The warmer days were coming; the sky was an alluring blue with a few clouds dotted around and Nell, Bea and Gilly stood in front of the Old Picture House. Nell shook with a mixture of pleasure and fear as she jangled the keys in the air.
‘The estate agent has let us borrow the keys for a couple of hours max.’
‘That’s really kind of them,’ said Bea, clapping her hands together in excitement.
‘I know, I just wanted to have a look at the stuff that I might be able to salvage before the completion goes through.’
‘Good idea.’
‘I feel like I’m about to burst,’ grinned Nell, ‘Are we ready?’
Bea hovered behind her, waiting for her to open the door, ‘Come on, hurry up!’
‘And Mum … I’ve no idea why you’ve bought a pile of cleaning products with you. The whole place is going to be gutted as soon as the money has been deposited in the account and the builder sends his men in.’
‘Always be prepared,’ claimed Gilly, ‘You never know what we might need.’
As Nell twisted the key in the lock she swallowed down an excited squeal and wrapped her fingers around the door handle. She took a deep breath and pushed opened the heavy door with a flourish.
‘Ta-dah! Welcome to the Red Carpet Cinema,’ she said tremulously, her heart clattering with anticipation.
All three of them stood in the magnificent foyer and took in their surroundings. The sunlight poured through the broken glass windows and specks of dust danced about before their eyes.
‘Look at this place, it’s just how I remembered it,’ said Bea in awe. Gilly placed the box of cleaning products on the floor and they all spun round, taking in the view.
‘I can just imagine crowds of people queuing up here for their tickets, then over there for their ice-creams.’
‘How are you feeling?’ asked Bea, tentatively.
Tears pricked Nell’s eyes, ‘Ollie would have loved this so much.’
Ollie.
She was doing this for Ollie, his memory.
‘He would.’ Gilly squeezed her arm, for the first time showing her support for the project.
Wiping the tears with the back of her hand, she gave out a tiny laugh, ‘I’m not sad, just emotional,’ she admitted. ‘I’m feeling good.’
Today was the start of Nell’s future.
She sighed happily, ‘Come on, let’s sort out what we need to keep.’
‘Anyone there?’ the door opened and Nathan strolled in.
‘What have you done with Jacob?’
‘He’s gone to his friends for tea and I couldn’t miss this,’ he said, ‘I hope you don’t mind me gate-crashing.’
‘Not at all, come on in.’
‘I was expecting a pile of rubble inside,’ he admitted, ‘It’s quite spectacular, isn’t it?’
‘It’s something else,’ agreed Nell, ‘But when we go through to the cinema rooms it may be a little dark, the electricity wasn’t working when I first came to view the place.’
‘I can have a look at that,’ Nathan suggested, ‘You go ahead. I’ll catch you up.’
They watched Nathan wander over to the cloakroom area before Bea and Gilly followed Nell down the ramp towards the smaller screen.
‘Oh my memories, memories, memories,’ said Gilly.
‘It seems a little strange we are in here and it’s soon to be mine.’ Nell met her mum’s gaze. ‘Here, I remembered to bring a torch,’ she said, fishing around in her handbag and handing one to her mum.
Shining the beam towards the chairs, ‘What do you think? Are they salvageable? I know they smell damp and a few of them are ripped, but do you reckon they could be saved with a deep clean?’
Gilly ran her hand over one, ‘Yes, definitely feels damp,’ she said, bending over and wriggling her nose, ‘and pongs a little, too, but they are not in bad condition at all, considering.’
Nell walked up each row, checking the condition of each chair, when suddenly the whole place burst with light.
‘Whoa! Electricity!’ exclaimed Nell, trying to focus as dots danced before her eyes.
The door swung open and Nathan swiped his hands together, ‘All fixed, the electricity had tripped at the mains, probably due to the rain seeping in, who knows.’
‘Thanks, Nathan! At least we can give everywhere a thorough inspection now.’
