Matinee

The paths of the strangers each dealing with their own problems serendipitously cross one afternoon in a movie theater in Chicago.

The Colson Theater had sat there on Dearborn Street in Chicago. Illinois for as long as anyone could remember.  It had been the site of many first dates, and a few breakups too.  There was even an urban legend that Dillinger had met with his henchmen up in the balcony to plan more than one hit, but no one knew if that was true or not.  On this day though, nothing quite so sinister was going on.  In fact, at 11:00 a.m., only 3 people occupied its’ seats.  The manager looked in and saw them and shook his head.  Run the movie for only 3 people?  That seemed crazy, but they were paying customers just the same as anyone else, so he got on the intercom to the control room and gave the projectionist the go-ahead to start the previews.

         In the 7th row center sat a young blond man who appeared to be deeply concentrating on the movie.  In fact, Gary Richards couldn’t have even told anyone who asked what picture was playing, and he didn’t really care.  He was 32 years old, and at the moment he felt about 30 years older than that.  Until a week ago, he had been employed as an accountant at Stafford and Strong, one of the oldest, and until Mr. Stafford, Sr. died and his son took over, most reputable accounting firms in the city.  Unfortunately, Mr Stafford, Jr. did not inherit his father’s principles, and his greed knew no limits.  Gary thought of his wife and their two kids, Spencer, 6, and Anna, 4.  He wondered what they would think if they could see him now, sitting here in this theater in the middle of the day, when they expected him to be in his office.  How would he explain it?  How could he look into Brenda’s eyes, the eyes that trusted him to always take care of her and their family, and tell her he no longer had  an office, and that he was nothing but a failure?  He was a Christian man who believed in the Biblical model of the man as the provider for the family.  He hadn’t done that.  With a sigh, he looked around him at the people sharing the theater with him.  There were only two, a dark haired man sitting at the end of his row when he came in, and a young blond woman who had come in and sat down in the 3rd row just before the previews came up.  He wondered briefly what they might be doing here.  He didn’t know, but whatever it was, it was a pretty sure bet that they weren’t total washouts like him.  Suddenly he was glad for the darkened theater because he certainly didn’t want the other two to get a good luck at the loser they had the misfortune of sharing their day with. 

     At the end of the row from Gary sat Jerry Danforth, a 34 year old ad executive at Crawford Brothers Advertising, a very large and popular firm.  He noticed the other two people in the theater, but was really hoping neither of them tried to engage him in any type of conversation, because he was not in the mood for small talk.  He had about two and a half hours left to make the biggest decision he’d ever had to make, and for the life of him, he just didn’t know what to do.  As he sat in his seat trying to decide the fate of his marriage, he wondered how he had ever allowed things to get to this point.  When he took his vows ten years ago and said the words, ‘Forsaking all others, till death do us part.’, that is exactly what he had meant.  He still loved his wife, and he was a Christian who had never seen himself as a cheater.  Sure, maybe things had gotten a little boring the last few years.  Wasn’t that to be expected?  Maybe the ‘7 Year Itch’ just came a little late for him.  A full time job, bills, the struggle they were going through fighting to have kids-the endless tests, disappointments and frustrations- put all that together, and it wasn’t exactly a recipe for romance.  Paula just didn’t seem to have the time for or be interested in anything but doctors’ appointments, ovulation dates, and IVF schedules.  He never saw her anymore without that blasted thermometer stuck in her mouth.  It had taken over her life, and by extension, his.  But did any of that give him the right to this relationship with Katie?  He could try to tell himself to take some comfort in the fact that so far nothing physical had happened, so he wasn’t technically  a cheater.  Still, if Paula knew about all the late nights he had spent with Katie when he was supposedly ‘working’- the dinners, the plays, the museums- even the ‘business trip’ last month that Katie had pressured him into.  Ok, they’d had separate rooms, but he didn’t that would make much difference to her.  He knew for certain it didn’t to God.  He had definitely gotten too close and allowed things to go too far with Katie.  It really was a business trip where he’d met Katie a year ago.  She worked at another ad firm not too far from his called O’Reilley Ads.  It started innocently.  He wasn’t looking for an affair.  He had never meant for any of this to happen.  They just got to talking, and she reminded him so much of how Paula used to be when they first met, so outgoing and alive.  She was very intelligent.  They walked in the park for hours, talking about books and art and music.  There seemed to be no subject Katie could not discuss with him and hold her own.  He truly did care about her very much and enjoyed being with her.  But now Katie was getting impatient, trying to push things to a point he wasn’t sure he was ready for.  He stared unseeingly at the screen and thought about the ultimatum she’d given him last night.

