Chapter 12

David and C.J. left, leaving the six of us. I asked Cecil if he could give it a simple edit and gave him my email address, then got Jeff and Eric to give him their email addresses. I asked the sound man to keep quiet about what he had just seen.

“Don’t you worry, Julia. I could stand in the street and shout that their favourite country copper is really an actor who could rival Olivier, and nobody would believe me.”

They packed up the gear, leaving the four of us. I looked at Jim, who was smiling broadly.

“What’s so funny, Jim?”

“I’m just seeing a side of you that I haven’t seen before. It’s Julia, the director. With you directing, there’s nobody who will say boo. That gives me another skill that I can market. If you get whatever scene this came from onto the screen, it’s going to bring the house down.”

He asked Eric to walk with him, and Eric gave his brow another wipe, hugged both Jeff and me, told us that he would see us in the morning, and the two of them left us. I went over and gave Jeff a hug, and then a kiss.

“I’m knackered, Julia. That last take has done it for me.”

“I’m not surprised, Jeff. I’ll take you home. Have a good shower and an afternoon nap. This acting is hard work. I’ll pick you up at the same time, tomorrow. I’m wondering if Kurt really knows how this scene plays out. I might have a word to Kym and see if we could do a test with you and Eric, so that they can see for themselves how good you both are. It looks like today has given Eric a hope for his desired part, maybe Kym will see that he could do the police chief, with Kurt going one rank down. That one’s still a hefty part, and you would actually spend more time with him on screen.”

“You really have read the screen play, haven’t you. You seem to know the whole film, and you haven’t seen any action from it until this week.”

“I’ve read it, I’ve dissected it, I understand it. Kym is brilliant, but I’m unsure of her directing. I hope that her usual director can hold her back a bit.”

I took him home and then thought about what had been said. Was I really acting like a director, or was I just being bossy? That was a trait I had never exhibited before I started dressing. I drove to a park, got out of the car, and just strolled along a path. When I thought back to the moment I stepped into the first-class section, in a dress, it struck me that I hadn’t just been there to serve. There was I, thinking that the passengers spoke more to the girls than they did to guys, but, thinking further, there was the game that I played with David, for most of the trip. That was so far removed from the old Jamie, it wasn’t real.

During the filming, there were several other actors who had spoken to me about scenes, and I gave them my thoughts. I wasn’t telling them anything they didn’t already know. What I had done, as soon as we had been handed the screenplay, was to have read it and seen what the basis of the story was, then saw what happened in each scene to advance that story. Yes, there were scenes that were pure fillers, but there was a real story to tell. Kym’s screen play was similar. I turned around and walked back towards the car, wondering if that would be how I’d treat other projects. Read the screen play and react to the embedded story. No story – no me!

I sat in the car and wondered what I would do for the rest of the day. I checked, in the mirror, that I still looked good, and drove to see Roger’s mother and have some more of her delicious cooking. When I walked in, she saw me and came over to give me a hug and cheek kiss.

“Julia, you look great! That no-good son of mine brought some bimbo for lunch and I thought that I’d never see you again.”

“That’s exactly what Luigi said, last Sunday. You two must still have psychic connection.”

“So, what brings you here?”

“Good food, that’s all, and a bit of quiet relaxation while I eat and digest. I’ve got a free afternoon and have no plans to let anybody mess it up.”

“You sit down, over in the corner, and I’ll get you something to feed the brain, as well as the body. Do you have any dislikes?”

“As long as someone else is cooking, I like everything.”

“You don’t cook at home?”

“Never learned. My youth was all hamburgers and kebabs. I just nuke easy meals.”

She brought a soft drink to my table, followed by a plate of pure heaven. When I had finished and had emptied a cup of coffee, she took me through to the kitchen, gave me an apron, and proceeded to teach me to cook simple pasta dishes that I could do using packets from the supermarket. Many of these were customer orders, with her adding her special spices to turn them into restaurant meals. By the time we were into the dinner trade, I was able to help her with most of the things. The other chef just added her comments and smiled a lot. Around eight, I told them I needed to get some rest, because I had a big day coming up. Before I left, I was sat in the restaurant, and one of my own dishes placed in front of me.

“That’s to prove that you can cook, Julia. I have to say that you picked it up quickly. If the acting doesn’t pan out, there’s a place for you here.”

