‘Yes, you’ll have the best time,’ Sive said. She, Mimi and Rocco were all graduates of the Gaiety School of Acting. ‘I’m kind of envious of you, actually.’ The course was rigorous and demanding, but she still remembered it as the most exciting time of her life. She was excited for Aoife experiencing it all for herself – the joy of spending every day doing what you loved, discovering a whole new world opening up before you andgradually acquiring the skills to master that world, the magic of learning to navigate a text and inhabit a character.
‘I can’t wait,’ Aoife said.
She’d already waited long enough, having turned down her place in acting school after their parents died and instead getting a sensible job and taking over as breadwinner for their little family. It was great to see her so happy now, finally pursuing her dream.
‘So what else do we want to see in the festival?’ Mimi asked, looking around the table.
‘Well, the touring shows at Halfpenny Lane, for one thing,’ Aoife said.
‘Yes, I know someone who might be able to get us into those,’ Mimi said. ‘Sam, Cara’s down as their first point of contact, of course, but we’ll give them your mobile number as back-up, if that’s okay?’
‘Of course.’
‘The Polish company’s SM will be coming over next week to scope everything out, so you can help Cara show him around.’
‘Back to talking shop already?’ Jonathan said teasingly. ‘It’s been, what, five minutes?’ He glanced at his watch.
‘What other kind of talk is there?’ Sive said, laughing. ‘We’re like those people who live over the shop. It’s all the talk we’ve got.’
Jonathan’s eyes crinkled in amusement. ‘I don’t think people who live over the shop spend their evenings discussing the stocktake or their next delivery of supplies.’
‘Well, I guess they just don’t love their business as much as we do. Shop talk is our favourite kind of talk.’
‘And our favourite type of holiday?’ Aoife prompted him.
‘I know this one.’ He smiled. ‘Busman’s holiday.’
4
‘I guessyou’ll be gone by the time I get home tonight,’ Aoife said to Sive as she left for work on Wednesday morning. ‘Enjoy your date with Sam.’
‘It’s not a date.’ Sive smiled, a spoonful of granola raised to her lips. ‘But thanks.’
She’d managed to get a couple of tickets forThe Plough and the Starsat the Abbey for this evening and she and Sam were going for a pre-theatre dinner beforehand at a little Italian trattoria nearby. Now that she thought about it, that did sound like a date. Was she going on a date with Sam by stealth, she mused, chewing thoughtfully. On the other hand, dinner and the theatre was something she’d do with any of her friends. Did Sam see it as a date, she wondered. She decided to stop trying to define it and just enjoy it for what it was. And if Sam thought it was a date and wanted to kiss her … well, that wouldn’t be so terrible, would it?
She met Sam that evening at Halfpenny Lane. She was waiting for him in the lobby when he emerged from the door to the backstage area.
‘Wow, you look nice,’ he said, grinning at her.
‘Thanks.’ She’d worn a new-to-her dress, a recent charity shop find, and made an effort with her hair and make-up – all the time telling herself it didn’t mean anything. She’d dress up for a night out with a friend, after all.
‘I’ve hardly had time to comb my hair,’ Sam said, running a hand through his top-heavy locks.
‘Well, you look lovely anyway.’ Sam always looked lovely. He had such a warm, friendly smile and being around him never failed to lift Sive’s spirits.
‘Right, let’s go.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘I’m ready to wrap my chops around a pizza.’
‘Long day?’ Sive asked as they walked to the restaurant.
Sam nodded. ‘I’ve been training the new recruit. I don’t even want to think about what he’s doing with my props table right now.’
Sive laughed. She loved how proprietorial Sam was about his job at Halfpenny Lane.
She hadn’t thought there’d be anything remotely romantic about an early bird dinner, but even though it was only six, the little trattoria managed to create an intimate atmosphere with low lighting and flickering candles, and the tables were so small that Sive’s knees were touching Sam’s underneath it unless she made a concerted effort to move them away. Still, what did it matter? They were both single and unattached, and if theywereon a date, they had every right to be.
They ordered food – pizza for Sam and aubergine parmigiana for Sive – and a half carafe of red wine to share.
‘We don’t want to get sleepy during the show,’ Sive said as she poured them a glass each.
