Chapter 1
I’m almost too embarrassed to relate this story, but I suppose that I should, as a warning for all who read it to make sure that they plan ahead and cover themselves for any contingency. Remember to double your back-up and to make sure that it’s at hand. My problems started at thirty-five thousand feet over Northern Italy, and things went downhill from there, mainly due to my own mistake in not having that extra cover.
Firstly, though, a little history. My father was a military hero in my eyes. He was a pilot, flying in support of our troops in Afghanistan as I was growing up. I didn’t see much of him for months on end, but that never stopped me from admiring him and wanting to fly.
My problem was that I lacked the brain power to become a pilot, so ended up getting a job with an airline as a cabin steward. By this time, my father had left the Air Force and was now flying for the same airline, which had been a help when I had applied for the job. The company was one of those privately owned ones, with a varied fleet of aircraft. We did have six ex-British Airways Boeing 777-200’s and had started competing with the big boys in the long-haul game.
The first two years of my career were busy, and then came covid, but the boss kept us on minimum wage, with short flights only for a couple of years. I had trained in smaller aircraft on the shorter European routes and had become good enough to be offered a position doing long-haul, once we started operating again.
It did help that I was single, as you could find yourself heading to all points at short notice. We had a good-sized pool of cabin workers, most of them good-looking girls, and there could be one or two male stewards on some trips. Now, I know the reputation all of us male cabin stewards have, I’ve heard all the comments about the ‘twink’ stewards. The thing is, when you work in a confined space with a lot of girls, some of their mannerisms tend to stick. On top of that, there’s just no room in an aircraft for a bodybuilder dude unless they’ve paid for a seat.
The trip that caused me trouble had been thrust on me at the last minute, due to a sudden spate of gastric infections. It was 2024, I had just got back off a flight from L.A. and was about to pick up my flight case from the logistics officer at Heathrow, when I heard my name being called over the speakers.
“Would Jamie Curtis please report to the company offices if he is still in the terminal.”
Jamie Curtis, that’s me. Or should I say it in full, seeing that it was foisted on me by my mother. She insisted that I was to be called Jamie Lee Curtis, after one of her favourite film stars. It wasn’t too much of a problem, once I got used to the odd comment, as most people realised that the name could belong to a man as well. The worst times were when I was asked to scream, seeing that the original Jamie Lee was known as the ‘Scream Queen’ with all the horror movies she had done.
Anyway, back to the story. I went to the company office and was told that we were severely short of a cabin crew with a flight to Sydney that was due to take off in less than an hour. I had nothing better to do, so agreed to take the flight. I had the cabin uniform that I had used for the U.K. to L.A. trip in my bag, with stains from a toddlers dessert on the shirt and trousers, and the one I was currently wearing was reasonable, as the flight from L.A. had been uneventful. I figured that I could go, as is, and get the other one cleaned in Sydney, as I was promised a four-day layover.
So, that evening, we were wheels up and heading for Singapore, and then on to Sydney. Usually, the night flights were easy, as everyone would be sleeping. However, this particular trip was anything but easy. We had a bunch of rugby fans going to see England play Australia, in Sydney. We had two families with six toddlers between them, who just didn’t want to be enclosed in a cylinder, full of strangers, without their usual cartoons or their favourite foods.
I was working the economy class, along with three girls. There were two girls up the front of the plane, working first class, and another three working business class. Most of the passengers passed on the evening meal and tried to sleep, but the toddlers were causing trouble. I ended up getting chocolate mousse down one trouser leg, which did clean off, mostly. When they settled, finally, I mopped my pants leg with a damp cloth, and carried on. We were somewhere near the Pakistan border when I was walking along the aisle with a tray of beers for our still-awake rugby fans, and I walked into a stream of projectile vomit from one of them.
The amount of beer that he had consumed, along with the curry he had chosen for his evening meal, covered me from chest to groin. I called over to Moyra, one of the stewardesses, to help me with the clean-up. Together, we mopped and sponged, while passengers alongside us were deciding to fill their own barf-bags. To say that it was a disaster zone would be an understatement. A half-an-hour later, we had removed all the evidence, and I had managed to also remove the bits of carrot from my clothes. It’s funny, whenever someone throws up in a plane, there’s always carrot.
Now, our planes had a small area for the crew, with our own toilet, and a bank of drawers for our personal items. We would keep a spare set of clothes in those, along with our papers and anything else we would need. My drawer, that flight, only had a small flight bag with my wallet and other paperwork in. We all wore our company ID on a lanyard, which was hidden under our shirts or dresses. My roller case, of course, was in the baggage hold, along with all the passenger cases.
Moyra went up front to get Cynthia, the chief stewardess, to come and see what we could do to salvage the situation. As I was the only steward on this trip, I couldn’t borrow any clothes, and couldn’t work with what I had on. We had over an hour before we would need to get the breakfast trolleys out, but that’s the time when we needed all of us to be active.
Cynthia came into our cramped hide-away, took one sniff of me and ordered me to go into the toilet and wash myself, all over. Moyra told her that I didn’t have anything to change into, so she got one of the girls to give me a safety razor, and I was told to shave everywhere I could reach, as I was going to have to wear borrowed clothing for the rest of the flight.
I couldn’t do anything but follow her orders, her being my boss on this flight. I wondered what she had in mind. Would I end up in a version of the girls uniforms? While us guys had a basic look – a beige shirt with the logo, and our name badge clipped over that. Trousers were black slacks with black shoes. There was a jacket, but that was only worn on the ground and mine was in the baggage hold.
The girls had a wider range, with beige and black being the base. There was a shift dress, with black hose and shoes; there was a beige blouse with a black skirt, or black slacks. A lot depended on what part of the plane you were working, with the better dressed up the front with the dearer seats. On this flight, seeing that we were going to land in a hot destination, all the girls in economy were in the blouse and skirt. The company was better than most when it came to footwear, with one-inch heels being the usual, going to two-inch up front. When you’re on your feet for ten to fifteen hours, tall heels can be killers, or so I’d been told.
I went into the toilet, with a plastic bag for my soiled clothes. I was totally naked, in front of the wash basin, when Cynthia opened the door and passed me some things, and took away my bag of clothes, as well as my shoes and socks. When I had got myself clean and had shaved all I could see, I looked at the items she had left. Somehow, she had got one of the girls to lend me a bra and some panties, and there was an unopened pack of tights.
With a sigh, I managed to get the panties on, and then the tights without tearing them. Finally, I managed to get the bra in place and opened the door to see Moyra with a big grin on her face.
“That Cynthia is a dab hand at guessing sizes, Jamie. You’re lucky that Wanda had some things that fit you. Now, let’s get you into a dress and get you made up. You’ll be a natural when you’ve let me have a go at that man-bun of yours. I’ve always wondered what you’ll look like with your hair down.”
She handed me a beige dress, which I was about to put on when she held her hand up.
“Not so fast, Jamie! I know that you really want to wear the dress, but there’s a couple of things we have to do, first, now, sit on the pull-down and let me work some magic.”
