Chapter 5: Movies and Dinner

Joey felt apprehensive when he helped Tess from the car. Now that she did not need help anymore, she graciously accepted his arm. On the way over he had decided on the course to steer. He planned to be gracious, friendly, and to offer friendship. Definitely not more. Even if Deirdre crushed on him, which in the light of the day he doubted, he would not saddle himself with a socially inept loner for a girlfriend. This resolve lasted for less than a minute, or until Deirdre opened the door to Joey's knock.

It was Deirdre, but then again, it was somebody else. The girl who opened the door wore a red cashmere wool sweater that hugged her upper body, accentuating the soft swell of her breasts. Joey's eyes wandered down over a knee-length plaid skirt to her stocking-encased calves which were slender and graceful. The greatest surprise was on top. Her hair, instead of the unruly mop of curls, was shaped and tied behind her head, leaving only a few ringlets to frame her face. Joey had known or at least suspected that Deirdre was pretty, but free from her hair her face was a sight for sore eyes! Somebody had done a credible job on her eyebrows, reducing them to a more proper size, but had left enough of them to form a beautiful contrast with her blue eyes. The one thing that marred the impression was the sickly pallor of her skin. Apparently, she was still suffering from her rum hangover.

He realized he had been staring at her and cleared his throat. "Hey! You're feeling better?"

Deirdre nodded. "Hey. My head still hurts, but I guess it was my own fault. Come in! Hi, Tess."

They stepped in and Deirdre closed the door.

"Hi," Tess answered politely, a smile on her lips. "Nice outfit."

Deirdre looked down at her clothes as if to check the validity of Tess' words. "Yes, I guess they are nice."

Joey had recovered from his surprise and eagerly added his two cents. "You look loads better than in yesterday's outfit."

"It was terrible, wasn't it?" Deirdre asked, looking straight into Joey's eyes.

He nodded and Deirdre shook her head. "They set me up. I know that now. But why?"

Joey shrugged. "Because they could."

"Mom told me about your car. I'm so sorry."

Joey shrugged. "It's not that bad; just busted headlights and a few scratches. My cousin will fix it, and we're insured. Don't sweat it."

Deirdre nodded and they could see how she was gathering her courage. "Still, I want to thank you. I was so out of it, I didn't know left from right. I only remember I wanted to go to the bathroom but they wouldn't let me."

"Well, they were steering you towards a bedroom," Joey said under his breath, making sure that Deirdre's mother was not within hearing.

Deirdre looked sick again. "Oh shit! Thank you, Joey. You really saved my butt."

Joey allowed himself a grin. "I don't think they were after that on a first date, but you're welcome."

"Smart ass! You know what I mean. Well, I better show you in."

She went ahead and Tess and Joey followed her into the living room. The house was from the early 1900s, just like theirs, and the living room had beautiful antique furniture. A dark wood table with lion's feet was set with china and real silverware.

"This looks classy," Tess commented. "If Joey wasn't such a klutz we could use our china, too."

That caused Deirdre to smile. "I'm not allowed to do the dishes either since I dropped one three years ago. I caught it with my foot and it didn't break, but still..."

Joey nodded sagely to that. "Yeah, I can still remember when I dropped Mom's prized soup tureen. It was the only time I ever got slapped."

Tess giggled at that. Just then, Karen entered the room "Maury, get your butt down here," she hollered towards the staircase in the back. "Our guests are here."

She smiled at Tess and Joey. "Hey, have a seat. Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for having us," Joey replied, and Tess simply smiled back.

They sat down on one side of the table while Deirdre took a chair opposite them. Maureen Darling came down the stairs wearing a turtleneck sweater over faded jeans. Joey found it improbable that she had a daughter in Deirdre's age. She looked like late twenties, especially with the wide smile on her face. Joey and Tess stood again and both received hugs from Maureen before she sat at one end of the table opposite Karen.

"Thank you for coming. I trust Deirdre has thanked you properly?"

"Mom!" Deirdre implored her mother.