Thirty minutes later, all three of them were up in the projector room. It was an emporium of treasures. Reels and reels of films, posters, ice-cream trays and clapperboards.
‘All this stuff should belong in a museum. It’s funny to think that even after technology has evolved so much they still used the old methods to show the films in this cinema,’ Gilly mused while blowing the dust off a couple of reels. ‘Do you think you are going to go all digital on us, Nell?’
Nell stood and thought about it for a moment, ‘I have no idea, but wouldn’t it be fantastic to keep at least one of the cinemas with this set-up? Playing the old films from the past using the old-fashioned methods. I mean, look at all this …’
She chewed her lip while deliberating what to do about the old projector. ‘It’s an amazing piece of equipment. I wonder if it still works?’
‘There’s only one way to find out,’ said Nathan, bending down at the side of the machine and scrunching up his face with concentration.
He flicked a switch and a cloud of dust spluttered into the air. He coughed as the machine began to whir, then he flicked a lever. They watched in amazement as the empty reel holder began to turn. Nell twisted the lens caps and pulled. A bright beam of light shone straight through the small window in front of them towards the heavy-duty curtains in the cinema below.
‘Well, just look at that!’ Nell clapped her hands together in excitement.
‘I can’t believe it’s still working,’ Gilly answered.
Nell raised her eyebrows and held out her hand, ‘Wait there!’
They all watched Nell run out of the room, her footsteps echoed towards the main foyer, then they finally petered out, but soon they heard Nell holler, ‘Down here.’
Bea rushed towards the window and saw Nell standing below in the auditorium, madly waving her arms at them.
‘What are you doing?’ she shouted.
‘Watch!’
They all stood and watched as Nell fumbled around with a switch panel at the side of the room and suddenly there was a loud creaking noise.
Gilly gasped and grabbed Bea’s hand, ‘My gosh, look.’
The curtains began to part slowly until, finally, the old cinema screen was revealed.
Nell gave them the thumbs-up and within a couple of seconds was standing back in the projector room. ‘How magical was that?’ said Nell, glancing through the window towards the cinema below.
‘Like some grand unveiling,’ Gilly said, smiling at her daughter’s excitement.
Nell spun round to them both, ‘This is a crazy idea but …’ Nell’s voice rose an octave.
‘You look mischievous,’ grinned Bea.
‘Pick a reel,’ Nell insisted, her eyes sparkled as she playfully pushed Bea towards the boxes on the shelf. ‘And don’t look which one it is.’
Bea reached to a high shelf and pulled down a box.
‘Pass it to Nathan.’
He held out his hands, not having a clue what Nell was up to.
‘Do you think you can hook it up to the projector?’
‘I’ll give it my best shot,’ he said, staring at her, then towards the black contraption.
‘Come on,’ she said, grabbing her mum’s and Bea’s hands, ‘Let’s go. Take a seat and watch a film!’ Nell’s heart skipped with happiness as they hurried towards the cinema screen.
Within five minutes the auditorium burst into life, the sound boomed out, ‘OMG its ‘Asteroid’! Now we are in a proper cinema!’ Nell squealed, conducting the theme tune and humming loudly.
‘Got to love a bit of Pearl and Dean,’ Nathan grinned sliding into the seat next to them.
‘I feel like a kid in a sweetshop,’ grinned Nell,
‘It’s just a shame we haven’t got any popcorn.’ Gilly slid into the chair, making herself comfy.
‘I’ve got a packet of fruit pastilles, but quite honestly I’m not sure how long they’ve been festering away in my jacket pocket, but I’m more than happy to share.’ Nathan reached inside his pocket.
‘I think on this occasion I’ll pass,’ chuckled Nell.
‘It’s about to start.’
‘Shh! Keep your voice down,’ Nell whispered, widening her eyes towards Bea and everyone giggled like a group of school kids.
Bea leant across and slapped her knee playfully. They all settled down in their chairs and watched the title roll.
‘I don’t think I’m familiar with this one.’ Nell crossed her legs, trying to get comfy, ‘Do you know it, Mum?’