I pulled the seat down that we use for landings and take-offs, and she examined my face for any stray hairs, then took some tweezers and proceeded to remove most of my eyebrows, followed by a run over with a little battery shaver, that left me with just a dark line in the female arch shape. Then she opened a make-up box and worked on my face for a good ten minutes. Then she proceeded to paint my fingernails black, to match the tights. Snapping the box shut, she tugged on my man-bun and let my hair down.
My hair was my crowning glory and was long enough to go below my shoulders.
“That’s a bit long to be regulation, so I’ll brush it with a centre parting, then give you a ponytail, with some left either side, which I’ll shorten. Now, stay still!”
I stayed still, as this would define me for the rest of the trip. I was determined to get my case in Singapore and change into my old uniform, even with the stain on the trouser leg. Eventually, she was happy, and gave me my ID on its lanyard, to put over my head, followed by her giving me my socks, now filled with paper towel, to put in the bra cups. Then I was stepping into the dress and pulling it up. I have to say that it fitted well, and I could see that my chest conformed to the usual idea of what a woman should look like. She zipped me up, at the back, and I realised that without the dexterity that girls have, I was now prisoner in the dress, to which I now clipped my Jamie name badge. Finally, they had found a pair of two-inch heels that fitted me.
When Cynthia came back, I had been walking a few steps each way until I didn’t fall over, quietly talking to Moyra in a girly voice. Cynthia took a good look at me and smiled.
“Jamie, you’ll be up the front with Belle. Wanda will take over, here, as you have her heels. She has her spare flats on now so will change into her blouse and skirt for the rest of the journey. Now, follow me and we’ll start getting the first-class breakfasts ready. I know that you’ve done that class before, and I’ve been watching you for several trips we’ve done together. Just take it slow, speak quietly, bend your knees to get down instead of bending at the waist, and I think you’ll get to Singapore without any trouble.”
I followed her down to the front of the plane and met Belle, who I had worked with before. She had a huge grin on her face when she saw me.
“Wowser, Jamie. You are every inch a woman in that dress. I’ll help you get through this, and you can take me out to dinner when we get to Sydney. I know a good place where two girls in dresses aren’t unusual.”
Over the next hour, I was busy working the breakfast trolley as we delivered the breakfasts to our passengers. There would have only been about twenty in this section, compared with more than a hundred back in economy, but these travellers had paid enough money to be looked after. It meant being nice to them, pouring their expensive drinks from freshly opened bottles, providing them with everything one would expect when you go first class. Naturally, this all takes time, far more time than you would spend with the passengers at the back of the plane.
It's a fact of life that first-class passengers are usually men, travelling alone. Unlike the ones in business class, just behind them, these are the owners or high-up in business, or else rich enough to travel this way as a matter of course. When I had worked this group as a bloke, it had been light chat about how the flight was progressing, thoughts on what was being shown on the screen at the time, all general things. As a stewardess, it was a whole lot different!
There were a couple who wanted me to pass comment on their company, from a woman’s point of view. There were a couple who were certain that I would meet them for dinner in Sydney, There were a couple who wanted me to know how badly their wives were treating them. One was a famous hairdresser who wanted to know where I went to get mine looked at. It was strange, yet interesting. I suppose that the girls got this all the time, and it became second nature to them, but, for me, it was a revelation.
The one woman noticed my lack of earrings and congratulated me on resisting the peer pressure and the marketing. I did spend a little while with her, finding out that she was heading to Singapore for a seminar on Asian fashion trends.
Overall, it was eye-opening, Especially the number of times I felt a touch on my arm, or leg, or hip. The last time I’d been touched that many times was with an economy class full of genuine twinks heading for the Sydney Mardi Gras. After that particular flight, one of the girls had commented on how good it had been. I now realised that it was because no-one had bothered her.
Belle and I worked well together, and it was a group of happy, rich, people who were ordered to put their seat upright and prepare for landing. We had to go around and check that the seat was firm, and that the seatbelts were connected. Some of this type of person considered that rules didn’t apply to them. I had one, younger, chap who hadn’t buckled his seatbelt. When I reached in to find the far part of the belt, the devil kissed me on the cheek, then smiled and reached for it himself. What could I do? It wasn’t done to make a scene, so I just gave him my brightest smile.
“Thank you, sir, you naughty boy. I hope that you have a good time in Singapore.”
“No, Jamie. I’m going all the way, with you – to Sydney.”
“That’ll be nice, I’ll make sure that I don’t get too close, again.”
I sat with Belle on the pull-downs as we landed and watched as they all unbuckled and reached for their bags as we taxied to the terminal. Belle patted me on the arm.
“Jamie, you’ve done well. Not only with the way you’ve worked, but also with the way you interacted with the passengers. I expect that this has made you realise how different the job is when you’re a woman.”
“You bet! I haven’t been touched so many times since my mother stopped giving me baths. Except for that Mardi Gras trip when my butt was black and blue. It’s been odd, though. It’s the way they want to actually talk to you that gets to me. As a bloke, you’re just a servant, but, as a girl, you’re a person. I’ve seen the girls chatting to customers and wondered about whether they’re wasting time, but now I’ve experienced it, I know that you can’t help but be friendly.”
“We’ll see if you’ve fully taken that in when we do the next leg. There are some who go to Sydney from Singapore who are a bit more forward in talking to us.”
“I’ve never had to bother with those ones back in economy, where normal people sit.”
At the Changi terminal, we were connected to the airbridge and opened the cabin door. As usual, the first and business class passengers were allowed out, as I stood, with Belle and Cynthia, wishing them well as they left. Some would be back, including the devil who had kissed me. We stayed, in place, as the plane slowly emptied, sending a river of relieved people up to the transit lounge or customs and the baggage claims.
We would be on the ground for two hours, while the aircraft was cleaned. Usually, I would spend time in the crew quarters, for a shower and a change if needed. Our bags would be sent there as a matter of course. Cynthia held us back until all the other girls were assembled, even after the flight crew had left. She complimented everyone on a good job, with minimal numbers, as well as getting me changed for the second half. This puzzled the girls in business class, as they had only seen a new girl pass through their section. One came over and gave me a hug, telling me that I had been brave, doing what I did, but that she would have never known that I was anything but a genuine stewardess.
When we got to the crew quarters, my case wasn’t anywhere to be seen! I asked the logistics manager, and he told me that according to his computer, because it still had the stickers on from my previous trip, it was now sitting in the crew lounge in L.A. I then asked the company supply officer what clothes he had in the stores, only to find that they had no men’s clothing at all, there not being a call for them. They did have plenty of the women’s outfits, though.
I went and spoke to Cynthia, telling her what I had found out. She dragged me back to the supply officer and ordered him to issue me with two blouses, two skirts, two dresses, half a dozen tights, bras, and panties. Also, two pairs of flats and two pairs of heels in my size. She then added a crew jacket, my size, and a new roller case to fit my things in.
I was sent to the shower, so that I could dress in clean things and give back what I had borrowed. In the shower area, I saw myself as I now looked for the first time in a big mirror. It stopped me in my tracks. With the make-up and my hairstyle, there was a new Jamie Lee standing there. I couldn’t believe that this girl was me, but then realised that it must have been, seeing that the entire first-class had accepted me as a girl.
