Page 34 of Christmas at the Movies
‘Like Christmas.’ Sarah laughed, remembering what he’d told her the first time they’d made love.
After they’d made love, they lay entwined in a tangle of Egyptian cotton sheets. James stroked Sarah’s belly. ‘I keep thinking about what the lady said at the temple.’
‘Me too,’ she admitted.
James propped himself up on his elbow and smiled at her. ‘I think we’d be good parents.’
Sarah knew that James would be an amazing father – she’d seen how gentle and kind he’d been with the little girl who’d fallen off her bike. Her sister’s kids loved their uncle James. But even though she wanted kids too, Sarah was secretly scared she wouldn’t be very good at it.
‘I’m just not sure I’m ready yet,’ she said, reaching up to push away the hair that had flopped in front of his face.
‘There’s no rush. And in the meantime, we’ll just have to have fun practising …’
James bent down to kiss her, as Sarah arced her body to meet his.
Later, they changed into evening clothes. Sarah put on the silky dress that she’d bought at the market.
James whistled in appreciation as she twirled to show off her new outfit. ‘Very glamorous.’
Holding hands, they took the lift to the cocktail bar at the top of the hotel. The harbour and the city’s high-rises were ablaze with light.
‘This holiday has been incredible,’ Sarah said, sipping her martini. ‘I wish we didn’t have to go back to work.’
‘It will be Christmas before you know it,’ said James. ‘We’ll get a break then.’
Sarah and James would celebrate in Ealing with Sean. Geraldine would probably spend Christmas with Meg and her kids in Edinburgh, while Sarah’s dad and Tiffany usually jetted off for a winter-sun break, so Tiffany could maintain her year-round tan.
Sarah sighed. ‘I know. But work is just so all-consuming. After a day or two back at the BBC, I’ll be stressed as ever. On the weekends, I’m too drained to write.’
James looked thoughtful, twiddling the cocktail stick in his drink.
‘Penny for your thoughts,’ said Sarah.
‘Maybe it doesn’t have to be like that.’
‘What do you mean?’
James took a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. ‘I’ve been carrying this around with me for weeks. Waiting for the right moment to show you.’
He handed over the piece of paper – an estate agent listing. The building in the photograph was one she’d seen before.
‘Is this that the old cinema in the village where we got married?’
James nodded. ‘I’ve been checking on the internet every so often, in the hope that it would come on the market. A few months ago, it finally did.’
Sarah looked at the asking price and gulped. ‘That’s a lot of money.’
‘I know,’ said James. ‘But I think we could just about swing it.’
‘How?’
‘My shares have gone up in value since the stock market flotation. If I sold them while they’re high, and we sold our flat – which has gone up in value – I think we’d have enough to put down a decent deposit on the cinema and to buy someplace to live as well.’
Sarah studied the pictures of the cinema’s interior. ‘It needs a lot of work.’
‘It won’t be easy, but Dad says he’ll help restore it.’ James’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement. ‘It still hasa lot of its original features. Just think – we could show whatever we wanted to: old classics, arthouse movies and foreign films, like the one we saw today.’
‘You’ve clearly given this a lot of thought,’ Sarah said.
