The Little Theatre on the Seafront: The perfect uplifting and heartwarming read

Lottie remembered Sid telling her about the carriage clock and she felt like she’d misjudged Mr Ryman. Perhaps he was just rubbish at buying presents.

‘Can I just ask,’ said Lottie, releasing his hand, ‘why has the theatre sat empty for the last few years? Why couldn’t my nan make any progress?’

Mr Ryman studied the clasps on his briefcase before looking up. ‘Your nan tried everything she could to get things going again. To begin with, the committee kept changing and no one could agree on a way forward and then, when the mayor joined the committee, people started leaving and it dwindled to just us. He can be quite … negative sometimes. And forthright.’

Lottie nodded as a smile crept over her face. ‘I did get that impression.’

Mr Ryman tucked his briefcase under his arm. ‘Well, goodnight then. See you next time.’

‘Yes, goodbye.’

Lottie sat down in the empty room and exhaled a long, deep breath. For the first time all day she could breathe properly. Her nan had brought her luck tonight, Lottie could feel it – she was definitely watching. The tension in Lottie’s neck and shoulders had given her a headache, but at least now she could go home, have a glass of cold white wine and relax in the bath. There was just one thing she needed to do first. She grabbed her phone and dialled Sid’s number.

‘So, how’d it go?’ he asked with a mouthful of food, probably peanuts if she knew him at all.

Lottie slumped backwards and laughed with relief. ‘I only went and pulled it off, didn’t I?’

Chapter 5 (#ulink_55244d24-8f28-5348-abf6-978ebdd5c800)

Sid watched the credits roll – everyone else was leaving but he knew to hang on. He’d seen enough of the Marvel films to know there was a secret scene after the final credits, a bit of a teaser for the next movie and all those other people were going to miss it. Ha! Idiots.

He sat back eating the last of his popcorn as he watched, excitement building in his stomach. It didn’t disappoint. But then he realised it was actually quite depressing, he was going to have to wait ages for the movie to be released. Still there was the new Batman film coming out soon and he and Lottie were going to see it.

Once the lights had come up he brushed the popcorn from his chest and peered down at the piles scattered around his feet. Using his foot, he pushed some in front of the chairs next to him. He wasn’t trying to make more mess for the nice guys who worked there, he just didn’t want them knowing that all of it was down to him. In his defence though, hand to mouth motor skills were quite difficult in the dark.

Sid grabbed his coat and made his way out into the foyer, giving a double take when he saw Selena standing with a group of friends. They were all as glamorous as she was with perfectly coiffed hair and matching outfits. One girl even wore a miniskirt even though the weather was cold and damp. He didn’t know people dressed up for the cinema. What was the point? It was dark and everyone’s eyes were on the screen.

Selena glanced over. She wasn’t wearing a miniskirt like her weird friend, just normal jeans and a T-shirt. It was a bit tighter than Lottie wore hers but still nice. Her hair was tied up in a strange, sprouty bun thing on the top of her head but it suited her, and her dark eyes were studying him. All the roundness her face had carried in their youth had gone and she now had delicate cheekbones. Selena smiled, said something to her friends and made her way over to Sid. ‘Hi again.’

Sid nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘Hi.’

‘Did you enjoy the movie?’

Sid’s expression grew serious as he considered. ‘Yeah, it was good. A bit slow in the beginning but once it got going it was fun. Did you?’

‘Yeah.’ Selena bit her bottom lip. ‘But we only came for Chris Hemsworth. Well, they did.’ She pointed to her friends.

‘Oh, right.’

She chuckled. ‘I did enjoy it though. Like you said, a bit slow at the start but it got better. Did you watch the secret scene?’

Sid’s eyes widened, surprised that she knew. ‘Yeah. Did – did you?’

‘Always!’ She gave a big grin and something happened to Sid’s heart. ‘So many people don’t know about it. It makes me laugh when they get up to leave as soon as the credits start and look at me like a weirdo for staying put.’

‘Me too! Do you come to the movies a lot?’

She nodded making the sprouty bun thing wobble. ‘When I can. I like a good action film. I’m not keen on all those depressing artsy type things designed to make you bawl your eyes out.’

‘Me neither,’ he said and could feel the silly grin on his face pulling at his cheeks. Sid scratched his head, urging himself to think of something to say. He loved movies, she loved movies, surely he could think of something.

‘Where are you off to now?’ Selena asked inching forwards. Sid was grateful he hadn’t had to think of something. He’d have probably sounded stupid or said something pointless.

