Robin and the Red Crow

Chapter Nineteen - Heel Toe Polka

"And the next dance, ladies and gentlemen, will be the Heel-Toe Polka!" Jo shouted from the top of the stairs.

Robin smirked as he stopped cutting into the cornbread that sat fresh from the oven on the kitchen table. He quickly walked into the hallway as music started playing from the top of the stairs. Robin crossed his arms and leaned on the railing, knowing where the music came from.

"Hey, Jo, who gave you permission to enter my room?" Robin called up to the girl as she skipped down the stairs. She was wearing a large cowboy hat and a blue and white striped nightgown.

"Do you know the Heel-Toe Polka, Mr. Robin?" Jo asked, changing the subject as she grabbed his arm and swung him around. "Heel and toe, heel and toe, slide to the middle..." Jo called, yelling instructions and pulling Robin into the drawing room to dance with her.

Robin let out a laugh and tried to follow the young girl's steps, clapping when instructed and leaning down to skip in a circle when she commanded it.

"This is when you switch partners," Robin heard Holly yell as she ran down the stairs to join them, hurrying into the room with her hair in a loose braid and wearing her velvet green nightgown.

"Switch with me, Miss Holly!" Jo shouted, abandoning Robin and running over to grab Holly's hand.

Robin stood abandoned and watched as the two of them danced the polka, observing how Jo's instructions came together to create the dance more proficiently than he had been capable of.

Do you want another try?" Holly asked, reaching out to Robin.

"I'll watch one more time if that's alright," Robin said with a nervous laugh. "I'm afraid I might embarrass myself."

"Well, practice makes perfect," Holly said, waving her fingers towards the staircase before flicking them towards the record player in the drawing room's corner. Suddenly, the music playing upstairs continued, but this time from the drawing room's record player, and the two girls resumed dancing.

"And you must practice if you want to dance at the Autumn Barn Dance tonight."

"Autumn Barn Dance?" Robin asked, not quite sure what they were referring to.

"Oh!" Holly exclaimed, tripping over her feet.

"Uh oh! Miss Holly forgot to tell you," Jo teased, smirking at Holly.

Holly shot Jo a glare and turned her attention back to Robin.

"Tonight is the Autumn Barn Dance. It's held every year to celebrate the good harvest."

"I consider it my goodbye party," Jo chimed in. "Since it will be the last time I see my friends before I head home for the winter next week."

Holly nodded sadly at the small girl, finishing up the dance as the song came to an end.

"It's also the most important event for the jewelry shop, as everyone from the town is gathered, and I can show off my designs. This is where I get most of my orders for the winter holidays," Holly said, glancing at Robin. "I have been making some things for you and Jo to wear to the dance if you are okay with that. I'm excited to finally have a male model this year."

Holly let out an anxious laugh, her hands nervously fiddling with her nightgown.

Robin smiled at her, relief washing over him. Not just because he would have something to wear since the traveling clothes he had brought were not what one would usually wear to a dance, but also because Holly was not actually upset with him.

Over the last week and a half, Robin had thought Holly avoided him after what had happened with Margo, spending most of her time in her office or at the shop. Coming home late or leaving early in the morning, she would tell Robin to leave any leftovers for her in the icebox before hurrying out the door. Whenever Robin would ask Jo about it, she would shrug her shoulders and say that she probably had a fancy order she had to focus on, grumbling about how Holly was now making her perfect the spells she had learned instead of teaching her new ones.