Page 39 of In at the Deep End

“That’s phase two.”

“Phase two?”

“We unpack them.”

He let out a theatrical gasp. “Forget paying me by the hour. At this rate you’d better throw dinner into the deal as well.”

A loud snort reached his ears. “I happen to have the number for a very good Chinese takeaway.”

Matt grinned. “You’re on.”

“Good. I was planning on ordering anyway. It seems a shame to eat Chinese on my own when there’s free labour in the house.”

Half an hour later, Matt had three bookcases assembled, and Owen had begun ferrying boxes from one end of the room to the other.

Matt cut through the tape on the first one and stared at the neat rows of plastic cases.

“So… what are these again?” He picked one up. “DVDs? I think my parents have cupboards full of them.” He glanced over at Owen. “There’s this amazing new invention you might’ve heard about. It’s called streaming.”

Owen didn’t even look up. “I’ve heard mixed reviews.”

Matt laughed. “Seriously though… I never knew anyone who owned this many.”

He set another box on the floor. “Own? Young man, this isn’t a collection.” He patted the nearest box. “It’s a carefully curated archive.”

“Is that what we’re calling hoarding these days?”

Owen gave him an affronted look. “Every one of those films earned its place.”

Matt chuckled. “There’ll come a day when nobody even makes DVDs anymore.”

“And there’ll come a day when a streaming service loses the rights to your favourite film.” Owen shrugged. “Mine will still be sitting on that shelf.”

Matt paused. “Okay.” He gave a reluctant nod. “That’s actually a solid argument.”

“It usually is.”

“So what have we got?”

Owen’s eyes lit up in a way Matt hadn’t seen before.

“Now that is an excellent question.”

Owen watched as Matt pulled cases from the box, his face lighting up with each discovery.

“Look at this. The Great Escape. Kind Hearts and Coronets. Zulu. The Third Man. A Matter of Life and Death. Lawrence of Arabia. The Dam Busters. The Bridge on the River Kwai.” He paused. “Oh. You’ve got Cinema Paradiso.” Matt’s smile reached his eyes.

“Everyone talks about the ending, but my favourite scene is⁠—”

“—when Alfredo tells Toto to leave.”

Owen gazed at him. “And never look back.”

Matt stared. “You noticed that too?”

Owen’s smile showed no signs of quitting today. “It’s the heart of the whole film.”

He’d assumed this would be another conversation where he recommended old films to someone who’d politely promise to watch them one day.