SEVEN FOR A SECRET
It is Heather's silver wedding anniversary. But this important milestone doe not mark her marriage to Tom, her often-absent airline pilot husband and father of their two teenage children. It is for her first marriage - a wildly romantic, secret affair, when she and Iain - twelve years older than her and the heir to a Scottish baronetcy - had eloped immediately after her final school speech day. She was just sixteen at the time. The marriage had not lasted twenty-five weeks, let alone years, and it was, as her mother firmly announced, As If It Never Happened. But secrets have a habit of coming out, and when a film crew arrives in the attractive Thamesside village where Heather and Tom lived, Heather is horrified to find her ex-husband amongst them.
As Heather and Iain meet again, many secrets begin to emerge, including Tom's own highly secret life. Heather, her daughter Kate - the same age as Heather was when she eloped - and her mother Delia all have to reveal things which they never thought would need to.
I saw a fun film called 'Twinkle' when I was in my teens. It starred Susan George and was about a schoolgirl who eloped with an American writer. In spite of passion, love and optimistic intentions, the marriage doesn't work (unsurprisingly) and the movie ends with Susan George cheerfully aiming for divorce. Then many years later the film was on TV, late at night and I wondered about the main character... along the lines of 'What if..?', making up my own sequel on a twenty-five-years-later basis. "Seven for a Secret" was the result - now I just need the movie deal for it. Please.