The Dreams We Share

Chapter 10 The Premier's Ball

Saturday finally arrived; it had seemed that the day would never get there despite all his efforts to keep busy. The ministers would be dining with the Premier at 6:00 and then guests would begin arriving around 7:30 for the ball. A tuxedo and white or black tie were required of course.

Lucas and Marcus arrived at the ministry early as Lucas wanted to catch up with a small pile of mail that was sitting on his desk, before walking over to the dining hall. He saw that amongst the letters he had yet to read was one from his mother.

Dear Lucas,

We hope you are doing well. It seems like forever since we have seen you. I suppose it was during the holidays, more than six months now.

Your father and I are on our way to San Francisco for at least a month beginning mid-July and we are wondering if it would be a good time to visit you for a few days? We would arrive on the night of the 20th and stay through the weekend and leave on the 23rd. We thought the weekend might be better for you so that we do not interrupt your work schedule.

Please let us know soon. If it is not convenient, then we will head straight to San Fransisco and then perhaps the return trip might work out.

Love,

Mother and Father

He had missed them. He knew that they had worried about him ever since the breakup. They knew that he was grief-stricken and trying to maintain an aura of calm. Many read that he was indeed okay with the loss, but his parents knew better. He had found the one that he wanted to spend his life with and now there was a huge void; especially since he loved and missed Jack Jr too. It would be good to see them and put their minds at ease. He would be fine; he felt the relief that came with the inner peace that had settled over him.

Dear Mother and Father,

The timing sounds perfect for a visit. I have been doing quite a bit of travelling but I will be in Edmonton that weekend. I look forward to your visit. I have a lot to tell you.

All my love,

Lucas

He would drop his note in the box on their way out. He read a couple more correspondences, all business related, and then Marcus interrupted, "Lucas, I think we should head out if we are to arrive on time." Lucas glanced at his watch and nodded.

The dinner was reserved for the ministers themselves; their wives and older children would arrive for the ball at 7:30 and then the ministers and their families would form a reception line to greet the guests as they arrived. Lucas was adopted into the Peterson family for the reception line. Mary had insisted. There were two other bachelors at the ministry and he saw that each of them had also found a mother hen to take them under their wing.

They greeted guests until 8:00 and then they were all ushered into the ballroom. There was a string quartet and a ragtime band preparing to perform. There would be a mix of musical entertainment. The traditional waltz, and foxtrot would be accompanied by the quartet. And there would be a selection of ragtime to accompany some of the dances in vogue such as the Castle Walk and One Step. These were modern dances that were simple for all to enjoy so the committee organizing the ball had decided there would be a few ragtime numbers first.

Emelia arrived at Lucas side and said, "you promised."

"Indeed, I did," as he led her onto the floor to join a group circling the dance floor in a Castle Walk. It seemed a bit silly, but he was ready for silly. He first saw the dance performed in a 1915 film 'The Whirl of Life' starring Vernon and Irene Castle. He had brought the film in to show at the Queen for a community movie night.

He then took her sister onto the dance floor for a One Step. As they made their way around the floor they passed by Daniel and Martha standing to one side watching the dancers. Next to them he saw her…. a vision in deep green chiffon, her hair drawn up with the fiery curls falling down her back. She was watching them as they moved to the lively music. After seeing her out of the corner of his eye he carefully focused on his partner who was enjoying her first true grown-up dance. He wanted it to be special for her. When the music ended, they rejoined their party.

"Now that was quite a workout young man," James told him. "Mary my dear," would you like to join me in this next one; it appears to be another Castle Walk number. He took the hand she held out for him, and they joined the others on the floor.

Emelia convinced Jules to ask her to dance and the son of one of the Minister of Commerce asked Constance to join him. Lucas was left alone. He saw that the quartet was preparing to take the stage. He slowly made his way through the guests and headed where he had seen Arawyn and her aunt and uncle. He greeted them, shaking Daniel's hand and kissing Martha's. He then stepped towards Arawyn and bowed.

"Miss Mackenna, it is a pleasure to see you again. Are you enjoying the music?"