Moyra came in while I stood and gave me a big hug before she unzipped me.
“See, Jamie. You’re even pretty in that dress, and your legs look great. I’ll give you a hand to get ready for the next leg, then we’ll go and get some food. When we get to Sydney, we’ll get some sleep, then we’ll go shopping. Then you’re taking me for dinner.”
“It will have to be a threesome, then, seeing that Belle has already told me that she knows a place where two girls in dresses won’t look out of place dining together.”
“I think I know the place she spoke about. You go and get showered, here’s a plastic bag for the clothes. You keep the tights, and Wanda doesn’t want her undies back, just her dress and shoes.”
She watched as I stripped off, dropping the dress and shoes into the bag, and putting the tights with my new things. She then gave me a bottle of make-up remover and told me to use it before I got wet, and to use all the things I will find in the shower.
I had a good wash, under the warm water, ridding my body of any left-over smell. The shampoo and conditioner was a long way from what I usually used, and it left my hair feeling silky. I dried myself, wondering how my future would play out. I was now forced to fly the leg to Sydney as a stewardess. I suppose that I could go out and buy some male clothes while I was in Sydney, but I knew that the company stores there didn’t carry male outfits, as they had told me that once before. So, wherever I went after that, it would have to be as a woman, seeing that this was the only uniform I had. I just hoped that some from this flight would be there with me.
When I came out of the shower, towel wrapped around me, Cynthia and Belle were waiting to get me properly fitted out to carry on. Belle had borrowed my card from my wallet and bought me a black handbag and some cosmetics from the duty-free, so I now had more to worry about. Together, we reassembled the female Jamie, a lot more carefully this time. When I looked in the mirror, even I could see the difference, and thanked them for their expertise. Together we went to eat, and then sat and rested until we were called on to go back on duty.
During that time, I found out that Cynthia, Moyra, Belle, Wanda, and I were having the two days in Sydney, and were then back on duty, on a flight that took us to Tokyo, and then on to Hawaii. My promised four days had gone by the wayside. We would then have a day off, before going from Hawaii to L.A. and then back to London. Cynthia said that if the virus was still circulating, we may only get a couple of days at home, as long as we didn’t catch it.
When we were ready for the trip, with my new roller case packed with my new clothes and sent back to the plane, I put my new handbag, with my papers in it, into the flight case, and we walked back to our workplace. There I had a shock. My father was the Captain on this flight!
I stood with Belle waiting for the economy to fill up before the business and first-class passengers were called. I watched my father, standing with Cynthia, as they welcomed everyone on board. Then I heard Belle whisper.
“You can serve the flight crew on this leg, Jamie. It will be interesting to hear what your father has to say when he sees you in a dress.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 2
I had, of course, flown with my father several times, but with all of those I had been in economy and had never watched his manner with the passengers. I knew that if he did come out during the flight, he’d never go that far back. Belle saw me watching.
“Smooth, isn’t he. Most of the girls call him Creepy Curtis, no offence meant.”
“None taken, now I’ve watched him in action. He always was the flyboy when I was young. There wasn’t much love there, mainly admiration from me with him basking in the glow of that. He cut a real figure then, the fighter pilot serving his country overseas.”
We welcomed our passengers and led them to their seats, making sure that they were comfortable and buckled in for the take-off. Once we were levelled out and running down the Java Sea, I prepared the tray of drinks for the flight crew and went in with it held tightly. The flight crew was the Captain, Co-pilot, and Engineer, and it was usual to start with the Engineer, so that there would be just the two cups that were held between the pilot’s seats.
The Engineer gave me a nice smile and looked at my name badge.
“You’re a new face, Jamie. You’re welcome on the flight deck anytime.”
I then took the tray to hold between the pilots. As they took their drinks, my father looked at me and then at my name badge. I thought that this was the moment I’d been dreading.
“Jamie, is it? My son has the same name and is a steward. Maybe you’ve met him.”
“Yes, Captain. We have flown together a few times.”
“It’s amazing, you look so alike, you could be his sister.”
“That has been said.”
“If you’ve brought the drinks, you must be working first. I’ll have a chat when I come out, after we pass Darwin.”
“I’ll look forward to that, Captain.”
As I removed the tray, he smiled and patted my arm.
“See you later, pretty Jamie.”
Back in my working area, it took me a while to process that. If I wasn’t wrong, my father had just made a pass at me. Belle saw me looking serious and told me to smile. Next time we were in the preparation area, she asked me what had happened.
“I’m not sure, but I think the Captain made a pass at me. He asked me if I had flown with his son. Not only did he not recognise me, but he also showed me why you all call him Creepy Curtis. That was weird!”
The flight carried on, with me just needing to fend off the young devil. He had so many tricks to try and get me to bend close to him, it was almost a masterclass of devious ways to catch a girl unawares. I learned more in two hours than I had in my whole life. I was getting to the stage where I might let him win, just for once, and I realised that I was also wondering what it would be like if I did let him win.
After Darwin, my father came out to talk to the paying customers. Before he went back onto the flight deck, he came over to me.
“Jamie, you’ve set me thinking. Where were you born?”
I knew that he had been based near Norfolk for some time, between my second and third birthday, so I took a gamble.
“It was a hospital in Norwich. Why do you ask?”
“Is your mother called Janet?”
I tried to look surprised, for him.
“Damn, you would be a couple of years younger than my son. Janet always told me that she was on the pill. Don’t say anything to my son when you see him next. He’s always looked up to me and I would hate to burst his bubble.”
He patted me on the arm again, as he turned to go back to work.
Belle tapped me on the shoulder.
“Tell me all about it in Sydney, but get back to work, now. Your favourite lothario has thought of a few more tricks. He won’t rest until he gets to smooch you, again.”
About a half an hour before we landed in Sydney, he asked me if I could find his seat belt, and this time as he went to kiss my cheek, I turned my head towards him, and he kissed my lips. It was so quick that no-one else noticed, especially with the screen between the passengers.
“You really are a naughty boy, sir. Will you be good for the rest of the flight?”
“For you, Jamie, I’ll be as good as gold. Here’s my card, give me a call when you’re in Sydney for any length of time, and we can be good for each other. I’m off again in a couple of days, to see some people about a new project.
I looked at his card before I answered.
“Thank you, David. This visit isn’t long enough to party. I’ve been on my feet since just after nine, yesterday morning, in L.A., and the short time I have on the ground, will be catching up on my beauty sleep.”
“Take it from me, Jamie, if you were any more beautiful, you’d be on the silver screen already. I work with actresses, and you have more natural beauty than most of them.”
“Thank you, David. I’ll keep this, and you, in mind.”
“That’s all I ask, Jamie. You’ve been such fun since you came down to this section, you’ve made this trip one of the better ones. Most of the girls just get stern and cranky, but you’ve played the game and I think you may have enjoyed it as much as I have.”
“I think you’re right, David. Now I have to go and look after someone else.”
