Read Online Far From Home by Anne Bennett - Free Book Online Page B

people come in when the film has started and the whole place is in darkness, then she has to use that silver torch she has fastened to her belt. It’s for winkling out troublemakers too,’ Kate added. ‘If people keep talking through the film, or are making a nuisance of themselves in other ways, then the usherette comes down and shines the light on them and tells them off – or in some cases chucks them out.’
    â€˜Better behave myself then.’
    â€˜Yes, you better had, or I’ll throw you out myself,’ Kate said with a grin. Then, with a glance at her watch, she said, ‘It’s all going to start in a minute. That organ will fold away down below, the lights will go down, the curtain will open and …’
    â€˜ The Lady Vanishes will start,’ Sally finished for her.
    â€˜No, it won’t,’ Kate corrected. ‘Or not straightaway anyway. They have a B-film first and then Pathé News and advertisements for what’s coming next week before the main film.’
    â€˜I can hardly wait.’
    â€˜You won’t have to. Look?’
    The tune on the organ came to an end and then the whole thing, man as well as instrument, slowly vanished. The lights began to dim and the excitement began in Sally’s toes and spread to fill her entire body. There was a whirring sound behind them and Sally saw the beam of light directed on to the screen. She sighed with happiness.
    She enjoyed the film that Kate had disparagingly referred to as a B-film, and she loved the cockerel heralding Pathé News, and even the way the news was presented in a slightly comical way. But when it eventually drew to a close, the lights came on again and the usherettes appeared down each aisle, this time carrying trays around their necks. ‘What sort of ice cream do you want?’
    â€˜Oh,’ Sally said, her face aglow. ‘I can’t remember ever having an ice cream before.’
    â€˜No,’ Kate agreed. ‘I hadn’t till I came here, but now a visit to the cinema is not the same without an ice cream. You can have a cornet, a tub, or my favourite, a choc ice.’
    â€˜Is that what you’re having today?’
    â€˜Think so.’
    â€˜Then I’ll have the same,’ Sally said. ‘And thanks very much.’
    Afterwards, she thought she had never tasted anything as delicious as that first choc ice. The crisp chocolate split as she bit into it and her mouth filled with cold and creamy ice cream. She said not a word until it was all finished and then she licked her fingers and said, ‘I have never tasted anything like that before in my life. It was wonderful.’
    Kate laughed. ‘You’re easy to please,’ she said. ‘Now settle down in your seat because the main film is about to start.’
    And what a film it was: Sally was captivated from the start. It was just as if she was actually in it. Kate was as entertained by Sally’s reaction as she was by the film itself and they talked about it nearly all the way home.
    â€˜Do you go to the cinema a lot?’ Sally asked.
    Kate nodded. ‘A fair bit,’ she said. ‘But sometimes we have to wait for the big films. They tend to go to London first and then the other big cities.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t mind how long I waited,’ Sally said. ‘I think it’s great to have all this so handy.’
    â€˜It is, I know,’ Kate agreed. Then she asked, ‘And what are you going to do with yourself while I’m at work tomorrow?’
    â€˜Oh, I’ll have a mooch round the shops and that and I’ll do any shopping you need as well.’
    Kate nodded. ‘That’s good,’ she said. ‘I will be grateful for that. I’ll give you a key; I have a spare. Just don’t get lost.’
    â€˜I won’t.’
    â€˜And if you get fed up looking at the shops and all at Stockland Green, you could always go down to Erdington