Let's Make a Deal Pt. 19- Epilogue 03

A couple of days later, having checked with Brian to make sure he'd be home, Scott drove in separately from Martha and swung by the Bruces' on the way home. He hugged them each, but then again stood still holding Lynda for a few moments. He was very conscious of the danger of too much physical contact. On the other hand, their difference in height reduced the danger a lot. If he were no taller than Brian, Lynda would be a very affecting armful. Still, he let go pretty soon.

"Lynda, thank you again for your gift. You went way out of your way to think of it and then provide it. My impulse is to say something like, 'You have no idea how much it means to us,' but I know you have a very good idea. The whole day made Martha feel special and loved, but the hairdo fills a void in her that I'm at a loss to know how to deal with.

"I wouldn't discuss this with you with Martha not here, except that you've heard me on the subject in her presence more than once. She just can't believe me that she's an attractive woman, and that I thought so long before I fell in love with her. I'm sure someone once told her she was ugly in a way that stuck in her mind. I can't get her to discuss it with me. I'm not willing to insist on it and demand obedience as her husband, but I wish she would talk about it."

Lynda looked at him for a moment. "She's said more to me than to you. I think I shouldn't repeat most of it, but you're right. It was some boys, a long time ago, and not just once. And then, well, Helen told her a couple of the same things. Part of why she won't tell you about it is that she's heard you say what you wish you could do to Ron for how he hurt me, and she's afraid you might go after the ones who are still around, though."

Scott stood and thought for a few moments. "Thank you. That might even help me. You know, don't you, that what I might wish isn't what I would think it right to do? You've heard me at length on what scripture says about vengeance, both of you, I mean all three of you," he said, looking at Brian too. "If I thought something were necessary to keep him, Ron I mean now, from hurting you or someone else again like that, I'd do most anything, but whatever I might wish would happen to him, I wouldn't retaliate for what he did all almost ten years ago."

Lynda stepped up to him and bent him over to where she could kiss him on the cheek. "I know, and you've really done a lot for me, so it doesn't hurt like that any more. I wish I could help Martha see this the same way."

"Actually, what you said may help me a lot. At any rate, I have something new to say on the subject. And the new hairdo at least sometimes makes her feel pretty, like a different woman, really and truly. And that's real and objective. She can tell that I respond to it, but she can see it herself in the mirror."

He went back over to Brian and gave him another hug. "I'm sure that day set you back a lot, but I'm also sure you've heard from Lynda how much it was worth it. I know she was the one who thought of it, and did all the work of investigating and setting it up, but it was from you, too, just the same. It's a gift to me as well. I can't thank you both enough!"

After a few more minutes' conversation, he left and went home to Martha. It took him a lot of thinking to figure out how to bring up to her what Lynda had told him, but eventually he did. She opened up a bit more, though still not to the point of naming specific people. But she told him at least some of what had been said, and when, crying about it. He tried to comfort her, and he really thought not holding it all inside did help her. He knew that it would be a long time before she was really free of believing the things that had been said, if that ever happened. But at least with the addition of the new hairdo, he thought progress had been made.

It did still hurt him a little, though, now that he knew more. One of the things the boys had teased her about was her breasts. Her figure had begun to develop a little early, and her breasts were above average in size. The boys had told her, repeatedly, that she was just a cow, making mooing sounds when she was around. And Helen had made similar comments about her at least once, apparently for no reason except to humiliate her. He was glad that he had told her, very early on and often since, how much he liked her breasts, but somehow it seemed never to have made a lasting impression. He did stress it again as they talked, though.

Still, it gave him some insight into something else about Martha. He hadn't known before the deal began about her determination to keep fit. Most people he knew who put a priority on that tended, in his opinion, to go overboard. Martha didn't fret if she missed a day, or even two or three, but just quietly went about getting pretty regular exercise, and she normally watched her diet pretty closely. She was more determined about it than Scott was, certainly. With what he knew now, Scott was relieved to see that she showed no signs of anorexia, but he knew that she felt somewhat unattractively fat, and now he thought he knew why. Beyond assuring her, often, of how attractive she was, and praying for her in his own daily prayers, he was at a loss of how to help her.

