Chapter 33

I was feeling as if I was getting places, now. The next thing I did was to call a flight training school at Gatwick. I asked about getting the full instrument ratings for both Pipers. Although I had done some of the training when I was learning to fly, I hadn’t gone all the way to get the certification.

They would be able to fit me in, next week, if I was happy to undertake accelerated sessions, seeing that I had done most of the course already. I made the appointments, starting Wednesday. If Chloe needed taken around, one of the guys can do that. She’ll need me on Monday to show her where to go at the studio. I didn’t know if she could drive. If she can, then she can use the Audi, while I went to Gatwick with the older A8. I rang the maintenance company, and they told me that the 600 would be ready to pick up on Friday.

I sat down and made a list of all the balls I now had in the air, just so I didn’t miss any coming back down. I had most of the things related to my father’s body started. I had some idea of what will happen with Chloe, and I had a screenplay to study harder.

For the first time in ages, I went to the exercise machines and put in some time on the walker, having a shower after. My legs felt rubbery, and I resolved to do that more often to regain fitness. The next few days were spent in exercise and contemplation, and then it was Friday.

On that day, we loaded our overnight bags into the A8, and Adrian drove us to Gatwick, where we eventually boarded our flight. We were in a plane without first class, so were in business, being ably looked after by the cabin crew. The flight, by jet, was almost over as soon as we gained altitude. I had become used to much longer flights.

At Carlisle, Bob was there to greet us, and I introduced Jacquie as my PA. At the hotel, we were greeted by a very excited Chloe and were settled into our rooms. Dinner, that evening, was a happy time. Chloe had been sucked into the vortex of actually producing the revue, rather than just being a part, and it entranced her. Miss Steel had been showing her the ropes from the other side. She told me that the whole cast had lifted since my last visit, and that the show, tomorrow, was booked out.

She asked me if I knew a Mister Masterson or a Mister Hampton, as they had booked four seats from London. There was also a Mister Younger with two seats. All six would be arriving at the hotel on Saturday. I explained that the Younger was Jim Younger, the owner of the talent agency and also the Managing Director of Younger Films.

“The other two are ones you should know. David Masterton was the director of ‘Turbulence’ and other films, and Tony Hampton has been the director for Kurt and Kym Andreesen for many years. Together, they did ‘Interesting Occupation’.”

“They’re both Oscar winners! So, there will be two Oscar winners in the audience.”

“Hey, what about me, I’ve picked up a few of those, as well.”

“Sorry, sister. I’ve started to think about you as a normal member of the family.”

“That’s good because that’s what I am. All of my awards are on view in the lounge when you get there on Sunday. My cleaning service grumbles every visit, but I think that they’ve all taken selfies with them.”

On Saturday, Chloe had to be taken aside and told to just breathe, slowly. It was her biggest day and was getting to her. I took her for a walk, after breakfast, and we spoke about life after Carlisle. I said that David and Tony were keen to give her a screen test, based on what I had told them, and that I had a screenplay of a new project, at home, which looked like it had been written with the two of us in mind.

“My first film will be the two of us, together!”

She gave me a crushing hug and then I told her the bones of the story and explained that the scene that I had chosen for her screen test wasn’t too dissimilar to the little vignette that we had created last week. I didn’t let on that the film would be my return to the screen.

When we got back to the hotel, Jim and Belle were checking in, so I did the introductions. Their little one was gorgeous, but I wondered if the Lambo might be set aside for a people mover, later on. David and Tony turned up after lunch, and immediately nodded to me when they saw Chloe. I introduced them and they both gave her a hug, telling her that they were looking forward to seeing her through the camera lens.

Another taxi arrived, and Agnes walked in. I went over to her.

“Agnes, don’t tell me that you’ve come all this way to see a small-town revue?”

“Actually, Julia, I have. A little bird told me that something was stirring in this neck of the woods, tonight, and, seeing you here has proved it to have been right. Now, give!”

After she had checked in, I introduced her to May and Chloe as the Editor of a popular magazine, which they both read. Agnes looked at Chloe, then at me.

“There’s a deeper story her than just a rising star, isn’t there?”

“Very astute, Agnes. It happens that Chloe and I share a birth father, along with our three brothers and three more sisters. That will be a story that you will get the exclusive to when I’ve written it. I can tell you that it’s complicated and stretches back over fifty years. You will get an invite to our father’s funeral, when that is set, but he is still living, and no, you can’t talk to him.”

