Page 24 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
Pete asked Patsy to sit in the front row where there were a couple of rows of chairs still standing. He wanted her to perch on the back of the chair with her feet on the seat, which felt a bit wrong, her elbows on her knees and her chin leaning on her fists. Then he asked her to smile the biggest grin she could manage. It felt cheesy but when he showed her the image on the screen of his digital camera, Patsy was pleased with how it looked. You couldn’t tell that most of the chairs had been dismantled and she looked pretty cool with a big smile, her hardhat on and her hair around her shoulders.
Happy to go with that?’ asked Pete.
‘Actually, I am. It’s not a bad photo of me.’
‘That’s my job,’ he said with a shy smile.
‘We’ll run it in this Friday’s issue,’ Gareth said.
‘Great, thanks. I appreciate it.’
‘No problem. Stories like this are our bread and butter.’
Patsy showed them to the door and then went in search of Oliver.
‘We’re talking about the layout up here,’ Oliver said as she walked onto the balcony. ‘I was thinking that we probably want to stick to serving food downstairs. It’ll be a nightmare running up and down the stairs and it makes this a bit quieter for people who don’t want to eat.’
‘That sounds good,’ said Patsy.
‘Right, I’ll get the lads to get rid of these chairs as well then,’ said Matt.
‘If you could have them taken down to the stalls that would be perfect. We’re selling them all,’ she said by way of explanation when Matt looked confused.
‘Is there much of a market for threadbare, manky old seats like these?’
Patsy felt affronted on behalf of each and every chair and she could see Oliver suppressing a smile as he noticed her indignation. ‘They go for a small fortune, actually. They’re vintage and full of nostalgia.’
Matt turned to Oliver with an impatient look on his face. ‘If these aren’t gone in the next couple of weeks we’re going to run into delays. We need the auditorium clear.’
‘I’ve already listed them and we have plenty of enquiries so it won’t take long,’ said Patsy, wishing that Matt wasn’t such a dick.
‘If they’re not out of here in two weeks, we’ll chuck them out. You have my word,’ said Oliver, nodding at Matt.
‘Okay, no problem,’ he said, flashing a smile in Oliver’s direction and completely ignoring Patsy.
‘Right, are you ready to go or shall I wait for you?’ Patsy asked.
‘I think we’re done here, right?’
Matt nodded and Patsy narrowed her eyes at the back of his head as he turned and led the way back downstairs.
‘I don’t know what it is about that man but he’s so irritating sometimes,’ she said to Oliver when they were on their way back to the coffee house.
‘Hmm. I think he’d say the same about you, Pats,’ Oliver said, looking highly amused.
‘I am very easy to get along with. Most people love me. The problem is with him.’
‘Well, he’s doing a good job so let’s try and keep him on side. How about I make it up to you and do the training session with Jack this afternoon?’
Patsy gave him a grateful look. ‘Thanks, that’s very lovely of you but I don’t mind showing him the ropes. We don’t want to scare him off, do we?’
Oliver gave her a gentle shove towards a nearby rhododendron bush. ‘I think you forget who taught you everything a good barista should know.’
‘That’s true, you did and I’ll be forever grateful but I think I’ve honed my skills to be a bit better than that. Still, as long as he’s as good as you, that’ll do for now.’ She grinned and ran away from Oliver who pretended to chase her. ‘Why can’t it be like this with other blokes?’ she said, stopping in front of him.
‘I’m not sure I follow.’
‘Like with us. We have such a good time together, have loads of fun but throw a tiny bit of attraction into the mix and all of this stuff is gone and it’s all hard and game-playing and second-guessing. The minute anything looks like a relationship it’s all weird.’
