Chapter 19 "Ruby's First Dance" Ruby attends her first dance.

"The church over in Spearville has been sponsoring one for the last few years, and I think Dodge should start sponsoring one," said Mrs. Claxton.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," said Mrs. Gill

"Me too. All in favor say aye," said Mrs. Sanderson.

"Aye," the rest of the church ladies responded.

"Perfect, a week from this Saturday the church will host Dodge City's first daddy/daughter dance.

"Out of curiosity, is there an age limit?" asked Kitty. She would love for Matt to take Ruby, and she knew Matt would be more than willing to do so.

"I don't think there should be an age limit, as long as the fathers know they are responsible for their daughters," Mrs. Gill answered. The rest of the ladies agreed.

"Now since this is going to be a church fundraiser, we need to discuss what we are going to charge," said Mrs. Sanderson.

"The church over in Spearville charges a dime per attendee," said Mrs. Claxton.

"That seems reasonable," said Kitty. "After all, it is a fundraiser for the church." Once again the rest of the ladies in attendance agreed. The meeting adjourned and everyone headed for home.

Kitty couldn't wait to get home to tell Matt and Ruby all about the dance. But first, she wanted to stop at Jonas' store to look at some material. She wanted to surprise Ruby with a new dress for the dance. Kitty entered the store and walked over to the table of material. She was rummaging through the material, when one caught her eye. The pattern was white with lavender colored flowers on it. It was not exactly the same, but it was very similar to the dress she wore to her first dance with Matt. Kitty knew without a doubt this was the material she was going to buy. She brought the material up to the counter and told Jonas how much she needed. Jonas cut the amount, and Kitty paid for it. She left the store.

Material in hand, Kitty walked over to Helen's dress shop. She was going to have Helen make Ruby a dress. Kitty didn't have Ruby with her for Helen to take measurements, but Kitty would just have Helen make a dress a tad bigger than the flower girl dress she had made. Kitty wanted to make sure Ruby got several wears out of the dress. Kitty opened the door to the dress shop, making the little bell ding.

"I'll be with you in a second," Helen called out from the other room.

"No rush," said Kitty.

Hearing Kitty's voice, Helen emerged from the other room. "Kitty, it's so nice to see you. What can I do for you?"

"The church is going to be hosting a daddy/daughter dance for a fundraiser. I was wondering if you could use this material to make a dress for Ruby," said Kitty, handing Helen the package of material.

Helen opened the package and looked at the material. "It's beautiful. Of course I can make a dress. Do you want me to measure Ruby?"

"No, I want the dress to be a surprise. I was wondering if you could just make the dress a tad bigger than you made her flower girl dress. I want her to be able to wear the dress more than once," said Kitty.

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Helen. "When's the dance?"

"It's a week from this Saturday," Kitty answered. "Can you have the dress done by then?"

"Yes, that's plenty of time," said Helen. "Actually. I can probably have it done in a few days."

"I'll be back next Saturday morning to pick it up," said Kitty. She thanked Helen and left the dress shop.

Kitty returned home from the church meeting to find Matt and Ruby outside on the porch. Matt was reading the paper and Ruby was playing with her dolls. They both looked up when they heard the wagon coming. When Kitty brought the wagon to a halt, Matt and Ruby went to greet her.

"How was the meeting? Did you come up with a fundraiser idea?" asked Matt.

"We did," Kitty responded. "I'll tell you about it inside. Do you mind taking care of the horses, while I start supper?"

"I think I can manage that," said Matt as he walked towards the horses.

"Thank you. Ruby, come inside with momma, please," said Kitty.

Grabbing her doll, Ruby followed her momma inside the house. Once they were inside the house, Kitty removed her hat and went to wash her hands. She had Ruby wash her hands as well. Kitty then started dinner. Tonight they were going to have chicken and dumplings.

Sitting at the table enjoying the meal, Matt once again asked about the church fundraiser. "What did you ladies come up with?"

"Mrs. Claxton came up with the idea of a daddy/daughter dance a week from this Saturday. I guess they have them over in Spearville," said Kitty.

"What exactly is a daddy/daughter dance?" asked Matt.

"It's pretty much what it sounds like. Fathers take their daughters to the dance. There's going to be a charge of ten cents per attendee," said Kitty.

"That seems like a fine idea," said Matt. "Can any aged daughter attend?" Matt was hoping for a yes. He really wanted to take Ruby to her first dance.

"Yes, we agreed as long as the fathers knew they were responsible for their own daughters, any aged daughter could attend," said Kitty.

Matt then turned towards Ruby. "Miss Ruby, I was wondering if I could escort you to the daddy/daughter dance a week from this Saturday."

"Momma, can daddy 'cort me to the dance?" asked Ruby.

"I think that would be alright," said Kitty with a smile.

"Momma said you can 'cort me to the dance," Ruby told her daddy.

"Perfect, I can't wait," said Matt.

Time quickly passed and before anyone knew it, the day of the dance had arrived. Helen had finished Ruby's dress and Kitty went to pick it up while she was doing her Saturday shopping with Matt and Ruby. Kitty didn't want Ruby to see the dress until before the dance. She asked Matt to keep an eye on Ruby while she quickly went to the dress shop. Matt agreed.

Kitty walked into the dress shop and Helen was putting some finishing touches on another dress. "Hello, Kitty. I have Ruby's dress all ready for you." Helen went to the other room to get it. "Here it is."

"Oh Helen, it's beautiful. You did a fantastic job," said Kitty, admiring Helen's work. "I still want this to be a surprise for Ruby and Matt too. Would you mind wrapping it up for me?"

