At exactly eight o’clock, the doorbell rang. She tore her attention away from the phone and sprung up from her chair. Dropping the phone into the bag, she slung it over the shoulder and went to the door. Though she was already sure of the identity of her visitor, she glanced through the peep hole just to be on the safe side. Satisfied when she glimpsed José, she opened the door.

He wasn’t in uniform this time. He was dressed casually in a turtleneck and blue jeans; and she detected a strong scent of shampoo coming off him, indicating that he’d showered very recently.

He greeted her with a smile. “Ready?”

“Where’s Ashley?” she couldn’t help asking. He was nice enough and seemed trustworthy, but she didn’t think she was quite ready to trust him so much as to be alone with him unnecessarily.

“In the car,” he told her.

She closed the door and locked it. As she turned back to him, he surprised her by offering his arm. “Shall we?”

She slipped her arm through his, wondering if there was any meaning to it or if he was just being courteous. His manner remained only casually friendly; there was no indication of romantic interest in either his tone or expression, for which she was relieved. Not only was she not ready for another relationship after just escaping Jeremy, but it would feel like a betrayal to Ashley. If things turned in that direction, she would have to turn him down—of that she was certain.

“Oh, Aileen!” a familiar voice exclaimed. “Are you going on a date?”

Aileen cringed.

Before she could think of a response to give to Mrs. Jamison, José spoke. “A friend and I invited her to the movies with us.”

“Oh, José!” Mrs. Jamison said. “I didn’t recognize you for a moment. Where’s Ashley?”

He smiled. “In the car.”

“Well go on and enjoy yourselves.” She sent a warm smile to Aileen. “You deserve it.”

As Mrs. Jamison disappeared back into her apartment, Aileen allowed José to lead her toward the stairs. She couldn’t help commenting. “That was awkward.”

“Awkward?” José laughed. “That was nothing. Every time my grandparents see me, they ask when Ashley and I are getting married.”

Now that had to be supremely uncomfortable. “What do you say?” she asked.

A mischievous sparkle lit into his dark eyes. “That she’s stringing me along and won’t set a date.”

She gaped at him in disbelief, and he laughed. “That was Ashley’s expression the first time I said it. Now she pretends she doesn’t hear me.”

Aileen laughed at that, still unable to believe his gall. She couldn’t blame Ashley. If she ever was in that position she probably wouldn’t know what to say either. Ignoring him was probably the only thing Ashley knew to do.
She wondered how much of his reply to his grandparents’ question was truth and how much of it was just José teasing a friend. She couldn’t tell with him. Even when he spoke of Ashley, there was nothing in his tone to suggest feelings of a romantic nature.

When they reached the car—this time, a regular sedan—Ashley was waiting. She smiled brightly at Aileen as she got into the car. “Ready for some fun?”

The smile was contagious. Aileen couldn’t help smiling back. “Yeah.”

José closed her door and got in the front with Ashley. After everyone was buckled in, he backed away from the apartment building and drove off.

“So what would you like to do?” Ashley asked. “Normally we do a movie and dinner. Sometimes we add bowling into the mix.”

“A movie sounds nice,” Aileen agreed.

“Wonderful.” Ashley turned to face the front. “A movie it is then. “José, to the movie theater.”

“Right away, Your Highness,” he dead panned.
Ashley groaned.

Aileen smiled and looked out of the window. She was going to enjoy getting to know her new friends. Their relationship with each other, though not of a romantic nature, was such a great contrast to the one she’d had with Jeremy—teasing and affectionate rather than built on manipulation and fear—that she couldn’t help wishing for something of a similar nature.

As José and Ashley engaged in conversation at the front during their ride, Aileen glanced out of the window of the car and watched the sights pass. Once in a while, one or the other of her two companions would try to pull her into conversation. She responded when they addressed her but soon returned to her own thoughts of what her future might look like.

It wasn’t long before José turned into the parking lot of Twin Pines Movie Theater, a small theater nearby. He pulled his car into the first parking space he found, between a convertible and a minivan. Then he unbuckled his seatbelt and switched off the car.

“Let’s go.”

The trio emerged from the vehicle and then walked up to the building, already crowded with teens and young adults despite it being a school night. After deciding on the movie of choice—a family comedy—José went to pay for the tickets while Ashley dragged Aileen toward the snack counter.

“You don’t have to...” Aileen tried to say.

Ashley pretended not to hear. “What do you prefer, regular popcorn or caramel?”

“The movie ticket is enough,” Aileen protested, eyes going toward the ticket booth where José was undoubtedly paying for her ticket since she couldn’t do it herself.

“I personally prefer caramel,” Ashley went on. “But José likes regular better so we usually get that.”

Before Aileen could try to argue further, José joined them, holding out a ticket each to the two of them. “What are we getting?”

“We haven’t decided yet,” Ashley said. “Maybe we’ll just get the regular.” She turned back to Aileen. “I hope that’s fine with you.”

Since it seemed like they’d be getting snacks with or without her approval, she nodded.

“What would you like to drink?” Ashley asked next.

That wasn’t optional either. Both José and Ashley decided what they wanted and then looked at her expectantly, waiting.

“Water,” she managed.