In any case, he was very happy indeed that Martha's desire for fitness was so well-balanced. She was reasonably committed and consistent about exercise, but not at all compulsive. She usually chose healthy foods, and did a far better job of eating in moderation than Scott managed, but she didn't, at all, obsess over how many calories everything had. And she definitely did not try to starve herself into unnatural thinness.

Around this time, those responsible for the scheduling of dances arranged for 3 Bits A Dollar to come and play, with Scott as well. It wasn't just Scott and Martha who angled for this. They didn't offer more money than they normally would for bringing in an outside group. They did offer accommodations in people's homes, but Jim—and Darla came too—stayed with Scott and Martha. Duane's wife, Lisa, also came along.

When Jim and Darla came in the door at the Davidsons', they both stopped and stared for a moment at Martha. Darla dropped her bags and gave her a big hug. "Martha, your hair is sensational! You were beautiful before, but that's amazing!" They turned to getting things settled in the spare bedroom, and got a tour of the house. The baby's room was what had been Lynda's, and the guests were warned that Scott's clothes were in the study, which he used as a dressing room. Scott's and Martha's bedroom was reasonably large, but there just wasn't enough closet for two people's clothes. He had some things in the chest of drawers, but most of that was Martha's, too.

They asked about the pictures of Chris next to those of Scott and Martha. Scott let Martha explain about Chris. As always, thinking about Martha's insistence on having Chris's pictures next to theirs overwhelmed him with emotion. Martha knew this from experience, and didn't expect him to be able to talk much for a few minutes. He and Chris had had a tiny, informal wedding, without all the usual trappings, so it wouldn't have been obvious that the picture in the bedroom was a wedding picture, just like the more obvious one of Scott and Martha's wedding next to it, so Martha took care of explaining that as well. It took Scott several minutes to come back to himself and pay attention to the conversation properly. He did insist, later, on making clear that the pictures were Martha's idea, not his, and trying to say how much it meant to him.

There was now a piano in the living room, or rather an electric keyboard with full-sized, weighted keys, a full set of eighty-eight. Scott's plan was for them to rehearse there. He'd been working a little at relearning piano himself, but was far from ready to perform. Martha was thinking longingly of learning to play. Scott flat-out refused to teach her at all, saying that if she was going to learn she would learn right, without his bad habits. He was ready to find her a teacher, if she really wanted to learn, but a bit leery, having seen many student musicians crash and burn when the reality of needing regular practice hit home. He had warned her that he wasn't a very good example. He played, on guitar and mandolin a pretty fair amount, but didn't practice as such, not as much as he thought he should. He could get by with this because he wasn't having to learn the instrument from the beginning, and because his goal wasn't to be the best. But still, his playing was the result of many years of playing a lot, including hard practicing. He said that on piano he was really just playing around, trying to regain just a little of what he'd once been able to do.

After dinner, Duane, with Lisa, and Bill came over to rehearse. Tom, who was going to call, had given Scott a list of dances with cribs, saying what kind of tunes he wanted, and Scott had sent copies on to the others. He had also talked a bit with Tom about some things he thought they might do with a few of the dances, and he now went over those ideas with the band.

As they went through the list mapping out tunes and what they might do with them, everybody had lots of ideas. Even Martha and Lisa, who were sitting off to the side listening, had some suggestions. They ran through most of the sets very quickly, making sure the transitions would work, and running through a few at greater length to go over ideas for sprucing them up. As they were finishing up, Martha brought in cookies and brownies. They told her she needed to dump Scott and come stay with them. During the rehearsal, she frequently went off to check on Hannah, but it seemed that loud talking—occasionally heated—and the music never woke her up. Scott considered that a very good sign.

The next morning, they met and ran through everything again. They were all feeling ready and excited. They knew that things wouldn't all go as planned, but they all felt sure they could adapt on the fly.

