Page 49 of Christmas at the Movies

Present Day

On the morning of Christmas Eve, James’s legs pumped up and down as he cycled down the country lane, his breath clouding in the cold air.

The fields and branches overhead were covered with a thick hoar frost. Things at home were even frostier.

He and Sarah had barely spoken since their big argument.

At least she’d come to the penultimate film festival screening of An Affair to Remember.

He’d chosen it to remind her of the day he proposed.

She probably regretted saying yes.

I messed up … I messed up … I messed up, he chanted in his head as he pushed himself to go faster, the pain in his thigh muscles like a punishment for his churlish behaviour.

He’d let his irritation with the film crew and jealousy of Noa get the best of him.

And he’d been hurt that Sarah hadn’t told him about the offer.

Instead of asking her about it calmly, he’d lashed out, belittling her talent.

He would do anything to take back what he said.

Her resentful words had been playing in a loop in his mind: The cinema always comes first with you.

He was horrified that Sarah believed that.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Yes, he loved the cinema. It was a community, a family, where people came together to enjoy stories from all over the world.

But nothing was more important than his actual family.

He’d been so busy trying to keep the cinema afloat that he hadn’t even noticed how frustrated and resentful she was.

He’d thought they were happy here in Plumdale, but owning a cinema had been his dream; Sarah had gone along with it because she loved him. Somewhere along the way, her own ambitions, of being a writer, had been sacrificed to family life. It clearly wasn’t enough for her any more.

James knew what he had to do. If Sarah wanted to go to Los Angeles, he would go with her.

Or let her go on her own. They could sell the cinema to the Valley Vista people.

That was the grand romantic gesture he needed to make – not showing her old movies as a trip down memory lane.

They needed to look to the future, not the past. He’d had his shot – Sarah was long overdue hers.

And he wasn’t going to stand in her way.

Whatever she wants to do, I’ll support her.

James’s legs pumped the pedals vigorously, his conviction growing with every turn of the wheels.

Sure, he’d miss the cinema, but he’d find something else to do.

He was still young (ish) and healthy. He wasn’t ready to retire, nor could he afford to.

Perhaps he could go back to engineering – he still had some contacts in the business.

Alternatively, he could retrain to become a teacher; Holly always said he was good at explaining science.

James cycled hard towards home, filled with resolve.

He was going to show Sarah that she came first in his heart, no matter what, no matter where.

He’d go along with whatever she wanted to do.

He wasn’t sure where the road ahead would take him, but as long as she was by his side he knew it would be fine.

When James came into the kitchen, Nick was at the table wrapping presents in shiny red paper. Jonesy was playing with a piece of gold ribbon that had fallen on the floor, rolling around with his ‘prey’ in his paws.

‘Don’t peek!’ said Nick, shielding the item he was wrapping.

James covered his eyes obediently.

‘OK, you can look now,’ Nick said a moment later.

It was just the two of them – and Jonesy – at home.

Sarah and Holly were at the cinema, as there was a big outdoor scene filming in the village square today.

The film crew had promised to be finished by eight, so the last film-festival screening could go ahead at nine.

It was the only movie being shown today, so James had had the day off.

He decided to get a head start on tomorrow’s dinner so they could have a lie-in on Christmas morning – they all needed it after the past month.

Putting on an apron, he peeled potatoes, parsnips and carrots, and left them soaking in pans of cold water.

Then he fried sausage meat, onions, breadcrumbs and sage, and other seasonings, using his mother’s recipe.

The herby aroma of the sizzling stuffing took him straight back to childhood.

His mum would sing along to festive songs on the radio and sip a glass of sherry as she cooked their Christmas dinner.

Emotion overcame him as he remembered his parents. They’d both been gone for years, but he still missed them – especially around the holidays.

‘What’s wrong, Dad?’ asked Nick, looking up from his wrapping. His worried expression, with the crease between his eyes, reminded James of Sarah.

James wiped his eyes with the bottom of the apron. ‘Oh, it’s just the onions making my eyes water.’

‘Tell me the truth, Dad,’ said Nick. ‘Are you upset because Mum is sick?’

James looked at his son in surprise. ‘No … Whatever gave you that idea?’

‘So she’s not going to die?’

