“Good grief.” Britt shut the window and hurried to the door. Maude would keep her word and probably end up having a heat stroke in the process. When she went outside, Mom was trying to talk sense into her.
“You’re going to melt, Maude,” she said, glancing around. “And then there are the neighbors.”
“Are they still nosy?” Dad asked.
“Only Mrs. Dalton across the street, but she stays inside on hot days like this.”
Britt walked over to Maude and took the letter. “Fine. I’ll read it later.”
Maude pointed the megaphone at her, but Dad whisked it away again.
“I’ll keep this safe for you,” he said, putting it behind his back.
“How about you two go into the kitchen.” Mom smiled, although it was a little off. “I’ll fix some iced tea, and you and Maude can visit.”
“Marvelous idea.” Maude headed toward the door, then looked at Britt over her shoulder and motioned for her to follow. “C’mon, sweetie,” she said to Britt. “Your letter awaits.”
***
“That will be twenty-two dollars.”
Daniel pulled out a twenty and a five and handed it to the young woman behind the ticket counter. After she gave him the white tickets with purple print and his change, he turned to give one to Amy.
She snatched it out of his hand. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into this. We should be at home.”
He hid a smile, wondering if she realized what she was saying and how it sounded. “We need to give them some time alone.” Once Britt and Maude had gone inside the house—that woman was quite a character—he’d ushered Amy to his car and told her they were going to the movies. After some expected back and forth, she got into the passenger’s seat in a huff and didn’t speak to him the entire way to the Mango Movieplex, nearly a thirty-minute ride. She also didn’t argue with him when they arrived, just got out of the car and followed him to the ticket counter.
“Don’t you want to know who the letter is from?” she asked. “What it says?”
He guided her to the snack counter. “It’s none of our business. Popcorn?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, all right.”
“Two small popcorns, two Cokes, and one Junior Mints.”
“I didn’t ask for Junior Mints,” Amy said.
“You can eat them later.” He turned to her as the concession attendant filled their order. “You need a distraction, or you’ll fret about the situation all night.”
They got their refreshments and headed for the show. Amy stopped him when they reached the theater door. “You know this is a rom-com, right?”
He glanced at his ticket.Wrong Way, Cupid.“Wait, I thought I asked forJack Robin: Pirate Mercenary.”
Amy scoffed. “What a stupid title.”
“You thinkWrong Way, Cupidis better?”
“No, but I think I see the confusion.” She pointed at the sign. “This is theater six, Jack what’s-his-face is theater seven.”
“Maybe we can trade tickets—”
“It’s almost starting.” She grabbed his hand, and they marched inside. Previews were playing on the screen, although there were only four people in the theater. That wasn’t a good sign. Exactly how bad was this movie?
Armed with her Junior Mints, she led him to the middle of the theater, and they sat down just as the movie started. Ten minutes in, he knew it was going to be terrible—one of those movies where every joke was lame and nothing surprising happened.
“We should have traded in our tickets,” Amy whispered, after one of the characters literally slipped on a banana peel. At least the Cupid character was wearing shorts instead of a diaper, but he was still hauling around a mini golden bow. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He dug into his popcorn and tried to focus on the movie. But even if it had been a masterpiece, he wouldn’t have been able to pay attention. He was wondering about Britt, although he felt a little better after talking to her. His baby girl was hurting, but the way she had defended Hunter to Amy gave him some hope that the two of them would figure things out. She loved him, and he knew Hunter cared about her. They just had to get talking again. Maybe Maude could facilitate that.
