Page 3 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
‘Morning, guys.’ Jess was the owner of the fabric and yarn shop a little further down the high street, The Croftwood Haberdashery. It was one of the more modern fabric shops which was busily inspiring a new generation of seamstresses to make clothes that people actually wanted to wear, and where there were sewers, there tended to be knitters so Jess stocked a range of yarn too.
‘Morning Jess, what can I get you?’ Patsy asked.
‘A latte, please, and a pain au chocolat as I’m by myself this morning.’ Jess was wearing the kind of dress Patsy always wished she’d be lucky enough to find in a charity shop. It was dark grey with huge dusky pink blooms over it and the style was pure 1950s with a skirt that probably had a stiff net petticoat underneath.
‘No workshops today?’
‘No, but that reminds me. We’ve got six in tomorrow. Can I order coffee and pastries?’
‘Yes, sure.’ Whenever the shop was running a class, they placed their order and Patsy or Oliver would drop it to them. It was a bit of a pain having to make sure that two of them were in on those mornings and although it didn’t seem worth it for six coffees and pastries, it always resulted in the participants coming into them for lunch. ‘Tenish like usual?’
‘That’d be perfect, thanks. I love your cardigan by the way.’
‘Thanks, I only finished it last week. Just in time for the last of the cold weather hopefully.’
Jess hosted the fortnightly Knit and Natter club at the shop, so she’d seen the cardigan throughout its progress.
‘Can you wear it to Knit and Natter on Wednesday so I can take a photo of you in front of the wool wall?’
‘Um, okay,’ Patsy said hesitantly, knowing that the picture would be headed for Instagram.
‘I can chop your head off if you want?’ Jess was used to camera shy customers and was willing to compromise for content.
‘You’re on. See you Wednesday. Or tomorrow if I do the delivery.’
‘Thanks!’ Jess turned to leave, her skirt twirling spectacularly around her, making Patsy resolve, as she did almost every time she saw Jess, to learn how to sew as soon as possible.
The following morning, Patsy headed straight to the park to meet Oliver. There was a wide path that ran through the park and the cinema was just to the right of the park entrance, at the end of a narrower path. The side of the building closest to the park boundary was gradually being devoured by rhododendrons, although Patsy could imagine that it would be a beautiful riot of colour in the summer. As it was, there were already carpets of crocuses celebrating the arrival of spring and the trees were beginning to come into bud.
The old cinema was a fairly nondescript brick building with heavy wooden double doors which had been painted red once upon a time. There was a circular window above the door, in the gable of the roof which unfortunately, despite being at least ten metres off the ground, had been the target of some stone-throwing and was smashed. Being the only window that she could see at least meant that hopefully, as the doors were intact and sturdy, the building was as good as impenetrable and wouldn’t have been vandalised inside.
‘Morning Pats,’ Oliver said as he pulled a bunch of keys out of his pocket. ‘Might as well get inside while we wait for Matt. I can’t wait to see it.’
‘Haven’t you been inside before?’ Patsy asked, not that keen to be the first to enter an abandoned building after so many years.
‘No, I saw photos of the inside in the agent’s details,’ said Oliver, seeming unconcerned about flouting the golden rule of Homes Under The Hammer.
‘Hold your horses!’ Someone bellowed from across the park. It was a blonde-haired man in jeans and a sports jacket, carrying an armful of hardhats and a portfolio case. ‘Christ, Oliver, don’t go in there without one of these.’
‘Alright mate, thanks.’ Oliver took a hard hat and handed it to Patsy. ‘This is Matthew Garvey, our architect. Matt, this is Patsy Clements, my business partner.’
‘Nice to meet you.’ He handed Oliver a hard hat and took one for himself which had MATT written across the front.
‘In case we forget your name,’ said Patsy, pointing at it.
‘What? Oh right,’ he said dismissively, without even pretending to think it was funny.
Patsy waited until Matt’s back was turned and rolled her eyes at Oliver as they giggled and then followed Matt into the building.
There were a couple of high-beam torches inside the door which Matt and Oliver took charge of. The building smelt old and musty and dust motes danced around in the beams of torchlight but already, Patsy could see the charm of the place. In the foyer was a small ticket kiosk decorated with intricate wood mouldings and next to it a counter with a few empty jars on shelves behind it, presumably where drinks and snacks had been sold and a flight of stairs were opposite that. It was spacious, taking up the whole width of the building with doors at either side which led into the main part of the building.
‘Watch your step,’ Matt warned as he pulled the doors closed behind them, losing the daylight.
Oliver headed straight through the door to the left, into the cinema. Patsy went in between him and Matt, benefiting from the light that each of their torches provided. Once they were through the door, Oliver shone his torch to the far wall. Even in the dim light, it was clear that the place was completely untouched.
They walked down to the front, the floor gently sloping away from them towards the screen, passing the rows of burgundy velvet seats. Oliver turned around and shone the torch up to the ceiling, illuminating the whole space.
‘Wow, it’s bigger than I thought it would be,’ he said.
