Page 67 of Second Chance Summer

It wasn’t like I was looking for Henry specifically. However, he’d come to the last one, and I’d given him the poster, so I knew he knew about this one, so it wouldn’t have been unexpected to see him there or anything. But my eyes moved from blanket to blanket with no sign of him.

I looked back to the snack bar to see Elliot tapping his watch and Lucy giving me a thumbs-up. I knew that the moment had arrived. I signaled to Leland, who gave me a nod, and then walked in front of the screen and took a deep breath. “Good evening,” I started, and must have been loud enough, because most people looked up at me. I could feel how damp my palms were, and I twisted my hands together behind my back, hoping nobody else would pick up on this. “Welcome to Movies Under the Stars, and tonight’s screening of Casablanca.” For some reason, this caused some people to burst into applause, which gave me a second to collect myself. What did I normally do with my hands? I had no idea, and I was going to keep them behind my back until I remembered.

“The, um, concession stand will be open for the first twenty minutes. So… that’s how long.” I could feel that I was babbling, but at least it was better than the never-ending silences of the last time. I looked up, and my eyes traveled right across to my family’s blanket. My mother was wearing a rather fixed smile, and Gelsey was frowning as if she wasn’t sure what I was doing. But when I met my father’s eye, and saw his steady, encouraging expression, I felt myself let out a long breath. Suddenly, I knew exactly what to say. “Casablanca has been called, by some film scholars, a perfect movie, from first frame to last,” I said, seeing an expression of happy surprise come over my dad’s face as I said this. “I hope you agree. Enjoy the show!” There was another smattering of applause as I scurried away from the projector and toward the safety of the snack bar just as the movie started, the old-fashioned Warner Brothers logo, in black and white, taking over the screen.

Twenty minutes later, we closed down the snack bar as quietly as possible. I’d been watching what I could of the movie in between serving up sodas, ice cream, and popcorn, and I thought I’d gotten the general gist of it.

“You staying?” Lucy asked me after we’d locked up the snack bar.

I nodded, looking back to my family’s blanket. “I am. You?”

She shook her head and yawned. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I’ll give it a miss this time.”

“Me too,” Elliot interjected, stepping in between us. “So are you heading home, Luce? Want a ride?”

“No, thanks,” Lucy said. “I biked here.”

“Great,” Elliot enthused. “Want some company biking home?”

“But didn’t you drive?” I asked, feeling that Elliot’s crush was wreaking havoc on his logic.

Elliot’s face fell as he seemed to realize this as well. “Technically, yes,” he murmured. “But… um…”

“You’re a nut,” Lucy said, shoving his arm good-naturedly. “See you tomorrow!” she called as she headed to the parking lot. I watched Elliot literally slump when she passed out of view.

“I think you’re going to have to tell her how you feel,” I told him. “I don’t think she’s getting your signs.”

Elliot blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. He also turned to leave, which seemed like a good idea. From what I’d been able to grasp about the movie so far, it seemed to be about a guy pining for a girl, so it was maybe not the best thing for him to see in his current state.

I picked up the Diet Coke I’d poured for myself before we turned off the soda machine and tiptoed across the sand, ducking until I reached our blanket.

“Nicely done,” my father stage-whispered to me. I looked across the blanket and saw that he was giving me small, silent claps.

“Thanks,” I whispered back. “I was just quoting the experts.” I looked for my brother and saw that, a few rows back, he’d set up his own blanket and was sitting next to Wendy. I noticed that every few seconds he would look away from the screen and glance at her, and I couldn’t help but be glad that I’d chosen a first date for them that would make it impossible for Warren to inundate her with facts if he got really nervous.

I settled in and tried to pay attention to what was happening. I was shocked by how many lines I recognized even though I’d never seen the movie before. They were either things I’d heard my father quote, or lines that seemed to be part of the zeitgeist, references I’d known without even realizing it. I was getting caught up in the movie, the thwarted love story, when I became aware of something to my right. I turned away from Rick and Ilsa and saw Henry sitting next to me.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi,” I whispered back, surprised, and feeling myself start to smile. “What are you doing here?”

He raised an eyebrow at me, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth, which I made myself look away from. “Seeing a movie,” he said, as though this should have been obvious.

I could feel my cheeks get hot, and was glad for the cover of relative darkness. “I got that,” I whispered back to him. “I just thought, when I didn’t see you earlier…”

“Oh, so you were looking for me?” Henry asked, settling himself in next to me and leaning back on his hands. I shook my head, looking back at the screen for a second, where Humphrey Bogart was lighting what had to be his fortieth cigarette of the movie so far. “I had to help my dad with some of the prep for tomorrow,” he explained after a minute.

I turned my head slightly to look at him, the shadows from the screen flickering across his face. I realized, now that he’d said it, that he smelled sweet—a mixture of cake flour and something like cinnamon. When I realized that I was staring, I looked away fast, back to the screen and the world of Rick’s Café that I had, until just a few moments ago, been utterly absorbed in. I could feel my heart beat fast and was thinking that it would just take a few inches for me to extend my hand and have it touch his. Which was why I made myself keep looking at the screen as I asked, trying to keep my voice light, “So where’s your girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend?” Henry sounded so genuinely confused that I turned to look at him again.

