It’s quarter to six when Coach Diggins walks in. They are in a lull between shows. There are fourteen screens at the movie theater, and Jessup’s expecting things to pick up soon. Saturday night and all. He’s glad Norma has him and Deanne scheduled to go off at eight o’clock. Four more teenagers are working now, getting ready for the rush. Jessup has just put a new scoop into the popcorn machine when he sees Coach Diggins stop by the ticket booth, say something to Deanne. Diggins looks around the open lobby. He sees Jessup watching, acknowledges him, but he’s searching for someone else first. Deanne points out Norma. Coach and Norma talk for a minute or two, Norma looking at Jessup and then waving him over. He tells Julia to keep an eye on the popcorn, not to let it burn.
“Your coach says he needs to talk to you,” Norma says.
“I’ve got popcorn going.” He feels silly as soon as he says it, so he adds, “But Julia’s watching it.” Feels sillier.
Diggins is solid. Serious. His jacket is zipped up and there’s a fine gloss of water on it. Rain or snow?
Jessup is trying to keep his heart rate down.
Norma is clearly hoping to hover, but Diggins excuses her with a polite, but firm, “if you can give us a few minutes.”
She heads behind the counter, clearly torn between the competing instincts of nosiness and compliance.
Diggins walks the two of them over to the corner, out of the way. He’s the kind of man who looks you directly in the eye. No shiftiness. No looking away from that. Jessup meets the stare.
“You have anything you need to tell me?” Diggins says. “Because I got a heads-up call from Chief Harris.”
Jessup’s never met Chief Harris, but he knows the man. He seemed plenty comfortable in front of a microphone in the days after Ricky and David John were arrested. Was quick to say that they were investigating what happened in the alley as a hate crime, but not so quick to say that Ricky was defending himself, that Liveson was the one to start it, hitting Ricky in the face with a beer bottle. Chief Harris is black.
Jessup asks, “What did he say?” Diggins narrows his eyes at Jessup, and after a beat, Jessup adds, “Sir.”
“You sassing me?” Diggins’s Mississippi comes through. Angry.
All Jessup feels is tired.