"This is amazing," I said when we walked inside. Fluted plaster details lit by hidden lights and draped in red curtains made it seem as if we had walked into a time machine. "I'm so glad I changed," I said as I soaked in the atmosphere. "The movie theater had been closed and abandoned when I was a teenager. Sometimes Morticia, Lilith, and I would sneak inside. I never imagined it could look like this."
Taking out my phone, I pulled Garrett down by his tie and snapped several selfies of us.
"I have to remember our first date," I told him.
"I thought the first date was pumpkin picking?"
"No, that was business," I said, looking around for the concession stand.
"Nowhere in my job description does it say go pumpkin picking," Garrett said, a smile tugging around his mouth.
"You had fun!" I teased him as I dragged him through the crowd. There were a lot of people out.
"The corn maze was the best part."
"We have to get popcorn," I told Garrett, pulling him to the concession stand line. "Can you fill it halfway then drizzle butter on it then fill it the rest of the way?" I asked the clerk when we finally got to the counter.
"This lady knows how to movie!" the clerk said as she fixed my popcorn.
"I also need a box of candy and a large Coke," I said.
Garrett carried my snacks as we went into the theater.
"They even have an usher!" I said in awe.
"Do you want the balcony or down below?" the usher asked.
"Balcony."
We found our seats, and I stuffed a handful of popcorn into my mouth. As I chewed, I noticed Garrett was looking at me softly.
"What?"
"I love how excited you are," he said, tucking a strand of loose hair behind my ear.
"Are you kidding me? This is the best date ever."
"The movie hasn't even started," he said with a slight laugh.
"Shh!" I said, kissing him as the lights dimmed.
Like in the classic movie theaters from the 1940s, this one played a Looney Tunes cartoon before the feature film. I laughed at Bugs Bunny's antics, Garrett's arm around my shoulders. The whole theater wasn't uncomfortably packed, but there were a lot of people. Everyone applauded when the film started.
I snuggled next to Garrett while Richard Carlson and Julie Adams pursued the creature. Garrett pressed his lips to my head when I screamed as the creature tried to kidnap Kay Lawrence. I applauded and whistled when the end credits rolled.
"Man!" I said when we walked out of the theater. "You'd think these old movies would be cheesy, but they're still kind of scary. Also, I wish I had a little more popcorn. Though I think some of it ended up on my coat." I dusted myself off.
"Dinner?" Garrett asked me. "There's a diner the next block over. They have hamburgers and milkshakes."
"Do they have the really thin shoestring fries? Because that’s the only kind I like."
"Are you a french fry snob?"
"Totally."
* * *
The diner wasin a 1950s style, with red vinyl-covered booths, white-and-black-checkered floors, and chrome accents.
