Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
KATIE
They were finally into partial dress rehearsals and for Katie, that was usually the time when she was the most excited.
It wasn't just dancing the variations in the same dancewear that they used in classes and the bulk of their rehearsals.
Now they got to wear whatever was ready from the costume shop.
For Snow, that meant that they usually had their skirts, gathered tulle that went down to just beneath their knees.
It wasn't all that fancy.
But their skirts did have satin applique all around it from the waist that looked like snowflakes.
As soon as she put her pointe shoes on, tying and then tucking in the ribbons, she got up from the floor beside her dance bag and went into the wings of the theater.
They'd moved from the practice space just a few days before on the weekend and that meant unpacking all the set pieces, backdrops and furniture. It was fun to do the work that she'd seen others do for years. Now, she was older and stronger, able to help more.
She was also able to help her dad build things for the set.
Things like the dias for the second act and the box that the toy soldiers burst out of when they battled the mice?
She wasn't just watching from the side anymore.
She was growing up and it felt good.
Really good.
"Katie!"
Two of the other girls in the corps came through the door.
Jane was wearing her costume as part of the Spanish Chocolates and Eun was dressed in her Mirliton costume.
Well, part of it at least. Her powder puff tutu of mint green with cotton candy pink was adorable and she had matching pink and green puffs around her upper arms. Her normal class leotard was showing and under her tutu her leggings could be seen.
Katie was really excited for her friends.
They'd worked really hard during the lead up to auditions and during the rehearsals.
Eun reached out and fluffed out Katie's skirt. "I wish we were both dancing Mirls on the same nights. It would be fun to get a picture together. Although..."
Katie dipped her chin and looked at her friend. "Although?"
Eun reached down and plucked at the edges of her tutu with her fingertips. "I feel like I'm going to get a cavity dressed up like sugary sweet candy."
All three of them giggled at the idea.
Katie motioned for Eun to turn around and when her friend did, Katie peeked into the back of Eun's waistband. She sighed when she read the number on the tutu.
Eun turned around and wrapped her arms around her middle as she rolled up to pointe. "What's the sigh for?"
Katie frowned a little. "I was hoping we could wear our costumes at the same time and take pictures together, but you're wearing the same costume. We're just performing on different weekends."
Jane groaned. "I'm not even in any of the variations with you guys."
Katie reached out and took Jane's hand. "We're all in Flowers together!"
Jane and Eun both perked up at that.
"That's right!" "We are!"
A man stepped into the open doorway and waved at the girls.
It was Jon Dooley who was the stage manager for the performances. He'd been doing the same job for over ten years longer than Katie or her friends had been in the production.
"Hey, girls!"
"Hey!" "Hi, Mr. Dooley!"
"Sorry to bother. Have you seen any of the stage hands come through here in the last few minutes?"
The three girls looked at each other and shook their heads.
"No." "Sorry, no."
Mister Dooley shook his head and sighed. "Sorry to bother. The theater director just hired a few new people and one of them in particular doesn't seem to show up when we need them." He shook his head again and smiled at them. "You girls have a good rehearsal!"
He waved and disappeared back into the hallway and the girls continued to warm up and talk.
It was only a few minutes more before the speaker in the corner of the room crackled to life.
"Rehearsal for snow in five minutes. Ladies, lead up to the stage."
Katie, Jane, and Eun gave each other matching thumbs up signs. Katie waved at the other two as she headed for the stairs to get to the stage level.
Jane and Eun weren't in Snow for that year's Nutcracker. They were both Co-Captains for the Toy Soldiers for all the performances.
Once in the wings, Katie joined the rest of the dancers for snow.
Some with their bodices sewn onto their skirts, but all of them had their skirts on.
It was the biggest element when it came to spacing on the stage and with the movements of their arms, their skirts were going to move along with the dancers during the number.
The head of the dance company came to the center of the apron that extended out over the orchestra pit.
She welcomed them all onto the stage and then directed them into the wings.
"The first time through, we're going to be dancing, using the markings on the floor.
All of the wings are in, so this will be closer to the actual performance than we've had so far in the studio. "
Katie lined up behind a few of the other dancers and the music started.