“I’ve come to trust you, Julia, to tell me the story when it is time to be told. So, Chloe, I guess that it’s you I’ve come to see?”

“Well, I am in the revue, tonight, so you will see me, among the others. It almost didn’t happen. Miss Steel was about to cancel the one show until Julia walked in on our rehearsal last week. I keep hearing her mutter “The dog is dead” as we get better and better performances out of the drama group.”

I smiled. “That’s what she said when you ran through it after our little intervention. The full phrase was, “The dog is dead, long live the dog.” I think that she was starting to think that it could be saved.”

“Intervention?”

“Chloe and I put together a small acting masterclass for them. Ah! Here’s the other notable guests. Agnes, here you are, hidden away in downtown Carlisle with Jim, David, and Tony, without any other scribes about and some hours before dinner.”

David grinned. “I heard that about the masterclass. Hello, Agnes, I hope you left the poisoned pens on your desk in London.”

“For you and Tony, there are no poisoned pens. You are all good friends and tell me the truth when I ask, unlike some of the other shady characters in the business. Now, Julia, this masterclass?”

I nodded at Chloe who scowled and said “Bitch!”

When we had finished and unclasped, both David and Tony clapped, and Jim had that smile that he found with a likely new client. He went to Chloe and put his hand out.

“Chloe, I’m Julia’s agent, and these other minions are clients of mine. They are half of the directors of Younger Films. As soon as you get to London, Julia will bring you into the agency and we’ll show you a contract to be a client. We take no money until you start earning it, in fact, we spend quite a bit on you to ensure that, when you do make money, it’s generally seven figures.”

“Thank you, Mister Younger.”

“I’m Jim to everyone, Chloe. Mister Younger was my father. David, do you still want a screen test after what we’ve just seen?”

“Yes, Jim. Julia, did you pick a scene?”

“It’s the one where the older sister wants to just give up and get killed, and the younger one rips her a new anus, to get her motivated.”

“That’s the one I thought, after seeing you two.”

May had been looking on.

“You already have a film that you want my daughter to be in?”

“We have, it just needed the two leading ladies, two sisters, on the run from a violent gang after seeing a murder. They start out as a spinster couple, in a sleepy village, and end up finding love with a couple of guys who help them defeat the bad guys, with it all ending happily. That is one of the biggest changes in C.J.’s writing. He usually ends up with everyone dying. He wrote ‘Lost in the Gale’. The working title is ‘Fly’ for fly on the wall. If Julia brings her into the studio on Monday afternoon, we’ll have a crew ready to roll. Will you be able to do the scene without the script, Julia?”

I nodded. “We should have it ready by then.”

Agnes smiled. “David, if I turn up at the studio with a photographer, can I record the first steps of the next great British film star, sister to Julia Leigh, no less. It will all be kept under wraps until you’re ready to show her to the world.”

“Certainly, Agnes. Are you flying back tomorrow?”

We discovered that we were all on the same flight to Gatwick on Sunday, except Jim, who had the Lambo. We had an early dinner, as Chloe had to go off to the theatre. Over dinner, I introduced her to Belle, and told her that Belle and I were stewardesses together and that Belle had been in ‘Turbulence’ as well. Having now met all of those who had come to see her, and finding them all friendly, even us Oscar winners, Chloe was much more relaxed and ready for the show when she left, with Bob, to go to the show.

Bob had organised a minibus for the rest of us, so, now in our finery, as expected of the stars, we boarded the bus and went off to see the revue. The baby Younger was left with one of the hotel staff. When we arrived, Miss Steel was at the door to greet us, and I made all the introductions. We were all shown to the front row and got settled as the rest of the audience arrived.

The show was much the same in content as I had seen before. This time, however, it sparkled. Most of the cast gave it their all, but Chloe and those she worked with stole the show. At the intermission, we mingled with the audience and the local paper took several pictures of us with other town notables. The show had gained a whispered rumour about a magical transformation from a film star, so there were a lot of local celebrities there, all enjoying it.

When the final curtain fell, Miss Steel stood and pulled me with her to go backstage. When the cast had done the third curtain call, she led me through the curtain and out onto the stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. I have brought Julia Leigh out on stage to publicly thank her for her turning up at our rehearsal and flipping this show on its head. Even I was ready to cancel it, at that time, but she showed our cast what acting was all about, in a most dramatic fashion. It made them realise that performance is projecting another character to the world, and that you have to believe that you are that character while you play the role. We all learned something, that day, and what you have just witnessed was created that day.”

