Chapter Fifteen
REED AND GRACE sat on the blanket eating dinner as the title, Mrs. Henderson Presents, appeared on the back of the building.
Grace gasped. “I love this movie! Have you seen it?”
“Yes. Do you mind watching it again?” The movie was about a woman who inherited an old run-down theater. She reopened it as a performance hall, and it goes down in history. Reed had assumed Grace would have already seen the movie, as she had always been a movie buff, but it was the ideal movie to help reveal his exciting news.
“Not at all. It’s hilarious.” She popped a fry in her mouth. “Mm. I haven’t gone to the Creekside Diner since I moved away. The fries are so salty and delicious.”
“It takes me back to those vinyl booths, where we’d share fries and kiss like we weren’t sneaking around.” He leaned in and stole a salty kiss. “Sneaking around was hot, but…” He kissed her again, deeper and longer. “Kissing you whenever I want is fucking insane.”
“Is that what we’re celebrating? That we’re not hiding?”
“Nope.” He took a bite of his burger as the movie began. “But if I owned this place, I’d be sure to serve salty fries just so I could get your salty-fry kisses.”
They snuggled as they ate, watching the movie. Every so often Grace would lean closer and guess at what they were celebrating. “Our one-week anniversary?”
“No, but that’s worth celebrating,” he said.
A short while later a group of teenagers came out of the darkness from the direction of the parking lot.
“Hey,” one of the kids called over. “Mind if we watch from the field?”
“Not at all,” Reed said.
They continued walking deeper into the field, fading back into the darkness. Reed noticed that cars were slowing to crawls as they drove past, and he imagined the people inside craning to see what was going on behind the theater. He and Roy had checked out the interior together, and Roy had captivated him with stories of his youth and the good times he and Ella had at the Majestic. Reed found himself wondering if any of the people in the cars had been around long enough to remember when the theater had been open, more than thirty-five years ago.
A little while later, Grace tipped her face up to his and said, “It’s not your birthday; that’s in October.”
He kissed her softly. “I’m glad you remembered.”
She was quiet for the longest time, and he was anxious to tell her, but it was fun letting her try to guess.
A few more people meandered past, some asking if it was okay to join them, others simply assuming so. Reed didn’t mind the intrusions. They kept their distance, and he had everything he needed right there in his arms. The world could explode around them and he’d go out a happy man.
Grace finished her fries—before her burger, just like he remembered—and said, “I’ve thought about you a lot over the years, even when I tried not to; you were always there.”
“And I always will be.”
He set his drink down and moved behind her, leaning her back against his chest so he could hold her closer. She cuddled into him and they watched in comfortable silence.
When the woman in the movie found out she’d inherited the theater, he dropped another hint. “It’s so weird how theaters sort of drop into people’s laps.”
“Mm-hm.”
A little while later, they were engrossed in the film, laughing at a scene, when Reed became aware of someone else’s laughter in the air. Several people’s, in fact. He glanced up at the road and saw a line of cars parked along the curb and people sitting on the grass.
He looked over his shoulder at the field behind them, where throngs of people were watching the movie. “Holy cow, Grace. Check this out.”
She leaned around his body. “Oh my gosh. There must be more than fifty people here. How did we not hear them? This is awesome! Can you imagine what this would be like if your deal on the theater comes through? You could do this—” She sat up on her knees, and her eyes widened. “That’s it, isn’t it? Is that what we’re celebrating? Did your deal on the theater come through?”
He laughed and pulled her into a kiss.
“Finally, baby. I’ve been trying to give you clues all night.”
“Oh my gosh! Reed! This is going to be yours? Can you imagine all the things you can do with it? Outdoor movies, community plays! Can we go inside? I’ve never been inside. You’ve been inside, right? You had to if you made an offer.”
She was talking a mile a minute. He spotted her sisters, a few of the Jerichos, and a handful of other people approaching, but he didn’t want to slow Grace down.
“I can’t believe you held this in all this time, and here I was missing every clue. Theaters dropping in people’s laps!” She laughed. “I’m so thickheaded. I was too into the movie and you to even think of anything like that.”
