‘Being sewn into your clothes, nipple covers. You’ve had some fun times – in between the tricky ones, that is!’
She finds a tin opener mounted on the wall and marvels at how huge it is.
‘Is this for enormous cans of tomatoes?’
‘Probably. Show business is not that exciting when it’s all you’ve ever known, honestly,’ says Keera. ‘There are lots of downsides to the industry that don’t get talked about enough. I know an actress who put duct tape on her boobs for filming because they had nudity co-ordinators, et cetera, but she didn’t trust the director not to film her tits if they appeared. Total sleazoid.’
‘Me Too stuff?’ asks India anxiously.
Keera nods.
‘Women actors are treated differently just because they’re women. Don’t get me started. Much of the casual sexism never gets talked about because you’re famous and make money, so you’re not supposed to be upset by shit like that. It’s like –You signed up for this life, honey.’
‘Yeuch,’ India says. ‘Nobody signs up for that. You weren’t actually Me Too-ed, were you?’
‘Nope. My mom was with me all the time. People were scared of her, which was handy, I guess,’ Keera says and smiles.
‘People were scared of her because they knew she’d go mental if anyone touched me,’ she goes on. ‘She’s kind of tough. Mama lioness.’
‘She’s your manager?’
Keera lets out a breath.
‘Yeah. I should have said that earlier. Nobody was getting twenty per cent off us while she had breath in her body.’
They both laugh.
‘Sounds like the sort of thing my dad would say,’ India offers. ‘He’s in the rental car business, though.’
‘My mom used to be a performer, a cabaret singer, that’s how I got into this business. I remember her doing shows when I was little.’ Keera clears her throat, her voice becoming a little croaky. ‘She had this guest slot in Phoenix once for a whole year. It was the best year, actually. I was a kid, seven, maybe, and I loved Phoenix. We lived in this lovely little motel with a kids’ playground out the back and a pool that was clean, which was a rarity, I can tell you, compared to some of the places we lived.’
India can see Keera’s eyes getting misty as she remembers the past.
‘Life on the road is hard but Mom wanted to make it big, so we had to travel. I thought Motel Six was my address for a long time. They’re low-budget motels and when you passed from state to state, if you hit the information offices, you got coupons for motels and food. A good motel coupon was like Christmas had come early. I don’t talk about this when I’m interviewed,’ she says wryly. ‘My mom likes the “my daughter just fell into stardom” version.’
‘I feel so ashamed of my puny problems,’ says India. ‘I never had anything like that. My parents both had money. Mum from her modelling and Dad because he built his business. Georgie, she’s my stepmum, has a brilliant business too. Very not a wicked stepmother,’ she adds, smiling.
‘That sounds really nice,’ says Keera, ‘but you can still have problems even when it all looks fabulous. Sadness and anxiety don’t care if you’ve cash in the bank.
‘Right, we are cooking dinner. Where are Dianne and Grazia? I bet they can cook.’
‘I bet Bernard can’t,’ says India, laughing.
Bernard lies on a sunlounger in front of the infinity pool with a vast tumbler of good scotch whisky and ice beside him on a small table. The notebook Rose gave him is also on the table, along with some factor-20 SPF.
He has written nothing in his notebook.
His phones sit on top of it.
Nobody needs him right now. He’s not cooking dinner, whatever Rose says. He’s had two work calls and ripped the heads off a few people. They deserved it.
He talked briefly to his son, Stephen, and agreed that Stephen’s newest business idea is a good one and funding will be sorted out within the week. It’s a terrible idea but Bernard would never say that.
He’s just pushed more money into his daughter Viola’s handbag business even though she has none of his business acumen and won’t listen to any advice. Still, he’s their dad. His job is to give them everything he was never given. They’re happy.
All is well in his world.
He closes his eyes against the luscious heat of the September sun.
