I know I messed up last time, not giving her a chance to get to know me. But now she does; she sees me as a friend. Friendship can easily move into love. It happens all the time. She’ll love me soon, as much as I love her. And we’ll be together forever. And there will be no one to stop us. The rest of them will all be gone. E.J., THE PRESENT I waited outside the theater in the ninety-degree heat, all the windows in the Volvo rolled down, fanning myself with a piece of paper I found on the floor. It was eight o’clock, but the sun hadn’t completely set for the night, and the heat was still stifling. There was a crowd at the ticket booth, paying admittance for the many movies playing at the quadraplex. The doors opened and Graham and Lotta came out. I waved and they came over to the car. ‘Why are y’all leaving?’ I asked. ‘The movie’s not over yet, is it?’ ‘No, not yet, but I didn’t want Megan and that dude seeing us, so I thought we should leave,’ Graham said. Feeling guilty, I rummaged in my purse until I found a twenty and handed it to my son.
