Dancing in the Oaks

A Taste of Bavaria

•••

October 12th

Since the gruesome discovery of the basement bodies there has not been any more recurring evidence. I've just been talking things through with Nick when I can. He has been so busy with his ranch. It's been about a week of peace and quiet, just me in the house. There's been no disturbances or anything along those lines. I've been working the markets with Nick here and there. I vowed to help him. I mean, he's helped me, so I really gotta return the favor. It has helped take away some of the guilt.

For the past few weeks I've been planning the Bavarian festival. Today was finally that day. I was so happy. This morning I carefully slipped the black dress over my head, which effortlessly covered my body. I adjusted the blouse so it wasn't poking out of the side of the dress. Bavarian folk dresses are meant to be tied tightly around the bodice or above the hip area. I pulled the strings tight and snug. This morning I actually paid close attention to my hair. If this was happening, I was gonna go full out with it. Melinda said she would be wearing her dress and fixing her hair. We were gonna go all out.

The weather was fairly nice. Nick was already at the market because he had to go start setting up the milk coolers early this morning. I gathered some details and decorations. Once I had arrived I noticed a few other people wearing folk clothing. It was nice to know this town was getting together to celebrate. I stepped out of my truck and onto the cement. My shoes clacked and clicked against the hard surface.

With the few decorations that I brought I hung them from the farmers stands that formed a half moon around the rodeo ground parking lot. Nick was nowhere to be found. Melinda did walk over in her Bavarian clothing. Her husband even wore long lederhosen. "Hey that's okay right there." Melinda added as I hung the banners.

"Ahh Danke!" I said with confidence. There are only a few German words that I know.

"Ja! Kein problem! So, where's Nick?" She asked. "By the way, that is a very pretty dress." She said,

"Thank you! I haven't seen... my... Nicholas for two days. I hope he is okay because he was supposed to be lifting boxes over here. " My mind crosses several possible places where he could be.

There were actually quite a few other people that wore culture specific clothing. However, that was my least of concerns. Nick was nowhere to be found at all. The bow to my apron almost came undone, so I had to tie it tighter. Melinda seemed a little confused when I told her who Nick was. They had been living in Oak ridge for years now and they didn't know the Reed family. "Now, explain to me who Nicholas is." Melinda seemed to have some forgetting going on.

"Oh Nicholas." My face turned pink. "He's.. my boyfriend and best friend."

She just gave a stare. "Oh alright. You two are so cute together. By the way I'm so jealous of your dress. Where did you get it?"

"Melinda, it's quite a long story alright. I'm German, my great grandparents came over from Germany. I found all of this in my basement. In pristine condition and fits like a charm. My parents didn't like the Germanic culture for some reason. This dress is probably close to 76 or 77 years old. My great grandmother wore this dress when she met her husband. My grandmother wore it too when she met her husband in the heart of Münich. I don't know if my mother wore it either, but here I am." I said.

She gave me a good impression. "Yeah that's good. I love it!"

I looked to the right over in the parking lot and saw Nick running towards me. "Norah!" He exclaimed as he gave me a quick hug and kiss.

"What! Tell me please. I need to know." I kinda yelled because I felt like my point needed to be heard.

"That dress is very good looking and it compliments you perfectly. Alright, I found a hatchet in the barn. Someone's been in the barn. Nope, I found two hatchets in the shed. Those were the murder weapons. Trust me with this. It's bad alright. Not good Norah!" He talked so fast.

"What do we do?" I said.

He looked at Melinda. "After this is over."