Chapter 15- part 2

The Italian Village was full, but not crowded. Jon and Aleisha only had to wait a few minutes before they were seated. Kate stayed in the car until she could tell they were safely in a booth, then she entered and asked for a single table on the other side of the restaurant, where there would be no danger of Aleisha noticing her.
The rest of the drive had been relatively uneventful. Jon had spoken out loud a few times, as he would hint at exact directions from Kate. A few statements like- “The next light is ninth, so I’m going to take a left” were quite common, but no real conversation between Jon and Aleisha had happened.
It had seemed to just be a comfortable co-existing of the couple had taken place and Kate imagined a lot of googly eyes at each other. Kate felt as though she was an odd intruder, a third wheel, and in reality, she was. It was interesting that she had done this kind of stake out for almost a year before Jon had been recruited, only 3 days ago she had to remind herself, but it seemed so much different now. She hadn’t been able to hear entire intimate conversations before, and now, here she was playing chaperone. Granted, she was still several yards away, but she still seemed to be intruding too much.
The conversation had restarted.
“So, Jon, what looks good to you?” Aleisha asked.
“I’m a sucker for ravioli. but I love lasagna, and just the boring old fettuccini Alfredo. I haven’t decided yet. And you?”
“I’m thinking that a pizza bender sounds amazingly tasty.”
“What is that?”
Aleisha leaned over the table and pointed at the spot in the menu that described it. “It says a mini-pizza folded in half and served with dipping sauce.”
As she leaned over, her hair fell into her eyes. Jon looked up and brushed it away so he could see her face. She smiled at him, and then very slowly sat back in her seat.
“Sounds good. I think I have to go for the half and half plate.”
“Don’t you generally drink half and half?” Aleisha led Jon along.
“No,” Jon explained, “you get any two half servings of anything on their menu on the same plate.”
A waitress came up to their table. “Welcome to the Italian Village. Are you ready to order or can I just get you some drinks while you look at the menu a minute more?”
“I’m ready!” Aleisha piped up.
“I guess we’re ready,” Jon replied.
“For you, Ma’am?”
“I will take two combination pizza benders please with extra dipping sauce, and a bowl of minestrone soup, please.”
“Healthy appetite for a little girl,” Kate commented.
Jon reached up and pretended to scratch his shoulder, but flicked his mike with his thumb while doing it.
“And to drink?”
“Pepsi?”
“We do serve Pepsi, yes, ma’am.” The waitress scribbled the order and turned to Jon. “And for you?”
“I’ll take the half and half plate with lasagna and meat and cheese ravioli, please with a bowl of minestrone soup and a side salad. With Italian dressing and a cherry Pepsi, if I may.”
“You sure may.” The waitress took their menus. “I’ll be right back with the drinks.”
Aleisha looked up at their waitress and smiled. “Thank you.” Aleisha continued to look admiringly at Jon.
The waitress brought their drinks and their complimentary order of garlic bread. Aleisha attacked the bread with gusto. Jon took a few sips of his drink while he watched as Aleisha ate her first slice in a matter of seconds. He waited until she had begun working on her second slice before he ventured his hand near it.
“So,” Aleisha asked in between bites, “what do you want to be?”
Jon took a bite of his bread before answering. “This sounds stupid, but I actually want to be an actor.”
Aleisha grinned and nodded her head. “Not stupid at all. You were great in Little Shop of Horrors last year.”
“Thanks.” Jon nodded and then a realization hit him. “You went to one of the performances?”
“No.”
“Then how-?”
“I went to all seven.”
Jon was shocked.
Kate was stunned.
“Whoa,” was all Jon heard from Kate.
“All seven?” Jon asked.
“Yup. After the first night, I went back and sat in the third row, center aisle every night.”
“Third row? Center? That’s where I-“
“That’s where you stopped to sing your solo every night. I know. I knew you wouldn’t see me since the spotlight was right in your face at that time. I knew you couldn’t see anything but a blinding light.”
Jon was speechless.
“You were great. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the play entirely because it was quite silly, you were really good. You actually seemed to be in love with that girl, and too scared to talk to her, and, even after you two started seeing each other in the play, you only kissed her on the forehead. I thought that was sweet. You brought a silly play some depth. You were good, so I don’t find that silly at all.”
They stared at each other for a minute. Even the bread eating had stopped. Finally, Jon broke the silence.
“Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.” Aleisha began to eat her bread again.