With that, the curtains pulled back, and the entire cast and crew were there, behind us. Chloe came to stand by me and one of the other girls brought out two sheaves of flowers for us. We all took a bow and the curtains closed, for the final time. The rest of the class was bubbly, and everyone was talking at the same time.

The rest of the hotel group turned up and Jacquie was kept busy, acting as scribe for Tony and David as they went to some of the cast members that they had picked out as having enough talent to play lesser roles in the near future. She took all the names and contact details, and they gave the boys and girls their business cards. I expect that they would be a little shocked when they researched the person on the card.

There was an after-show party at the local pub, and that was great fun, with a lot of parents asking about the security of being an actor. We had to tell them that it’s a job, like any other job, and that you need to keep up with the technical changes to stay ahead of the game. Some of them wondered if all the stories they read were true, so I grabbed Agnes and told them that she was the Editor of their favourite magazine, so she was the one to ask. She looked at me and grinned.

“Sometimes, but only occasionally, we write something totally true. Most of what you see is fiction making some truth more enjoyable to read. We try not to be totally outrageous, unlike some of those Women’s Magazines that tell outright lies to sell every issue. A lot of film stars are ordinary people, and I’ve come to be friends with quite a few since I became more hands-on with what I edit. We have to stay on the right side of a fine line, especially when we get involved with anything political. Film people have a unique place in our world and sometimes do things that get your goat. We try to be unpolitical, even if our subjects aren’t.”

I saw that Chloe was starting to sag, so spoke to May to tell her that I would get her home. I got the pub to call a taxi, then told Adrian that I was heading for the hotel. On the way, I told Chloe that she wasn’t being weak, as playing your role, when you do it properly, is as hard as running five thousand yards. I had seen some of the younger members of the cast already asleep in quiet corners.

At the hotel, I helped her to her room, and out of her clothes. I helped her clean her face and get into bed. She was asleep almost immediately. I stood and watched her sleep for a few minutes. Only a week or so, ago, I hadn’t met her, now she was part of me and will be forever more. We had a future in films, and she had a future that would transcend mine.

I went to the bar and sat with a lemonade until the others started to arrive. David and Tony sat with me and told me that they had seen a lot of talent tonight, some good, some not so good, but it had been an interesting experience. Jim and Belle gave us a wave as they headed for their room, they had a bit of a drive tomorrow. Agnes joined us and got the studio location where I was to take Chloe on Monday afternoon. I would take her into the agency in the morning, as I was sure that Jim would have some paperwork by the time we got there.

Adrian came in and we went off to bed. He thought that the revue was a lot of fun and an experience not to be missed. We had a good sleep, and all got together for breakfast. May was teary about her baby leaving home. I asked her if she wanted to come south with her to assure herself that it was all going to be all right. She nodded, so I rang the airline to see if there was a spare seat on our flight. They had one so I gave them my card details.

May went off to tell Bob that he was in charge for a few days, then went to pack. The rest of us had a good meal and cheered when Chloe appeared.

“Sorry guys, I just crashed.”

“It’s all right,” grinned Tony. “We’ve seen actors fall asleep in the middle of a take if we try to do too many. It made us improve our original direction to get it right quickly.”

Chloe had her breakfast and was surprised when May came back, dressed to travel. They had a little chat, with May telling her that it was hard to wave her off without seeing where she was going to live. I asked Jacquie if she could ring the house and see if Molly could set up the last spare room. That would give us a full house.

We had a small fleet of taxis take us to the airport, where we all went through the check-in and then sat in the business class lounge waiting to board. May asked me if we always had the expensive seats, so I told her that it was a tax break, a needed expense, as it had been shown that film stars travelling down the back pose a problem with security.

At Gatwick, we said our cheerio’s and I waited with our bags while Adrian went to get the car. When he pulled up, we all squeezed in, and he drove us home. On the way, I asked Chloe if she could drive, and she said that she did, but hadn’t needed a car in Carlisle. I said that she could drive mine for a while until we can get her one of her own.

At the house, May gasped as we went through the gates. At the door, Larry and Brendon were there to carry the bags in, and Molly came out saying that the kettle was on. I showed May and Chloe their rooms and explained that Molly was in the annex on this side, while Larry and Brendon were in the one opposite. As we had gone through the kitchen, they needed no directions to get back after they had freshened up. I left them and went to my bedroom, where I found Adrian splashing his face.

“This has made me think, darling, about what we’re going to do for the funeral. We won’t be able to put everyone up so I expect that we will need to block book rooms in a hotel, one close to Hounslow.”

