The Last Chance Matinee

by Mariah Stewart

  “How’d you sleep, sugar?” Cara asked.

  “Pretty good. It’s so quiet here, though. I didn’t hear one car go by all night.” Nikki looked at the kitchen table where fruit, yogurt, and cereal had yet to be put away. “Could I have some yogurt?”

  “Of course. You may have whatever you like.” Barney got up from the table and went to the refrigerator. “Juice, Nikki? Toast? What do you usually have?”

  “Yes, juice, please. I usually have a Pop-Tart and a glass of milk,” she admitted, “but don’t tell my mom.”

  “Don’t tell your mom what?” Allie yawned as she and Des came into the room. She was dressed in a similar fashion to her daughter, but her eyes had none of Nikki’s sparkle and her skin was pale.

  “Mom, are you okay?” Nikki frowned. “You look . . . I don’t know, sick or something.”

  “I’ve had better mornings.” Allie poured herself a cup of coffee. “Now what isn’t anyone supposed to tell me?”

  “That sometimes I have Pop-Tarts for breakfast.” Before Allie could respond, Nikki went on the defense. “Dad doesn’t care, and I can eat in the car on my way to school. Courtney’s mom doesn’t mind if we eat in her car as long as we don’t make a mess.”

  “Your dad doesn’t drive you to school anymore?” Allie took a seat at the table.

  “Sometimes, but some mornings he goes to work early so Court’s mom picks me up.” Nikki smiled as she reached for the orange juice Barney had poured for her. “Thank you, Aunt Barney.”

  “You’re very welcome, Nikki.” Barney’s smile was pure joy. It was easy to see she was delighted to have all her family here with her, and especially thrilled to find the youngest member such a sweetheart.

  “So you and Courtney are very close friends, I gather.” Allie took a banana from the bowl and began to peel it.

  Nikki nodded. “She’s my BFF. Like, for real. We’re like sisters.”

  “I guess her dad works a lot, too, or he’d drive you guys to school once in a while.” Allie took a bite of the banana.

  “Oh no. Her dad lives near Malibu. Her parents are divorced.” Nikki sat across the table from her mother and scooped some yogurt into a bowl. “Aunt Barney, is this yogurt organic? Just asking. It’s okay if it isn’t,” she hastened to add.

  “Cara bought it, and Cara’s all about organics,” Barney told her. “That’s a definitive yes.”

  “Cool, Aunt Cara. Courtney’s mom is all organic, too. She even got my dad to start buying organic.”

  “I guess your dad and Courtney’s mom must see a lot of each other.” Allie took a harder bite of the banana.

  “Well, yeah. I mean, they just live three houses away, and sometimes we all have to go to school for stuff so we all go together.” Nikki turned to Cara. “Did you ever have almond milk ice cream? Well, I guess it’s not really ice cream since there’s no real cow cream in it. . . .”

  “I have. I love it.” Cara had been watching the exchange between Allie and Nikki as it developed, and she was glad when Nikki changed the subject. Everyone in the room—except Nikki, apparently—saw where the conversation was going, and Cara was hoping it’d end before Nikki caught on as well.

  “Me too.” Nikki went back to her yogurt.

  “Write down the brand name of the yogurt you like and I’ll see if they have it at the market.” Barney handed Nikki the growing grocery list for the week. “This is how we shop for food, by the way. If there is something you want, you have to write it on the list, which hangs on the side of the refrigerator door until market day. If it isn’t written down, I don’t buy it.”

  “Cool. I’ll remember.” Nikki finished her yogurt and rinsed the bowl without being told. “So, what’s everyone doing today?” Her eyes were shining with anticipation. “I can’t wait to see the theater. Can we go?”

  “Right now you can’t see much until the electrician gets all the circuits working again, but that could happen anytime now.” Cara slipped her arms into the sleeves of her jacket. “I had the electric company turn the power back on yesterday. It’s been off for a long time.”

  “What else is there to do while we’re waiting for electricity?” Nikki asked.

