Ice Cream Man gets around. This isn’t to say he’s easy, like Sunday morning or some of my other friends. Rather, he has seen and done a lot in his short time here on earth. Last year, Sleepless had one summer request of Ice Cream Man: a night at the drive-in. One year later, Ice Cream Man agreed to make this request a reality – a very big step for him, especially considering that, as much as he gets around, he was a drive-in virgin.
I had to work, so we planned to meet at the drive-in. As twilight approached, I began to receive text messages from Sleepless, “We’re bringing the big bean bag for seating,” and “Operation get bean bag in car failed – but not for lack of trying.” My only hope at that point was that Ice Cream Man’s loft community had security cameras and their ‘operation’ was recorded.
I arrived a few minutes post twilight and found Ice Cream Man and Sleepless on the ground with blankets, pillows and adult beverages. Sleepless immediately advised me of Ice Cream Man’s drive-in concerns, “He is worried this isn’t safe.” “Could be the neighborhood,” I advised. “She didn’t know Grease had a scene at the drive-in,” Ice Cream Man interjected, wanting to share this important drive-in trivia while at the same time deflecting attention. “How could you not know that? That’s when the word gets out that Rizzo is pregnant,” I said in shock, completely falling for the deflection.
Drive-ins definitely have their benefits. They’re affordable (you can usually watch 2-3 movies for the price of one), you can bring in your own food and drinks, they’re outside (al fresco), snack bar (if you don’t bring your own food and are craving a pickle), the noise around you is generally acceptable, you can get a sneak peek at naked bodies on the nearby screens (as a child, this was a big deal) and, if you’ve got a truck, you can do whatever you want in the bed without anyone else knowing (hence the term ‘passion pits’).
We took advantage of all of the drive-in perks, passion pits excluded. We even tried to create a new perk, but Ice Cream Man wouldn’t take us up on our dare to streak down the rows of the drive-in. He was too concerned with other matters. Specifically, the other patrons/gangsters who were walking around and the cars driving through the rows disrespecting the ‘parking lights only’ rule. “Why does every car with a bad transmission have to drive down this row?” he asked Sleepless and I as another loud car passed closely by our feet. “He has made mechanical observations about several of the vehicles here tonight,” Sleepless informed me. “Easy to do here,” I replied, observing the surrounding vehicles and patrons. Between movies, Sleepless advised Ice Cream Man to turn on his engine so the battery wouldn’t die. “Gotta keep him informed of the drive-in ways,” Sleepless stated. “Good thinking. We definitely don’t want to be stranded at the drive-in,” I replied. “Branded a fool,” Ice Cream Man quipped.