“What do you want to do then, when you grow up?”
“Now this, you will laugh at.”
“Why would I? I promise I won’t laugh.”
“Scout’s honor?”
“I was never a scout, sorry.”
Aleisha just tilted her head. “Scout’s honor?”
Jon straightened up and put his hand up in the famous salute. “Scout’s honor, Miss.”
Aleisha seemed to be having trouble spitting it out.
Jon leaned forward. “What? What is it? Is it embarrassing? Do you want to work at Southern Exposure as a career?”
“No! Of course not! Not at all. It’s just-“ Aleisha almost seemed to be freezing up.
“Illegal? Drug runner?”
The head tilt again.
“Okay,” Jon sat back in his seat. “Not a drug runner, I assume, not a prostitute, so what can be so bad?”
Aleisha just opened her mouth and closed it again.
Jon leaned over and did what would’ve seemed impossible three days ago- he grabbed her hand. “What is it?”
The actual touch seemed to bring Aleisha back to reality. “It’s just that whenever I tell guys they make fun of me.”
“I promise. No laughter. None at all. I am serious guy.”
Aleisha seemed to steel herself against the onslaught of laughter she knew was coming. In a small meek voice, she said, “A newspaper reporter.”
Jon let out a release of air that almost came out in a laugh. Aleisha glared at him. He put up his hands in defense.
“That was not a laugh about your choice of career at all. That was a stifled laugh because I can’t believe you were so scared to tell me. I was picturing garbageman or dog walker or something absurd like that, not something serious like a reporter. Honestly, I just think it’s funny you were so reluctant to tell me.”
Aleisha weighed Jon’s words carefully and her body posture relaxed. ”It’s just that when I go out with guys, they think that’s a stupid dream to have. As a reporter you don’t get a choice really, you go with the stories.”
“I think I see this coming,” Jon nodded. “And guys-“
“Guys just want a woman who will be subservient to them and their wishes. They don’t want a woman with a career. They just want someone to be barefoot and pregnant.”
“Hey, now, be careful, there! That’s my entire gender you’re talking about!”
“Isn’t it true? In your guy talks, how often does someone ever say, ‘I want a wife who will make more than me and leave on assignment and leave me at home to take care of our 2.7 kids?”
Jon gave her hand a squeeze.
“The kid does have a point,” Kate said.
“I know,” Jon said quietly into his receiver, but also looked at Aleisha and gave her support.
She didn’t look back. She was staring straight at the table. “Most guys ask if I want to cover the food or the gardening sections or the wedding pages, and they just about lose their shorts when I say that I want the big stuff! I want the murders, the rapes, the wars, the scandals. Most guys can’t even handle the thought of it!
I’ve heard about that Oscar party you always have. Believe it or not, I actually stay up and watch the Pulitzers every year. No one cares about them, so it’s televised at like 2 in the morning or something ridiculous like that. I get my bag of microwaveable popcorn and just watch these people go up and receive their awards and think, someday that will be me. Probably what you do with the Oscars every year.”
“Pretty close,” Jon agreed.
Jon let go of Aleisha’s hand as the waitress brought the soups and the salad.
After she had left, Jon watched as Aleisha picked up her spoon and started eating her soup.
“I can’t deny that most guys would think that you were crazy, but I think it’s great! I think most papers would benefit from a female reporter tackling the big stories! I don’t mean to sound sexist here, but I do believe that, in general, men and women view the world in a different way. I think that is pretty much a given, but that doesn’t mean that one viewpoint is right and the other wrong. I think you could easily add something that most males can’t add to journalistic writing and that’s the heart and the soul. I think you can do for newspapers what you think I do to silly plays, and that’s to add depth.”
Aleisha had kept eating her soup with vigor, but Jon knew that his words were hitting home. Her movements weren’t quite as sharp and jerky. She hadn’t looked him in the eyes at all since she told him. Jon reached out and touched her hand that was holding the spoon. She responded and brought the spoon down after she had eaten that spoonful. Jon’s hands moved back up to her hair and he swept it away.
Her eyes were glistening, but not in a sad teary way. Her face also had a smile on it. Her bottom lip was quivering, but it was a smile.
“Thank you, Jon.”
“You’re very welcome, Aleisha.”
She grabbed his hand and gave it a light kiss on the knuckles and a squeeze.
“You’re okay, Jonathan Mills,” Kate radioed her approval.
