Page 39 of All Wrong
They drove past Callaghan Auto. She couldn’t help checking it out. The bay doors were down. Security lights in the office and around the property were the only illumination.
Where is Nick?she wondered.What is he doing? Is he with Candace right now? Or someone else?
She shoved those thoughts back into the far recesses of her mind. What Nick did and who he chose to spend his time with was none of her business.
“How are you settling in so far?” she asked Brett.
“So far, so good. I haven’t met everyone on the high school staff yet, but the ones I have were welcoming. And it seems like a good program. A little too good to be true, if I’m honest,” he said.
“How so?”
“Clean air, good funding, community support, affordable housing. I didn’t know places like this still existed.”
Corinne felt a surge of pride, then thought about those boys who had sought out Nick at the fair. “We have our problems.”
“Of course. Every place does. But believe me, they’re negligible compared to some of the places I’ve been.”
His smile dimmed somewhat, rousing her curiosity, but she didn’t press. She could ask Lacie about it next time she talked to her.
“Are you finding everything you need?”
“Oh, yeah. Google is my friend,” he said with the flash of another friendly smile. “But it’s pretty easy to get around.”
She pointed to a small sign on the side of theroad and directed him to turn left. “Have you ever been to a drive-in movie before?”
“No, this will be a first for me. I’m looking forward to it.”
“It’s good to expand your horizons.”
The field that served as a parking lot was already more than half full by the time they arrived. Situated on a gentle slope, crossroads separated the leveled semicircular rows. The setup was such that no one had a bad view of the monstrous screen, no matter where they parked. Corinne directed him to a spot slightly off center and about two-thirds of the way back.
He pointed to the metal pole to the left of the driver’s side. “Aren’t there supposed to be speakers or something?”
“There used to be, but they upgraded to FM transmission a few years ago. Better sound quality and no chance of accidentally driving off with the speaker attached to your window.”
He chuckled. “Did that happen often?”
“Often enough. Pain to replace, and it didn’t do much for the windows either,” she said with a grin. “Come on.” She opened her car door.
“Where are we going?”
“To the concession stand. We can’t watch aclassic monster flick without food. And put your wallet away, mister. This is on me.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but she pinned him with a stern look.
He held up his hands and laughed. “All right, all right. Thank you.”
Loaded up with a box of grilled hot dogs, popcorn, candy, and soft drinks, they returned to the truck. When darkness fell sufficiently, the first of the double feature lit up the screen.
The movie was old and campy and entertaining, and any worries she’d had about Brett’s intentions were quickly laid to rest. He was a perfect gentleman and a good sport, and for a little while, Corinne forgot about her job and her apartment and just enjoyed herself.
When the first movie ended, the screen flashed up an intermission notice with talking and dancing animated food and a twenty-minute countdown clock. Her bladder sent up a plea.
“I need to visit the restroom,” she said. “Want anything while I’m up that way?”
He patted his stomach and looked at the empty box. “I think I’m good. I’m going to pay for this tomorrow, but it was worth it. I will walk with you though. My legs could use a stretch.”
She was once again struck by his gentlemanly behavior. Even better, he did so without coming across as territorial or overbearing.
