Page 42 of The Second Chance Cinema
Sam dropped off their drinks, and they placed an order for a few small plates. Drake took a sip. “Rocket fuel,” he said. “Deliciousrocket fuel.”
Ellie’s first sip went down easily. “I love how you snack when you’re stressed, so I immediately know if there’s something wrong,” she said. “I love how you care about other people so deeply that you even care about the feelings of the maps lady. I love how I catch you smiling at me when I’m not looking. I love how stupidly earnest you are. And speaking of earnest, I love your optimism. I love that you’re everything I’m not, and that we have almost nothing in common except for having the exact same sense of humor.”
Drake touched her arm to pause her. “All along, I thought you were Sally Albright. But here you are, doing the Harry Burns speech.”
Ellie melted a little. “I love how you act like the side-of-atruck guy sometimes, but you’re really a Nora-Ephron-MariahCarey guy.”
“What’s a side-of-the-truck guy?”
“You know. The guy on the side of the truck in an advertisement.We do tough law.We want to buy your house.We crush cans with our fists.” Drake laughed. “I know I teased you the first time we sat here about only going to the same three places. But, now I know why.”
“Which is?”
“You don’t give up on people or things that you care about.” Ellie took another sip. “You never make me guess if you’re going to show up. You tell me how you feel. You surprise and delight me. And I’m not good at any of those things, but you make me want to be better.”
“You’re unusually feely tonight.”
“What can I say,” Ellie told him. They needed this, a good moment. The calm before the storm. “Maybe Finn’s makes me nostalgic.”
“I love you, Ellie.”
“I love you, Drake. But wait. There’s more to what I want to say … Umm—” She motioned to Sam from across the bar. He nodded back at her. “I Will Always Love You” started to blare. It was too loud for the space and immediately shut down all conversations. “Sorry everybody,” Sam shouted, adjusting the levels back to something more reasonable. “Carry on.”
“This is my favorite song,” Drake said, acknowledging Ellie’s gesture.
“I know.”
“This means a lot—”
“I know.”
They listened to the song play out. It was late enough for inhibitions to be lowered, and about halfway through it, the few remaining patrons started to sing. Though they’d only had one drink themselves, it was impossible not to join in. Drake started first, right around the chorus. Ellie was his backup singer. In amove she hadn’t predicted, Sam hopped up on the bar and used a bottle of bitters as a microphone as he reached for a high note.
Their food came and the conversation kept buzzing. Eventually, Ellie noticed the time: It was 11:40 already. They needed the check. Fast.
Energized from Finn’s, Drake chatted nonstop in the car. He asked how her meeting with Nolan went earlier. Ellie kept it general since the good news she had to share was now tied to Melinda. She wanted to stay wrapped in the laughter, the breezy conversation, and the warm glow of the bar for a little longer.
But as the car neared the cinema, Ellie’s dread made itself known. The memory she had brought them there to watch had to be so close. She’d convinced herself she could handle it. Enough time had passed since that night, she’d repeated in her head. Now, just the thought of the movie and its horrors was enough to make her jaw clench.
I think something awful is comingwas on the tip of her tongue.
“Drake,” Ellie said. She grabbed his arm as he parked the car at the bottom of the alley. “Do we have to go in tonight?”
He laughed in disbelief. “What do you mean?” he asked. “All this time, you’ve been begging me to go here.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s just that … there’s something you don’t know about me yet. Something that’s been …” They weren’t even in the cinema yet, and she could already feel herself tearing up. “Something that has felt impossible to talk about.”
“Okay,” Drake nodded. He left the car on and turned up the heat a little, as if to say: continue, time is of no limit. But the time did have a limit. It was 11:53. How had she avoided the topic for this long? They needed to get inside. If they didn’t, she would miss the exact reason she’d brought them there.
“We’ve got to go,” Ellie said.
“We could go to Mae’s instead,” Drake suggested. “Grab an ice cream and call it a night?”
It was 11:54.
“Let’s start walking,” Ellie insisted. Reason kicked in. “We can’t be late.”
“All right,” Drake said, resigned. He opened her door and softly pushed her forward through the alley’s entrance and up the cobblestones. “Whatever it is, Ellie, I’m here for you.”
