Mart and Dan, Dan and Diana, and the three of them together. Mart pinned a white rose and lavender ribbon corsage to the wide strap of Diana’s violet satin dress, prompting another five or six photos. Finally, they managed to make it back to the car and down the road to pick up Dan’s date, Ruthie Kettner.
The Kettner house was small and set back from the main road. Dan parked at the curb and walked up the path, leaving Mart and Di giggling in the back seat of the car. Nervously, he knocked on the door. Immediately a gap-toothed towheaded little boy wrenched it open.
“Are you here for Ruthie?” the child asked.
“Yes. May I come in?” Dan replied.
The boy looked him up and looked him down before answering. “I suppose. But you ain’t a vampire are you?”
Startled, Dan laughed. “No.” he said. “I am not a vampire. Look.” He leaned down and smiled wide, showing his teeth. “No fangs.”
“Garrett! What are you doing?” A small, plump woman came into the room drying her hands on a dishtowel.
“Just checking, Mama,” Garrett told her. “You never want to invite a vampire into your house. If you do it once, they can keep coming back.”
“Garrett! No more vampires! Now apologize to...Daniel, isn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Dan, and I don’t mind having Garrett check me out. A man’s got to take care of his family.” He looked into the little boy’s big blue eyes. “Do I pass inspection?”
Garrett nodded soberly. “I suppose,” he said. “Vampires have death breath, and yours smells like cimamon gum. Come in, please.” He smiled his gap toothed grin and opened the door wide. Dan smiled back at him and stepped inside.
“Ruth will be out in just a minute. Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thank you, Mrs. Kettner. I’m fine.” Dan smiled.
“I’ll go get Ruthie.” Mrs. Kettner started for the hallway. “I would like to take a few pictures before you go.”
Mentally groaning, Dan simply smiled and said, “Of course.”
“You’ll have her home by eleven, right?” Garrett asked, his hands on his hips.
“Um. Yes.” Dan answered.
“Good. Because my Daddy isn’t here to yell at you, and I have to go to bed by nine.” Garrett fixed his gaze on Dan.
Dan crouched down again, bringing himself eye to eye with the boy. “Your dad is in the Army, isn’t he?”
“Yes he is.” Garret said. “Right now he’s in Germany, but he left me in charge until he gets back.”
“My dad was in the Army too,” Dan told him. “But I only had my mom to take care of, I didn’t have a sister. That must be a big responsibility.”
“Ruthie isn’t much trouble.” Garrett confided. “She’s a really good girl, but Daddy said I needed to protect her from boys.”
“Your daddy was right,” Dan agreed. “I promise I’ll take good care of her tonight.”
“Garrett, are you trying to scare off Dan?”
Dan rose, turning to look at Ruthie as she entered the room. Garrett scampered away.
“I was just warning him,” he protested. “Gee, you look pretty.”
“You look very pretty.” Dan concurred. He took in the rose pink dress ruffling across her shoulders and falling in graceful folds from her waist to mid calf. Her blonde hair had been pulled away from her face, and curled. Long tendrils teased her bare shoulders, softening the line of her jaw. The makeup she wore was soft, enhancing her fair complexion.
Dan realized he was staring, and shook his head. Smiling, he held out the corsage box. “Here.” he said. “I got this for you.”
Ruthie opened the box and lifted out the wrist corsage. “Oh, Dan, thank you!” she breathed. “Isn’t it beautiful, Mama?”
“Indeed.” Mrs. Kettner said looking at the miniature lily surrounded by pink baby roses. “It’ll look perfect with your dress. Put it on, and let me take some pictures, so you can get going.”
They did as requested. Ten minutes and half a roll of film later, Dan was holding the door to the Crown Victoria as Ruthie slid inside. It was a short drive from the house to the dance, and the four made cheerful small talk all the way there.
The Sleepyside High School gym was nearly unrecognizable. The decorating committee had outdone themselves, hanging flowers, streamers and large painted murals all over the place. Dan helped open the door for Mart and Diana, and then offered his arm to Ruthie. She took it with a shy smile, and they entered under an ivy-covered arch.