When we had landed and seen the passengers off, Cynthia took me by the arm and held me back until we were joined by Moyra and Belle.
“Girls, I’ll organise a car to take us to the hotel as soon as we clear the terminal. The arrangements, Jamie, is that we share two twin rooms, so you’d better be on your best behaviour. Although, looking at you now, I don’t think it will take long before you’re out like a light. How many hours have you been awake, now?”
“About forty, or so, I think. It’s just starting to catch up. This trip has been too much fun to feel sleepy, but my legs are killing me.”
We took our flight bags, found our roller cases, and I sat in the car while the others got their personal cases from the carousel. They woke me up when we got to the hotel, and I stayed awake long enough to strip off, remove my make-up and put on a nightie that was supplied, in beige, of course. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I must have slept for about twelve hours, because the sun was shining brightly through the bedroom window when I opened my eyes. I needed a pee and got out of bed to rush to the toilet. On the way, my brain registered the fact that I had a nightie that was swishing about my legs, and that my hair was trying to obstruct my vision. After I had sat on the toilet, I wiped the drops off and stood to look in the mirror.
It was difficult to believe that just letting my hair down and having someone make a few changes to it would give me the person that was looking back at me now. I had spent the best part of yesterday working as a stewardess, without anyone screaming that they were being served by a deviant tranny. Hell, I had even scored a kiss from a nice guy.
In the light of day, I could now process that my father thought that I was his illegitimate daughter from a woman called Janet, who he had shacked up with while he was stationed in Lincolnshire. I thought that Mum would have no idea that he was playing away from home, and she would have a fit if she knew. It skewed my whole relationship, however meagre, with my father, who I was starting to think of as a dirty old man.
I took a lovely shower and washed my hair with the items I found in the bathroom. Smelling fresh and flowery, I dried myself and went back into the bedroom, to find Belle there, unpacking a couple of shopping bags with fashion store names on.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. I hope that you’re refreshed now. Today is a new day and a new experience for you. As you have to do the next flights as a girl, I took the liberty of taking your credit card on an outing to the shops. I’ve got you a couple of skirts and tops and a pair of nice shoes, all in the sizes you’ve been wearing. There’s also a pack of tights in nude so that you can show off those good legs. Don’t worry, they didn’t cost the earth, and I’m sure Wanda would buy them off you if you don’t need them any longer.”
“Tell me why this is happening?”
“Because, Jamie, you’re a shoo-in as a very pretty girl in the right outfits, and I think that you’ll have a better time if you embraced that fact and owned it. Did your father twig who you were?”
“That’s the biggest shock of all. He thinks that I’m his daughter from a floozy in East Anglia. He was stationed near there flying fighters. That alone has changed me for ever. I looked up to him, all my life, and now discover that he’s a womanising creep, two-timing my mother. Who knows how many little Jamies there are around the world. I had the thought, in the shower, that I didn’t want to be his son any longer, so I might as well be his daughter for a while. Now, show me what I’m wearing. Why a ’couple of skirts and tops,’ surely we’ll be back in uniform tomorrow.”
She grinned and laid the two outfits on my bed. One was a silky black blouse and a red straight skirt that looked so short I first thought that it was a very wide belt. The other was a silvery top, with sparkles, and a long black skirt. The shoes were black heels with straps up the ankle.
“The first is for today, which is going to be spent with you becoming even more beautiful, if that’s even possible. By the time you’re dressed and made-up, it’ll be time for lunch with the rest of us. Then you have an appointment with the hotel salon to tidy up any stray hairs, and give you proper nails, plus a few other things. Then we shop for your own underwear, and any other things that you fancy. Then we come back here, and you change into the other outfit so you can look good when we go out to that club that we know. Believe me, you won’t look out of place there, and the rest of us will be in our glad rags as well.”
“Why more underwear and stuff?”
“Because dill brain, we’re in Tokyo and Hawaii next, and you can’t wear the same things every day you’re out of uniform. Why do you think that we all have our own cases in the baggage hold? We girls have to look good, damn it! We’re airline stewardesses and we have a reputation to uphold. We have an aura of femininity to live up to. Do you think that your lothario would have been interested if you met him in the street?”
I went to the other side of the bed and found my handbag. I took his card out and gave it to her.
“I think that this shows that he was interested.”
She looked at it, then her eyes widened.
“Dammit, girl. That was David Masterson, one of the up-and-coming film directors. His first film got rave reviews. It was a horror movie, with a lot of screaming.”
“Oh goodie. All my life people have asked me to scream, with my name being the same as the ‘Scream Queen’, but he wouldn’t have known that. I wonder why he was so keen on kissing me?”
“Just look in the mirror, Jamie. Now, let’s get you ready to face the remainder of the day.”
She helped me get dressed and made-up. I had to admit, that in the short skirt and heels I looked hot, if a little worried that I’d be showing my panties to all and sundry. She showed me ways that I could change my movements and posture to stop that happening, then we went down to the hotel dining room to meet the others.
Now, when I used to have lay overs before, I wasn’t part of the girls team, so had hardly seen them in their normal outfits. We were a colourful bunch, and I wasn’t the most colourful. Moyra was like the sun in yellow, and Cynthia was our leader in gold. Belle and I were almost dowdy in comparison. We ate heartily, as it was both breakfast and lunch for us all. I may have slept the longest, but we all had needed our rest.
After lunch, we went back to our rooms to freshen up and then I was shown the hotel salon, where we were all booked in. Cynthia told me that all the crew would take the advantage of a session when they had a full day, with it added to the company account. Two hours later, I walked out of there a new woman. I was hairless in all the places it could be achieved, and my crowning glory was now just that. They had trimmed my hair to regulation length and given it some extra colour, as well as a style which I knew would never be back in a bun again.
On top of that, my toenails had been filed and painted, while my fingernails had been cleaned, filed, and then added to before being covered in acrylic black, to match the other girls. I had a set of silicone breasts that had been glued on and it felt different, with my socks now in my bag and the paper towel wadding in the bin. I had submitted to some small injections around my lips and even to a single piercing in each ear. Not only did I look more girly, but I also even felt more girly. I also had a small cosmetic case, with samples of all the items that they had used, which I took back to the room. And all this was on the company account!
Then we hit the shops, with a lingerie shop being first. I had to strip off my top and skirt to be measured for bra and panties, and the girl there assured me that I wasn’t the first guy she’d seen that day and wouldn’t be the last. I walked out wearing a beautiful set, in black, and ended up with a dozen sets of underwear, as well as a couple of garter belts, stockings (for tonight) and even a few of my own nighties. This had got serious!
Being now properly shaped, we hit the dress shops for me to get a couple of things that would be suitable for Hawaii. I came away with just two things, a yellow summer dress with orchids on it, and a long, red, number with a slit up one leg as far as the thigh. Then it was on to a department store jewellery section, where I stocked up on cheap, but nice, rings, bangles, necklaces, and extra earrings. The last stop was the luggage department where I bought a roller case in bright red, so that it stood out on the carousel now that I would be travelling with extra things.
