Chapter One
Zara put down her book, another trashy romance where the love interest was incredibly handsome, debonair and dashing yet still had time to be a new man and help around the house, and sighed heavily. Why couldn't she find someone like that? One who would sweep her off her feet and ride off into the sunset with her? Did that sort of man actually exist? She frowned, baby blue eyes staring out of the window at her unkempt back garden and the rain that was lashing down, turning the lawn into a quagmire. About as messy as her previous relationships, she thought wryly.
Not that there had been many of those considering that she was thirty in just a few short weeks. A couple of boyfriends during her teenage years and then a more serious one at university to whom she had lost her virginity. A hasty and unsatisfying experience as his roommate had been due back. Fumbling away with a condom and then having him come just about as soon as he had broken through her hymen! They had broken up a couple of weeks later and Zara had dedicated herself to flying through her exams instead, achieving her goal of a first class honours degree in business. Now she managed her own department, in charge of human resources for a small local company, and work was flowing in thankfully even in these difficult times with uncertainty about what was going to happen after Brexit. There had been a few one night stands, some from internet dating sites, but she had found those ultimately unsatisfying. The sex had been better than it had been with her university boyfriend but there was no intimacy and no meeting of minds...just bodies! Which is why I am spending my day off reading this romantic rubbish, she chided herself, looking at the front cover which depicted the usual chiselled heartthrob, dark hair blowing in the breeze as he clutched the girl to his broad chest. Hmm, was there a mail order department somewhere on the World Wide Web for one of those? You certainly seemed to be able to get everything else! She blamed her local bookshop for her descent into trashy literature as they always seemed to have a special offer on in the erotic romance section when she visited.
The sound of the post dropping through her letterbox snapped her out of her reverie and she took her cooling cup of tea out to the kitchen then went to the front door to see what delights were on offer today. A load of leaflets trying to sell her things, a bill from her credit card company, an offer to sell her house again and one single cream-coloured envelope that was lying face down on the mat. She picked it up last and turned it over, wondering if one of her aged relatives had got her birthday date wrong again. Sighing deeply, Zara slipped her nail under the flap and tore the paper across then extracted the card.
To her surprise, it turned out to be an invitation. Was someone getting married or having a special party? Frowning slightly, Zara opened the card then stared at the message inside which simply read, "Your presence is required at the cinema on Wednesday at 2pm. Sit in the second to back row over on the left in Screen Two." It had been inscribed in perfect copperplate handwriting and that made her raise an eyebrow as did the ticket which was stapled carefully to the corner of the card. Who would be sending her such a thing? Wednesday was today, wasn't it? She checked the ticket and discovered that it was for her nearest cinema, or multiplex as they seemed to be labelled these days, just a mile or so away. Was it one of her girlfriends playing a trick? Maybe Tricia? She was the type as she loved winding people up with little jokes. Zara blushed as she remembered opening the Secret Santa present last year in front of everyone and finding out that she had got a mini-wand vibrator from Lovehoney! She was positive that it had been Tricia then but she had never been able to prove it. Still, it had come in useful...or been useful in coming!
Why such precise instructions though? Did Tricia want to surprise her and make her yell out in the middle of the film? What was the film anyway? The ticket didn't say unfortunately. Well, anything was better than sitting around doing nothing on her day off. What did she have to lose apart from a little dignity when Tricia made her jump! Smiling at the thought, Zara glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was already nearly noon so perhaps it was time for an early lunch and then a leisurely stroll down to the cinema. It was based in the out of town shopping centre so she might even be able to do a little window shopping beforehand!
Chapter Two
The rain had relented thankfully so Zara enjoyed her walk down the quiet streets. She passed the park and smelt the sharpness of the rain lying on the recently-mown grass and noticed the crop of spider webs sparkling in the sunlight. Who needed romance when you had nature all around? Zara smiled and strode along, boot heels clicking rhythmically on the cracked pavement and black hair shining in the rays of the sun. Crossing over the road, she saw the shopping complex in the distance and checked the time on her watch, pleased to see that she would have plenty of time to pop into a few of her favourite shops before going into the cinema.
Zara lost track of time as she was browsing: the lingerie section of one shop attracting her towards it like a bee towards a pretty flower. If only she had a man to wear such delightfully skimpy things for! Why was there an inverse correlation between the amount of material and the price? She wondered about that as she dashed out towards the cinema, determined not to be late to meet Tricia...if that was who had sent her the ticket. It couldn't be anybody else though, thought Zara as she bustled through the doors and headed towards Screen Two, following the large, illuminated sign. What was the film? She looked up and found the title and laughed. An oldie but a goldie as her mother would have said. Was Tricia trying to tell her something?
Following the instructions in the card, after showing the girl on the door her ticket, Zara headed to the penultimate row and took a seat against the left hand wall of the cinema. She was only just in time because the lights dimmed almost immediately before she had time to see if she could spot Tricia lurking somewhere inside the small and sparsely-occupied auditorium. Slipping out of her coat in the heated atmosphere, Zara put it on the seat by her side and settled back, prepared to relax and enjoy the film until her friend tried to surprise her.
As the minutes passed, Zara found herself getting into the film and forgetting all about why she was there. She had seen the old movie on television many years before but it was far more dramatic somehow on the big screen. The action flowed seamlessly and the two main actors were flawless, bringing to life the emotion in their romance as the film built towards its conclusion. So involved was she that Zara never noticed anyone sitting behind her and the first intimation that she had was a deep voice that almost growled in her ear.
"Don't look round, Miss Dawson. Just keep staring at the screen."
"What?" Zara hissed, fighting the automatic reaction to swing round and see who was talking to her. It was like a line of dialogue out of a bad spy movie and she giggled slightly then stiffened as she realised that the timbre of the voice made it certain that it wasn't Tricia behind her. Perhaps she had sent a friend of hers inside to wind Zara up even more? Relieved at that thought, Zara faced the front and stared at the screen although her heart raced faster as she waited to find out what the man was going to say next.