“There you are! We thought maybe you got lost.” Trixie Belden, all five feet four inches of her suddenly appeared in front of Ruthie and Dan. “We’ve been here for at least half an hour. Brian and Honey haven’t stopped dancing since we got here. What took you so long?”
“I think we’ve been here for closer to ten minutes.” Jim Frayne grinned down at Trixie, as he wrapped one arm around her shoulder with a show of studied casualness. The message was subtle, but very clear.
Dan ignored it, leaning forward to whisper in Trixie’s ear. “Pictures,” he said in a breathy whisper, inaudible to Jim. “Lots and lots of pictures.”
Trixie laughed. “I know what you mean. I think Moms used two rolls of film, and Jim had to talk Mrs. Wheeler out of hiring a professional photographer.” She smoothed down the skirt of her light green dress. “Didn’t the committee do a great job with the decorations?” She asked. “And the band is good too.”
“Then why don’t we dance?” Jim asked her, removing his arm from her shoulders and holding out his hand.
She took his hand eagerly, and they spun out onto the dance floor, as the band began to play. Dan smiled down at Ruthie. “Would you like to dance?” he asked.
“Well,” Ruthie replied softly. “It is called a dance for a reason.” She placed her hand in his, and they joined the others on the dance floor.
Josie M. Fisher, investigative reporter. That had a nice ring to it. How about, Josie M. Fisher, news anchor for WJIX, Channel 8 News? That could be good, too. Standing up and spinning around, Josie looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her long, curly dark brown hair was pulled up on the sides, and cascaded down her back, a dark green ribbon threaded through it. “It looks fine Katie,” she said, somewhat impatiently to her almost-twin sister.
“Sit down, Taz and let me finish your makeup.” Katie Fisher, a scant fifteen months younger than her sister, glared at Josie. The look in the large brown eyes, so like her own, made Josie sit back down with an exaggerated sigh.
“Fine,” she said, closing her eyes. “Just don’t make me look like a clown, ‘kay?”
“You don’t look like a clown,” Katie told her indignantly. “You look gorgeous.”
Josie opened her eyes. She did look pretty good. The makeup her baby sister had applied was subtle, highlighting her brown eyes and full lips. The dark green dress with the burnout flower pattern was a little longer than was currently fashionable, but the addition of the silver lace gypsy shawl tied around the waist gave her a slightly exotic air. Josie stood up and hugged her sister. “Thanks K,” she said. “I wish you were going.”
“Me too,” Katie said honestly. “But it is my turn to stay with Mom. Besides, Lester asked you, not me.”
Josie laughed. “Lester asked one of us. He didn’t care which one said yes, he just didn’t want to show up empty handed after Ruthie Kettner turned him down.”
“Be fair,” Katie reminded her, “Ruthie didn’t turn him down; Lester didn’t ask her in time. That Dan Mangan guy asked her first.” She sighed. “Now, he’s a dream boat. Did you know that his eyes are the darkest shade of blue?”
“I never noticed.” Josie retied the knot on her shawl, and slipped on a pair of silver sandals. “But he is too old for you. He’s driving already, and you just turned fourteen.”
“You were head over heels about Gordon by the time you were twelve,” Katie said pointedly. “Why can’t I be interested in Dan?”
“Because Gordon and I are the same age, and we had known each other since preschool, just to start.” Josie cut herself off in mid sentence. Talking about Gordon still hurt. Leaving Indiana had been hard enough; giving up Gordon had been...worse. The doorbell rang downstairs; Josie put away her thoughts and picked up her tiny purse. Tonight was about having fun, dancing and maybe making some new friends. She smiled to herself. Maybe she could even help Lester in his Ruth quest.
Half an hour, and five dances into the dance, Dan felt Ruthie stiffen in his arms. Her attention seemed focused on the door. He turned his head slightly, following her gaze. Lester Mundy walked through the arbor arch, a tall brunette on his arm. Spinning Ruthie around, Dan whispered, “I told you before, I would have been fine letting you come with Les.”