"Yes, she thanked me, Ms. Darling. It wasn't much that I did in the first place."

Karen set small soup bowls in front of each of them. Joey's nose registered the smell and his eyes confirmed the identification. It was a French onion soup, with melted Gruyere and a soaked piece of toast on top.

Maureen closed her eyes while she enjoyed the aroma. "All right, let's enjoy our dinner then. How do you like Deirdre's new outfit?"

"Mother!"

"She looks much better than yesterday," Joey laughed. "But I think a yellow sweater would go along better with her green face."

Karen shot hot soup through her nose, and she had to cover her face with a napkin, while the sick look on Deirdre's face was replaced with a fierce blush. The attention was on Karen, though, who was coughing and trying to catch her breath.

"Jeez, Kid, will you warn me next time you crack one like that?" she finally gasped. She grinned at Deirdre. "First lesson: keep your fingers off any mixed drinks. Mixed drinks are poison."

"I didn't know there was..." Deirdre began but then she looked at Joey. He had warned her but she wouldn't listen. "Okay, I was stupid."

"Okay, let's leave this be," Maureen cut in. "You didn't know better but now you do. We're all entitled to make mistakes and we learn from them."

They finished their soup and then Karen produced the second course, a marinated beef roast with sweet potatoes, steamed carrots and a heavy gravy. It was so much better than what he or Tess could produce and Joey gratefully accepted a second helping. Conversation around the table covered different topics, from Tess's progress to Joey's car trouble.

Over dessert, a homemade chocolate cake, they talked about local politics and a neighborhood initiative against the expansion plans of Drexel College. Joey and Tess loved their neighborhood and they did not plan to attend Drexel after high school. Maureen, too, was undecided and argued in favor of a compromise between conservation and the interests of higher education.

Deirdre, on the other hand, argued that the concerns were not over the view of the neighborhood, but rather the view from the neighborhood. This was not about preservation but about the vista the inhabitants wanted to enjoy.

Tess argued against that, pointing out that Drexel's planned expansion would also bring more people and more cars into the already busy streets. More buildings would soon carry the logos of franchise coffee shops, thus changing the nature of a peaceful residential area.

It was an interesting debate and in the end Joey was surprised to see that it was past ten o'clock already. He had really enjoyed the evening in spite of the presence of two grown-ups. When the gathering broke up he made sure to compliment Karen on the food.

Then he surprised himself when his mouth uttered words he had not planned to say at all. "Umh, Deirdre, I was thinking ... Would you like to go to the movies tomorrow? We could catch one of the three o'clock shows?"

He could see the conflicting emotions on Deirdre's face, but in the end she nodded. "I'd like that," she said with a ghost of a smile.

"Pick you up at two-thirty?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll be ready," she agreed, smiling openly now.

They said their farewells and Joey helped Tess into the car before he sat behind the wheel himself. He had pulled out and was driving along the narrow street before Tess spoke up. "They're nice people. I mean, I liked Karen before, but Maureen and Deirdre are nice, too."

"Yes, I was kind of dreading this evening, but it was cool."

"She's really pretty," Tess observed. "I'd kill for legs like hers. She's crushing on you, though. You know what you're doing?"

"Huh?"

"Deirdre. She's got it bad for you. You have to be careful with her. You're her first real crush I bet."

"Jeez, Tess, since when do we discuss potential girlfriends?"

"Oh, since we've started discussing boyfriends?"

Joey sighed. "Maureen said something like that yesterday, too. I just can't believe that. I mean, what's so special about me? It's just that I'm the first guy she ever spent time with."

Tess shook her head. "Don't look at me. I'm not telling you what's special about you. Ask Deirdre."

"You're not helping."

Deirdre was wearing another new outfit when he picked her up for the movies. The baby blue sweat shirt looked neat on her, and the blue jeans, though not exactly skin tight, were a good fit and displayed Deirdre's long legs to advantage. She had tamed her brunette curls into an unruly ponytail, and once more Joey was able to appreciate the slenderness of her neck. She carried a ski anorak over her arm.

