Chapter 1

The gravel crunched beneath the tires of my silver sedan, a harsh, familiar sound that cut through the humid night air. I killed the engine, leaving the headlights to sweep across the asphalt, illuminating the peeling white lines of the parking spots. The sign above us buzzed with a dying electric hum, the red neon letters flickering erratically—*VINTAGE DRIVE-IN*—casting a bloody, pulsating glow over the rows of parked cars. It was a relic of the fifties, preserved like a museum piece, smelling faintly of old gasoline, cut grass, and the sweet, cloying scent of popcorn butter that seemed to hang permanently in the air. I stepped out, the heat of the evening wrapping around me like a heavy blanket. The air was thick with the smell of summer night—damp earth from the sprinklers that had just clicked off, mixed with the metallic tang of the giant speaker hanging from the taut wire above. I adjusted my silk blouse, feeling the cool breeze against my sweaty skin, and looked toward the center row. He was there. Papa. He was sitting in the back of a classic black Cadillac, the trunk popped open just enough to serve as a makeshift table. He