Lili frowned at the alcove on the other side of the fireplace. The alcove nearest the window, with the inbuilt white cupboard and matching shelves above, also had a small flatscreen television. With a Sky box beside it, she guessed there were at least some Freeview channels they could watch while they ate pizza. She did not want to set up the projector screen in the other alcove. ‘Can’t we put it away, Abigail?’
‘No.’
‘Why?’ Lili knew it was a stupid question.
‘There’s something I want to watch.’
Lili rolled her eyes. This was not going to work out. She didn’t think she could stomach sitting eating pizza watching Abigail’s home movies. Apart from anything else, all it would do was make her cry. At this rate, she could just imagine the two of them sitting on the sofa into the early hours, crying into their glasses of wine. She’d come here to cheer Abigail up, and to take her mind off Toby – if that were possible – not join her in her depths of despair.
Lili took her hands off the projector. ‘Look, I thought we’d watch a movie on the telly.’
Abigail started dragging the projector across the floor.
‘There’s probably nothing on.’
Lili glanced at the shelf above the TV, where there was a row of DVDs. She had a thought. ‘Is there a DVD player?’
Nodding her head, Abigail followed her gaze. ‘It’s in the cupboard beneath.’
‘Brilliant. I’ll get it out. I’m sure we’ll find something to watch among all those DVDs.’
‘No.’
Lili turned to her friend. ‘I have to be honest. I don’t want to watch your home movies.’ As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Lili regretted being so direct.
‘I know. I don’t expect you to.’
Lili watched her finish positioning the screen in the alcove and wished she’d put the damned thing back wherever she’d found it. She looked at the box of movie reels on the floor by the projector. ‘So, what have you got in mind?’
Abigail brushed her hands and walked over to the stairs. ‘I’ll be back in a moment.’ She opened the door and paused. ‘Can I smell burning?’
Lili’s eyes went wide. ‘Oh, no! I forgot about the pizza!’ She hurried past the sofa and into the kitchen while Abigail went upstairs. Lili grabbed the oven gloves hanging from the oven door handle and opened one of the oven doors. She hadn’t considered the fact that an Aga wasn’t like a conventional oven; the pizza had cooked in record time, but luckily it was only slightly charred around the edges.
As Lili walked out of the kitchen carrying the pizza on a large wooden chopping board, Abigail appeared, carrying a box. Lili set the board down on the coffee table and cut the pizza into slices with a sharp knife. She glanced over her shoulder at Abigail. ‘What have you got there?’
Abigail grinned. ‘You wouldn’t believe what I found the night I arrived here when I was rummaging around in the airing cupboard upstairs for some spare blankets.’
Lili put the sharp knife down and said flatly, ‘Not the projector screen – by any chance?’
‘Yes – and these.’
Lili shifted along the sofa, giving Abigail room to sit down and put the cardboard box on the seat between them. She opened the flaps and peeked inside. ‘More movie reels?’
‘Yes.’ She caught Lili’s surprised expression. ‘I couldn’t believe it myself. I found them with the projector screen. I didn’t know they were in the cupboard. When we holidayed here, that cupboard was always locked. I found the key to the cupboard with the front door key.
Lili frowned. This wasn’t what she wanted to see – more home movies. Would Abigail spend the next week back on the sofa, in her pyjamas, curtains closed, watching that screen? If she even stayed on next week, that was. Lili eyed her friend, already hatching a plan to get her out of the cottage.
‘Lucky coincidence, discovering that Daphne must have used a cine 8 camera too.’
That wasn’t what Lili wanted to call it – quite the reverse.
‘I haven’t found the camera or the projector. I wonder where they are?’
Lili wasn’t all that interested, although she did ask, ‘Do you know what’s on these?’
Abigail shrugged. ‘I don’t have a clue. They look quite old. We might not be able to play them if they’ve degraded.’
Let’s hope so, thought Lili. ‘Are there any labels?’ she asked, knowing that Toby had labelled his. She’d seen the strips of yellow masking tape stuck to the metal cases of each reel, with titles written in black felt-tip pen likeOur Wedding, Our Honeymoon.
Lili stole a glance at Abigail, recalling that the couple had spent their honeymoon in this cottage. She thought yet again that with hindsight, taking Abigail there had not been the brilliant idea she’d imagined it would be. She’d based the idea on her own experience after the breakdown of her relationship with Alex. It had changed her life for the better. But she realised that her friend’s situation was very different.
Abigail looked in the box. ‘Someone labelled them with dates, so at least we can play them chronologically.’
Lili nodded. ‘Some of these go way back.’ The one in her hand was dated summer 1980.
‘Do you think Daphne might be on some of these – if they work?’ Despite her reluctance to encourage Abigail to go down another rabbit hole and lose herself in the past again, Lili’s interest was piqued.
Abigail shrugged. ‘I have no idea. Why don’t we give one a try?’