Back at the hotel, we had an afternoon tea, to keep our strength up, and then went up to the rooms to get ready for the evening. I followed Belle in the bathroom and had my second shower of the day while she started getting dressed. Then it was my turn to glam up. With my new, sexy underwear, complete with garter belt and stockings, it felt odd, but sensuous.
The silvery top and long skirt fitted beautifully, with the skirt quite narrow, so that I had to take short steps, and lift it if I wanted to climb stairs. It was a good job that the girl in the lingerie shop had worked with guys like me before, as she had sold me panties that were made to help me hide my extra bit (as I was starting think it was), and there wasn’t an unsightly bulge at the groin area. The new shoes were higher than I had ever worn, but my hours on the two-inch versions had given me a good grounding in how to move in heels. This time, I could add the jewellery to complete the look, then Belle spritzed us both with a flowery perfume. When I asked about it, she told me that there should be a small bottle in the cosmetic case.
There was a knock on the door, and we opened it to see Cynthia and Moyra looking fabulous. The four of us went down to the lobby, where the doorman signalled to a taxi. With the tight skirt, I couldn’t help but copy the others as I sat and then swivelled my legs in. We were driven to a place in the city where I had never been before. Cynthia paid the driver, and we went inside. It was quite tasteful and chock full of women dolled up to the nines. I laughed.
“I see what you meant when you said that two girls in dresses wouldn’t look out of place, Moyra.”
“It’s a pink bar, Jamie. About a third of the women are like you. Sydney is world famous for its gay vibe, and this is where all the best people come to. It’s safe for us real girls, so we come here whenever we’re in the city. We get enough pinching and poking on the flights, and this is a welcome break. It’s not somewhere you go to pick up men, because there aren’t any here.”
I didn’t know whether to be offended by that or take it as a compliment. We were shown to the table by a waitress who knew Cynthia and Moyra by name. I was introduced and she looked at me with a strange gleam in her eyes, noting my name, alongside Belle, on her notepad.
We had a lovely meal, a few glasses of wine and then joined the dancers to gyrate to the DJ music. Dancing in heels made me better at dancing, or that’s what I put it down to. It could have been something in the drink, for all I knew. About eleven, we were sat at our table and decided that enough was enough, considering that we would be in Tokyo tomorrow afternoon and high over the Pacific by this time tomorrow night. We each paid our share and then went out, where there were a few taxis at the kerb. We got into the first one, a little more ungainly than entering the taxi we came in.
At the hotel, Belle and I said goodnight to the others, and then watched them walk down the corridor, hand in hand. Belle saw me looking and smiled.
“We take it how we can, Jamie. Girls or boys, it doesn’t matter, but girls can be more satisfying, sometimes. Let’s go and get undressed and see what you like.”
We went into our room and Belle held my shoulders and kissed me, hard. It was enough to make me lose any inhibitions I may have kept, all these years. Inside ten minutes, we were naked and in her bed. She taught me how girls satisfy girls. After that, she told me it was my turn, and I ended up, on my back, with her sitting on my member. She had the condom in the bedside table, and I fleetingly wondered whether this had been planned. As I came, I stopped worrying about anything, just happy in the best ejaculation of my life, with her muscles squeezing me with her own pulses.
After we had kissed for a while, she lifted herself off me and went to the bathroom while I just contemplated the day that I had experienced. It had been different, that’s for sure. When she came back, she told me to go and clean myself up, then to go to my own bed, as it would be another big day, tomorrow.
By the time I had been to the bathroom, then picked up our clothing from the floor, put on one of my new nighties and turned out the light, she was snoring. There I was, left standing and thinking that she was doing my job with the snoring. I got into bed, put in some earplugs, and went off to sleep.
I was waking from a wonderful dream. It must have been about three in the morning. The dream had been vivid, with me on my back, in a big bed, with David looming over me and ploughing my furrow. I mentally told him to wait a moment, while I went to the toilet, as quietly as I could. It wouldn’t have woken Belle, who was still sawing lumber. David wasn’t there when I went back to sleep. Now, I was a little girl in a Norfolk village, playing on a swing in the park, with my mother, Janet, looking on. She looked up to see a fighter jet coming towards us. I shouted happily, crying out ‘Dadeee’ as the jet roared over us with a thunderous noise, waking me up. The thunderous noise happened to be the bedside phone with our wake-up call.
Today was the first time I had started the day as a stewardess. Belle and I acted as if last night hadn’t happened and we went through the toilet/shower/dressing process as a couple of friends, rather than lovers. I realised that it was all that I could expect. I expect that Cynthia and Moyra were doing the same.
We all met up in the dining room for a good breakfast, resplendent in our uniform dresses. After that, we freshened up, packed our casual things away in the personal cases, and the things we wanted for the stop in Tokyo in the smaller roller cases. With our handbags in the flight bags, we met at the lobby to head for the airport. As I stood, with the breeze fluttering the skirt around my legs, I looked at the sunny sky and thought how lucky I was, to be employed in a fulfilling job, and now admired by half the population because I happened to look good.
We went through the usual, quick, customs check, and put our personal cases into the system to be loaded with the passenger luggage. Our larger rollers were left with the logistics manager, to go in last, so we could have them in Tokyo. Before we boarded the plane, Cynthia told me that I would be doing first again, with Belle and Wanda. She would be in business with two of the new crew. Moyra was in charge of a couple of new girls up the back. I thanked Wanda for the loan of her things and found out that she had spent the lay over with her parents.
Thankfully, it was a new flight crew, and we did the welcoming as the passengers boarded. I was surprised to see David step into the plane. He saw me and smiled.
“Jamie, I have to say that your beauty sleep worked. You’re twice as beautiful as you were the last time, I saw you.”
“Thank you for that, kind sir. If I had been given another twelve hours, I would be radiant.”
He grinned and I showed him his seat.
“Do you have everything you need, sir? If so, would you please buckle your seatbelt before we leave the terminal.”
“With you looking after me, Jamie, there’s nothing more I need. Are you taking the next leg to Hawaii?”
“Yes, I am. I believe that I’ll have a couple of days there before heading back to Heathrow.”
“Good. Can you meet me in the transit lounge café in Tokyo, please. There’s something I want to discuss with you, and this cabin is not the place for it. My cinematographer will be joining the flight in Tokyo, and I’ll be interested with what he thinks.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 3
We got everyone in, and then closed the door. As we were backed away from the terminal, the safety video started. Of course, nobody watched it, not even us, as we were busy making sure everyone was buckled up. Before long, we were in the air and heading north. It was an uneventful fight, with David engrossed in a big file of papers and giving me his brilliant smile whenever I served him with anything. In a quiet time, I went back to see Cynthia.
“Cynthia, one of my passengers wants me to meet him in the transit lounge café in Tokyo. Is that allowed?”
“Yes, Jamie. It’s easy to do. The main thing is to have your ID handy, because the door to the transit lounge has an access system that your ID will open. It stops the passengers from coming down to the crew lounge. Make sure you keep an eye on the time, so that you’re back with us before we need to board.”
