Chapter 16

Wednesday morning was sunny and bright, if a little cool. It was, I decided, a good day to wear Anna’s wool dress, and to give my latest coat a try. When we had been modelling, I fell in love with it. It was longer than my favourite, and a bright mustard colour, with a fur collar.

When Burberry had looked at the coat I had bought, they pointed out some small tears and stains, from being tried on by shoppers. That was why I got it so cheaply if you call a thousand quid cheap. I really hadn’t cared, at that time, it had been a token of my new freedom, and still was.

I knew that the schoolgirls would be at the dress shop in the late afternoon and had planned to be there to help out, as well as picking out the dress that they were supplying for me. First, though, I had arranged, with Michael, to meet at the office and work through the organisation of the premiere. As Jeff wasn’t in the film, he would be my plus one, with me telling him what we should be doing. He would, of course, be able to offer his comments on the next film, if asked.

I called the car company and booked a car and driver for the day. Jeff would get around in mine, for a few days. but I needed to act star-like in case I was seen. When I arrived at the office, I sat down with Michael to work through the timing of my arrival at the cinema, the likely array of dignitaries who had been invited, and the arrangements for the party afterwards. He commented on yesterday, and the hope that the story would just go away. I said that it would probably get raked over by some keen gossip-hound, but we should just treat it with silence, as long as those at the hotel stayed quiet.

I had called Anna this morning and arranged to visit her. She had told me that she would have a stew on the stove, so bring my hunger. Leaving the office, I told Colin where to go, and we arrived just after midday. She welcomed me with a hug and air-kiss and took us both inside. Colin was shown a table and chair on the back porch, where he could sit and relax. She told him that she would have some lunch for him and gave him a bunch of magazines to read. He wouldn’t be very interested in some, but I noticed a few ‘Country Life’ ones.

We sat in her kitchen and talked about her brother. We agreed that we were both sorry about what he had done, and the result that it had brought down on his head. I told her that Michael had informed me that Roger had been in to pick up his reference. The company had only supplied one with his period of service, and his various positions. There was no glowing praise, so he would have to find another job on his skills alone. Michael had also told me that Roger had taken up the offer of a flight to Melbourne, in economy, but not to speak to the manager there. He had left London this morning.

“That’s sad, he didn’t even come to say goodbye! Still, I think that he would be ashamed of how it put you on the spot.”

“It’s probably all for the good. We had a press conference yesterday, and the magazine editor was there, with a lawyer, ready to shout it to the rooftops that she had an authentic story. It really took the wind out of her sails when we agreed that it was correct, and that we weren’t going to sue.”

“You mean to tell me they were right, and you’re really a guy in drag! Pull the other one!”

“Sorry, Anna. They were right, but I hope I don’t look like a guy in drag. Roger knew this, even before I met him, yet he still treated me like a woman, he did kiss nice.”

She started laughing, and it was contagious. We were both cackling until we had to use tissues to stop the tears.

“Julia, this is a classic. You’re sitting there, in one of my creations and wearing it better than most professional models. How did you get the coat, that’s over six grand?”

“Burberry gave it to me yesterday because I had been photographed in one of their trench coats for a while. They’ve asked me to be an ambassador.”

That started her off again. To settle down, we started ladling out the stew into three big bowls. I called Colin to come in and take a seat. He brought one of the magazines in with him, open to a page which had an advert for Anna’s creations.

“I was looking through these. Are you really the Anna from this company?”

Anna looked at the advert.

“I am. Do you want something, a dress like Julia’s, maybe?”

“My wife is a huge fan of yours. She cuts the pictures out of magazines to look at. We couldn’t afford even a sleeve of one of your creations, but you have given her a great deal of pleasure, just looking at them. Can you sign something that I can take home, tonight? She’s seen the pictures of Miss Leigh in that dress and thinks that you’re a genius.”

Anna nodded and we kept eating. When we had finished, I stood and took the plates to the sink and ran some water over them. I noticed that Anna didn’t have a dishwasher, so I turned on the hot tap and filled the bowl, finding some detergent. Anna had left the room, and Colin looked on, in amazement while I did the dishes and our tea mugs, leaving them on the draining board to dry.

