Page 69 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
‘Hi Jess, shall I pop the sandwiches in the kitchen?’
‘Please!’ she called from the counter where she was ringing up a sale for someone.
Patsy waited until she was free, accidentally becoming engrossed in looking at yarn until Jess came up behind her.
‘Thanks for the sandwiches. How’s it going, are you ready for tonight?’
‘It seems a bit rash to say yes, but yes. I think we are. You are coming, right?’
‘Definitely. I meant to ask, the launch party next week, is it okay if I bring a friend?’
‘Is it a boy?’ Patsy teased.
‘It is. The guy I told you about from Tinder. We’ve seen each other a few times.’
‘Of course, it’s fine. I’m looking forward to meeting him. I’d better get back. See you later.’
Once the lunch rush was over she headed to the cinema to make sure everything was ready. Thankfully, the unpredictable English weather was on their side and had provided a perfect July day with the hint of a breeze to take the worst of the heat out of the air. When Patsy arrived, the caterers were already in the kitchen and the builders that Oliver had asked to help out with some of the last minute things were stringing the fairy lights in the trees outside and fitting the fire exit signs.
Patsy headed upstairs to the circle which wasn’t quite finished yet as they hadn’t installed the chairs. She lay down on the floor and inhaled the smell of the new carpet, one of her favourite smells in the world and one you didn’t come across that often unless you frequented carpet shops. With her eyes closed, she took some deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. The anxiety had been building all morning but after a few more minutes of inhaling the beautiful fragrance of the carpet, she felt a renewed energy and a smidgeon of excitement for the evening.
After hauling herself up from the floor and brushing the bits of new carpet from her clothes, she leant her hands on the balcony and surveyed the space. It looked amazing. It felt odd to be so proud of something she’d achieved; it had happened so rarely in her life that she couldn’t remember ever feeling like this before. Tears sprang to her eyes as she looked at the chandeliers which were perfectly understated, the flooring which set the beautiful colour of the walls off so sublimely, and the wonderful jewel coloured velvet chairs which would always remind her of the night at Oliver’s flat when the whole thing had come together. She just had to hope that it all continued to come together tonight because that’s what mattered.
Patsy and Oliver stood alone in the foyer, staring at each other. Patsy was wearing her second favourite frock — she was saving her absolute favourite for the launch next week, and Oliver looked smart and handsome in a suit with a floral shirt, open at the neck.
‘We brush up well,’ he said. Patsy could hear the nerves in his voice.
‘You look very handsome.’ She reached up to tuck a rogue lock of hair into his trademark quiff.
It was time to open the doors. They were deliberately not making a big deal of it because it wasn’t really the opening night but as seven o’clock approached, the two of them were feeling like it was the start of everything.
‘I might sit in the ticket booth and welcome everyone,’ Patsy said, shaking her hands in front of her to try and dissipate the nerves.
‘You bloody won’t. We’re both standing on the doorstep to welcome people and I told Jack not to open the back door until seven-thirty so we can make sure most people come in the front door.’
‘Oh, god, I haven’t checked that the fairy lights are on out the back.’
‘They are. I saw Ed checking out there earlier on.’ He smiled at her and took her hands in his. ‘This is it, Pats. Are you ready to open the door?’
‘No, the bloody bar person isn’t here yet.’ She took a step towards the kitchen just as a young girl emerged and took her place behind the bar, giving Patsy a wide smile as she did so. ‘Okay. Ready now.’
Oliver opened the doors to find a couple of small groups of students, Ed’s invitees no doubt, loitering a few metres away.
‘We’re open guys!’ he called to them. They half-heartedly began to make their way towards the door. Oliver had a look of panic on his face.
‘It’ll be fine when they’re mixed in with everyone else,’ Patsy said reassuringly. ‘They probably feel a bit out of their comfort zone.’
Oliver nodded and began greeting them enthusiastically. ‘Thanks for coming. Please help yourself to a drink from the bar.’
That perked them up. Students love a free drink and Oliver was offering beer and wine on the house for the evening. They hadn’t quite got the bar staff trained up for the cocktails yet but they would have to make sure they were ready before they opened properly.
‘Can I have a drink from the bar?’ Patsy asked once the first flurry of people had gone in.
‘Go on. Get me a glass of red while you’re there, please. Probably could do with taking the edge off.’
Patsy laughed because it wasn’t often she saw Oliver nervous and if she stopped to look at him, it made her feel better straight away. She helped herself to two glasses of red and went back to stand on the step with him.
‘I can’t wait to go in and see the backstage with everyone in there,’ she said.
