Ginny and Alyssa had known Georgie all their lives, but since they’d discovered Alyssa and Georgie shared a dad, which technically meant that Georgie was Ginny’s half-sister’s half-sister, they’d decided to drop all the labels and just consider each other family.
‘When did you get back?’ Ginny asked her, as Georgie slowly lowered herself into the seat opposite.
‘Last week. I came back from LA with Ollie but went home to London for a few days just to check Lachlan still loved me and hadn’t forgotten he had a long-distance pregnant girlfriend. And to show him that I wasn’t kidding about the size of this bump. Having a baby at thirty-eight is a whole different ball game from when I had Kayleigh at nineteen. Back then I was still dancing to Avril Lavigne and looked like I’d just eaten a large pizza right up until a month before she was born. Anyway, I just flew up last night to make sure that Ollie is as gorgeous as ever for the junkets he’s doing to promote the show over the next few days. I’m going to help Mum out today too. Moira is coming in at lunchtime to get her roots done, and then we’re closing the salon this afternoon and heading over to the Academy so we can be there for hair and make-up for anyone who needs us before the screening tonight.’
Alyssa came over with a mug of tea and a roll with a square, flat Lorne sausage in the middle for Georgie.
‘Oh God, I love you. How did you know?’
‘Because every time I’ve spoken to you for the last six months you’ve said the one thing LA doesn’t give you is a well-fired roll and square sausage.’
‘Yeah, all that sunshine and glamour is nothing without a good breakfast,’ Georgie confirmed.
Alyssa had obviously overheard the last part of the conversation. ‘So if you’re doing hair and make-up at the Academy this afternoon, does that mean the show is getting another series?’
Ginny shook her head. ‘No. Netflix still haven’t decided if they’re going to commission a new series, but the production company are filming tonight in the hope that they do.’ Just saying that out loud reactivated Ginny’s nervousness about the screening. She had no idea if she would feature in it – and even if she did, the cameras could have caught any one of a dozen dodgy moments. There was the time she came in with a hangover and then had to belt out ‘She Had It Coming’ fromChicagoin front of two dozen teenagers and three A-list movie stars who’d flown in to give Ollie some support by doing a one-off show to raise funds. Or the time she told a distraught eighteen-year-old to dump her cheating boyfriend and helped her cut up his favourite hoodie. Or the time that she got a squad of girls together and they stayed after hours to write an improv about the perils of periods. Ginny was unapologetic about it all, because she knew that her role straddled the line between coach and big sister to the students, many of whom didn’t have a stable family life or support system at home. But if the producers wanted to create drama, they could make her look crass, sloppy and unprofessional – that’s if they even bothered to use any of her footage at all.
At this point, Ginny still had absolutely no idea which option she’d prefer.
‘Right, ma love, come and get yourself seated over here and I’ll make you look as gorgeous as I can, without surgical intervention,’ Jessie called out from one of the salon workstations, where she was now set up and ready for action. Ginny had been so distracted by the chat with Georgie, that she’d almost forgotten that her purpose for coming today was so that Jessie could do her hair for her audition.
Ginny left Georgie to enjoy her giddy moment of gastronomic delight and did as she was told. ‘Thanks for doing this, Jessie. I really appreciate it.’
‘Och, you’re welcome, pet. We’re all rooting for you with this audition lark. Your grandad says this could be a huge, life-changing break if you get it.’
Ginny was pretty sure that Nicole Kidman’s hairdresser didn’t use the term ‘this audition lark’, but she appreciated the support.
‘It really could. I always hoped for the big TV or movie role, but I love theatre too and this would be amazing for me. It could really set things up for the future.’
‘Well, there’s no one who deserves it more. You’ve always been the biggest drama queen in this village and that’s saying something,’ Jessie said with a chuckle that immediately took Ginny’s stress levels down a couple of notches. Humour and jibes were expressions of endearment in their world.
Half an hour later, thanks to Jessie’s talents and a bit of self-applied make-up, Ginny had gone from pale, strained and bedraggled, to naturally, effortlessly put-together, but not too sleek, given that the producers wouldn’t expect Mary Magdalene to look like she’d just popped in for a makeover on her way to work.
‘Thanks again, Jessie.’
‘No worries, pet. Just send us tickets for the show when you land the part and it comes to Glasgow.’
Ginny got up and gave her a hug. ‘Only if you promise not to cheer every time I come on stage. The Mexican wave was a bit much when we did the Christmas panto at the Academy last year. I don’t think an Ugly Sister has ever had such an enthusiastic reaction. Anyway, I’ll see you all tonight at the screening and if I look crushed by rejection please console me with wine.’
‘Okay, ready to go?’ Alyssa cut into the conversation. ‘I’ll drop you first and then deliver these cakes on the way back. Grab a tray and let’s go.’ Again, pretty sure that Nicole Kidman didn’t have to cart trays of caramel shortcakes into a clapped out mini-van on the way to her audition forEyes Wide Shut.
Ginny said her goodbyes, kissed her grandad, hugged everyone else in the room, thanked them for all their encouragement, then headed out sporting shiny hair and a tray of baked delights.
‘Music or chat?’ Alyssa asked her when they got into the front seats, Ginny leaning slightly forwards to avoid a puncture wound from that damn spring.
‘Music. Our All Time Classics playlist.’
Alyssa plugged in her phone, and for the next twenty minutes, as they drove to the theatre, they belted out a medley of Shania, Dolly, Whitney, Rihanna, Taylor and Adele. By the time they got to the city centre, Ginny had believed the words of the divas and felt like a natural woman, had delivered a warning to Jolene, expressed that she wanted to dance with somebody, invited someone under her umbrella, shook it off and set fire to the rain. And she felt a whole lot better for doing it.
‘You’ve got this,’ Alyssa assured her, as they drew up outside the theatre, an institution that had been an epicentre of entertainment in Glasgow since the beginning of the last century. They came to a stop ten minutes before her audition time.
‘And if I don’t?’
Alyssa handed her a box of cakes. ‘You can always take these caramel shortcakes and bribe them?’
‘If I thought that would work, I wouldn’t be above it,’ she admitted, chuckling as she dropped the box into the backpack at her feet. Next, a quick check of her reflection in the cracked visor mirror, then she leaned over to give her sister a hug.
‘Thanks for the lift.’
