Chapter 6

I wasn't as nervous as I'd expected when I went to pick the poster up. To ask Tina out, really. Maybe it was the fact that we'd already talked more than once. Maybe it was the fact that even if she said no, there was a chance of something happening with Sharon over Christmas break. I knew rejection wouldn't sting as much as a result.

Tina brightened when I walked in the door.

"Hey!" she called.

"Hey, yourself!"

"It's finished and it looks great!" Tina bent down, pulled the poster out, and put it on the top of the counter. Matted, framed, and under glass, it looked more like art than advertisement.

"Wow, it does," I said. "Looking at it like this, it's hard to imagine it in a movie display case somewhere."

"Oh, I don't think it's that hard," Tina said. "I just can't imagine stopping to look at it as I was walking by. Unless it was displayed like this."

I nodded. Then I realized this was the opening to ask her out.

"So, do you go to movies often?" I asked, trying to not let the tightness in my chest appear in my voice.

"Oh, I love movies! I go all the time!"

"Well, would you be interested in going to one with me?" I was still studying the poster as I asked. I knew I should look at her, but I couldn't turn my head.

"Sure!"

My neck discovered the amazing ability to swivel. I glanced over and Tina was smiling. I smiled back.

"Great," I said. "How about if we exchange phone numbers and I'll call you after checking what's playing?"

"That'd be fine."

She got a piece of paper and tore it in half. I watched her very neatly written numerals appear on her half. Then she loaned me the paper and I put my own digits on the other. Looking up, we just kind of grinned at each other.

"Well, I'll call you tonight," I said.

Tina agreed and we said goodbye. I floated back to my apartment, using the poster as ballast the entire way.

Of course, I wanted to call Sharon immediately to tell her the good news. Then I realized she'd ask a bunch of questions I couldn't answer until I talked to Tina.

Instead, I hiked over to the corner gas station and got a newspaper. Reviewing the options, I realized that Tucson was not going to be a threat to Sundance or Toronto or Cannes anytime soon. There was only one theatre anywhere near the University that showed indie films and I didn't recognize the titles at all. None of the mainstream movies seemed particularly compelling either. If Tina was a film snob instead of just a film fan, I was in trouble.

I wasn't. When I called Tina that night, I suggested Hook.

"With Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams?" she asked. "That could be good."

"There's not a lot of a choice out there," I admitted. "Must be too early for the Oscar releases."

"That's okay," she said. "It'll be fun!"

I hoped so.

We made arrangements for me to pick her up at her dorm that coming Saturday. She suggested we catch the five o'clock show, since it would be less crowded. I quickly agreed and offered to take her out to dinner afterward.

"Sure," she replied.

"Anything you don't eat?"

"I'm not a big fan of Mexican," she replied.

I avoided groaning out loud. "How about the Bluebird Café?"

"That's pretty good," Tina answered. "Particularly for brunch."

That gave me a possible idea for the future, but it was too soon to say anything.

"Great! Then we've got a plan."

"Looking forward to it!"

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I promptly redialed the phone for Sharon. I got her machine.

"I have a date, Saturday," I said. "Dinner and a movie. Talk to you about it later."

Sharon didn't call back that night. I finally gave up waiting after The Tonight Show monologue and went to bed. The next night the phone rang just as I was cleaning up from dinner.

"Hey!" I said, recognizing Sharon's voice. "I missed you last night."

She loudly sighed. "I had a date. It sucked."

"Huh? Why?"

"It was a geeky guy from one of my classes. It took him all semester to work up the nerve to ask me to dinner. Then he barely said a word the entire meal. I had to keep asking him questions to draw him out. Then after dinner, he didn't have any ideas on what to do next. So I told him we should go walking on the Pearl Street Mall. That was actually okay until we ran into a panhandler. He couldn't get away from the guy fast enough."

"He was afraid of a homeless guy?"

"Afraid, or disgusted, or something. After we'd walked the length of the Mall and back, I told him to take me home. I didn't notice the message light when I got in. Sorry."

"No need to apologize."

"Okay. But your turn. You have a date?"

"Yeah! The girl from the poster shop—her name's Tina—agreed to go out with me. Since she's a big movie buff, I figured I'd take her to a movie. We're going out to dinner afterwards."

"Dinner that late?"

"Movie that early. We're going to the five p.m. show, at her suggestion."

"Cheaper?"

"Not as crowded."

"Makes sense," Sharon replied. "Well, congratulations. I hope it goes well and you'll have to tell me all about it."

"Thanks. And I will."

Sharon said she had a paper to write, so we kept the rest of the call short. I had plenty of my own homework to do as well. Saturday would arrive soon enough.