Supper was early. It was just the Davidsons and Jim and Darla. The others were back with their own hosts. The two couples drove to the hall separately. This was necessary. They took Hannah along, and it seemed likely that Martha would need to take her home before the dance ended, in which case Scott would ride home with the others. Even with the big bass, there would be room enough for him and two instruments, but with the gear, there would never have been room for him and Martha and Hannah, not to mention diaper bag and so on.

Martha didn't help with the beginner session, but sat with Hannah in her lap. But there were more experienced dancers than usual there very early—and a lot more beginning dancers. The band warmed up quickly, and Scott went down to sit with Martha rather than helping out himself. They talked desultorily, just enjoying the chance to watch. Scott was watching for them to begin walking through the first dance, but before that happened Lynda arrived. She wasn't planning to stay very late, and she had left Brian at home with the baby. Scott gave her his seat and headed back up to the band.

He checked his tuning once more, and went over the first tune again in his head. They were going to use essentially the same opening technique they had the last time, though with a different tune. He commented to Duane, "It looks as though you dragged a few people here with you." He recognized some dancers who weren't local but who had been at the last dance. But also, even ignoring people who had come for the beginner lesson, there were a lot of faces he didn't know out there. And there were already a lot more people than usually came out to dance. He said to the others, "It looks like there are a lot of real beginners out there, so I'll aim to kick it off just a little slower than usual. If it looks like there are no problems two or three times in, I'll call to speed it up a little, but not too much at a time. We'll let Bill drive any tempo changes, either way, so listen." He started tapping his foot, really just his toes, inside his shoe, to get the beat he wanted into his head.

The caller moved dancers back to their original positions, then said, "Now, with the music," and Scott drove into it. There was a balance and swing in the second time through the B part, and Bill and Duane cut the off beats on the balance. The return to a steady backbeat propelled the dancers through the swing and into the next figure. They never did increase the tempo. The dancers seemed to be getting it without problems, but Scott could see experienced dancers pointing beginners where to go next all around the floor.

At the end, Scott checked with Tom, who said the tempo was perfect, so they kept it about the same for the next couple of dances. The second dance only had one tune, and was named the same as that tune, "Galopede." Tom liked to do it, especially when there were beginners, and the tune had been one of Scott's favorites since the first time he had heard it. It was a bit atypical, being in three distinct parts rather than two, though still thirty-two bars long, and the third part just propelled the first couple down and back up the set as others clapped to the rhythm and usually made comments. Scott had seen it introduced to groups of total beginners, and the clapping and hollering had started happening without prompting the first or second time the dance hit that point. He usually was more than ready to switch tunes during a dance, but for this one, he was always ready to keep on when the dance was over.

As more of the beginners looked like they were getting things, Scott started the fourth dance just a little faster, and there seemed to be no problems.

Lynda had been continuing to sit with Martha, rejecting invitations to dance, but now accepted one. After that, she took Hannah while Martha danced twice. Then they hugged and Lynda left. Scott knew that she was not really back to full energy levels yet. He was, in fact, impressed that she had come dancing at all. He thought she had done it as a favor to Martha and maybe also to hear him with this band.

He could see Martha turning down invitations, but a lot of people, mostly women—most of them friends, dance regulars—came up to greet her and to admire Hannah, and many of them sat with her for a dance or two. Hannah, almost two years old, seemed to be doing very well, not fussing at all in spite of the music and all the noise from the dancers and the caller. Martha was having to watch her closely, though. Quite reasonably, she wanted to get down and toddle around. Martha let her do this, but constantly needed to grab her as she tried to head out on the dance floor. Scott thought he had seen a gadget offered for sale, basically a harness and leash for young kids, and made a mental note to really search for one. Discussing it with Martha first, of course.

Just before the break, Mary was sitting with Martha and holding Hannah, and Martha got up to dance once more. Mary seemed to be having some luck getting down on her knees, holding Hannah's hands, and dancing her around to the music.

