"Although we
were thousands of miles from the bombs of World War Two, every day there were
reminders that the tranquility of our lives had been shattered. As the fighting
continued my mother became increasingly restless. She yearned to be active, to
make some contribution that would bring peace again to the world".
Dropping Elizabeth off to see Aimee while driving to Rockfish to buy baby clothes, Cindy and Olivia nearly run over a child playing in front of Ike's store. The kids have walked from the Pickett plant where their mothers are employed having replaced men fighting in the war. They detour to the Pickett plant and find Ana Mae, Charlie, Barbara, and other children playing outside the factory. Olivia visits Erin in order to find out why the children are unsupervised. Olivia asks J.D. what he is going to do about the children. He tells her that these children are not his business. Olivia decides to take matters into her own hands.
Corabeth asks Ike about the dress she is wearing but he does not recognize it as the one she wore when he first proposed marriage to her. She desires to recreate their romance for their fifth anniversary by going dancing but Ike says he doesn't know those fancy dance steps. Elizabeth and Aimee decide to help Ike by preparing a candle-lit dinner and teaching him to dance. While studying a 'How To' book on dancing Rose suggests she teach Ike to dance since she formerly was the 'Queen of the Blue Moon Ballroom'.
At the mill, Olivia informs John that she is starting a day nursery. She thinks the idea will be exciting, but John is not so impressed. On the first day, Olivia tells the story 'Rumplestiltskin' to the children while Ike walks over for his first dance lesson. As Cindy shows the kids how to play the game 'Concentration', Olivia tells Charlie, a boy who is taking care of his little sister, how serious John-Boy was while growing up. Before beginning the lesson, Ike sneezes after smelling Rose's fancy perfume. Their first dance is the tango, followed by a variation called the butterfly.
Mr. Swanson assists John with unloading lumber at the Pickett plant that is to be used for a new storage room. He asks John to take his eight-year old daughter Bernice to Olivia's day nursery because he works at the Pickett plant while his wife works as a nurse at the V.A. hospital.
In the morning, Ike has a sore back he explains resulted from moving boxes. While her husband soaks in the bathtub, Corabeth smells cheap French perform on a hanky she finds inside his pant's pocket. Olivia, Cindy, and the girls jump rope while one of the boys runs off to the mill. John discovers him inside and quickly shuts down the table saw he had turned on. John explains to Olivia that these kids do not understand the dangers of machinery, unlike their children who grew up with them around. Wanting to find a safe place for the children Olivia searches the community but fails to locate a suitable place. She finds the school is being renovated, the empty Barla cabin's roof has caved in, the church is busy with Red Cross, Gold Star, Mothers Volunteer Services meetings, and Godsey's Hall is filled with Civil Defense activities.
The next morning, Olivia cleans windows, trying to keep busy so not to become anxious at the failure with the children. Aimee and Elizabeth talk about preparing food for the anniversary but are caught dancing by Corabeth. They giggle trying to hide their plans. Corabeth says it is unladylike for them to giggle. Corabeth hears Ike whistling a song from the opera Carmen. She questions him about the tune's tale of mystery, passion, and intrigue but he dodges the question by quickly leaving on another unexplained errand. John enters the store to find that Corabeth believes her husband is keeping the company of another woman. John admits to the relationship but says it is not romantic. He returns to tell Ike what Corabeth suspects of him.
Erin calls Olivia to tell her that the supposed storage room being built is actually a tavern for the employees. Olivia confronts J.D. after assuring her a few days earlier that there was no place to house the children. He tells her she has no legal right to intervene. Olivia asks him about his moral right and stomps out mad. Later Ana Mae and her mother stop by hoping Olivia will reconsider caring for the children. Olivia becomes upset about turning away children.
As Aimee and Elizabeth prepare their fancy dinner for Ike and Corabeth, Jason drops off a bottle of champagne. Ike rushes in after receiving his last dance lesson to find Corabeth packing her clothes. She is furious with him for his supposed infidelity. Ike insists she ask Aimee if she is willing to leave with her. When Corabeth walks into Godsey Hall she hears Aimee and Elizabeth yell out 'Happy Anniversary' as they stand next to the candle-lit dinner table. She is overwhelmed by the surprise and even more pleased to hear Ike's explanation. As Elizabeth puts on a tango record, Ike asks his wife for a dance. Corabeth places a rose between her teeth, they dance, kiss, and hug.
Olivia, John, and Cindy talk about the problem, calling it a 'worthy failure'. But Olivia felt she was somehow helping John Boy as she cared for the children. John admits that it would take an army to change J.D.'s mind. This statement gives Olivia an idea as she rounds up all the children and many of the parents. They all storm the tavern demanding to use the place as a day nursery. When his workers side with Olivia J.D. finally agrees to her demands saying he would rather negotiate with the entire German army.
"The war of
the children had been settled, but not the war between my mother and
J.D.Pickett. He complained if a baby bottle happened to be left on the bar, she
complained if a beer bottle had been left on the floor. Only at the end of the
war was peace declared between the two of them".
Olivia: Goodnight Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: Mama, I've got a great idea for your day nursery. Why don't you
teach the kids how to dance?
Olivia: Elizabeth, some of them can barely walk!
Elizabeth: No problem, after all, we taught Ike.
Olivia and John: Goodnight Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: Goodnight everyone!
Notes:
Eight-year old Charlie is Barbara's older brother.
The license plates on John's truck is I9-126 Virginia.
Rose mentions, while dancing with Ike, that an old beau, Mr. Perkins, a traveling salesman of bow ties and patent leather shoes from Howardsville, Virginia, gave her the hanky that Corabeth found inside Ike's pant's pocket.
The sign outside J.D. Pickett's new tavern states 'Pickett's Tavern - Ladies Welcome'.
Olivia's day nursery in the tavern is open from seven o'clock in the morning to four o'clock in the afternoon.
Also appearing:
Ike and Corabeth Godsey (Joe Conley and Ronnie Claire Edwards); Aimee Godsey (Rachel Longaker), Cindy Walton (Leslie Winston); John Curtis (Michael and Marshall Reed), Rose Burton (Peggy Rea), Serena Burton (Martha Nix), Jeffrey Burton (Keith Mitchell), J.D. Pickett (Lewis Arquette), Mrs. Kass (Kerry Shear), Ana Mae Kass (Jennifer Moskow), Mr. Swanson (Charles Parker) Bernice Swanson (Kimberly Woodward), Mr. Miller (Gordon Hodgins), Charlie (Tony LaTorre), Elwin (Jason Semeleng), Rob (Danny Gellis).