‘Well, she will, some day. Hopefully not for a very long time.’ James gave the stuffing another stir. ‘I was thinking of my own mum and dad – I always miss them at Christmastime.’

Nick came over and gave him a tight hug.

James kissed the top of his boy’s head, which nearly reached his shoulder. Nick was growing like a weed and would soon be as tall as him. James hoped his son would never lose his sweetness and emotional intelligence.

Nick went over to the table and fetched one of the presents he’d just wrapped. ‘Open it.’

‘But it’s not Christmas yet.’

‘It will be soon,’ said Nick. ‘I can’t wait for you to see it.’

James wiped his hands on a tea towel and opened the gift. Inside was a manga book. Kayda’s Quest by Nick O’Hara and Julia Daniels, it said on the cover, with an illustration of a girl transforming into a dragon.

‘You made this?’ asked James, turning the pages in awe. His son’s colourful illustrations were full of movement and emotion; just a few pen strokes managed to convey a huge range of expressions.

‘Iris – Mr Wu’s wife – helped us get it printed,’ said Nick. ‘Julia helped me with the words.’

‘This is incredible,’ James marvelled, turning the book over to read the back cover. ‘You’re only twelve and you’re already a published author.’

Nick grinned. ‘It’s about a girl named Kayda who’s scared of lots of things, but has to be really brave and fight a powerful baddie.’

‘Does she win?’ asked James.

‘You have to read it and find out.’ Nick helped himself to one of the carrots James had just peeled and bit into it with a loud crunch.

‘It must have taken you ages to do all this,’ said James.

Nick shrugged. ‘Drawing makes me happy. I forget about everything else when I’m doing it. Plus, it was really fun to work on it with Julia.’

A lump came into James’s throat as conflicting emotions fought inside him.

He was bursting with pride over his son’s artistic achievement.

It was wonderful that Nick got such satisfaction and joy from his art.

But it made James sad that Sarah had been unable to use her creativity for so long. No wonder she’d been so frustrated.

‘I made one for Mum too,’ said Nick.

‘She’s going to love it.’ James was getting teary again.

Pull yourself together, he admonished himself.

He cleared his throat and forced himself to sound cheerful. ‘Don’t forget to hang up your stocking by the fireplace tonight.’

‘What I want for Christmas doesn’t fit in a stocking,’ replied Nick.

‘Oh?’ said James. ‘What’s that?’

‘I want you and Mum to get along again,’ said Nick earnestly. ‘For things to go back to how they used to be.’

‘Believe me, son, I want that more than anything too.’ James’s voice choked with emotion.

As Nick tidied up the wrapping things, James took the stuffing off the heat.

‘Can Julia and Adam come to the cinema tonight?’ asked Nick. ‘They want to watch the movie being filmed.’

James had met the twins when they’d come along to the screening of Tokyo Godfathers. They seemed like nice kids. He was so pleased that Nick had made some new friends. They no longer needed to plead with him to go to school in the morning.

‘Of course they can come,’ said James.

‘Great! I’ll go and text them and let them know.’

Alone in the kitchen, James leafed through his son’s manga story, stopping to admire a picture of Kayda brandishing a Samurai sword. It was time for him to be brave too. Fetching his laptop, James typed a quick email to the Valley Vistas managing director:

Our circumstances have changed. We would be interested in exploring your offer.

A snowflake fell on Sarah’s hand and slowly dissolved on her woollen mitten – a gift from Pam – leaving a slightly chemical odour behind.

The snow wasn’t coming from the sky – it was coming from cannon-like machines pointed at the market square, where wooden stalls selling gingerbread, ornaments and mulled wine had been erected by the crew.

It looked like an adorable Christmas market – apart from the boom mikes dangling overheard and the camera mounted on a dolly track.

Holly and some of the other extras, including Ian and Hermione, were playing carollers in a choir. Wearing Christmas jumpers, woolly scarves and Santa hats, they stood in front of a big Christmas tree waiting for their cue. They’d been waiting there for hours …

First, there had been a problem with the snow machine.

Then Noa had decided that the Christmas tree didn’t have enough decorations on it, sending Aaron scurrying off to find more.

And when they were finally ready to shoot, Mia had refused to come out of her trailer.

Mateo had been dispatched to try to coax the leading lady out.