***
Amy stood in her bathroom and applied a swipe of lipstick to her lips. Tantalizing Taupe. A misnomer if she ever saw one. It was her go-to, a utilitarian shade that was the exact opposite of tantalizing. Now that she was looking at her reflection, the color screamed High School Math Teacher.
She had a deep, rich red in her collection, but she’d only worn it twice and it was probably dried out. Tantalizing Taupe would have to do. She fluffed her silver-streaked brown chin-length bob and took a quick inventory of her outfit, trying to forget she’d spent way more time picking it out than she should have for meeting a friend at the movies. She’d landed on cropped tan chinos, a mint button-down blouse, and navy blue sandals, and she would bring a dark-blue sweater with her to wear in the theater.
“Here we go,” she said, then gave her reflection a thumbs-up.
She got in her car and backed out of the driveway. Britt had told her she was going to K&Bs again today. It was almost six, and she wasn’t back yet. Maybe she was working on an art project with Maude and X. That was usually the case when she spent a lot of time at the shop.
Over the past week they hadn’t talked much. Britt had been busy with work and trying to figure out what to do for Savannah’s shower, and Amy had, in a moment of insanity, decided to mulch her flower beds and fell into bed early each night, exhausted. She’d popped a couple of Tylenol Extra Strengths before she left the house.
As she drove to the Mango Movieplex, she once again wondered what she was doing. No matter how many times she told herself this was just an ordinary outing to a movie, she knew she was fooling herself. It wasn’t a date either. But what did you call going out with a handsome single man who also didn’t want to date? Friendship wasn’t the correct term. Rendezvous with an acquaintance? Hanging out with a buddy?
Why label it?
She blew out a breath and turned into the parking lot. That was the correct conclusion. No labels or expectations. Just twoadults—middle-aged adults—having a good time. Still, she took one more peek at her face and hair in the mirror, made sure she had nothing stuck in her teeth or hanging out her nose, and got out of the car. Immediately she was hit with a blast of heat, and it was only May. The next few months would be brutal. Otherwise known as summer in Texas.
Amy scanned the lot for his Mercedes, and found it parked in the row in front of her. She laid her sweater over her forearm, adjusted her purse strap, and headed to the building. When she walked into the cool theater foyer, she was glad for the relief and to see Max standing a few feet away, looking like he came straight from an AARP magazine shoot.
“Hi,” he said, striding toward her. He adjusted his black-framed glasses, and whatever woodsy cologne he wore, it was nice. Like her, he was dressed casually—white T-shirt, casual gray jacket, wheat-colored pants, slip-on canvas shoes. He took a step toward her, as if he were going to hug her, or maybe kiss her cheek. Then he halted and glanced down at his shoes before saying, “Glad you could make it.”
“Me too.” Neither of them needed to be ill at ease, so she leaned over and gave him a peck. “Thanks for inviting me.”
It was the right thing to do because he immediately gave her a carefree smile. “Ready to eat some overpriced junk food and enjoy some black-and-white suspense?”
“I’m always up for junk food. We’ll see about the suspense.”
They both ordered popcorn and a drink. Amy also got Junior Mints, and she noticed Max skipped the Milk Duds. When it was time to pay, she was relieved he didn’t insist on buying her food. By the time they went into their theater, there were still ten minutes left before the show started.
“Back, front, or middle?” he asked.
The theater only contained a handful of people. “I like the middle,” she said.
He allowed her to go in front of him, and she picked two seats that were as close to smack dab in the middle as possible. Two young women were already seated in the actual center seats.
They sat down and settled in, some older Top 40 hits playing in the background while the screen flashed local advertising. She took a sip of her drink. “I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie in the theater,” she said. “Maybe with my friend Laura? Must not have been that great of a movie, since I really can’t recall.”
“Crystal and I used to go a lot.” He stared at the popcorn bag in his lap for a moment, then shook his head. “I told myself I wasn’t going to talk about her tonight.”
“Hey.” She touched his arm. “You can talk about her all you want.”
He turned to her, his smile warm. “Thanks, Amy. I know I need to move on, it’s just that everything still reminds me of her. Even after all this time.”
“I get it.” She set her Junior Mints on her armrest. “Daniel and I have been divorced for twenty years, and I haven’t seen or talked to him for almost as long. That night at karaoke brought up memories. Terrible ones, but that’s par for the course. We didn’t have a relationship like yours and Crystal’s.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. There was a time I did love him. And for the first few years, we had some great times. We also had Britt. So not everything was horrible.” As she was talking, she remembered the first time Daniel had taken her to a movie—one of those nineties teen comedies that were so popular at the time. She wassixteen, he was seventeen, and she could still remember how he kept inching his hand closer to hers, so slowly she almost grabbed it just to get their first handholding experience over with. But then he linked his fingers with hers, and he didn’t let go until the credits.
Amy shook off the memory. “Now hereIgo, talking about my ex.”
“In a way it’s inevitable.” He picked up a few pieces of popcorn. “They were an important part of our lives.”
She nodded, but disagreed about Daniel being important to her—at least not from the fourth year of their marriage until their divorce. He’d left her to raise Britt on her own and had little impact on their daughter’s upbringing. “How was work last week?”
“Busy.” He finished chewing the popcorn and swallowed. “Then again, it’s always busy. Are you enjoying your time off?”
“I’m getting a lot of projects done.” She told him about the weeding and mulching, and that she’d also planted some annuals.
