Page 37 of A Helpin g Hand for the Village Nurse

‘I can’t say I’m very keen on your pick this time,’ she told Geoff. ‘But I suppose it’s watch that or sit on my own in the house.’

‘Have you seen it before?’ Ottilie asked.

‘No.’

‘You might have a pleasant surprise if you give it a chance,’ Magnus said. ‘It’s a brilliant film.’

‘Lavender says it’s a bit racy.’

Geoff laughed. ‘Oh, there’s nothing that you wouldn’t mind the vicar seeing. Is Lavender coming?’

Florence shook her head.

‘Oh.’ Ottilie frowned. ‘She told me she was going to try to make it.’

‘Told me she’d seen it before,’ Florence insisted.

‘We’ve seen most of them before, but it’s never stopped us showing them again,’ Magnus said.

Ottilie put her glass down. ‘Shall I text her to see what she’s doing?’

‘If you don’t mind,’ Geoff said. He turned to Magnus. ‘Who else are we waiting for?’

‘Rani and Harji said they’d most likely come. Victor’s girls said they’d come too.’

Ottilie waited for him to give more names, but it seemed that was it. She’d been expecting more of a turnout but wasn’t sure if this was a good showing or not. Nobody seemed to think it wasn’t, so perhaps the numbers were always more or less what they were this evening. Either way, she was looking forward to seeing Geoff’s little cinema for herself, and it was a film she’d seen before and was happy to see again, and she liked who was here so far, so all in all, it promised to be a lovely event.

Ottilie tapped out a message to Lavender.

‘What time do you usually wind things up?’ she asked, looking up from her phone.

‘Why? Have you had enough already?’ Magnus asked.

Ottilie laughed ‘No. I just wondered if the proper party started after the film.’

‘I wish,’ Geoff said. ‘But at my age, after the film there’s more likely to be cocoa and then bed.’

‘You’re not that old.’

Geoff looked suitably flattered but shook his head. ‘Sixty this year – November actually.’

‘Oh, a big one? Doing anything nice?’

Geoff looked at Magnus. ‘Are we? I don’t think we’ve decided yet, have we?’

Magnus tapped the side of his nose. ‘Don’t worry, I have some ideas.’

Ottilie sipped at her sangria and was about to ask what those ideas might be when the sound of a text coming through on her phone stopped her.

‘Lavender says she’s coming,’ Ottilie said, reading the message. ‘Only she might be late. Can we leave the side gate open for her and not to bother waiting, just start the film.’

‘The gate’s always open – she knows that,’ Magnus said. He looked around the room. ‘We’ll give it five more minutes for everyone else and then we’ll start.’

Magnus was still humming ‘All That Jazz’ as he prised a cork out of yet another bottle of wine.

‘I’d forgotten how much I love Chicago,’ he said, and Geoff nodded agreement.

‘We ought to do a few more musicals.’

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