Page 24

Tess watched Strangers on a Train’s final credits roll from the booth. The audience began to shuffle out.

The Hitchcock festival had been a roaring success, the cinema alive again with the buzz of enthusiastic moviegoers. Tess could not deny it felt fucking good to see that.

‘Great work,’ Tess said to Jerry.

Jerry was glaring at the DCP for Strangers on a Train like it had kicked his dog to death. ‘It’s not as good. Side-by-side comparison makes it obvious.’

‘I know, I know,’ Tess said with an affectionate eye roll, leaving the booth.

She walked through the lobby as people began to file out, satisfied. Despite the last-minute disaster, Fi (and, to a lesser extent, Dylan) had managed to handle opening, letting everyone in, selling tickets and concessions, and getting everyone into the screen pretty easily while Tess had been running around the countryside, doing deals with that arsehole. She’d been sure it would all go to shit without her there.

But Fi had grown up here too. Maybe she could handle a bit more than Tess gave her credit for.

The final patrons trickled out, and Tess was left alone in the once-again quiet space. She’d been running around all night, checking and rechecking every detail, from the temperature of the hot dogs to the quality of the projection. She hadn’t had a moment to herself since the first movie started, but she found herself standing still now, just for a moment.

Now the moment was over—back to work.

She made her way down to the bar. ‘Simon, I think that’s it.’

The new bartender, Simon was wiping the bar. ‘I think we’ve got one last customer in the toilet,’ he said with a nod to the loo door.

The door opened and Zara walked out. Tess felt pleasure to see she was still here.

‘She’s not a customer. She’s a…’ Tess struggled for the right word. She was more than an advisor, that was for sure. Zara herself seemed to wait for her definition.

‘…She’s with the place,’ Tess eventually said.

Zara looked pleased despite the vagueness.

‘Cool, shall I go then?’ Simon asked.

‘Definitely. Great work tonight. See you tomorrow,’ Tess said.

He smiled and grabbed his coat, leaving quickly.

Tess and Zara were left alone. ‘You still here, then?’ Tess asked.

‘I wanted to see it through to the end,’ Zara explained.

‘Well, it’s over,’ Tess told her.

‘Oh. OK.’ Zara made a move towards the stairs.

‘Hey,’ Tess said, her voice carrying a little too many nerves in it. ‘I know it’s late, but how about a drink? I think we’ve both earned one.’

Zara’s expression was unreadable for a second, and Tess felt the heat of embarrassment in her cheeks.

But then Zara’s face softened. ‘Why not? I could use one after today.’

Tess slid onto a stool at the bar, and Zara took the seat beside her. The bartender was gone, but Tess didn’t need him. She reached over and felt behind the bar, grabbing a bottle. She pulled the mystery bottle out to check its contents. ‘Whisky?’

Zara nodded and smiled. ‘That’ll work.’

As Tess grabbed the glasses and poured, she glanced around the bar, taking in the ambience. It was a far cry from the chaotic energy of the evening. It was nice to enjoy it in peace.

‘I never thought I’d be saying this, the way the day started,’ Tess began, her voice carrying a hint of self-deprecating humour, ‘but tonight went great.’

Zara took a sip of her drink. ‘You did great. The place looks amazing. You should be proud.’

Tess sipped her drink nervously. ‘Thanks. I’m sorry you had to meet Deborah.’

Zara looked down at her drink. ‘Part of my job.’

Tess laughed to cover her embarrassment. ‘I don’t think dealing with the business owner's narcissistic ex was in your job description.’

Zara chuckled but said nothing more about it.

Tess wished she could delete that scene from the evening. She felt like Deborah was a reflection of the worst of herself. A self-centred, elitist snob who thought she knew better than anyone. And that was what Zara saw when she looked at Tess. She wasn’t wrong either. Tess was that person sometimes. But she was also other things. Things Zara probably wouldn’t see.

Tess didn’t know when she started to give a shit what Zara thought of her. But she couldn’t deny, somewhere along the line, it had happened. Had it started when she’d found herself admiring Zara’s hotness? Or earlier than that? She couldn’t say.

Tess took a sip of her drink, feeling the warmth spread through her. The night had been a whirlwind, but now, sitting here with Zara, it felt like the calm after a storm.

‘What happened with Deborah?’ Zara asked, suddenly direct.

Well, there went the peace.

Tess was surprised by the question but glad of it. She wanted the chance to explain, to tell Zara how she’d fallen in love with a person like that. ‘We met because I found out she was a collector and local,’ Tess said, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass.

Zara leaned in slightly, listening with more intensity than Tess was used to.

‘I wanted to rent her prints,’ Tess continued, ‘so I approached her. Of course, there was nothing in it for her. Deborah doesn’t exactly need the money. But she said, as I seemed passionate about movies, she’d let me borrow them for free anytime I liked.’

Zara raised an eyebrow, sensing the twist before Tess even said it.

‘Turned out,’ Tess added, her tone dripping with bitter amusement, ‘she wasn’t quite as generous as I thought. It was just a way to get into my knickers.’

Zara shifted in her seat. Tess decided not to look at her.

‘I mean, I didn’t realise it at the time,’ Tess said, shrugging. ‘She had this way of making everything seem generous; she was gracing me with every reel. So bloody magnanimous. She wanted something the whole time. I didn’t see that, though. I thought her interest in me was yet another gift, that I ought to be grateful she’d even want me. That’s how she works you. She makes it seem like she’s giving, and all she does is take.’

Zara shrugged. ‘We all get fooled.’