     In her seat in the third row, Brianna Roberts sat and stared at her hands.  She figured she had a little while yet before her fiancé’ Paul expected her home, maybe a little over an hour and a half if she was lucky.  With all her heart she wished that time would never come.  When he found out she didn’t keep her appointment with Dr. Marcum, she knew he would ask for his ring back and walk out of her life forever- if she didn’t do it herself first.  Either way, she might as well get used to living her life alone, because when her family found out, they were going to do the same thing.  The really sad thing was, she feared her church would turn its’ back on her too.  Unfortunately, they didn’t quite have the ‘Hate the sin, but love the sinner’ concept quite down yet.  Yes, she had done wrong, and there were going to be obvious consequences for that, but couldn’t they just see that she knew that, love her, and let God deal with the judging?  She was going to need them!  How was she going to do this?  This was something she would have to deal with for the rest of her life.  Every dream, every goal, every career plan, including law school, would have to be put away and abandoned.  Could she really do that?  Considering the alternative- well, there was no alternative. She had to do it.  She hung her head and hoped that in the darkness, no one could see her tears.

     Gary’s mind went back to that day a week ago when Mr. Brian Stafford himself had come into his office.  ‘How long have you been with us, Richards?’  ‘About four years, sir.’  ‘Yes, well, I think it is time you took on some of our higher profile clients.   Mr. Frank Longworth has been a client for many years, and his father before him.  He’s having some tax problems.  I’ll have his financials on your desk before lunch.  Get started right away.  Oh, and Gary- we may have to be a little creative on this one, eh?  Mr. Longworth was pretty clear that if we can’t help him, He’ll take his business elsewhere.  I’m sure I don’t have to tell you we can’t afford to lose a client like that.’  Gary didn’t like the sound of that, so he asked,’Exactly how creative are you speaking of, sir?’  ‘Oh, come on now-You’ve been around.  You didn’t just take the CPA exam last week.  You know the game as well as I do.  Dummy corporations, offshore accounts-whatever it takes.  Maybe I DO need to explain how valuable he is to our firm!’  Even now, Gary still remembered the sick feeling in his stomach realizing just what his boss was asking.  Somehow he found the courage to say what had to be said. ‘No sir, I understand that, but I can’t do what you’re asking of me.  I’m sorry, but I can’t.  It would be wrong.  I hope you understand.’  ‘Understand?  I most certainly do not!  I am not used to having my employees question my instructions, Richards. Let me make myself clear.  It was NOT a request!  Now, I’ll give you until, say, 3:30.  You report to my office then, and I expect you to have gotten over whatever your stupid little moral problem is, and we will TRY to forget that this unfortunate little incident ever happened!’  Gary flinched as the door to his office slammed.

