She ignores her concerns, continuing this dream.

They find the source of the music. Glimmer has to fight the instinct to ****, grip his hand as they stroll closer to the sound. She’s staring at the lights, getting closer to the sound. When David takes them there, though, he lets out a soft gasp. “It’s a girl playing.”

Glimmer drags her gaze away, looking over to a half circle of people over the intensifying strumming. Glimmer isn’t quite tall enough, and David sees this immediately and moves them through the cluster of people.

It takes Glimmer just a few seconds to recognize it’s Two-Trick strumming along the bench; she’s flanked by someone else, wearing a Santa hat. Her stomach twisted with nausea as she saw her on the bench. Unlike all the times before, however. Two-Trick was smiling, her legs crossed at her feet as she started to sing, a beautiful, soft voice that didn’t match the harshness she’d always regarded her with.

The man with Two-Trick looked like a local. A heavy-set old man with a thick white beard. In his hands is another guitar, cleaner and not as beat up as the one in Two-Trick's grasp. He was giddy, watching Two-Trick sing with a satisfied grin.

Two-Trick spotted them quickly and smiled wider. Her amber eyes were flashing with devilish amusement. Somehow, the smile was worse on her than the blank canvas it typically was. More disturbing to Glimmer, she notices Two-Trick is more interested in David, who’s smiling back stupidly.

“Let’s just go back to the hotel room,” she frowns, rolling her eyes. “I need to freshen up before we go to the show.”

David keeps his eyes on Two-Trick longer than Glimmer would like. And for once… she feels the pinch of jealousy. She could feel the burn of it shimmer at the surface. Then, she tugged him to follow. “Come on. I’d like to go there early, too. In case there’s a little shop we can look at together,”

“You’re in a rush?” David lets himself get dragged, chuckling slightly as he follows after her.

“Of course I’m in a rush. I’ve never seen anything like this before, and with my boyfriend,” Glimmer shivers. “I wouldn’t want to be late for anything. Especially because of street performers."

“I’m flattered I get to be your boyfriend,” David chuckles,

“I claimed you, didn’t I?” Glimmer growled somewhat, looking over her shoulder as she stripped from her old clothes, reaching for the new ones. “I took your virginity.”

David blanched, his cheeks turning into a slightly brighter shade. “Where did that come from?”

A stammer boiled from her mouth, unsure how to give a proper response to his question. She hadn’t really considered herself progressive or even jealous, but now that she’d seen David looking at another girl, she realized this could be a problem. How ironic, since it was her seeing other men and regulars daily.

As quickly as Glimmer could, she changed clothes. Her stomach was still in knots from the lingering jealousy. Men will be men, and loved looks. She caught her reflection, her cheek now slightly more plump where Two-Trick had struck her with the slush ball. “Fucking bitch,” she muttered, touching it lightly with her fingertips. No stinging or even discoloration, just personal hatred for those around her.

She met with David inside the living room, who was staring at the hot tub outside. The snow had stopped, but the city glowed nonetheless. “I’m ready,” she told his reflection, already looking at her before turning. He smiled when their eyes and all the jealousy melted.

“What do you think?” she spun, her new pleated red skirt spread as she twirled, the white sweater and cuffs hugged and hid her curves, but feigned retained innocence, despite it being long lost.

“Still out of my league,” he grabbed and hugged. Of course, he thought Two-Trick was hot, but he didn’t love her; he would never love her if he got to know her. “Are you ready?”

Glimmer nodded, kissing him as they moved to the door. They chatted lightly as they walked towards the Nine Bears Inn, The Lodge Royale becoming a beacon in the city of glowing lights and Christmas delight. The people attending the ballet were young, wealthy, old, and middle-class. A gathering of children was there, school-aged and dressed with care. Several were bound with newly acquired nutcrackers and toys from the gift shop inside.

It was busy, which shocked Glimmer, even though she knew it was sold out. She looked over and David and grimaced with discomfort. “There are a lot of people here.”

“Yes,” he smiled, reassuringly. “They usually sell out every year, but the seating is already figured out, and it’s not hard to find.”

“You seem familiar with the process,” she prodded, lifting an eyebrow as she moved towards the gift shop.

“When I was a kid, my folks went and saw this every year,” he replied, keeping pace. “I try to keep the tradition going with myself. I always get an extra ticket in case I find someone else.”

“Every year? I didn’t take you for a blue blood,” Glimmers stepped in, fighting through a rush of screaming children. She watched, somewhat annoyed. It wasn’t often she dealt with children, more or less unsupervised.

“Blue blood?” David asked, not minding the children.

“Rich,” Glimmer answered.

“Not at all, but my family loves the holiday, my mom in particular loved to see it.”

“Some might tease a man who loves ballet too much. Questioning your sexuality?” Glimmer teased, her sultry voice nearly mocking the white of her outfit.

David grinned, keeping his complexion. “What’s not to love about watching slender women dancing on stage?”

Glimmer’s eyes widen as her lips curl. “Naughty.”

