Brandon says he’s got it. He sets his phone down, tilted upward on the bench, and uses the functionality on his Apple Watch to set the timer. We all squeeze in, the sun hanging low in the sky, perfect natural lighting.
“Say ‘deer poop’!” Brandon jokes.
“Fuck, where?” Mateo shouts right as the camera goes off.
The shutter sound draws me back to what Brandon said. How demi could be the missing lens for me to see my life and my relationships in fuller detail and color.
I don’t know if it’ll stick. I don’t know if it’sme. But I know it’s a possibility, and isn’t that what I was hoping to gain from sending those emails in the first place: possibility?
Instagram
WileysDriveInWVThe Fourth is finished. If you missed the fireworks from our lot, better luck next year.
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IMAGE DESCRIPTION: a firework exploding.
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#drivein #moviesPA #WileysDriveIn
J.M.MendelsonLoved watching the fireworks with my family! So pretty! Great shot!
NessaRoseKnowsBestBetter luck next year??? That’s a little passive-aggressive.
420BlazinBoiiBro, you good? Who hurt you?
420BlazinBoiiHit me up if you want to talk. Or…not talk.
Chapter 17
Armed with only a bottle of Windex, I do my best to wipe years’ worth of grime and gook from Alice’s front windows.
Outside, Derick is mending the porch steps. It’s sweltering today with temperatures rising into the midnineties. Rivulets of sweat run like rivers down his back muscles. I tear my eyes away, wishing that fixing our problems were as easy as running a rag over them.
I wasn’t sure Derick would show up to Alice’s after my stealth-level avoidance. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed his Dodge Camaro with its rear-window louver parked out front. He was already hard at work replacing the boards. We didn’t exchange hellos, and he didn’t ask for help.
With the ability and space to reset since the second almost-kiss, I feel like a person again. Brandon’s guidance and suggestions have been helpful. Who knew podcasts weren’t just for film history?
Behind me, Alice watches an episode ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Showguest starring Betty White as host ofThe Happy Homemaker, the fictitious TV station’s women’s show. I get flashes of that bedazzled phone case Derick found at the boardwalk once. I long for the carefree ease of our expectation-less friendship. Though, I guess that’s not true when I’m harboring something way more for him right this very minute.
It seems Alice isn’t ready to take the hop into film just yet. I’ve come to understand the simple syrupiness of this sitcom that soothes her in her lonely hours. I wonder if Tammy was the Rhoda to her Mary. I mean, from the notebook I found at the bottom of her memory box, I know they were more, but I can’t help but imagine what their dynamic was like. How deep their romantic love ran.
During a commercial for auto insurance, Alice asks, “All set for your trip to the city?”
Spray, swipe, sigh. “I’m not sure I want to go anymore.” Oscar is jazzed about the whole endeavor. I got the movie print from the Willow Valley Public Library archives on film. He has a projector setup in his office we can use and a blank wall to show it on. Everything is lining up, except for the fact that Derick and I are traveling together and going to have to share a room. On this side of a revelation, it’s overwhelming. “Maybe it’s for the best if we don’t go. Right now, I can keep my world contained. The thought of guest hosting a podcast makes me queasy.”
“You’re chickening out now?” she asks. “You lie your way into my home, you work your way into my permission, and now you’re going to croak when the going gets tough. What happened?”
For someone who has a hard time seeing, she has no trouble seeing right through my bullshit.
“Derick tried to kiss me.” It’s strange knowing he’s right on the other side of the window. He could hear me. He could walk in at any second and find out we’re discussing this when I haven’t even had the guts to bring it up to him directly.
“I don’t see the problem. He’s got Ryan O’Neal’s hair, Cary Grant’s smile, and Gene Kelly’s charisma. You could do much worse.” I roll my eyes and end up laughing. His heartthrob looks are far from the issue here. “What’s the deal?”