“That probably would be the best thing. The overseas people will appreciate that. Have you thought about getting him back?”

“I’ve ordered a casket to go into storage near the prison and spoke to a lovely funeral director who will be doing the business. When we have a known date, I’ll have to sit down with him and work through the details. I’ve also booked time, starting Wednesday, to get an instrument rating on both Pipers.”

“You have regained your motivation, haven’t you?”

We went back through to the kitchen where May and Chloe were talking to Molly. After the rest and a cup of tea, I showed them through the rest of the house, with some time spent looking at the masks, globes, and statuettes. I showed them the outside, and then the soccer pitch and garage, pointing out my A4 that Chloe could use. May wanted to know why we had two A8’s so I pointed out the armour plate, run-flat tyres, and bullet-proof windows on one.

“It should be like driving a tank, but I’ve driven both, with the only difference being the heavy one uses more fuel. That was bought instead of a Bentley, as one we use for very important occasions. I expect that we’ll use both when we get to the funeral.”

May was happy to leave Chloe and I to do some work, so we took the screenplay into the rehearsal room and worked through the scene I had noted. She, like me, had a good memory and it didn’t take us long to be able to run through it, quietly, without needing the script. The scene takes place in a hotel room, so I went and asked Molly if we could use the spare bedroom in the annex, so we could rant and rave without upsetting anyone.

Upstairs, in the annex, I sat on the bed and Chloe took up her position by the door.

“I don’t think I can take much more,” I sobbed.

When we had finished the scene, it was now embedded in our minds, so we did it again, aiming at more emotion. After that, we hugged, went downstairs and I gave her my copy of the screenplay to get her head around the rest of the script.

Molly did an excellent dinner and we sat in the lounge watching some TV. Eric was on, with his old show, and May said that he was a lovely man. I told her that he really was, and might be at the studio, tomorrow, if word had got out of a secret screen test.

“It’s because he has been teaching at RADA and loves to mentor new talent. He’s been here for parties, several times. May, will you come with us into London in the morning. You can see the sort of operation that Jim has, and we might get to visit a few of our suppliers to get Chloe onto their books.”

Adrian had cinema business to do, so we took my Audi into London on Monday morning. At the agency, Jim did have a contract for Chloe to sign, after she had looked through it and asked a few questions. Michael took a few pictures of her, gave her the interim loyalty cards, just saying that I would explain things. She left her banking details with Horatio and spent some time in reception looking at the Oscar and the display. She had her own tablet so all that was needed, downstairs, was the new company phone.

May wanted to know how Chloe would get paid.

“Now she’s on the agency books, she can use the loyalty cards with our suppliers, getting some later in her own name. The bills are paid by the agency and get taken off her first big income. She will get a signing bonus if she signs with Younger Films this afternoon, of five thousand dollars US, minimum. I will push for her to be on a percentage for her film, rather than an up-front payment.”

“Why is that?”

“Because, with an up-front payment, that’s all you get. So, it might be a half a million US dollars, the usual for a first-time talent, but a one percent return on gross will give her a million for every hundred million the film makes. Back in the old days, the highest grossing film was ‘Titanic’, which made two point two billion. With my first film, I earned more than two million in the first two weeks.”

I looked, as I drove, seeing May’s hand with a claw grip on the front seat.

“Don’t worry, May. Horatio is a fantastic lawyer and looks after our income. Half of mine goes into blue chip stocks. The only thing I’ve gambled on since I became a star has been putting money into the films we make.”

I pulled up outside our go-to salon, where I had made an appointment for all three of us, on my card. An hour later, it was three very renewed ladies who got back in the car, two of them with bags of product that they were told to use in future.

The next stop was our dress shop. I told them that one thing that we will need was a black outfit for a funeral, but not right now. We got Chloe measured and her details recorded and proceeded to get her some new outfits, including a couple for May to go with her new look. They were amazed when the girl from the shoe shop came in with perfect shoes for each outfit. With them now wearing new outfits, and me with one that I just had to have, I drove us to the Ritz, where I had booked a table.

This was another introduction to her future, as Chloe was starting to enjoy herself. Both of them were getting to act as if they were born to the high life, and the Ritz was a test of that. We had a table that was reasonably prominent, as befitted a film star, and, throughout the time we were there, friends and acquaintances would come over to say hello, as I would introduce Chloe as my sister and a future star. By the time we were back in the car, Chloe had met four TV actors and two actresses, three politicians and two journalists with cameras.

Marianne Gregory © 2024