  “Oh. I started to tell you all yesterday about the idea I had.” Des told them about her plans to put together a book with photos of the theater, then and now. “I thought we could use it not only as publicity, but as a fund-raiser.”

  “Where are the photos?” Cara asked.

  “I haven’t found them yet. I started to look in the attic, but I didn’t find anything. I thought maybe we could all take some time today to look,” Des said.

  “Oh, cool. I love old attics. Court’s gramma’s attic has these cool old Christmas ornaments in dusty old boxes, and she has lights for the tree that are bigger than my thumb.”

  “I’m sure there are plenty of those up there, too,” Barney said, “and you’re welcome to look for them. But if you’re looking for the theater photos, you’ll find them in one of the filing cabinets in the office.”

  “Can we see them?” Nikki jumped up.

  “Certainly. And maybe you could help us decide which ones would be best in Des’s book.” Barney led the way into the office and opened a file drawer.

  “I should’ve waited until you got home yesterday before I started looking,” Des said to Barney.

  “Well, no doubt you uncovered some things upstairs that one of us will be looking for, sooner or later.” Barney pulled a thick stack of files from the cabinet and set them on the desk. “Here we are. Let’s see what we have.”

  Nikki leaned over Barney’s shoulder. “Oh my God, it’s gorgeous! It looks just like the theaters I looked up on my laptop.”

  “Oh, wow. It really was an Art Deco treasure,” Des said.

  “That’s the outside. I know there were photos of the inside as well.” Barney shuffled through the stack. “Ah, here we are. The grand staircase. It leads up to the balcony.”

  “We need to go see that right now.” Nikki was almost jumping out of her skin.

  “We didn’t see that the other day,” Cara noted. “It must have been on the other side of that center wall. But since the lights aren’t on yet, we’ll be using flashlights again.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do. But Nikki’s right. We need to check it out.” Des looked over the top of Nikki’s head to where Allie stood in the doorway. “Let’s get our jackets and we’ll all walk down together.”

  “I’m so there.” Nikki raced out of the room.

  Cara’s phone pinged and she pulled it from her pocket to check out the incoming text. “Oh, wait. Scratch that last part. We have light in the lobby!” She held up her phone to show the others the photo Joe had texted her. “He said Mack has most of the first floor wired and he and his guys are working in the basement. Hallelujah!”

  She sent a return text: Thanks! We’re on our way!

  “Fabulous. We’ll be able to actually see all the mice and bugs and any other creepy-crawly thing in there.” Allie made a face.

  Barney turned to her. “Allie, that is the most delightful child I have ever met. I’m so glad she’s here.”

  “And you were afraid she’d be bored.” Cara chuckled. “We’ll be lucky to keep up with her.”

  “But Al, if I could say one thing. Make one little suggestion?” Des said softly. “Don’t put Nik on the spot where Clint and Courtney’s mother are concerned. If there’s something going on and she hasn’t figured it out yet, don’t put that in her head. Let her find that out on her own. If there is nothing going on, all you’ll accomplish is making her suspicious when she shouldn’t be. Let it go, Al.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Allie snapped. “She isn’t your daughter and he wasn’t your husband. When you’ve walked in my shoes, then you get to tell me what I should do. Stay out of it, Des.”

  Allie turned her laser gaze to Cara and Barney.

  “Everyone—stay out of it.”

  Nikki all but flew back into the room.
“So we’re going now, right? All of us?” She turned to Barney. “Will you come, too?”

  “Sweet pea,” Barney told her, “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  Des glanced at her watch. “I can only spend about an hour there. I have the name and number of a woman who runs a shelter near Clarks Summit that I wanted to talk to. We’ve emailed, and she said she’ll only be available until one this afternoon. I don’t want to miss her.”

  “What kind of shelter? Like a homeless shelter?” Nikki asked.

  “Yes, but for dogs, not people. I worked with one back in Montana. I miss it,” Des admitted. “I was hoping I could find a group I could work with while I’m here. And if there isn’t one . . .”

  “Let me guess. You’ll start one yourself.” Allie slipped into a heavy dark blue cardigan.