Scott wondered whether Martha had remembered the tunes they had planned for that dance, and how they had rehearsed them, and danced because of that. Bill began the music, a reel, on the piano, managing rhythm and melody with just Jim's bass, and then for the B part Duane and Scott joined in, chording, really hitting the off beats. The second time through, Duane took the lead, with Scott playing a tight harmony line above him. After that they traded the lead back and forth, the other one ad-libbing. Scott worked hard to keep the tempo from running away with them, but they did speed up a little. He was so immersed in what they were doing that he was surprised to see Tom signaling just four more times through, and he hurriedly called for the switch. They left a long rest, and then launched into the other tune.

For that one, Bill and Jim did unusual things with the backup rhythm the first time through, then a steady rhythm, pounding at the end to swing into the last time. They cut the volume back a little, and then ran it up for the B part, and even one notch further for the second B. The dancers were applauding and whooping, as they stopped very briefly and then began a waltz.

When Scott went off for the break, he collected some snack food and then went to sit with Martha. She told him that, as he'd expected, Lynda was tired enough to want to get home to her husband and baby. She certainly hadn't wanted to stay out late. "She did say to tell you that the music was outstanding, but that she'd known in advance it would be." Lynda liked the high-energy music he played for contradancing better than most of what he preferred to listen to—classical, particularly baroque—but unless she was dancing she normally found it too repetitive.

Martha told him she wasn't going to last much longer, either. Scott was not at all surprised. Keeping up with an active toddler, who incidentally really needed to go to bed very soon herself, was tiring, as Scott knew from trying it himself. One couple he knew, a few years older than he was, used to play (both of them) for dances, and kept it up when their son was young. A lot of people would sit a dance or two out with him, and eventually he would be laid down and usually sleep until the end of the dance. As he got older, he became an excellent fiddler in his own right, and often came with them to play, by the time he was in his mid-teens.

And they were hoping that Martha was pregnant again, too. If she was, that was probably draining her energy some, too.

At any rate, Martha was planning to leave at the end of the break. In the mean time, an awful lot of people wanted to greet her, admire Hannah, and tell Scott how great the music was. In the end, she didn't get away as soon as she had planned. Scott was becoming concerned about her when she and Hannah finally came back in, collected their stuff, and headed out. It turned out that she had been talking with two or three friends, and the folks cleaning up after the break had brought her some more food, told her to try not to make much mess but not to worry if it happened, and left the lights on while she continued talking, at least two dances' worth. Scott was impressed and pleased that the friends were more interested in talking with Martha than in getting back to the dance.

Tempos were a little brisker after the break, on the assumption that beginners were either gone or learning. There were still more dancers at the end of the dance than the maximum at a typical night. Scott wondered how much this was due to formal publicity and how much to word of mouth from those who had driven a couple of hours to the last dance. The final set they again managed to finish with enough extra energy that the dancers were left calling for more.

Scott rode home with Jim and Darla. They arrived to find Martha and Hannah already asleep, which Scott thought was a good sign. Scott quickly explained their Sunday morning schedule. To his surprise, Jim and Darla said that they would like to go early, with him, and listen to the music warmup. They all hurried off to bed—if "hurry" is the right word to describe three people taking turns with a single bathroom.

Scott set his alarm half an hour earlier even than usual, so that he could shower and shave and be out of the bathroom. Martha woke up to the alarm, too. As soon as Scott was in the shower, she used the bathroom, and when he emerged she was finishing breakfast and Jim and Darla were up. Scott thought they must have showered after he went off to bed, and Jim wore a beard, so they didn't take very long before appearing in the kitchen. They sat down and prayed and ate. Martha asked about the end of the dance, and Scott mostly let the others answer. Scott, Jim, and Darla drove off in Scott's car, leaving Martha getting Hannah up. At the end of the warmup, Martha had arrived and gotten Hannah settled in the nursery, and they all went to Scott's and Martha's Sunday School class.