At home, I looked in the fridge and the packs of nuke-fodder with a new distain. I planned to do some shopping tomorrow afternoon and brighten up my diet. I had a good sleep, only broken by an insistent bladder in the middle of the night. I stood by the window, looking out at the streetlights, and wondered how it would go from here. Tomorrow was the test, Saturday was the flight, two weeks after that we had the London Premiere, as long as the theatre owners on the flight were happy. After that, I had an appointment in different theatre entirely.

I got another couple of hours in before the alarm woke me. I dressed in a skirt suit, subconsciously trying to exhibit control, I guess. Jeff was bright as a button when I picked him up and told me that he had followed my directions to the letter, getting the afternoon nap and a good night. At the studio, we went to the sound stage, to find Kym’s crew waiting.

I showed them the set, and where the two characters would be, and suggested one camera on the side, and one for each head on. The guys looked where I pointed and nodded their heads. As they were setting up, Jeff left the stage, coming back, wiping his eyes.

“Sorry, Julia, I couldn’t upset things by laughing. You just cemented what Jim said, yesterday. I hope that you get to direct me if I ever get cast.”

“Be careful what you wish for, sweet cheeks!”

Eric arrived and suggested that they did a quick run through the scene after getting the vocal chords warmed up. I stood to one side as they did the exercises, and the cameraman stood beside me.

“I thought that we were doing a screen test with Kurt.”

“That’s the plan. Eric has been coaching Jeff since Monday. They can do the scene so you can check your camera positioning before the others arrive. I only hope that Kurt has learned the lines when he does get here.”

The guys took their places, the camera and recording was started, and I called ‘Action”. After just over six minutes, the two were sweating, once again, and the cameraman straightened up and looked at me with disbelief. Then he looked past me. I turned around to see Kym and her director, standing behind me, mouths open.

“Hello Kym. I didn’t hear you come in. Where’s Kurt?”

“In the toilet, in more ways than one after seeing that. Eric, where have you been hiding that intensity?”

“It’s always been there, Kym, it’s just that nobody has given me a chance to act a scene so powerful. Jeff and I have sweated blood over the last few days. If he doesn’t get offered a part, the world’s nuts.”

She looked at the crew.

“What did you think, guys?”
The cameraman said it for them all.

“That was magnificent, boss. I haven’t had my pulse racing so hard in a short scene since we did Blood on The Rocks.”

Jeff came and stood by my side, wiping his brow. I took his arm and gave it a squeeze as Kurt came into the sound stage.

“I’m here, Kym. Where’s the screen play?”

“You don’t need it, today, oh hubby of mine. You’ve just been bumped down a rank.”

“What did I miss?”

“You missed the best actor since Olivier, playing opposite a new Brad Pitt. Do you have the strength to do it again, pretty please?”

They mopped their brows, once again, had a swig of water, then took their places. The cameraman looked at me and winked as he got things rolling, and I called ‘action’.

When they finished, Kurt went and gave Eric a hug.

“I should be mad at you for usurping me in that role, but I always thought that I was too young to be the police chief. Welcome to top billing if you want it, Eric. This picture will knock that kind, old, country copper into a cocked hat.”

“Thank you, Kurt, from the bottom of my heart. When I offered to coach Jeff, I thought it was just my teaching at RADA getting a work-out. When I read the lines that Julia gave us, I could see the scene vividly. Julia gave us some background on the story to let us know the tempo of the scene. When Jeff and I did the first run through, I was hooked.”

Kym asked the crew if they had enough to edit it back, noting the camera positions that I had shown them, and they told her that she would see the edited version this afternoon. Kym turned to her director, Tony Hampton, who was now smiling broadly, as if he had just won the lottery. Perhaps, in his mind, he considered that he had. He asked the cameraman one question.

“Who gave you the layout of the cameras?”

“That was Julia. She told me to concentrate on the young fellow, as it was his test, and that the others wouldn’t need any operator as the characters remained pretty static.”

The director nodded, and, after Kurt and Kym had given us all a hug, and telling Jeff he had a job, they left, not twenty minutes after they had arrived. We had the set to ourselves, so I got a water bottle out of the cooler and went and sat on one of the easy chairs. Jeff and Eric picked up their bottles and joined me.

“Well, my bright lads, it looks as if you’re both heading for Tallahassee in a while. Congratulations to you both.”

