The aroma of buttered popcorn accosted her, and she inhaled in euphoria. In response, her stomach gurgled. What was it about movie theaters? To Regan, they were like Pavlov and his poor acquiescent pooch. Travel no more than two steps into a multi-plex, and she suddenly craved the stuff.
They made their way to the ticket line. It was opening night of the latest comic-book-hero-turned-high-budget-flick and judging from the length of the line, the general population of Chicago was anxious to see it.
“I’ll spring for popcorn. I have to warn you, Luke and I single-handedly devour the mega-tub, so we may have to super-size it if you want some, too.”
Josh stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “Uh, need I remind you? We just ate.”
Regan and Luke met each other’s eyes simultaneously and both snorted. Evidently, popcorn addiction was a genetic trait, passed down on the mother’s side. “And your point is?” she asked.
Josh turned to Luke and appraised him. “Are you still hungry?”
“Stuffed,” he replied, monosyllabically.
Josh looked at Regan. “Did you leave room for popcorn?”
“Of course not,” she said, then laughed as he shook his head, confused.
“Okay,” Josh continued, “so it wasn’t my imagination that you both just finished double cheeseburgers with all the works, with fries on the side.”
Regan wrapped her arm around his and laughed easily. “You have so much to learn.” She smiled up at him and felt her face flush when he returned that killer smile of his, directed just at her. She squeezed his arm and—yes, it happened—not just in romance novels, but in real life—her heart warmed. A bubble of heat started in her chest and filled her, face and all. She was happy. Content. And it was all because of this man beside her.
Okay, maybe she couldn’t credit him entirely with her overall happy state, but he sure was a large piece of it. In the several weeks they’d been dating, she looked forward to seeing him each and every time. Even when they talked about serious topics, it was a good time. She gained so much insight from his thoughts and advice, and he was so logical.
But he was also entertaining. Whether they took Luke along with them, or without him, their dates had been the most fun she could remember having. Ever. And whenever she started to feel bad about the two of them being together, she became the lion tamer, brandishing the huge whip and beating those negative self-talks into submission.
Tickets in hand, they entered the concession line. It was then that a cooler of ice water poured over her evening, leaving her shivering. No wait, it wasn’t literal, but Luke’s next words had the same effect.
“Hey Mom, there’s Dad.”
She swung her head around, feeling like Linda Blair on a bad night, and then spotted him. In fact, he’d spotted them as well, because he was heading their way, striding caustically, dragging Monique by the arm, who appeared to be strongly adverse to the idea. Regan darted a look at Josh, a frightened one, if it truly reflected what she was feeling, and he gave her a friendly wink and smile.
“Well, well, fancy meeting you two here.” Rick was the first one to speak and he did it with such an arrogant swagger that Regan had to wonder, not for the first time, what she ever saw in him in the first place. And what on earth persuaded her to devote fifteen years of her life to him?
Luke was telling his dad which movie they were seeing, and Regan held her breath, praying that they weren’t seeing the same one, which, who knows, could give Luke the homicidal idea to invite them to sit nearby. Well, homicidal may be too strong a word. But painful. Definitely painful.
Monique looked impatient, judging from the way she was crossing her arms tightly across her chest, tapping her foot and gazing around, probably wondering who was going to observe her talking to her sugar daddy’s ex-wife and teenaged son. Regan couldn’t imagine that was too good for her party girl reputation.
“That sounds like a good one,” Rick was saying. “I’d rather be seeing that tonight.”
Monique stuck her bottom lip out and stomped on his shoe. “Just kidding, sweetie! Monique and I are seeing that new love story that takes place in the tropics—what’s it called, honey?”
Monique made some sort of reply—but it was undecipherable, due to the amount of chewing gum she was chomping in her mouth. Chomp chomp chomp. If she were her daughter, Regan would force her to spit it out so she could actually converse with other human beings.
Daughter? Sheesh, she was almost young enough to be Regan’s daughter. The revelation, and all its implications, made her stomach turn.
Josh shifted positions beside her, and she realized with horror that with all the disruption, she hadn’t introduced him. Where were her manners? Running into her ex and his chickie shouldn’t make her forget Emily Post all together.
But at that moment, Rick eyed him rather nastily and said, “Do you mind, buddy? This is a family conversation here.”
Regan glared at Rick, then shot an apologetic glance back at Josh. “No, Rick, this is .…”
But she couldn’t even finish because Rick was at it again. “Yeah, that’s right. Turn around, wait your turn, and mind your own business. Got it, bud?”
“Dad!” Luke beat her to it. “He’s with us.”
Rick registered the words, and his face reflected the dawning of understanding, as if in slow motion.
“He’s with …?”
“Yeah, Dad.” Luke moved in now, grabbing Josh around the elbow and pulling him closer into the circled gathering. “This is Pastor Josh. He’s the youth pastor where I go to church.”