“I can’t believe you set this up and didn’t even invite us,” Sable said.
Grace spun around as their friends converged on them.
“Dude, what the hell?” Trace turned his palms up to the sky. “You’ve got a whole theater going on out here with all these Meadowsiders? What are we? Chopped liver?”
“No, man,” Reed answered. “This was a date that got overrun.”
Morgyn and Sable sat on the blanket. Sable reached for what was left of Grace’s milkshake and said, “Awesome date night. Good thing you two weren’t naked. Practically the whole senior class from Oak Falls is behind you.”
“I saw Chet, Boyd, and Janie on the hill,” Morgyn added. “And Mom texted, asking if I knew about someone holding movie night at the Majestic.”
“That’s it, Reed! Movie night at the Majestic! You have to do that!” Grace pleaded. “Think of it. Old-fashioned popcorn machines, soda fountains. You could show movies for families, romantic comedies for date nights…”
“Whoa, what do you mean he could?” Brindle asked.
“Reed’s buying this place,” Grace said, then immediately slapped a hand over her mouth. “Uh-oh. Was that a secret?”
“No, babe. It’s fine.” He explained that they’d just ratified the contract for the property and were set to close in a few weeks. “We’ve got a long road ahead of us to rehab the place, but the inside is gorgeous, and it has a lot of potential.”
“Hey, Reed,” Trace said. “If you’re buying this place, I know Jeb will want to put in a bid for the stonework.” Jeb was Trace’s oldest sibling, a talented artist who worked with stone, wood, and metals, creating custom furniture and refurbishing antiques.
“I wouldn’t want to bid or anything,” Morgyn said, “but I’d love to help with the interior. I’d be happy to help with curtains, upholstery, and whatever else you think I might be able to help with. I’d love to be part of this type of project in any way I can.”
“Thank you. That’s great,” Reed said. “I really appreciate the offers. And, Trace, I’ll be sure to connect with Jeb when we get that far.” He pulled Grace closer as the others made themselves comfortable to watch the movie.
“Thanks for helping Nat,” Brindle said. “She showed me the revisions, and I think the play will be perfect.”
“She’s really talented, and the sweetest girl,” Grace said. “You did such a good thing for her, Brin, and she raves about you. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. I told her that when I’m back in New York I’ll mentor her via email.”
“I know,” Brindle said, snuggling closer to Trace. “She’s told everyone how excited she is. She’s here tonight.” She turned around and pointed to a group of girls by the streetlight. “She’s with Phoenix and Lauryn, or as I’ve started calling the three of them, your fan club.”
“Oh, stop.” Grace shook her head.
They turned their attention back to the movie, but Reed was too swept up in Grace to pay attention to anything but the smile on her face as she put her arms around his neck and leaned closer, speaking loud enough only for him to hear.
“Sophie comes back next Saturday afternoon, and her baby shower is Sunday morning. Do you think we could try to do this with her and Brett? They’d love this. Brett is a huge theater fan. And maybe we can invite Roy and Ella? They’d probably love this, too. And if we don’t invite my family, they’ll probably show up anyway.” She sat back and said, “Actually, we’d probably end up with everyone here anyway.”
“Babe, we can do whatever you’d like.”
“I have to go back to New York the following weekend,” she said softly, the sadness in her voice inescapable.
“I know. We’ll make it happen before that. Maybe the weekend you leave as a going away-party, so everyone has a chance to say goodbye.”
“Okay.” She was quiet for a second, resting her head on his shoulder. And then she pressed a kiss beside his ear and said, “I have a feeling you’re going to hear this a lot from me, but I can’t believe you’re buying the theater. You’ll forever own the property where we first…you know.”
“I do know, babe. And we’ll make a million more memories that are just as great. We’re making them right now.” He lifted his chin in the direction of her sisters and their friends, just as her parents, Amber, and Reno, came around the side of the building carrying big bags of popcorn.
Everyone got up to greet them at once.
Grace laced her hands with Reed’s, waiting her turn, and said to Reed, “I’m sorry our romantic night has turned into a party. This would never happen in the city.”
“Exactly,” her mother said. “This would never happen in the city.”