Page 47 of Taming I Do
I popped the top off a lemonade and handed it to her as the opening credits to the movie started to play.
Two minutes in and the film shut down. The lights flipped on around the perimeter and Mr. Hampton called out from the small shed where they kept the projector. “Sorry, folks. There’s a problem with the film. Sit tight and we’ll see if we can fix it.”
“Does this happen often?” Delilah took a swig of lemonade.
“Not that I know of.” In all the years I’d been watching movies at the Hampton barn, I couldn’t remember a time when the film had been bad. They’d had to cancel for weather, but never for a mechanical failure. “I’ll go see what’s going on.”
I left Buster and Delilah on the blanket and made my way to the shed. Other folks had started packing up their things and heading toward their cars. Great. My first night to try to make a good impression on my own with Delilah and look what happened.
“Y’all need some help?” I leaned in through the open doorway of the shed.
Mr. Hampton turned, pieces of film in my hands. “Somebody cut the film.”
“You sure about that?” I eyed the pieces of filmstrip in the older man’s hands.
“I don’t know how else to explain it.”
I groaned. “I’ve got Miss Lovin’ Texas here tonight. I was trying to show her the romantic side of Ido.”
“I heard about that contest.” Mr. Hampton glanced toward the dispersing crowd. “Can you give me a few minutes? I’ll see if I have anything in the garage I can put on tonight. I’d hate for her to not get to experience a movie under the stars.”
“Absolutely.” I clasped a hand to the man’s shoulder. “Thanks.”
I made my way back to the blanket, searching for Adeline along the way. She must have gone. Bailing at the first sign of trouble had always been her style. At least half of the audience had left, making it feel a whole lot more intimate as a black-and-white film began to play.Casablanca. This one had to have come from the vault. I’d only seen it once, a long, long time ago when Aunt Suzy tricked me into watching it with her. I leaned back, ready to enjoy the show.
There was something about being outside, sitting on a blanket under the clear Texas sky, that made me consider what it would feel like to pull Delilah next to me and wrap myself around her. While the movie held her captive, I kept my gaze trained on her.
Too soon, it was over. The lights surrounding the seating area turned on as the final credits rolled. The remaining people stood and gathered their things before heading to their vehicles.
Delilah didn’t move right away. For a moment I wondered if she’d fallen asleep. I sat up, leaning toward her.
She angled her face away from me and ran her finger under her eye.
“Are you crying?” I put a hand on her arm—the first time I’d allowed myself to touch her since we sat down on the blanket together.
Smiling, she faced me. “It’s silly. I’ve seen this movie a half dozen times. But it always gets me.”
“Come here.” I put my arm over her shoulder and pulled her into my side.
“I understand why they can’t be together. But what if they could? What if Rick and Ilsa turned their back on convention and ran off together?”
“Then it wouldn’t beCasablanca.” I lifted my other shoulder in a half shrug. “The story resonates with so many people because of the sacrifice. If he threw her husband under the bus and ran off with her, it wouldn’t be a classic.”
“But do you think she’ll ever be happy without him?” Delilah turned her face toward me, and it took everything I had not to lift my finger to her cheek and wipe away the trace of her tears.
“I don’t know.”
“If I found a love like that, I wouldn’t be able to walk away.” The firmness of her voice surprised me.
“What if he lived on the other side of the world? Say an apartment in Paris. Would you give up everything you have here to follow him?”
“They have the internet in Paris. I could still run my business from there.”
“What if he lived on a remote island? Maybe he raises sheep in New Zealand or something? No internet, no cell phone service. Would you follow him there?”
Her forehead furrowed. “If I had a love as strong as Rick and Ilsa’s, I suppose I wouldn’t have a choice.”
“Hmmm.” I nodded.