And soon enough it did. Tina was dressed in slacks and a conservative blouse when she came down to the dorm lobby. More importantly, she seemed excited and not as nervous as I felt. We made it to the movie without incident and found good seats about a third of the way back. Tina said she liked to have the screen fill her vision completely, but also didn't want the neck ache of being too close. We didn't talk much before the house lights dimmed and the previews started.

"So what did you think?" I asked as we walked out of the movie.

"It was okay, but I was mildly disappointed. It could have been a lot better. I didn't think they used Dustin Hoffman very well."

"Yeah, I agree. He seemed overpowered by the costume."

We continued to discuss the movie on the rather short drive to the Bluebird Café. I didn't notice anything that was clearly "brunch food" on the menu, but decided not to comment on that. Better to note what was here and compare if I ever came back some morning. When I set the menu down, Tina was patiently waiting for me, already having made her selection.

"So," I said, starting the conversation, "you said you go to the movies all the time. How often is 'all the time'?"

"Oh, now about every other week. When I was in high school, I used to go every weekend if I could. It was one of the few places I could escape."

"Escape? From what?"

"My family," she replied.

I frowned.

"Oh—it's not what you think!" she continued. "I grew up in a small house and I have five younger brothers and sisters. It got loud and crazy. The movies were one of the few places I could go without bringing one of my siblings along."

"Why just the movies? Why not the mall or, oh, I don't know..."

"I have an overprotective dad," she admitted, puckering her lip. "I almost always went to the movies with a group of girlfriends. No boys." Her tone conveyed how often she must have heard those words.

"Must have been hell to go on dates."

Tina nodded. "I had to bring my little brother along."

"A chaperone? You're kidding."

Tina shook her head.

"We're good conservative Catholics, or at least Dad is. He believed that if it was good enough for his generation, it was good enough for mine."

"Must have sucked for your boyfriends."

"I didn't have boyfriends," she said. "After the first couple of times I was allowed to go out on a date, word got around about my little brother having to tag along. Guys stopped asking me out."

"Ouch."

"You have no idea. To be so interested in..." Tina stopped just before the next word could tumble free. I watched her struggle for a moment before I decided to her off the hook.

" ... and you couldn't do anything because of your dad."

"Right!" she exclaimed. "Don't get me wrong, I love my dad. I just wish he'd given me more freedom! That's why I'm working in the poster shop—I don't want to have to live at home again."

"Makes sense."

"I..." Once again, Tina changed trains in mid-sentence. "This is too much information for a first date, isn't it?" She looked embarrassed and avoided my eyes.

"Maybe for some guys," I reassured her. "But not for me. I'm actually relieved that we're not stuck on small talk."

"I had a feeling about that. Any guy who likes sex, lies, and videotape probably likes to listen to more meaningful stuff."

"Well, yeah," I admitted. "But I don't videotape my conversations."

Tina chuckled at my lame joke. "But you talk about sex?"

"Oh, absolutely! Why, do you want to talk about it?"

Tina laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Not yet," she said.

"Darn!" I said, with an exaggerated snap of my fingers.

"So tell me about your family," she suggested.

"It's pretty boring, really," I replied. Tina didn't look bored, so I proceeded to tell her about growing up in suburban Denver. She managed to use some of my stories as springboards for her own stories. Our high school experiences were pretty similar except for the quirks introduced because of her father. My parents had been pretty lenient. Trusting was actually a better description than lenient. They expected me to behave maturely and make wise choices; though I knew they'd come down on me like a ton of bricks if I abused that trust.

"So did you?" Tina asked.

"Did I what?"

"Abuse their trust. Get naughty when you shouldn't have."

I blushed, remembering.

"Well, generally, no. There was this one time though..."

"Oh, this sounds good!"

"It is good, but ... ah, heck, I'll tell it," I said.

Tina sat back with a big grin.

"My parents used to let me bring my girlfriend to our house at the end of the date. We'd go down in the basement to 'talk' and they'd stay upstairs. There was always the possibility that they'd come downstairs at any moment, but we eventually figured out that they weren't going to."

"Mmmm. I'm envious."

"So," I continued, "one night we were doing ... more than talking ... when there was a loud crash. The cat had knocked over a vase. In the basement. Mom and Dad started to come downstairs to investigate while my girlfriend and I were diving for our clothes."

"Oh, ho! Busted!"

"Maybe," I admitted. "We managed to get our outer clothes on and neither Mom nor Dad said anything. It wasn't until they went back upstairs that I realized my girlfriend's bra was sticking out from behind the couch. I don't know if they saw it or not."

"They probably did," Tina mused. Her eyes were twinkling. I took that as a good sign.

"I don't know," I said. "I can't imagine them not having said something to me later, and they didn't. So I don't know if we got away with it or not. We were a lot more careful after that."

"I'll bet!"

"Did you ever get away with anything?" I asked. "Or was Dad successful in keeping you safe?"

Tina thought for a moment, then gave a slight nod of her head before answering.

