COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • JANUARY 2019 Deborah finds it’s better to give than receive When we left off last time,
Kenneth had just picked up a mystery package – a gift for Deborah before they leave on their Caribbean va-cay. Her debut in the spring musical was just around the corner. Rural Redemption, part 106, continues. Happy New Year!
Woodshed
Chronicles by BOB COLLINS
Kenneth drained his glass of Glenfiddich, then tucked the box with the surprise for Deborah under his arm and hiked upstairs to their bedroom. He swung the door open and stopped dead in his tracks. Deborah was standing in front of the dressing mirror in her Daisy Mae costume. Kenneth’s brow furrowed. “What’s this supposed to
be?” he said. “It’s my costume for the
musical.” “You’re kidding, right?” Deborah turned to face
him.
“No, Kenneth, I most definitely am not kidding.” “Surely you’re not thinking of parading yourself across the stage in front of the whole community in this stupid get-up? “Well, I wouldn’t put it quite that way, but yes I am going to perform in the musical in this stupid get-up,” said Deborah.
“I suppose this explains
why that old junkyard hillbilly at the store was drooling over the prospect of seeing you perform. Take a good look at yourself. It’s embarrassing!” Anger smouldered in
Deborah’s eyes. “If you want to know
what’s embarrassing, Kenneth, you need to look down that nose of yours and see yourself in the mirror. Mr. High-and-Mighty, Mr. Smarter Than Everyone Else, Mr. Gone Swimming in the Manure Pit at the Pig Farm, Mr. Fall a Tree on the Truck, Mr. Knock Down the Barn with a Tractor. If you’re afraid I’m going to embarrass you, maybe you should
give the whole thing a miss.” “Maybe I’ll do that,” said Kenneth. “Because I certainly have no desire to see my wife make an indecent spectacle of herself in public.” He tossed the package
across the room onto the bed.
“Here. This is your $400 surprise.”
Deborah stood listening as Kenneth stumped down the stairs and slammed his office door.
She stifled the tears
welling in her eyes with her finger tips, then turned back to the mirror. The package on the bed behind her caught her eye and she stood dreading it for a full five minutes. But there was no ignoring it.
She flipped the lid of the
box open and carefully lifted the surprise out. It was a bathing suit. She held it by the string-thin shoulder straps, raised it to eye level, and frowned. The neckline plunged dramatically and was held together at the lower end by thin criss- crossed strips. There was hardly any back at all and the hips seemed ridiculously
high. Not much to show for $400, she thought. And he’s worried about Daisy Mae’s outfit?
Deborah folded the suit back up and returned it to the box. She went back to the mirror where she tugged the arms of Daisy Mae’s blouse over her shoulders and knotted the waist band over her navel.
Later in the day, Kenneth
asked her tersely what she thought of the surprise. Deborah said she wasn’t in the mood for a surprise and she would save it for later. The following day passed
in an excited blur for all of them. Deborah, Ashley, and Christopher each had an all- day case of opening night jitters. Kenneth was the odd man out and skipped breakfast on the pretext of having to return some phone calls. “You’re coming tonight,
aren’t you Dad?” asked Christopher. “It’s opening night. It’s going to be great!” “Your grandmother will be
here tomorrow morning. I’ll go with her tomorrow.” Kenneth retreated to his office and spent the rest of the morning fuming about the idiotic play and Deborah’s costume. Eventually, his thoughts turned to Janice and he tried to call her but there was no answer. He left a text but there was no response. Curtain time for the opening performance of the spring musical was set for 7:30. By 5, the community hall was a hive of cast and crew activity. The doors were set to open at 7 but there were early-birds banging on them by 10 to six.
Lois from the store said it
was probably going to be a full house and the coffee and baked goods were ready to go so they might as well let them in. There was a mad scramble
for seats in the front rows. By 6:45, it was standing-room- only and the fire chief, Jimmy Vincent, said they’d have to start turning people away. Willard Freeman took to the stage at a quarter past seven and bid them all welcome and introduced Val Zimmer. Val said she was pleased to see such an enthusiastic turnout and praised the cast and crew for their dedication and the rest of the community for such an overwhelming show of support. She said that the spring musical was being dedicated to the person who had been the driving force behind them for more than 60 years. The hall erupted in thunderous applause as Willard walked Gladdie Harrison onto the stage. Gladdie thanked everyone and made some brief reminiscences, then said it was time to get on with the show.
The musical was a
resounding success. No one seemed to care that some of the scenes were replaced by Newt Pullman’s explanatory off-stage narrative. Junkyard Frank was sitting beside a family of strangers in the fourth row. He loudly identified each performer as they appeared. When Newt started his first narration,
Frank cocked an ear toward the stage. “That you, Newt?” “Yes, Frank, it’s me,” called
Newt.
“I figgered so.” “You mind if I get on with
it?” “Nope, you get right back
at ‘er,” said Frank turning to his seat mates. “That back there is Newt Pullman,” he explained. The crowd laughed,
cheered, clapped and whistled all the way through. The play ended with Doug and Deborah singing Namely You. The crowd sat riveted as Abner and Daisy crooned their way through the number. They sang the last line together gazing into one another’s eyes: And who could I be truest to? Namely you. As the last notes faded
away, Doug wrapped his arms around Daisy and she laid her cheek to his chest. The room erupted into a standing ovation. Someone shouted for them to sing it again. The embrace lasted long enough to raise some eyebrows but ended when Doug began waving the rest of the cast onto the stage. All the Henderson
performers were excited and animated when they arrived home 10:30.
Christopher burst into
Kenneth’s office. “You should have been
there, Dad! Mom and Mr. McLeod were amazing. They got a standing ovation! To be continued ...
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