After we had landed, and the passengers had all disembarked, we all went up to the crew lounge. I opened my roller case and took out my new uniform jacket. Rummaging inside the neck of my dress, I pulled the ID out and allowed it to hang under the jacket when I put it on. I doubly checked with Cynthia; then left the room via the door she pointed out. At the end of a short corridor was a door with an access panel. My ID made the door click, so I went through, finding myself in the first-class transit lounge. David saw me and waved me over to a table near the food counter.
He thanked me for joining him and held the chair for me as I sat. The waitress gave me a smile as she took our order. When we had our food, he started telling me what was on his mind, firstly showing me a picture on his phone, of me dancing at the club last night.
“The waitress at that club is an old friend, from way back. She does the odd talent spotting for me and sent me the picture. I have to tell you, Jamie, that I had guessed that you weren’t entirely genuine in that dress, although you’re very good. It wasn’t anything you did, or didn’t, do. It was purely the lack of jewellery. I did call up the airline, yesterday, to ask about the Jamie on the flight to Sydney, and to tell them of the brilliant way you did your job. They told me that Jamie Lee Curtis would be happy that someone had taken the time to compliment him.”
I sat back and waited for the expected kick in the guts.
“The thing is, it makes you even more perfect for my project. I can see that there must have been something drastic during that flight to have you in a dress.”
“There was, David. It was a rugby supporter who had eaten curry and drank to excess. The problem was that I ended up wearing the excess, with the only spare uniforms being girls ones.”
“I have to hand it to whoever helped you with the make-over, they did a great job. Do I detect, from the jewellery and lip job, that you are staying female?”
“Until I’m back home. After that, who knows. I suppose it depends on the airline.”
“Would you consider another career?”
“Are there any jobs where freshly minted tranny can excel. This job takes me all over the world, with a lot of things supplied, from accommodation to uniforms, and I’ve now found it includes time in salons.”
“There are, Jamie. Some that give you even more in the way of payment. One of them is as my leading lady in my next film. I’ve been looking at a lot of actresses for the part. It needs a girl who is strong, smart, and yet vulnerable. She has to have a sense of fun and a screen presence. The biggest problem is that the actresses who fit the part are either too expensive, too old, or already committed to other films. My cinematographer will be aboard on the leg to Hawaii, which is the location for most of the film. Would you spend a day with us, so that he can run a quick screen test?”
“We are in Hawaii for two nights, then head to Los Angeles and then on to London. I’ll try to arrange time with you. We’ll be in the company hotel, so you could see me there, to tell me the time and the place. Would you mind if a couple of the other girls join me?
“They’ll be more than welcome, as long as it doesn’t put you off. I’ll make a couple of calls, now, to make sure everyone’s going to be there. Thank you for saying you’ll try.”
“Thank you for asking me, David. And thank you for the meal. I have to get back to the crew lounge, now, so that we can get back on board and welcome our wonderful, and handsome, passengers as they arrive.”
As I stood, so did he and he pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek. It reminded me of my dream, and it made me shiver, inside.
I used my ID to go back the way I came and sat with the girls for a while before we got the message to go back to work. My jacket was put back into the roller case and was sent back to the loading manager. We went back to the plane and waited for our passengers. Belle stood beside me.
“You’re quiet, Jamie. Can you tell me what happened?”
“David wants me to do a screen test, during our free day in Hawaii. He will give me the time and location beforehand. I asked him if my friends could come along, and he said you could. His cameraman will be with us on this leg. I thought the last flight was strange, this one’s getting stranger.”
The passengers started coming in, with us making sure that the economy ones didn’t try out the seats in our section. Then it was the ones who provided the profit margin. We got everyone sat and belted and prepared them for the overnight hop to Hawaii. Actually, the flight time is just over eight hours, but the time difference and the crossing of the date line means that you can take off around ten that night and arrive in Hawaii at just after two in the morning. This would give us some sleep time, most of the day and then the full next day. I was hoping that I could wear my new sundress for the first time.
The cameraman was sitting behind David, so they could talk. I was introduced to Cecil, who looked at me with a big smile. They worked with some papers before we turned the lights down. For the crew, this was our quiet time. I sat with the rest of the girls, and we took it in turns to walk around to see if anyone wanted anything. We got the breakfast trolley going and then it was time to tidy up, hand out more drinks, as asked for, and wait for the descent.
After we landed, we ushered everyone off the plane, then collected our various bags and cases and boarded the company bus to head for the hotel. Although it was only two in the morning, we had been awake now for nearly twenty-four hours, so a nap was the order of the day.
We were all having a late breakfast in the hotel dining room, when David and Cecil came in. He invited the whole crew to the site of the screen test, one of the locations for his next movie. It was at the Kapi’olani Park Grandstand. Wanda said that she knew how to get there, having been there for a music event.
He then sat with us while we finished our meal and chatted freely about his smash-hit film but didn’t say too much about the next one. We needed to be there at nine, next morning, so the hotel reception was asked to give us all a wake-up call, and to arrange the bus to take us on our excursion. Before he left, he invited all of us to a party, with other film people, at the Prince Waikiki the next evening. I could see all the girls thinking what they had to wear for a glittering event. I was sure that the market would get some customers today.
I walked with him as he left and thanked him for being so nice.
“There’s more to being successful than being good at your job, Jamie, as you well know. Being approachable and sociable works for me. I’ll be feted, tomorrow night, if I turn up with a whole coachload of beautiful stewardesses. It won’t be a coachload, though, tell the girls that there will be two stretch limos at the hotel at seven. They will bring them back after the party. Most of the party will be the ones who will be in the movie, as well as a few of their friends who are in town. We’ll be doing more screen tests than yours tomorrow, just to gauge the depth of the cast. You won’t mind kissing my male star, will you? You’ll meet him there and can practice your acting at the party. I’m sure he’ll fall head over heels for you.”
He gave me another hug before he left. I was getting used to being hugged by a guy, especially this one. I was wondering what his wife was like, as no-one that nice could still be single. Back at the table, I told the others about the limos, and the exodus was on, to get to the shops. I knew that I had my red dress to wear, so didn’t need to rush. I was, though, carried along with the crowd as we went into the shopping area, just a walk from the hotel. I had wondered if my red skirt would be too skimpy here, but I needn’t have worried, as many of the girls we saw were wearing very little, many doing their shopping in a bikini. I did buy some good sunglasses, a one-piece swimsuit, and a floppy hat, seeing we would be outside tomorrow, as well as a pair of white sandals to go with my sundress. We spent much of the later afternoon around the hotel pool.
That night was just for sleeping. Even after a quiet day we were all ready to go to bed by ten. The wake-up calls got us up and going the next morning. The shower here was big enough for two, so Belle and I showered together, scrubbing each other’s back. I was becoming very used to being naked with her, and it didn’t need to lead to sex.
I looked at myself in the lobby mirrors as we waited for the bus to be brought around. I thought that I looked pretty good. I had the orchid sun dress, bare legs, and the new sandals, topped with my floppy hat. All the girls were similarly dressed, and we were all excited to see a genuine movie being prepared. I knew that if nothing else came from this, we could see the film and say ‘I was there’ when it came to the scene at the bandstand.
