Red Operation

XII: ...Has A Solution

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Twelve: ...Has A Solution

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After leaving the bank, Stephen walked around the city in search of a way to pass the time. He did not have much money, so he avoided shopping, even though he passed in front of quite a few stores with attractive showcases. He also passed in front of a restaurant or two, which only made his stomach rumble. He was not sure whether he could afford them, so he tried to pay as little attention to them as he could.

He wondered about the time and went after a clock somewhere. He found one two buildings ahead of the one he was in front of. It read 2 PM.

Montgomery was working until 5, but should only be home by 6, which left Stephen with an awful lot of time left and nothing to do. He walked a few more blocks and stopped in front of a movie theater, which caught his attention for one thing: a sign.

It read: "Thursday combo: movie ticket + popcorn + soda = $1.89. ONLY on Thursdays". Now that's something he could afford.

Lucky for him, it was Thursday. It was too late for a matiné and too early for the night sessions, but they must have been screening midtime. He walked to the ticket seller. A young woman with a very bright smile.

"Hello, sir, what can I get you?"

"Hi. Are there any sessions in the afternoon?"

"Yes. In fact, there's one starting in ten minutes, sir. The Lion in Winter."

"Is it good?"

She seemed to have been caught off guard by that surprise, either because people never asked her that or because she had simply not watched the movie yet. Stephen thought it was the former, but it was actually both.

"Well... It's with Katharine Hepburn."

"Say no more, I'll take one ticket."

Luckily for her, it did not take much to convince Stephen to watch a film. Just the mention of a famous actor or actress was enough, especially one like Katharine Hepburn.

"Would you like the Thursday combo, sir?"

"Yes, please."

It was all the lunch he would have on that day.

"It's 1.89, sir."

"There you go."

She saved the money in the register and gave him two tickets. "This one you present before you enter the room. There's going to be a man in front of it to collect and this other one you present to the snacks store inside."

"Thank you, miss."

"You're welcome, sir."

When he walked inside the theater to go to the snacks store, he noticed it was very empty. He was about to conclude that he would have the theater all for himself until he spotted a man that was probably waiting for his Thursday combo, as well. He had just shown the ticket to the guy, who started preparing it.

Stephen stood behind the blonde man, close enough to not cede his position in the line for anyone else who might come, but far enough to not cause any accidents. Stephen got distracted for a minute, seeing the poster of the film on a small sign in front of the door and, when he turned, it was already too late. The man had walked toward Stephen looking down and had not seen him. Stephen tried to move out of the man's way, but they bumped into each other regardless.

No soda was spilled, thankfully, but a handful of popcorn was lost. The man grieved over them.

"Oh, gosh... I'm so sorry," Stephen said. "I got distracted for a minute."