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CHAPTER 38
Hank
Luna sat between Skylar and me in my truck as we drove through downtown Firefly bouncing up and down with barely contained excitement.
When I’d shown up on Skylar and Luna’s doorstep and invited them to go to a drive-in movie, Luna had practically jumped through the ceiling—the one with the fan I’d installed the week before—with excitement. Skylar seemed excited, too, although she hadn’t quite jumped for joy like her daughter.
I’d hoped to get her mind off what had gone on the night before. Having her ex show up like that couldn’t have been easy. I just wanted her to have a night of fun and relaxation.
Before she’d agreed to go, she’d asked what movie we’d see and when I told her The Goonies she looked a little uncertain. I realized then that I hadn’t given a second thought to which movie we’d be seeing. Neither of my parents paid much attention to the content we were exposed to. I’d seen Scarface when I was Luna’s age.
“Can we get popcorn?” Luna asked.
“We can get whatever you want,” I easily agreed, but then felt the heat of Skylar’s stare on the side of my face. I continued looking forward but added, “Within reason.”
“Is Milk Duds with a reason?” Luna asked adorably changing the ‘in’ to an ‘a’. My eyes were on the road but, I could hear her puppy dog eyes. The force was strong with this one.
I glanced over at Skylar for the stamp of approval and she gave me a quick nod.
“Well…” I looked back at the road pretending to give it a lot of thought. Between us, Luna vibrated with anticipation. “I ’spose it is.”
“Yes!” Luna threw her arms up in a victory cheer.
And the questions didn’t stop at snacks. On the short drive Luna was shooting them at me rapid fire.
When did the movie start?
How would we hear it?
What if someone with a bigger car parked in front of us and we couldn’t see?
Could she sit in the bed of the truck?
Had I ever gone to the drive-in before?
Who did I go to the drive-in with?
I was pretty sure that question had gotten Skylar’s attention.
By the time we pulled into the parking spot, I would’ve thought that I’d answered every question there was to answer about drive-ins but I would’ve been wrong.
“What happens if a bird flies into the screen?”
It probably doesn’t end well for the bird.
“Um,” I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Would it die?” Luna asked, sounding more than a little concerned.
Skylar shifted toward her daughter. “Remember when Miss Milly walked into her screen door and she fell down and then she started laughing?”
“Uh huh.” Luna nodded.
“Well, the same thing would happen if a bird flew into a movie screen.”
“Oh.” Luna seemed perfectly content with that explanation.
I was going to give Skylar a covert high five for her badass parenting when her phone rang.
