Page 11 of Christmas at the Movies

Sarah and her sister exchanged worried looks.

‘Mum, please try to be happy for me,’ said Sarah nervously. She knew today was going to be hard for her mother.

‘I am happy for you, darling,’ said Geraldine. ‘Here – open your present.’ She handed Sarah the gift that she’d come in with.

Sarah opened it up and took out a shimmering white scarf, made of the finest silk. It slipped through her fingers like liquid.

‘Oooh!’ exclaimed Pari and Meg.

‘It’s a khata, from Tibet,’ explained Geraldine. ‘Couples receive them on their wedding day because it symbolises how they will be wrapped in love and affection.’

Sarah draped the scarf around her shoulders and gave her mother a hug. ‘Thanks, Mum. It’s gorgeous.’

‘I hope you and James will be very happy together,’ said Geraldine.

Sarah stroked the soft fabric. James did make her feel wrapped in love.

Sarah was confident that they would never end up like her parents.

They barely ever argued, and, when they did, they never went to bed angry.

James was the love of her life; whatever married life held for them, they would face it together.

‘Right!’ said Pari, draining her glass of champagne. ‘Let’s get this wedding on the road!’

The ceremony was held in Plumdale Catholic church. Every pew in St Mark’s was filled with family and friends from work and university. On James’s side, aunts, uncles and cousins from Ireland had travelled over for the wedding.

Sarah’s dad was waiting for her on the church porch. His girlfriend, Tiffany, was seated well away from Geraldine. Sarah hadn’t wanted to invite her, but her dad had insisted. ‘We’re a package deal,’ he’d announced.

‘Ready?’ he asked her now.

Sarah nodded. Then she shook her head, suddenly overcome with nerves. ‘I’m scared, Dad.’

‘Marriage is scary,’ he said. ‘Even though it didn’t work out between your mum and me, I’ll never regret the years we spent together because we had you and Meg. I’m so proud of you, Pumpkin. I love you very much.’

Sarah looked down at her bouquet and took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry. ‘I love you too, Dad.’

‘Now, come on – let’s go and give the people what they’re waiting for.’

Sarah’s dad took her arm and walked her down the aisle.

Sarah’s heart skipped a beat as she saw James, waiting for her at the altar. He looked so handsome in his morning suit, his unruly hair gelled back for the occasion.

‘Hello, beautiful,’ he whispered when she reached his side.

Instantly, Sarah’s wedding-day jitters dissipated. Being around James, even in front of a whole church of people, felt like being home.

The wedding service flew by in a blur of readings, hymns, incense and confetti. Afterwards, they returned to Merricourt Manor, for a photo shoot among the rhododendrons.

‘I’m actually tying the knot myself soon,’ Charles said, as she and James posed for a photo flanked by both of her parents. ‘I’ve asked Tiffany to marry me.’

Really, Dad? thought Sarah. This couldn’t have waited?

She could feel her mother’s body stiffen next to her and sensed storm signals, despite the clear blue skies.

‘Is that legal? Are you sure she’s old enough?’ said Geraldine caustically.

Sarah kept a grin plastered on her face for the photographer as James squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Photos over, they went inside the manor’s restaurant for the wedding breakfast.

Once the plates had been cleared away, it was time for the speeches. Sarah’s dad reminisced about how Sarah used to re-enact the wedding scene from The Sound of Music, using a white bed sheet as her veil. ‘Marriage is a beautiful, sacred bond.’

‘Not to you, it wasn’t!’ shouted Geraldine. She had been drinking steadily all day and looked worse for wear, her fascinator listing precariously.

‘I know James will be a wonderful husband and cherish my darling daughter,’ said Charles.

‘It won’t be hard to be a better husband than you were,’ heckled Geraldine.

‘Mum!’ hissed Sarah, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment.

‘I wish Sarah and James a lifetime of wedded bliss,’ continued Charles, glaring at his ex-wife.

‘Ha!’ snorted Geraldine, standing up and swaying towards the toilets.

Meg got up and waddled after her. Sarah watched them go anxiously.

James’s best man, his best friend from uni, gave a speech that compared Sarah and James’s relationship to an ionic bond.

‘Um, is that supposed to be a compliment?’ whispered Sarah.

‘Very much so,’ answered James, stroking her arm reassuringly. ‘He’s calling us a pair of electrons who have a strong bond.’

