Chapter 19

Everyone was having a grand time. The girls were racing around the pitch, dresses flying, while the guys were a bit more ponderous, no doubt weighed down by the beer they’d drunk. The sides kept changing as they all had a go.

When they were tired, we all went back inside. A bit after ten, the first parents for the fan club arrived to take them home, came in for a drink, and then left. By eleven, there was just the core of the office and a few others settled in, to drink, nibble and talk rubbish into the night. I bade them all goodnight and thanked them for coming, then went off to my bedroom to get some sleep.

Sunday morning, I used the ensuite, then put a dressing gown over my nightie, slipped into my fluffy slippers, and went to see what sort of mess they had left. I was amazed to walk into the kitchen to find Ruth, with a towelling gown over her slip, cooking bacon and eggs.

“I see you’re up, Julia. Do you fancy some breakfast? A couple of the guys were almost fit enough to tidy the front rooms. That was the most fun I’ve had since covid started.”

“Yes, please, Ruth. Did you stay in the annex.”

“We did, and it was wonderfully quiet. We talked a lot and decided that your offer is too good to miss out on. I do have one demand, though.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m in charge of the food buying. Most of what you have here is stuff that students live on. I’ll need a charge card for shops I nominate.”

“That’s all right. While I was flying, I wasn’t home very much, and used to eat out a lot. I need someone to take my diet and turn it around when I’m home. How does Colin feel about things?”

“He’s really happy and has one demand of his own.”

“What’s that?”

“He wants to be the one who chooses the cars, with your approval, of course. He’ll talk to you about it, later. He had been a chauffeur for a city gent, some years back, and has some experience on what looks right for different occasions.”

“That’s not a problem for official cars, I do have a preference for my own.”

I sat and she put some food in front of me. I hadn’t eaten much, last night, so was quite hungry. As I was eating, Colin, Jim, Larry, Brendon, and Jeff joined me at the table. Oddly, so did Belle, who sat next to Jim. Over breakfast, I found out what had kept these good people here.

Larry and Brendon had slept in the other annex and asked me if there was any room in the household for a butler and minder. Larry had done hospitality courses, while Brendon had done security training. Jeff made the joke that we should call him Brutus, which had to be explained. Jim had spent the night, with Belle, in the other spare bedroom. I was glad that no-one spoiled the sanctity of the master bedroom.

As the discussions swirled, Jim looked at me and grinned. I asked him if he was happy that our new staff could be added to my employment once the company was set. He welcomed the four new employees to the madhouse that is the movie world.

After breakfast, everyone helped tidy up, and then went to get dressed. I had a look in the front rooms and found them tidy, with no errant bottles or pizza boxes. I knew that there were big bins, over by the garage, so expected that all the rubbish was there. A little while later, after I had showered and dressed, Jim and Belle said cheerio, then left in his new Lambo. That was an odd coupling, I thought, then giggled. Belle had certainly snared a good one there, if only for a while.

Before they all left, Jeff and I gave the other four a total tour of the house, discussing what we thought about each room and explaining what we would be doing in the rehearsal room. Ruth took a good look at the party area and remarked that it would be a wonderful scene in the summer, then thought that we would have to get some outdoor furniture. That was found, when we looked in the garage shed, stacked up at one end, with large umbrellas and waste bins.

Colin was happy with the garage, saying that it just needed a sweep out. My paltry little toolbox was sitting on a workbench, where Jeff had put it, and I noticed that we had a hoist.

Larry and Brendon went off to tidy up their lives before coming to live with us. Colin asked me about choosing the cars and explained that he kept up with the second-hand car market and knew of a couple of good Bentleys we could get at reasonable prices, for when we wanted to make a statement. Other than that, he thought that we could lease Jaguars for general use. I told him to do the groundwork, but wait until the company was set up, with its own bank accounts, before he agreed to anything. They got into their car and left, leaving Jeff and I alone.

“What now darling?”

“Now, my love, we have a look around the area and see if we can find a nice church to get married in. It is Sunday, after all.”

Jeff looked up the closest C of E to us on his phone, and we drove to have a look. It was a squat little church, nothing remotely churchy. Jeff pointed out old stonework over the lintel which said that the building had been a Methodist Chapel. We could hear some singing so slipped in and sat at the back when everybody else sat down. It wasn’t a big congregation, last night the party had outnumbered it. To me, it was quaint, and the sort of place one would use for a quiet wedding, out of the prying eyes of the press.

