“Oh well. I’m sure you’ll do okay there.”
I bit my tongue, not missing the insinuation that mum didn’t think I was a vet at the top of my game.
“Do you want to see some photos from Africa? Then I’m going to get some sleep – I’ll need to go shopping in the morning.” The fact that I no longer had anything but my Africa clothes and whatever I’d left at Matt’s was an annoying realisation. I didn’t want to call Matt and ask for my stuff and there was a chance he’d think I was encouraging him back in to my life. Although he hadn’t phoned since he’d gone back to Dubai, he had sent a couple of messages and posted photos of us from different occasions on his social media.
“I’d like that. Are there more of you and Callum?”
She was trying too hard to get more information out about us. This was my mother’s way; to rifle through as many different fillers and exclamation marks to explain something that suggested her only daughter would finally succeed and land herself a good husband.
I side stepped as usual.
“There are a lot of the animals we were there to work with, and the people we met while we were filming. That’s Jaime; she’s the presenter.” I started to go through the ones I’d taken, knowing that it would be mainly animals she’d be seeing as I wasn’t one for selfies.
By the time we’d got to Zimbabwe, she was tired of the pictures.
“How about some of you with Jaime or Callum? Aren’t there more ofpeople?”
I shook my head and closed the screen. “Not really.” There were, in a different file, as we’d swapped pictures before we left. “I could do with a shower and sleeping.”
She stood up and leaned over, kissing my forehead like she’d always done when I was a girl. “Do you want cheese on toast? With onions?”
I smiled. “That’d be great. Thank you.”
When Callum video called later on, much later on, I’d been searching for rooms to let. He looked tired and worried when he found out I wasn’t in my flat. When he told me he wished I was there, I felt a yearning pull at my chest to be there too.
I fell asleep thinking about him. Wondering whether another night would be a mistake. Or whether I’d regret it if I didn’t at least consider it. Sleep did not come easy.
* * *
I was surroundedby bags as I sat down in a coffee shop in a department store, wondering whether I’d actually lost permanent feeling in my feet or whether I would actually regain feeling at some point, when my phone rang.
It was a number I had saved as ‘Josh Producer’ and one I hadn’t received a call from since we’d finalised the Africa part of the filming.
I answered with a weird nervy feeling in my belly. “Hey Josh.” I tried to sound upbeat.
“Wren, hey, how’re you doing?”
We exchanged pleasantries, all the while me just wanting him to hurry up. He’d joined us a couple of times, once in Zimbabwe and again in Marrakesh, but only for a day each time.
“We’ve decided to change things round for the second spell of filming.”
Please, for the love of horses, tell me you still need me.
“We need to get through the itinerary quicker and as you and Callum were both pretty spectacular on camera, we’re going to send you to separate locations, you with Jaime, and have you video call each other so you can still get that spark.”
I didn’t ask what that spark was, I just hoped it was electrocuting him right now.
“How long are we talking?”
“Three weeks. Same pay as to what’s been agreed. Jaime has to bring something else she’s working on forward so we thought this format would work.” He sounded bored now, as if he was working on something else at the same time and this was no longer important now he’d told me.
“Okay.”
“Are you alright with it, Wren? You’ve done an amazing job so far and there’s a strong possibility of a second series. The first lot of edits we’ve started look freaking amazing.”
I heard the tapping of keys in the background. I definitely wasn’t his sole focus.
“I’m fine with it.” I wasn’t. The thought of not being with Callum, treating the animals over there put cold water over the prospect of filming again. If I’d been offered that as an option before we’d gone to Marrakesh, I’d have bitten their arm off for it. Now something had changed.