     Gary wasn’t the only one lost in his own world.  Jerry could still feel the cold wind blowing through him just as it had when he stood at the phone booth on the corner near his house last night talking to Katie.  His dog Chester sat at his feet because he had told Paula he was taking him for a walk.  ‘I’m 35 years old, Jerry.  I’m tired of being the other woman, and I’m tired of getting grilled by my mother and everyone else about why I’m not married yet, and how she knows this nice young man, Mrs. Cohen from down the street’s nephew, and he’d be just PERFECT for me! You know my favorite line in her spiel?  ‘You’d better get on the ball, girl!  The biological clock is ticking!  I want grandchildren before I’m too old to enjoy them.  You’re not getting any younger, you know!’  Yes, I am well aware of that!  I want marriage and a family, Jerry.  The success I’ve had in my career doesn’t mean anything if I’ve sacrificed those things to get it.  If you can’t commit to me and give me that, I have to move on and find someone who will.  I don’t have time to play games anymore.  Not to mention that I spend every holiday, birthday, and weekend alone while you’re with Paula.  I get an occasional late night dinner or middle of the afternoon trip to the museum when we can both get away from work, and she gets everything else.’  ‘What do you want me to do, Katie?,’ he said in frustration. ‘You knew I was married when we first started this.  I never hid that.  I care about you, but I never promised you I was going to leave Paula for you.  I can’t just walk out on her.  She’s too upset by all this infertility stuff.  It’s all she talks about.  I just couldn’t do that to her on top of all she’s going through.’  ‘Yes, Jerry, I know all about poor Paula’s fragile mental state!  Do you really think I want to discuss with you the subject of you two having a baby?  How do you think that makes me feel?’  ‘I’m sorry, Katie. I’ll ask again- what do you want me to do?  ‘What I want is for you to make a decision, Jerry.  But since you seem to be having such a hard time doing that, I’ll see if I can make it a little easier for you.  I have two tickets to Mexico where you could get the ball rolling on a quickie divorce.  You’d be free to start a new life with me.  I’ll be at the coffee shop next to my office at 2 o’clock tomorrow when I go on break.  If you want to be with me, be there then.  If you don’t show up, well- then I guess my friend Anita and I will have a Girls’ Weekend in Cancun to kick off my new single life.’  The phone went dead in his hand.

     Gary didn’t remember much about the trip down to Mr. Stafford’s office.  He didn’t really know how he got there.  He just suddenly found himself in front of the door, and the secretary was saying, ‘You can go on in.  He’s expecting you.’  He knocked lightly and heard Mr. Stafford’s, ‘Come in.’  He walked in and before he could say a word, his boss barked, ‘Well, Richards, have you come to your senses?’ The last few hours had been torture, but Gary knew what he had to do.  ‘Sir, I am sorry, but I’m afraid I haven’t changed my mind.  You see, I-‘ ’I am not interested in your petty excuses and weak rationalizations.  I don’t believe we will be requiring your services any longer, Richards. Clear out your desk, then stop by Human Resources to discuss your severance package. In spite of this blatant insubordination and betrayal, I will make sure it’s far more generous than you deserve, but don’t expect a reference.  When you’re done there, have them call my secretary, and she will arrange for security to escort you from the building.’

     ‘PREGNANT’.  The word echoed over and over in Brianna’s mind as she sat there in the theater.  One mistake!  One night!  One night she was going to have to pay for the rest of her life.  She was a Christian.  So was Paul.  They knew better!  How could they get themselves into this mess?  Why hadn’t she been strong enough to put the brakes on that night?  Why hadn’t Paul?  They’d always been so careful not to spend too much time alone together at either of their apartments, but somehow their caution went out the window that night.  Afterwards, she had never felt more miserable in her life.  She ran for the shower, but a thousand showers couldn’t make her feel clean again or wash away the guilt.  Paul had been so panic-stricken as they stood there staring at that blue line on the test strip.  So much so that he had said abortion was the only answer.  He hated the idea, but to him it was the only choice.  ‘We’re not ready for this, Brianna.  We can’t do this.  How would we ever face our families, our church?  I can’t believe I’m saying it, but it’s the only way out.  God will forgive us.’  ‘Will He, Paul?  Will He really?  This is a LIFE, our child, HIS  child.  How can we just get rid of it because we don’t want to take responsibility for what we did, or because it might be difficult, and it doesn’t fit in with our plans?  We made a mistake, Paul.  We sinned.  God saved us from that, but He never promised there wouldn’t be consequences for it here on earth.  He just said there wouldn’t be eternal ones if we trusted Him.’  Paul just kept saying he couldn’t do it until finally about 3 a.m., he had worn her down and she said she would call the doctor and make the appointment, all the while having a sick, sinking feeling in her stomach.  She was so disappointed in him she didn’t know what their future was even if she did as he asked.  But she didn’t want to lose him, so she’d just have to find some way to live with it.  The week she had to wait to get in was full of constant arguing and was pure torture for both of them.  Then this morning she had gone for her appointment and was sitting there in the waiting room, and suddenly she knew she could not go through with this, no matter what Paul said or did.  She could not be with someone who would ask her to kill their child. She went to the window.  ‘Nurse, I apologize, but I need to cancel my appointment.’  ‘Ma’am, I can reschedule the appointment if there is some sort of problem, but the doctor is going out of town next week, and it may be awhile before I can work you back in.’  ‘No, that’s ok.  I don’t want to reschedule.  I’ve changed my mind.’  Brianna hurried out of the office before the nurse could say anything more. 