“Yeah,” I said. “The girl who was with you at Jane’s? And I’ve seen her at your house….” My voice trailed off, as Henry shook his head.

sn’t like I was looking for Henry specifically. However, he’d come to the last one, and I’d given him the poster, so I knew he knew about this one, so it wouldn’t have been unexpected to see him there or anything. But my eyes moved from blanket to blanket with no sign of him.

I looked back to the snack bar to see Elliot tapping his watch and Lucy giving me a thumbs-up. I knew that the moment had arrived. I signaled to Leland, who gave me a nod, and then walked in front of the screen and took a deep breath. “Good evening,” I started, and must have been loud enough, because most people looked up at me. I could feel how damp my palms were, and I twisted my hands together behind my back, hoping nobody else would pick up on this. “Welcome to Movies Under the Stars, and tonight’s screening of Casablanca.” For some reason, this caused some people to burst into applause, which gave me a second to collect myself. What did I normally do with my hands? I had no idea, and I was going to keep them behind my back until I remembered.

“The, um, concession stand will be open for the first twenty minutes. So… that’s how long.” I could feel that I was babbling, but at least it was better than the never-ending silences of the last time. I looked up, and my eyes traveled right across to my family’s blanket. My mother was wearing a rather fixed smile, and Gelsey was frowning as if she wasn’t sure what I was doing. But when I met my father’s eye, and saw his steady, encouraging expression, I felt myself let out a long breath. Suddenly, I knew exactly what to say. “Casablanca has been called, by some film scholars, a perfect movie, from first frame to last,” I said, seeing an expression of happy surprise come over my dad’s face as I said this. “I hope you agree. Enjoy the show!” There was another smattering of applause as I scurried away from the projector and toward the safety of the snack bar just as the movie started, the old-fashioned Warner Brothers logo, in black and white, taking over the screen.

Twenty minutes later, we closed down the snack bar as quietly as possible. I’d been watching what I could of the movie in between serving up sodas, ice cream, and popcorn, and I thought I’d gotten the general gist of it.

“You staying?” Lucy asked me after we’d locked up the snack bar.

I nodded, looking back to my family’s blanket. “I am. You?”

She shook her head and yawned. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I’ll give it a miss this time.”

“Me too,” Elliot interjected, stepping in between us. “So are you heading home, Luce? Want a ride?”

“No, thanks,” Lucy said. “I biked here.”

“Great,” Elliot enthused. “Want some company biking home?”

“But didn’t you drive?” I asked, feeling that Elliot’s crush was wreaking havoc on his logic.

Elliot’s face fell as he seemed to realize this as well. “Technically, yes,” he murmured. “But… um…”

“You’re a nut,” Lucy said, shoving his arm good-naturedly. “See you tomorrow!” she called as she headed to the parking lot. I watched Elliot literally slump when she passed out of view.

“I think you’re going to have to tell her how you feel,” I told him. “I don’t think she’s getting your signs.”

Elliot blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. He also turned to leave, which seemed like a good idea. From what I’d been able to grasp about the movie so far, it seemed to be about a guy pining for a girl, so it was maybe not the best thing for him to see in his current state.

I picked up the Diet Coke I’d poured for myself before we turned off the soda machine and tiptoed across the sand, ducking until I reached our blanket.

“Nicely done,” my father stage-whispered to me. I looked across the blanket and saw that he was giving me small, silent claps.

“Thanks,” I whispered back. “I was just quoting the experts.” I looked for my brother and saw that, a few rows back, he’d set up his own blanket and was sitting next to Wendy. I noticed that every few seconds he would look away from the screen and glance at her, and I couldn’t help but be glad that I’d chosen a first date for them that would make it impossible for Warren to inundate her with facts if he got really nervous.

I settled in and tried to pay attention to what was happening. I was shocked by how many lines I recognized even though I’d never seen the movie before. They were either things I’d heard my father quote, or lines that seemed to be part of the zeitgeist, references I’d known without even realizing it. I was getting caught up in the movie, the thwarted love story, when I became aware of something to my right. I turned away from Rick and Ilsa and saw Henry sitting next to me.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi,” I whispered back, surprised, and feeling myself start to smile. “What are you doing here?”

He raised an eyebrow at me, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth, which I made myself look away from. “Seeing a movie,” he said, as though this should have been obvious.

I could feel my cheeks get hot, and was glad for the cover of relative darkness. “I got that,” I whispered back to him. “I just thought, when I didn’t see you earlier…”

“Oh, so you were looking for me?” Henry asked, settling himself in next to me and leaning back on his hands. I shook my head, looking back at the screen for a second, where Humphrey Bogart was lighting what had to be his fortieth cigarette of the movie so far. “I had to help my dad with some of the prep for tomorrow,” he explained after a minute.

I turned my head slightly to look at him, the shadows from the screen flickering across his face. I realized, now that he’d said it, that he smelled sweet—a mixture of cake flour and something like cinnamon. When I realized that I was staring, I looked away fast, back to the screen and the world of Rick’s Café that I had, until just a few moments ago, been utterly absorbed in. I could feel my heart beat fast and was thinking that it would just take a few inches for me to extend my hand and have it touch his. Which was why I made myself keep looking at the screen as I asked, trying to keep my voice light, “So where’s your girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend?” Henry sounded so genuinely confused that I turned to look at him again.

“Yeah,” I said. “The girl who was with you at Jane’s? And I’ve seen her at your house….” My voice trailed off, as Henry shook his head.

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