After the service, the plate came around and Jeff put a good note in it, which made the plate holder look at us very closely. I could tell the moment when she matched the me, sitting there, with the me that she had seen on the screen, sometime in the last two weeks. She kept her cool, and just thanked us for our generosity.

The priest was standing at the door as everyone left. When we approached, he held out his hand.

“New people, eh! Just visiting or staying a while?”

Jeff shook his hand and smiled.

“We only moved into the area in the last few days. Today, we thought we would check out the local churches to find somewhere to get married.”

“A marriage, eh! I haven’t done one of those in a couple of months. It usually attracts all the ladies from the area, in their finest dresses, usually to see if a baby bump is showing. I don’t think that’s a problem for you unless the deed is only weeks past.”

I laughed.

“You may find this difficult to believe, vicar, but we have not done the deed, yet. We have been waiting for the right, and proper, moment.”

Just then, the plate holder came up and asked her question.

“Excuse me, Miss, but you look a lot like that Julia Leigh from that new film.”

“That’s because I am that person, did you like the picture?”

“I thought it was wonderful, and I cried at the end. Where was that beautiful church?”

“That’s in Honolulu, and it was glorious to film in. We had a party afterwards, and Kurt danced me around the floor in my wedding dress.”

“What a wonderful life you lead. Will you be coming back to our church?”

“That depends on whether we’re allowed to be married, here. I remember some old stories about banns or something.”

The vicar laughed.

“If we followed those old demands, we wouldn’t have any marriages. People are more mobile, with them coming and going. A bit like spending months filming some place far away.”

“Yes, we were about three months in Hawaii, and I’m going to spend about two months in Florida soon. After that I’ll be local, in the studio, then filming here in England for another film. After that, who knows. We’ve just taken on the lease of a house, not too far away. We were told that it had been the home of a soccer player.”

“Him! Good riddance to that one. Those players are paid too much and spend it on anything that takes their fancy. His friends were responsible for about six pregnancies that I know of. His parties were legendary, and the local police raked in thousands in fines, from speeding in high-powered cars to drunk driving. I hope that you’re a bit quieter.”

“We had a party, last night, and I was in bed before midnight. We did have a lot of fun with his soccer pitch.”

The lady then put a hand on Jeffs’ arm.

“Thank you for your contribution, today. It will go into our ‘Tower Fund.”

I looked around.

“But you don’t have a tower.”

She giggled.

“But we will have, one day. Some churches have a steeple fund, but we never had a steeple, so we plan to build a small tower, next to the building. We’ll then start a ‘Bells Fund’ so we can ring the changes. That’s something I doubt I’ll hear in my lifetime.”

“Now, Miss Frobisher. We are moving forward. Perhaps, if we have Miss Leigh attending, we may get some bigger congregations.”

We talked some more, and then went back to the car. The vicar looked incredulous as we got into our aged transport. Perhaps he was expecting a Roller, or something.

“Do you know that this brings home something that Colin has said. He wants us to have a Bentley, for when we want to make a statement. Here we are, in my old banger, and have just told people that we’re film stars. If Miss Frobisher hadn’t seen the film, do you think that they’d believe it?”

“All right, what do we do about it?”

“Monday afternoon, I have a short session in the salon, to take the boobs off for the last time. Monday morning, my fine young man, we’re going to look for cars. That will allow me to pay and sign for mine before I go into hospital, and it can be delivered to the house.”

“Did you have something in mind?”

“Colin thought we might get a couple of Jaguars, but I’ve always fancied an Audi or Mercedes. A sedan or estate car. I’m not into sports cars. What about you?”

“It’s not something I’ve ever thought that I could afford. I do like sports cars, but the supercars are a bit over the top. I like the Audi TT, there’s a roadster version which I fancy. I’ve looked at Jaguars, but they look too nice for daily driving. The Mercedes range is far too meaty for our roads, although the AMG 63 looks all right.”

“We’ll have a look at the Mercedes and then the Audi, then. It will be an early start. You can look up the nearest agents on your phone. I have enough in my account to buy both, on the spot, but we’ll hold off telling them that. We can pay for them to be delivered, and I’ll phone my insurance company once we have the details.”

We had a quiet afternoon, just happy to be together, in our home. Jeff commandeered my tablet and looked for the car showrooms, and then we sat and went through the choices. By dinner time, we had decided to give the Mercedes a miss, and look at the Audi showroom. We had gone back and forth, but we both liked the A5 Sportback. It was four-door but was sporty enough for Jeff.

We had a light meal, and then sat, reading the screenplays. The new one for ‘Thirteen Women’ looked better, with Jeff hogging the opening scene. He was shown leaving the police station, getting in his car, and turning on the radio, where an announcer was about to play a ‘Golden Oldie’. Being way down south, the song had to be the Bill Haley version, rather than the more commercial later ones. I could picture the whole opening sequence, with the title and stars coming up at different times, as he drove along.

I read it and made notes, a lot of them in regard to directing, especially the ones that would need a studio. I could see that the main scenes could use the actual houses if we could get them. We would have to build mock-ups of doors, and other things, that we will be breaking.

I finished by eleven, then gave Jeff a kiss before I went to bed. He was still working through his copy and was making his own notes on the margin. I left him to it and went to do the cleansing and took a shower before putting on a nightie to get into bed. I had a dream about driving around in Tallahassee, a witch who could cast spells. In the dream, I cast a spell on a young detective. He was stroking my breasts when I woke, needing a pee. He wasn’t there when I went back to sleep. I found myself, in that little church, oddly, with Kurt by my side. I suppose that it had been the fact that we had filmed a wedding ceremony for the film. The vicar gave a very long, and tedious, sermon, which went over my head, and then Kurt bent to kiss his bride. That’s when the new radio / alarm did its thing.

I needed another shower that morning, as I had woken with my nightie smelling of sweat, even though the temperature in the house was set. I dressed in a simple shift, then went to the kitchen. I was frying up some bacon and egg when Jeff came in. He gave me a kiss and sat at the table. I gave him the food that I had been cooking for myself and started on another batch for me. The joys of womanhood!

While I ate, I thought about the dreams. I wondered if I was attempting to subconsciously put myself in a woman’s shoes, for real. This week I wouldn’t be able to go back to the old Jamie, even if I wanted to. It would only be play acting when I was in front of the camera, the rest of the time, I could just be me. I looked at my husband-to-be and smiled. We were more than partners, we were friends, and had been for years. I realised that I was really looking forward to when we could move into the master bedroom, for him to take me. That was both a scary and wonderful thought. Me, the budding director, helpless and pleading for him to go deeper.

I shuddered and he looked up.

“Are you all right, darling? You just made shock rings in my teacup.”

“It’s all good, my love. I was just thinking about us both getting our Oscars.”

See, not yet a woman but able to fib!
We headed directly to the nearest Audi dealership at Coulsdon. I don’t know what the salesman thought when we pulled onto the car parking area. If I was him. I would be hoping that the Ford wasn’t going to be traded in.

“Sir, Madam. Can we help you? There are some nice older models in our second-hand lot.”

“Actually, we’re here to look at A5 Sportsbacks. Can you take us to your manager? I have a small deal that I would like to offer him.”

He looked at us oddly, then decided that whatever I was offering, it wasn’t for him. He led the way into the main showroom, where a beautiful Sportback sat under lights. He knocked on the manager’s door.

“Sir, this lady, and gentleman said they would like to talk to you. The vehicle they arrived in is in the car park.”

We walked in and he closed the door. The manager looked at us, and then looked again.

“That dunderhead, he never goes to the pictures. Sit down, Miss Leigh. What are you looking for?”

“This is Jeff Thomas, my fiancé and soon to be in another film. We have only just realised that we need wheels of our own, that aren’t like the six-year-old Ford that I bought three years ago. We sat down and decided that we both like the look of the A5 Sportback and have come to see if we could do test drives.”

“Not a problem. What type of car do you want?”

“I want something easy for me to drive, with good comfort. Jeff is looking for something sportier.”

He picked up his phone and asked someone to have the two, different cars outside in five minutes.

“Is there anything else that you might like?”

“My driver has told me that he knows of a couple of Bentleys that we can buy, should we want to make a statement. I’m not sure what age he was talking about, but a nice fifties or sixties one would be good. For general use, we’ll be leasing something, but that won’t happen until my holding company has been accepted and will be used to handle those costs. These two are simply for us, our own cars, which nobody else will drive.”