Helen took the dress from Kitty and granted her request. Kitty paid Helen for the dress and left the shop. She headed back to Jonas' store. Before entering the store, she put the package under the wagon seat, out of sight. The Dillons finished up their shopping and headed home.

Evening came and Kitty told Ruby it was time to get ready for the dance. The dance was at seven and it was almost six o'clock. Ruby could hardly contain her excitement. If Ruby was already this excited, Kitty couldn't wait to see how excited she was when she showed Ruby her new dress.

"Ruby, honey, let's get you ready!" Kitty called from Ruby's room.

Ruby went to her bedroom and saw her momma holding a brand new dress. "Is that new dress for the dance?" she asked in awe.

"It is. I thought you should have a new dress for your first dance," said Kitty. "Do you like it?"

"I wuv it!" Ruby exclaimed. "Do you think daddy will wike it?"

"I think your daddy will love it," said Kitty. "This dress looks almost like the one I wore when I went to my first dance with your daddy."

Ruby smiled at her momma's statement. She liked that her dress was like a dress her momma wore. "Do you still have that dress?" she asked.

"I do. Someday I'll show it to you, but not now. Right now we have to get you ready," said Kitty.

Kitty helped Ruby get out of the dress she was wearing and into the new one. She took Ruby's curly red hair and put it into two pigtails. Kitty knew that Matt loved it when Ruby wore her hair in pigtails. Dress on and hair done, Ruby was almost already for the dance.

While Kitty got Ruby ready for the dance, Matt got himself ready. He decided to wear his Sunday pants, along with a white top, his string tie, and his courting coat. After all, if was going to escort a beautiful young lady to a dance, he better dress appropriately. Once he was dressed, Matt made sure his hair was combed. Knowing that Kitty was almost done getting Ruby ready, Matt left the house.

Kitty was tying ribbons in around Ruby's pigtails, when there was a knock on the door. She had no idea who would be at the door. "Matt!" she called out. "Can you see who's here?"

Matt didn't respond and she heard the knocking again. Kitty finished the task she was doing and brought Ruby out to the parlor room. She didn't see Matt and for the third time there was knocking. Kitty had no idea where Matt was, and decided to open the door. When she did, Matt was all dressed up with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Kitty was speechless. She wasn't expecting that.

"Hello, Mrs. Dillon. I'm here to take Ruby to her first dance," Matt said.

"Come on in," said Kitty. "Ruby is all set to go." Kitty stepped aside for Matt to enter.

Matt entered the house and saw Ruby standing in the middle of the parlor. He had to do a double take at the dress she was wearing. Kitty noticed the recognition in Matt's eyes and smiled at him.

"Miss Ruby, these are for you," said Matt as he handed her the flowers.

"Thanks daddy!" Ruby exclaimed as she took the flowers. "Momma, daddy give me fowers."

"They're beautiful," said Kitty. "Give them to me and I'll put them in a vase of water." Ruby handed her momma the flowers.

"Does Miss Ruby have to be home at a certain time?" Matt asked.

"Yes, I expect her home no later than nine o'clock. That's already going to be pass her bedtime," Kitty replied.

"What would happen if I didn't have her back before nine?" asked Matt.

"Oh I don't think you would want to risk that," said Kitty. "Her daddy is very protective of her, and he's a very big and strong man. You don't want to mess with him."

"I'll take that as a fair warning, and have her back on time," said Matt.

"Good answer," said Kitty.

"Wet's go! Wet's go!" Ruby impatiently exclaimed.

She was usually a patient little girl, but not right now. Right now she wanted to go to the dance. Matt lifted Ruby onto the wagon seat and then climbed up too. Kitty was about to tell Matt to make sure he kept an eye on Ruby, but realized it would be wasted breath. She knew Matt wouldn't let Ruby out of his sight. The two of them rode towards town to go to the dance.

At the dance, there were girls of all ages. The youngest were around Ruby's age, and the older ones were teenagers. Matt and Ruby had an excellent time. Ruby danced with her daddy during the slow dances.. When she did, she would step up on her daddy's boots and let him lead the dance. She danced the faster dances with the other little girls who were her age. The other girls did the same thing. They would dance with their fathers during the slow dances and the faster dances with one another. Of course the older girls didn't dance on their fathers' boots. When Ruby wasn't dancing with Matt, he made sure he knew where she was at all times. The very last dance Ruby danced with her daddy. For this dance, Matt lifted Ruby up and held her close to him. Ruby put her head on her daddy's shoulder and her arms around his neck, and let her daddy sway to the music with her.

When it was time to go, Ruby was exhausted. While they were riding home, Matt kept his arm around Ruby. He could see she was sound asleep and didn't want her to fall off the seat as they rode. They pulled up to the house and Kitty stepped outside. She could see that Ruby was sleeping. Matt parked the wagon and effortlessly was able to get down from the seat with Ruby in his arms.

"How was the dance?" Kitty whispered.

"We both had a splendid time," Matt whispered back. "I hope I brought her back on time."

"You did, with time to spare," said Kitty. "You can bring her in the house."

Matt carried Ruby into the house and to her bedroom. The little girl was so out of it, that she didn't even wake up when Matt and Kitty took her dress off and put her nightgown on her. Kitty turned down Ruby's covers and Matt laid her on her bed. Both parents gave their daughter a kiss on the cheek and left the bedroom

"Cowboy, I hope you know how much Ruby is going to remember tonight," said Kitty, wrapping her arms around Matt's neck.

"I hope so," said Matt as he wrapped his arms around Kitty's waist. "I always want her to remember that her very first dance was with her daddy."

TBC