“Thanks to you, Julia. The background you gave us was enough to set the tone. You should be directing.”

Jeff laughed.

“Funny one, Eric, that’s what Jim told her yesterday. I’d better go and see him now. Then, Julia, we can go to the supermarket, and you can help me tell the boss I’m not coming back. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Eric. I don’t know how I could have done it without you.”

“No thanks needed, young lad. It was good to see more talent coming out with every time we did the scene. You have more in your little finger than my whole class at RADA, although a few of them will go on to better things, they won’t have the launch pad that you’ll have. The three of us can take that picture by the scruff of the neck when we start filming.”

“I’ve got a copy of the screen play in my bag, Eric. You can take it with you and look through it if you like. It does have a lot of notations in it, so I’ll want it back. I’ll ask Kym for a couple more so we can give one to Jeff for a little light reading.”

I gave my copy to Eric, and they went off to splash their faces, while I went to the office to tell them that we had done with the sound stage. I was asked if things went well, and I told them that it was better than expected. When I next saw them, Eric gave me a hug and went to his car, while Jeff gave me a hug and his best kiss so far.

“That was nice, I think you must be happy.”

“More than happy, darling. I have a reason to live. Talking about living, how am I going to live until I start getting some money? I don’t want to go back to work.”

“Well, when I signed with David, I got a signing bonus, a few days after. I’m sure that when you’re on Jim’s books, he’ll be in touch with Kym, or her backers, to get your contract with them signed. You won’t have to worry about money then.”

He looked shocked, then smiled, so we went to the supermarket first. I stood while he told his boss that he was resigning. The boss told him he was an idiot to leave ‘for a flighty girl’, looking at me, and went to the till, counting out notes, which he thrust in Jeff’s hands.

“That’s your owed pay, plus your holiday pay. Don’t come back to me when you’re looking for work, again, and don’t let her take it all, women aren’t worth it.”

We went out to the car, Jeff taking out his wallet and stuffing the notes in. As I pulled away, he laughed.

“Oh, Julia, please don’t take all my worldly goods and leave me, starving in the gutter!”

I reached over and gave him a playful punch on the arm, and drove us to the agency, both laughing until we had to wipe our eyes.

At the agency, we had to wait in reception, before Jim could see us. Jeff was looking at the pictures of the stars on the wall and beckoned to me to point out one of me. As we stood, the door to Jim’s office opened, and the girl that Roger had taken to the screening rushed out, a tissue to her eyes, and she went through the outer door like a whirlwind. Alice, the receptionist grinned and told us that we could go in.

“Hello, you two, how did it go, this morning. You’re here to sign a contract, I hope.”

“I am, sir. It went better than we could have expected. Kym walked in just before Eric and I finished the scene so that the crew could gauge their positions. Kurt didn’t see us because he had to go to the toilet. When he did arrive, he was told that Eric had taken his part and that he was demoted. I think that he was slightly relieved that he would be bumped a rank.”

“What would he be doing, now, Julia?”

“The lieutenant is younger and has almost as much to do as the chief. He is the one to have the last lines of the film, gazing at an empty room. If I told you anymore, I’d have to kill you.”

“So, Eric has the big part that he’s been pining for. I’m happy for him, he’s got a huge body of work, but one really meaty role will define his legacy. And you, Jeff, will have a launching pad that NASA would be proud of. All in all, it was good work for all three of you. Let me call Horatio in and he has a contract for you to sign.”

We all sat, while waiting for Horatio. Nothing was said about the ‘fleeing bimbo’. Horatio came in and went through the contract with Jeff. When Jeff signed, he gave him a cheque.

“That’s your expected signing bonus. We have a good working relationship with Kym and her backers, so they’ll be paying us as soon as you sign their contract for the film. Has anything been said about what they’re paying you?”

“We were talking about it, but I was finding it hard to follow, being at a table with two huge stars. Kym made an offer, and Julia renegotiated it.”

Jim looked at me.

“It was quarter of a million, up front and I told her that he deserved a half a million if he passed the screen test. She told him that he will be in Tallahassee to do the film, so I guess he passed.”

Jim and Horatio smiled. Horatio patted me on the arm.

“Julia, you are a girl of so many surprises I wait to see how you’ll surprise us next. Two fifty was a good offer for a first-time role. I would have thought that they might offer him a salary. Have you had any conversations about what they’re paying you?”

