Chapter Four- A Little Food, A Little Chat
" Really? Was it hard to grow up like that?" Sara asked, dipping a french fry into her ketchup. Gil watched, intrigued, as she chomped down on a newly lathered fry. He quickly snapped out of it, to answer her question.
" No." He stated, to her surprise. She had thought he would answer differently. "Well," he added, to help with the confused look on her face. "At first it did, but then I went to special classes to learn about otosclerosis and sign language. I spent some of my time in the library studying them, but I had to be home to help her a lot." He stopped to take a bite of his burger. Sara chuckled in her head as she watched her "proper professor" childishly lick a dab of mayonnaise from the corner of his mouth. She waited patiently, noting that he wasn't finished. "My father was rarely home, and when he was, he got frustrated with her easily. Soon he gave up and left." Gil thought for a moment, as Sara stared empathetically.
"I'm sorry, Grissom, I didn't mean to bring up a bad subject." She frowned. Gil snapped out of it when she said that. Not because she apologized, but because she called him "Grissom". No "Professor Grissom", or "Dr. Grissom" as it used to be. Then it hit them that he hadn't called Sara "Ms. Sidle" since his dinner with Ecklie. Things had changed. He glanced at the object of his thoughts, to see her pushing around her ketchup with a fry. He realized he hadn't responded.
"Don't be…I'm…I mean it's not…" he stuttered, trying to remember what she said. She smiled. She ate the fry, then made a grossed- out face, realizing that it had been submerged in ketchup. "A little soggy?" he joked, glad they were having a good time again.
Gil placed a 20-dollar bill on the table, and slid out. "What are you doing?" Sara asked as she came back from the bathroom. He moved his glance to her, a puzzled look on his face.
"What do you mean?" He asked, honestly confused. She giggled as she realized how harsh she had been.
"Why are you paying?" She questioned, her hands moving to her hips.
"I'm paying, because I think it would be very rude to eat and run." He joked, still not realizing where she was going. She pulled out her wallet from her purse as she spoke.
"I pick the place," She paused as she exchanged his bill with hers. "And I pay." She smiled, extending her arm to his chest, forcing the bill upon him. He pursed his lips, not only because he wanted to treat her to dinner after today, but to keep a tiny laugh from escaping his lips.
"Fine," he said simply, surprising her once again. In all the time she knew Grissom, he had never given up so easily. 'Comes with the job' she figured. She heard a laugh and snapped out of it when she realized it was him.
"What's so funny?" she questioned, a smile playing across her lips.
"You had your head cocked to the side…kind of like a puppy." He smiled. She opened her mouth to laugh, revealing a gap in her teeth. He came close to her and grabbed her arm, swinging her out the door.
"What was that about?" She wondered out loud.
"We began to draw a crowd." He clarified. They stood there for a moment, in silence. Neither wanted to break it, for it wasn't an awkward one, but a comfortable one. "Come on." He said, grasping her arm again, as if she was going to run.
After a while Sara pulled free and stopped abruptly. "Where are we going?" Her voice happy and kind, like a child, anxious to see the big surprise.
"You like Hitchcock films?" She stared blankly at him, obviously confused.
"Yeah…." She was still staring.
"Ever see 'Strangers On a Train'?" He hoped she hadn't…or wanted to see it again.
"Maybe…"She racked her brain thinking. "If I did, I saw it ages ago. Why?" She smiled a little, not showing him her cards…the ones that showed how hopeful she was that they were going to see a movie together.
"You're a CSI in training…figure it out." He stated, pursing his lips again, then smiling and grabbing her arm.
"Ahh…the 'Wonderland Theater', my favorite place to relax. They play Hitchcock films often. You go get us good seats." He said, pointing the direction of the theater. He handed her a ticket and she smiled, and then turned to go find good seats, as he said.
Gil approached the counter, and waited for assistance. "How may I help you?" the man asked.
"I'll have a large popcorn, 2 cokes, and…" his eyes wandered around the candy selection. " a box of snow caps." He said, happily, which he had every reason to be. He got his order, and tried to maneuver the amount of snacks he bought. Finally, he got it right and walked into the familiar room.
It took a while for his eyes to adjust, but when they did he recognized every bit of the theater. From the metallic gold curtains by the screen, to the worn, red seats. He even knew which of them were broken! He scanned the room, and spotted Sara sitting in her seat, looking at the door she came in through. He smiled again, as he figured he should take this as an opportunity for payback. He walked over to her, very quietly, and set the tub of popcorn and the two glasses of pop on the seat behind her. It was his turn to extend his fingers. He unrolled his hand, revealing his stubby fingers. He crept behind her and poked her in the side. She gasped as she swung around, ready to punch. When she saw the culprit all she could do was laugh. He picked up the items one by one and passed them to her, then walked around the edge to sit down next to her.
The movie started, and soon they were both sucked into the tale of murder and betrayal. It didn't mean though, that they didn't steal side-glances when they thought the other wasn't looking.