Jon addressed Aleisha. “I want you to send me every single one of your articles when you finally get published, okay? I’ll give you self-addressed stamped envelopes and you can send them to me all the time. Then, you have to promise to pay to see every single one of my movies at least twice. Deal?”
The quivering bottom lip had stopped. “Deal.”
“So, now that we have bared our souls already this evening, how about we do the normal first date stuff?” Jon finally started digging into his food.
“Such as?” Aleisha was visibly relieved to get back to fun conversations.
“Favorite musical group?”
“Oooooh. That’s a tough one. I would have to go with Van halen.”
“A rocker chick, huh? “
“You know it! And you?”
“I’m an poppy music kind of a guy. Billy Joel, Huey Lewis, and the like. I mainly listen to movie soundtracks, though. I’m a huge fan of John Williams, Danny Elfman.”
“Okay. What kind of questions should I ask?”
“Anything. I’m an open book!”
“Anything?” the devilish smile returned to Aleisha’s face.
“Anything.”
“Okay. Lightning round. Color?”
“Blue.”
“Food?”
“Italian or Mexican.”
“Paper or plastic?”
“Plastic.”
“Coke or Pepsi?”
“Coke, but Cherry Coke is the drink that keeps me alive, specifically.”
“Ford or Chevy?”
“Anything that runs.”
“Movie snack?”
“Nachos and a cherry Coke.”
“Tats or piercings?”
“Neither. I hate needles.”
“Favorite actor?”
“Harrison Ford and Michael J. Fox, neither of which are truly recognized for the job they do.”
“Cheese.”
“Type or brand?”
“Both.”
“Pepper jack and Tillamook.”
“Favorite book?”
“Author is Stephen King. Book would be either It or his novella, Apt Pupil. Although I hear that his book coming out next week, The Dark Half is also very, very good.”
“Favorite class in school?”
“Come on! Easy! Drama!”
“Favorite real class in school?”
“Oh, that’s cold!”
“Real class?” Aleisha pressed on.
“History and government.”
“Most embarassing moment?”
“That would have to be either the tryouts for the talent show this year, or the infamous spider story.”
“Infamous spider story? That just has a nice ring to it.” Aleisha was very intrigued.
“Okay, so, it was a normal Thanksgiving. All the relatives come over, general chaos until about four in the afternoon, a huge feast, dishes were done immediately, and then until about seven, everybody lazed around napping, or just not moving much in general. I was asleep on the couch, sawing logs, snoring like there was no tomorrow. Then, supposedly, all of a sudden, I sat upright and yelled ‘Watch out for the spiders!’ I stood up on the couch, jumped over my Uncle Dennis, the couch arm and ran into my bedroom, where I promptly zonked out again. It totally freaked out everybody who was sleeping and has been a cause of mockery ever since.”
“That is a priceless story!” Kate radioed Jon.
“Now,” Jon took control again, “I’ve answered a bunch. What about you? Same questions?”
“Color red. Food chinese. Paper is biodegradeable, plastic is not. Pepsi, by far. I am a chevy girl. A movie isn’t the same without popcorn. My ears are pierced once each, but no other weird tatoos or piercings.”
“Any normal tatoos or piercings?” Jon asked jauntily.
“No. Actor is Nicholas Cage. I am a fan of sharp cheddar and Cache Valley cheese, made right here in the great state of Utah. Book would have to be anything by E. L. Konisburg or Roald Dahl. I like science and most embarassing moment would have to be last year when my parents and I went to the Disneyland Hotel. I took all of the souvenirs that you could find around the place. I started with the usual stuff: soap, shampoo, stationary, pens, and by the end, I had things like ice buckets and ashtrays, even though I don’t know anybody who smokes just because it said Disneyland Hotel on it. So, my dad gets us a taxi to take us to the airport and the bag I had all of my treasures in broke open and it all spilled out. I looked like a seventeen-year old klepto of all things Disney.. I was mortified!”
Jon and Kate both got a good laugh out of the story as dinner arrived at the table.

Kate could tell that dinner was going well. The tone of conversation stayed light and pleasant, but there was absolutely none of the normal first date hmmmm-ing and hawing. There were pauses, which Kate could read as a shared smile, wink, or something. Jon was doing well keeping his nerves at bay.
Kate had ordered a pizza bender herself and was just finishing it as Jon excused himself to go to the bathroom. She wiped her mouth on a napkin, and went towards the bathroom hallway.
