‘I’d go down there and make a fuss,’ said Renee. ‘Which garage was it?’
‘It wasn’t local. It was a big one in Yorkshire, but the salesman came all the way here to deliver it, which was kind.’
The others shared knowing looks. ‘What?’ asked Dixie.
Nora felt for Dixie. She was a lovely trusting person but having lived her life in an upper-class bubble she wasn’t the most streetwise. Nora needed to break the bad news. ‘I’m a bit worried that maybe—’
‘It’s a scam!’ butted in Renee. ‘There are some rotters about. Don’t worry. I’ll have a look at it for you. I know my way around VW campers. I spent most of the Flower Child Festival in one. I’ll soon have it back on the road.’ All heads spun in Renee’s direction. ‘What? You don’t think I shared one of those with half the members of The Alan Price Set in sixty-seven?’
‘I do believe you but sleeping in one is quite different to fixing one,’ said Jay.
‘True, but Robin Gibb would tell you I’m a dab hand with a spanner. If he was still alive, of course. Anyway, do you want me to have a look at it?’ Renee tilted her head at Dixie.
‘Er… yes please,’ said Dixie. ‘When’s good for you?’
‘Well, weekends are at leisure, which means we do sod-all. On Mondays we have armchair Zumba, Tuesday is Singalong Sally (who can’t actually sing a sodding note but that doesn’t stop her), Wednesday’s Mindful Meditation, which is when everyone falls asleep and Iplay who will fart first, bloody Brain Training Bingo is on Thursday, and Friday is Ninja Jigsaw night.’
‘Really?’ asked Dixie.
‘OK, I added the Ninja part, it’s just chuffing jigsaws. And I can’t stand any of it so there’s naff-all in my diary– take your pick.’
‘Great. I’ll pop around tomorrow,’ said Dixie.
‘Not too early,’ said Renee. ‘The chiropodist comes on a Friday morning. I don’t have an appointment this week but he’s nice to look at. It brightens up an otherwise piss-poor day.’
Nora shared her knitting with Renee and she did a lot of tutting before declaring it ‘thoroughly ballsed up’. Nora sipped her cocktail while Renee tried to fix it. Nora was a bit down about her dad’s jumper but it was nice to catch up with friends and have a chat.
When their time was up, they packed away, and Nora and Jay said their goodbyes to Dixie and Renee and left them to fine-tune arrangements for Renee to look at the van. ‘Any news on that audition?’ asked Nora.
‘I didn’t get it. I’ve got a couple of auditions coming up, to destroy my already fragile ego again. So, yay. And the film I did last year where they ran out of money–Undercover Bullets– found some cash from somewhere so it’s in editing. Mainly because the American actor Tasha Blake was in it and she’s just had a break-out hit.’
‘Oh, the sexy spy thing with the bloke from that film we watched and the woman that did that series I binged?’ said Nora.
‘I believe that’s exactly how they will describe it in the trailer.’
Nora stuck her tongue out at him, then said, ‘Oh wow! Jay, this is immense. Tell me everything.’
‘But then I’d have to kill you.’ He gave her his Roger Moore eyebrow. And in return she gave him the chilling stare her mother had taught her.
‘Fine,’ he said. ‘It’s an action thriller with a touch of comedy and a sprinkle of romance. Chances are it won’t be a huge smash hit, but my agent is positive about it, which is a weird thing because she rarely is about anything.’
‘Sounds great,’ said Nora as they left the building and began walking back to hers.
‘It also means I’ll be doing some schmoozing and publicity stuff with Tasha and she’s basically a goddess.’
‘Strong words. Does someone have a crush?’ Nora teased.
‘Totally. I’ll not even bother to hide it. She’s a talented actor, utterly gorgeous and supports a donkey sanctuary. Which ticks all my boxes.’
‘Does that make her your number-one celebrity crush then?’ she asked, quite interested in this revelation as Jay never talked about dating or who he fancied.
‘Definitely. My top three would be Margot Robbie, Sophie Turner and Tasha Blake.’
‘Got a bit of a thing for blondes then?’ she asked, given all the women he’d named shared that obvious characteristic as well as being stunningly beautiful.
‘I suppose I do,’ he said thoughtfully.
They walked on a bit. ‘Any news on your, um…’ Jay was tipping his head and raising his eyebrows as he clearly tried to convey something he wasn’t happy to speak about.