“Not yet, I’ve waited until my first film is released before bringing it up. Every good review could add a million.”

“Exactly. Jeff, are you on the flight on Saturday?”

“Yes, sir. Julia has given me a ticket. I’m looking forward to seeing her on the screen.”

“Right. Are you two happy if I pair you at the lunch? I’ll also pencil the two of you as a couple at the premiere. I had you down with Roger, but by that time he’ll be second in command in Melbourne. He’s on compassionate leave until then, for being too passionate with a good starlet. We just had to tell her that her next part will coincide with her baby bump, and the part called for a fit young thing.”

As I took Jeff to his bank, I thought that I had been wise to keep my distance with Roger. Still, there could be someone as able as he was to take his place. At the moment, no-one will take the place of Jeff.

When Jeff came out of his bank, he sat in the car, with a smile.

“I couldn’t believe it, five grand, US, just for signing a bit of paper. I would have signed a few more if he’d wanted me to.”

“Don’t forget, Jeff, signing that paper means that he gets five percent of everything you earn, including the half a million that’s coming your way. And he doesn’t even have to leave his desk.”

“That’s all right, I forgive him. My treat tonight, where are we eating?’

“I know a great little Italian place.”

“I love Italian, done right.”

“Oh, this is done right, I can assure you of that.”

Mama greeted me by name and sat us at a prominent table. When I asked her why, she told me that her other chef had shown her pictures of me in magazines. I was now consigned to a seat where others could see that I was here. I had to smile as I looked over at the counter and saw a small pile of gossip magazines, no doubt with pictures of me. For the first time, a young girl asked me for my autograph, with Jeff grinning as I did so. She turned to Jeff and asked if he was famous. He told her that he wasn’t, yet, but has just been cast in a film with Kurt and Kym, so she asked him to sign her book as well.

Mama came out with dessert and a camera, with her chef taking a picture of the three of us. I promised to sign it when it was on her wall. When I took Jeff home, we sat in the car for a while and kissed. I told him that I would pick him up on Saturday morning in a car with a driver, and to make sure he dressed well, even if he went out to buy something new. Before he got out of the car he grinned, and said, “Yes, Ma-am, certainly, Ma-am.”

I had a booking at the salon to look forward to on Friday. The next few days were going to change my life, hopefully for the better. The scribes would have seen the film on small screens in the plane, and the experience would set the tone of the reviews. I was hopeful that being close up to a small screen would focus their concentration in a way that sitting in a dark theatre doesn’t.

I just did some shopping on Thursday, getting some packets of pasta, and tried my hand at what I had learned. It turned out quite well. I would test it on Jeff next time we were here. I also caught up with a bit of cleaning and looked at my laundry – I will take it to the laundromat down the road when I had a spare moment.

Friday, I told the girls in the salon that I had a big event on Saturday and to check me all over. I did tell them that I was due for an operation in about a month, so might be back after that, with proper breasts. I think that they took advantage of the occasion to give me another set of falsies, in a new shade to match the fact that my tan had faded, slightly.

They also did something else, concealing my penis in a fold of skin that I never thought would actually meet. It felt really odd, after they had glued it, but the result was amazing. I had to walk about for some time before I stopped feeling the skin stretch, and when I put on my panties, they fitted in the way they were designed.

I had a long shower that evening, making sure I didn’t get my new hairstyle wet. It had been growing, steadily, for the past few weeks. I think that being trimmed regularly in Hawaii, to keep continuation may have encouraged it. As I was getting myself something to eat, and then showering, I had my work phone and tablet on charge. I had hardly turned my old phone on in weeks, the past seemed to be slipping slowly away. Anybody who was important to me now had the new number.

The alarm went off before sparrow’s fart, to give me time to get ready. I knew that I would be changing into airline uniform, and then to something supplied, but that didn’t mean that I would turn up at Gatwick looking dowdy. When the driver stopped outside Jeff’s house, the front door opened, and a new and improved Jeff came out and got in the back beside me. He gave me a quick kiss before he buckled up.

He had spent the last two days wisely, no doubt inspired by the Brad Pitt comment on Wednesday. He’d got his hair styled, not just a cut, and I think that he may be wearing new clothes, from the skin out. He might have put a dent in that five grand, but he did look a bit like a younger Brad. I was proud of him. His past will start to recede, like mine, and a new look is just the start.

Marianne Gregory © 2024