Ted saw Rose sitting outside the dressmaker’s shop. She didn’t look at all happy. "Hello, Rose." Ted came up and stood before Rose.

"Hi, Ted." Rose quickly looked up and then her head and eyes went down to look at the ground once again.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes!"

"Care to tell me what it is?"

"I don’t have a date for the dance."

"You mean none of the boys in school asked you?"

"NO."

"Why surely you’re the most beautiful girl in class. The boys just don’t know what their missing, not asking you to the dance." Ted was trying to cheer Rose up, but he wasn’t succeeding. "Would you like to take a walk?"

"No thanks!"

"We can go over to the store, and I’ll buy you a gumdrop or two." Ted said hoping to pick up Rose’s spirits.

"No thanks!"

"Well, alright. I’m going over to the store. If you change your mind, come on over." Ted started across the street very slowly, and every once in a while he would glance back over his shoulder to see if Rose had changed her mind.

While this was taking place, Melissa had come outside of the PEG. She was going to take a little trip over to the sheriff’s place to see if he had a date for the dance yet. But she stopped to watch Ted talking with Rose. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it looked like Rose was sad. When Melissa realized Ted was heading toward the store, Melissa headed him off and confronted him about Rose. After finding out why Rose was so sad, Melissa asked Ted if he had a date yet, and of course he said no.

"Why don’t you ask Rose?"

"Me . . . why I’m almost old enough to be her pa. I don’t think that would look right."

Melissa replied, "Is Rose your friend?"

Seeing that Melissa expected an answer, Ted said, "Yes!"

"Do you like seeing her sad?"

"NO!"

"Would you like to see her happy?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, the only way she is going to be happy is if someone asks her to the dance. I don’t know of anyone who is going to ask her. Do you?"

"Well, no."

"But you do think someone should ask her, don’t you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Then why not you? You will make her feel better, and you can say since you’re both going, then why don’t you two go together as friends. Friends go places together, right?"

"Well, I suppose so, but what if people start talking."

"You shouldn’t be concerned about what others say. You should be more concerned about your friend, Rose, feelings, and she is very sad right now, but you could make her happy." Melissa bullied Ted so bad that he couldn’t think of a good excuse not to ask Rose. Ted went into the general store. He bought 4 gumdrops and 2 licorice sticks. He took his purchases over to Rose and held out 2 gumdrops and a licorice stick to her. As Rose took them, she thanked him.

"Say Rose, I’m going to the dance and I don’t have a date yet. I doubt there is anyone who would want to go with me anyway." Before he could continue Rose cut in.

"Aw, don’t think like that. I’m sure some pretty girl would like to go with you." Rose said.

"I don’t know anybody who would." After a few minutes of silence, Ted asked, "Would you?"

"Would I what?"

"Go to the dance with me?"

Stunned Rose wasn’t sure what to say. She had wanted Jesse to ask her, but the dance was only two days away and it didn’t seem like Jesse was going to ask her. "I would like to go to the dance with you."

"Really?"

"Really!" Rose’s face lit up with a bright smile now that she had a date. "The girls in my class are going with boys. They’ll be jealous that you’re taking me."

"I don’t know about that."

"Well, I do! And they will!"

Melissa had a lovely talk with Teaspoon and had found out that he was going to the dance with Dev, who Teaspoon told her was the stagecoach driver. As she left his office, she saw a more lively and happier version of Rose with Ted. Ted must have asked her to the dance. Melissa smiled all the way back home. She was glad her friend had a date for the dance, even though she wished for Rose’s sake that it had been Jesse.