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

he liked, and they talked about the music they used to listen to. They chatted about uni friends and speculated on where they were now, wondering if any of them had ended up doing the jobs they’d actually studied for. As Selena pointed out when she’d touched his arm, he seemed to be the only one doing that, which was a win as far as she was concerned.

      But the moment that blew Sid away was when, during dinner, the conversation turned to Eighties movies and Selena said one of her favourite movies of all time was The Goonies. Sid had a mad passion for Eighties movies and The Goonies was one his favourites too. Selena even knew the names of all the Brat Pack.

      ‘You fancied Andrew McCarthy?’ Sid asked, unable to hide the surprise from his voice. Andrew McCarthy had always played the shy, geeky characters. Characters like Sid, and the flicker of hope he’d been harbouring suddenly flared up.

      ‘I know,’ she replied, smiling. Her eyes dipped in embarrassment as she tucked her hair behind her ear. ‘But I bet you always fancied Molly Ringwald,’ she teased.

      Sit sat back holding his empty glass of Coke, shaking his head. He had. There weren’t many people who even remembered those movies, let alone still watched them. He’d thought he and Lottie were the only ones. ‘Maybe a little,’ he replied, pretending to scratch his cheek to see if the heat he felt inside was noticeable. When Selena sipped the last of her drink he found himself saying, ‘One for the road?’

      When Sid drove them home that night and parked in front of Selena’s parents’ house, he didn’t know if he should give her a kiss or not. The date had gone well. Better than well, actually. He didn’t have anything to compare it to but it had been fun.

      He pulled on the handbrake and turned to Selena. ‘I had a really good time. Thanks.’

      ‘Me too.’ There was a glint in her eye but he didn’t know if it was just the moon reflecting down.

      Sid waited for a second but she didn’t get out. He could smell her perfume and the hairs on the back of his neck raised with anticipation. Was she really waiting for a kiss? From him? Of course from him, he thought, there was no one else there. He was just about to lean in and see if she would welcome a peck on the cheek when a wave of nerves so strong they nearly pushed his dinner out of his stomach rolled over and without thinking he sat back.

      Selena looked away and her voice was quiet. ‘Goodnight then.’

      He felt so jittery all he could say was, ‘Umm, goodnight.’ And she glanced at him one last time then opened the car door and climbed out.

      Fuck it.

       Chapter 9

      Lottie strolled down to the theatre about a week after the auditions. The first meeting of the amateur dramatics group was about to begin and they were waiting outside for her to unlock the door. The evening air had cooled and some of the players did little dances on the spot to keep warm. Thankfully, work had been slow and David had let her go early to have time to grab something to eat before the meeting.

      Some of the successful auditionees had already dropped out but there was still a decent number and a bolt of sickness shot through Lottie at the thought of speaking in front of everyone. But Lottie knew she had no choice. Her nan really was a scheming old so-and-so. She was having to face every conceivable fear doing this, and even some she didn’t know she’d had.

      Lottie opened the theatre door and led them inside. As they entered everyone peered around as surprised as she’d been the first time she saw it.

      ‘Gosh, it really needs some work doesn’t it?’ said Gregory.

      ‘I had no idea it was this bad,’ Cecil replied.

      Sarah caught up with Lottie as she walked down towards the stage. ‘I’m not sure our budget will even make a dent on all this.’

      ‘No, it won’t,’ Lottie replied with a sigh. She’d have to deal with that sooner or later but right now she wanted everyone to be cheerful and enjoy this first meeting. ‘But it’s okay, we’ll think of something.’ Sarah smiled and took a seat.

      ‘Yuck, what’s that stink?’ called Mrs Andrews, tottering in wearing silver high heels.

      ‘It’s just a bit of damp, Mrs Andrews,’ replied Lottie. ‘It’ll get better as we clean up.’

      ‘Is that what we’re doing today?’ she asked, panicked.

      ‘No, Mrs Andrews, don’t worry. If everyone could take a seat, please?’ The players filled the front row, watching her and her voice wavered until she hit her stride. ‘Welcome, everyone, to the first meeting of the Greenley Players. I thought today, as it’s our first meeting, I could introduce myself and we could discuss some plans for the group. I want everyone to be involved in the decisions that are made about where we go from here. This is a community theatre so we should all get a say. I thought we could start by going around and introducing ourselves?’