Page 49 of The Second Chance Cinema
“You know, when the owners walk around the house at the end and their eyes get wide and they say ‘Oh my god!’ They look kind of possessed, but like, with joy? Those are my favorite parts of those shows.”
“Yeah, well, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves … I don’t know if I’m going to get it for sure.”
Drake stopped walking for a second to make a point. “You will,” he said.
“How do you know?”
He placed both hands on the side of his head like a TV psychic. “Because I’m the guy watching all those shows. And there’s no one who makes me say ‘Oh my god’ quite like you.”
When they got home, Nancy bounded inside. The space had loosened; the living room felt less like a trap and more like a quiet refuge. They lit a fire and played poker on the floor, using their old Halloween candy to place bets. Neither of them were good at it, but that wasn’t the point.
Time made more sense again, at least for the night.
22
The following Friday, Drake suggested they sit out the cinema a second time. “In fact, I don’t think we should go back,” he said, sitting next to her at the kitchen table and nibbling on some leftovers. Ellie weighed what would remain for them to see on her side of the story. Family feuds. One-night stands. Being impulsive through her twenties until she landed right here. Drake was the best thing that happened to her since Ben died. Maybe it was better to stay in the present than relive the rest of it.
“Okay,” she agreed. “Fine by me. I saw what I went there for.”
“Good.” Drake nodded. “I have my mom’s Early Christmas Dinner thing tomorrow night, anyway.” He put his arm around her. “I was thinking I could head out there, leave early, and come home with armfuls of leftovers.”
Ellie was familiar with Early Christmas Dinner. The superfluous event was a chance for the Nielsons to gather and officially kick the holiday off before it happened. To mark the occasion, Beth regaled everyone with the three holiday carols she could play on the keyboard, and Drake banged away on a triangle instrument he’d been given as a child. The evening wasn’t a replacement for Christmas, merely an opening act.
Last year, she would’ve loved to have skipped it. But now, Ellie didn’t want to be alone. Sitting in the quiet house with only her thoughts sounded too unbearable.
“I’ll go with you,” she said.
“You really don’t have to do that,” Drake insisted. “You’ve had a rough couple of weeks. I know it’s not your thing. You can come to real Christmas.”
“No,” she pushed. “I want to come.”
“It’s okay if you—”
“I’m coming to dinner, Drake,” she said. “With bells on.”
To make good on her promise, Ellie found a dress with literal bells on the sleeves for Early Christmas Dinner. When Robert opened the door in his holiday sweatpants, she realized she’d overdressed. The three of them jingled their way through hugs and hellos. The kitchen’s small dinner table was set up with festive paper plates and a homemade reindeer centerpiece featuring buttons for eyes. Before Ellie and Drake sat down, the table started to tilt as it always did. The silverware came dangerously close to hitting the floor.
“Oh boy, here we go,” Robert said. “Table on the run.”
“Do we need to have another talk about replacing the table?” Drake asked.
“No,” his dad insisted. “No. We’re not replacing the table.”
“Why not?” Drake argued. “It’s broken. It’s always been broken.”
“Kids!” Beth shouted from the hall, her hands in the air. “Oh good, we’re fixing the table, how fun!”
“This isn’t fun, Mom,” Drake said. He bent to start repairing the leg. Ellie chuckled, charmed by the routine.
“How about when you get that table all squared away, you make the front door jealous?” Beth suggested with a pat on Drake’s back. The front door hadn’t been closing properly for a week, she explained, which was likely the reason for the chill inside.
While Drake went to work on the door, Beth pulled Ellie downthe hall toward his room for her design expertise. They were slowly turning Drake’s room into a home gym, Beth explained, even though Ellie already knew this from their last several visits. His bed was still in its place, but it was now accompanied by more rogue exercise equipment than Ellie remembered. At the center of the room was a tiny trampoline most appropriate for a cat.
“I don’t know a lot about decorating gyms,” Ellie said. This was an understatement.
Beth ignored her comment. “I need something to liven it up in here.” She gestured toward a blank white wall.
Ellie wanted to be helpful. “Maybe you could do a simple mural?” she suggested. “You know, a word that inspires you, or—”
