We pulled up on 29th street about twenty minutes later. The traffic coming down Broadway was tremendous, leaving us to make our way down the one mile drive slower than a snail climbing down a fish tank.
“Where’s the theatre?” he asked me.
“Right over on your left. You might have to drive around for a little while to find parking?”
“Why? There’s a parking lot right over there.”
“You’re willing to park in a New York City parking lot?” That seemed to have shocked even Mike.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? It’s better than hunting for a parking spot for another hour. It’s no big deal. I do it all the time.” Oh, my God who the hell is this kid?
So we drove into the lot, Jacob left his keys with the parking attendant and ventured in to the small, old fashioned building.
This theatre, although rather small, only taking up two floors, one being full of offices, was so very dear to me. It was quite literally my home away from home. Aside from school, this was the place that I found myself at more than my real home.
I walked over to the elevator and when I pressed the button to go up, the light remained off.
“Yeah, so, we’re going to have to walk up, because they haven’t turned on the elevator yet. That’s pretty much used only for special guests like audience members and such.”
“You seem to know an awful lot about this place,” Jacob chimed in.
“Yeah, I guess you can say that I practically grew up here. My cousin used to work here, actually. Then I picked up the trade. It’s a great place to be. So if you will just follow me.” I walked towards the end of the hallway and opened the door to the stairwell. After an easy climb up one flight of stairs, we all found ourselves in the lobby of the very tiny theatre. Just as I was about to tell Jacob where to wait with Mike and Sarah, a very familiar voice called out to me.
“Amy,” David said in his very strong Australian accent, “why are you always here so early. Warm-ups don’t start for another hour.” David Thompson was the primary Stage hand at the Youth Theatre, and he was like a second father to us all. You could always tell that he genuinely loved each of the kids that he worked with. And we all loved him in return.
“I’m sorry, David. It’s a habit you know I am trying to break.”
“Wait a minute,” Jacob seemed a bit surprised. “Warm ups? You mean, you’re in this show? I thought you just worked here.”
“Well, I do when we’re not having a show, but for this summer, I perform. It’s nothing super spectacular like a Broadway show, but it is a lot of fun.”
“Amy, what happened to you?” David was finally able to get a good look at my now slightly scratched and bruised self. “You look like you were in a brawl or something.”
“Nothing quite so violent or risky, David,” I assured him. “Just a little fender-bender is all.”
“Well, let’s go and get you cleaned up.” David held the curtain to the backstage area open for me, and I followed him to the first-aid kit cabinet, leaving Mike and Sarah to purchase the tickets for the show and entertain our new found friend.
“Okay, so explain to me what happened to you. How did this happen?”
“Well, David. You saw that really, really cute guy that came in with us, right?” David nodded his head and I continued. “Okay, so I kind of got his by his car and-.”
“What?! What do you mean you were ‘kind of hit by his car’?”
“David, it was no big deal.” David rolled his eyes at my quickness to brush everything off. “It was very light, I barely felt it. Promise.”
“Very light? Amy, you have scrapes up and down your arms. You had to have felt it!”
“Well, David, when you get hit by a car, you sometimes have to tuck and roll. I just tucked really hard, hence the bump on my head and my rolling wasn’t so graceful.”
“What are you going to do about the bump anyway? You’ve got long sleeves on your costume, but no mask.”
“Well, that’s what cakey make-up is for. Anyway, stop distracting me from my story. He wanted to do something to make up for hitting me-.”
“As he should.”
“David! Let me finish my story, please. So he wanted to make it up to me, but obviously I had to come here, so I decided to invite him here. I mean, he’s really cute.”
“Wow, great story,” he said sarcastically. “There you go, all cleaned up. You may go now. But first, please be careful, Amy. You barely know this kid.”
“I know, but he seems different somehow.”
“Different from Jonathon? Didn’t you guys have a bit of a flirtation going last winter? I believe I recall a great deal of liking going on there, Miss Amy.”
