Page 48 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
‘I suppose you see a lot of that, people embarking on massive projects together and what it does to their relationships.’ Patsy leant her elbow on the counter, resting her chin in her hand, while Matt stirred his coffee, in no rush to take a seat.
‘So how is your relationship?’ His eyes darted to look her in the eye very briefly as if he knew he might be on dangerous ground.
‘You mean after the cinema ditching?’
‘At least you were with me and Oliver. It could have been worse.’
‘It could. We’ve decided to be friends.’
‘I did wonder whether there was any coming back from that, frankly.’
‘It was a mutual decision but he seemed more worried about losing the projector makeover than me, so it’s probably for the best.’
Matt laughed. ‘As long as you’re alright, that’s the main thing.’
‘I am, thank you.’ She grinned and began to tidy the counter just as Oliver appeared.
‘Morning, Pats. Any chance of a coffee?’ he asked, before sitting at the table nearest the counter, where Matt joined him.
‘No problem. I’ll come and join you while it’s quiet because I’ve had a great idea.’
Patsy made a coffee for herself and Oliver, Matt declining the offer of a refill, then she sat down. All the excitement of the idea began to bubble inside her again as she began to explain her concept of a 1930s Hollywood theme for the backstage area.
‘Perhaps we can get away with that area being a bit more themed because it’s separate from the rest of the space,’ Oliver said.
‘Remember it needs to work when the doors are open too. You don’t want the transition from inside to outside to be too…’ Matt stopped, trying to think of the right word.
‘Abrupt,’ said Oliver.
‘Exactly. Thanks. Anyway, that’s something to bear in mind. That reminds me.’ He rifled through his case and pulled out a sheaf of paper. ‘I’ve been meaning to drop this off with you but it slipped my mind. It’s a list of everything we need to decide on for the interior. I’ve made a start on the decisions I know about but I think it’s probably time for you to take it on.’ He handed Patsy a document which was a long list of every element that needed consideration from the colour of the walls to the taps in the toilets.
Patsy took it from him trying not to feel overwhelmed. This felt like a lot more responsibility than she thought she’d agreed to. ‘Yes, that’s fine. We’ll get it as far as we can and then perhaps we can go through it?’
‘Don’t worry, Pats.’ Oliver could read her like a book. ‘It’s listed in order of priority so we’ll start at the beginning and work through. As long as the first few things are sorted out, they can get on.’
She looked at Matt, widening her eyes to convey her fear but he just gave her a reassuring smile. She exhaled loudly. ‘Okay. One thing at a time. We can do that.’
‘Of course we can.’ Oliver squeezed her hand.
‘I need to get off,’ said Matt, looking at his watch and then downing the last of his coffee. ‘Look, if you have any questions, give me a call, or we can meet at the cinema to go over anything you’re not sure about.’
‘I hope it goes well,’ Patsy said.
‘Thank you.’ He seemed to look at her for a long time, then turned and left.
‘He’s got a court thing, to do with the kids,’ she said to Oliver.
‘Ah, I’d forgotten that was coming up.’
‘Have you ever met his wife?’
‘Yes, when we were doing this place, he invited me and Amy round for dinner. The twins were only little so I suppose Nicole had a lot on her plate but she was so uptight, making nasty digs at Matt the whole time, saying things like they were a joke but none of it was funny. The whole thing was a bit awkward, to be honest, so we obviously said they must come round to ours sometime but it never happened. I wasn’t that surprised when he said they were getting divorced, and aside from the impact on the children, I didn’t think he’d be that gutted about it and to be fair, I don’t think he has been but being apart from the kids has been hard for him.’
‘I can imagine. It’s not the same having them a couple of nights a week, it’s probably unsettling for all of them. Maybe you should give him a call later, make sure it went okay.’
Oliver raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you worried about him, Pats?’
‘Well, yes. He’s a colleague at the moment.’ She batted away Oliver’s comment but wondered why she was so concerned about someone she could barely be civil to a few weeks before. In fact, she struggled to remember exactly what it was about him that she hadn’t liked.
