Page 58 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
Rosemary pursed her lips. ‘I am simply telling you what it was like.’
‘Of course, sorry Rosemary.’ Patsy knew it was all too easy to get on the wrong side of Rosemary and that she should just accept all the information and then do with it what she could rather than cheese Rosemary off by telling her that her ideas were too old-fashioned.
‘There used to be beautiful balustrades up the stairs. I don’t know whether they were removed or covered up but they were painted gold and black and were very ornate.’
Well, that was exciting. Patsy was fairly sure they’d not thought to tear down the boxed wooden balustrade which ran up the stairs. Maybe the original was still underneath?
‘And there were, I suppose they must have been plaster mouldings, around the chandeliers and around the top and sides of the screen, and heavy red velvet curtains, like in the theatre.’
‘I don’t think there were any curtains when we took over but that might be a good idea to keep dust off the screen and it would be quite theatrical for the curtains to open when the film starts. And you don’t perhaps want the screen out when it’s being a function space. Sorry, I’m rambling.’ Patsy said as she saw Rosemary’s face pinch again.
‘In the foyer, next to the dear little ticket booth which you’re reinstating,’ Rosemary paused with an eyebrow raised and Patsy nodded. As if she would dare not. ‘There was a confectionary booth. None of the tack they sell in cinemas these days. This was like a miniature sweet shop where you could buy a quarter of sherbet lemons or toffee bonbons. Not an expansive choice but most people are happy with sweets or a box of Maltesers.’
‘Now, I do love that idea. We are planning to have a bar in the foyer but we could definitely incorporate the sweet booth idea.’ Patsy jotted that down on her notepad.
Rosemary reminisced a little more and Patsy’s imagination whirred with the possibilities. Some of her memories had sparked ideas which would enhance the decor but some of them were best left in the past in Patsy’s opinion.
‘I don’t know if I will be lucky enough to be invited to the launch party but I would very much like to see how the cinema looks when it’s finished.’
‘Consider yourself invited, Rosemary. Thank you so much for sparing the time to talk to me today, I really appreciate it. There are some things you’ve told me that we’ll definitely try to incorporate.’
‘Well, Oliver is very dear to me,’ she said. ‘It’s important that it’s successful for him.’
‘I couldn’t agree with you more.’
That evening, Oliver met Patsy at the cinema as soon as he’d closed up. He’d asked Matt as well and Ed was due any minute. Oliver produced a bottle of champagne and some plastic glasses.
‘I can’t believe we’re going to see the cinema in action,’ he said. ‘It’s all coming together.’
‘The floor looks great,’ said Matt, running his hand across it as he sat on the floor with his arms resting on his bent knees, looking fairly uncomfortable in the middle of the stalls area.
‘Thanks, it’s turned out better than I’d hoped,’ said Patsy proudly.
‘Sorry I’m late!’ called Ed from the door to the foyer. ‘I’ll head straight up, give me five minutes. I’ll flash the working lights on and off so you know when it’s going to start.’ He came back a moment later. ‘Don’t forget there won’t be any sound. It’s not set up properly yet.’
‘What are we watching anyway?’ Oliver asked, as Ed disappeared upstairs.
‘Star Wars trailer.’
‘Cool. Do you know what? I’m going up there to see the action.’ Oliver leapt up and ran to the door, leaving Matt and Patsy alone in the stalls.
‘So how’s things?’ Matt asked. ‘Any more trouble with the ex?’
‘No, thank god. It’s a huge relief but at the same time I still think he’ll surface sometime.’ Patsy remembered Toby’s advice. ‘Toby said I ought to speak to the probation service and see what the situation is but I haven’t tried to find anything out yet.’
‘You don’t think it’d give you peace of mind to know what he’s up to?’
Patsy shrugged. ‘It might do but it wouldn’t stop me looking over my shoulder all the time. Although, I don’t feel like that at the moment. I wonder whether it’s because I’m so busy with this, it’s full on and so different to my normal life, it’s made me feel a little bit invincible.’
‘That’s good. You’re making a great job of it.’ He looked at her in a way she hadn’t seen before. There was respect but something else too that she wasn’t sure of.
‘Thanks. I meant to ask how the court thing went?’
‘We’ve got joint custody of the twins but I can only have them one night a week and every other weekend. I’m hoping it’ll be more in the school holidays but I think it’s the best outcome I could have got, according to my lawyer.’
’That’s less than you have them now, though.’
‘Yes, I mean, I usually have them a couple of nights in the week and then I let their mum decide on the weekend arrangements because they have so much going on. You know, parties and things like that.’ Basically his ex-wife arranged their visits to him based on what suited her but it was nice that he didn’t speak badly of her. ‘Anyway, it’s better for all of us to have a firm arrangement from week to week.’ He rubbed a hand over his face and shifted position slightly.