Anna came back with three sweaters on hangers.

“These are last year’s designs, what size is your wife.”

He told her, and she left one over the back of a kitchen chair and took the other two away. When she returned, she had a short garment bag with her logo on it. She put the sweater in the bag and asked him for his wife’s name. When he told her, she had a texta which she used to write a ‘to and from’ message with ‘I hope this brings you pleasure, when you can’t look at the pictures.’

“There, with my compliments. Make sure she doesn’t hide it in her wardrobe. My things are made to be worn, and to be seen. When Julia was photographed in that dress, it lifted my sales by fifteen percent. Why haven’t you worn the sweater, young lady?”

“It hasn’t been cold enough. I promise I’ll find an occasion which will see it out in public.”

We chatted for a little while and she showed us some of her new creations for next year, telling Colin not to let his wife know he’s seen them, as she might get jealous. As I went to leave, she hugged me and told me not to be a stranger. I told her that I would see her at the premiere, and she told me she didn’t get a ticket from her no-good brother, so I rang Michael and we passed on her name and address to courier a couple to her.

I was driven home by a very happy Colin, and just popped in to pick up a bag I’d prepared. It contained the red dress that I had bought in the first few days of dressing. I had worn it a few times at parties in Hawaii, but I hadn’t been photographed in it. The bag also had matching shoes and a clutch. The plan was for me to change into it for the after-show party. All our dresses were going to be taken to the hotel on Saturday, and we would change into our red-carpet outfits there before being driven to the cinema. Afterwards, we would change out of the very expensive dresses so that they didn’t get damaged before being returned to the shop.

Colin drove me to the dress shop, and I told him to come back in about an hour. Going in, I showed them what I planned to wear after the red-carpet, and they told me what I needed to wear under it, so that I wouldn’t have to change anything, like a bra, when I was put into their creation.

The bus turned up with a bunch of excited girls and a few incredulous mothers. Any thoughts that it was a scam disappeared over the next hour. Sherona quizzed me about a fan club, and I had to admit that we only had an Instagram account that was run by the agency. I thought that some might appear once the film had been released. She told me that you have to be proactive, these days. Sharina wasn’t an identical twin and was a bit hesitant like her friends at first, but they all soon came around to realise that I was another person like themselves. I talked to all the girls, and the mothers, as we had lots of trying on, with some laughter. It was a very happy group that got back on the bus, clutching their garment bags. I had chosen my red-carpet dress, and I thought that the plans were coming together.

Colin pulled up as I was waving the bus off. I dashed back inside to pick up my bags, and he drove me home. On the way he asked me about the premiere, so I told him about the timings. He said that he would be making sure that he was on duty, and asked if I minded if he became my regular driver. I had been driven by him a few times, and had always been punctual and courteous, so I told him that I would like that.

At home, I nuked a meal and ate it, thinking about what was happening. I was doing a lot of thinking these days. It was something I had tried to avoid when I was a steward, because I just used to go wherever life took me. That, I suppose, is how I had reached this point. I tidied up the dishes and counted the meals in the fridge. I wasn’t going to throw them out, now, was I? I was determined to learn to cook a range of food. If I could pick up Italian cooking so easily, perhaps a course in a cooking school would set me up for life. Then a thought struck me. Perhaps I might be able to employ a cook and never bother nuking again.

Thursday was, for me, a calm day before the storm. I had a salon visit on Friday, which would take up a lot of the day. The girls were all booked in on Saturday morning, them being much quicker being real girls. They were all going to the dress shop today, to allow time for any alterations. Jeff had his own appointments and would be picked up on my way to the hotel on Saturday afternoon.

I had a quiet breakfast and turned on the tablet to browse the Feed stories, and then the newspaper website that I had signed up to. I was reading through all the death and mayhem going on in the world when I saw a small story, with a quote from a famous author. She was in full TERF mode and was raging about tranny men getting attention in the film industry. She must have had her head in the sand when she was younger, as there had been several famous men who had played women over the decades. Did she think they were dangerous kiddie snatchers? I wasn’t named, but it did give me impetus to call Jim and ask him about security at the premiere.

