Far Beyond Repai - A.K.Evans Page 0,2

why don’t you go ahead with the kids?” the father suggested. “I’ll help clean this up.”

That’s when I stepped in. “It’s okay, sir,” I interrupted. I was standing there with the broom and dustpan. It wasn’t uncommon to have a popcorn spill; though, I always found it rather annoying. For the first time, I didn’t mind that the buttered snack was strewn about the floor. “You should go ahead with your family. I’ll get it taken care of.”

“Can we at least pay for a new popcorn?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’ll get her a new one.”

At that, the father strode off to wrangle his children, and my eyes went to the girl. Her face was bright red, and I knew she was feeling embarrassed.

“It wasn’t your fault,” I assured her as I started sweeping the popcorn into a pile.

“That kid came out of nowhere,” she replied.

“Are you okay? You weren’t hurt, were you?” I questioned her.

She shook her head. “No.”

I worked quickly to get the popcorn all cleaned up. Then I offered, “If you want to go into the theater to grab a seat, I can bring the popcorn to you. Or you can follow me back to the concession stand.”

There was a bit of a nervous edge to her voice when she replied, “I’ll follow you.”

I gave her a nod, and the two of us started walking back down the hall.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

She hesitated briefly before she answered, “Scarlet. Scarlet Morgan.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Scarlet. I’m Ryker Holt,” I returned as I glanced over at her again.

Scarlet smiled at me again before looking away.

There was no mistaking just how shy she was in the few minutes of interaction I had with her. I found it to be an endearing quality.

We came to a stop at the side of the concession stand. I ended up going behind the counter to wash my hands. Then I confirmed, “Just a small buttered popcorn?”

Scarlet nodded. “Yes, please.”

After I got the popcorn for her, I asked, “Are your friends already in the theater?”

Shaking her head, she answered, “No.”

“Are they meeting you here?”

“No. I’m here alone,” she shared.

It was a Friday night. Even though our encounter was brief, all of my initial thoughts about the kind of girl Scarlet would be were being blasted to smithereens. I had expected someone uptight with a boatload of friends.

“Right,” I returned. Holding the popcorn out to her, I said, “Enjoy the movie.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Scarlet took off toward the theater where the movie she was seeing was playing. And roughly an hour and forty-five minutes later, I saw her as she walked back down the hall toward the main entrance. She didn’t see me watching, but I was. The look on her face told me she had her head in the clouds. This was clearly the effect of the romantic comedy she’d just watched.

As she walked away and out the front door, I found I couldn’t wait until next week. I was hoping I’d see her again when we were back at her house cleaning the pool and mowing the lawn.

“Thanks, Dad,” I said as I got out of the car.

It was a week after I’d first seen and met Scarlet, and my dad had just pulled up outside work. His first job wasn’t for another half hour, so he had time to get me to work this morning.

“No problem, kid. Have a good day, Ryker,” he urged.

“Thanks. You too.”

While I never really looked at work as a means to an end, I found myself feeling particularly excited about today. Matt and I were going to be heading back to the Morgan residence again.

And because I was looking forward to the possibility of seeing Scarlet again, I ended up being extra productive at our first two homes that morning. Just like we’d done the prior week, Matt and I got to Scarlet’s house and took care of the pool. And much like had happened the first time we were there, Matt got on the phone with his girlfriend during our break.

Given where Matt had parked the work truck, I had a pretty clear line of vision to the pool. Almost like clockwork, I saw Scarlet walk out to the pool deck with a book in her hand. She had been wearing a sundress when she first walked out but quickly pulled it over her head. Then she sat down in one of the lounge chairs in her bikini.

I didn’t even try to keep my