Westpoint Tales - Entangled Tales, 94 - Saturday Night at the Movies

Saturday was the big day. In the morning, the entire family, along with Crispian and Dick Seaton, were sitting around the big table in the kitchen in the Adelphi. Connors was there, working away along with Mrs. Meyers. Lisa didn’t work there anymore, she worked next-door at Billy’s Burgers.

Justin became aware of eyes fixed on him. He looked up at the small, curly-haired, boy standing in the doorway staring at him. When Justin looked back, he nodded his head and smiled and kept staring.

Jonathan was sitting with his back to the door, so Justin leant across and tapped his plate with a knife. Jonathan looked up. “What?”

Justin nodded towards the door. “Is he looking for you?”

“Is who looking for me?” Jonathan turned around, and then leapt up as he yelled, “Darby! Ohmigod, Darby!!”

He rushed over, caught up the kid in a bear-hug and swung him around. “It’s so good to see you, Kid. Where did you come from? Is your mum here?”

A second boy appeared, slightly bigger and also curly-haired. “Hey, Johnny.”

“Ricky!” He put the first boy down and grabbed up the second one, swinging him around as well. “Look at you! You’ve got so big.”

A woman appeared with a grin and two girls by her side. One was about 13 and the other was just a toddler.

“Mum! I mean, Mrs. . . Oh, dammit! Mum!”

“Hello, Johnny,” she smiled.

“Mum!” he dropped the boy he was holding and latched on to his ‘mum’, laughing and crying over her shoulder.

“Wow,” she said. “What have they been doing to you? You never used to be so emotional.”

“Mum, I. . .’ he pulled back and then he spotted the man out in the corridor behind her.

“Dad!” He flew at him for another big, emotional hug.

“Whoah, Johnny. Whoah. Settle down, Boy.”

Jonathan came back to the older girl and hugged and kissed her. “Sorry, Nettie. How’s my favourite girl?”

He stooped and picked up the toddler. “Baby Girl, you’ve got so big! You’re growing Girl.”

Finally, he turned back to the amused faces around the table. “Everybody, this is my family – my other family.”

“You don’t say, Johnny?” Justin grinned. “We would never have guessed that.”

“Shut up, Justin. Mum, Dad, family, this smart-mouth is my Justin – the greatest boy in the world and my own brother.”

“Hello Justin.” Mr. Shaw offered a hand. “We’ve heard all about you, of course, and seen the photos and the videos, but – Man! It’s incredible.”

“Yeah,” Jonathan grinned. “He is ugly, isn’t he?”

“Certainly is,” said Mr. Shaw. “Just as ugly as you, Boy. Exactly the same, exactly!”

“They’re not ugly at all,” said Mrs. Shaw. “They’re both fine-looking boys. Hello Justin, I’m Donna Shaw. It’s nice to meet you at last. The last time we saw you, you were just a tiny new-born baby.”

“Yes,” said Mr. Shaw. “It could have been you that we raised. We could only take one baby and, even then, there was no difference between you. I just closed my eyes and we took the first one I touched – Jonathan.”

“You made the right choice, Sir.”

“I wish that we never had to choose. Even then I didn’t want to split you up.”

“You gave my brother a much better life, and I thank you for that.”

“See? What did I tell you?” Jonathan came around the table to grab hold of Justin. “He’s bloody amazing, isn’t he? I love you, Justin.”

“Shut up, Jonathan.” Justin hugged him back, kissed his cheek and then pushed him off. The Shaws frowned, but said nothing.

“Not much chance of that!” Jonathan grinned. “Anyway, Family – Shaw family – this is my new family, mine and Justin’s. This is our granddad and our grandmother, Bob and Kathleen. This is Billy, he’s, well, he’s my brother too. Our friend, Crispian, and Connors, Dick Seaton and Mrs. Meyers – they work here but they’re friends too.”

After introductions and handshakes all around, Kathleen seated the newcomers around the table and they sat and talked. The Shaws had been wanting to come up for some time, to see how Jonathan was getting on and to meet his twin and the rest of their family, but they hadn’t been able to get away from the farm; not even for the 16th birthday. They were really sorry about that.

Jonathan said that he already knew that – it was not a problem. Now they’d managed it. They just had to come, what with the news of the coming babies – 2 sets of twins! Also, this movie premiere, featuring some of Johnny’s new friends, they just had to see that. Was he going to be in it too?

“He is,” said Crispian. “Fleetingly, but he’s in there.”

Well! They’d just have to see that then. Jonathan wanted to know how they knew about the movie, he hadn’t told them, had he?

Crispian said, “No, I told them. I thought they’d like to know.”

“Wow. You’ve really thought of every detail, haven’t you, Lordship? Dad, Mum, Crispian was the director for the movie – the director, the writer, the cameraman and the general bossy-boots who brought it all together. It’s Crispian’s movie really.”