"There was one time when we ran into some guys from school at the movie theatre. It turns out that one of my girlfriends had told them which one we were going to. The theatre was pretty empty so we were joking around and throwing popcorn at each other and generally being kids before the movie started. We were having fun. I'd moved a couple of rows away, to dodge the popcorn, when the lights dimmed for the movie. So I stayed there."

"And then?"

"Tim came over and sat next to me. I'd had a crush on Tim and apparently my girlfriend had told one of the guys, so Tim knew. The movie was pretty bad and, well, we ended up making out."

She didn't quite blush, but seemed on the edge of it.

"Anything happen after that?"

"Well, Tim did ask me out. But then he met my father and..." She trailed off.

"Sorry to hear that."

"Well, enough about my dad. What's your major?"

"It's not really a major. I'm a grad student. I'm nominally in the Ph.D. program for astronomy."

"Really? I knew you were older, but I figured you were still an undergrad."

"Nope," I replied. "I'm twenty-four."

"Not quite ancient," she teased.

"No, but sometimes I feel old."

Tina snorted. "Better older and experienced than younger and over-eager."

I didn't quite know what to say to that without insulting her contemporaries. Tina sensed my hesitation and changed the subject.

"Well, I want to be a doctor too. But a medical doctor, not a Ph.D."

"Really? Tell me about it.

Tina started talking about how she'd always been fascinated by biology and medicine. Then she started discussing how she was adjusting to classes in college instead of high school. That led to a conversation about some of my first year experiences. By the time it wound down, we'd already had dessert and the check was waiting near my elbow.

"I'm enjoying this," I said. "How about we go for a walk?"

"Sure! Where?"

I grimaced. "I don't think walking up and down Campbell would be a good idea and I'm not sure where the best nearby park would be. Campus isn't too far."

"Campus would be fine."

I drove us back down Campbell and found a place to park not too far from her dorm. We got out and wandered through the older part of campus, though the palm trees and past Old Main. There was a fair amount of activity at the Student Center, but we stuck more to the shadowy areas.

Tina asked how I'd become interested in astronomy. I talked about my dad and meteor showers and science fiction. She talked about movies and mystery novels. We wandered past the outdoor patio nooks at the library and past the stadium. Cutting back in front of the athletic department's swimming pool, we stumbled upon some broad cement steps with a wall behind them. There were trees on either end of the wall. It looked like a small theater or risers except it faced an open expanse of grass instead of an obvious spot for an audience.

"What are these?" I wondered.

"I don't know," Tina said. "We'll have to check one of the campus maps."

"It does seem to be a strange location," I said, gazing around the grass.

Tina skipped up the steps, all three of them. She turned at the top.

"Not much of a view from here," she announced.

Her words gave me a devilish idea. Something Allen would do. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.

"Oh, I don't know about that," I said, strolling toward her. I stopped at the bottom of the steps. "The view looks pretty good from here." I met her eyes, then flicked them up and down her body. Then I grinned.

Tina smirked. "Oh, does it?"

"Absolutely. It's a great sight."

"Hmmm. Well, maybe there is something to the view."

Tina eased down two steps, so that she was on the one just above me. It compensated for our height difference and we were eye to eye.

"Well, I'm seeing something absolutely beautiful," I said. My pulse was racing and I couldn't believe the words falling from my tongue.

"And what are you going to do about what you see?" Tina asked, her voice husky with innuendo.

"Oh, I don't know. What do you suggest?"

"This." Tina leaned in and kissed me.

I encircled her in my arms and kissed her back. Our lips parted for a moment, pouring more passion into the kiss. Then Tina pulled back, breathless.

"Wow," she said.

"Yeah, wow." I pulled her in and began kissing her again.

I tried to pull her closer, but ended up pulling her off of her step. She stumbled into me and knocked me back, but I caught us both before we fell. We started giggling. Then we heard clapping. There were a couple of guys standing on the sidewalk about a hundred yards away, who had apparently seen my save. Which meant they'd probably seen more. I could feel myself blushing as Tina kept giggling.

"Maybe we should go," I suggested.

Tina nodded in agreement.

We walked back to her dorm and I stole another long kiss goodnight. Somehow I made it home without killing anyone during the drive, as my mind was nowhere near the road. I fell asleep with the taste of Tina's lips on mine.

"So taking a page from Allen's book paid off," Sherri said.

"Yeah," I admitted. "Even now, two years later, I'm surprised that I did it. It's not normal for me."

"Normal can change."

I snorted. "No kidding."

"So what's normal now?"

"I have no idea," I said, putting my head in my hands.

I sighed.

"Ever think you fell down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland?" I asked.

Sherri gave a small nod with pursed lips, but didn't say anything.

"I had that sensation after my next phone call with Sharon," I said.

"Tell me about it."