"Hey, Deirdre," he offered, holding the passenger side door open.

Deirdre sat and let her eyes rove over the interior. Joey walked around the car and sat behind the wheel, inserting the key into the ignition. The six cylinder engine began to purr.

"Is this a new car?" Deirdre asked. "I never saw you in it before."

"I traded our big family car for it," Joey answered. "With the Cooper out of commission, I needed wheels and my Uncle Rico had this sitting in storage. It's winter, so I got a good deal."

"Will you keep it?"

"I guess. We're keeping the Mini for Tess; it was my mother's car. I'll take this one. I can't wait for summer to come."

At the theatre complex, Joey found a space in the parking structure. Since neither had seen The Incredibles yet they bought tickets for this animated movie. Joey offered to spring for popcorn and Coke but Deirdre declined, opting for a small bottle of Perrier instead.

As had to be expected, most of the patrons in the theatre were families with small children, with only a few teenagers scattered among the rows. Joey and Deirdre sat wedged between two families. Given the noise level to either side during the trailers and ads there was no chance for any meaningful talk.

That was not all. The father of the family on Deirdre's side had to weigh over 300 pounds. It was tough for him to fit into his seat even if he tried, which he didn't. He not only claimed the armrest between him and Deirdre, he also let his elbow reach way into Deirdre's space. To avoid a touch Deirdre was forced to scoot over to Joey's side. With each inch of her seating space invaded by the meaty monster, Deirdre was forced over more until she was leaning over the armrest.

In the beginning, Joey was just seeing this as a nice opportunity to get closer to Deirdre. The closeness, however, made him feel the apprehension and stiffness in Deirdre's body. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the fat man was now letting his arm and hand rest on Deirdre's seat, close to her left leg. This was getting literally too close for comfort. He leaned over Deirdre and addressed the man in a stage whisper.

"Either purchase a second seat, or stay in your own, will you!"

The arm was jerked back as the equally well padded wife leaned forward to inspect the situation. Fat Man felt compelled to establish his manliness.

"You listen, young man! I'll not have you talk to me like that!"

"Then keep your hands to yourself, capiche?"

Almost without his being aware of it, the Italian idiom had sneaked into his speech, together with a certain intonation that sounded eerily like the speech mannerisms of Uncle Vince's friends. It worked. Fat Man withdrew his meaty tentacles and squeezed his voluminous self into the confines of his seat. Deirdre looked at Joey with gratitude.

"Thank you!" she mouthed.

Instead of reclaiming her seat in its entirety she kept leaning against Joey, albeit more relaxed now. To their left they heard the angry whisper of Fat Man's wife who berated her husband over the disgrace he was. He whispered back angrily and the situation quickly deteriorated into a hissing match. Before the feature film even started, the woman grabbed her protesting and already overweight children and dragged them along the seat row and towards the exit. Fat Man followed and Joey felt momentary guilt over ruining the family's afternoon.

"Jeez, there's an argument for birth control," Deirdre giggled, snuggling against Joey's arm. The world was fine again.

Moments later, the curtain opened for the feature film and they leaned back. Joey had seen the trailers but he soon found out that the movie was even better than he had anticipated. The outrageous plot and the colorful characters made for excellent entertainment. Only when the closing credits rolled, Joey remembered that he was with a girl, and he felt like an oaf for ignoring her. He shouldn't have. Deirdre, too, blinked as if awakening from a wild dream.

"That was great!" she gushed pressing his arm.

"Yeah," Joey laughed ruefully. "I even forgot to try and feel you up."

Deirdre giggled at that. "I wouldn't notice," she smiled. "This is my first date, ever."

"You're kidding me, right?"

She shook her head. "It's the sad truth. Pathetic, huh?"

Joey shook his head. "No, not pathetic. It's rather a challenge. There's a lot of catching up for you. How about I give you a crash course over Christmas break?"

Deirdre scrunched her nose. "I'd have to look at the curriculum for that course first."

They were standing now, moving towards the exit with the rest of the patrons.