Since the Italian Village was a small family owned place that had expanded over the years, it still only had one toilet in both the men’s and women’s restrooms. Kate caught up with Jon in the hall.
“Pretty slick, slick,” she said.
It freaked Jon out that what he was hearing in his ear was also coming from just one small step away.
“Hey, Kate!”
“You almost act like you forgot I was here.”
There was a flush and the sound of running water.
“I almost did,” Jon admitted.
“Doesn’t surprise me. You’re doing fine and it sounds like you and Aleisha are hitting it off just fine. No problems with conversation for a while. I’m not sure if you really need me anymore tonight.”
A man unlocked the men’s room door and held it open for Jon.
“Excuse me for just a second, Kate.”
Jon’s back was to the dining room, so he didn’t see Aleisha as she slid out of the booth.
Kate saw the movement and grabbed Jon’s right hand, which was holding the bathroom door open, and swept him into the bathroom with her and she locked the door.
“Believe it or not, Kate, I really do have a kind’ve bashful bladder. I can’t-“
“Trust me, I don’t like to talk in bathrooms myself, but Aleisha was coming. Probably not the best move to be seen talking to another woman, who was on stage with you at the talent show the night before, in a bathroom hallway on your first date with the girl of your dreams.”
“Good point.”
They each held their breath as they heard Aleisha walk down the hallway and enter her respective restroom
As they released their breath, Kate started to speak. “All I wanted to say is that I am not useful to you anymore. Tonight, I mean. You are doing wonderfully well! I just feel like an intruder. I shouldn’t be listening in.”
“It’s cool. I’ll admit, even though you haven’t said much, you have helped me. Just knowing that you were there listening, made me secure that I could never say anything too stupid or foolish without you calling me on it. I also knew you would stop me from not being myself if I strayed too far, so it’s been good. Just one more thing and I’ll let you go.”
“Okay, and then I’ll let you go so that you can go.”
“Since we’re going to a movie, can you hang out and be in ear with me until the lights go down? Then, we’ll just be watching the movie, and afterwards, it’ll be late, so I will just talk to her about the film and take her home, and I know I can do that fine.”
“What about the end of the date?” Kate teased.
“I’m not as nervous about it.”
“Okay, Jon. You have a deal. I’ll be with you until the lights go down and I’ll cut loose. You just stow the earpiece in your pocket and get it back to me in the morning. Cool?”
“Cool.”
They listened for any sign of movement in the hallway. When none was detected, Kate slipped out the door and Jon locked it behind her. Almost immediately, the whoosh of running water in the pipes sounded through the bathroom and Jon could picture Aleisha fixing her hair in the mirror as she washed up. This put a smile on his face as he did what the room was designed for.
Kate actually left a few minutes before the happy couple. Since she knew the destination, she just stayed one step ahead of them to the theater. She purchased a ticket and then went back to her car until she knew they were in their seats.
While she was waiting, Kate noticed the first few snowflakes drift down and fall on her windshield. They quickly melted but they were soon replaced by more and more. She watched as Aleisha and Jon parked and purchased their tickets. Jon had his arm around Aleisha’s waist as they walked through the doors.
Aleisha shook her head free of the snow once inside the lobby. “Do you want some popcorn?” she asked.
“I can’t believe you want popcorn after all you ate at the restaurant!”
“I only ate one of the pizza benders. I told you I got the other one for lunch tomorrow! Besides a movie just isn’t a movie without popcorn.”
“And nachos,” Jon added.
“And nachos,” Aleisha agreed.
“Should we buy two large popcorns so you can have one for lunch tomorrow?” Jon joked.
“Nah. I don’t need it. I’ll just share with you tonight, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
They got their large popcorn, a large Cherry Coke, and an order of nachos. Kate walked through the doors as she watched them make their way down the hallway to their theater.
Kate could hear the slight argument about seating as she purchased her own drink and popcorn from the concession stand.
“I’m telling you, the front row is the best!” Jon tried to persuade Aleisha. “You don’t have to look straight up at the screen! You just kick back in your chair and let the film envelop you.”
“I like to see the whole screen, thank you very much!”
“You can see the whole screen! Have you ever heard about peripheral vision?”
“I have heard about it and yes, I do have it. You’re the one who has to wear contacts. I t wouldn’t surprise me to find out that you lost your sight while sitting in the front row of a movie theater.”
“Touché! Where would you like to sit?”
“I prefer the exact middle of the theater, but, since I’m with you, I’ll compromise. How about if we sit on the front row of the main section? We won’t venture into the nether region of the very front of the theater.”