Rick had the grace to look apologetic for a split second before his expression moved on to insolent confidence. “Sorry, Father, you know what I mean? You can’t be too careful in the city, am I right?”
“Josh, this is my dad,” Luke finished quietly, and looked away. Regan caught and recognized the look—embarrassment. Did his dad embarrass him? If so, she was relieved it wasn’t her, for once. Or did Luke just not want to be seen by any of his friends in the vicinity of so many adults? It just wasn’t cool, was it?
Josh and Rick shook hands. Josh said, “No harm done. It’s nice to meet you.”
“So, that’s new, Luke, you attending a church group.” Rick looked at him like his son had just revealed he’d joined a cult.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” Luke mumbled, shuffling his feet.
Regan flew into protect and nurture mode, but her instincts were torn. Of course, she wanted to protect Luke. He’d found a bunch of kids he liked at Josh’s church and enjoyed his activities there. Why should his bully of a dad make him question that? But just as strong, she was surprised to discover, was her desire to stick up for Josh. Sure, he was, as Luke had indicated, the youth pastor, but he was more than that. And Rick was missing the point of his growing importance in their lives, if he didn’t get filled in.
She opened her mouth but realized Luke was on the same track. Smart boy. “Dad, he’s not just my youth pastor.”
“Oh, no?” Rick muttered, his glance darting around the room, his quickly growing disinterest in this topic becoming apparent.
“No, he’s Mom’s boyfriend.”
Now that grabbed his interest. His head snapped back like it was a catapult that had just
dislodged its load.
“What?” The word was spit, more than spoken.
Mom’s boyfriend. Regan had to stifle a grin at the choice of words. Beyond admitting they sounded pretty good together, she realized that those two particular words had never, ever come out of Luke’s mouth before. Never had the opportunity to. Especially directed at Rick. So, if she were to be fair, she couldn’t really blame Rick for his amazed—no, disbelieving—recoil. Even Monique’s jaw was hanging open, her eyes wide.
She was enjoying Rick’s reaction when it dawned on her to wonder about Josh’s. How did he feel about being described that way? She turned slightly and peeked at him, and her heart flushed with relief. He was holding his own. He was gazing steadily at Rick and looked like the furthest thing from his mind was disputing Luke’s label.
Josh held his watch up, tapping it in Luke’s direction. “Hey Luke, if we don’t go in now, we may not get seats together. It’s getting a little late.”
Suddenly, everyone started shifting, Regan’s threesome in one direction, Rick and Monique in another, throats clearing and heads shaking a little in the confusion. Regan heard a “Nice meeting you,” from Josh and then felt his strong arm encircle her shoulders and pull her towards her. She felt like kissing him for making her feel safe and desirable in front of Rick.
But her rush of well-being quickly departed when she saw that Rick had broken away from Monique and was heading right towards her. “A word with you, please?” he snarled, and before she knew what she was doing, she let him grab her away from Josh and pull her a few feet away.
“You’re actually dating him?” It was an accusatory tone, but she couldn’t imagine what on earth he was accusing her of, especially considering Monique was standing only a few steps away.
“Yes, Rick, I’m dating him.” Regan tried for a confident tone and was semi-pleased with her result.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. A minister?” His tone had turned mean, and she felt conflicting emotions at once—fear that he might say or do something to hurt her, but flooding relief that she didn’t have to take it from him anymore.
“What is it exactly that you have a problem with, Rick?” She lowered her voice, one, so that they couldn’t be overheard, but two, she was going for menacing as well. “I’ve re-entered the dating world. You’re not jealous, are you?” She darted a pointed look at Monique, who had pulled a little mirror out of her handbag and was pursing her lips and gazing at them.
“Me, jealous? Not a chance. But c’mon, Regan. A minister? Where could it go? You have no future.”
And Regan knew, right then and there, he was going to do it. Despite how much she didn’t want him to go there, he was heading there at rocket speed.
He took a cue from her, and lowered his voice even more, so she had to lean closer to catch his words. “He doesn’t know your secret, does he? Because if he did, he wouldn’t want you anywhere near him. So don’t get your heart set on being a minister’s wife, Regan, ‘cause it ain’t gonna happen, you got me?”
He not only released her arm, but shoved it away and strode off, waving a deceptively friendly hand at Luke and Josh.
She stood there alone, eyes closed, trembling, fighting off the tears that she knew would come if she hadn’t already begun the mantra inside her head, “He doesn’t matter. He’s not important to me anymore. He can’t hurt me.”
A warm hand touched her arm hesitantly, and she looked up to see it was Josh. Luke had already started heading toward the next line.
“You okay?” He was studying her closely. He’d seen the roughness, even if Luke had missed it.
“Hold me a minute,” she whispered and no sooner were the words out of her mouth, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. His warmth and steadiness calmed her and the chills that had surrounded her heart, eased away.