‘Oh dear.’
When they entered the rehearsal room, Jack was already on the far side of the room, chatting to Sam and Mitch. Ciara made straight for the craft table and poured herself a coffee, while Sive made a green tea.
‘Still, I suppose at least it’s better than when he was playing the Dodger and he went around picking everyone’s pockets whenever I had people over to the house.’
‘He didn’t!’ Sive gasped.
Ciara gave her a wry look. ‘He got scarily good at it too.’ She leaned back against the table, clutching her cup in both hands. ‘It wasn’t badness. He gave all the stuff back … as far as I know anyway.’
‘Did he grow up in London?’
‘You mean the accent?’ Ciara gave a hoot of laughter. ‘That’s all Jack. He’s Dublin born and bred, same as me. But one of my brothers, in his wisdom, told him about Method acting and … here we are.’
‘Oh, gosh.’ Sive struggled not to laugh. ‘Well, hopefully he’ll get better on the crutch if he keeps it up.’
‘It’s going to be a very long couple of months otherwise.’
‘It’s a pity you won’t have Irene and Maria here with you most days,’ Sive said. ‘It must be a bit strange sitting through all these rehearsals when you’re not a part of it.’
‘I don’t mind.’ Ciara shrugged. ‘I’m used to it. And I enjoy watching – it’s interesting. Plus if it’s just me, I can sometimes get a bit of work done.’
‘Oh, what do you do?’
‘I’m an editor – freelance.’
‘That’s handy. Won’t it be hard to concentrate, though?’
‘I have my noise-cancelling headphones,’ Ciara said, patting the voluminous bag on her shoulder. ‘I largely went freelance so I could make my own hours and fit in with whatever Jack’s doing. I’m on my own, and there’s no way I could afford to pay a childminder to chaperone him at these things.’
‘He’s very lucky to have such a supportive mum.’
‘He deserves it. He’s a good kid.’ Her eyes drifted over to her son and she smiled. ‘This all means so much to him, so I want to do whatever I can to make it work.’
‘So you’re a single mother? That must be tough.’
Ciara shrugged. ‘It has its moments.’ Her gaze shifted to her son again. ‘But it’s totally worth it,’ she said with a gentle smile.
‘Okay, everyone, let’s get started.’ Alan’s deep, sonorous voice carried across the room.
‘Chat later,’ Sive said to Ciara. She felt a tingle of excitement as she went to join the rest of the company and start the first rehearsal proper.
The morning flew by, and Sive had never been more grateful for the distraction of work. This was just what she needed – exhilarating, fun and completely absorbing in a way that waiting around on a film set could never be, demanding every atom of her energy and focus. She threw herself into it wholeheartedly. She sang, she danced, she stretched her limbs and exercised her voice, and she felt lighter and more herself than she had in weeks. She was buzzing by the time she slid down the wall onto the floor in the first break, breathless and flushed. She unscrewed the cap on a bottle of water and took a long drink.
Mimi came over and sat cross-legged on the floor beside her. ‘So what’s the story with you and Sam?’ she asked.
‘What do you mean?’ Sive whispered, whipping around to see who was nearby and relieved to find there was no one else within earshot. The rest of the cast were mobbing the craft table, loading plates with pastries and helping themselves to drinks, while others snuck outside for a smoke.
‘I never heard how your date went the other night.’ Mimi raised her eyebrows expectantly.
‘What date?’
‘When you went to seeThe Plough and the Starsat the Abbey.’
‘Oh, it was really nice.’ Sive smiled. ‘The play was great. I’m so glad I got to see it. But that wasn’t a date.’
‘Wasn’t it?’
‘No.’ Sive felt her cheeks heat, embarrassed now that she’d thought it might be a date herself. Her eyes drifted across the room to Sam, who was chatting with Cara and Mitch.
