Story - 11/04/85

Theo had been to the Little Theatre a few times. Then it was to see plays, tonight he was going to usher. He felt more awkward than usual. And he usually felt awkward.

Hilary, his surrogate mother, introduced him to Susan Maxwell then left. He would be assisting her tonight. Susan was small, blonde and had wide cheek-bones. Theo wished he was somewhere else.

When Hilary had suggested he help out it had sounded like a good idea. A chance to get involved in something. And he could see the show for free. Theo spent most of his time on his own and often felt left out. But now he had to talk to this girl.

"How long have you been staying with the Lefftons?"

"Since last summer when my folks went back to the States. I was already enrolled at Wymondham, and I like it here anyway, so I stayed with Hilary and Tomas during the Holidays."

"Do you like it? A boarding school must be quite different from American schools."

"Well, it was ok, but I got kicked out last month."

"Oh, expelled, what happened?"

"They caught me smoking a couple of times and then, during a room search, they found some cigarettes and stuff. That was it."

This wasn't going well at all. Theo felt like a prime example of crass americanism. He asked Susan if she would show him what he was supposed to do. She explained how to seat people and showed him where the ice cream was kept in a back room. He learned the prices and how to set up the trays for intermission.

Then people started coming into the theatre and they were busy for the rest of the night. Theo ended up having a good time.

The next few weeks Theo kept busy, waiting at the Burlington Hotel restaurant during the day and ushering most nights. He worked with Susan several times and found out it wasn't too hard to talk with her.

One Saturday Susan wasn't ushering, but Thomas, Hilary and Susan's family had come to the theatre. After the show they all went over to the Leffton's house for coffee. They had all settled in the front parlor, with a nice fire going when Sarah, Susan's mother, suggested Theo go and get Susan.

It was a beautiful evening so he took his time as he walked the few blocks to the house. Susan let him in and introduced him to David.

"Hi, I'm Theo Alexander. Susan, your mother sent me over to see if you'd like to come join us. She and your brothers are at my house and we've been talking about the new play."

"That sounds like fun. David and I have to work out some details about the campaign, then we'll go over. Would you like some tea?"

"No thanks."

"Well sit down and we'll be through in just a minute."

Susan had told him something about the upcoming election. She was a Young Liberal and campaigning for the local Liberal candidate. Theo didn't care about that stuff, anyway. What was bothering Theo was this David person. And the way Susan was so involved in talking to him. Look at the two of them. Sitting on the couch waving their hands in the air. He didn't like David at all. He hoped Susan wasn't planning on bringing this guy over to the house too, that would ruin the whole evening.

Theo tried to interject a few intelligent sounding comments which really didn't come off. He didn't know anything about the local political situation. Slowly it dawned on him that he was jealous. He hadn't thought about it before, but he really liked Susan. And here she was talking to David. Theo hoped he didn't look like a fool.

It seemed like a long time with these thoughts running around his head, but in a few minutes David got up and left. Susan and Theo walked to the Leffton's house. When they got there Theo sat in the chair that was hard to get back out of, then Susan sat on the floor in front of him and leaned back against his leg.

He had thought he was confused before but now it felt as though his mind would explode. She liked him. She must, or she wouldn't have sat there. But he thought she liked this David. The way they had talked. But here she was, leaning against his leg. He could feel the warmth of her back. He wasn't quite comfortable yet he didn't dare move. Theo didn't join in the conversation very much that night. He didn't hear very much of it. He was happy. He went to bed Happy.

He woke up Happy. He went to the Burlington and served breakfast. Then he rushed over to Susan's house. She was alone. They made some tea and went out in the back yard. It was a wonderful day. The sky was solid blue, there was a quiet breeze blowing off the sea. They sat on the grass and talked. About everything. They kissed.