“I think I could handle that.”
As they took their seats, Aleisha looked at Jon and shook her head. “The very front row? Why would you ever decide to sit on the very front row?”
“I used to go see movies all summer. My parents would drop me off at the theater and I would see at least four or five movies a week every summer. I was only about ten or eleven and I couldn’t see over anyone! So, I chose to sit on the front row so you don’t have to crane your neck. Then, I grew and got taller and taller, and now I sit there as a place to stretch my legs out.”
“So, this works, being back here on the front row of the main section?”
“It works, but I still prefer the every front row.”
“You are so weird sometimes.”
Kate entered the theater and made a beeline for the very back row of the theater. She picked her seat and slouched in her chair so that she was as inconspicuous as possible.
“So, how long have you liked movies?” Aleisha asked.
“My whole life. Like I said in my presentation, I would calm down when I was sick if my parents took me to a theater. Then they would take me to a movie before any big event, like the first day of school, to calm down my nerves. Then, it just became a natural thing to do.
One weekend, my dad took me to a showing of Raiders of the Lost Ark and it changed my life, literally. I remember that we went to the Villa, that old one screen theater on Highland Drive? We went and sat in the front row and I was just in awe of this big, huge screen, and the action, the music, the acting, the cinematography, I loved it all. Ever since then, I have just been a huge fan of the cinema. I watch most everything and I notice when its crap, but the thing that I love most is seeing the product of all of these talented people working with one purpose to tell one story. It’s amazing to me.”
Aleisha just looked at Jon admiringly. “I can see that. I can totally see that. So, do you still go to the Villa?”
“All the time. If there is a new movie up there, I go that weekend. I have seen crap that I might not ever even rent for the sheer fact that it was playing at the Villa.”
“Like what?”
“Cousins.”
Aleisha laughed. “That’s pretty bad. “
“When you’re an addict….”
“So, what makes the Villa so special?”
“Have you ever been there?”
“Never have.”
“We’ll go there for our next date.”
“Okay, I would love that, but that still doesn’t get you off the hook. What makes it so great?”
Jon paused and Aleisha could tell he was envisioning it in his brain. “You buy the tickets under a large marquee that is lit up with flashing lights. It almost puts you in the mood right away. You walk through the heavy glass doors and there is a huge lobby, populated by a large cross section of the population on any night when Cousins is not playing there.”
Jon was pleased that Aleisha laughed at that pathetic joke.
“After the visit to the concession stand, which besides the fact that they serve normal theater food is nothing special, you walk up a ramp to enter the theater. If you get there before the movie starts, you walk by one thick velvet curtain that is pulled back by a large golden rope. You continue up the ramp, and this time, you have to walk through another heavy velvet curtain, only this one is black. That keeps all the outside lights and colors from entering the theater.
Once you’re past that curtain, you enter the actual theater. It is a large, cavernous room, at least three or four times bigger than the high school auditorium and what passes for most movie theaters now days. I asked the manager once and he said there were 1150 seats. When you enter, you can go up to the balcony and sit in those 400 seats or so, or go down to the main theater seating. The seats aren’t the maximum comfort that the new seats have, but they are plush enough. They are easy to relax in for the two hours you’re there.
The screen is so large that it curves around the front of the theater. It’s so large that even the very front row is still about 30 feet from the screen. The lights dim and, on the front row, you are truly enveloped by the picture. The sound is amazing, and just the thought of having 1150 different people experiencing the same story is amazing! It’s an experience like no other!”
“You almost talk about it like it’s a church.”
“It is a church. It’s my church. It’s as close to a higher power as you’re ever going to get. That many different people sharing in one experience together? Age, race, color, sex, it’s all the same when you’re sitting in the dark together experiencing the same thing. When you’re there, you can forget all of your problems and your cares. Whatever anybody says about you outside of those walls, doesn’t matter.”
“That’s a nice sentiment. I- I mean, we- will have to go there.”
“Anytime. It would be my pleasure.”
“So, Jon, what do you see in me?”
“I’m sorry?”
“What do you see in me? We’ve known each other for ten years and you have always treated me special. Why?” Aleisha asked.
“What do you mean, why? Shouldn’t we always treat everyone special?”
“You know what I mean, Jon. Don’t back away from the question. What do you see in me?”
Kate was glad that she was still around. “Tell her the truth, Jon. You just opened up about an inanimate movie theater. She wants you to open up the same way about her.”
