Page 61 of Christmas at the Movies
Chocolate was smeared all over Holly’s face – and her pyjamas. While the adults had been chatting, she’d managed to break into the chocolate advent calendar and had crammed several days’ worth of chocolate into her mouth.
‘Come on, you little rascal,’ said James, picking Holly up. ‘Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed.’
A timer went off and Sarah hurried into the kitchen to check on the lasagne. The cheesy top layer was browned to perfection and the filling was bubbling away. She pulled the dish out of the oven and set it on the table with a big green salad and homemade garlic bread. She lit a few candles, then went back to the living room. ‘Dinner’s ready.’
Everyone gathered around the wooden table. James refilled wine glasses, while Sarah served up the lasagne.
Ian rubbed his hands in anticipation. ‘This looks delicious.’
‘It’s my mum’s recipe,’ said Sarah. Geraldine’s lasagne had always been the hit of any faculty pot-luck supper.
‘What’s she up to these days?’ asked Pari, breaking off a piece of garlic bread.
‘Mum’s working on a new book.’ Geraldine was as busy as ever with her academic research but was a devoted grandmother. She visited regularly, telling Holly stories from world mythology and bearing age-inappropriate gifts – the latest being a doll from South America with an intricately beaded dress.
‘I think I’ll put this aside until she’s a bit older,’ Sarah had said, spiriting the doll away. It was a full-blown choking hazard.
They didn’t see much of Sarah’s dad. His second marriage to Tiffany had ended in divorce. He’d taken early retirement and moved to Spain, where he spent his days golfing. ‘I knew it wouldn’t last,’ Geraldine had crowed when she’d heard the news. ‘His child bride didn’t want to spend the rest of her life with a boring old git.’
‘It’s so nice to have a home-cooked meal for a change,’ said Pari. ‘Instead of a ready meal for one.’
Ian patted his belly. ‘I love to cook, but the problem with living on my own is that I eat it all up myself. I need someone to cook for.’
Sarah suddenly had a horrifying thought – did Ian and Pari think she was trying to set them up? The president of the Plumdale Beautification Society was a lovely guy but not really Pari’s type.
‘Where’s your agency going to be based?’ Sarah asked.
‘I’ve rented a small office in Soho,’ said Pari.
‘If you need any furniture, I can sort you out. I’m in the antiques business.’ Ian slid his business card across the table to Pari.
It seemed that Ian was mostly interested in Pari as a potential customer.
Pari slipped Ian’s business card into her pocket. ‘Did you hear about Jack?’ she asked Sarah. ‘He’s leaving the BBC too. He sold a script to a small indie studio.’
Feeling a pang of envy at her former colleague’s success, Sarah took a big sip of her wine. She hadn’t written much since Holly’s arrival. She tried to work onThe Ghost Writerwhile Holly was napping, but after she’d tidied up the mess she created while awake, there was hardly any time left.
‘I’m going to reach out and see if there’s a part for one of my actor clients,’ said Pari, helping herself to more salad.
‘How’s business at the bookshop?’ Ian asked Nora and Simon.
‘Slow,’ admitted Nora.
Stock markets had crashed around the world and even here in the Cotswolds, unemployment was at a record high.
‘Am I crazy to be setting up an agency in the middle of a global recession?’ asked Pari.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Roger. ‘People always want entertainment, especially when times are tough. During the Great Depression, cinema boomed. Movies helped give people hope.’
James and Sarah exchanged glances. Hollywood might have been recession-proof in the 1930s, but not today. Their ticket sales were down. These days, people were less likely to buy cinema tickets when they could watch a DVD at home for less money. Plus, over the past year, more and more cinemas had converted to digital projection systems. It was hard not to worry that their traditional projector was soon going to be obsolete.
‘We’re lucky because we own the bookshop outright,’ said Nora. ‘But lots of other businesses in Stowford have closed down because they can’t afford the rent.’
‘It’s the same in Plumdale,’ agreed James.
‘One of our customers told me he lost his job at the BMW factory last month,’ said Simon. The car factory outside of Oxford had recently laid off over a thousand people.
‘At school, we’ve noticed an increase in children receiving free school meals,’ added Omar.
