Page 3 of From Notting Hill with Love…Actually (Actually #1)

“Ah Wobbie Williams—Take That,” one of the Japanese men said as he climbed into the taxi. “Vey good singer—I like. You like?” he asked as David went to close the taxi door on him.

“Er yes, Mr. Yashimoto, I like,” David lied, nodding enthusiastically at him.

I looked down at the phone as I pulled it out of my bag, meaning to silence it immediately, but I saw the Grand cinema’s number flashing on the screen.

Gosh, it must be important if the cinema was calling me .

“I’ll just be a minute, David,” I called, moving away from the curb.

I knew the manager of my local cinema well and he’d once had Kate Winslet in to watch a movie when she’d been appearing as Ophelia with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

I’d never forgiven him for not calling me to let me know she was there.

Maybe he’d got someone else famous in his cinema today?

But no, my life was never quite exciting enough for me to bump into passing celebrities on a Friday night. As I spoke to George on the other end of the line, I quickly found out it was just work.

“Come on, Scarlett,” David called from the open door of a taxi. “We’ve got to go now, to catch up with the others.”

“I’m really sorry, David, but that was George at the Grand,” I said, holding up my phone by way of apology. “It’s their popcorn machine, it’s broken down again and I’ve got to get over there immediately.”

“What, now? You are joking, Scarlett. You can’t mean to say that you’re going to work tonight?”

I nodded.

David rolled his eyes. “If you were a doctor on call I could understand the emergency, but surely they can manage without you just this one night?”

“You don’t understand,” I said, approaching the taxi. “George has got a big meeting of his Movie Club on tonight and he has to have popcorn! You can’t possibly have one without the other. This is work, David. I thought you of all people would understand.”

“But so is this, Scarlett,” David said, gesturing at the remaining Japanese businessmen waiting to depart in the taxi. They were managing to stare at us but still do it politely as always. “This is my business.”

I could feel the unsaid words, And it’s more important than yours , hanging in the night air between us.

“Don’t force me to choose, David,” I said in a low voice.

David stared at me and I saw a challenging look flicker across his eyes. But he obviously decided now was not the best time for a face-off. He slammed the taxi door closed and rolled the window down.

“How long will this machine take you to mend?” he asked, looking straight ahead.

“Not too long, I hope.”

“Shall I order for you, then?” he asked as he turned his head slowly toward me.

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll do my best to try and pad them out a bit with drinks at the bar first, but you’d better be there by the first course, Scarlett,” David said, his voice low so our guests couldn’t hear him. But his expression remained resolute.

“I’ll do my very best, David,” I said, grateful he’d calmed down and not just stormed off in a rage. He could be so childlike sometimes.

David looked at his watch. “You’ve got one hour, Scarlett, so no daydreaming. I know what you’re like once you get inside a cinema. You’re bad enough out of one.”

I smiled at the departing taxi. No daydreaming, indeed. As if I would. Ahem.

** *

“So you mend popcorn machines for a living?” Oscar inquired politely, when I paused to see if I was still keeping his interest.

“My father and I jointly own a small company that supplies popcorn machines to cinemas, but I do all the call outs when there’s a problem. David’s business is movie-related too—his family owns a large chain of cinemas.”

“Oh really?” Oscar said, starting to sound bored. “So come on, you’re not going to stop there, are you, darling? What happened next? Did you manage to fix the popcorn machine and still make it to the restaurant on time? Or did you start daydreaming once you got to the cinema?”

Hmm. Oscar had only known me for an hour or so, and already he knew me a bit too well .

***

As I climbed out of the taxi at the front doors of the cinema I rummaged for my purse to pay the fare.

“I sometimes think this thing must have belonged to Mary Poppins once,” I joked with the taxi driver as I groped about in the depths of my bag.

“Bit dressed up for the cinema, aren’t you?” he quipped, determinedly ignoring my joke. I looked down at what I was wearing. My theater attire, although not quite the Stella McCartney gown I’d fantasized about earlier, was a very nice black and white shift dress from Zara.

“I’m not going to see a film actually,” I informed him, as at last I found my purse and thrust a ￡10 note through the window of the taxi.

“I’m here to fix their popcorn machine.” And without waiting for a response, I rushed purposefully into the cinema like a paramedic on her way to tend an emergency.

