by Linda Ellen
With that, she took Tommy’s hand and they disappeared into the bedroom. She hastily gathered items her little boy would need for the evening, silently fuming at her mother’s attitude. I did, too, ask her if she’d watch him. I can’t figure why she’s acting this way… She hurriedly put shoes and socks on Tommy’s little feet and ran a comb through his wavy hair as he fidgeted and babbled about going to see ‘Miss Iwene’.
Returning to the living room, Louise could tell how the atmosphere was tense between Vic and Lilly, who were awkwardly waiting, saying nothing. In truth, Vic had to keep a tight rein on his actions to keep from glaring at the woman, which would only have added fuel to the fire.
Grabbing her purse, a sweater, and Tommy’s bag, Louise allowed Vic to scoop the toddler up and escort them to the door. She called over her shoulder, unable to keep an acerbic edge from her tone, “We won’t be real late, Mama. I’ll try not to wake you when we come in.”
Then, they were out the door and gone, leaving Lilly sitting there staring after them pensively.
*
“Irene is so sweet…I miss seeing her everyday,” Louise murmured as Vic climbed in the driver’s side of the car. They had left Tommy with a very cheerful Irene, who was already busy with fun things to do with her honorary grandson before Vic and Louise even walked out the door.
“Yeah…she’s great. I’ve never seen her mad or upset,” he added thoughtfully.
Deep in thought, Louise nodded and rubbed her forehead as she watched him start the car, glance in the rearview and pull out onto the road. “I’m sorry about Mama…can’t imagine what was wrong with her…” she paused, shrugging. “Well, then again…I think she was feeling put upon…taken advantage of. And Tommy can be a handful sometimes. She’s probably glad for the evening off.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, reaching over to take her hand and caress her knuckles with his thumb. “Ah well, just forget it. I ain’t gonna let it spoil tonight…been waitin’ too long to get ya all to myself,” he added, his eyes sparkling when she met his look.
Louise snickered happily, smoothing her dress over her legs, which only called Vic’s attention to them. She noticed, and it pleased her. She, in the meantime, was noticing him. He looked so handsome in a clean pair of dark gray trousers and light blue button up shirt, his hair neatly combed and she could tell he was freshly shaven. The delicious scent of Old Spice aftershave wafted her way and sent a thrill trembling through her body. Grinning contently, she turned her eyes forward.
“So, where are we going to eat?”
“I thought we’d try Pearl’s Café, right down the street from the Cozy,” he answered as he negotiated a right turn. “That way we’ll be sure to be on time for the movie. I took a fare there this week and they said it serves great food.” He didn’t mention that the man had given him a generous tip, which Vic intended to use toward the meal.
Louise nodded and smiled, feeling the earlier annoyance begin to dissipate. “Sounds good, I’m starved.”
When they arrived at their destination, Vic ushered his beautiful date inside, a possessive hand at the small of her back as he guided her to a table amidst the admiring stares of several male patrons. They took a booth in the far corner.
JoAnn, their waitress, a tall, skinny girl who reminded them a bit of Fleet, recommended the café’s most popular meal, and even suggested they share one to save money. The girl boasted with obvious pride that Pearl’s Kentucky Hot Brown was, “Even better than what you’d get at the Brown,” and explained how the chefs at the ritzy hotel had created the signature sandwich as a variation of traditional Welsh rarebit. Once the meal arrived, the couple were glad they had decided to heed her advice and share one, as the thick open-faced turkey, ham, and bacon sandwich, smothered in Mornay sauce and topped with tomatoes, truly filled the plate, and quickly their bellies. And thankfully for Vic, the meal was within his budget.
Talking in hushed tones, their heads close together, they shared anecdotes about their week while they enjoyed a great meal consisting of a Hot Brown, sweet iced tea, and peach pie for dessert.
Forty minutes later, Louise was laughing at something Vic said as they emerged from the café. As she opened her mouth to reply, they both heard “wolf whistles” coming from behind. Louise instinctively turned her head, spying three young men leaning against the fenders and running board of a ’35 Roadster. One wore a plaid shirt open at the neck, sleeves rolled to his biceps and the collar flipped up, while the other two wore snug fitting t-shirts. With cigarettes hanging loosely from their lips, uncombed hair and leering eyes, Louise knew instantly they were troublemakers. She felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle with apprehension.