The driver knew where to go and we were parked a little way from the actual bandstand, alongside some other cars and vans with the name of the studio on the side. We strolled to the bandstand area, where they were setting up for a scene on the steps. There were cameras, big lights and reflectors, boom mics and other technicians standing around. Our arrival raised a cheer from all the guys. The icing on the cake was the sight of a couple of gazebos, with a bunch of people standing in the shade.
Belle gave a little squeal as she recognised a couple of movie stars. I had even seen a couple of films with them in. Then they moved and David came out from behind the crowd with a guy that I knew all the girls drooled over.
“Jamie, that’s Kurt Andreessen. He’s here, in person!”
“He wouldn’t be not here if he’s in the film, Belle. He is a hunk, isn’t he? He was in a movie I saw last month; if he does all his own stunts, he’s a hero in my book, even without the hunkiness.”
David and Kurt came over to us and there was a sigh from all the girls.
“Thanks for coming girls. I gather you’ve all heard of my leading man for this project, by your reactions. I can tell you that he’s as nice as pie, once he gets over his innate shyness. Kurt, this is Jamie, who will be testing for the part of Lily. I haven’t told her anything about the plot, just that she gets to be kissed.”
Kurt came over to me, wrapped his arms around me and planted one on my lips that must have lasted twenty seconds, as his tongue tried to play hockey with mine. When he stepped back, I smiled.
“You realise that you can’t leave it at that. There’s a bunch of girls that will kill me if you don’t give them a kiss. You don’t want to be responsible for the death of your leading lady before there’s anything in the can.”
Kurt laughed and then proceeded to work his way through the group. The other girls all had silly looks on their faces after he finished. He looked at David.
“I love this job already, boss.”
“I really think that we had better run through the test now. Jamie, the guy with the Hi-Vis that has Script on his back has the words for you, it shouldn’t take you long to see what I want you to do. You won’t have to change, that dress is perfect for the scene. The rest of you girls, there’s a lady over there with some tables and chairs. We need to do a scene which takes place in an outside café, and you’ll improve the atmosphere as extras.”
And so, it started. Me looking at lines and the girls all sitting around discussing how long it would take for the ‘Kurt Effect’ to wear off. David and the other actors started shooting scenes. From what I could hear, hardly any of it would actually be in the open air, but it was all to get the feeling into the words. My bit, or so the script guy said, was close to the end of the film. I had met Kurt on the steps of the bandstand to tell him that I was pregnant. He, at first, didn’t want to believe it, but I managed to make him believe me. In the end, we kiss, passionately and he asks me to marry him.
When we got to the scene with the girls in the background, Kurt was facing off with Jack, another star, arguing over Lily, and that ended with them agreeing to fight for my hand. The girls were told to react as if it was real life, and they started out looking uninterested, then worried, and finally frightened as the scene reached its end. If I was sitting there, I would have been frightened as well, the guys were so real. I suppose that this is what acting is all about. It made me want to really play the part of a pregnant girl, pleading with her lover.
When we got to me, I was a bundle of nerves, but Kurt took me aside and spoke quietly about the fact that we didn’t have to nail it the first time, and that there was no pass or fail marks with a screen test. I had to be myself, playing myself as the character. When we did the scene, the girls were all behind the camera and, when I uncurled myself from Kurt, I could see a few crying. Surely, I wasn’t that bad!
The film crew were all smiling, and David had a huge grin. Kurt gave me another, gentler, kiss.
“Where did you train, Jamie. That was exactly what the scene was all about.”
“Train? I’ve never trained to act, just to be a part of a cabin crew. Did you think it was all right?
“Right! If David doesn’t give you a contract, I’ll be angry with him. Together, we can turn this pig of a plot into something the critics will rave over. Don’t let him foist you off with a big payment, insist on a share of the takings. Even if you only get one percent, it could be worth five million US, or more at the box office. On top of that, there’s the takings from DVD and download sales.”
We walked towards David and Cecil, who were looking at a rerun of the scene on a monitor. Looking at it, I saw that there were four separate angles, with four cameras fed into the computer. There was two, set a little way apart, and one behind each of us, focussed on our faces. The sound had been recorded with two boom mics over us.
David stepped back from the monitor, shook Kurt’s hand, and then gave me a hug.
“Jamie, for a first screen test, you two nailed that scene so well we may not even have to reshoot it. It was fabulous. Now, can you all hang around a little longer? There are a few more general scenes that we have to check, and now there’s one that I want you to do with Jack, the guy that Kurt had the argument with. This one happens before that one, and it has you having to fend him off. In the plot, he wants you as a trophy wife, but you’re not going to give in. It’s the total opposite of the scene you just did. Have a break, first, and then see the script guy again.”
There was a food van near where the chairs and tables were, so I went to it and got a lemonade, then sat with the girls and a few of the film crew. The girls all thought that I had done well, and that the scene had been wonderful. I said that I had to do the opposite type of scene before we could leave, and the consensus was that no-one wanted to leave until we were asked to. We were joined by a couple of known actresses who were happy to talk. One had even spent some time as cabin crew, and we talked about the various hilarious things that happen at thirty thousand feet.
I finished my drink and then went to see the script man. The scene couldn’t have been more different. Here, Jack was trying to get me to go to bed with him, telling me all the things that he had that I could share if I did. I resisted and he got angry, with the scene ending as I slap his face and walk away. When we had the cameras rolling, I projected my feelings about my father, and imagined Jack was him, trying to seduce me. I nearly hit him, for real, at the end, just managing to stop my hand before I sent him into next week. I walked away, straight into Kurts arms, and he held me as I calmed down.
“Now that’s what I call real acting, Jamie. You’re wasted with that airline. You are going to be the darling of the movie-goer set.”
“Thank, Kurt. You can let go of me now, I think I can stay upright now.”
“Do I have to? You’re too beautiful to let go of, and too talented as well. We could be a couple as soon as my wife will let me.”
He let me go, a huge grin on his face, and I kissed him on the cheek.
“I knew you were too good to be true. I hope that you bring her along to the party, tonight. I’ll spend the afternoon sharpening my nails.”
We stayed for a while longer, then left them working on other scenes, with a promise that we’d see them tonight. Back in the bus, Cynthia told everyone that we deserved a good lunch, and that she knew just the place.
Just the place turned out to be a restaurant overlooking Waikiki Beach. The girls were all hyper, having spent the morning with several film stars, and one budding starlet. They all told me that I was going to be a great actress.
“What do you mean, ‘going to be’? I’ve been acting the part of a stewardess since the incident over India. Hey! I could propose that as the name of the next film. Jamie Lee, starring in “Incident over India’, with Kurt Whathisname as ‘The Hulk’.”
They all laughed and then Belle put her hand on my arm.
“You have fallen out of character, once that I know of.”
That produced a chorus of ‘ooooh’s’ from the rest. We all enjoyed a good meal, with a lovely view and among friends. I was content, and relaxed - when David, Cecil, Kurt, and Jack walked into the restaurant. As they stopped in the doorway, they saw us and waved. The waiter asked them where they wanted to sit, and they pointed to our table. The staff quickly added a table and chairs, and we all shifted to allow them to sit. All we had in front of us was drinks, and I suddenly realised that these girls would sit tight until the guys had eaten their fill.
