Page 50 of Christmas at the Movies

Sarah stamped her feet to warm them up, wishing she’d thought to wear snow boots instead of trainers. She’d been hanging out with Iris and Sam while waiting for the filming to start. The two young mums were sipping mulled wine, making the most of their kid-free night out.

‘I’m celebrating,’ said Iris. ‘Henry slept through till six this morning. No night-time feeds!’

‘Woohoo!’ Sam clinked her glass against Iris’s.

Sarah smiled too, remembering how massive that milestone felt when Holly and Nick were babies. Now, she had to practically drag them out of bed!

‘Hey,’ said a voice behind her. James had just arrived with Nick and the twins in tow. The kids were throwing handfuls of fake snow at each other. ‘How’s it going?’

‘Slowly,’ said Sarah. At this rate, they’d still be here on Christmas morning!

James checked his watched and frowned. ‘But the movie starts at nine.’

‘Here they come now.’ Sarah pointed to the stars approaching the set.

Mia, as the elegant city girl, looked chic in a cashmere coat and furry hat, while Mateo, playing the inn’s handyman, looked ruggedly handsome in a tartan lumberjack jacket and jeans.

Make-up artists swarmed around the actors, adjusting their hair and touching up their make-up.

‘Finally!’ snapped Noa, leaping out of his canvas director’s chair. ‘Let’s get going. Time is money, people.’

‘Too right,’ muttered a crew member. Sarah remembered from her BBC days that night shoots were more expensive than day shoots – and this one was massively overrunning.

A props person handed Mia a handbag and a cup of hot chocolate, and an assistant steered her to her mark, right by the choir.

‘Quiet on set,’ called Noa through a megaphone.

‘Take one,’ announced Kirsty, the second assistant director. ‘Scene twenty-five.’ She snapped the clapperboard. Then the cameras began to roll and the choir started to sing.

‘This is the big romantic scene near the end of the movie,’ Sarah whispered to the kids. ‘It’s when Ben – that’s Mateo – finally tells Eve that he loves her.’

‘Ooh!’ said Julia. ‘I love romantic movies.’

Nick and Adam groaned.

‘Eve!’ called Mateo, running across the market square. ‘Eve! I need to talk to you!’

‘It’s too late,’ said Mia, stepping away from the choir. ‘I’m going back to the city.’

‘No, I’ve waited too long to tell you how I feel,’ said Mateo. ‘I’ve tried to fight my feelings, but it’s no use. I’m hopelessly in love with you.’

Sarah got goosebumps listening to the actors say the words she’d written.

‘I love you too,’ said Mia.

Sarah silently mouthed the next line along with Mateo: ‘Then we owe it to ourselves to give this another chance.’

Dropping her shopping bag on the ground, Mia stood on her tiptoes to kiss Mateo. Snow began to drift down from the snow machines and the choir started to sing again.

‘Ahhh!’ sighed Julia.

Nick and Adam rolled their eyes.

‘And … cut!’ called Noa.

The two actors pulled apart, laughing as they broke character. The watching crowd applauded. Only Noa looked unhappy.

‘We need to go again,’ he said. ‘Mia, can you try to actually look like you want to kiss Mateo this time?’

Sarah frowned. She thought both actors had played the scene beautifully.

Mia looked upset by the director’s criticism but nodded.

‘Is it hard to watch Mateo kiss someone else?’ Iris asked Sam.

‘I’ve got used to it,’ replied Sam, taking a sip of her wine. ‘It’s just part of the job.’

Aaron and the other runners helped the crew set up the scene again, brushing away fake snow and resetting props. The camera wheeled back along its track. Reflectors were repositioned.

‘What have we missed,’ said Geraldine, coming over with Roger, Pam, Vi and Olwyn to join Sarah and the others.

‘Not much,’ Sarah assured her mum.

‘We came in the Valley Vistas minibus,’ Geraldine said. ‘It felt like being on a school trip.’

‘Except with booze,’ added Pam, taking her silver flask out of her bag. She took a swig, then passed it to Vi.

‘Take two,’ called Kirsty, her voice weary. It had been a long day – and night.

The actors did the scene again. Still, Noa wasn’t satisfied.

‘Come on!’ he shouted at the actors. ‘This is supposed to be a happy scene. For God’s sake, ACT HAPPY.’

Sarah winced at the director’s harsh tone, feeling sorry for Mateo and Mia.

‘It would probably be easier to do that if he wasn’t keeping the cast and crew away from their families on Christmas Eve,’ muttered Sam.

They did the scene a third time. It was going well, until right in the middle of Mateo’s big declaration of love, there was a loud beeping noise.

‘CUT!’ bellowed Noa. ‘Where the hell is that noise coming from?’

The insistent beeping was coming from right near Sarah.