Gilly didn’t answer – she was too busy staring at the screen.
‘She’s watching the film,’ Bea whispered in Nell’s ear, ‘Stop yattering!’
Nell squeezed her knee.
Bea rested her head on Nathan’s shoulder and he tilted his head towards and smiled, ‘I feel like a teenager again!’
‘You’ve got a good memory, then!’
No one spoke for the next twenty minutes as they watched the film, until suddenly Nell bolted upright and stared at the screen.
‘What’s up with you?’ whispered Bea, but wasn’t sure why she was actually whispering as there was only the four of them there. It wasn’t as though she was interrupting the film for anyone else.
‘Surely not,’ she muttered.
‘Surely not what?’ queried Bea, looking at the screen, then back towards Nell.
‘I thought I recognised him, but I couldn’t quite think where from. Then it hit me. He’s so much younger there and without his beard.’ Nell shifted in her seat and scrutinised the screen. ‘Yes, it’s him.’
‘Who’s him?’ asked Nathan, intrigued.
‘That man. Look at him closely, admittedly he’s a lot younger.’
‘Where am I even meant to be recognising him from?’
‘It’s Lloyd, the man on the boat, you know … the one that Guy rescued. He was at the auction with us.’
Nathan scrutinised the screen, ‘I think you’re right.’
‘But he told me that his wife was an actress. He never mentioned anything about him being an actor, too!’
‘And his boat is called Much Ado About Nothing.’
‘He was at the auction with you?’ Gilly suddenly chipped in.
‘Not exactly with us, with us. We bumped into him outside and then I noticed him standing at the back of the auction room.’
‘You know what, Nell, it’s definitely him.’ Nathan was still looking at the screen. Do you know him, Gilly? Is he an actor from way back?’
They all swivelled their heads towards Gilly.
‘I’m not familiar with him at all,’ she answered, her voice shaky.
‘Well I never. I can’t wait to ask him,’ Nell slumped back in her chair and tucked her feet underneath her.
Once the film had come to an end, they all sat forward in their seats and watched the credits begin to whizz up the screen.
‘Yes! It’s him, Look!’ She pointed towards the screen.
‘Lloyd Keaton! Well, fancy that!’ exclaimed Nell.
‘You must mention it to him next time you see him; the first film you watched in your cinema was with him in it,’ said Bea.
‘I’m almost tempted to go across now. We have our very own film star mooring at our marina.’
‘I’ll switch the lights on,’ Nathan bounded over to the panel and flicked the switch. Immediately the room lit up.
‘How brilliant is that? Everything actually all still works, so apart from new windows, carpets, curtains and a lick of paint, if we deep-clean these seats we could be up and running within six months. What do you all think? Would that be realistic?’
‘Possibly, but you really do need to check out the wiring, plumbing and all that. It will certainly be full on. Maybe it’s worth thinking about keeping one of the cinema rooms for all the old films like this, and setting up a digital one for the latest releases,’ suggested Nathan.
She nodded, ‘What do you think, Mum?’ They all turned towards Gilly, who hadn’t joined in any of the conversation. She’d turned a ghastly white colour and all of sudden didn’t look well.
‘You okay, Gilly?’ asked Bea, raising her eyebrows at Nell, who looked at her mum with concern.
‘Mum?’
‘You’ve looked like you’ve seen a ghost.’ Nathan touched her arm.
Gilly roused herself, but it was clear she was having difficulty speaking, ‘I’m just feeling a little unwell. I think I’m getting one of my headaches, it’s been a while. I need to go.’
And with that she got up and hurried out of the auditorium.
‘What was that all about?’ asked Bea
‘I’ve simply no idea but I’m going to find out,’ Nell said, dumbfounded, watching the cinema door swing shut after her mum. ‘I’m genuinely worried about her. She doesn’t seem herself lately at all, especially where this place is concerned.’
‘No it’s not like Gilly at all.’