Easter Parade (1948)
Kiddo
By Squeaky
Note: This story is basically a “missing scene(s)” from the movie that I’ve made up. It’s basically my attempt to get into Hanna’s brain and view a bit of Easter Parade from her P.O.V. It’s very short and there’s nothing really different from the movie going on there are no new characters or drastic changes in the storyline.
* * * *
Hannah Brown peeked through the door opening. She bent her head to and fro trying to get a glimpse of what was going on inside. Don had been pleading to the show producer to give them another chance at auditioning. She had never seen Don act like that; she knew they had hit bottom as an act. Don was a very proud man and he wouldn’t put his dignity in jeopardy if he weren’t in trouble.
Oh, it’s all my fault, she thought fighting hard not to cry. Hannah tried to be a good dancer, to make ‘Juanita and Hewes’ work. She worked hard and practiced with Don for hours until her feet hurt so much she could barely walk. But it was no use, she could never be as refined a dancer, or person for that matter, as Don. He wanted a peach and she knew she was a lemon.
She heard Don’s muffled voice and she couldn’t make out what he was saying. But the tone was evident; he was pleading.
She looked around the walls of the small building. This certainly wasn’t the place Don was accustomed to perform in. Don Hewes was the greatest dancer of them all and because of her here they were trying to get work in such a dinky place.
Suddenly the door was opened and a big man, a very big man smoking a cigar, was grabbing Don by the shirt’s collar. He pushed him out and slammed the door shut.
“Any luck?” she meekly asked knowing the answer already.
Don looked down and shook his head.
“We almost had it but a man that could play any John Philip Sousa march with his forehead beat us to the spot.”
Hannah looked down and, inevitably, she cried.
“Now, now, don’t cry. That man doesn’t recognize real talent. He’ll be sorry when he finds you and I will be performing for Zegfield.”
“Oh, stop it, stop it, Don!” Hannah was surprised at herself for snapping at Don. It was too late to back down now. She was furious and she was about to let him know it. “Lets get outta here.”
Don and Hannah didn’t say a word to each other on the way to her apartment. But as Hannah offered her mentor some coffee, she squinted, like a little girl being scolded by an adult, as she heard him ask her why she’d yelled at him.
“I’m sorry, Don. I didn’t mean to---“
“I did not ask for you apology. I asked you why you snapped at me back at the theater.”
Why was it always so difficult for her to open up to him? Wait, now she remembered: he made it difficult for her to open up to him. He treated her like a partner, a business partner. Never did he treat her as a friend. Now it was her chance to maybe, just maybe, start a friendship.
“I… I was angry. Not at you of course---!”
“Why were you angry?”
Oh, Hannah didn’t like his tone. He sat on the couch, arms crossed, staring coldly at her. She gulped and her eyes wondered nervously around the room. She cleared her throat and proceeded.
“I don’t like what’s happening.”
“And just what is happening?”
She hoped for him to stop asking questions that way. She knew that when she began explaining, he would interrupt her and start a speech.
“Well we’ve being trying for so long and every time we end up performing some place worse than the last.”
No interruptions? Keep going, Hannah!, she thought to herself.
“Don, please, you can get any partner you want. You could ask the greatest dancers in the world to join you and they wouldn’t hesitate to accept.” Still, he looked at her making her tremble. “ I’m only holding you back from being the biggest star--- oh, just get rid of me, please. I’ll go back to my old job and you go on get yourself a girl that can really dance. I promise there will be no hard feelings. It was a good experience really, ‘Juanita & Hewes’; I mean I got to dance with you…”
She stopped. Hannah had more to say, but those last words made her think. She wanted him to go on without her. She loved him too much to see him be rejected by small no-good theaters. But now she began to realize, if he left, she’d miss him too much.
“Are you finished?”
“Uh… yes.”
Don slowly raised, arms still crossed. He stood right in front of her. He gently put his hand on her shoulders.
“Hannah Brown…”
“Y-yes?”
He stood so close to her… Oh, she knew it: he had feelings for her too! She wanted a friendship, but having romance would be much better. She was so glad she had put on that new perfume. And she had checked before, her make-up was flawless. Finally he was going to kiss her; he was finally going to---
“I already bought you dresses and they’re too little for some other girl to wear. Besides, I’m not giving up on you yet, kiddo.” He patted her gently on the head and began his way out. “Rehearsal tomorrow. Ten o’clock sharp.”
He went out the door, closing the door behind him.
Kiddo? KIDDO?
“Oh, Hannah Brown you are a fool,” she said to herself as she sat on the couch and thought about what she was going to wear the next day for the rehearsal.
THE END