‘Whoopsie! I am sorry,’ said Pam, fumbling in her handbag. ‘That’s me. I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to take my blood-pressure medication.’ She jabbed at the screen of her phone, but the alarm continued beeping.

‘TURN THAT FUCKING THING OFF!’ Noa screamed at her.

‘Oh, deary me …’ Pam got more and more flustered, pressing buttons to no avail.

‘Here, let me help,’ said James. He quickly turned the alarm off.

Noah’s assistant attempted to pacify him, but he just swore and pushed her away.

Sarah frowned. Over the past few weeks she’d seen that Noa was a control freak, and that he could be extremely demanding. She’d accepted it as part of the creative process that had won him many awards. But this behaviour was completely out of line. He couldn’t treat people like this.

‘What a rude man,’ said Vi disapprovingly.

‘He should wash his mouth out with soap,’ agreed Olwyn.

‘Thank you so much,’ said Pam, as James handed her back the phone – now switched to silent. ‘I don’t know what we’ll do when the cinema is gone, James, and we can’t come to your repair shop after Golden Oldies.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Sarah.

‘When we organised the minibus this evening, the director of Valley Vistas mentioned you were thinking of selling the cinema.’

Sarah slowly turned to face her husband. ‘What is she talking about?’

‘Oh, dear,’ said Pam. ‘Have I put my foot in it?’

‘It was just an enquiry,’ James told Sarah. ‘I thought it would be good to consider our options. In light of our … er … situation.’

Sarah’s heart started to pound. She felt like she was going to be sick.

Sure, things had been bad between her and James.

They’d both said some terrible things when they’d argued.

She had been sulking since then, but she’d assumed they would make up eventually.

That things would get better when the film crew moved out and life went back to normal.

Did James really think their relationship was over? Was their love not worth fighting for?

‘W-why would you do that?’ Tears clouded Sarah’s vision. ‘Don’t I have a say in the matter?’

‘Well, we both know it’s not working—’

Sarah couldn’t bear it any more; her heart was breaking. She ran into the cinema before she broke down in front of nearly everyone in Plumdale.

The lobby was mercifully empty, as the cast and crew were all filming outside. Sarah went into the office and threw herself onto the sofa – and then the tears came.

It was over. James had given up on them. Thirty years of marriage down the drain.

‘Oh, Sarah,’ said her mother, coming into the office and sitting down beside her.

Geraldine gathered Sarah into her arms and let her weep.

‘I know,’ she said soothingly, stroking her daughter’s back.

‘I remember how tough it was being your age. It gets easier, I promise. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. ’

‘It’s not that.’ Sarah sobbed into her mother’s shoulder. ‘It’s me and James. Things have fallen apart.’

‘I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t fix.’ Geraldine handed Sarah a tissue.

‘James has obviously given up on us.’ She wiped her nose and sniffed. ‘You’ll probably be happy if we split up. You’ve never approved of my marriage anyway.’

‘Sarah,’ said Geraldine, shaking her head. ‘How can you say that? True, I’m no fan of the institution of marriage. But I’m a fan of James because he adores you – anyone can see that.’

‘Then why is he trying to sell the cinema behind my back?’ wailed Sarah.

‘I don’t know,’ replied Geraldine, taking her hand. ‘But I think you should give him a chance to explain.’

28th October 2022

Nick sat at a table with his classmates Ollie, Abby and Grace. Their Year Six class was drawing pictures of the things they’d gathered earlier in the week on a nature walk – deep crimson maple leaves, golden beech leaves, glossy brown chestnuts and a silvery blue feather.

‘Psst!’ said Grace.

Nick looked up from his drawing.

‘I’m having a Halloween party and you’re all invited,’ whispered Grace. ‘We’re going to play games and bob for apples, and I’m going to make spooky snacks.’

‘Cool,’ said Ollie.

Abby giggled excitedly. ‘I can’t wait!’

Nick smiled, masking his apprehension. When he was little, he had hated parties.

His mum usually had to come and pick him up early.

It wouldn’t take much – just a balloon popping, loud music or a strange smell – to set him off.

Now that he was eleven he was better at dealing with those situations.

He still found new environments stressful, but Mum had taught him different coping strategies – like taking a time-out if he started to feel overwhelmed.

He would take deep breaths and focus on three objects, three sounds and move three body parts.

That usually calmed him down. When he got home, he would spend time alone in his room stroking Jonesy.

It helped him relax. Mum said that Nick was like a mobile phone – his social battery needed recharging when he ran out of juice.

‘My mum said we can watch a horror movie,’ said Grace.

Nick felt his stomach twist. He hated horror movies. He didn’t like watching anything with blood and guts. Even though he knew movies weren’t real, violence on screen made him upset.