‘Hey, Abi. Have you finished with Blake?’ Danny called, no sign of slowing down.
‘His mask?’ I asked.
‘What else?’ he said, and the runner cracked a smile.
‘Yes, all done, it’s just setting now.’ I waved the bowls of green goo in the air as they breezed past. The people here were very strange. I washed up and grabbed some sparkling water from the fridge, feeling a huge sense of relief. I’d got through the awkward part of the day and managed to avoid Blake’s advances. Or at least dodge them, anyway. Hopefully now he’d take the hint. No meansno. A gorgeous guy like him could have anyone he wanted – but the word ‘no’ was like catnip to these ‘have-it-all’ types. The thrill of the chase made them desperate for more. I’d seen it in the theatre when auditions had gone badly in the past – actors stalking the director, demanding answers, convinced a mistake had been made. And on my many dates with Type-A men – they did not take kindly to being ghosted.
Eight minutes left on the timer. I dried up the bowls and glugged down some water. A day could easily whizz by without me thinking about food or drink if I wasn’t careful. I made my way back to Blake and Lucy, just as the buzzer went off.
‘Good timing,’ Lucy said. ‘Shall we do one side of the mask each? If we even out the pressure, it should come off nice and clean.’
‘Alright in there?’ I called. Blake nodded. ‘Bear with us. You’ll be out of here in ten minutes if this goes according to plan.’
Lucy and I set to work, edging around the silicone at the bottom of Blake’s neck, then lifting it up just enough to get our fingers in. We had to be gentle but firm, like peeling an egg.
‘You good?’ Lucy asked and I nodded. We went together and removed Blake’s entire silicone mask in one go. It was so satisfying as it suckered off. Blake’s beautiful face reappeared, completely smooth, and perfect. He scrunched up his nose and wiggled his mouth, giving both cheeks a slap.
‘Now you can create my doppelganger,’ he said, with a charming smile.
‘An evil twin?’ Lucy said, with a raise of her eyebrows.
‘Could the world handle two of me though, ladies?’ Blake’s eyes glowed with the question. The sound of running and screaming disrupted the heat in the air, as the door flung open and two little girls burst in. Both had nut-brown hair in French plaits and matching pink dresses.
‘Daddy!!’ they screamed, as they flung themselves at Blake. Each of them jumping onto one of his knees.
‘Hey, hey heyyy! What are you two doing here…?’ Blake cried, clearly both surprised and overjoyed to see them. He cuddled them in tight and kissed them, as a tall, tanned supermodel, walked into the room, followed by an officious-looking Danny, brandishing a clipboard.
‘Surprise!’ the supermodel said, joining the family photo and kissing Blake on the lips. Thiswasa surprise. She had a diamond the size of an ear on her wedding finger, on top of a thick gold band. Oh. Blake looked over at me and swallowed. And this was why I didn’t do second dates – they only ever led to heartbreak and disappointment.
‘We’ve come to England for the weekend, Daddy!’ the taller of the two girls said.
‘We’re going to see the KING at Buckingham Palace,’ the little one added.
‘They wanted to surprise you on set, darling,’ the woman said, looking around the room. ‘We got the red-eye, and they slept the whole way, so they arefullof energy. Lucky Mommy.’ She glanced across at me and Lucy, noticing us for the first time. ‘Hey, I’m Cora, Blake’s wife,’ she said, as if it needed explaining. ‘And these little livewires are Stephanie and Amelia.’
‘I’m Lucy and this is Abi,’ Lucy said, with a smile.
‘And I’m Danny, the Assistant Producer.’ He waved his clipboard to verify his importance.
‘Nice to meet you all.’ Cora nodded primly, as Blake bounced the girls on his knees.
Well at least that would stop any more attempts at fraternising. I really should have googled him last night and taken an interest in his personal life. I’d been so busy yesterday, then lost all sense of time rushing to meet Sara after work. I’d look him up and get the full low-down later. But at least now he knew thatI knewhe was married, there could be no question of wandering hands. And poor Cora. Bringing up his daughters on the other side of the world, while Daddy played the field as a single man. She was either completely in the dark or knowingly looking the other way. My inner girl-code wanted to tell her, just in case. To make sure she knew what he was up to over here, but I couldn’t bear the thought that he’d cheated on her with me.
‘Who wants to come and see Daddy’s dressing room?’ Blake shouted, as Stephanie and Amelia squealed. The family foursome rolled off down the corridor, with Danny and his clipboard in hot pursuit.
‘So cute,’ I said, monotone, as I shut the door.
‘Such a gorgeous family,’ Lucy agreed. ‘Absolute goals.’
Hardly, I thought silently. We had an hour or so before Travis was due, so we cleaned the room and prepped all the ingredients for his cast. He was the perfect patient, in and out within an hour, leaving us with two faces ready for the plaster cast. Lucy and I worked quickly and quietly, making twelve casts in total, one for each of the moon heads. We had just finished pouring them out when Danny came swinging back in.
‘All OK in here?’ he asked, fanning himself with a wad of papers.
‘Yes, both done and all on track,’ I said, pleased with where we’d got to.
My phone started ringing and the three of us looked at each other in alarm. A phone ringing out loud, in the middle of the day? Someone must have died.
Danny tutted dramatically.