Vic glanced back at them, unconsciously puffing himself up to his full height and giving them the “Back off, she’s mine” glare as he slipped one arm around Louise’s waist.
“Hey baby! How’s about ditching that guy?” plaid shirt hollered as the three cackled in raucous merriment. “We could show you a good time!” one t-shirt called, as the other whistled again.
Momentarily regretting her choice to wear Fleet’s racy, snug fitting dress, Louise could feel Vic’s aggravation beginning to boil and she reached for his free hand, tugging it to get his attention. “Ignore them.”
Vic huffed out a breath, his eyes shifting from the three punks to Louise, and he gave her a half smile and a nod. He ushered her over to the car to retrieve her wrap, in case the theater seemed chilly, and then with one more glare toward the three at the Roadster, he guided her on down the street and to the Cozy Theater on South Third.
As they walked hand in hand, Vic grinned down at her. “Remember back to the night we met?”
She smiled up at him, recalling the evening in vivid detail. “I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”
He chuckled, thinking of the circumstances of their meeting and how he had gone to her family’s apartment to take her older sister, Edna, out on a blind date. “I was gonna take your sister here, on a double with Alec and a girl they both knew.”
Louise nodded, “Hmm…yeah. That was Mary something, wasn’t it?” He shrugged one shoulder.
“I’m sure glad it’s you I’m with tonight,” he murmured sincerely, raising their joined hands up to his lips for a quick kiss. Touched, Louise could only smile sweetly at him. Privately, she mused that if her sister had gotten her hooks into Vic Matthews, she probably would not have ever let go, and Louise was immensely glad Edna had broken her date with him that night.
Approaching the ticket booth, Vic smiled and said, “Two for Tarzan.”
The ticket girl smiled and took his money, exchanging it for two tickets. “Enjoy the show.”
He replied with a nod and mumbled thanks and escorted Louise on inside, his left hand lightly touching the small of her back. Neither noticed the three down the street smack each other on the arm, fling their cigarettes at the curb, and leave their perches to amble on toward the theater.
Inside, Vic and Louise made their way to seats several rows up from the back. They were comfortably on time, as after just a few minutes, the lights dimmed. Movietone News began to play on the big screen, a short about the British Mediterranean Fleet on convoy duty at Alexandria, and the plight of the unfortunate people in war-torn Europe. That world seemed so far away. The two in the seats snuggled down together to await the feature.
Twenty minutes into the movie, Vic glanced over at her, gazing at her rapt expression as she concentrated on the action on the screen. He felt so totally content, and the fact didn’t escape his memory that it was only a matter of a few months since he had sat in a theater with a girl and missed his love back in Louisville so much, it hurt clear down to his heels. Now, here they were together, his dreams come to life in living color.
He leaned over, nuzzling Louise’s smooth cheek and whispering in her ear, “You want popcorn or anything?”
She shook her head with a smile. “No, I’m still full from dinner,” she whispered. “You get so
me if you want it, though.”
He gave her cheek a soft kiss. “Nah. I got all I need.” She met his eyes, knowing he meant more than the food in his belly. She felt the same way. She knew that for the rest of her life, she would never take for granted the fact that they had been given a second chance at happiness that some people only dreamed of. Indeed – she had only dreamed of for four long years. Their eyes held.
“I love you, Vic,” she whispered, almost too softly for him to hear, but he caught it.
“I love you, too.” He reached for one hand, murmuring, “You look gorgeous tonight, my Mary Lou. I’m proud to have you as my girl, you know that?”
She closed her eyes and touched her forehead to his, lifting her other hand to caress his cheek as she snuggled close. “Thank you. I’m proud to be your girl.”