He told me that it was already organised. It was, he said, something that the magazine story had generated, and that there was likely to be a protest group outside the cinema.

“It will add to the coverage. I’ve notified all the TV stations to be there. The retraction should be out by the time we get to New York. Anybody who calls you a guy then will be threatened with action. We don’t have to prove you one way or the other, the retraction nullifies the accusation. We’ll have to make sure you have security while we’re there, as some of the far right can be violent. The biggest thing will be how the film is taken up, after this weekend. They say that there’s strength in numbers, and the numbers, next week, will see how strong we are.”

“You seem very focussed on this, Jim?”

“Of course, I’m focussed. Almost everyone in the main roles are on my books. If it’s a winner, I can pay for that Lambo I won in the auction.”

“What about the bit with the feminist author?”

“She generates column inches, Julia. The crazier she gets, the more they write about her. Let that be a lesson to you, in how you handle life when you’re rich and famous. My advice is to keep yourself grounded and never go into politics.”

When I finished the call, I sat back and smiled. It was if the events had been pre-ordained. There had been the flight, with a number of the reviewers doing extra stories about how much they enjoyed it and praising the airline. The magazine article had poked an ants nest and there was some scurrying around, bumping into other ants on the way. It was bringing the film into the news, on top of the reviews and advertisements that were in the papers, this week. If the numbers did stack up, then I would clear my debt with the agency in a week or two.

After the launch, there would have already been stories about the film in America during next week. The airline had already issued a press release that it would be on their in-flight listing from Monday, seeing that it portrayed the work of their stewardesses in such a good light. I suppose that they had glossed over the theme of the story about one of their hostesses getting pregnant from one of their captains.

I spent the day in a manly way, going through my wardrobe and looking at my outfits, moving things around to be next to others that they matched with. I had a final look in the plastic bags full of my old clothes, which I still hadn’t taken to an opshop, and realised that it wasn’t possible now, seeing that someone may buy them as something to wave at a protest. I went to work with scissors and cut off any tag with my name on it, made sure the bags were well tied, and hauled them one at a time, down to the underground car park, where there was a big bin. There was a smaller bag that contained all of the earlier cosmetics I now wasn’t allowed to use.

I went on-line with my bank and checked my account. It was still healthy, as a lot of the things I had booked up had been on agency cards. I thought about my contract with David remembering that my employment would cease on the day of the premiere, so my future earnings would depend on my return from my percentage, then any up-front money I would be paid for future work. That meant that if I bomb, I wouldn’t earn any more. No pressure, then.

I cooked myself some pasta for lunch and watched a bit of daytime TV, until I drifted off in my armchair. When I woke, I felt totally revived. It had been a very busy few months, but I just had to get over the next two weeks to see how my life would continue. Monday, next week, the agency had booked me in with a gender specialist to start the paperwork towards my operation. We were flying to New York on Thursday, and I had been told that I would be with Kurt and others to take part in interviews. Jim had told me to travel light, as everything I would be wearing was going to be supplied by our friendly dress designer.

Friday morning, I woke from a good sleep, even after my dozing. I had needed the break, as I had been juggling things for a long time. There was a text from Sherona on my phone. When I read it, I powered up my tablet to look for the website she had listed. There I was, front and centre, on the Julia Leigh Fan Club site.

There wasn’t a lot on it, yet, but I saw that she, and Sharina, were the joint presidents, and all the other eight friends were listed as various office holders. That made me think about asking the agency to organise posters and other items, as long as tomorrow goes well. I posted a thank you to the girls in the club, on the website, and said that I hoped that I would continue to star in films that would bring them all pleasure. I then emailed the agency to see if they could organise a certificate of authority for the website as the official Julia Leigh Fan Club. By the time we were in New York, the site had several hundred members, the heading had been changed to ‘The Official’ and the agency had supplied the girls with a heap of pictures from the film, as downloads for members. I did find out later, that the group had put it to their teachers that it would be a good test to start a website, and maintain it, with marks going towards their finals.

