The Bookish Life of Nina Hill - Abbi Waxman Page 0,61
I’ll return the transfer if and when it arrives.”
Liz looked apologetic. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m all out of checks. I’ve ordered more, but they haven’t arrived yet.” She paused. “I requested the Hello Kitty ones; maybe they take longer.”
Mr. Meffo was still smiling, though it was clearly taking an effort. “We could walk to the bank and get a cashier’s check.”
“It’s our policy not to use cashier’s checks. Haven’t you read about all the scams?”
He looked puzzled. “That applies to sending money to people you don’t know, or have only met online. Not to paying your rent to the landlord you’ve had for over a decade.”
“Really?” Liz looked worried. “Better safe than sorry, don’t you think?” She turned to Polly, who nodded enthusiastically and leaned closer to Mr. Meffo.
“My aunt lost a fortune sending a cashier’s check to cover the bail for an Ethiopian prince who said he’d known her father at college,” she said, with an impressive level of commitment. “You can never be too careful these days. If you can’t trust an Ethiopian prince, who can you trust?” She smiled at the landlord. “Mr. Meffo, have you read any good books lately?”
Mr. Meffo had a bit of a soft spot for Polly, who he had once seen on a Tide commercial where she went—fully clothed—through a car wash. It had left a favorable impression.
“No, Polly, I haven’t.” He turned to Liz again, but she had disappeared.
He sighed and looked back at Polly. “Tell your boss she has one week to pay the rent or I’m looking for a new tenant. I’m getting tired of chasing her every month.”
Polly smiled at him sweetly, Nina made sympathetic noises, and Liz, who had dropped to the ground behind the counter, made a mental note to install a bell on the front door.
That evening Nina went to see Aliens with Leah, Lauren, and Carter. Occasionally, the trivia team went on field trips like this, and did their best not to talk trivia. They usually failed.
“You know, Ripley was nearly played by Meryl Streep,” Lauren said, as the lights went down.
“And the alien’s saliva is actually K-Y Jelly,” replied Carter.
“And the shots where the aliens are scrambling through the air ducts were actually filmed with the actors lowered on cables down a vertical shaft and the camera was at the bottom,” added Leah.
“Stop!” said Nina. “I want to actually enjoy the movie.” Then, a minute later, “Look, you can see the spear gun Ripley used in the first movie inside the escape pod door, there, on the floor,” to which the other three responded with thrown popcorn.
The thing about watching a classic like Aliens at the ArcLight in Hollywood is that every single movie fanatic there has seen the movie many, many times already. When Hicks said, “Game over, man!” so did everyone else, and when Newt said, “They come at night . . .” eight hundred people added, “mostly.” It was so much fun, and when the four friends came out of the theater after the movie, they were all giddy and giggling.
Despite that, when Nina saw Tom standing there, chatting with his friend Lisa, her first impulse was to panic and consider various avenues of escape. Then her frontal cortex resumed control and she smiled and went over to speak to him. Not a Xenomorph with acid for blood, just an attractive guy she’d already kissed and texted with. You can do this Nina, she told herself.
For his part, Tom had spotted her as soon as she came through the theater doors and couldn’t take his eyes off her now as she approached. He spoke first. “Hi there. You mentioned this was playing, and it’s one of my favorites, so, you know.”
“It’s one of my favorites, too,” she replied, and grinned at Lisa. “Hi there.”
“Hi, Nina,” the other woman replied. “Does your trivia team often socialize together?” The rest of Book ’Em had arrived, and Leah answered for them.
“Whenever none of us can find someone better to hang out with,” she said, not realizing this might be a sore spot for Nina and Tom. “We’re one another’s last resort.”
“Yeah, if we’re all still single at forty, we’re going to set up a commune,” Lauren said. “And draw straws to see who has to sleep with Carter.”
“Wow, that’s flattering,” said Carter, raising his eyebrows.
“Yeah, short straw takes the honors,” added Leah.
Nina smiled but excused herself to run to the bathroom, and when she returned, Tom was standing there on his own.