Page 37 of Christmas at the Movies
‘I sorted out the wiring,’ Dad replied. ‘It should be fine for a bit.’
Mum groaned. ‘Yes, but we both know it’s going to break again. Last Saturday was a complete nightmare. Why can’t you accept that it’s broken, James? That some things CAN’T be fixed!’
Nick’s stomach twisted with anxiety. He hated it when Mum and Dad argued. But it was almost worse when they didn’t. Things had been weird between them for a few days, the air prickling with unresolved tension. Nick was like a human barometer; he could pick up on people’s moods instantly. He’d know his mum had been upset for weeks. Maybe before she even realised it herself. When she smiled, her mouth moved but her eyes looked sad.
He tiptoed to Holly’s bedroom and, ignoring the sign on the door that said KEEP OUT, went inside.
His sister was watching Netflix on her laptop.
‘Ever heard of knocking?’ Holly asked, taking off her headphones.
‘What are you watching?’ Nick asked her.
‘Get out.’
Nick backed away. He should have known better than to try to speak to her.
‘No, stupid,’ said Holly. ‘Get Out. It’s a horror movie.’
Nick didn’t like horror movies. He hated the horrible feeling of waiting for bad things to happen. That’s how he felt now – like something awful was going to happen to his family unless he found a way to stop it. In movies, a hero always saved the day.
But Nick was no hero.
‘Mum and Dad are having another fight,’ he told her.
‘So what do you want me to do about it?’ she said.
‘Do you think they’re going to get divorced?’
What if he had to choose which parent to live with? How could Nick possibly do that? He loved them both equally. There was no way he could choose between Mum and Dad.
Nick remembered when Grace’s parents got divorced in primary school. She had cried and cried the day her dad had moved out of their house. Nick had felt so sad for her that he’d cried too.
‘Why are you crying?’ Grace had wanted to know. ‘Your parents aren’t getting divorced.’
Nick always felt things deeply. When people he cared about were hurt or sad, he felt it like a physical ache. And when they were happy, he shared their joy intensely. Mum had once told him that his empathy was a superpower, but Nick didn’t agree. He thought it made him weak. It was why boys like Damon Carter picked on him – they knew he was vulnerable.
‘You’re such an idiot,’ said Holly, rolling her eyes. ‘Get out. And I’m not talking about the movie this time.’
When they were little, his big sister used to comfort Nick when he was upset. She’d let him sleep in her bed if he had a nightmare, singing him Disney songs and rubbing his back until he fell back asleep. She’d help him build his LEGO models and then act out funny stories with the mini figures.
Nick shut the door behind him, trying not to cry. He missed Holly, even though she was still there. Why did everything have to change?
James looked out of the kitchen window. The clouds outside were heavy and iron grey. The forecast was predicting a snowstorm later. But he’d already unleashed a storm inside the house, by telling Sarah one of them needed to go to the cinema on the only night they both had off this week.
‘We just can’t go on like this,’ said Sarah. Her jaw was tense and she was gripping the handle of her mug so tightly, the whites of her knuckles showed. ‘Something has to change.’
‘Business will pick up again,’ said James. ‘I’m sure it will. There are some big movies out next year – event cinema. Then maybe we can hire some more staff.’ He’d been telling himself this for the past few years. It was getting harder and harder to believe it himself. He’d hated having to ask Sarah to fill in, but nobody else was available.
Sarah shook her head. ‘You need to face the facts, James. The cinema is failing. Last weekend was a total disaster. Thank God Holly saved the day.’
‘But I managed to repair the sound.’ Why wouldn’t she give him any credit for that?
‘It was a false economy,’ replied Sarah. ‘We lost all our takings in paying out refunds. We need a new sound system and we simply can’t afford it.’
‘I’ll find the money,’ said James desperately. Though he had no idea where. They had already sunk everything they had into the business. There was no way the bank would lend them more money to cover the cost of a new sound system. They were still paying back the government loans that had got them through Covid.
‘I’m not just talking about the cinema,’ said Sarah ominously. ‘Didn’t you listen to anything I said on Saturday?’