Jon took a deep breath. “What exactly do you mean?”
“Like I told you before, whenever I tell most guys that I want to be a reporter, they laugh. They don’t see me the way that you see me. They see me as a pretty thing to be next to them, almost like a possession. What do you see in me?” She asked the question very distinctly this time, enunciating each word.
“I guess,” Jon started hesitantly, “I guess I just see you as a real person. A person of amazing beauty and grace and kindness, and true, genuine emotions. I guess I see you the way that your parents see you, for who you are and who you can become. You will become a great reporter. You will be a gorgeous woman. You will be a spectacular wife to someone someday.”
“Someone?” Aleisha’s voice growled deep in her throat. Her hand went to Jon’s knee. “After an answer like that, I think you know who you want that someone to be.”
Kate watched as Aleisha leaned towards Jon and kissed him lightly on the lips.
Jon’s heart raced as he felt Aleisha’s moist lips on his. He could feel her breath and smell her soap. He closed his eyes and let his senses take over. Then, he felt her pull away. He opened his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I was about to ask you the same question,” Aleisha replied.
“What do you mean?”
“Why aren’t you kissing me?”
Jon was totally confused. “I was. Who did you think you were kissing?”
“I was kissing you, but you weren’t kissing me.”
“Then whose lips did I just feel?”
“Quit making fun of me!” she demanded, raising her voice.
Jon leaned over the armrest and lowered his voice, hoping to defuse the situation. “I’m not making fun of you, honestly I’m not. I’m just really confused here! I thought things were going so well, and now I don’t understand one word of what you are talking about!”
“You’d think that your performance in Little Shop was true! You’d think that you have never kissed a girl before!”
“You’d be right!” Jon answered.
Aleisha’s body language changed. She softened up immediately. “You’ve never kissed a girl before?” An evil smile twinged on her lips.
“No, I haven’t! I have never even been on a date before!”
“Are you serious?”
Jon’s hand went to the familiar salute. “Scout’s honor.”
Aleisha had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing. “That makes sense.”
“Have you just gone around the bend on me?”
Aleisha put her hand in front of her face. “No, no, I haven’t. It just makes sense now!”
“What makes sense? Can you please explain it to me?”
Aleisha’s face was a flutter of emotions. She wanted to laugh, she felt very sorry for causing a scene and accusing Jon of whatever she had been accusing him of, and total confusion at how to explain the art of kissing. She had never been the teacher of that before.
“Jon, when two people kiss, they both have to kiss.”
“You have definitely gone around the bend on this one, Aleisha.”
It was all Kate could do to not cause a scene in her seat. She was doubled over in convulsions of laughter.
“Okay, how can I explain this, Jon?” Aleisha wondered. “As one person makes lip contact and goes into the kissing process, the other person must return the kiss.” She could tell by Jon’s expression that he wasn’t getting it.
She tried another way. “When you shake somebody’s hand, both hands move together and grip each other, and they both do the shaking. It’s not like one person just puts out his hand and doesn’t grasp for the other hand as it makes contact. As the shake is being performed, both people have to put their energy into it, or it’s one of those dead fish handshakes. That’s what you were Jon. You were a dead fish kiss.”
Jon got an embarrassed look on his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“That’s okay, Jon. I didn’t know that you didn’t know. That’s why I freaked out. I just assumed that someone as nice and as great as you are would have had a girlfriend before and kissed her before.”
“You’ve known me for ten years, Aleisha. Have you ever known me to be with a girl? Do I hang out with anyone besides Stan and Greg?”
“No, and to be honest, I was wondering if it was a guy thing between the three of you.” Aleisha giggled.
“We are definitely not gay, thank you very much!”
Aleisha was laughing hard again. “I know that, now. You just continue to surprise me, Jon.”
“I’m here to keep life interesting.”
“You do a good job of that.” Aleisha let her laughing subside. She reached up and pushed her cheeks together and made a fish face.
“I thought I was here to keep life interesting. What are you doing?”
Aleisha started smiling again. “Stop it!” she said in a very non-commanding tone. “You are making me laugh and grin so much that my cheeks hurt!”
“I’m not sure I should apologize for that.”
“Trust me, you shouldn’t.”
Aleisha leaned toward him again.
Kate crackled in Jon’s ear again. “I can tell you’ve made it out of the woods. I’m gone for the night. Over and out.”
