The little gasp from the audience when the curtains opened.
He had not thought about those afternoons in years.
“Maggie.”
She turned.
“Yes?”
“I think my mother brought me here once.”
Her eyes widened.
“Really?”
“I remember that ceiling.”
“The stars?”
“Yes.”
He looked up.
“She told me they were painted so people could look at something beautiful even before the picture began.”
Maggie smiled softly.
“That's exactly the sort of thing my father would say.”
Nicholas looked at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Rose's voice echoed from the corridor.
“If you two are finished being sentimental, the roof still leaks!”
Maggie laughed.
Nicholas shook his head.
“I believe I've met my match.”
“You have no idea.”
They finished the tour shortly after noon.
Nicholas insisted upon taking Maggie to lunch.
She initially refused.
He informed her that after spending three hours examining plumbing diagrams, he required a substantial meal.
She told him that she was not responsible for his dietary requirements.
He replied that she had brought him there.
She pointed out that he had invited himself.
They were still arguing when they reached the corner diner.
Rose watched them leave through the lobby windows.
Then turned toward the empty theater.
“Well,” she murmured, “would you look at that.”
The diner was narrow and noisy, with red vinyl booths, chrome-edged tables, and a jukebox near the restrooms.
A waitress named Donna greeted Maggie by name.
“Hey, sweetheart. The usual?”
Maggie nodded.
“And coffee.”
Donna looked toward Nicholas.
“And who's your friend?”
“Nick.”
Donna examined him.
Then grinned.
“Nice suit, Nick.”
He glanced down.
“Thank you.”
“You work around here?”
“Something like that.”
Maggie hid a smile.
Donna nodded knowingly.
“Well, Maggie, he's a step up from that architect you brought in last month.”
“Donna!”
“What? I'm just saying.”
Nicholas looked delighted.
“Architect?”
“A business acquaintance,” Maggie said firmly.
Donna winked.
“Of course.”
She disappeared toward the kitchen.
Maggie leaned across the table.
“Don't say a word.”
Nicholas smiled.
“I wouldn't dream of it.”
“She's always like that.”
“I like her.”
“Everyone likes Donna. It's extremely inconvenient.”
They ordered sandwiches and coffee.
For the first few minutes, they discussed the theater.
Then Nicholas asked about her family.
Maggie told him about her father in Queens, her late mother, her years at Pratt, and the disastrous first apartment she had rented with Tessa.
“It had a bathtub in the kitchen,” she said.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow.