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At first she ignored the voice, assuming it was directed at someone else.
‘Ma’am?’ a cinema attendant said more forcefully, and she looked up to see a tall boy in jeans and a stripy T–shirt standing next to her.
‘Come on, Aunt Liz,’ he said, looking straight at Tess, ‘Can we get some popcorn?’
Confused, Tess looked back to the attendant in the booth. ‘Is he with you?’ she asked Tess again, with a perfectly balanced mixture of disinterest and impatience.
‘Aunt Liz!’ said the boy. ‘Come on.’
He was about twelve or thirteen and she had certainly never seen him before, but there was something about the pleading look on his face that made the words tumble out of her mouth without thinking.
‘Hmm. Yes. Yes, he’s with me,’ she said, pushing more money into the slot.
‘Fine,’ sighed the attendant, sliding two tickets across and looking around Tess. ‘Next in line?’
Tess and the boy walked further into the lobby.
‘Pleased to meet you,’ she said archly, handing him his ticket. ‘I take it you’re my long–lost nephew? Which is a neat trick considering I don’t have brothers or sisters.’
‘Look, I’m sorry,’ said the boy. ‘They’re real age–Nazis here, but I really need to see The Pact. Some kids from my school came last night and paid for the Woody Allen movie, then slipped into the horror. I tried it for the one thirty showing but they caught me.’
‘Ah, so you’d thought you’d use some poor mug?’ said Tess, attempting a stern voice.
‘Come on, you must remember what high school’s like?’ said the boy. ‘There’s an in crowd and an out crowd. I’m pretty new at my school, I need all the help I can get.’
She couldn’t resist a smile; she knew exactly how that desire for social acceptance felt. She’d moved to Suffolk from Edgware when she’d been sixteen, and her first month at her sixth–form college had been awful. Everyone was already in their tight little friendship groups from their respective schools. Tess had been what her mother kindly called a ‘late developer’: awkward, introverted, and a little mousy. Even her exotic background – coming from sophisticated ‘London town’ – didn’t cut much ice with the country set. Out of desperation, she had signed on with the college magazine and, to her surprise, it had been her salvation. Shielded by her notebook and Dictaphone, Tess found she could talk to people, even boys, even good–looking ones. In fact, she found she was actually rather good at it and, quickly, her confidence grew. As if to reward her courage, Mother Nature gave her an overdue makeover, giving her shiny raven hair, clear skin, wide green eyes – and admiring glances from all angles. And to think she owed it all to journalism.
‘Popcorn?’ said the boy, falling into step with her. ‘It’s the least I can do,’ he said, handing her a huge bucket.
She wanted to tell him to just bugger off.
‘I’m Jack by the way,’ he added. ‘Can you just stick around until we get into the theatre? That woman in the booth keeps looking at us. Do something, maybe ruffle my hair?’
‘Do what?’
‘Or give me a dollar to get some gum. You know, something aunt–like.’
She rolled her eyes as Jack kept chattering. Finally they filed into the dark theatre. Tess wondered whether it was nerves or whether he was like this all the time. He certainly had a lot more to say for himself than she’d had at his age.
The film quickly started and it was exactly what Tess had been looking for – pure escapist fun, the sheer luxury of letting two hours slip by without thinking about anything much. Still, during the more gruesome bits, she found herself glancing over at Jack with concern. She had almost zero experience with children and had no idea whether this was irreversibly damaging his young psyche, or whether this was actually quite tame to a modern thirteen–year–old with access to a PlayStation and the Internet. By the time the credits rolled, Tess was starting to feel a niggling sense of guilt.
‘I can’t believe I let you watch that!’ she whispered as they walked out together. ‘All that violence and swearing. I hope you closed your eyes when, you know, the man and the lady were kissing.’ Tess was surprised at how protective she felt.
‘Kissing? I think they were doing a bit more than that,’ smirked Jack. ‘Thanks for bringing me anyway, Aunt Liz,’ he added. ‘I thought it rocked.’
‘Yes, it was pretty good actually,’ she admitted. ‘Worth us almost getting thrown in jail, in fact.’
They filed out into the street, both screwing their eyes up in the bright sunlight. After a couple of seconds she realized he was following her.
‘So where is your mum this afternoon?’ said Tess, rummaging around in her bag for her sunglasses.
‘In Greenwich.’
‘London?’ said Tess, surprised.
‘Connecticut,’ said Jack casually. ‘She lives there now with her new boyfriend. Is that where you’re from? London?’
‘London? Yes, I moved here a few weeks ago.’
