asked himself for at least the tenth time in an hour. Why had he agreed to meet Kyra and take strange teenagers to the mall? He didn’t know the first thing about teens, and especially not girls. The three in his backseat were giggling and making strange noises and speaking some language beyond his understanding, full of phrases like “and then he went yeah and I went no way” while he tried to keep concentrating on Kyra, navigating in the front seat to guide him to a mall he’d never been to.
He’d found the parking lot of Kyra’s church, where they’d agreed to meet, with no trouble. He wished that Kyra had let him pick her up at home, but she had argued that this was a more central location and closer to where they needed to get the girls. So he’d agreed and shown up on time, hoping that his weekend casual khakis were all right for the afternoon.
Probably to put the girls at ease, Kyra wore jeans and a soft sweater the color of honey, picking up golden notes in her glossy auburn hair. The uniform of the day in the backseat was jeans with baggy sweatshirt jackets that Kyra called hoodies.
Only when they were all getting out of the car in the mall’s parking garage did Josh notice that one of his passengers was pregnant. The realization hit him hard; none of these girls looked to be more than fifteen. Kyra chatted with them as if they were old friends, while all three eyed him warily.
“Now, understand that I chose the movie today,” Kyra said to him as they walked to the theater. She talked loudly enough so that the whole group could hear her, even though she was speaking to Josh. “Marta, Ashley and Jasmine are all far too mature to want to see an animated movie, but it was my turn to pick, so they’re humoring me.” The girls nodded vigorously and Josh fought hard to hide any hint of a smile.
He could still remember being thirteen and trying to act tough all the time. If he went to the movies back then, it was always with his sister. At that age it was nice to have Chrissie to blame for them going to watch kid movies. That way he had an excuse in case he saw any of his friends at the movie theater. It had been years later before Josh realized that any friends he met were trying just as hard as he was to maintain a “cool” image. In those days before twelve-screen theaters everybody was there to see one of two or three shows. And back then the ticket sellers were stringent about keeping kids out of R-rated films. Not that Josh would have tried to sneak into one, especially not with Chrissie in tow.
So here he was, surrounded with a gaggle of giggling females who were trying their hardest to act as cool as he had more than over twenty years ago. He suspected they were all secretly glad that Kyra had picked a kids’ movie. That way they could see it without any of their friends thinking that they had chosen to go there. Josh figured it made them happy to have a friend like Kyra who took them to the movies, too. From what Kyra had told him of the kids’ backgrounds, everybody was in foster care or the juvenile-justice system; some of them both.
Today, though, they were just teens going to the mall, and Josh could feel their excitement and high spirits even when they weren’t talking. He looked at one of the family groups passing by them and wondered what those people saw. More than likely they wondered why a middle-aged man was shepherding a bunch of teenage girls at the mall, because Kyra didn’t look much older than the kids in some ways. She had the same lighthearted expression, smiling as she pointed something out in a window to Jasmine that made all the girls comment.
“Hey, Josh. I mean, Mr. Richards,” one of the girls said to him, pulling him out of his fog. “Are you going to spring for popcorn for all of us, or just Kyra? Lunch at the house was pretty bad and I can already taste that buttered popcorn. But if you’re just going to treat your date…”
“Ashley, what makes you think this is a date? We’re just doing a Sunday movie, same as usual. And don’t go trying to talk my friend into buying you popcorn.” Kyra still used a light tone so the girl didn’t feel like she was in trouble.
Marta leaned in close next to Ashley. “Not a date, huh? It’s the only time you’ve ever brought anybody along for a movie that wasn’t a church lady. He’s definitely no church lady.” Marta had an impish grin that made the other girls laugh and Kyra turn a little pink.
“C’mon you two. I want to see a movie and have popcorn. If you keep hassling Kyra she’ll take us back and we won’t get anything. I don’t feel like going back, I feel like having a good time. And maybe even ice cream after the movie.” Jasmine put a hand on her stomach. “We never get ice cream.”
“That’s because you should be concentrating on fruit and veggies, not popcorn and ice cream,” Kyra said breezily. “But you’re right, if you keep speculating on my personal life, you’re more likely to leave without enjoying your afternoon.”
Jasmine put a hand on her hip and glared at her friends. “See? I told you. Now, be good so we can see the movie.” The other two girls grimaced, but they stopped teasing Kyra. Josh marveled at how fast the situation was defused.
In the lobby of the theater Josh turned to Kyra and spoke softly. “Can they still have popcorn? I like popcorn with my movie, too, and I’m not about to eat in front of those kids unless I’m feeding them.”
Kyra smiled. “Just don’t make it super-large size, light on the butter, no candy and water instead of soda, got it?”
“Got it.” Josh didn’t know when the thought of spending thirty dollars on somebody else’s snacks made him feel this good. He was beginning to see why Kyra did things like take these kids to a show. It didn’t take all that much to make them happy, and watching them smile lifted his spirits as well.
Once they had their snacks, Kyra ushered everybody into the theater, putting the girls in a short row on the left side of the theater, sitting next to them herself and leaving Josh the end seat. “Tricky,” he murmured as they settled in. “This way nobody gets out without you knowing about it.”
“That’s the idea. We can all have a good time without me having to ride herd on the girls all afternoon. They’re pretty good kids for the most part, and I want to give them as many chances to succeed as I can.”
“I like your attitude,” Josh told her. “I wish…more people I know felt that way.” He hoped Kyra didn’t catch his hesitation; he had almost said he wished that his own mother had felt that way. That was water under the bridge, though. No sense having Kyra feel sorry for him.
After several previews the movie finally started, and Josh found himself actually enjoying it. Animation had improved a great deal since he’d seen a movie like this. A few minutes into the movie he was surprised to feel Kyra’s head resting on his shoulder. At first he didn’t look over toward her, wondering what she was doing. This was his boss; it was hard to think that she was relaxing by leaning on his shoulder. He had to admit that it felt good, though.
Kyra still leaned against him and there was a weight to her as if she was very relaxed. The scent of her shampoo drifted over him, herbal and warm. When he turned his head a little, Joshua’s bubble was burst. Kyra’s eyes were closed and she was breathing softly, clearly having dozed off. Jasmine, sitting next to her, looked over at Kyra and smiled briefly at Josh, mouthing “Don’t wake her up” to him.
It wasn’t often that he took advice from a fifteen-year-old, but this time Josh decided she was right. Kyra had been pushing herself incredibly hard in her quest to identify the skeletons in the lab. With her dozing on his shoulder, Josh felt a strong desire to protect her, take care of her and let her sleep. He slowly eased himself back in the seat to put her in the best position possible, settling in to watch the movie and listen to her soft, regular breathing.
“I can’t believe you
