Page 71 of Christmas at the Movies
‘What am I going to do with all his stuff?’ wondered James. ‘Maybe we can display some of it at the cinema.’
‘We don’t have to decide now,’ said Sarah soothingly. ‘Let’s just relax – it’s been a long day.’
‘I’m actually a bit hungry,’ admitted James. ‘I didn’t eat anything at the wake.’
Sarah microwaved two portions of Mrs Gilligan’s spicy tuna pasta bake and poured them each a glass of wine.
‘Interesting,’ he said, taking a bite. ‘I’ve never had tuna with jalapenos before.’
‘It’s … tangy,’ said Sarah.
‘Are you tired?’ asked James, as they washed up.
Sarah handed him a dish to dry. ‘Not really.’
‘Let’s watch a movie,’ said James. There could be no better way of honouring his dad. ‘Maybe a romcom, as it’s Valentine’s Day.’
Sarah browsed through Sean’s collection of films that he’d worked on at Pinewood. ‘Aha!’ she cried, pulling out a DVD ofLove, Actually. ‘Perfect!’
They settled back down on the sofa with their wine to watch the Richard Curtis romcom, which wove together the stories of eight couples over Christmastime, at different points in their relationships – from first love through to marriage breakdown and … grief.
As James watched Liam Neeson give a moving speech at his wife’s funeral on screen, the dam inside him finally burst. James began to sob and sob.
‘Oh, God,’ Sarah said, lunging for the remote control to stop the movie. ‘I’m so sorry. I completely forgot about this scene.’ She held him tight, as tears poured out. ‘It’sOK,’ she murmured, stroking his back soothingly. ‘Let it all out.’
When he’d finished crying, James felt a million times lighter. The tears had been cathartic. He reached for the remote to turn the movie back on.
‘We can watch something else,’ said Sarah.
‘It’s OK,’ said James. ‘Let’s stick with this one.’
He lay down on the sofa, resting his head on Sarah’s lap. As she gently stroked his hair, he let himself escape into the movie. For 135 blissful minutes, he could forget about his own sadness. It was how he and his dad had coped with his mother’s passing, using films to temporarily relieve the pain.
As the final credits rolled, James searched for his father’s name in tiny letters. ‘Christmas will be weird without him,’ he said, sitting up with a lump in his throat. His dad always spent Christmas with them.
‘Maybe we should go away this year,’ suggested Sarah. ‘We could visit Meg in Edinburgh, or my dad in Spain.’
As James pondered her proposal, Sarah suddenly clutched her stomach.
‘What’s wrong?’ James asked.
‘I don’t feel so good …’ Lurching up from the sofa, she ran to the bathroom. A moment later, James heard the sound of retching.
‘Oh, no,’ said James, when she emerged from the bathroom. ‘Mrs Gilligan’s spicy tuna bake was a mistake.’
‘I don’t think it’s that,’ she said.
‘Did the egg mayo sandwiches go bad?’ James hoped they hadn’t given Sir Sean Connery and all the other funeral guests food poisoning.
Sarah sat down next to him and smiled. ‘I think I’m pregnant, James. I’ll have to take a test to be one hundred per cent sure, but I’m nearly a week late. With everythingthat’s been going on, I didn’t even notice.’ She pressed a hand to her chest and winced. ‘My boobs are sore, which is always one of the first signs.’
He stared at her in astonishment. ‘That’s incredible.’
‘It’s early days,’ Sarah said nervously. ‘Lots of things could still go wrong. I won’t be able to relax until we know everything’s OK.’
James knew that they would both worry constantly until they saw a heartbeat on an ultrasound. But his own heart was already racing with excitement and hope – something that he would never have thought possible on such a sad day.
Please, Dad, if you’re up there somewhere, can you keep an eye on this little one …
