“Not really, but I didn’t want to be late and I knew that the traffic around the mall can be a bitch sometimes… I mean busy… uh…” I stammered thinking that I had slipped and the crude language would not be appreciated even if tolerated. “Sorry…” I started.
“I know what you mean.” Michelle laughed. “I’ve lived in this town all my life I know what the traffic can be like.” She added smiling brushing off my awkwardness.
“Are you hungry?” I asked motioning around the food court. Michelle looked around.
“Nah, not really. Besides I might want to save room for some popcorn.” She smiled and looked back to the theater entrance.
“That works for me. I guess we should go see what’s showing and when huh? Shall we?” I asked as I stood up and offered my arm. Michelle stood up and looked at me curiously for a moment and then smiled and slipped her hand in my arm and we walked to the theater. We checked the movie listings and times before deciding on a recent romantic comedy. As it turned out we were just ten minutes early for the next showing so I bought our tickets and we stopped at the concession stand for a big tub of popcorn and a couple of drinks. Michelle passed on the extra butter saying that it was really just warmed butter flavored oil. It turns out that she had worked in this very theater one summer a couple of years ago. Being early for the showing we had first pick at any seating we wanted, Michelle led me all the way to the top to the last row of seats just under the projector window in the back wall.
We settled in and traded stories of the years between our high school typing class up until this year when we met again. Where we had worked, places we had been to, things we had done. We shared the classes we had enrolled in at University and others that we thought we might explore next. We talked through most of the previews until the lights went all the way down and the movie started. At some point during the movie I found that Michelle had slipped her right hand into my left. I glanced at her but she was focused on the movie playing on the big screen. I just smiled to myself and let it be. I noticed a short while later though that my palm was now warm and damp from sweat. Perhaps she was as nervous as I was. I tucked that little bit of information away to think about later. The movie was fairly predictable as romantic comedies go, boy meets girl, boy chases girl, girl plays hard to get. They get together only to have some sort of misunderstanding and fall out only to come back together after clearing up whatever confusion there was that happened, then boy and girl move on together… happy ending. A typical feel good movie, of which I was not going to argue about as the feeling carried over to most of the movie goers too. Michelle seemed to be all smiles and wistful sighs after the credits started rolling. She squeezed my hand before releasing me when she and I stood up to make our exit. I didn’t say anything about it but I unobtrusively wiped my sweaty palm off on my jeans. I’m sure Michelle did as well.
As we exited the theater I thought again about the lemon ice that Jules had suggested and I steered Michelle and I towards the booth that sold them. I told Michelle I wanted one and asked her if she would like to join me. The look on her face was priceless, a look of surprise and a delighted curiosity. I bought one for each of us and we found an empty bench to sit on as we enjoyed them. We sat and watched people go by and commented on them as if narrating a movie. Each person or groups had their own stories that we made up. Michelle and I were soon laughing at one another’s imaginations and narratives. At some point though, thoughts that we both had in the backs of our minds about our mutual associations with our teachers finally could not be denied. It was Michelle that finally breached the subject.
“Jim? I know we’re not supposed to talk… about things… but I can’t stand it! I have to talk to you about it.” She began, clearly troubled by her own promise to be discrete that she had made to Maggie and Penny. I all but bit my lip, brows knitted and a serious look on my face I turned to study her. She was looking at me much in the same way, her eyes showed a hint of anxiety.
“I know, I have been biting my tongue so much it’s any wonder I can still talk at all.” I admitted and gave her a sheepish grin. “I take the promise I made to the ladies seriously… but you made the same promise and we were both told to ‘use our better judgment’… If you think about it, and I have, if we talk to each other we’re not talking to someone outside the house as it were. Right?” I ended with the question that had been bouncing around in my head for over two weeks. Michelle’s eyes widened, her brows relaxed before they shot up together, her face slowly split with first a slight grin but kept growing until it was a dazzling and very excited smile.
“Of course! Jim! You’re a genius! Why didn’t I think of that?” Michelle all but shouted in an excited whisper. She bounced her feet excitedly as if she were running in place while sitting on the bench and tucked her head and raised her shoulders briefly. I thought it was adorable, the obvious joy she was displaying, it was infectious, I found myself grinning like I had just shared a juicy secret. Noticing that both I and Michelle had finished our ices, Michelle stood quickly and told me to sit still that she would be right back. I watched as she tossed out empty cones and returned to the booth that I had bought them from and ordered two more. She brought them back and as she sat down she straddled the bench so that she was facing me, I got the hint and copied her so that we were indeed face to face.
We sat there and started talking. We traded stories of the various lessons and exercises that the ladies had worked with us. We shared out ‘assignments’ and how we did with them. Things got a little more awkward when we both shared maybe not in great detail about our interactions with Maggie and Penny over the time we had been with them. We shared our thoughts about each of them and agreed almost on every detail about their different styles and personalities. Michelle got a kick out of me telling about Penny joining me in the shower that first time totally unexpected by me. I told her how I honestly nearly freaked out. Michelle shared some rather intimate details about her interactions with both of the ladies and since she knew I was aware of their ‘preferences’ and was both accepting and not judgmental of them she admitted to me that she had enjoyed her times with them. She looked me dead in the eye and went on to tell me that while she had enjoyed them she was not solely interested in other women. I told her I was happy to hear that even if it wouldn’t make any difference what I thought. She smiled warmly and told me that maybe she did care what I thought then glanced away shyly. I told her I thought she was a wild card, that nobody was sure what she would do and that was fine with me. I also told her that I would be willing to help her out with any lessons or exercises she might want to work on in the future. Michelle awarded me with another one of those dazzling smiles that made her eyes sparkle with light.