Jon’s hand reached up and tapped his mike two times in response. His hand then went around Aleisha’s back.
The lights dimmed, and the previews of coming attractions came flashing to life on the screen in all their Dolby Digital glory. Jon didn’t notice, though. He was too busy kissing Aleisha back.


The lights came back on as the movie credits rolled. Aleisha stood up.
“Be calm, little miss.” Jon said. “These people gave us an amazing film for the last two hours, we owe it to them to watch their names.”
“You are so strange sometimes,” She leaned down and kissed Jon on the cheek. “I’ll stay by you, but I need to stretch.”
Aleisha reached high into air and laced her fingers together. She leaned backwards slightly and heard her back pop a time or two. She flexed her arms and felt the knuckles pop. She brought her arms back down and put them in a running type position. She then twisted around and swung from side to side and popped her back that way.
She stayed standing for another two minutes and the credits kept rolling. She leaned down and whispered in Jon’s ear. “I need to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in just a second.”
As Jon walked out of the theater after the six minute credits, he was shocked to see something that he never thought he’d see- Kate and Aleisha talking to each other. He approached cautiously.
“Hey, Kate! What are you doing here?” He acted surprised to see her.
Kate was acting way too happy and smily for Jon’s liking. “What else do you do at a movie theater other than go see a movie?”
“She saw the same one we did. Funny what a small world it is.” Aleisha joined the new conversation.
“So, what were you two talking about?” Jon ventured into dangerous territory.
“I was washing my hands when she came in and I knew she looked familiar, so I just told her how great you guys were last night!” Aleisha grabbed Jon’s hand.
“And then, I proceeded to tell Aleisha that we were neighbors and we both just loved music and I wanted to help you win, so I came and helped you out last night,” Kate continued, punctuating almost every word with a widening of her eyes. Jon was nodding, assuring her that he was going to follow the cover story.
“Kate’s a great neighbor, that’s for sure! Whether it’s a cup of sugar or help to win a talent show, she’s always there to help.” Jon continued the charade. “Well, Kate, it was good to see you tonight. I’ll just see you around?”
“You sure will!”
“Okay. Great. Fine. I need to get Aleisha back home. I don’t want her father to shoot me or anything for keeping his little girl out too late on a school night.”
“Nice to meet you, Aleisha. Maybe I’ll see you two around later?”
Aleisha squeezed Jon’s hand tightly. “You can count on it.”


The snow had fallen heavily while they were in the theater. Luckily, it hadn’t frozen to anything yet. The door opened easily as Jon let Aleisha into the car and started the heater and defrost. Clearing off his windows was easy for Jon, since the powder just flew off as he swiped the snow brush by it.
When the couple arrived at Aleisha’s house, it seemed to be a Norman Rockwell painting. The sky was covered with fluffy white clouds which matched the fluffy white snow that was falling and on the ground. There were no footprints in the snow leading up to or away from the Madsen’s front door. As the couple made their way to the end of their first date, they also made the first steps in the freshly fallen snow which was already a good quarter inch deep.
“So, was tonight everything you hoped it would be?” Aleisha asked as she stepped onto her front porch and turned around to face Jon.
“Everything and more,” Jon admitted.
“Good. How had you hoped it would end?”
“I honestly never even got past the part of picking you up in my dreams. I was sure my head would explode if I even tried to take you away from your house on an official date type thing.”
Aleisha reached up and tenderly touched his bruises. “Your head seems to have made it through in one piece. A little worse for the wear, but not too bad.” She grinned.
“You are honestly one of the most amazing people I have ever met.”
“Thank you. Now just shut up and kiss me.”
Jon did as he was told. His old friends the butterflies returned for a moment, but they disappeared as soon as his lips touched hers. Jon had the strange sensation of breathing her breath as she was exhaling. It seemed very intimate to him.
He pulled away after what seemed like a few seconds, but was in all actuality closer to a minute.
“Good night,” Jon whispered as he stepped away and gave her room to enter her house.
“Good night.”
Jon watched as Aleisha slipped in through the door and gave him a smile and a wink. He returned the sentiment. The door shut and Jon heard the lock slide into place.
Even though it seemed terribly dramatic, Aleisha couldn’t help but lean against the door and breathe a loud and deep happy girl sigh.
Jon walked back to his car as if his feet weren’t even touching the snow.
“I kissed Aleisha Madsen!” he whispered as he skipped to the driver’s side door and took off down the street.