Vic grinned, leaning to take her lips in a deep kiss. Although they knew they were taking a chance on being seen, they felt totally isolated in the dark theater, being the only ones on their row and away from prying eyes. Louise turned in her seat, her fingers sliding into the soft wavy hair at his nape. Neither one was paying any attention to the plot of the movie, so totally caught up in one another they were.
Louise sighed softly, those delicious tingles forming in the center of her being and radiating outward like the carbonation in a glass of champagne. Vic knew exactly how to use those soft smooth lips of his to tease and massage hers, deepening the kiss to exquisite proportions as they melted into one another’s embrace, much like he had that day so long ago in the Tunnel of Love, only now she wasn’t a scared, inexperienced young girl. She was a woman. A woman in love. Hazily she wondered how a mere kiss could feel so exquisite and bring out so many feelings and longings she had buried deep within over the long years of being married to a man with whom she was infinitely miserable. Now, the longings and intense emotions she felt for Vic shot to the surface and she was nearly overcome by their force.
Vic lost all sense of time and space as his dreams of actually being allowed to kiss this girl he adored came roaring into reality. Soon she would be totally his and he almost couldn’t wait for that to become a reality. Even now, he could feel her body urging toward his and he knew she felt the same pent up frustrations as he. Never had he felt such attraction for a girl as he did for Louise. She was his equal. He knew deep down in his gut they were made for one another. He felt totally intoxicated by the taste and texture of her soft lips and her answering response as she allowed him to deepen the kiss.
Their passion continued, and Louise moaned softly in response to Vic’s low growl. He drew her even closer, one hand gently squeezing her hip, the other slipping up, threading into her hair. Hearts thumped, breaths were reduced to quick puffs…
Suddenly their ardor was rudely shattered as confetti-like bits began falling into their hair and onto their faces. Vic swiped at them, wondering what the heck was going on. He opened his eyes and lessened the pressure of his kiss just as a few more pieces – of popcorn – sailed over from behind. Separating from Louise as she gasped in confused surprise and raised a hand to brush a kernel from her hair, Vic rose up, aggravated, and glared over the tops of their seats. There, directly in back of them, sat the three guys who had whistled at Louise earlier, their feet braced against the seatbacks. They grinned at him innocently. Each one held a fist full of popcorn, their cheeks full as well.
Vic sat back down, and after ten seconds, more pieces of popcorn sailed over, this time accompanied by snickers and chortles. He tried to hold his temper. Louise could feel her vexation growing as well. Finally, swearing under his breath, Vic reared up and pointed in their direction.
“You punks don’t knock it off, they’ll be carryin’ you out on stretchers.”
“Woo, big man!” “I’m so scared!” they razzed, completely un-intimidated. Clearly, the punks didn’t have a clue with whom they were dealing. Not only could Vic hold his own in any street fight, he’d been known to take on three guys at once and left them moaning on the sidewalk.
“Sssshh!” people around them hissed as they cast angry glances their way. Embarrassed, Louise reached up and tugged on Vic’s shirt, urging him to sit back down. Grudgingly he did, silently fuming as he trained his eyes on the screen, his senses completely in tune to the presence of the troublemakers. He knew they would do something else; it was inevitable. He’d encountered plenty of punks like them over the years and he knew they wouldn’t stop until they were put in their places, sternly.
He was right. After just a minute, more popcorn sailed over the seats and added to it was the unsettling sensation of the young men’s feet pressing against their seatbacks. Vic ground his teeth together, trying not to lose his cool. He and Louise sat forward for a moment and the shoving stopped.
“Vic…don’t,” Louise whispered as she placed a hand on his arm. She knew he was about to reach his boiling point, which would undoubtedly get them tossed out of the theater. Their idyllic date seemed to be coming apart at the seams.
Then just as they relaxed again – here came more shoving, and more popcorn. Vic gripped the armrests, picturing himself lunging over the seats and gathering fistfuls of their antagonists’ shirts as he knocked their heads together. The instant he moved to spring into action, however, a bright flashlight suddenly focused on them and on their assailants.
“What’s going on here?” the voice of the man with the flashlight asked in a loud whisper.