Tess laughed, a short, cynical sound. ‘I was young…’ Tess paused. ‘Well, younger. And Deborah was—well, you’ve seen her. Physically…’

‘She’s a looker,’ Zara agreed.

‘I thought I could handle her. I had that wrong.’ She paused, her gaze drifting to the rows of liquor bottles behind the bar.

Zara was silent for a moment. ‘But the blinkers fell off, eventually?’ she asked, her voice slightly hesitant.

Tess sighed. ‘They did indeed. Deborah’s always been more interested in owning things than sharing them. And that included me. It took me a while to notice that because of the excitement of being with someone like her. But it got exhausting. She didn’t just want me—she wanted to control me. How much time I spent at The Eclipse, the way I looked, the way I talked to her friends. One night, she was hosting some party, a viewing, some lost cut of Metropolis she’d gotten her hands on. I was a bit late. I had a problem with this place, as ever. When I finally got there, she yanked me out of the party and told me I was disrespectful and immature and that I didn’t deserve to have her. She said she’d taken a chance on “someone like me,”

and I needed to realise what I had been given and how it looked to her friends me turning up late, blah, blah, blah… So I walked back into the screening—in front of the screen, actually—and dumped her in front of all of her fancy friends.’

‘I see,’ Zara said. Tess couldn’t tell what she thought, but she probably wasn’t very impressed. It had not been Tess’s finest moment.

‘I humiliated her,’ Tess said.

‘Sounds like she had it coming,’ Zara replied easily.

‘It was undignified,’ Tess said, not quite believing how easily Zara was taking her side.

‘She sounds obsessed with image. She wanted to make you fit hers and you wouldn’t. I think what you did sounds like a fitting end to her control freak bullshit,’ Zara said thoughtfully.

Tess was pleased and relieved to hear that, but she didn’t want to seem it. ‘Maybe.’

‘She said something to me before she left,’ Zara said abruptly.

Tess tensed. ‘What?’

‘She kind of alluded to it being your fault the relationship went wrong. Because you love this place too much,’ Zara said awkwardly.

Tess was horrified. ‘She said that to you? Why?’

Zara shrugged and shook her head.

‘Jesus, she does not change,’ Tess breathed. ‘She was always jealous of this place. I think she thought I’d give it up eventually. For her. But of course, I never would have. And when I ended it, this place was waiting for me. I think that pissed her off. I think she’d rather I’d have been broken and have nothing without her.’

‘And you…’ Zara hesitated before deciding she would ask the question on her lips. ‘You loved her?’

Tess took a long sip of her drink, then set the glass down carefully. ‘I thought so,’ she said quietly. ‘But you heard her attitude to the reel. She’s all about exclusivity, about keeping things locked away. I think that’s truly gross. And I know you think I’m a snob but…’

‘I never said that,’ Zara said quickly.

‘It’s fine, I get it. I can be a bit snobby. But I hope you know it comes from a good place. I just want everyone to see what I’ve seen. Deborah’s not like that. She thinks that only people who can appreciate art should get to see it.’

‘And how would that be determined?’ Zara asked dryly.

‘Well, you need a good education to start with. Private, of course.’

‘Of course,’ Zara smiled. ‘Did you have that?’

‘No, but I was let off because I was practically raised here. So my education was just about good enough for her, initially.’

‘Lucky you.’

‘Not sure it was luck, in retrospect.’

Zara looked down at her glass, the ice melting slowly in the whisky Tess had poured for her.

‘So,’ Zara said, glancing down at her fingernails, ‘what now? You gave her the reel. She’s out of your life again, right?’

Tess leaned back in her chair, her eyes locking with Zara’s for a moment before she spoke. ‘Fuck, I hope so. I don’t have the energy for that anymore.’

‘Good. Because you could do better.’

Tess was thrown by that. What did it mean? Probably nothing. It was just something people said, wasn’t it?

‘Not many people would agree with that. Everyone always acted like I should be grateful I’d be chosen by her ladyship,’ Tess said.

‘Who said that? Not Fi?’ Zara asked, frowning.

‘No, Fi hated her from the start. It was just her friends that implied that.’

‘Well, they sound as shitty as Deborah.’

Tess smiled. Her face kept doing that around Zara. She didn’t like it. Too exposing. ‘Tonight went good, didn’t it?’ she said, changing the subject.

Zara nodded thoughtfully. ‘The place was buzzing. Even Jerry looked happy for a minute.’

Tess guffawed. ‘He was positively misty. Not that he’d admit it. Pretended it was dust.’

‘There’s something magical about seeing everything come together after so much hard work,’ Zara noted.

Tess studied Zara for a moment, and she started to have thoughts. Tender thoughts. Silly thoughts. Dangerous thoughts.

‘Zara,’ Tess began, ‘I know we’ve clashed now and again…’

Zara laughed. ‘Just a tiny bit.’

Tess smiled. ‘And I know you’ve seen me at my worst. But I want you to know… I appreciate what you’ve done for this place. If it survives, it’s because of you.’

Zara’s eyes met Tess’s. Her gaze was sincere, that natural, easy warmth. Tess realised just how long she’d been fending that warmth off. She was exhausted from it. She wanted to go toward it, to be in it. She couldn’t pretend anymore.

‘Thanks, Tess,’ Zara replied quietly, looking a little flushed.

Tess realised maybe she was embarrassed. Was this too much? What the hell was Tess doing right now?

She fully expected Zara to finish her drink and say, ‘Well, time to go.’ But she didn’t move.

Tess looked at Zara. Zara looked at Tess. Things got very quiet.