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Whatever troubled Jenna about the past, she didn’t want to talk about it. Dax decided to let the moment slide. He’d suggested this outing for her pleasure and he wasn’t about to mess things up if he could help it. But one of these days Miss Jenna was going to talk to him.
One of these days.
The drive to the movie was a matter of blocks. Once inside the small theater, Dax paid for the tickets. The smell of popcorn enticed Gavin, so they stopped at the concession stand, as well. Cheesy-looking Christmas garland looped from the ceiling, and the walls were plastered with colorful posters of upcoming holiday movies. A cheap, fake Christmas tree stood in one corner of the lobby, lights blinking in lazy cheer. Dax would swear it was the same tree from six or seven years ago.
Jenna stared around with a half smile as if thrilled with the decor. While he waited for the slowest clerk in Texas to fill his order, Jenna gazed around, watching the good folks of Saddleback mingle and talk.
Teenagers swarmed the lobby, holding hands and talking too loud over the video games. Dax thought of how Jenna belonged more with them than with him. Though he felt a little better to see she had a serene maturity they all lacked.
He watched her soaking it all in, an enchanted expression on her face, as if attending a two-screen theater in a tiny town was the coolest thing ever. That was Jenna. She had a way of making a celebration out of everyday life.
The clerk finally brought their order.
“Ready?” he said to Jenna.
She nodded, the light of excitement in her eyes almost too much to believe.
Balancing popcorn and sodas along with Sophie and her gear, they wandered down the semilit aisle to a row of seats.
Jostling elbows and baby carrier, they settled in and the movie started. The loud music startled Sophie who began to whimper. Jenna removed her from the carrier and rocked her back and forth until she settled. The baby scent mingled with popcorn and the distinctive smell of a movie theater. Dax kicked back and relaxed with his snacks. Might as well enjoy himself.
The animated Christmas film had Gavin giggling from the get-go. Thirty minutes in, though, he had to go to the bathroom. When they returned, Sophie was fussing again and Jenna grappled in the dark for a bottle from the diaper bag.
Without giving the action much thought, Dax took the baby while Jenna found the bottle. When she reached for Sophie, he shook his head, taking the bottle from her.
“I got her,” he whispered.
Jenna looked more grateful than he’d expected. His conscience tweaked. He’d wanted her to relax and have a good time, but here she was wrestling the fussy baby.
He slipped the bottle into Sophie’s mouth. She latched on like a baby ’possum.
Maybe he should have gotten a babysitter, but he’d never hired a sitter and didn’t know where to start. Besides, the children made for a good buffer, so the night out didn’t feel like a date. It was more like a family outing.
The notion stuck in the center of his brain and wouldn’t move until he examined it. Family. This was what he’d always wanted, the thing that was missing in his life, and tonight he felt as if he and Jenna and Gavin and Sophie belonged together.
He squirmed in the chair and tried to concentrate on the pink princess staring up at him as if he was some kind of hero.
When at last Sophie slept again, he handed her over to Jenna who in turn placed her in the carrier.
“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning toward his ear. Her arm bumped his from shoulder to elbow. In the flickering light of animation, he saw her smile.
His stomach went airborne.
He reached for her hand and she gave it willingly.
He swallowed hard, pretended to watch the dancing elves and ignored the warning bells going off in his head.
It was only a movie, only a hand. Just that sentimental Christmasy feeling. No big deal.
Tomorrow things would return to normal.
The night air was crisp and quiet when the moviegoers returned to the Southpaw. A banana moon tilted overhead as though paying homage to the stunning spray of stars in the indigo sky.
Careful to cover her daughter against the chilled air, Jenna made her way to the door. Dax strode alongside with a sleeping Gavin slung over one shoulder.
She had never dreamed a night at a fast-food restaurant and a run-down movie theater could be such pleasure. She cast a sidelong glance at her companion. Dax was the main cause of her enjoyment. At the restaurant, he’d teased her about the amount of ketchup she’d dumped on her French fries and told her funny stories about his first few months of taking care of a newborn. Between the lines, she’d read the desperation and sorrow he must have felt. Knowing his struggle matched her own had made his humor all the more endearing.
Then they’d laughed at the funny Christmas movie, and he’d held her hand, such a simple thing, but her entire body had hummed in pleasure. She wondered what it would be like to go on a real date with him, a dangerous thought perhaps, given who she was and the things she’d kept from him. But just this once she wanted someone—a male someone—to see her as something besides a trust fund.