“You must not have done this often,” Ashley said. “No one orders water at the movies. You should pick something else.”

She was eventually talked into picking a soda drink instead.

“I’ll pay,” José said once the order was ready.
With a shrug, Ashley handed a drink to Aileen and then picked up the large bucket of popcorn and her own drink.

Aileen felt less singled out when José took over paying for the snacks. Unlike herself, Ashley could obviously afford it but had accepted his offer anyway. It made her feel less like a charity case, though deep down she knew that probably wasn’t the way they saw her. One did not invite a charity case out as a friend usually.

Once everything had been paid for, the threesome, each carrying a drink and Ashley holding onto the popcorn, headed toward the hall the movie that had been chosen would be showing at. When they reached it, a line had formed at the door and people were starting to trickle inside.

“Want me to carry that for you?” José asked Ashley, nodding toward the popcorn.

“It’s popcorn, not a suitcase,” she replied. “I think I can manage.”

José laughed. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Ashley grinned. “I know. I’ll carry it though.”

José shrugged. “Fine.”

When it was their turn, José collected the tickets from them and handed them to the usher at the door. After the ticket stubs were handed back, José led them inside the still lit-up theater to a group of three seats that weren’t too close to the screen nor too far. Ashley took the middle seat, holding the popcorn in her lap, and José sat next to her on one side while Aileen took the other.

As they waited, José and Ashley fell into conversation, and Aileen listened while looking around her. It had been a long time since Jeremy had taken her to the movies or much of anywhere for anything resembling a date.

“Have you heard from James lately?” José asked, a note of satisfaction in his tone. He took a handful of popcorn from the bucket and popped it into his mouth.

Ashley mumbled something beneath her breath. “You know I have. You told him about my new boyfriend, didn’t you? Can’t you stay out of my relationships? They’re not your business, you know.”

“Your brother isn’t here so someone has to look out for you,” he replied. “Tell you what...” He grinned. “Find yourself someone decent and I’ll stay out of it. Scout’s honor.”

“You were never a scout,” she retorted.

He laughed. “I can still use their honor code. If you find a good one, I’ll leave it alone. But until then...” He shrugged. “You can’t get rid of me. Sorry, Ash.”

Ashley sighed.

What an odd relationship these two have, Aileen thought to herself.

The lights dimmed, halting all ongoing conversation and the screen began to play the usual warnings and rules before the actual movie. Silence fell, except for the occasional whispers.

The movie was enjoyable and filled with comedic moments that weren’t of the usual lewd humor that seemed to dominate most recent movies. When Aileen stepped out of the theater with her new friends, she was almost floating with happiness. It seemed like falling in love wasn’t the only thing that could make a person deliriously happy.

“Let’s go out for dinner now,” Ashley suggested as they left the theater and stepped into the chilly air of the October night. She glanced at Aileen. “Are you in?”

Aileen hesitated. Dinner meant one or both would be paying for her. They’d already done a lot of that today.

“Come on,” Ashley said. “You’re not going to bail on us so soon, are you? At least have dinner with us.”

Unable to withstand Ashley’s tone of disappointment, Aileen found herself nodding. Instantly, the other woman grinned, hooked arms with her, and dragged her toward José’s car.

“Come on, José!” she threw over her shoulder.

Moments later, José parked in front of a medium-rate Chinese restaurant. When they entered, Aileen took in her surroundings. It didn’t have the look of a ridiculously expensive restaurant but it wasn’t one of the overly cheap ones either. She spotted several couples as well as families seated.

After the trio had seated themselves at a table, a waiter delivered three menus. After selecting and agreeing on their choices, José ordered for the three of them. Aileen couldn’t help noticing that neither José nor Ashley ordered any of the alcoholic drinks offered. It was especially hard not to notice since Jeremy always had a drink with his dinner and so did most of his friends. Not everyone was a drinker though.

She didn’t drink much herself. She had a low alcohol tolerance and didn’t like the woozy feeling she got afterwards, so when forced to make an impression by joining Jeremy at one of his corporate dinners, she usually took a sip or two at the most; but she’d never met someone else who didn’t or preferred not to drink. It was refreshing to be with people she didn’t have to pretend with in order to fit in.

“Did you enjoy the movie?” Ashley asked her once the waiter was gone.

“Yes,” Aileen said sincerely with a smile. “I loved it.”

“We should do this again sometime,” Ashley said. “José and I usually hang out in the evening after he gets off work if I don’t have a date, so you can join us any time you like.”

Aileen couldn’t help wondering how Ashley’s boyfriend felt about her hanging out with a guy friend so often. She didn’t point it out though. She didn’t want to insult or make an enemy of her new friend. How Ashley carried out her relationships wasn’t any of her concern.

“Sure,” she said. “That would be nice.”

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly. When the food arrived, Aileen found herself agreeing to split part of it with Ashley, who also took a part of José’s. As they ate, they conversed, joked, and laughed, and Aileen enjoyed watching the easy banter that passed between Ashley and José continuously.

She was dropped home at around ten o’clock. As she bid her new friends goodbye and sailed up the stairs to her apartment, she was exhausted but happy. After a hot shower and changing into her pajamas, she fell into bed with a light heart and a wide smile.