He smirks tighter and then shrugs sheepishly. “That’s what I tell my friends, but I do enjoy the love music and the sense of class. It’s not easy to find the cities of sex, sin, and sinister intent. You can agree with me on that.”

Most of the items are the kinds Glimmer couldn’t really buy. She could, but what would she do with a nutcracker? Even if they were all sparkling with festive colors. She picked up one and held it close to her nose; a smell of pine and peppermint tickled her nose. They fumbled the tag. “Real wood nutcracker, Santa’s zoo keeper. Nine Bear Exclusive $780.”

Clients had tipped her more in one night, and her vacation funds would undoubtedly cover this with all the other expenses, but why bother? David reached, smelling it too before examining it. “Real wood, huh? Rarer every year,” he looked at the price and whistled. “And the price of shoes. When I was a kid, these were only $150.”

“It’s a little stupid anyway,” Glimmer took it back and set it away. “Even if I want to own it.”

“Why don’t you?”

“I don’t know what I would do with it,” she shrugs, fixing the beard, and then rubbing the otters and foxes around it. She spotted raccoons, too. A variety of things considered cute, even if they were varmints and rodents.

“120,” David says, looking at the nutcracker. “That’s how many my family has and decorates the house with.”

“Holy shit,” she murmured. “That’s… a a little crazy.”

“It’s quite a collection. Some of them are from the early 2000s,” David almost sounds like he’s in love with the idea, his own love for the holiday bleeding through in the simple conversation as naturally as breathing.

“You’ll have to let me see it one day,” Glimmer says idly, but the suggestion is enough to smother his love somehow, and she looks to make sure she didn’t somehow offend. She pinned it. Family talk was off limits.

Twenty minutes later, they sat on a balcony, front row seats in the middle. A perfect overhead view of the stage, the crowd below, and all the effort that went into the production. Foxtrot Studios projected into the crimson curtains. Presenting The Nutcracker with Porttown Instrumental Band. PIB and FS

They bantered more there, mostly about stupid things, like food, coffee, and other random topics that simply filled the nothing in between. Glimmer had a dozen questions about the instruments, which could be heard over the crowd as they played in tune. In a short time, she learns that David plays the guitar, though he says he’s not good at it. She counters that with the argument of “modesty.”

He claims he’s, but she endorses him anyway. He agrees, albeit with a shy ****. He’s about to say more, but then the lights dim. All in unison, the entire room settles into silence. Music plays in the ambient darkness as only little red, green, and white lights sparkle along the edge of the stage. The music felt alive, and some of the deeper notes even made Glimmer’s sternum thump. Anxiety rose in her chest while she sucked on her lower lip, watching the curtains, wondering what was on the otherside.

Anxiety built as the music's tempo rose until the curtains finally flung open, revealing a stage full of Christmas decor and objects from an era so old they looked foreign. However, in her mind, she decided that this was all for so, no way people lived or dressed like this…

The story progresses, captivating her not just through violins and cellos but also through graceful movement, which pairs with the tones. Glimmer knew close to nothing about the ballet, but as it played, she pieced it together on her own.

At the dance, there were guests in fabulous dresses and spiffy trousers, paired with unique blazers. Some wore powdered wigs, while others wore their natural browns and golden locks. One dancer had long red hair, which, even though she was a supporting character, stuck out more than the rest.

Rat soldiers fought toy soldiers, adorned in vibrant coats and wooden prop rifles with fixed bayonets and plastic swords. The Rat King fell at the hand of the handsome nutcracker, much different than the one she held in the store. His red coat, compared to the others, was more decorated with golden piping and a flourishing collar.

David was silent, fixated as much as she, but it was for nostalgic reasons, further from her curious splendor. Sugar plum fairies danced with such elegance, Glimmer felt shame calling herself a dancer, a performer, a person who entertained. Careful movements guided them through a wonderland of cultures she’d never seen or could guess what country they represented. Chinese, German, Dutch, and Russian– concepts she was aware of, but did not realize held to a higher standard before.

When the second act 2 fell, the room rose with applause, and the ballet dancers lined up, one by one, coming out with flashing smiles and waving hands, posing until the entire stage was filled with a backdrop of Candyland behind them.

Then, to her dismay, the lights turned on, and the entire room shifted to leave. She was hot with excitement, a child-like giddiness that she hadn’t felt more than once in her entire adulthood. She wanted more and felt almost depressed that it was now over…

They struggled to leave with the wave of people trying to do the same, but once they stumbled out, cold air cooled the sweat on her. David reached and grabbed her. “I’m sorry, I have to use the restroom. You can go back to the hotel room without me, I’ll catch you there.”

“Just use the bathroom there,” Glimmer said, still smiling from the dance. “It’s better than the one here, I assure you that much.”

David shook his head. “I’ll meet you back, alright? You can wait if you want?”

“I’ll go,” she relented, not wanting to argue over something as stupid as this. “I’ll see you there. We can order some food.”

His smile, handsome as ever, flashed her. “That sounds great. I’ll see you there.”