Flaherty's Run by Henry Hoffman

Author:Henry Hoffman [Hoffman, Henry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lachesis Publishing

“Have you been to a drive-in, Will?”

In the background, his sister called him to attention.

“Will, are you listening?”

“No, never been to one,” he answered.

“We had trucks that would come out to the small cities with motion picture screens mounted on their backs.” Max said. “They would show films to the kids.”

“Well, that’s not all that different from this,” Carol said.

“But, here people watch the movie from inside their cars, right?” Max asked.

“Yes. They pull up to a post which has a detachable speaker mounted on it. They take the speaker and attach it to their car window,” Carol explained. “However, there are families who will bring along their own snacks, blankets, and lawn chairs and sit outside the car like they were at a picnic.”

“I knew a guy who lived in an apartment complex behind one of those things,” Will chimed in. “In return for the residents not bellyaching about all the noise and traffic it might bring in, the theater owners agreed to run the wires directly to their units so the residents could listen in. It was like having a movie theater in your own backyard.”

“Why would people want to watch a movie from their cars?” Max asked.

“It’s affordable entertainment for families and it beats spending the evening in a muggy house or on a porch swing,” Carol said. “Plus, the teenagers like them.”

“Why the teenagers?” Max asked.

“Yes, why the teenagers?” Will asked his sister, unable to stifle a smile.

They awaited Carol’s answer, unaware of the highway patrol car crawling into the lot from the opposite direction.

First it was the headlight beams arcing across the length of the lot that caught their attention, followed by the headlights themselves and the black and white lettering on the car’s side inching into view.

The two troopers manning the vehicle were too busy jabbering with each other to pay them heed, pulling the patrol car to a stop next to the office entrance. A moment later both nonchalantly exited the car and stepped inside the office.

“What do you suppose that’s all about?” Carol asked.

“I have no idea,” Will replied, crunching on a carrot.

“I suggest we go inside,” Max said.

“No, we continue as is,” Will said. “This is no time to be altering course. They could be in there on routine business, having nothing to do with us. Besides, they could be leaving at any moment.”

Which to everyone’s relief, they did.

“Here’s the key to your room, Carol,” he said, tossing it to her. “I’ve stayed in these places before. Don’t expect much more than a bed, table, chair and a place to hang your clothes. Right now, I’m off to bed.”

“Max and I would like to stay and talk a while, if that’s okay with you,” she said.

“Okay with me,” Will said, once again feeling like the odd man out, or more accurately, the self-appointed chaperon whose presence was temporarily out of favor.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.