  “That’s right.” Des turned to Barney. “That is, of course, if you have no objection.”

  “Why would I object?” Barney asked.

  “Because sometimes a dog needs to be rehabilitated because it’s been abused or has trust issues. I have a talent for putting animals at ease.”

  “So you mean you’d bring these needy dogs into the house, here?” Allie asked. “What if they bite? Or have fleas?”

  “If there is no one else to do it, yes, they would stay with me. If they are known biters, they wouldn’t be sent to foster care. And there’s such a thing as flea baths.” Des took her suede jacket from the closet.

  “You know what Mom always said. Dogs are wild animals and should stay outside in the wild.”

  “And, Allie, you know Dad always said that was a bunch of BS because Mom didn’t want to take care of it.” Des forced a smile and put on the jacket. “Hell, Mom didn’t want to take care of us.”

  “Nora always was a bit . . . self-centered.” Barney wrapped her scarf around her neck and opened the front door and held it until everyone had filed out. She turned and locked the house.

  “It’d be cool to help homeless dogs, Aunt Des. I’d help you,” Nikki volunteered as she hopped down the steps. “And I want to help on your photo book, too.”

  “I think your mother might want to be in on that.” Des looked pointedly at Allie.

  “If nothing else, I can use the photos to guide the restoration,” Allie said.

  “Mom, what do you mean?” Nikki’s curiosity apparently demanded that she know everything about everything.

  “The three of us agreed that we’d each take an area of responsibility for the theater. Mine is the interior design.”

  Cara noted that as much as Allie initially had protested any involvement in the restoration, there was a touch of pride in her voice.

  “So your job is, like, being an interior designer?” Nikki looped an arm through her mother’s.

  “Sort of. I’m going to have to do some research, though. Authentic paint colors, fabrics for the stage drapes and seats.”

  “All the pretty stuff. Right up your alley, Mom.” Nikki turned to Cara. “What’s your part, Aunt Cara?”

  “I guess you could call me the construction liaison. I’m going to be working along with the project manager so that we know what’s being done and when.”

  “Cool. Do you get to wear one of those, you know, helmets?”

  “Hard hats? Not yet.”

  “And Aunt Des . . .”

  “Show me the money.” Des grinned. “I hold the checkbook.”

  “You guys are so together,” Nikki declared. “Oh! I know! I can be, like, your intern.”

  “That’s exactly what we need,” Des told her. “An intern.”

  “I can help with whatever you have to do. I’m really good at research,” Nikki said excitedly. “My English teacher said I write the best papers in my class because I always look up the extra stuff. Maybe I could help you. And I love history. It’s my new favorite subject.” Nikki looked over her shoulder to Cara. “And I can help you with . . . whatever it is that you’re doing.”

  “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have as my assistant,” Cara told her.

  “I’m so glad Daddy had to go to London so I got to come here. I’m the luckiest girl ever,” Nikki all but sang as they headed for the theater.

  “Oh, wow, is that it?” Nikki pointed to the boarded-up building on the opposite corner.

  “That’s it,” Cara said.

  “Nik, I know it doesn’t look like much now, but . . .” Allie began.

  “It’s awesome! Just think of what we’re going to find when all that wood comes off the front! It’ll be just like in those pictures that Aunt Barney showed us. We’re, like, archaeologists, finding old stuff and figuring out how to put it back together.” Nikki broke free from her mother and raced across the street. Not bothering to wait for anyone, she went through the open door.

  “If only there were a way to bottle that enthusiasm,” Barney said. “I have a feeling that child is going to keep all four of us going for the rest of the week.”

  They followed Nikki into the theater and found her in the lobby.

  “Oh my God, Mom!” she exclaimed. “This place is amazing.”

  “It is.” Allie glanced around at the walls they were all seeing in good light for the first time. She inspected the decorative painting that surrounded the arches. “The paint appears to be in good condition, but there are a few places where it’s flaked a little. I wonder if it’s worth it to try to fix it or if it’s more historically correct to leave it as is.”

  “That’s something we can research together, Mom,” Nikki said before she took off to explore the other side of the arches.

  “How gorgeous is this place now that we can finally see it?” Cara looked up at the ceiling. “I see the chandelier isn’t lit yet.”

  “It probably needs all new bulbs,” Barney said. “And they may not be easy to find.”

  “They aren’t,” Joe said as he came into the lobby. “And who’s the kid I just saw racing up to the balcony?”

  “Allie’s daughter, Nikki,” Des told him.

  “She shot past me like a rocket.”

  “As she’s been doing to all of us since she arrived. Let’s see if we can catch up to her.” Barney headed in the direction that Joe had come from.

  “So what’s the story with the electricity? Is all the wiring completed?” Cara asked Joe.

  He shook his head. “They’re still working in the basement. Mack said he probably needs about three more days. They haven’t done anything around the stage yet. But since you’re not going to be putting on any shows for a while, the stage is probably the last area we need to worry about.”

  “True.” Cara walked into the auditorium, where the overhead lights had been turned on. “It looks so much bigger now that I can see it in its entirety.”

  “They used to pack the house, from what my grandmother told me. You’d have to buy tickets in advance for whatever was happening here on weekends,” Joe said. “They’d sell out all twelve hundred seats.”

  “It would be so great if we could make that happen again,” Cara murmured.

  “Hey, Aunt Cara! You have to come up here! It’s so cool,” Nikki called down from the balcony.

  “I’m on my way.” Cara turned to Joe. “How do I get up there? Around this corner?”

  “The stairs are right over there. You can reach them from in here, or through the lobby.” Joe pointed toward the stairwell. “Listen, I have to run back to a jobsite. Mack and his crew are in the basement if you need them, Eddie has been and gone, and the plumber is supposed to be here in about an hour. I’ll try to get back in time for that meeting.”

  “If not, it’s okay. I can handle the walk-through,” Cara told him.

  “Of course you can. But I want it understood that we’ll both be on the job.”

  “Got it. Maybe we’ll see you later.” Cara walked toward the stairwell.

  She knew what Joe really meant was that the plumber needed to know that Joe’d be on the job breathing down his neck, but she appreciated tha
t he didn’t come out and say it. Eventually, the subs would realize that she was the owner on-site, and that Joe worked for her. She’d educate herself as much as she could, but right now, she needed Joe’s experience and his reputation as one who tolerated no nonsense on the work site. She didn’t expect to learn everything there was to know, but she could learn the basics. It would take time, and she was grateful to have Joe there to walk her through things.

  The stairwell came into view and she stopped for a moment to admire the workmanship. It was wide enough for two people and covered with the same carpet as the lobby. As Cara climbed to the balcony, she checked out the condition of the carpet on every riser.

  “Carpet looks pretty good,” she announced when she joined the others. “Which is a blessing, since it’d be a lot of carpet to replace.”

  “We can do a closer inspection when the lighting up here is better, and then decide,” Des said, “but you’re right. It doesn’t look too bad. And the seats are the same as downstairs.”

  “With the same layer of dust on them.” Cara paused to examine one of the wooden seats. “They’re in pretty good condition, actually, but we can do a complete inventory later.”

  “Great view from here.” Cara looked down to the first level, then up to the ceiling. “It looks even better, the closer we get to it. The chandelier is gorgeous.”

  “It’s awesome, Aunt Cara. I’ll bet it was the coolest thing back when they did plays here. Like when my gramma and grampa were in them?” Nikki stood behind the back row of seats. “Can’t you just see it?”

  “I can. And remember, this was a film theater, as well. We found posters in the basement for some of the pictures they showed here. One was an early film of your grandmother’s.” The words were barely out of Cara’s mouth before Nikki took off.

  “Where in the basement? I want to see. Mom, come on.” Nikki waited for her mother at the bottom of the steps.

  “We’ll all be so much thinner at the end of this week,” Allie muttered as she hurried to catch up with her daughter.

  “It’s been such a long time since I was in this building.” Barney came down from the upper level of the balcony.