"Very much, but I am afraid I have never danced to any ragtime music."
"Well perhaps we can change that this evening. But first, might I persuade you to join me in the next dance? The string quartet will be leading off with a waltz," Lucas told her.

She hesitated, looking at her uncle as she had promised him a dance.

He stepped in, "go ahead my dear, you can dance with your old uncle later. I am sure Mr. Bouchard will be able to keep up better than I, in any case," he said.

She turned to look up at Lucas, "then it will be my pleasure, Mr. Bouchard."

"Lucas, please call me Lucas."

"Lucas, then you must call me Arawyn," she told him in that melodic voice of hers with the Irish lilt. Her smile was soft, and her eyes sparkled, and he just knew that she had the magic of the sea nymphs in her.

The music ended and the ragtime band made way to the string quartet. They warmed up for a few moments and then began a classic waltz by Johann Straus, The Blue Danube. Lucas escorted Arawyn to the dance floor, he took her right hand in his and twirled her to join the others. They smoothly entered the classic waltz position and danced to the strains of the music that honored the river that ran through the heart of Vienna. She followed his lead with grace as he had imagined she would; every movement was lovely.

Arawyn felt like a princess as they danced. He certainly looked like a prince. She normally was not taken by a man for just his looks, but she could feel something in his demeanor that told her there was much more to this man than looks. At their first meeting she had not inquired about his profession, but she later learned at the symphony that he was one of her uncle's colleagues. And while he was young, he had already garnered a great deal of respect. Her uncle's friend James Peterson worked with him closely and sung his praises. He was known to be compassionate, caring about the people of his home in Hope Valley and now the province at large. He used his sharp business sense to craft solutions to regional issues that plagued Alberta. He was very tenacious according to her uncle. She hoped to learn more about him; he was a bit of a mystery. According to her aunt and her friend Mary, he shied away from available women his own age. He was looking down at her and she met his gaze, letting herself drown a bit in those mesmerizing eyes. She felt a bit vulnerable, like he could see into her soul. She felt alive and beautiful as he twirled her, the music was coming to a crescendo as he dipped her for the finish.

"Thank you, Arawyn, for the dance," he told her as he led her to rejoin her aunt and uncle. "I hope you will save another for me. Do you foxtrot?" he asked her.

"Thank you, Lucas, I enjoyed our dance very much. I do foxtrot a little, but not nearly so well as I waltz. It is so much more complicated especially with an unfamiliar partner," she told him.

He loved the sound of his name on her lips. "Yes, it is much more difficult but if you are willing, I think we should give it a try. I can whisper the moves as I plan them so that you can follow more easily."

"Well, I think I will sit out the next number, it sounds like another waltz. But as soon as they play a foxtrot, I am all yours," she said.

He liked the sound of that. "Daniel, Martha, would you care for some refreshments? There is some punch."

"That would be very kind of you, Lucas," her aunt replied. He nodded to the ladies and headed to get some beverages. He ran into Emelia and Constance at the table.

"Well, Mr. Bouchard. How did you enjoy your waltz?" Constance inquired.

"The music was quite lovely," he told her knowing full well that is not the answer she sought.

"You are being too coy," she told him.

"If you collect your parents, you can join us at the north end of the ballroom, Miss MacKenna is there with her aunt and uncle."

"Do tell," said Emelia. "We would love to join you. We will tell Mama and Papa, to join us too." With that the young ladies headed towards the spot they had left them.

Lucas found a tray upon which to carry their beverages. He had to maneuver back through the guest to his destination. "Here you are," he said, passing glasses to his three companions and sipping on a fourth. He had also brought glasses for the Petersons. He placed the tray on a nearby side table. He had stopped by the stage on his way to get their drinks. They would be playing a foxtrot after the next waltz ended. He went to stand next to Arawyn.

"They will be playing a foxtrot shortly. So, the steps I will signal are Basic, Corner Turn, Promenade, Promenade turn, Sway, and Box. That should get us started at least," Lucas told her.

"Alright, looks like we are up next," she said. "I apologize in advance for my lack of expertise. But I am determined if nothing else," she told him.

