After a quick stop at the Green Street apartment, where Thomas changed, they arranged to be dropped off six blocks from the Columbarium. Raymond argued that getting any closer would arouse suspicion once people heard about the crime—a theory he’d picked up from a TV show. They waited for the car to drive off before setting out. Raymond stopped short at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and Beaumont Avenue, outside Mel’s Drive-In.
“A real drive-in diner!” he exclaimed, his voice filled with childlike glee as he marveled at the blue neon sign. “It’s just like the ones in 1950s movies. Come on. It’s a bad idea to attempt your mission on an empty stomach. You could faint!”
Thomas looked at his watch. It wasn’t yet midnight. Despite his joking tone, his father wasn’t completely wrong.
He opened the door to the diner and saw that not a single detail had been missed. A row of green pleather booths ran along the window. Matching chairs clustered around Formica tables, and taller chairs lined up along the counter. A brightly colored jukebox stood at the far end of the room.
“Come look at this!” Raymond shouted. “Your mom and I used to love to dance to ‘Rock Around the Clock’! Do you have any change?”
Thomas fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a quarter, which he deposited in the machine. The Bill Haley song filled the room, and the customers sitting at the counter turned briefly to look at him, amused. Raymond and his son sat down at a booth. A waitress wearing a pink top and white apron brought Thomas his meal and a cup of coffee.
“I feel like I’m twenty-five again,” Raymond mused as he stroked the seat beneath him.
“Did you go to diners much?”
“I went to the movies every Thursday night and spent the whole time dreaming of having dinner in a place like this. When I left the theater with my friends, we’d walk the streets like we owned them—we thought we were stars. The world was ours for the taking. You can’t imagine how happy it makes me to be here. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen one not on the silver screen.”
Thomas studied his father’s face and decided he looked even younger. Was it because he’d finally realized a lifelong dream? Or was he really rocking backward around the clock?
When they reached the gates to the park just after midnight, Thomas realized that they were much taller than he remembered. The vertical bars offered no holds for his feet. He couldn’t grip the points at the top without risking serious injury, either.
“If only I could give you a boost,” Raymond grumbled. “It’s maddening.”
“I wouldn’t complain if I were you,” Thomas said. “But I’m not sure how we can get around this.”
He walked over to one of the two stone columns that flanked the gates and noticed some crevices.
“This could work,” he said as he began climbing.
“Don’t go breaking your neck,” his father warned, then went to wait inside the park.
Thomas jumped down onto the wet grass, and they headed toward the administrative buildings. Raymond led the way, on the lookout for a guard. Thomas followed.
“Are you sure this is the right window?”
“As sure as I am that I’m your father, and the resemblance is undeniable.”
Thomas searched the flower bed for a rock large enough to break the window. “Let’s hope there’s not an alarm.”
Raymond gestured at him to stop. “Wait! I hear something. Go hide. I’ll find out what’s going on.”
The only comfortable place Thomas could hide was behind the bench in the middle of the open lawn, which he’d have to cross without any cover, and the quarter moon shone brightly enough to betray any shadow in the park. His only other option was to lie down between two beds of rosebushes. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out as the thorns cut his ankles and forearms.
“All clear, false alarm. I must have dreamt it. Or maybe it was just a rodent,” Raymond announced happily. “It’s crazy how well I can hear now. Almost too well. Hey, where are you?”
“Here,” Thomas groaned as he got to his feet.
“What are you doing on the ground?”
“My hands are bleeding. Less than ideal for my concert!”
Raymond glanced at the wounds and rolled his eyes.
“Just a few tiny scratches. You’re such a baby!”
“Did you at least check to see if there’s an alarm?” Thomas asked, rubbing his wrists.
“I’ll go find out. But only because you asked so nicely.”
