Page 107 of Christmas at the Movies
James kissed the top of his boy’s head, which nearly reached his shoulder. Nick was growing like a weed and would soon be as tall as him. James hoped his son would never lose his sweetness and emotional intelligence.
Nick went over to the table and fetched one of the presents he’d just wrapped. ‘Open it.’
‘But it’s not Christmas yet.’
‘It will be soon,’ said Nick. ‘I can’t wait for you to see it.’
James wiped his hands on a tea towel and opened the gift. Inside was a manga book.Kayda’s Questby Nick O’Hara and Julia Daniels, it said on the cover, with an illustration of a girl transforming into a dragon.
‘You made this?’ asked James, turning the pages in awe. His son’s colourful illustrations were full of movement and emotion; just a few pen strokes managed to convey a huge range of expressions.
‘Iris – Mr Wu’s wife – helped us get it printed,’ said Nick. ‘Julia helped me with the words.’
‘This is incredible,’ James marvelled, turning the book over to read the back cover. ‘You’re only twelve and you’re already a published author.’
Nick grinned. ‘It’s about a girl named Kayda who’s scared of lots of things, but has to be really brave and fight a powerful baddie.’
‘Does she win?’ asked James.
‘You have to read it and find out.’ Nick helped himself to one of the carrots James had just peeled and bit into it with a loud crunch.
‘It must have taken you ages to do all this,’ said James.
Nick shrugged. ‘Drawing makes me happy. I forget about everything else when I’m doing it. Plus, it was really fun to work on it with Julia.’
A lump came into James’s throat as conflicting emotions fought inside him. He was bursting with pride over his son’s artistic achievement. It was wonderful that Nick got such satisfaction and joy from his art. But it made James sad that Sarah had been unable to use her creativity for so long. No wonder she’d been so frustrated.
‘I made one for Mum too,’ said Nick.
‘She’s going to love it.’ James was getting teary again.
Pull yourself together, he admonished himself.
He cleared his throat and forced himself to sound cheerful. ‘Don’t forget to hang up your stocking by the fireplace tonight.’
‘What I want for Christmas doesn’t fit in a stocking,’ replied Nick.
‘Oh?’ said James. ‘What’s that?’
‘I want you and Mum to get along again,’ said Nick earnestly. ‘For things to go back to how they used to be.’
‘Believe me, son, I want that more than anything too.’ James’s voice choked with emotion.
As Nick tidied up the wrapping things, James took the stuffing off the heat.
‘Can Julia and Adam come to the cinema tonight?’ asked Nick. ‘They want to watch the movie being filmed.’
James had met the twins when they’d come along to the screening ofTokyo Godfathers. They seemed like nice kids. He was so pleased that Nick had made some newfriends. They no longer needed to plead with him to go to school in the morning.
‘Of course they can come,’ said James.
‘Great! I’ll go and text them and let them know.’
Alone in the kitchen, James leafed through his son’s manga story, stopping to admire a picture of Kayda brandishing a Samurai sword. It was time for him to be brave too. Fetching his laptop, James typed a quick email to the Valley Vistas managing director:
Our circumstances have changed. We would be interested in exploring your offer.
A snowflake fell on Sarah’s hand and slowly dissolved on her woollen mitten – a gift from Pam – leaving a slightly chemical odour behind. The snow wasn’t coming from the sky – it was coming from cannon-like machines pointed at the market square, where wooden stalls selling gingerbread, ornaments and mulled wine had been erected by the crew. It looked like an adorable Christmas market – apart from the boom mikes dangling overheard and the camera mounted on a dolly track.