The rest of my next two days went in a blur of activity. Friday I was in the salon, Saturday morning I was back there for a make-up session. Saturday afternoon, we picked up Jeff and went to the hotel, where we sat around, with other members of the cast, nibbling finger food and staying hydrated. Then, we had an early dinner, without alcohol, and were dressed in our red-carpet outfits. There was a number of cars to take us to the cinema, with the cabin crew girls all arriving at once, with their boyfriends. Eric and his wife was next, then Cynthia and Moyra. I arrived, with Jeff as my escort, and then Jack with his wife, and lastly, the biggest star of the film, Kurt with Kym.

We were spoken to, we were photographed, we were feted; but the best bit of the arrival for me was seeing my very own fan club outside, lining the ropes. I made sure to go over and talk to them, making sure that there were cameras recording the scene. I posed with them for selfies, and Jeff was kissed by more than one. I saw the protest crowd, with their placards. There was one that proclaimed, ‘Tar and Feather the Tranny’, while one wanted to ‘Puncture his Tits’, which made me wonder if they knew what we blokes went through to look beautiful. I gave them a wave, and they stopped chanting long enough to give me a cheer.

The film went well, with everyone cheering, laughing, and crying at the right times. I had seen it now, often enough, to be a bit blasé about it. After the hugs, kisses, and congratulations afterwards, we were all picked up to go back to the hotel for the party. For many of the cast and crew it was the last official event.

I saw Sherona on the way out, and told her where we were having the party, and that I’d tell them on the door that ten of my fans had been invited. They turned up and were all spoken to by the rest of the stars, with many selfies. I tried to be there to have pictures with them and the stars, which ended up on the fan site later that week. It was all started as a school project but grew to be a world-wide authority on all things Julia. It became good enough for most of the girls to earn money as influencers, with some getting full-time IT jobs on the strength of it.

I also had a nice talk to Agnes, the editor of the magazine. When she came towards me, she held out her hand.

“No hard feelings, I hope, Julia.”

I held her hand and used my other one to give her a hug.

“Of course not, Agnes. Joe did me a favour by jumping the gun, so we could put it to bed before the premiere. What did you think of the film?”

“When I read Laurie’s review, I thought that nothing could be that complete. Now I’ve seen it, I think that he must have held back, or, being a guy, didn’t get all the sub-plot. I laughed and I cried with everyone else, but my heart went out to your character because I was once in that same position. Those American taxi drivers were wonderful. I’m sure that they’ve never been seen in the same place before.”

“You’re right. That was a first for them. I’m interested to see how their home audience takes it. We may find out, next Saturday, when we have the opening night in New York.”

“The plight of the travelling film star. I wish you well, Julia. It doesn’t matter now if Joe was right or not, you are one classy lady. I’ll be calling on you to help me out with my next charity event.”

“You’re on, Agnes. Just let the agency know where and when.”

C.J. found me as I was getting a glass of water. He gave me a hug and told me that he was besotted with me. I laughed, and then he told me that he wanted me in his next film, with David directing.

Sunday morning, some of us were booked for a TV show, with interviews and some clips from the film. Somebody from the protest rang in to proclaim success, because the drag queen hadn’t shown his ugly face.

Monday, I went to see the specialist, being examined and getting injections in each buttock to start the process. I would be back Wednesday of the following week, to hear the results and, hopefully, get a date to get the operation.

Tuesday, Jim rang me to tell me that our opening weekend generated one-point-one million pounds, sterling. That, he told me, equated to over twenty thousand into my account. By the time we were in New York, the film had grossed six million. When we arrived in New York, they had already been sent reviews from the London-based reporters, and we stepped out of the immigration into a barrage of flashlights, and even a couple of TV crews. The reviews had been positive, only a few magazines had noted the magazine article, and by that time the next issue had hit the shelves with a retraction and a favourable review. London had been a quiet affair, compared to New York. We were inundated by reporters shoving microphones under our noses.

For Kurt and Kym, it was all business as usual, but for me and the girls, it was something new. We were driven to our hotel, with a black SUV in front and behind. They took us to an underground carpark, where more guys were waiting for us. Our bags were unloaded, and we joined them in the elevator to be taken up to our suites. We were close to the top of the tower, and the view over Central Park took my breath away.

Marianne Gregory © 2024