“David we no longer speak of Jonathon, thank you. And it was not a liking. It was an outrageously stupid infatuation. And, even in the almost two hours that I’ve known him, trust me, he’s extremely different than that lying conniving little ass-.”
“If you plan on finishing that sentence, then you better plan on coughing up fifty cents. You know better than to use swear words here.”
“God, why are the rules here so juvenile?”
“Cause you work with eight year olds. They can’t be exposed to that language, at least not here. Who knows what they’re exposed to around the city?”
“Sorry then. Listen, everything will be fine, I promise.”
David stood there, still uncertain as I tried to reassure him, and I left him in the back stage area, still pondering my possible fate and return to the company of my friends. I still had a good amount of time before anyone else would show up for warm ups, so Mike, Sarah, Jacob and I found a nice spot to sit alongside the elevator door. As usual, despite our efforts to keep up the conversation, Mike and Sarah got lost in their own little make-out world, leaving Jacob and I to ourselves.
Right now, as I sit here thinking about the accident and how I almost lost him, I tear up. Could you imagine what might have happened had my dad not gotten there when he did?
My fellow cast mates soon began to arrive, each of them wondering who the new guy friend was, but keeping this to themselves, so they thought. Their faces were all too easy to read. Not much time was left to chat, however, for soon after warm ups began and so did the show.
Later on, after the curtains calls and complete departure of all audience members, a few of the kids from the show decided to go to dinner and, after assuring Jacob that he was allowed to tag along, our little quartet decided to tag along. The restaurant that we all chose to was only a few blocks away, so Jacob decided to leave his car in the parking garage.
Through the dinner, great conversation was had, between friends old and new, leaving me open to ask about this new person in my life. Whether or not I ever saw him again did not matter, I just needed to know more about him.
“So, Jacob,” I began timidly, “where do you go to school? I mean, you are in high school, right?”
“Yes, I attend 34th Street High School, right off of Park Ave. I’ll be a senior this fall. And yourself, Miss Amy?”
Hearing my name come from his mouth strangely made my stomach knot up. I slowly felt the flutter of little wings flying through my stomach, and I noticed that I was beginning to develop a crush on this boy, this strange boy.
“My high school is on 68th street. Upper East Side.”
“Really? Where?”
“Uh… 2nd avenue.”
“What? I’ll be taking college courses at Hunter on Lexington. I start next week.”
“Really? Wow, what a small world.” I laughed at the song that was now playing in my head. “Um, what are you studying? At Hunter, I mean.”
“Well I haven’t quite decided yet. I just figured I’d start with some general education credits, maybe get a Liberal Arts Associates, and then start experimenting. Pretty bland, huh?”
“No, of course not, it’s just too much college talk. I’m almost sorry I asked.”
“Well, you’ll be there sooner than you think. Get a move on it now. Don’t waste your time for the future.”
“God, you sound like my dad.” I gave him a playful, gentle shove on the arm. Before I knew it, we had reached the restaurant.
The lighting inside was really low, almost too low to see our food. I enjoyed watching the way his eyes glowed in the light of the candles that sat on each table. I could see little flecks of gold in the sea of blue that his pupils swam in. It was almost distracting to me as I sat there listening to him.
“Jacob, do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Anything. What’s up?”
“Well, I don’t know how exactly to say this politely, so I’m just going to come out with it. How is it that you, at seventeen years old, can afford to park your car in a New York City parking garage? I mean, really. Are you related to Trump, or a Rockefeller, or something?”
“No!” he laughed out. “Oh, God, don’t I wish. But, of course nothing so extravagant as that. My parents, well, let’s just say that they’re well off.”
“That’s not being vague, not at all. What, are they drug dealers or something?”
“Why? Do you need a hit?” Jacob smiled shamelessly as my heart skipped a beat. I’m kidding, I promise. I know that I haven’t given you a whole lot about my background, but it’s not a happy place right now. I don’t really like to talk about it. What I will tell you for now is that my dad earned his inheritance from his dad, who was a big to-do kind of lawyer. You know the kind that never speaks to anyone in their family kind of lawyer. So, long story short, we’re a very comfortable family and I like to park in garages when I’m in the city.”
