Pine Trees

“Logan, it’s almost seven.” My dad says, knocking on my bedroom door. Like I didn’t know already… I have spent the past hour trying to decide on what to wear.

“I know!” I call back, not even attempting to hide the annoyance in my voice. I guess this is the only time I have missed having a woman in my life. What does one wear to a first date?

I get an idea and quickly grab my phone, dialing Natalie’s number.

“Hello?” Her voice sings through the phone.

“Uh, hi, Ms. Sinclair! It’s me, Logan.”

“Logan!” She says, elongating the ‘oh’ sound. I assume she’s had a bit to drink. “How are you dear?”

“I’m doing alright! I have a bit of an odd question for you.”

“What is it, love?” She asks.

“So I have a date tonight, and I’ve never been on a date before. I was hoping for maybe a little bit of advice for a first date? You know my mom’s not around so I don’t really have anyone to turn to for this kind of advice…”

“Oh I am honored you would think to call me!” She says excitedly. “Do you have any idea where you are going?”

“No, he won’t tell me anything.”

“Hm, it’s hard to help without actually seeing your closet…I’m going to FaceTime you.” She says and almost immediately I receive her FaceTime request. I quickly accept.

“Okay, not show me to your closet.” She says and I do as she says, showing her each article of clothing. “Ooh, that is lovely!” She says as I stop on a black and sunflower print dress.

“This?” I ask as I hold the dress up for her to get a better look.

“Yes, that is perfect! Pair it with a jean jacket or long cardigan, and maybe some black boots and I’d say you’re set.” She says proudly.

“Okay, I’m going to set you down while I change.” I say and quickly set my phone on the bed. I slip on the dress, and some black ripped tights. I put on my favorite forest green cardigan and my black high top vans.
“Okay, how do I look?” I ask and hold my phone in front of the mirror so she can see my outfit.

“You look amazing.” She says. “And your fiery hair against that green sweater is gorgeous.”

“Thank you so much!” I say before ending the call. I run a brush through my hair and head upstairs.

Jude is sitting on the living room couch and my dad is seated in his recliner. I walk into the living room and Jude stands when he sees me.

“You look nice.” He says with an awkward smile. I’m sure my dad had been questioning him for the past ten minutes. I’m happy to have chosen the casual dress as Jude was dressed in black jeans and a hoodie. Very good first date apparel. I wonder what he has planned for the night.

“Thank you,” I say and return his awkward smile. “Are you ready?” I ask, walking towards the door.

“Yup. It was nice meeting you again Mr. Hayes.” Jude says sticking his out to my dad who stands and shakes it firmly.

“Nice meeting you, Jude.” He says, turning his attention to me. “Be home by midnight?” He says and I nod before stepping outside. Jude’s van is parked in front of the house and we get in before he takes off down the street.

“So what’s the plan?” I ask anxiously.

“You really can’t take a surprise, can you?” He asks, peering at me from the corner of his eye.

“No, I can’t.” I reply shooting him a glare.

“Well doesn’t that suck?” He teases and nudges my knee. We head for the outskirts of town, passing every restaurant, Movie Theater, and every other possible date idea I had come up with. What is he doing?

I am a bit shocked when he pulls up into the parking lot of the drive in Movie Theater, a theater that hasn’t been in business for as long as I can remember.

“What are we doing here?” I question as thoughts of him murdering me while no one’s around fill my head. He backs the van in, so the back is facing the screen.

“Relax,” He says as we get out of the van. He opens the back of the van and steps up to reach the roof. He fiddles with something on the roof before climbing down. He reaches into the van for a remote, then sits on the edge. I sit down next to him.

He presses some buttons on the remote, then Benny and Joon starts playing on the screen.

“How are you playing this?” I ask, looking around for the projector.

“It’s just a portable screen projector.” He says, tossing the remote back into the van. I guess that explains why the picture only filled a small portion of the large screen. “Are you hungry?” He asks, and I nod. I was expecting some sort of dinner date, but this was definitely a lot cooler.

Jude reaches towards the bench seat and picks up a brown paper bag and pulls it up front. “I brought sandwiches, crackers, fruit, water, and beer.” He says looking through the bag.

“I’d be very grateful for a sandwich.” I say and he hands one to me. They were premade from the town deli and he happened to grab my favorite: salami and Swiss. I gratefully scarf down the sandwich, finishing before he does.

“You must have been hungry.” He says and I giggle.

“How did you know Benny and Joon is my favorite movie?” I question him skeptically.

“I might have had some help…” He admits.

“You didn’t talk to my dad, did you?”

He chuckles, “No. I talked to Ellie.” Duh, I forget his grandma is like my best friend…

He finishes eating his sandwich and cracks one of the beers. I had only ever tried alcohol once at one of the Sinclair’s barbecues. I wasn’t a fan. He offers me a drink, but quickly revokes his offer when he notices my look of disgust.

“You know, this happens to be one of my favorite movies as well.” He says, nudging my arm.

“You’re just saying that because it’s mine.”

“What kind of a man do you take me for?” He teases. “No, I actually used to watch it every day after I got home from school when I was like ten.”

“I definitely understand why. It’s such a great movie, plus Johnny Depp is a dream.”

“That’s rude to say to the guy you’re on a date with!”

“Whatever, no one will ever compare to Depp.” I respond which earns me an eye roll. I can’t help but smile. Jude’s playfulness is a pleasant change to the guys I grew up with who all came from rich families with high expectations providing a lack of humor. But Jude is funny, and sweet. I find myself staring at him while he watches the movie. He eventually catches me and tackles me, causing us both to fall ungracefully to the ground.

I struggle underneath his weight, but he doesn’t budge, keeping me pinned to the ground. He finds this position amusing, and begins tickling me, only making me squeal and squirm more.

“Stop! It’s not funny!” I say through forced laughter.

“Then why are you laughing?” He teases, obviously not stopping.

“You’re going to make me pee myself!” I yell through laughter. My eyes fill with tears and my stomach begins to ache. He stops tickling me, instead he leans down to kiss me. I far prefer this over the torturous tickling.

We lie on the ground, him still on top of me. His hands moving from my cheek to my hip back to my check. My fingers intertwined in his long hair. It’s passionate, and lasts for what feels like forever. He only pulls away when the movie has ended and the screen has gone black. Jude rolls off of me, lying next to me on the cold grass. Together we stare up at the millions of stars in the sky above.

“I don’t think I could have asked for a better first date.” I say, turning to face him. He offers a warm smile, and kisses my forehead.

“I should get you home.” He says, standing up. Right, I have a curfew. He helps me to my feet. I get in the van while he gathers his projector and puts it into the back of the van before slamming the back doors shut. He gets into the front seat and starts the car, ready to make the drive back home.

The lights are off as we approach my house, and I assume my father has gone to sleep. An accurate assumption since he’s usually gone to bed after a couple beers and a filling dinner, never staying up later than ten.

Jude walks me to my front door, kissing me goodbye disappearing into the night.