PART 16
"Nan honestly! It doesn't even take me this long to dress!" Bess laughed as she carefully sat on the bed. "It'll be next year before you're finished!"
"Oh, be quiet!" Nan said in annoyance as she emerged from the small partition she and Bess had constructed to get dressed behind. Bess had on a dark teal ball dress and her hair was pinned up with small ringlets hanging down. She drummed her fingers on the bedpost but her mouth almost dropped open when she saw Nan. Nan had on a midnight blue ball dress with tiny bows of the same color up the back of the bodice. Her hair was still down and free, gliding back and forth over her shoulders as she walked.
"You know, if you're so anxious to go show off to Dan, then go! I'll be fine. It'll only take me a few more minutes," Nan insisted.
"You know, you'd want to show off to Nat too if you had any sense in you!" Bess called as Nan pushed her out the door. Nan took a deep breath and wondered for the millionth time if agreeing to go with Nat to the New Year's Eve ball was such a good idea. She quickly cleared her mind, afraid of where her thoughts would take her. She carefully began pinning her hair back from her face, carefully trying not to pin it all up. As she was struggling with the last pin, wanting to throw it out the window instead of put it in her hair, she heard someone enter the room.
"Bess?" she said, "What'd you forget this time? Never mind, come over here and help me with this!" But when she looked in the mirror, it was Nat who stood behind her, not Nan. "Oh…I…uh," Nan's mind suddenly went blank.
"Here, let me," Nat said, taking the pin and fixing it himself. At her look of disbelief Nat chuckled and said, "Sometimes I think Bess would never get past her door if it wasn't for my help." Nan gave a small grin, and before she even knew what she was doing, she held up the string of pearls he'd given her.
"Would you mind?" she asked.
"No," he said before his mind could think anything else. He slowly and gently fastened the clasp as Nan held her hair up. His hands lingered at the base of her neck for a bit longer than necessary and Nan finally gave a little cough, bringing him out of his trance.
"Shall we, dear old best friend," she joked.
"Yeah…dear old best friend," he said a little wistfully, following her out of the room. Downstairs everyone was dressed up, even Franz and the girls. The family drove over to the Bishops where they could already hear music being played. The atmosphere inside the hall was bubbly and lively. Franz sat in a corner with the girls in a crib provided by Mrs. Bishop. Nick danced nearly every dance with Jo. "Making up for a dance from the past," he grinned as she seemed to float in her stunning silver dress. Amy and Laurie danced occasionally but mainly watched Dan and Bess in profound happiness and relief. Meg and Harrison danced quite a bit, occasionally trading partners with Nick and Jo. But Nat and Nan danced very, very few dances and mainly spent their time talking to Franz.
Towards the end of the evening, when it was almost midnight, everyone was dancing but Franz, who was still seated by the girls. "Beautiful girls," a sweet voice said behind Franz. He turned around to see a dark haired, blue-eyed woman smiling down at the girls.
"Th-thank you," he stuttered.
"Aww, where's their momma?" she asked.
"Uh, ah, my wife passed away when they were born," Franz said simply.
"Oh my. I'm so sorry…and here I go makin' it worse," the woman's southern accent flowed evenly and Franz saw real concern and sorrow in her eyes.
"Oh, that's alright," he said, "You had no way of knowing."
"I haven't seen you dance once tonight Mr…?"
"Bhaer…Franz Bhaer," Franz said, wondering why he was finding it difficult to speak.
"Well my name's Anna DeMounet," her blue eyes sparkled.
"Ms. DeMounet-"
"Anna!"
"Anna-" he paused, "I'd love to dance with you, but the girls can't-"
"I'll watch the girls!" Jo said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. She quickly took a seat and nudged Franz towards the dance floor. Just then a slow waltz started up. "See Franz, nothing too fast," Jo grinned, "Just go have some fun." Franz thought for a moment and then held out his arm. "Shall we?" Anna smiled and nodded.
"Look! Well if that ain't somethin'," Dan muttered in Bess' ear as they danced.
"What?" she asked.
"Franz and Anna are dancin'…and so are Nat and Nan!"
"Something in the air?" Bess mused.
"Maybe it's somethin' about these beautiful women," Dan grinned. Bess shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Marry me," Dan said, sweeping Bess around in a circle.
"I think we've already agreed to that one," she grinned.
"Marry me next weekend," he said, a deep hope shining in his eyes.
"Next weekend!?!" she exclaimed, "How can I? I don't have a dress and mother would go absolutely insane. I mean we'd never be able to plan everything and no one would be able to get here-"
"Everyone we care about is already here," Dan insisted.
"Dan…I…yes," she finally sigh and grinned at the same time.
"What?" Dan asked, not believing his ears.
"Yes, I'll marry you next weekend. And we can live here, or Boston, or Chicago, or in the middle of a desert for all I care, as long as we're together."
"Bess," Dan grinned, "You don't really mean that last part about the desert."
"Well, no," she smiled, "I guess I don't really."
"Good, because you were startin' to scare me," Dan laughed.
"It's good to know I can do that every once in a while," Bess joked back.
"Yep, every once in a while," Dan was laughing harder, as was Bess. They continued to dance as their laugher mixed with the other sounds in the room. Across the room, off in their own little world, Nat and Nan slowly danced together, saying very little.