“You won’t be leasing these?”

“No, we’ll get you to email the invoice to our agency, and they’ll transfer the money. Then you can deliver the cars to our home and take away the Ford.”

“Ah! The Ford. That will probably go to the scrap yard.”

“That will be silly, I already have a name and address of a guy who has already asked me if he could buy it. It is, you must admit, the car owned by a film star. As such it has collector value. The guy gave me his details.”

He smiled.

“Miss Leigh, you drive a hard bargain. I’ll contact him and ask him what he’ll pay for it, then ask double to see if he’s keen enough. That will come off the cost of yours. Now, let’s have you out and driving.”

I went in the normal car, with the manager, while Jeff took the sports version with the workshop manager, a younger man. I drove around, without doing anything silly, talking to the manager about the film. He told me that his wife forced him to take her and that he enjoyed it. His wife had cried, at the end.

We got back before Jeff, and the manager gave me brochures for the A8, a car which he said was used by many top executives and even royalty. He offered to give me a good lease deal if we took a couple.

Jeff turned up, with a big grin. He said that they had gone to one of the ‘A’ roads and gave the car a working out. I was happy with mine; he was happy with his, the only thing to choose was the colour and any extras. That took about half an hour, and we signed the agreements, gave them the contact details for the agency. I passed him the paper with the interested Ford buyer.

He got one of his guys to get a camera and posed, with us, next to the Sportback in the showroom. Then he wanted a picture of me next to the Ford, to show people that you can’t judge a buyer by the car they arrive in. That salesman was never going to be able to forget today.

We took the Ford and went to get some lunch. Before going in the salon, I called the car company for a car and driver to pick me up in two hours, and Jeff took the Ford home. I went in to be made as manly as they could. It was odd without my breasts being fixed when I got dressed again. It was even odder to have a very small dangly bit back between my legs. I had got really used to the glued groin.

It was Colin that was driving when the car arrived. He told me, as we went to the office, that he had put his resignation in, and the two of them were looking forward to the move. I told him that they could move in as soon as they liked. At the office, Jim gave me a hug and told me that he had enjoyed the party.

“Yes, I could see you sampling something I hadn’t supplied. What will your wife say about Belle?”

“Which one? I’ve had three, or was it four? I like beautiful women and fell for you, but you’re already taken and not likely to join me in a dalliance.”

“You flatter me, kind sir. What I want to ask is how my new company is progressing. As you know, we have the four new friends on board, as soon as the paperwork is ready. We have Colin as our driver, Ruth is the chef, Larry will be the major domo and Brendon will be my personal security. I want to be able to tell them to brush up on their skills, while I’m in hospital, and for the costs of that to come out of my account. Oh! There will be an invoice coming in for two A5 Audis. One for me and one for Jeff. We wanted something of our own to treasure as our personal cars.”

“That’s easy enough to do. Anything else?”

“Yes. I’ve read through the screenplay for ‘Thirteen Women’ and it looks ready to start work on. The sequel is very much a first draft and I think that there’ll be several rewrites before I read that more seriously. What I want you to do is to let David know that I’ve had a quick skim through his screenplay. I’m not sure about the title, though. ‘Gone with the Gale’ seems a little pretentious.”

“That will be a busy time in the studio and will give you two good releases next year. I like it. That will put ‘Sisters’ into the year after. What did you think of David’s screenplay?”

“I’m taking that into hospital with me, as something to study in bed so I can read what C.J. is aiming at.”

“Wait until you read it in full. It’s not light entertainment, I assure you. It got me by the short and curlies, and that’s not easy, seeing the number of scripts I’ve read.”

“OK, I’ll come back and talk about it after the wedding. We were looking around, and there’s a little church in an old Methodist Chapel building that is very small. I’m thinking of a very small list of invitees, and I wondered if we could throw Agnes an olive branch, letting her have an exclusive that would cement the fact that I’m a woman, after the retraction.”

“You should write screenplays, yourself. You do have a devious side to you.”

I went around to say hello to the office staff, most of whom had been at the party. In the car, I asked Colin to take me home. That was something new. I could say ‘home’ and he knew where to go. On the way, I asked him what he thought of A8 Audis, and he said that he would look into them. I told him where we had bought our A5s and to tell them that he was my vehicle manager, looking for lease cars, when he went for a test drive.

Marianne Gregory © 2024