I say this to prepare him because what he wants can’t work. He’s far too feeble to climb stairs. And Kendric House is in the midst of a major renovation. There are ladders and wires everywhere. It isn’t a place for an old man.
Raff is outside, leaning against a wall just outside the door. He straightens as soon as I come out of the room. Nearby, a care assistant is pretending to read something on the cork board but when she sees me, she turns to face me. “You’re leaving now?”
“I’m just going to drive her home,” Raff says in that calm way of his, but his hand on my arm is too tight and his steps are too fast to be any kind of calm.
The care assistant follows us, not even pretending. Clearly she has orders to see me off the property.
“I have a bad feeling they won’t let me visit Bill after this,” I grumble as Raff manoeuvres the minibus out of The Glyn car park.
“They can’t do that.” He swings onto the country road. It’s raining outside and the wipers are going full speed.
He adjusts his rear-view mirror until he can see me behind him. Catching my eyes but says nothing.
It’s a short drive home; he keeps glancing in his mirror, on and off. Since we’re the only thing moving on the road, it must be me he’s looking at, but he says nothing.
And for a strange reason, I don’t seem able to look away. Hopefully, he doesn’t get into trouble with his boss. It was supposed to be an afternoon tea, but we didn’t bring everyone back until after seven and no one wanted to eat dinner. Cynthia is bound to wonder.
“They won’t be happy about this, especially Mrs Jenkins who works for the catering contractors. She must be fuming.”
Raff is about to answer when my phone dings with an alert. When I pull it out, it’s Jarvis. My agent rarely contacts me. It’s usually me who has to call him.
It’s 9pm. On a Saturday night. What’s going on, have I been nominated for an award? I swipe the message with nervous fingers.
JARVIS:Have you seen the email?
What email? I go to my emails and sure enough, there’s one from him, sent this morning. When I was busy preparing.
It’s a long, long email with a forwarded string of communications between him and several others.
“We’re here.” Raff’s voice drags me back a few minutes later.
I look up. Ah, yes; he’s parked in front of Kendric House with the engine switched off. I put my phone away. “Thank you for thelift.” I unclip my seat belt and try to get up but my legs feel heavy and wobbly at the same time; my bum plops back down.
“You okay?” He gives me a concerned look.
I force a smile. Only an hour ago, half an hour, even, I was happy. “It was good today wasn’t it?”
“It was a triumph,” Raff says. “Far better than anyone dreamed. I don’t think I’ve seen them this happy. Ever.” His voice softens. “Not just tonight. The last two weeks have also been a great success. Since he met you, Bill has been a changed man. ‘My granddaughter is coming to visit me. She’s a great actress.’ He keeps telling anyone who’ll listen.”
“He’s a lovely man, the best kind of grandfather to have.” This time I can’t fight the tears, they spill on my cheeks.
Without a word, Raff eases himself from behind the steering wheel. There’s a box of Kleenex tissue on the dashboard; he pulls a couple of sheets and comes back to where I’m sitting behind him. Sliding into the seat next to me, he hands me the tissues. He doesn’t speak, just sits there giving me a little support with his solid presence. This big hairy man with the nice smile and wide green eyes.
“I lost a job,” I start talking even though he hasn’t asked me anything. “That was my agent.Aladdinhas been cancelled. Which means I’m not only unemployed now but also homeless because they were supposed to pay for our accommodation. He’s trying to get me compensation but it’s unlikely because the production company have gone into receivership.”
Raff puts an arm over my shoulders and squeezes lightly. “I’m sorry. This is a shitty thing to happen. There’ll be other better plays to come, I’m sure.”
I wipe my tears with impatient fingers. “Yes, there are. Jarvis says another company want me forSleeping Beauty. I don’t have to audition just turn up for the read-through in January.”
“That’s great news. Congratulations” He cheers, giving me a final squeeze before removing his arm. Even after such a brief contact, it feels cold when he shifts slightly away from me.
I know what he’s thinking. What a storm in a teacup. Silly girl crying when she’s got another part without even auditioning.
“It’s just letting Bill down when he’s been so proud of me. I told him I was playing the demon inAladdin.”
“I think he’ll be just as chuffed you’re playing Beauty.”
Beauty.