     Gary suddenly saw that the movie was almost over and decided that there was no use putting off the inevitable anymore.  He was going to have to go home and tell Brenda what had happened no matter how much he dreaded it.  She had been a wonderful wife to him all these years.  He had to trust that she would understand that he hadn’t had a choice.  They’d be ok.  God would provide.  Thinking about it, he saw now that she would be more upset that he had been hiding it for a week than over the fact that he had lost his job.  What would have tested her commitment to him would have been if he had compromised his faith just to keep his job.  She’d be proud of him for making a stand for his Lord.  His pride was still smarting, but that was just something he was going to have to deal with.  Why had it taken him a week to see this?  It wasn’t going to be easy to tell her, but he certainly didn’t think much of the wife that had stood by him all these years if he didn’t trust her to support him through this.

       As the closing credits rolled. Jerry realized that it was about 30 minutes away from Katie’s deadline.  Was he going?  He pictured himself telling Paula he was leaving her for another woman.  Could he do it?  Maybe he could just go and talk to Katie and see if she would give him some more time.  Yeah, and maybe he could click his heels together and say, ‘There’s no place like home.’

      Suddenly the lights came up.  Jerry and the other man sitting in his row stood to go.  As Jerry got a look at him, he recognized him.  He didn’t really want to talk, but he figured the guy recognized him too, and it would be rude not to speak.  ‘Excuse me, weren’t you in the Car Maintenance class with me over at the Adult Education Center?  He stuck out his hand.  ‘Jerry Danforth.’  This was exactly what Gary had hoped to avoid, but he took Jerry’s hand.  ‘Yeah.  Gary Richards.’  ‘If I remember, you said you were at Stafford and Son.’  Gary groaned inwardly.  ‘Yeah, up until about a week ago.  I, uh- I guess I’m job hunting now.’  Just then, Brianna started coming up the aisle toward them.  Just as she neared them, she dropped her purse, and her things spilled out.  Gary and Jerry turned to help her pick them up.  Too late, she reached for the bottle of prenatal vitamins she had bought after leaving the doctors’.  There was no way the two men didn’t see them.  Gary and Jerry looked up and saw her red, swollen eyes.  Great, now they knew she’d been crying too!  Jerry spoke to her quietly.  ‘Ma’am, I know you don’t know me, and I don’t want to intrude, but I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been crying, and you dropped these.  Are you in some kind of trouble?  Can I do anything to help?  My name’s Jerry Danforth.’  Brianna was not in the habit of talking to or confiding in strange men, but obviously he had put two and two together, and everyone was going to know soon enough anyway.  Suddenly, it all came pouring out.  She couldn’t stop it.  ‘My name is Brianna.  Thank you, but, no, I don’t think you can help. I’ve just found out I’m pregnant, and my fiancé’ doesn’t want the baby.  Actually, I’m pretty sure I don’t even want him to be my fiancé’ anymore.’  She steeled herself for the look of judgement in his eyes, but it never came.  She saw understanding. not condemnation. And something else; maybe- hope?  That puzzled her.  Jerry said, ’Well, I think you may be mistaken about that, Brianna.  You just may have helped me, and I think I can help both of you.’  He turned to Gary.  ‘Gary, have you considered a field of work other than taxes?’  Gary thought for a minute.  ‘Actually, yeah, I think I might be ready for some thing different.’  ‘My company, Crawford Brothers, has an opening.  Our Assistant Chief Financial Officer is leaving.  If you’re interested, meet me there at nine Monday morning, and I’ll take you to the HR department and introduce you.’  Gary’s face lit up for the first time in a long time.  ‘That would be great!  I’ll be there!  Thank you so much!’  ‘No problem.  Brianna, if you’ll give me just a minute to call my wife, I’ll have her come meet us somewhere for a late lunch, and I think maybe we can come up with a solution to your problem.  Anywhere you’d like to go other than the coffee shop would be fine.  I’m, uh- avoiding caffeine today.’         
  

Author's Note

Please ignore any typos, etc. I will clean that up. Be helpful but tactful ha ha ha