Page 21 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
As irritating as it was that Oliver was absolutely right, Patsy couldn’t help but grin and tell him everything. Not that there was much to tell but it felt like her world had shifted and she knew Oliver would understand that.
‘At least he didn’t push it on the first date,’ Oliver said, with a protective tone to his voice.
‘It wasn’t meant to be a date, he was showing me how to run a film. It’s just a coincidence.’
‘It isn’t. No-one, not even a nerd, asks a woman to something like that without an ulterior motive.’
‘His motives were very pure.’
‘I know, and that’s good. He’s a good bloke. And I’m really pleased for you. Only joking about the nerd stuff.’
He pulled her into a quick hug.
‘No you’re not, but it’s okay because the nerd stuff is fine by me.’ She made an espresso for Oliver while he was putting his apron on. ‘How was the meeting?’
‘Yeah, great. They’re going to start taking down the brickwork on the back wall today to open up the door and it sounds like we’re on schedule at the moment which is good.’
‘That is good. I can’t wait to see what the place looks like when the back door’s open. I hope it’s how I’m imagining it.’
‘They’ve started taking the old chairs out. I thought we ought to try selling them. I mean some of them are a bit of a mess but if we can make a bit of money on them, that would help. Would you have time to look into it?’
The first thing that crossed her mind was how disappointed Matt’s children would be that their chairs had gone. She’d have to come up with something else for them to do if they came with him again.
‘Yes, definitely. It’s a great idea. I wonder if it’s worth getting the Gazette involved? See if they’ll do an article about the project and then we can say where we’re selling the chairs. I bet there are local people who would love to own a bit of Croftwood Cinema nostalgia.’
‘That’s a great idea. I’ll leave that with you then?’ He was looking at Patsy as if she might turn him down.
‘Oliver, don’t sound like you’re scared to ask me. I want to help, I told you that.’
‘I only worry because I’m not paying you properly.’ He sighed. ‘I feel like I’m taking advantage of your good nature.’
‘Shut up. I’m happy to do it for barista wages. We made a deal, right? I’m happy to do whatever needs doing. Okay?’
‘Okay. Thanks. And you have got a boyfriend because of me, so I suppose that’s something.’ He was grinning, knowing he’d get a rise out of her.
‘As if that was anything to do with you. Now bugger off and clear those tables.’ She flicked him with a tea towel for good measure.
She grinned as she watched Oliver clearing the tables. It felt great to have found Ed. It was a long time since she’d been in the first flush of a relationship and it made her feel like a teenager again. She hoped he’d text her to say he was coming over to work in the cinema so that she could meet him there. He’d warned her that he was busy with marking assignments so maybe he wouldn’t have time this week but the anticipation of the next time she’d see him was keeping her going.
That evening, Patsy pulled out the old laptop that had come with her to Croftwood but never been touched. Unsurprisingly, the battery was dead so she had to wait for it to charge up before she could power it up and start looking for an outlet for selling their chairs. It had felt like a necessary break from her old life, when she’d worked on computers all the time, to not do that in her new life. That wasn’t her job anymore and she hadn’t missed it. Until now. It was odd having a keyboard at her fingertips again. Feeling the programming power she used to crave back in her hands. But she was going to continue, as she had for the past three years, to resist the urge to do anything other than browse the internet. Tonight, she wanted to make sure that there was somewhere they could sell the chairs before she got the local paper involved, so they were ready to catch the momentum if there was any.
Eventually she settled on eBay because although it wasn’t the cheapest option, it was the best way to sell to non-locals and easy to sell multiples if people wanted more than one chair. She was shocked to find that even the ropiest of similar looking seats sold for over a hundred pounds. And to think they’d almost gone into a skip. How many chairs did they have? They could be sitting on a nice boost to their funds.
Glancing out of the window to see how close to dark it was, Patsy decided to nip over to the cinema and count the chairs and maybe take a few photos so she could get started on the listing. Going while it was still daylight felt okay but she really didn’t want to be in there alone in the dark, it was too creepy.
It was less than a five-minute walk to the park. Patsy unlocked the door of the cinema, grabbed a hardhat and turned on the working lights in the auditorium. Most of the seats were still in their rows but some were laid flat having been unbolted from the floor. Patsy counted the seats in one row and then began to count the rows when she heard a noise coming from inside the foyer. She froze for a second, then backed herself towards the wall into the shadows. She could hear someone coming. Why hadn’t she locked the door behind her? Someone could have followed her in.
She heard the auditorium door open but not close, as if the person was stood in the doorway. From the position she was in she couldn’t see who it was without revealing herself.
‘Hello?’ they called.
‘Ed,’ she called back with relief, emerging from her hiding place. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Christ, Patsy! You scared me to death.’
‘You’re supposed to tell me when you’re coming,’ she said, making her way over to him.
‘Sorry, I forgot about texting to let you know.’ He put his hands into his pockets as she reached him. ‘I had an inkling that if I texted you, you’d probably come as well and I wouldn’t get anything done,’ he said with a smile.
