lighting in the bottle

Doing something, we have all done hundreds of times, going to the movies with a friend. Well, during this particular social ritual, my friend hated how I reacted to his story which resulted in dueling silences.

I do not know why, the indoctrination of marlo thomas's recording "Free to be You and Me" or fearing a buttery chemical
explosion, I turned to him and said "I accept you". He responded
with a biting "lucky me". The shock of the response sprung tears from my eyes.

Surrounded by rows of cinema seats, words sprung from my mouth just as the tears sprung from my eyes. "True acceptance is like lightning in a bottle, it is not a casual thing". He patted my arm and said "I know, and I accept you too". The theater lights darkened and flick's title displayed on the screen. He whispered in my ear "how long does this acceptance thing last? because I have a
6am work-out".