The Watch

          “Nine fifteen.” He said to himself as he glanced down at the gold pocket watch. The embossed letter G was still visible after fifty years of use but the rest of the decorative etching was gone. The gold still glittered with aged luminance, the way chrome shines on a ‘57 ford. The photograph on the inside of the watch was faded; or perhaps his eyesight wasn’t quite what it used to be. He still smiled every time he saw it. The four of them together - it was their first family portrait. There were many after but this one was very special.

          He glanced around the theater as he slipped the watch back into his pocket. He breathed in the over whelming aroma of popcorn and stagnant soda. To him it was as sweet as a freshly mowed lawn just after a spring rain. The lobby was almost empty, but it was always that way here especially on a Monday night. It was a small cinema in a small town but it some how managed to stay afloat. He had been coming here since it opened. He brought his little girls here to watch Jungle Book 2 but they were a bit old now for animated movies. That’s what they tell him, but he knows better. He wanted to see cartoons as badly as they did when they were babies. Even though they wouldn’t admit it, they were the same way with their kids now. Tracy was with them of course. She was there before the Roxy opened. She loved to spend time with the girls too. Maybe that’s why that faded picture in the faintly shimmering watch meant so much. It showed them as a family before they were a family.

          He pulled the watch out again and pressed the button. The small door opened slowly, by a spring that was quite happily coiled up in darkness. He glanced at the watch, paying no heed to the time. It was habit more than anything. He used to swing it around by the huge gold chain that had came with the time piece. He was forced to curb that habit when that chain broke in the frozen food section while they were grocery shopping.

         “Psst. Psst.”

          He heard behind him.

          “Psst.” Again.

          He closed the watch and put it gently into his pocket.

          “Are you ready to go, hun?” He said as he turned around.

          She took his arm and they walked out to the car. They talked about the movie as they went and what they would watch next time. He opened the door for her. She unlocked his as he walked around and got in.

          The car had been around as long as the watch and was reluctant to start. After a slight groan the engine revved and they left the theater behind for yet another day.