For the Harper’s subscribers
Marc Trujillo’s 4504 Van Nuys Boulevard appeared in the November issue of Harper’s Magazine. This short piece is based on that reproduction. (Anyone may see the thumbnail but only Harper’s subscribers can see the larger page.)
“I’ll be glad when this shift is over,” Matt grumbled in his mind as he blip-blipped the ticket machine. Two tickets came gliding out of the counter like postage stamps out of the machine on the corner. The couple through the glass was, no doubt, on their war from an early-evening dinner. He wore shorts and sandals; she wore jeans and carried a cardigan. The theatre was alway cold. Anna always complained about that when she came. Would the woman on the other side of the glass? Matt felt a short sense of camaraderie with the man in sandals.
Matt was used to the cold on his arms. The standard-issue shortsleeve dress shirt gave them no protection. No matter, though – Anna never came that much anyway. It was difficult for him to enjoy date there. Why would he watch a movie for pleasure when he could only think of how filthy the floor underneath their feet really was?
Save their car, the couple were the only occupants of the space outside the theatre. Rows of small downlights under the marquee dimly lit the crowns of their heads and cast a glow across the sidewalk out onto the black asphalt of the parking lot. It was just past dusk. Normally busy, but their business had slowed over the past few months–the product of online rentals and video-on-demand, Matt knew. He found the task of coming to work only slightly more interesting than sitting at home with his roommate. Even at that, it was more about the idea of the theatre–the lights, carpet, mosaics, the smell of popcorn and whoosh of fountain drinks–than actually working there. He wanted better things, better means to entertain Anna, but he couldn’t overcome a sense of complacency for his routine.
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