Chapter 35
Samantha slid out ofthe truck and wiped George’s hair off her butt before starting toward the old theater building. “It’s beautiful. I’ve never been here before.”
“We came here for a school field trip, didn’t we?”
“I must have played hooky that day.”
He laughed. “Maybe. Now that you mention it, I do remember sitting with Alicia Coombs.”
She playfully punched him in the side. “That joke needs to stop.”
“Okay, okay. I can probably do that for you.”
They did find good seats, and Samantha couldn’t believe how excited she was. She’d never really craved the finer things in life, but now that she was experiencing them, she was really enjoying them. “This is so cool.”
“I know. I didn’t even want to come, but I’m a little excited too. It’s cool to have actual people acting out a story instead of just watching it on TV.”
She giggled. “The people on TV are actual people too.”
He groaned. “You know what I mean.”
“I do. But you didn’t want to come? Really?”
“I’m not really a theater kind of guy, Sammy. But no, Ididwant to come because I wanted to bring you.” He took her hand into his, intertwined their fingers, and then rested his hand on her leg. “I wanted tonight to be special.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Every night with you is special.”
A couple walked by them carrying two flutes of champagne. He eyed her. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I never really liked champagne.”
He chuckled, and her head bounced a little. “You know what I mean.”
She sighed. “I do. And I really am okay. I know that if I get cocky or complacent, then I’m in serious danger, so I don’t want to do that, but it does get easier every day. I am sure that next time I face something emotionally difficult, it will be hard. But every sober day that I put between now and then will help me when that time comes.”
He squeezed her hand. “And when that time comes, you will have God to lean on, and you will have me.”
She stretched to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you, Brent. You’re my hero.”
“Good. I want to be your hero.”
They watched in comfortable silence as the other patrons found their seats, and then Samantha sat up a little straighter when a man welcomed them to the Monmouth Theater and told them the rules.
And then the curtain opened, and Samantha felt like a little kid in line for her favorite ride at the fair. This was so cool.
The actors might have been locals, but they were still pros, and Samantha was able to follow the play better than she thought. It was in part because she already more or less knew the story, but the actors’ actions and expressions also made the story accessible even if it was in a different language.