Up in his room, Zeke toyed with the projector while Abigail gulped down the last swallows from a bottle of water that Zeke had given her. He didn’t look like he was in the mood to talk as he cleaned out a couple of moths that were stuck in the film gate and shutter on the old projector. Abigail finally broke the ice.
“Thanks for the water. Aren't you happy I found the R-60 flange joint?”
“Sure you got the right part?” he asked, still busy with the projector.
“Sure I’m sure,” she said confidently.
“You lied to my mother.”
“I told her I needed some water.”
“Looks like Brian’s wearing off on you.”
“Nobody's wearing off on me,” she said, then she wheeled over and looked at posters and photos on the wall.
He watched her out of the corner of her eye. She was looking at an old photo of the Thunderbird Drive-In that looked like it was taken right after World War II. There were lots of sailors who had their arms around pretty women. She looked at him. Something about the photo seemed to change her mood. She didn’t seem so mad at him anymore.
“Did you know there were over four-thousand drive-ins in America back at one time? Now there are only about a hundred. And the number is getting less every year,” she said.
He shrugged.
“The first drive-in opened in 1933 in Camden, New Jersey. The man who opened it was named Richard Hollingshead. They didn't have speakers like they do now. They used to broadcast from a great big tower over a single loudspeaker,” she said confidently.
“What makes you the expert?”
“I went to the library. You do know what a library is, don't you?” she said.
“So you're a librarian—and a mechanic?”
“I didn't say I was a librarian.”
“You sure don't look like one,” he said.
“What exactly do librarians look like? Just curious, maybe you could fill me in on the specifications.”
He gave her a funny look. She looked over on the other wall near the projector and saw an old newspaper ad for a John Wayne movie at the Thunderbird. In the corner of the ad, there was a little outlined box with text that read: SHUT-INS AND INVALIDS ADMITTED FREE. She studied the words. Zeke watched her.
“Guess we get in for free,” Abigail said.
“Speak for yourself,” he replied back quickly.
She saw the Gypsy Moths movie can lying on the floor at the top of a stack of Kung-Fu movie cans. She picked it up.
“What's this movie about?” she asked.
“You really want to know?”
“Of course. Why would I ask?”
Zeke sighed, tired of the small talk.
“These three guys travel around the country and jump out of airplanes.”
“Do they have parachutes?”
“What do you think?” Zeke said.
“Why would somebody jump out a perfectly good airplane?” she asked.
He shrugged then took her empty water bottle and threw it in the trash like he was shooting a basketball into a hoop.
“Anything else?” he said.
She looked around at all the film cans. Something seemed to be on her mind.
“You ever watch these old movies by yourself? You do, don't you?”
He didn’t say anything. She moved closer.
“I'd like to watch one with you.”
He didn’t seem to know what to say. He swallowed hard trying to think of something.
“In the middle of the day? It has to be dark to watch movies at a drive-in.”
“Oh, really?” she said in a sharp tone.
“I'm busy right now,” he said and then he went back to working on the projector.
“Did you hear what I said? I want to watch a movie with you. One of these weird ones.”
“There aren’t any weird movies. Movies are movies. Somebody had an idea, they wrote a script, somebody hired a producer and a director and the actors and then they made the movie.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry,” she said.
“Besides, you can't stay out here that late—with me, you know.”
“Why not?”
“Just wouldn't look right.”
“What wouldn't look right?” she asked, moving closer with a smirk on her face.
“Everything. This. People would talk. You shouldn't even be in here right now.”
He went to the door and was about to open it. She moved even closer.
“I'd like to watch a movie with you. Tonight,” she said.
“No,” he said.
“Yes!”
She parked her chair in front of the door so he couldn’t open it. He sat there staring at the door knob. He finally looked at her.
“What about your father?”
“I'll just get him to drop me off at Jessica's house. She’ll cover for me. She always does.”
“That's called lying.”
“And you never lied about anything?”
He shrugged a halfway no.
“That's a lie if I ever heard one,” she laughed.
There was a long silence.
“What about Brian?” he asked.
“What about him?”
Suddenly Wanda Jean banged on the door. They both rolled back three feet in their chairs.
“Hey! What you got this door locked for?” Wanda Jean called out in a hoarse, angry voice.
“It's not locked,” Zeke said.
Wanda Jean banged on the door again and tried the lock. It was locked. Zeke looked at Abigail who had a guilty look on her face.
“Sorry.”
“Zeke! What you doin' in there with that crippled girl? Unlock this door!”
He wheeled over and unlocked the door and opened it. Wanda Jean stormed inside, her face red as the sun, looking like she was about to blow a gasket. Abigail wheeled past her and out the door. Zeke tried to follow, but Wanda Jean grabbed him by the collar and stopped him in his tracks.
“What if you got that crippled girl pregnant, Zeke? What would you do then? You ain't got no money, no job to take care of no baby. You’re gonna end up living in Pungo the rest of your life just like me if you don’t do something with yourself.”
He grabbed a film could and swiped it at her. He knocked her off balance and zoomed out.
On the road outside the drive-in, Abigail wheeled along crying from what Wanda Jean had said about her. Zeke wasn’t far behind. He finally caught up to her. He still had the film can in his lap. He tried to grab for her but she pushed away.
“Let me go!” she yelled.
He sped up, wheeling beside her.
“Okay! We can watch the movie tonight.”
“I don't want to watch a stupid old movie,” she said with big tears in her eyes.
She reached back and knocked the film could out of his hands. The film spooled out onto the pavement, rolling along like it was trying to pave the wide road with its narrow ribbon of celluloid. He stopped and tried to gather the film. She kept going but finally slowed down and looked back at him. He looked like one of the Keystone Cops from an old black and white movie as he wrestled with the tangle of film while cars zoomed past on the highway. She laughed as she watched him but a big truck zoomed past him and almost sucked Zeke and the film into its wake. She wheeled back and started to help him wrangle the loose film back into the can.
“She's right, you know,” she said.
“About what, being crippled?”
“No, if you get me knocked up then you'd really be in trouble,” she said.
“That’s not going to happen.”
She got a funny look on her face and dropped the film she had in her hands.
“Why not?”
He thought a moment.
“Because—”
She got an even funnier look then wheeled off.
“Hey! What'd I say?”
Zeke watched her, perplexed.
“Wait!” Zeke called to her.
He gathered all the film and wheeled after her.