Louise sank down in her seat, mortified, and certain they were about to be tossed out with the three idiots. Luckily, a man from the seat behind the three had gone for the manager. He quietly came to the couple’s defense and the punks were summarily escorted out of the theater and deposited unceremoniously on the street.
Vic nodded his thanks to the man and settled down in his seat, drawing in a calming breath for the first time since they had been interrupted. Their amorous mood disturbed, however, they threaded their fingers together and settled down to watch the rest of the movie in peace.
*
“Oh, that was so good,” Louise purred as they strolled through the lobby on the way to the outer doors. The movie’s happy ending and true love between Tarzan and Jane, and their adopted son, had infused them both with a pleasant, warm feeling.
Gripping Vic’s arm with both her hands and hugging it against her as they sauntered along, Louise marveled at the size and strength of his muscles – and that his physique rivaled that of Tarzan himself.
Vic snickered softly. “Yeah, you mean after those jerks were tossed out.”
“Oh, forget about them. Let’s not let such immature clowns ruin our date.”
Vic gave her a sideways grin and caressed her hands. “You’re right. So…” he paused, glancing around to make sure they were out of earshot. “You wanna go down to our secret place at the river and…watch the fish jump?” He waggled his eyebrows when she met his eyes.
“You can’t see fish jump in the dark,” she reminded him playfully.
“That’s the point,” he snickered, adoring how she turned her face away shyly, a bit like she did in their younger days.
He held the door for her and she slipped through, waiting for him to join her again as she teased, “Welllll…I might be persua…” she faltered as her eyes encountered a disturbing sight.
Vic followed her gaze and stopped short. “What the…” he hissed a few choice words as they hurried toward his car. He crouched down when they reached it, examining a pancake flat front tire.
“It’s been knifed,” he spat out in disgust, shooting to his feet and immediately scanning the area for the three evicted punks. People strolled up and down the street, couples holding hands, patrons from the theater discussing the movie, but there was no sign of the culprits. The car was far enough down the street that he knew the girl in the ticket booth could not have witnessed anything.
“Oh Vic, do you think it was those three?” Louise murmured, rubbing her arms in the cool evening breeze. It was a disconcerting feeling
, to know they had been the targeted victims of a malicious attack.
“I know it was,” Vic grumbled, grinding his teeth in frustration. Rifling one hand back through his hair, he turned his gaze to his ruined tire again, and then up to the spare, mounted between the fender and the door, that he hoped was in good shape. He’d never had to use it. And, he hoped the vandals hadn’t thought to disable it as well. Running his hands over it, he breathed a small sigh of relief – it seemed to be all right.
“If I ever see those bas…those losers again, they’ll know I been there,” he ground through clenched teeth as he began the task of swapping out the wheels. “I hope this spare lasts ’till I can get me another front tire.”
Unable to do anything to assist, Louise stood on the sidewalk, her hands hugging her arms and feeling quite conspicuous as the people walking by merely gawked, but no one offered help.
Finally, Vic stood straight, wiping his hands on the rag he kept in a small toolbox in the rumble seat. Glancing at his watch, he frowned in renewed frustration at their interrupted time together. “It’s gettin’ close to time to pick up Tommy. Guess we’d better head on.”
Louise nodded agreement and slid inside the car as Vic held open her door, feeling as if it were all her fault. She probably shouldn’t have worn that dress! Leave it to one of Fleet’s dresses to cause a major upheaval.
When Vic climbed into the driver’s side, she turned to see his expression, and reached out a hand to touch his arm. “I’m sorry, Vic. It’s all my fault.”
His eyes widened and he looked at her in astonishment. “Your fault? None ’a this is your fault.” He reached out and cupped her cheek with his palm. “It’s just one ’a those things. Don’t worry about it. Least I didn’t get arrested for beatin’ the crap out of ’em,” he added with a devilish grin.
“Oh, don’t even say it!” Louise admonished, shivering at the horrible thought of their date ending with Vic spending the night in jail.
He laughed and shook his head, determinedly shaking off the rest of his frustration. “Let’s go get your little man and I’ll take ya home.” And spend the night thinkin’ about those kisses in the dark, he added silently.