"Nan, what would you have done if David hadn't confessed to you," he asked, breaking the silence.
Taken aback by the question, it took Nan and minute to answer, "I'd have confronted him about it sooner or later I guess."
"Oh," he paused for a moment and asked, "What would you have done if I-" He abruptly paused and didn't say anything else.
"Nat?" Nan asked, clearly worried.
"I need some air," he said suddenly, breaking away from her and heading for the door.
"We're down to the last minute!!" Nan heard someone yell as she raced off after Nat. Meanwhile, Nick sat down next to Jo saying, "There you are! I was afraid I was gonna miss a certain tradition at midnight." He looked at her face which was lightly streaked with tears. "Jo?" he asked in concern.
"I'm always trying to fix things," Jo said softly, "Like when I had you redo the floors in here. But the truth is…things are always fine the way they are…and all I ever do is just try and change them."
"Jo, that ain't true! You see things and you try to make them better then they are. And not many people will do that," he grinned and wiped a tear away, "You know that's why we all admire and love you."
"I know," she said, feeling foolish, "It's just sometimes so hard to believe that I could be this lucky." She squeezed his hand.
"Hard for you to believe?" Nick laughed, "I wake up some mornin's wonderin' if I've been shipwrecked and if this has all been some kinda dream."
"It is a dream," Jo smiled, "It's the best kind of dream…the one that came true."
"Nat!" Nan called as she stepped out into the chilly air. She practically ran to catch up with him and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around.
"Nan, you're going to get sick," he said, taking off his coat jacket and putting it around her shoulders.
"You see!" Nan exclaimed, "There you go again!! Being all….all…all I don't know what!"
"Nan, what are you talking about," Nat sigh and looked very tired.
"I can't take it anymore Nat. I mean we fight and we fight and all we get is confusion and lies. Well here's some truth. I love you Nat. I think a part of me always has. You've believed in me before anyone else did…you always have. And as for not writing to you….that couldn't be farther from the truth! I wrote to you Nat…every single day. I knew that if I ever sent those letters, somehow my father would find out. So I hid them…all of them. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again, let alone be able to give them to you, but I kept them all the same. My father hid those few letters you sent, but I found them. And I wanted to send you something, anything to let you know that I got them, and that I did care. That's one of my biggest regrets. I thought medical school was more important than anything. I thought it was my dream! But it doesn't matter how many schools I go to or what kind of doctor I become Nat! Not if it means I lose you. And I'm sorry you had to see me with David. And I'm sorry I lied! And I'm sorry I never told you this before!! And…I'm sorry you hate me." She stopped, breathing heavy, and anxious look on her face.
Inside the hall, Simon Bishop's voice could be heard, ending the countdown, "Three…Two….One…Happy New Year!!" The crowd cheered. Jo leaned over and kissed Nick.
"Happy New Year Franz," Anna said, giving him a peck on the cheek, "May it be better than the last." Franz smiled and warmly squeezed her hands.
Harrison looked at Meg, a little unsure of what to do. She gently smiled and kissed him. "Happy New Year," she said. "It certainly is," he replied with his own smile.
"Just think Dan," Bess said as she leaned in for a kiss, "We're going to get to do this for so many years to come."
"Hope that's not a bad thing," Dan said, giving her a saucy grin. Before she could protest or answer, he covered her mouth with a kiss.
"Laurie," Amy said, "Thank you for this year - and all the ones before it."
"You're welcome my dear," he said, kissing her.
Outside Nat looked at Nan with a very calm look on his face and said, "Are you finished?" Still breathing heavily, Nan seemed to think for a while and then nodded her head. That's when Nat quickly yet gently took her in his arms and kissed her. Her eyebrows shot up in shock, but once she figured out what was happening, she put her arms around Nat, pulling him closer. When they finally broke the kiss off, Nan looked at Nat in surprise.
"I love you Nan," he said bluntly, "And I've tried to some how stop loving you because it was hard and because it sometimes hurt. But I don't care. I'm not afraid of being hurt anymore Nan because I know that I can't stop loving you, and that I never will."
"I just had to fall in love with a writer," Nan rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Nat asked.
"You know, no one makes me cry as much as you do."
"Is that a good thing?" he asked, cupping her face in his hands.
"Yes," she breathed, "It's the best thing that could have ever happened. Besides this just proves that even my very first experiments were successful." Nat looked at her in confusion, then laughed at their memory. "You know," she said, "I have another theory."
"Yes doctor?"
"Well if two people kiss, and then fall in love….do you think the more they kiss, the more they fall in love?"
"I don't know, but I'd sure like to find out," Nat said, pulling her closer once again.
"Dan!" Bess called, "Everyone! Look!" She pointed to the two figures outside, interlocked in an embrace. Everyone crowded the windows, trying to get a peek. Nick gave Jo his saucy grin and she said, "Go see, I'll be right there." He nodded and went over towards Dan and Bess. Suddenly shouts were heard from outside and the entire Plumbfield Crew went out to see Nat and Nan, save for Jo who watched from the window. A massive snowball fight had begun in the moonlight, and even Amy was playing along. A single tear rolled down Jo's cheek as she smiled and picked up one of the babies. "Let me tell you about that kind of dream darling," she said softly in the baby's ear, "It's the one that came true…"
The End
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