Instantly her hands started to tingle. She was nervous, but excited.
So nervous that she'd forgotten her normal 'good luck' ritual.
Listening to the music she knew she had a few moments.
"One sec," she murmured to no one in particular and darted over to the rosin box over in the corner.
Katie quickly ground the toe and box of each pointe shoe in the powdered rosin and darted back into line.
Adrienne who was behind her in line leaned forward. "Did you hear what Cynthia said?"
It took a moment for Katie to realize that Adrienne was talking to her, but when she did, it was too late to ask her what she was talking about. It was time to step out onto the stage with the other dancers.
Everything was going great until it wasn't.
One minute she was rushing across the stage in a flurry of movement with the other dancers and then the world under her feet shifted and she went down like a sack of potatoes.
And the world went dark.
RUTH
Her cell phone rang and Ruth picked it up without a glance.
It helped that Katie had added in a ringtone that was a piece of music from the Nutcracker.
"Hey, Katie! What's-"
"Miss Baker? This is Danielle, one of the other dancers in the Nutcracker."
Ruth was across the room before she could form a complete thought.
She turned off her ovens full of half-baked Russian Tea Cookies and headed for the door.
"What's wrong?"
Ruth grabbed her keys off of the hook by the door and was outside heading for her car while Danielle explained what was going on.
Ruth's whole soul left her body as she heard what Danielle was saying to her. Her first coherent thought was, "Is her dad there?"
"No, Miss Baker. Katie's dad is at a job site. I was supposed to take her home with me tonight, but-"
"Where are they taking her? I'll head over right now?"
NICK
When he finally heard the news, he was grateful that one of his foremen was still with him in the office. If he'd tried to drive, he would've ended up in a ditch or run his car into a tree and a fat lot of good that would have done his daughter.
He was also lucky that the foreman who'd been there with him had the patience of Job.
If not, Clancy would likely have tied him up and shoved him in the bed of the truck instead of letting him ride up front in the passenger seat.
When they finally got to the hospital, he flung the door open and jumped out before Clancy had come to a complete stop.
Nick called out over his shoulder. "I owe you, Clancy!"
"No worries, Boss! Let me know how things are going! I'll come pick you up when she's released, okay?"
Nick waved a hand over his shoulder and ran through the doors into the Emergency Room.
By the time he stammered out Katie's name and his relationship to her, the nurse was already leading him toward the end of the hallway.
He heard the nurse talking to him, but his heart was pounding so hard he couldn't hear a damn thing besides the heartbeat screaming in his ears.
He felt the nurse patting his back, but none of her words registered.
She pulled back the curtain and what he saw almost dropped him to his knees.
Katie, fast asleep on the hospital bed, tucked protectively in Ruth's arms.
The nurse beside him touched his arm and he turned to look at her. "Don't worry, Dad. Katie's just fine. Her mother's been here for hours with her. They're both exhausted."
Nick's mouth was dry and he couldn't quite feel his face. It must be his adrenaline fading away. "She's okay?"
"Yeah. I can have the attending come back and explain everything we did, all the tests and evaluations, but Katie's just fine. The doctors were waiting for you to come before they released her so you could ask them any and all of your questions."
Nick nodded and sat down in the chair beside the bed.
His knees had gone weak.
He'd heard most of what the nurse had said, focusing on the fact that Katie was okay.
She wasn't going to need to stay in the hospital.
She could come home.
With him.
Focusing on his daughter, curled up comfortably on the bed, her head on Ruth's chest.
As they slept on he saw Ruth's hand intermittently stir and rub Katie's back.
As asleep as she was, the movement wasn't a conscious one. It was instinct.
A soft knock behind him turned his head.
The man in the doorway had a white coat over his dark blue scrubs. "Mister Stone?"
Nick nodded and the doctor moved closer, his gaze passing over the bed before he stepped up to Nick, his hand held out.
Nick wiped his palms off on his denims and took the other man's hand.
"I'm Doctor Nelson."
Nick nodded. "Doctor Nelson. I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. I was at a job site at the edge of town. It took me a while to get here. One of my... my employees drove me in."
The doctor shook his head. "No worries. Katie's mom had everything under control from the moment they got here."
Katie's mom.