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.“She’s fine,” Alex replied.Normally she’d berate him for calling Ashley a name, but she was just pleased to see some of his old cheekiness return, so she let it slide.“She works in politics now.”“So the country really is doomed?” Oscar smiled wryly.“She’s smarter than you think,” Alex said defensively.“You’d hope so, considering she went to Princeton.”“So, movie choice, come on, hit me.” Alex leant forward expectantly, still determined to make his trip fun, to not let him dwell on thoughts of his deceased sister or the fact that everyone was moving on with their lives except him.“There’s so many art house cinemas here,” Oscar said approvingly.“It’s a very diverse city.”“I hope you’re taking full advantage of it!”“Actually, I’m not,” Alex said guiltily.“All I do is work.I need you to help me start making the most of living here.”“Okay, well, that starts tonight!” Oscar announced dramatically, a flash of his old flair returning.“There’s a revival house nearby,” he continued excitedly, handing the iPad across to Alex so she could see the details for herself.“They are showing the original Wicker Man for one week only.I’ve always dreamt of seeing it on the big screen.We’ve got to go.” He looked at Alex, and his eyes sparkled with joy.He was finally looking more like the boy she’d met at college, back when his enthusiasm and lust for life was utterly contagious.She wanted to recapture that magic, to bring him back to life.Alex looked at the iPad and smiled, not wanting to admit that she’d never before heard of the movie.“That sounds great.”“You’ve never heard of it, have you?” Oscar smiled, recognizing the vague look in her eyes that she got whenever he mentioned one of his favorite films or bands.“Nope, never,” Alex admitted, smiling shyly.“Well, Alexandra Heron, prepared to be educated!”****“So this is Broadway?” Oscar mused as they walked along the sidewalk to the theater.“Yep, this is it.” Alex nodded, shrinking further into her coat against the sharpening cold.“I always imagined it to be… grander,” Oscar admitted, glancing round at the aged buildings and the small theaters dotted around the area.In his mind he had imagined opulence and grandeur.Theater but on an excessively large scale, but Broadway appeared demure and reserved.He’d expected the spectacle of a Las Vegas show and so was pleasantly surprised to find it all to be quite the opposite.“I like it,” he confirmed, turning to smile at Alex, who was walking beside him, rubbing her gloved hands together.“It’s understated,” he added approvingly.“How about we reserve judgement until we’ve actually seen the show?” Alex suggested as they arrived at the theater and gratefully hustled out of the cold into the small foyer area.As Alex glanced around at her fellow theater-goers, she had to admit that she agreed with Oscar.She had expected something much larger in scale.The foyer area was surprisingly small, with worn carpets and faded walls.It seemed surreal to think that beyond the doors, there was a theater where one of the most famous shows in the world was being staged.“I can’t believe you talked me into seeing a musical.” Oscar shook his head in disapproval as he scanned through the programme he’d just bought from a vendor by the doorway.“You’ll like it, trust me.”“But there’s music.” Oscar moaned.“And a strong story,” Alex countered.“You need to have faith in this one, Deloitte.I predict that you are going to love Chicago.”Oscar wasn’t so certain, but he smiled nonetheless.He was enjoying Alex’s company.He had feared that it would feel strange and awkward to spend time with an ex-girlfriend, but they had easily fallen into the friendly rhythm quite naturally.The previous night he had declined the bed Alex had kindly offered him, instead sleeping on the hard wooden floor in a sleeping bag he’d had the foresight to bring with him.Though his back still ached in protest at the decision, he knew it was the right thing to do to respect the boundaries that now existed between them.Bed sharing was for couples, not friends.Oscar thought too much of Alex to risk blurring those lines when they were finally starting to warm to one another again
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