‘Just home.’

‘Oh, and where’s that?’ She edged closer.

‘One of the flats on the seafront.’

Her eyes opened wider. ‘In one of those nice old houses?’

‘Yeah.’ He registered the surprise on her face. ‘I came into some money and bought one when housing prices were still low.’ God, he was talking about housing prices. He sounded like an old man. He’d be talking about pensions next, or rheumatic joint pain. A wave of heat ran up the back of his neck and he placed his hand there, hoping to stop it.

‘Does it still have all those fancy period features?’

He pictured his flat. Underneath the piles of clothes he dumped on the floor and the mass of rubbish he hadn’t cleared up yet, there was probably something there. There was definitely an old Victorian fireplace in the living room, though at the moment it was full of video games. ‘Yeah, it’s got a few things like that.’

‘I’m impressed.’ Then her face clouded over. ‘I’ve had to move back in with my mum and dad at the moment. But hopefully it won’t be for long.’

‘I’m sure you’ll be fine once you get back on your feet.’

‘Thanks.’ She smiled at him and Sid felt a burning in his lungs. One of the girls Selena had come with called her name. She spun back to Sid and though he wasn’t sure, her expression seemed like she wanted to stay. ‘Sorry. I have to go.’

‘Oh, alright.’

‘Did you want to come with us?’ she asked, looking him straight in the eye. ‘We’re going to that nice bar on the High Street. The girls want to dance.’

Sid couldn’t think of anything he’d like to do less except for maybe clean his flat. He wasn’t a dancer. His signature move was more of a lunge. And he’d be the only guy amongst a load of fashionable, glamorous girls. Some blokes liked that sort of thing but to him it was like asking if he wanted to swim naked with sharks with a T-bone steak tied to his neck. ‘Umm, no thanks,’ he said, hoping she wouldn’t take offence. ‘But you have a nice time.’

‘Okay.’ She went to walk away then turned back rifling in her bag to pull out a pen and a tiny notebook. ‘Look, here’s my number. We could meet for a coffee or something some time and chat about the old days.’ She wrote it down then tore out the piece of paper and handed it to him.

‘Yeah. Sure, that’d be nice.’ His stomach wriggled in a weird way that was both pleasant and unpleasant at the same time.

Selena left, glancing over her shoulder as she went, and Sid walked out unsure if his legs were actually moving or if he was being wheeled along by some supernatural force. His heart gave a pang and the fleeting thought of, ‘If only it was Lottie,’ ran through his head. No. That ship had sailed long, long ago. The thought of trying again with Lottie and it being another awkward and embarrassing moment that could potentially ruin their friendship forever made him squirm. No way. It wasn’t worth the risk. But he wouldn’t tell Lottie about Selena. Not just yet. She had enough on her plate and besides there wasn’t anything to tell.

The grin on his face returned and hurt his cheeks. He examined the number in his hand. A girl as gorgeous as Selena had given him her number. And she remembered the music he’d played her at uni, and she even knew about the secret scene. He was the luckiest man in the world. But then his elation fell away to be replaced with panic as he contemplated the number again. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Chapter 6 (#ulink_7a499eb0-dcfc-5af9-8add-4ba5ed6d7a85)

The wind blew stronger on Greenley seafront than Lottie expected even though it was spring and sunlight pierced through the gathering clouds, bouncing off the sea. She wrapped her coat around her. She liked spring weather, it was easier to dress for than summer when clothes revealed so much flesh. Big jumpers and coats hid her flabby upper arms and were far more comfortable.

Lottie’s nan could never understand her self-consciousness, believing Lottie was just big boned. She’d always had puppy fat but unlike most of the girls in her class at school, Lottie’s had stayed stubbornly in place past adolescence and long into adulthood.

Sid waved as he drove past, then parked down the street and climbed out. ‘Morning,’ he said, crossing over to join Lottie opposite the theatre where she stood gazing at it.

The Victorian building had a square front of grey stone, with two tall oblong windows either side of a majestic revolving door. The boarded-up windows were decorated with scrawls, spray painted swirls, and a useful list of expletives. The revolving glass doors, most of which were broken, were sheltered by a faded blue domed canopy, and at either end of the building, a rotting wooden frame encased an old, tattered, water-stained poster. The once bright colours paled to a sad, washed out hue.

Sid pointed to the wall. ‘Donna’s well liked, isn’t she? Very popular with the boys.’