“No it’s not, it is Whozzat’s movie. I was just privileged to help them a bit.”

“Bloody big bit, Lordship.”

“Yes, well. We haven’t finished yet either, there’s still some things to do. I’ll bring back some tickets for your family, Jonathan. Mrs. Shaw, I’m afraid the premiere will be rather late for the little ones. It doesn’t start until 10 o’clock tonight. We ask too that everyone arrive in their very best clothes, it’s going to be filmed you see. I’ll be back later with some tickets – 2 adults, 3 children and an infant.”

The Shaws were intending to stay, for two days only, at the Motor Camp in their caravan. Kathleen insisted that they come to the hotel. They could, at least, park out behind the kitchen, use the facilities and eat with Jonathan. They agreed to that much. The boys wanted to sleep in the hotel, so Jonathan took them up to his room – they could sleep on a mattress on the floor.

They spent the day visiting and Jonathan showed them around the town and his new life. Justin was polite, (of course), and friendly at first, but, sensing their disapproval of his relationship with Billy, he soon withdrew and stayed away from them rather than cause upset to his brother.

Billy offered to go and stay at Ma’s for a few days, but Justin wouldn’t have that.

“You’re not, Sunny. You will not! We’re not hiding and why should I be robbed of you just for those jerks? You stay here or we’ll both go to Ma’s.”

“Okay, Sweetcheeks, we’ll stay here. This is our home. Fuck ‘em.”

“Yeah, Sunny. Fuck ‘em – not really though.”

“Shut up, Justin.”


The interminable day finally drew to a close. All over town people were bathing and showering, shaving and preening and dressing up in their best clothes. There wasn’t a hire suit left in any shop in town and the menswear departments had record sales of men’s suits.

Outside, another brilliant sunset faded into the night, but hardly anyone noticed. Finally, right on cue, for the benefit of a camera filming from a helicopter flying low above the town, all the lights of Westpoint went out.

They came back on again, block by block, working from the western end, along the main street to the St. John’s theatre at the bottom end. As the lights came on, marking a brilliant trail along the long street, the helicopter flew low, following along and up to the theatre.

Coloured spotlights flashed along the theatre’s walls, and then all went white as a banner unfurled down the big side-wall. It had seven cartoon faces of the group above huge, red, block letters – WHOZZAT’S MOVIE.

(Jordan Taylor and Jason McDonald, the best artists in town, had done the banner and all of the artwork for the movie, posters and CD’s etc.)

A red carpet lay along the sidewalk, fringed with hundreds of fairy lights, and Whozzat’s music played as the crowd, released from the barriers along the street, began filing into the theatre. They smiled and waved at the cameras pointing at them.

Inside, when all were seated, cameras flashing and souvenir programmes fluttering, the Mayor of Westpoint, Tom Craddock, in full regalia, came out onto the stage and read a short speech welcoming everyone there and welcoming the first screening of our local kid’s locally made movie – “Our town, our kids, Whozzat’s movie.”

At these final words, he retreated as the curtains opened. The lights came up on 6 members of Whozzat, all in their suits – except for Sandie who wore her leathers, all standing with their instruments, ready to play.

They stood, smiling and waving, as the audience rose up applauding and cheering. Then the audience sat as all the lights in the body of the hall went out. Whozzat all bowed together and Peter started to play on his keys. The others all crashed into the tune and then Tones appeared. He dropped from the low curtain above them, yelling, “Wow!” and he exploded, danced and sang.

“She was a bee-bop baby on a hard day’s night,
She was hanging on to Johnny, he was hanging on tight.
Well I could feel her coming from a mile away,
There was no use talking, there was nothing to say,
When the band began to play and play.
And we danced, like a wave on the ocean, Romance.
We were lions in love, and we danced swept away for a moment by chance,
And we danced and danced and danced.

She was a bee bop baby at the Union Hall,
She could dance all night and shake the paint off the wall.
When I saw her smile across a crowded room, yeah,
Well I knew we’d have to leave the party soon,
And the band began to play our tune,
And we danced, like a wave on the ocean. Romance.
We were lions in love and we danced, swept away for a moment by chance,
And we danced and danced and danced.

Yeh, we danced. Woe is me, she’s walking my way, and the music played what she says.
Are we getting too close? Do we dare to get closer?
The room was spinning, she was just my baby,
And we danced, like a wave on the ocean. Romance.
We were lions of love and we danced swept away for a moment by chance,
And we danced and danced and danced.

Like a wave on the ocean. Romance. We were lions in love and we danced,
Swept away for a moment by chance, and we danced and danced and danced.

And we danced and danced and danced and danced.
And we danced and danced and danced and danced.
And we danced and danced and danced and danced.
And we danced, and we danced, and we danced.”