“Oh, well, I’m sorry?”
“Is that a question?”
“No… uh, yes… I… I just don’t really know what happened, except that your grandfather died, so of course I’m sorry about that. But other than that, I don’t exactly know what to feel. Umm… okay so… uh…” It had suddenly become slightly uncomfortable with him. “Oh! Where do you live? I assume not here, since you said you like to park in garages when you’re in the city.”
“Well, no, not quite here. I’m right on the outskirts of Staten Island. You can take the Ferry over and I’m about five minutes from the port, driving of course. And you?”
“I’m in Morris Park, in the Bronx. It’s literally a hole in the wall neighborhood, but it’s quiet. I relish in the peacefulness.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I love the city, don’t get me wrong, but there really is no place like home.”
“Okay, Dorothy.”
“Hey, guys.” Mike leaned towards us across the table.” The bill has been paid. It’s time to get going.”
“Oh, already?” I asked. Mike nodded, pointing to his watch. It must’ve been getting late. “Oh, well,” I turned to Jacob, “do you want us to walk you back to your car?”
“Sure,” Jacob nodded his approval, “if you want. I’d like the company.”
Outside, I hugged my theatre friends goodbye with promises of seeing them at work the following day. Mike and Sarah also waved to them and quickly began walking in the direction of the parking garage. Once again, I was left behind, this time in the company of Jacob.
We walked in silence for a bit, making for perfect awkwardness between us, but after a few minutes passed, Jacob opened his mouth to speak.
“Amy, I want to tell you that I have had a great day, the best I’ve had in awhile. I’m so sorry again about hitting you.” I opened my mouth to speak, but Jacob instead cut me off. “Please don’t apologize back to me. It really was my fault, and I’m very sorry. Man, I feel as if I should be dishing out money to pay off your medical bills.”
“Jacob, seriously, don’t worry about it. You didn’t kill me, honestly. I’m fine. I guarantee you that I might be sore tomorrow morning, but I’m good. No emergency room visit necessary.” We had finally reached the entrance to the parking garage. I could see Mike’s shadow waiting a bit further ahead, but Sarah was nowhere to be seen. Knowing her, she and Mike probably got into an argument about something meaningless, and now she’s stormed off, swearing to never speak to him again. But tomorrow they’ll kiss and make up and it’ll be as if nothing ever happened. This was a normal occurrence with them.
“Amy,” I turned back towards Jacob, Mike standing just a few feet away, “I know we’ve just met, but, well, could I-. I pulled a napkin from the restaurant out of my pocket and handed it to Jacob.
“That’s my cell, so…”
“So, I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“I guess so. Goodnight, Jacob.”
I turned back in the direction of Mike and walked towards him while Jacob paid for his car. I couldn’t believe I had just given somebody I had just met my phone number. I felt a slight twinge of anxiety thinking that this was just a fluke. This was never going to happen. But, sure enough, right before I headed down into the station, my cell phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey, so do you feel like going to see a show tomorrow?” I heard Jacob’s now familiar voice. “I know this quaint little theatre on 29th street between Park and Madison and I thought you might like to go.”
“Oh, that’s too funny because I’m in a show tomorrow in a quaint little theatre on 29th street between Park and Madison. So as you can see, I may be a bit busy to go see a show in another theatre on the exact same block.” I chuckled. “I’ll tell you what, how about I pencil you in?”
“That’s all I ask. Good night, Amy. Thanks again for today. I had fun.”
“Me too.” I smiled to myself. “Hey, you don’t really say quaint do you? Because if so, then I’m sorry, we just can’t be friends.”
“Well, that’s just too bad. Good night, Amy,” he repeated.
“Good night, Jacob.” I went to hit the end call button, but stopped myself. “Hey, Jacob?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for hitting me with your car. Good night.”
“Um… Good night?”
“Yep. Good night.”
After hanging up, I slipped my phone back into my jeans pocket and joined Mike once more to continue our journey home.