"Well, that is the most important thing when learning. So, let us see how far determination can get us," Lucas told her as he whispered. "Ready?" She nodded. "Basic," he whispered as he moved forward.

She shivered at the sound of his whisper; she loved his voice, it had such a warm, rich tone, but his whisper was like pure seduction. She tried to pay attention to what he was signaling her to do.
"Promenade," as they moved quickly across the floor, "Corner Turn," as they changed direction. "Sway," he told her as they waited for the couple in front of them to advance. They continued traveling around the ballroom with relative ease. Soon, she had begun taking signals from the feel of his hands in hers. He still whispered the turns, but now they had adjusted to one another, and she could follow most of the steps without prompting. The dance ended and he led her from the floor.

"You are a great teacher. You made it easy to follow and with a little practice and a bit of determination, I think I can be decent enough not to embarrass myself," she told him.

"I think that you are going to be a lot better than descent. I will have to make sure you practice. How about one more before the night is over?" Lucas asked.

"That would be nice, thank you. Perhaps we should go check on the others," she smiled, "they may have missed us."

"Au contraire, Miss MacKenna, believe me, they are all too happy to see me out on the dance floor."

"I think there is a story in there somewhere," she said.

"Perhaps for someday," Lucas told her. She thought she had seen a moment of melancholy, but he seemed to quickly recover.

They reached the others. The women all looked at him smiling knowingly. "Oh my, how am I going to survive their nosy behavior?" he wondered to himself. Arawyn acted like she hadn't noticed anything and went to talk to Constance and Emelia while he went to talk to the men.

The ragtime band was preparing for their second set. James excused himself as it was time to get a dance from his niece. He had promised to teach her the Castle Walk. Lucas invited Mary to join him. Lucas then convinced Arawyn to learn the One Step under his tutelage. It was simple and she quickly had it mastered. He found that he and his partner drew quite a bit of attention as they made a striking couple. He was having such a wonderful time; it was nice to actually enjoy himself.

Arawyn accepted dances from a couple of men that Lucas did not know that well. One he recognized as the son of the head of bank he frequented. The other was a professor in the mathematics department. He had helped the ministry with his knowledge of statistics. Lucas knew that he had absolutely no right to feel a twinge of jealousy, but he did anyway. He was glad when she returned to their group.

The evening would be coming to an end soon. She promised him one more foxtrot and the last waltz. Their foxtrot was smooth, and no one would have guessed that it was only their second. She followed him with little prompting other than anticipating his moves through his hands and body language. It flowed but it took concentration.

So, they both enjoyed switching to the waltz; they were perfectly matched and relaxed as they traveled smoothly around the floor. As the music neared the end, they looked into each other's eyes. She felt like she was being a little forward, but they were mature adults. She wanted to get to know him better and she felt that perhaps he wanted the same.

He led her into the finish with a series of twirls and then a dip. Reluctantly, he helped her up and they slowly made their way off the floor. He wanted to spend a few moments with her before returning to their group.

"I enjoyed myself very much tonight. Thank you for permitting me to monopolize so much of your evening," he told her.

"I was willingly monopolized. I enjoyed our time together. I hope that we shall see one another again someday soon," she replied. She had given him an opening if he wanted one.

"Well, so far it has been by chance. Perhaps you might allow me to call on you? A planned encounter this time," he said hopefully.

"I would like that very much," she told him. "You can send me a note via Jules; he will not mind. Or you can call me at my uncle's house; I live with them for now."

"You will be hearing from me. I will be traveling through Friday but perhaps we can meet next Sunday? If that works for you," Lucas said.

"Perhaps after church. I am helping with breakfast service at St. Joaquim's, I don't usually on Sunday but one of the volunteers will be out of town. I then go to church with my aunt and uncle at 11:00. After that, I should be free for the afternoon."

"Why don't we plan on having lunch as part of our outing," he told her. "The rest will be a yet to be determined surprise."

"I am not often surprised, but I enjoy them when they happen," she told him with a smile that carried some mischief. She had a feeling he liked to bestow surprises on his friends. And she very much wanted to be his friend.