Page 57 of Christmas at the Movies
‘Your mum isn’t boring,’ said Pari. ‘She’s brave.’
‘Ha!’ Holly snorted. ‘Yeah, right. Name one brave thing she’s ever done.’
Pari sipped her tea thoughtfully. ‘When I used to be a stand-up, I got a lot of abuse from hecklers – really nasty stuff. One time, at the Edinburgh Festival, a heckler called out something very offensive. Your mum stood up and challenged him. He was drunk and threw a bottle of beer at her head. She had to go to hospital to get stitches.’ She tapped her forehead. ‘She still has a faint scar right here.’
Holly had never asked how her mum had got that scar. She’d always assumed it was from some childhood injury. She had to grudgingly admit it would have taken a lot of courage for Mum to stick up for Pari like that.
‘And she’s one of the most creative people I’ve ever met. I always thought it was a shame she stopped writing. I’m so glad she’s got a chance to go back to it.’
‘I don’t understand why she didn’t stay at the BBC,’ said Holly. ‘It sounds like such an interesting job.’ Growing up in London would have been so cool. Not just because ofthe trendy shops and fancy restaurants. There were loads of theatres with discounted tickets for young people, where you could see famous actors on stage. The Plumdale Players’ annual pantomime in the church hall – usually starring her parents’ friend Ian – didn’t really compare.
‘Because she loved your dad more than her job,’ said Pari. ‘She wanted to raise her family somewhere safe and be there for you and Nick.’
‘Oh, so it’s all my fault.’
Pari set down her teacup and gave Holly a stern look. ‘That’s not what I meant. When Sarah called me after giving birth to you and asked me to be your godmother, she told me she had never been so happy. So maybe stop giving her such a hard time, OK? You and Nick mean the world to her.’
Holly looked down at her heart necklace, chastened. Deep down, she knew how much her mum loved her. She showed it every day, in all the little things she did for her and Nick. Now, Holly felt guilty about how she’d acted this morning. Her mum deserved to be happy.
She got out her phone and typed out a message.
Thanks for my necklace. I love you. Xxx
‘Good girl,’ said Pari, smiling. ‘Now how about we get you a pair of new shoes to match that cute little dress of yours.’
James was waiting for Holly on the concourse at Paddington. He checked his watch – she was a few minutes late. His mind started to race – was she lost? Had she been hit by a bus? Had she got mugged?
She’s sixteen,he told himself.She can look after herself.When he’d been sixteen, he’d been taking the Tube toschool, sneaking into pubs and hanging out at Camden Market on the weekends. But Holly hadn’t grown up in the city like him. He couldn’t help worrying about his daughter – Holly would always be his little girl. He’d sworn to protect her on the day she’d come into this world, and that would never change, no matter how old she was.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ she said, hurrying over to him laden with shopping bags.
James felt his shoulders relax. ‘That’s OK. Did you have a nice day?’
Holly nodded. ‘Where did you go?’
‘I went to Ealing,’ said James. ‘Where I grew up.’
While Holly had been shopping and having tea with Pari, he’d visited his parents’ graves. He’d placed a wreath of holly and ivy on their shared headstone, which was decorated with a simple cross. ‘Sorry I haven’t been here for a while,’ he’d said to them. ‘I wish you could see the kids. Holly is nearly grown-up now. She wants to be an actor and is so talented – I’m not sure where she gets it from. Maybe you, Mum?’
James’s mother had loved to sing and dance.
‘And Nick is an amazing artist,’ James told his dad. ‘He and I love building models together, the way you and I did, Dad.’
He shoved his hands into his pockets. The skies were a dull grey, the wind biting. It looked like it might snow. He looked at the names and dates carved on his parents’ headstone. They were united in death, as they had been in life. His parents never had the privilege of growing old together; illness robbed them of the chance to enjoy their retirements. James hoped that he and Sarah would be luckier. He still loved Sarah with all his heart and couldn’t imagine a future without her. But he’d been so preoccupiedwith the cinema that he’d neglected their relationship, and her needs. He needed to put things right and just hoped it wasn’t too late.
An announcement blared on the loudspeaker. ‘Great Western Railway is sorry to announce that all further trains are cancelled this evening, due to poor weather conditions.’
‘What are we going to do?’ asked Holly, looking panicky.
‘Don’t worry,’ James reassured her. ‘I’ll sort it out.’ He rang Pari and explained the situation. When he got off the phone, he told Holly, ‘Pari is out at the theatre tonight – one of her clients has a premiere – but she told me where to find her spare key.’
Much as he liked his wife’s best friend, he was secretly pleased that it would be just him and Holly tonight – she was usually too busy with school and friends to hang out with her dad.
They decided to walk to Pari’s house in Notting Hill. Festive lights twinkled in the dark. The pavements bustled with Christmas shoppers and a man in a Santa suit clanged a bell, collecting for charity.
‘I feel like I’m in a Christmas movie,’ said Holly, as snowflakes dusted her hair. ‘I keep expecting Hugh Grant to step out of one of these houses.’
James smiled, making a mental note to proposeLove, Actuallyas one of the film-festival movies. Sarah loved a Richard Curtis romcom.
