Night Show (19 page)

‘I’ll buy,’ Tony said. He sounded determined.

Dani frowned. She doubted he had much money and she didn’t want to feel obligated. On the other hand, a refusal might hurt his feelings. Men were usually strange that way. ‘All right,’ she said, and managed a smile. ‘But you’ve gotta let me buy the popcorn.’

‘A deal.’

My God, she thought, this is sounding like a date.

E
ACH CARRYING
a tub of popcorn and a Coke, they made their way up a slanted corridor to the entrance of theater three. A sign above the door read ‘ZOMBIE’.

For a Saturday night, the auditorium wasn’t very crowded. They entered a row near the front, sidestepping past the knees of a teenaged couple.

‘Here?’ Tony asked.

Dani shook her head, not wanting to block the view of a black family already seated, though she felt a stir of anger at the parents. The baby in the woman’s arms was probably too young to notice the violence and gore in these films, but the other two were older. They would notice, all right.

With a quick scan of the audience, she spotted at least fifteen other children. It wasn’t unusual, but it never failed to sicken her.

They took seats as the theater lights dimmed. Opening her straw, Dani watched an ad for the
LA Times
. Then a trailer came on, warning the patrons not to flick their Bics ‘in the thick of the flick’. It had seemed cute the first few times she’d seen it.
She
stabbed her straw through the slits of the Coke carton.

Tony’s arm eased against her. She leaned sideways slightly to break the contact, and sipped her drink.

During the previews, a teenaged couple stepped into the next row. The boy sat down in front of Dani. For a moment, his head blocked the lower part of the screen. Then he leaned sideways, out of Dani’s way, and put his arm around the girl in front of Tony. They whispered a few words. They kissed.

Dani felt a stir of longing. If only Jack were here . . .

Zombie Invasion
started. The title flashed onto the screen, but there were no opening credits. They’d been edited out. A bad sign.

A young, dark-haired woman was strolling among cemetery monuments at night. She wore a long, white nightgown and carried a sprig of flowers. The scene looked familiar to Dani. As the woman knelt to place her flowers on a grave, a hand burst from the soil and grabbed her throat. It pulled her down. The breaking dirt spilled away, and a ragged, decomposing corpse rose up, its mouth agape to bite her.

Did you catch that dental work on Stanley the stiff? Bleah! I don’t know about you, boys and girls, but I’d rather kiss a toad. This guy is definitely not going to turn into a handsome prince
.

It was Livonia’s sultry voice, as vivid as her amazing cleavage in Dani’s mind. Livonia, the seductive vampire hostess of
Monster Matinee
. Sunday afternoons. Four o’clock. Channel six.

Here’s a gem you can really sink your teeth into . . . or fangs, as the case may be
.

‘I’ll be damned,’ Dani muttered.

Tony leaned close, his arm once again touching her. ‘Huh?’

‘I saw this turkey on
television
last month.’

‘Television?’

‘It was called
Bite of Death
. Livonia showed it.’

‘Really?’

‘Distributor’s shenanigans,’ she said. She felt cheated and angry, then just disappointed. To have this happen on top of Jack’s surprise date and Tony popping up . . . She sighed.

At least the afternoon had been nice.

Leaning away from Tony, she slumped down in her seat, crossed a foot over one knee and dug into her popcorn. She tried to watch the film. The dubbing was lousy, lips moving out of sync with the words. Even when the characters were outside, their voices reverberated as if recorded in a concrete room.

The story had been a bore the first time she saw it, made bearable only by commercial interruptions and Livonia’s sarcastic comments. Watching it now, Dani entertained herself by recalling Livonia’s quips and thinking up her own.

She and Jack would be trading remarks in soft whispers if he were here, having a great time, enjoying this dud. She realised, with some astonishment, that they’d seen no movies together since becoming lovers. They’d viewed dailies before, they’d gone to some
screenings
, but that had been part of the job. So far, they’d never sat in the darkness like kids on a date, holding hands and snuggling.

Maybe tomorrow night.

A drive-in. Fantastic! One of those in the valley. Pick a double feature they didn’t really care about, because even if you’re not fooling around you can’t get that involved with a drive-in movie. And she planned to fool around. Definitely.

They should take a blanket along.

She would wear a skirt.

As her mind lingered on the possibilities, she felt her skin heating, her heart speeding up, her nipples rising turgid against the caress of her shirt. The inseam of her jeans felt like a pressing hand.

Christ!

She sat up quickly to ease the pressure, and glanced at Tony, worried that he might somehow sense her arousal.

He turned toward her, eyebrows rising.

She forced a smile. ‘How do you like it so far?’

‘It stinks.’

‘That’s being generous.’

‘I don’t mind, though. I like being here.’

‘Good. I’m glad.’

He stared at her. ‘You were awfully nice to let me come along.’

‘That’s all right.’ His gaze made Dani uncomfortable. She turned away. He kept on staring. She scraped up the last of her popcorn and ate it, watching the screen,
trying
to ignore him. She slipped a napkin from her shirt pocket. She wiped her hands, her mouth. She wadded it and dropped it into the tub. Tony’s head was still turned toward her. She sipped the watery remains of her Coke, and finally looked at him. ‘You’re missing the movie.’

‘You’re so beautiful.’

His words made a cold place in Dani’s stomach. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

A smile trembled on Tony’s lips and he turned away.

Dani took a few slow, deep breaths to calm herself. Then she bent down and placed her empty containers on the floor. She sat up. Her shoulders pressed Tony’s outstretched arm. She flinched at its touch, but forced herself not to lurch forward.

‘Please, Tony.’

