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Tess was watching a plasterer in paint-splattered sweats put the finishing touches to his work with one final flourish. He looked up at the grey smooth ceiling of Tess’s office and sighed with deep satisfaction. ‘Look at that. My bloody Sistine Chapel, that is.’

‘It looks great,’ Tess agreed. The pipes had been fixed a couple of days ago, and the Michelangelo of plastering had come today and sorted the hole left by the repairs. The twelve grand from the insurance company had finally cleared, and Tess snapped into action in the only way left to her. If nothing else was fixed, if the loan didn’t come through, at least the hole wouldn’t be an issue when the time came to sell the building at whatever price they could scrape up for it.

Jesus, if her mum could see this—Tess wondering what she could get for the place. She felt real shame at the thought.

‘Right. I’ll send you an invoice later. That’s gonna take about five days to dry fully so don’t try to paint it until then,’ the plasterer said, packing up his tools.

Tess nodded. ‘Thank you.’

He left her to stare at the ceiling. It was good to see the gaping hole gone. It had done something to Tess, seeing that day after day. It was like seeing a hole ripped open in herself. Frightening and wrong.

There was a sudden scream from the foyer.

Tess, heart trying to climb out of her mouth, ran out to find Fi. She looked uninjured.

‘What!? What’s wrong?!’ Tess yelled at her.

Fi looked up from her phone. ‘Oh my god. I CAN’T!’

‘Can’t what?’ Tess asked.

‘We sold out!’ Fi declared breathlessly.

Tess hadn’t heard that phrase in the context of The Eclipse in so long that it took a second to understand what it meant. ‘Wait, what is?’

‘The outdoor cinema. It sold out in twenty-four hours.’

Tess’s mouth fell open. ‘No.’

‘Seriously! I dropped a post on a couple of Rocksea events Facebook groups and the engagement was insane off the bat. And now look! Three hundred tickets! Sold! People are jazzed to watch Jaws on the beach. You knocked this one out of the park.’

Tess would have loved to look like a hero in her sister’s eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to take the credit. ‘It wasn’t my idea.’

‘What?’ Fi asked.

‘It was that Zara woman.’

‘The bank lady? The one that got the permit pushed through?’ Fi asked, eyes wide. ‘Jesus.’

‘So, we’ve got enough to pay everyone a bit longer, then? That’s something,’ Tess said with a philosophical shrug.

‘Tess, this is more than that! We’re back!’ Fi yelled, hopping about with excitement.

Tess would have loved to be where Fi was, but her realism stepped in quickly. ‘We’re far from back.’

‘But we will be, right? This is a sign.’

‘We don’t have the loan yet. We can’t even begin to fix all the other stuff.’

Fi laughed. ‘We are so getting that loan, it’s not even funny.’

Tess was startled. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘Because this Zara person sounds like a miracle worker.’

Tess frowned. ‘She’s a human being.’

Fi wasn’t listening. ‘I can’t wait to meet her. You should send her a comp ticket.’

That was actually a good idea. ‘Can we stretch to two? The guy at the council was promised a bung for nudging the permit along.’

Fi laughed. ‘Great, get him along.’

‘You’re not disgusted by that?’ Tess checked.

Fi shrugged. ‘No. Not at all.’

Tess wondered if she could just let it go at that. She could not. ‘Why not?’

‘Because for the first time, we knew the right person at the right moment. We got some good luck, for fuck’s sake. Can’t we just enjoy it?’ Fi pleaded.

That gave Tess pause. Was she being a stick in the mud who couldn’t just be happy when the gods smiled on her for once in her endless, dreary, pushing-the-rock-uphill life? It was a distinct possibility.

‘OK, fine. I’ll put tickets on the door.’ Tess paused. ‘Wait, we don’t even have a door. It’s outside.’

‘Right. I guess we better start looking into how to do this, eh?’ Fi said, scratching her head.

Tess relaxed ever so slightly. They were back at the bottom of the hill once more, and though Tess didn’t like it, it was a familiar place. ‘Maybe we could ring some other cinema managers, ask how they did it?’ she heard herself say.

Fi looked amazed. ‘I thought we’d just wing it like we usually do, but that’s a great idea. I’ll start looking for some cinema managers who might be willing to have a chat with us, shall I?’ But it wasn’t a question. She was already skipping off.

Tess was left with her surprise. Had she really suggested asking for help? Who the hell was she becoming?