In Times of War

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

“Mia, your boyfriend’s here!” Alice shouts.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I shout, blushing like a tomato.

   I run the comb through my hair one last time and run downstairs. Alice is at my house solely because she wanted to yell that when Tony got here. He’s dropping me off at a concert in Savannah and then picking me up afterwards. Mama had to work and so did Aunt Tess, and neither Alice nor I knew how to drive so Tony volunteered to drive me. I’m wearing my best dress because this is a very big deal that I get to go to this concert. I won a raffle at the diner that would let me go to this concert for free.

   “Firecracker, if we’re gonna make it on time we need to leave now.” Tony calls from downstairs. Tony’s started calling me ‘Firecracker’ since I kind of blew up in a guy’s face when he touched me on one of my bad days. Tony also thinks my hair looks like a firecracker blowing up.

“Thank you, again, Tony, for drivin’ me.” I say as I walk down the stairs to see him standing in the entryway. He lets out a low whistle, and Alice sticks her head out of the parlor.

“I might just have to stay with you to make sure that no one gets any bright ideas.” He says. The way he says it makes it sound like a compliment, so I blush.

   “You better not get any wise ideas, either, buddy.” Alice warns, slapping him playfully on the arm. Tony and I both blush. Alice has this theory that even though Tony and I have only known each other for about five and a half months, that we both have feelings for the other. She also believes that we will get married one day and have lots of babies. Her words, not mine. She makes it a point to bring it up as often as she can.

“Allicccccccce.” Tony and I whine together. I walk the rest of the way down the stairs and glare Tony and I glare at Alice as she laughs.

   Tony offers me his arm and we step out into the warm, early May air. Alice shouts something about curfew after us and then shuts the door. He opens the passenger side door of his truck and helps me in. After he shuts the door he goes over to his side of the truck. He starts the truck and we roll down the streets. The ride is very quiet and we get to the concert hall about twenty minutes later. He comes around and opens my door for me and helps me out. I take his outstretched hand and hop down.

“Why do you have a sweater if it’s warm out tonight?”He asks as we walk a few blocks to the hall.

“Because these old buildings tend to get drafty, so I came prepared.” I explain.

   “Ah, if I’d known that I would’ve dressed a little warmer.” I send him a puzzled look and he pulls out a ticket. “Someone’s got to make sure you stay safe. I hear it gets a little crazy at the orchestra.” I hug his neck because he knew how nervous I was about coming alone. I’d been into Savannah tons of times, but I’ve never been alone.

“Thank you.” I whisper in his ear. I can practically see Alice smirking so I reluctantly release him.

   We show the old man at the ticket booth our tickets and find our seats. We talk until the lights start to dim down a little and focus on the stage. The orchestra strikes up a melancholy piece called ‘Beyond the Abyss’. It is definitely not what I would’ve started out a concert with. Then they gradually move on to happier and more cheerful pieces as the performance wears on.

   About halfway through the concert my hands get so cold that my hands begin to shake a little bit. Tony takes my cold hands and holds them in between his warm ones. He rubs our hands together to make my hands warmer, and it works, but my hands aren’t the only thing to get warm. I feel my face heat up to a bright red color. He releases one of my hands, which I lay in my lap, but he keeps holding my other one. We sit like that the rest of the performance, and I begin to wonder if he even remembered that he hadn’t let go of my hand yet. They end the concert by playing the Star Spangled Banner.