‘Did I startle you?’ He rubbed her right shoulder, making the silken shirt slide against her skin.

‘We’re not here for that. Please.’

‘Why?’

‘I
have
a boy friend.’

‘You mean Jack?’ The hand continued to caress her.

‘Yes.’

‘He’s not here.’

‘That’s not the point. Take your arm away.’

It stayed. ‘Don’t you like me?’

‘Tony!’

It lifted, swung over her head, and settled on the armrest between them.

‘Thank you.’

‘I didn’t mean any harm,’ he said, sounding pitiful.

‘I know.’

The boy in front of Dani looked back and frowned. ‘Sorry,’ she whispered. Turning back, he snuggled down again with his girl friend.

Tony crossed his arms and stared at the screen.

‘It’s all right,’ Dani whispered. ‘Don’t feel bad.’

He nodded slightly, but didn’t look at her. He blinked. Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, making shiny streaks down his face. He sniffed and wiped them away.

Reaching out, Dani patted his knee.

He gazed down at her hand. She turned it over. Tony’s hand pressed against it. She closed her fingers and squeezed gently. ‘Friends?’ she asked.

‘Yeah.’

She held him for a moment. With a final squeeze, she let go and folded her hands on her lap. Bringing him to the movies had been a great mistake. She should’ve known better. She’d been pushed into it, but she could have refused. A simple no. Instead of that, she’d let her sympathy get in the way and twist her perspective.

She felt a stir of anger. At herself. At Tony. He’d used his mother’s death as a lever to force his way deeper into her life. It wasn’t fair.

She should’ve listened to Jack’s advice at the outset: don’t feed it, maybe it’ll go away.

And what does she do? She feeds it. Brilliant move. A little kindness goes a long way. Now this weird kid thinks he’s her boy friend.

And she feels like a jerk for upsetting him.

Just wonderful.

On the screen, a horde of grisly corpses was rampaging through an apartment complex, bashing down doors, dragging their hysterical victims from hiding places in closets and bathrooms, under beds, ripping off arms and legs, devouring flesh.

Not exactly Livonia’s version. Most of the gore had been edited out for television.

A cut to the room of Elizabeth, the heroine. She was busy shoving a bureau against her door, not knowing that one of the zombies lurked inside her bathroom.

Almost over. Dani felt a tremor of dread. At intermission, she would have to face Tony in the light. What the hell would she say to him?

Tell him you have to use the restroom, and stay there till the next film starts.

That’s a chicken way out.

The zombie swung open the bathroom door. He staggered toward Elizabeth. She was leaning forward against the bureau, unaware of his approach.

Lousy makeup on the zombie. It looked like a Halloween mask. The audience sounded frightened in spite of it.

Only a couple of minutes before intermission. Dani wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans.

Just explain, as gently as possible, that you appreciate his friendship . . .

The zombie reached out, his decomposing fingers only inches from the back of Elizabeth’s neck.

You’re flattered that he finds you attractive, but . . .

Tony sprang forward, growling, baring his plastic fangs, clutching the neck of the girl in front of him.

T
HE GIRL
shrieked.

Elizabeth shrieked.

The audience erupted with cries of fright and alarm. The boy friend whirled around. Dani grabbed one of Tony’s arms and tugged it away from the girl. ‘Let go!’ she snapped. He tried to jerk free, but she held on tight until the boy flung himself over the back of the seat.

The boy fell across Dani, knees digging into her thighs, elbow jabbing her cheek as he clambered over her. He hooked an arm around Tony’s head. He twisted it, squirming on Dani, grunting each time he struck. Though she shoved at him, it seemed to have no effect. His fist thudded against Tony. He pounded very fast and very hard, as if he knew he didn’t have much time. A horrible, gasping whine came from Tony.

‘Stop!’ Dani cried.

She dug her fingers into the boy’s thick, greasy hair and yanked with all her strength. His head flew back and his body followed, his weight crushing Dani as he
swayed
, kneeling on her lap. She thrust against him. He fell sideways against his own seat back, crying out as the edge caught his ribs.

The theater lights came on.

The boy tried to untangle his legs from Dani’s. She kicked at him until he managed to throw himself over the seat.

A husky, bearded man in a necktie grabbed the boy roughly and jerked him upright. ‘Get out of here!’

‘But . . .’

‘Get! Don’t let me catch you in here again!’

Muttering curses and glaring at Tony, the boy followed his girl friend down the row. At the aisle, he turned around. ‘Crazy fuckin’ maniac!’

With those two leaving, everyone in the theater seemed to be gaping at Dani and the man.

‘You too,’ he snapped. ‘Out of here!’

For the first time since the assault, she looked at Tony. He was sprawled crooked, half off his seat, arms and legs at strange angles that made Dani think of broken spiders. He was panting hard. His head hung to one side. Blood spilled from his open mouth, his split lips, his nostrils, gashes and a few scratches apparently made by a signet ring. One eye was nearly swollen shut.

Dani gazed at the damage, appalled. A minute ago, Tony’s face had been intact. Now it looked worse than some of her makeup effects. But this wasn’t makeup; the red stuff wasn’t a sweet mix of Karo syrup. This was mauled flesh and real blood.

Looking at him, she felt sick and helpless.

‘Come on, sister, move it. You’re not outa here in two minutes, I’m calling the cops.’

She grabbed one of Tony’s hands and pulled, but only managed to swivel him sideways a bit.

‘All right,’ the man said, sounding disgusted. ‘Move aside. I’ll get him.’

‘Thank you,’ Dani said. As she waited for him to come around the end of the row, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned. A teenaged boy squinted at her through thick glasses.