(Part Two to Day 1: Candy Cane)
“Where’s Livvy?” Maggie whispers loudly for the fourth time since the curtain opened, on her knees in the plushy red theater seat so she can see better.
“She’s not on yet, sweetheart.” Chrissy ducks down to tell her. “Shh, remember we have to be quiet or we’ll distract the dancers.”
“Livvy is the best dancer.”
“She should be up there the whole time!” she exclaims passionately, a dramatic fist raised in the air.
Eddie wordlessly produces a round peppermint candy from his coat pocket and holds it in front of her, gaze never leaving the stage.
Maggie’s eyes widen. “Oh, thanks, Daddy.” She takes it and quietly sits back down, unwrapping it and popping it in her mouth happily.
Eddie ruffles her curly mop, exchanging a look with Chrissy over her head, playfully quirking a brow. That will buy them about five minutes of stillness and silence.
They’re still in the first act, and if Eddie remembers anything from last year, there’s really no plot after this. Just different candies dancing around.
A bunch of little mice take to the stage, some even scampering amongst the audience. Maggie gasps, jumping over up on his lap when the Mouse King appears.
“Scared?” Eddie smiles down at her, wrapping his arms around her. She’s not easily intimidated.
“No, no, I’m not scared, just loving you,” she tells him, leaning her head against his chest, clinging to his lapels, eyes fixed on the fiendish, dancing mouse warily. “I’m not scared, Dad.” she tells him pointedly.
“Okay!” he chuckles under his breath. “Just checking.”
Luckily, the villain is thwarted (by a shoe, what a weak ass) and they finally get to intermission.
“Have you ever noticed that this whole story is just Clara having one massive weird trip.” he mutters to Chrissy as they stretch their legs. Maggie sits on a corner pew, coloring the illustrations of the program with the crayons he carries around in his pocket for her. “Her creepy uncle totally drugged the punch at the party.”
“If you think about it, it’s just the Christmas version of Alice in Wonderland.” she replies.
“…Holy shit.” he mouths silently in realization. “Wait, how high did you climb the ranks in your Nutcracker days? Were you ever the fairy queen part?”
“Sugar Plum?” she asks. “No, I did get to be Clara one year, and for my last show I was the Dew Drop Fairy.”
“Oh, well the Dew Drop Fairy is so much sexier than the Sugar Plum one, everyone knows that.”
She snorts loudly, shaking her head.
They return to their seats before the lights dim for Act Two.
“Where’s Livvy?” Maggie asks again, tugging at Chrissy’s coat. “Where is she?”
“One more dance, Maggie.”
“How stressed out do you think she is right now?” Eddie asks Chrissy quietly.
“Oh God, nothing is worse than waiting behind the curtain,” Chrissy replies. “I think she’ll be okay once she’s out dancing.”
After the Spanish Chocolates wrap it up, seven Russian Candy Canes all bound out with red and white hula hoops to dance for Clara and the Nutcracker (who frankly do a lot of sitting). Since Livvy is the littlest one, she’s right in the middle.
“There she is! There she is!” Maggie jumps up and down, shaking Eddie’s shoulder. “It’s Livvy!”
“I see her, I see her.” he whispers loudly with a huge smile. “Shhhhh!”
There is a split second that Olivia looks like she’s about to throw up, but once the lively and iconic tune starts to play, she springs to life, jumping and leaping with the other girls, spinning her hoop, remembering her steps, keeping in sync like she’s practiced for months on end.
“She’s amazing!” Maggie gasps, making Eddie and Chrissy exchange a smile.
After the show, they wait for her at the side entrance.
Eddie looks down at Maggie, squeezing her hand. “Hey, you remember the surprise, right?”
“Hm?” she looks up at him way too casually making him panic.
“Oooohhhh…” she replies slowly. “Yeah, Daddy I remember.”
“Listen, you can’t say anything.”
She gives him a ‘who you think you’re talking to’ look, making Chrissy giggle. Eddie chuckles, turning to her. “You’re the one I have to worry about.”
Chrissy’s cheeks turn pink at that. “I won’t say a word!” she swears.
“Yeah it’s your face I’m worried about.” he replies, stroking the hollow of her cheeks with his knuckles.
“There she is!” Maggie jumps up and down, waving. “Livvy!”
Olivia runs down the hall in her white leotard and matching leggings, meeting her little sister halfway in a hug. “Hi!”
“Hi! You danced the best!” Maggie tells her, squeezing her tight. “You looked so pretty!”
“Hey, bug!” Eddie kneels down to pick her up. “You were incredible up there! Prima Ballerina!”
“Thank you!” she cries, running into his arms, squeezing him tight, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Did you have fun?” he asks, tugging on one of her loose curls.
“Yeah.” She smiles brightly. “I was really nervous, but it was fun when I started dancing.”
And yep, she’s looking around as she leans into Chrissy’s side. Eying the other parents giving their kids bundles of flowers. Of course, she doesn’t say anything.
“What’s wrong, bug?” he asks.
“Oh, nothing.” she beams up at him, hiding her small disappointment.
They all pile into a cab and head home. Maggie asks her sister if she saw the mouse behind the curtain as they walk up to their floor.
“Don’t worry, he looks scary, but he’s really just a man in a giant mouse hat.” she explains to her as Eddie unlocks the door. “It smells really nice in here…” she says, only to gasp when the light turns on. The apartment is filled up with a dozen vases of mixed red and white roses for her Candy Cane debut.
“Surprise, Livvy!” Maggie squeals excitedly.