Pari delivered her maid-of-honour speech as if it were the voiceover for a romcom trailer.

‘From a chance first meeting at a cinema to a wedding in the Cotswolds, this is the romance of the year, sure to win every award going. When an engineer meets a writer, sparks fly in …’ Pari paused for dramatic effect, ‘Sarah and James – A Love Story.’

Finally, it was time for the groom’s speech. Sarah knew James had been nervous about it, as public speaking wasn’t his forte. To Sarah’s surprise, a screen was wheeled out.

‘Before I met Sarah, I didn’t believe in love at first sight,’ began James.

‘I thought that was something that only happened in the movies. But my wife’ – he paused as the guests whooped and cheered – ‘taught me that it can happen in real life.’ He turned to Sarah and smiled, his eyes full of love.

‘Sarah is the wordsmith, not me. So I thought I would show everyone how she makes me feel.’

James gestured to someone to dim the lights and a video began to play on the screen.

It was a montage of famous kisses from some of their favourite movies, from Gone with the Wind to Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Tears rolled down Sarah’s cheeks, smudging her wedding make-up, as it ended with Lady and Tramp’s iconic smooch over a plate of spaghetti.

James raised a glass to his new wife. ‘Sarah, we met at the movies and I will love you until the final credits roll.’

Everyone applauded and clinked their forks against their glasses. ‘Kiss, Kiss!’

Sarah was happy to oblige.

‘How was that?’ James whispered nervously as they took to the dance floor for their first dance. They had chosen the theme song from the classic French musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

‘It’s my new favourite movie,’ said Sarah.

James waltzed Sarah around the dance floor, cheek to cheek. Soon, everyone else was dancing, to a mix of songs they’d chosen from movie soundtracks.

‘May I have this dance?’ asked James’s dad, who looked very smart in his suit.

‘Of course.’ Sarah took his hand and her newly minted father-in-law twirled her around the dance floor.

‘I had no idea you could dance like this, Sean.’

‘Mary loved to dance. Back in Dublin when we were courting, we’d often go out dancing,’ he reminisced nostalgically.

‘I wish I’d got to meet her,’ said Sarah. From what James had told her, his mother had been kind, generous and cheerful – all qualities she had passed to her son.

‘She would have loved you,’ said Sean. ‘Because you make James so happy.’

‘He makes me happy too.’

When the song finished, Sean took a small box out of the breast pocket of his suit. ‘I have a wedding gift for you.’

‘Oh, but you already gave us a gift,’ said Sarah. He’d given them a framed poster of Diamonds are Forever, signed by Sean Connery.

‘This one is just for you.’

Sarah opened the box. It was a gold necklace with an emerald pendant.

‘It’s beautiful,’ said Sarah, allowing her father-in-law to fasten it around her neck.

‘It was my Mary’s – the green of the stone matched her eyes.’

After thanking Sean and giving him a kiss on the cheek, Sarah joined Pari and a group of her girlfriends, who were dancing to ‘Night Fever’ with exaggerated disco moves. Then Chuck Berry’s ‘You Never Can Tell’ began to play.

Laughing, Pari and Sarah recreated the dance contest between Uma Thurman and John Travolta from Pulp Fiction – or at least tried to. Sarah slipped off her flats and did the twist, as Pari held her nose and pretended to swim. Everyone gathered around them in a circle and clapped when they finished.

Sometime during the course of the evening, Meg and her mum had reappeared.

Geraldine had thrown herself into the dancing, and was pogoing so energetically to ‘I’ve Had the Time of My Life’ that her fascinator had flown off her head.

Her mascara was smudged from crying, giving her panda circles under her eyes.

‘How are you doing, Mum?’ asked Sarah.

‘This is a traditional Masai dance,’ shouted Geraldine over the music as she bounced up and down. ‘Warriors do it at weddings.’

‘Maybe you should take a break—’

‘Nonsense!’ said Geraldine, hopping off. ‘I’m having the TIME OF MY LIFE.’ She laughed hysterically.

Sarah watched in horror as her mother leapt around the dance floor and crashed into her ex-husband, who was slow-dancing with his fiancée.

‘Geraldine, you are embarrassing yourself,’ hissed Charles. ‘You’ve had too much to drink.’

‘I’M EMBARRASSING MYSELF?’ screamed Geraldine. ‘YOU’RE THE ONE CARRYING ON WITH SOMEONE YOUNGER THAN YOUR DAUGHTERS!’