“Scarlett, thank the Lord you’re here,” George panted as we rushed across the foyer together. “It just packed up again—there was a sort of sizzling noise and then nothing. The Movie Club’s holding their AGM tonight—they simply must have popcorn!”

“Don’t panic, George,” I said calmly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to sort it out.” I knelt down behind the machine and began to examine the familiar inner workings with the toolkit George had prepared for me.

I loved George. He looked just like Jack Black, only a quieter and much more reserved version of the Hollywood actor.

He was a brilliant cinema manager, always keeping me up to date on what new movies were coming out, and he always knew just which ones I’d enjoy watching.

He was more like a friend than a business contact, so I hadn’t minded at all rushing over to the cinema to help him out that evening.

“Is she going to be all right?” he asked after a couple of minutes, peering worriedly over my shoulder.

“ She , George?” I asked without turning my attention away from the machine. If I just tighten up that nut, then we should be in business again.

“Er, yes. She’s been with me for a while, has Poppy.”

I bit hard on my lip. “Poppy? You’ve given the machine a name, George?”

“Scarlett, you know how important this cinema is to me. We’re like one big happy family here, including all my machines. ”

“Yep, one big happy family, that’s what we are!”

I looked up and saw Marcus, one of the cinema attendants, dispensing Fanta into a plastic cup next to me. He winked. “Isn’t that right, Naomi?”

Naomi passed a packet of Maltesers across the counter to a customer. “Hmm?” she asked distractedly as she opened the till to get change. “What’s that, Marcus?”

“George reckons we’re just one big ol’ happy family here at the cinema.”

Naomi rolled her eyes and carried on serving her customers and I felt sorry for George. He obviously loved this cinema in a way that no one else understood. Probably in the way that I loved movies in a way that no one else seemed to understand either.

“There you go, George, all sorted,” I said, closing up the back of the machine.

I brushed some stray pieces of popcorn off my dress as I stood up behind the counter.

“Best keep an eye on it though—it…I mean she could still be a bit temperamental. Erm, George…” I thought I’d better tread carefully, so I lowered my voice.

“It’s possible we may have to replace Poppy soon.

She is getting quite old, you know, and we do have some lovely newer models. ”

George looked horrified. “Newer models—but what’s wrong with Poppy? She’s done me well up until now, why would I want to trade her in for a new model?”

“Let’s just see how she goes, eh, George?” I said gently. “I’ve patched her up for now, but how much longer she’ll run for…”

“Sure, Scarlett,” George said, and he patted Poppy lovingly as white fluffy popcorn began dancing about inside her glass cabinet again.

“I understand.” He turned to me. “I’ll give you a call if there’s any change in her condition.

I guess I’ll be seeing you pretty soon, though—the new Hugh Grant movie’s out next week. ”

I nodded eagerly. “You know me too well, George. I’ll be in to see it one evening or even one afternoon if I can get away from work for a couple of hours.”

George winked at me. He knew that “occasionally” I would sneak away from work to catch a movie. There had to be some benefits to doing the job I did, and having to visit cinemas to mend their popcorn machines was one of the few times I got to set foot outside the office.

I bade farewell to George and shivered as I stepped out into the cold January evening once more.

The warmth and comfort I always felt at being inside a cinema was at once replaced by the cold reality of life.

I pulled my long coat around my shoulders and looked quickly at my watch.

If I got a move on I might just make it to the restaurant in time for the first course.

I was about to hail a taxi when my mobile phone rang again.

I grabbed it from my bag, expecting it to be David checking up on me—but it was Maddie.

***

“No, don’t take the call,” Oscar squealed. “You’ll be late if you do!”

I laughed. “Something tells me you’re getting quite into this, Oscar.”

“Ooh, I like a good soap, me, and this has all the makings of a classic episode. So did you take the call? ”

“Yes, I had to. It was my best friend and I hadn’t heard from her in ages.”

“Why? Oh sorry, I’m being nosy again.”

“Since I’m sitting here telling you virtually everything that’s happened in my life over the last week or so, I don’t think that’s classed as being nosy. Maddie’s getting married soon, so she’s been really busy lately…”

“Maddie, I haven’t heard from you in ages.”

“Scarlett, I know—I’m so sorry about that. It’s just with my wedding so close now life’s just been manic.”

“It’s fine. I quite understand.”

“Do you? I would have thought you having a wedding planner to organize your big day took all the stresses away. That’s the whole point, isn’t it?”