Jack grinned. "Funny you should say that because…" He pulled out an envelope, "I have tickets toThe Nutcracker."
"The Nutcracker! I loveThe Nutcracker!" I said, jumping up and down in delight. "We're actually going to see it! Jack, this is amazing! And you claim you don't like Christmas."
"I actually won them in a contest I didn't even know I had entered." He sounded a little sheepish.
"Hey, no harm in that. It means the universe likes you and wants to send good things your way."
I showered and changed then slipped on the fancy clothes.
Jack wrapped the cape around my shoulders. "You look very elegant."
I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror.
"I feel very Audrey Hepburn," I stated.
The outfit was exactly as I had imagined it when I saw it on Pinterest. Jack was dapper in a tux minus the bow tie. He looked elegant but not fussy.
There were cameras outside taking pictures of people as we entered the luxurious theater. Jack scowled.
"I hope Dana doesn't see this," I told him.
"I don't care what Dana thinks," Jack said. "This evening is about you and me."
The Nutcrackerwas perfect. It was a far cry from the community-theater version that had been put on in my town. They had arranged it differently too. It was staged more like a historical drama—Clara was an Austrian princess about to take the throne, the prince, Alexei, was her lover, and the Rat King was her traitorous uncle who kidnapped Clara in order to take the throne for himself.
The nutcracker was simply a toy, which Clara broke apart and dropped like breadcrumbs for Prince Alexei to follow. The international dances actually had meaning. During every dance, we saw Clara drop a piece of the nutcracker out of the carriage as her uncle forced her through this or that country. In pursuit, Prince Alexei came by later and collected the dropped pieces. Watching the hero searching for his lost love, I started to tear up. I had never seen anything so clever or so poignant.
As the dancers bowed and curtsied, I dabbed tears from my eyes and blew my nose.
"I brought you here to have a good time, not to cry," Jack said jokingly.
"It was so perfect," I told him. "Everything was perfect."
He looked thoughtful and a little sad. "My sister lovedThe Nutcracker. My parents never took us, so this is the first time I've seen it live. My mother didn't want Belle to be obsessed with girl things. She wanted her to be a scientist like she was. So she purposefully never indulged Belle's more feminine inclinations, as she called it. "
I was about to tell him how horrible that was when the conductor came over.
"I had to introduce myself, Mr. Frost, and make the acquaintance of your lovely lady."
A shorter man had come over with the conductor, and he introduced himself as the president of the ballet center.
"Mr. Frost has recently become a very generous benefactor," he told me.
Jack looked embarrassed. "I only contributed a small donation in my sister's name."
"I'm so sorry for your loss," the conductor said.
"She's not dead," Jack said irritably. "Just gone. I think she's in Thailand."
"Ah." Awkward.
"The performance was beautiful," I said enthusiastically.
"So wonderful to see someone moved to tears," the conductor said, taking my hand. "That's all we ask for as an artist, isn’t it? I believe you are a pastry chef, so you have an idea of what I speak."
"I don't make things that are all that fancy," I demurred.
"On the contrary, I am a big fan of your show," he said. "The Middle Ages dessert—it was inspired!"