She smiled up at him. “I know. And I told you that you asked me three days before Lester did. Besides, I’m having a good time, aren’t you?”
Dan laughed. “Of course, but I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of true love.”
“Ha ha,” Ruth wrinkled her nose at him. “I am not in love with anyone, I just kind of, like Lester. He’s really quite sweet, once you get through the jokes. You, however, are sweet without the jokes, and you are definitely nice to look at.” Ruthie blushed, her cheeks turning the same pink as her dress, when she realized what she had said.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Dan joked, giving her a mock bow as the music stopped. Honey Wheeler, looking like a daffodil in her yellow dress waved from across the room. “I see Honey waving to us,” Dan said. “Why don’t you go see what she wants, and I’ll go get us a couple of sodas? All this dancing has made me thirsty.”
“I’d be fine with the punch,” Ruthie told him as they left the dance floor. “It doesn’t look too bad.” She pointed at the bowl of pale red punch on the refreshment table.
Dan shuddered, and Ruthie laughed. “I’ll bring you back a can,” he said, reaching into his pants pocket for change. “Trust me, you don’t want that...stuff.” He hastened out toward the soda machine in the hallway, before Ruthie questioned him about his aversion to sickly-sweet powdered punch.
Dan retrieved the cans from the machine and turned around. There in front of him stood the tall brunette Lester had escorted.
“Hi,” she held out her hand. “I’m Josie.”
Dan juggled the cans, trying to shake hands without dropping anything. “Dan,” he said. “Dan Mangan.”
“I know.” She grinned at him. “Katie was right; you do have blue eyes.”
“Yes, I do.” Dan was now completely befuddled. “Who is Katie?”
The grin deepened, showing dimples at the corners of her mouth. “Katie is my sister. She...well, she noticed you, but she’s too young for you, so stay away from her, okay?”
“Sure thing.” Dan managed to pull his hand free, taking a couple of steps back.
The girl...Josie, giggled. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Sometimes I talk too much and don’t say enough, especially when I am nervous. Can I start again, please?”
Dan relaxed a little. “Go ahead,” he told her.
She did. “Hi, I’m Josie. Josie Fisher. I followed you out here to ask you a favor.” Dan didn’t say anything, but neither did he back away or run, so she continued. “When the band comes back, I would appreciate it if you would ask me to dance, so that that Lester could ask Ruthie to dance, because that’s what he really wanted, I mean, he wanted to come with her in the first place, but when he got around to asking her, you had already asked her and so she came with you.” She stopped for breath.
Dan nodded. “Let me get this straight. You want me to dance with you so that your date can dance with my date, because your date wanted my date to be his date, but he was too slow to ask her. Is that right?”
Josie wrinkled her nose, rolling his words back and forth. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I’m pretty sure that’s what I said, but it sounds more complicated when you say it.”
It was Dan’s turn to laugh. “That’s because I am fluent in Honey-speak,” he explained. “I’ll introduce you to the inventors of that peculiar language later.” He offered his arm, and she took it with a startled laugh. “Shall we?”
Back inside the gym, Dan reclaimed his date and handed her a can of soda. Lester and Josie came to join the group of Bob-Whites. As they stood chatting, Dan found himself looking at Lester’s date. She was definitely unusual. Pretty, with those big brown eyes, teasing dimples and long curly hair. She exuded confidence and exuberance, yet seemed a little shy amongst the larger group. Her style was different, too. The other girls in the room were wearing pastel colors, in keeping with the spring theme. Pinks, pale greens, blues, yellows and lavenders abounded. Josie wore deep forest green, standing out like a Christmas cactus in the midst of a tulip bed. Dan respected that.
The band began to play again, and Dan quickly held out his hand to Josie. “Would you like to dance?” he asked.
“I’d love too.” She looked at Lester. “You don’t mind, do you, Les?”
Lester looked surprised, but shook his head. As Jim and Trixie, followed by Mart and Diana and Honey and Brian took to the dance floor, Lester looked at Ruthie and stammered, “Would you like to dance? With me?”
Flushing prettily, she smiled at him. “I thought you’d never ask.”