‘I realise that you’re jealous of my happiness,’ said Charles. ‘But please don’t ruin Sarah’s special day. Let’s try to be civil.’

‘Jealous?’ Geraldine laughed bitterly. ‘What do I have to be jealous about? While you’ve been babysitting your little girlfriend, I’ve been seeing the world on my Carmichael Fellowship. THE ONE YOU DIDN’T GET – HA!’

Charles’s face turned red with anger. ‘YOU CAN TAKE YOUR CARMICHAEL FELLOWSHIP AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR—’

‘Mum! Dad!’ pleaded Sarah.

‘Please, Geraldine,’ said Tiffany, placing her hand on Geraldine’s arm. ‘I’d like us to be friends again.’

‘Friends?’ Geraldine scoffed. ‘Oh really? You’d like us to be friends …’

Uh-oh, thought Sarah as her mother lunged at her father’s fiancée, clawing at her like a rabid animal.

‘YOU STOLE MY HUSBAND!’ screeched Geraldine.

‘YOU DIDN’T DESERVE HIM!’ yelled Tiffany, trying to push her off. ‘You were more interested in your research than in him!’

Sarah stood, mortified, as the two women tussled on the dance floor. She felt frozen in place, unsure how to intervene.

Quick as a flash, James saved the day.

‘Let’s dance, Geraldine,’ he said. Putting his strong arms around his mother-in-law, he steered her to the other side of the dance floor and stroked her back comfortingly as Geraldine wept on his shoulder.

‘I think we’d better head home,’ said Sarah’s dad, giving her a kiss goodbye. ‘It was a lovely day.’

Apart from the brawl, thought Sarah.

Soon, other guests began to say their goodbyes.

James handed Geraldine over to Meg, who took her mum up to her room.

‘Want to get out of here?’ James whispered in Sarah’s ear.

‘Yes, please.’ She couldn’t wait to be alone with her husband.

A few hours later, they were buckling their seat belts for their early-morning flight.

The captain made an announcement. ‘Welcome aboard this British Airways flight to Los Angeles. We have some newly-weds on board – congratulations to Sarah and James O’Hara!’

Everyone on the plane applauded.

‘How did they know?’ asked Sarah, turning to James.

He grinned. ‘A little birdie told them.’

Deciding where to go on honeymoon had been the easiest part of wedding planning: it had to be Hollywood.

‘What should we watch?’ asked Sarah, flicking through the in-flight magazine.

‘The new Steven Spielberg movie is supposed to be good,’ said James.

After take-off, they snuggled under their fleece blankets and watched Catch Me If You Can on tiny screens on the back of their seats.

Sarah’s head rested on James’s shoulder as they watched the movie.

It was about a young con man, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who posed as an airplane pilot in the 1960s.

‘Wow, flying was a lot more glamorous back in the old days, wasn’t it?’ said James, taking off his headphones when the movie was over.

‘Poor guy. I felt sorry for him, even though he was stealing millions,’ said Sarah.

‘He was lonely,’ remarked James. ‘That’s why he phoned the FBI every Christmas Eve. Because he missed his family.’

Being surrounded by their friends and family on their wedding day had made Sarah realise how lucky she and James were. Her parents weren’t perfect, but they both loved her in their own way. And now, she and James were their own little family.

‘Complimentary champagne, Mr and Mrs O’Hara,’ said the flight attendant, bringing them two glasses of champagne from first class.

Sarah laughed. She still wasn’t used to being called Mrs.

‘What were you saying about travelling not being glamorous any more,’ said Sarah, clinking glasses with her husband.

‘To us,’ said James. ‘On our wedding day.’

‘But it’s not our wedding day any more,’ replied Sarah.

James put the time on his watch back eight hours. ‘It’s still our wedding day in California – for another ten minutes.’

Sarah reached for her husband’s hand and laced her fingers between his. ‘My favourite part of our wedding day was just now – watching a movie, just the two of us.’

James pressed his lips to her hand. ‘I look forward to watching many, many more movies with you, Mrs O’Hara, even when we’re old and grey.’

Sarah gazed into his eyes, as blue as the sky outside the plane’s window. ‘James O’Hara, I take you to be my lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, through comedies and dramas, through thrillers and musicals …’

‘Through horror and romance …’

‘Through science fiction and animation …’

‘Til death do us part,’ they said together. And then they sealed their vows with a kiss.