Buff


She sat in the chilly darkness, the strange twinges of disappointment ruffling in her stomach. The film had ended and the credits were rolling, scrolling up and off the screen. Soon it would be completely gone and she would have to go. For a moment, a split second of indecision, she thought about the forbidden. Of staying and watching it again.

The tugging yearn for the days of cinema gone by replaced the impulse. Double features, nickelodeons and silent films. She longed to be the damsel, rescued by Scott or Valentino.
Ilsa, she thought, you shouldn’t have let Rick go.
She wondered as a shiver raced down her arm what awaited her beyond the marquees, lights, and the ornate golden doors of the Brunson Cinema.
Would the hero wait there or would it be the villain?
Fantasy, reality, here in the cool shadows of the theater, it all blended.
She picked her way to the aisle. Littered with stale popcorn, it led her from the rows of stadium seats to the garish hallway.  Tiny children careened off the walls with superhuman agility. Their clatter melded with that of laughing teens and wailing babies. In the air wafted the smell of hot popcorn and spilt coke.
She longed to run into the nearest theater and fall into a love affair.
Fred and Ginger, Ralph and Alice, John T and Feathers, Romeo and Juliet… anyone at all would do. Just to be in love... to not be alone.
She slipped past the smiling face of Lana Turner and slid past the smirking images of Bogey and the Duke. Tucking her chin and with sly jealous looks she sidestepped the people going in and continued.
As she came face to face with the glowing ruby exit sign, she stopped. The sign dared her to pass through the doors, taunting her with the hot wind beyond. She yearned a moment for warmth of the breeze on her skin.
She turned.
Looking into the oncoming crowd, she saw the strange looks of people passing by. She heard their snickers as they brushed her shoulders.
She knew what she had to do. It was unfortunate, but it had to be. She pivoted to face the door, like a gunslinger facing down a rival.
She squinted against the harsh brightness. Then with a sigh, she wandered through the door and into hard reality.

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