Page 60 of The Second Chance Cinema
“Sorry,” Drake said. “I thought you were someone …” He scratched his head and tried to figure out a save. “You look like someone.”
“I get that a lot,” the guy said.
“He does get that a lot,” his wife agreed with a knowing chuckle. The baby cooed.
“Anyway, I wanted to let you know that the office is closed,” Drake offered.
“Yeah, too bad,” the guy said, rubbing his hands together. “We were driving out to my parents’ and saw this spot. Gorgeous homes.”
Drake’s mistake was pathetic. It was a sign that he needed to let the past go. To leave those other guys behind and drive back to their beautiful, not-bird-themed, home. So Drake did that aftera quick check on a Starling unit, picking up Chinese food along the way. When he walked in, though, the house was empty. It was after his shower, change into sweats, and unanswered text message that he heard the doorbell.
Ellie was always forgetting her house key. Drake swung the door open, expecting to find her there. Instead, Sandra stood on the snow-dusted porch. She held a wrapped gift box and small bakery tray against her cashmere sweater dress.
“Drake,” Sandra said. She was formal with his name.
Drake tried to cut through the chill. “Sandra,” he greeted her. “Hey. Hi.”
“Ellie told me no gifts.” She looked at the box as if yearning for whatever was inside of it. “But I’ve wanted her to have this. I’ve been meaning to drop it off for a while, and …” Her words, which were usually an effortless display of rehearsed charm, stalled. “Oh, and cookies. There are cookies here for both of you.”
“That’s really nice.” Drake reached in to relieve Sandra of the gift and the tray, setting them both on the shelf by the door. With his hands free, he went in for a hug. There was slight resistance from Sandra’s end; he worried the gesture was too familiar. Drake pulled away and waved her inside the house. “Come in, come in,” he said. “Ellie should be home soon.”
He wasn’t sure why he told her that. There were no signs of Ellie at the house, no half-filled mugs or stray blankets. It was wishful thinking, he decided.
Nancy bounded toward their visitor as she stepped inside the entryway. Sandra pulled her hand away as sloppy, wet kisses landed on it. Nancy set a paw on her shoe, as if asking her to stay, and Sandra sidestepped the advance without looking down.
Then, Sandra made a face Drake recognized. It was the same face Ellie made as she analyzed a new place and pulled it apart in her mind. He could feel Sandra’s critical gaze as she tallied theunrepaired holes, old moldings, and Ellie’s antique collections on their living room shelves, which her mom would probably describe ascreativeoreclectic.
Drake couldn’t blame Sandra for being curious. It was her first time in their new house. His own parents had been there the week they moved in and brought a six-pack of beer for a toast. Ellie later had joked that the beer toast was tacky, which rubbed Drake the wrong way. Now he wondered if she was hurt because it was another milestone not shared with her own parents.
“Do you want to stay?” Drake asked. He motioned to the food containers somewhere behind him. “For dinner. It’s just takeout, but …”
Sandra seemed to consider the invitation. Drake should’ve known better. It was an innocent offer, but would Ellie see it that way? “No, no, but thank you,” she decided. “I can’t eat things like that anymore.” Drake wasn’t sure what thelike thatmeant, but he nodded in agreement. Drake was looking at Sandra with fresh eyes after watching the memory with Ben. He sensed her chilly exterior covered up what hurt her.
Would Sandra spend the holidays alone? Had Ellie even given her mom gifts from them? He wasn’t sure. Ellie also hadn’t gone to Sandra’s for a holiday dinner this year, as she usually did. Sandra and Ellie had grown even farther apart since the mess of the engagement party.
“We would love to have you over soon,” Drake suggested. “Umm, for dinner. A home-cooked dinner? I mean, neither of us cook, but we can figure something out.”
“I will look forward to that.” Sandra straightened herself out. She pointed to the box on the shelf. “Tell Ellie … When she opens it … That she shouldn’t have been alone.” She paused and rubbed her throat like it hurt. “And let her know that I went back that day.”
Before Drake could ask what she meant, Sandra slipped out the door.
Ellie had narrowly missed her mom by about ten minutes. She came home with her arms full of various cookies and cider. “You’re here!” she said. “Good, good. I hated that you were away on a holiday. I was losing it. So, I got cookies.” She waved the plastic bag in the air.
“Love it,” Drake told her with a kiss on the cheek. “Although, the cookie fairy has already visited us.” He picked up the tray of beautifully iced snowflakes that Sandra had brought them.
“Oh!” Ellie said. “You got cookies, too!”
“They’re from …” Drake paused. When he’d tried to bring up her mom since their engagement party, the mood had soured, hadn’t it? He didn’t want to ruin their night by explaining her visit. It could wait. “Me,” he said. “The cookies are from me. I got Chinese food, too.”
“Well, the more cookies, the better.”
They set the spread on the coffee table, piled two plates high, and read their fortunes out loud on the couch.
“ ‘A secret will soon be revealed,’” Ellie said. The message seemed ominous to Drake. Maybe it was because Sandra’s wrapped box still sat near the front door. Ellie hadn’t noticed it yet. He made a mental note to put it in the closet the next time she was upstairs. “Anything you want to tell me?”
Drake snatched the fortune cookie away from her. “I would like to tell you that I call dibs on this.”
“Good,” she said. “You can have that one. I’m going to eatallof these life-changing cookies you picked up.” She ate her fourth cookie in a row. “Where did you get these, anyway?”