The talk shifted to the morning shoot, with the guys telling me that my casting was in the bag, and that the girls would all be contacted to provide extras, as the story had Lily having a group of friends who had minor speaking parts but looked fabulous. They had planned on employing a group of models for that. David said that they had decided to change the script to have Lily as a stewardess, and that it would be natural for all her friends to be stewardesses, as well. That way, they could add some scenes in a plane, with us doing what we did as a job, adding to the realism of the plot. Kurt was happier about the plotline, now, because it created a believable base, with Jack being a first-class passenger who was up himself. We could all give him pointers on how to nail that part!
David said that the only problem it gave him was to find a way to have all the main characters in Hawaii, but he had scriptwriters to sort out things like that. Cynthia asked the important question.
“Are you asking us to give up our jobs and stay here for the filming?”
“No, the only one who will have to do that is Jamie. We can fit in your scenes with the times you can get here. If we have to, we’ll fly you in for a few days. I’m sure that the airline would help, seeing that we could have it as the airline in the film. That, alone, could be a hook for the advertising. Who knows what will happen once the film is released; you may all get offers to be in other movies. I could even make those offers, myself, depending on how you come across in scenes other than crowd scenes.”
That set the girls minds working overtime. They all had the opportunity, now, to be in the movies. I could see the change in them as the guys ate their meal. All of a sudden, we were a table of movie stars, having a nice lunch, overlooking Waikiki Beach. It was intoxicating, that thought. A stewardess has a limited work-life, with the only career moves being working at the training school, getting a modelling job, marrying a first-class passenger, or just going back to the suburbs and finding Mister Right, followed by a couple of kids and a part-time job at a check-out. Maybe, my being vomited on had become an event that would change more lives than my own.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 4
We stayed seated until the guys had finished, then, as we all stood, Kurt and Jack did the rounds with hugs, kisses and “Welcome to the Movie Madhouse" for everyone. We watched them as they got into a waiting limo and were driven away. It left a vacuum that could only be filled by one thing. Wanda voiced it.
“I don’t know about you girls, but I have just realised that what I was going to wear tonight, isn’t up to my new mindset. Are we shopping?”
We found our driver, sitting on a seat, ice cream in hand and watching the beach bunnies. He opened the door for us and finished his ice cream before driving us back to the hotel in Honolulu. We all freshened up and then hit the shops, in smaller groups. I found myself with Belle, arm in arm, walking along, window shopping. We saw some lovely things in Downtown and Do’s, but they were too formal to be packed in our personal luggage. After a while, we found what we were looking for at Valia. They had good looking, long dresses in cool materials that looked good, were all right for a hot evening, and would pack well.
Belle came away with a very colourful, long, dress with spaghetti straps and a low neckline, while I opted for a shorter dress, in a blue and white pattern so I could use my sandals, with a higher neckline so that my falsies didn’t show. If I was going to be wearing anything more revealing, I would have to have a proper prosthetic pair, merged to hide the seams, or else have a boob job. We took our bags and went back to the hotel to dress for success.
When we assembled in the lobby, waiting for the limos, I could see that reality had prevailed. While we all looked fabulous, we were all in dresses that we could add to our personal luggage and were easy wearing enough to use on other occasions. It would have to wait until we had some certainty before we got truly glamorous. When the limos arrived, we piled in, and made ourselves comfortable. I was in one car, with Belle, Cynthia, and Moyra. The driver told us that there were drinks in the cabinet, and that he would be careful so that we didn’t spill any on our dresses.
At the Prince Waikiki, one of the film crew was outside waiting for us. We stood until we were joined by the others, and then he escorted us to a private room where the party was just starting. David and Cecil were there, along with some of the film crew. We were given glasses of wine and shown the buffet, so we could graze.
As we nibbled and talked to the others, we were joined by others, from members of the crew to the stars we had already met, and some of their friends. I was introduced to C.J., the writer of the original screenplay. He told me that he would not be at the actual shoot and had left any changes to David to approve.
Suddenly, I found myself standing there, talking to Kurt’s wife, Kym, who was a film star in her own right. I asked her why she hadn’t been at the shoot and was told that she and Kurt tried not to be in the same picture, as hers were more psychological thrillers, while he excelled in the he-man action genre. She told me that Kurt had spoken about his morning and had let her know that he had kissed some girls who were not in the film.
“We are actors, Jamie, and I kiss a lot of men who are not my husband, and he kisses a lot of women. He told me how you coerced him into kissing your friends, and now I hear that they may be part of the film. That makes it all right. If they weren’t, I would have to refuse him his conjugal rights for a week,”
“That seems harsh, Kym. With the effect he has on women, you must be unsatisfied for most of the year.”
She laughed.
“You’re a breath of fresh air, Jamie. Kurt is very good at restraining himself. If he was kissing every girl who begged for it, the papers would have us on the edge of divorce. We do love each other, and our times away from film sets are very private. He told me how good you were with the screen tests, and I got David to send me a single camera view of you, in both that you were in. If you don’t do this film, I want you in one that’s in the planning stage. It is about two, quite mad sisters, who are serial killers. It’s more terrifying than anything I’ve done before. Maybe we can do it together, after you wrap this one up. Now, getting serious, my agent has just walked in. I’ll introduce you to him. You will need him before you sign anything else.”
She led me over to a very elegant man who had just had a glass put into his hand. He put it down on a table to give Kym a hug.
“Jim, darling, meet Jamie Lee Curtis, the new leading lady of Kurt’s next film, once David signs her up. Jamie, this is Jim Younger, the best agent in the business.”
He looked at me and grinned.
“That has to be your real name, Jamie. The original already has an agent. So, you’re going to be in Kurt’s film? I won’t offer you my services until David shows me the screen test. If I think you have a real future, you’ll get the same deal that Kym and Kurt have, where the percentage is low, and I only really get paid when you earn millions a picture.”
Kym took him by the arm and dragged him towards David, saying, “He’ll have a monitor and video you can watch. He wouldn’t have thrown this party without setting that up.”
I was talking to an older actor, who I had seen in most of his many films, when Jim came and stood beside me. He, and the actor, exchanged pleasantries, and then he took me aside.
“Jamie, David just showed me the two screen tests you did with Kurt and Jack. The two were like chalk and cheese, and your acting was so real. I want you on my books. David has told me that the Hotel has a website, and I’ve phoned my office to send a contract to it. Come with me, down to their office, and I’ll get them to print off a couple of copies.”
We left the room and went to the office, where they looked on their email account, finding the message. They printed off two copies of the contract and slid them into a Hotel folder for us. We sat in the Club Bar while I read through one. It had the only payment to ‘Younger Agents’ as a five percent take of my earnings, from film, modelling, advertising, and any literature. I questioned the last, and he laughed, telling me that I may like to write a book, or an expose, when I got older.
“What about the other girls, Jim? David and Kurt are rewriting the script to have my character as a stewardess, with a bunch of friends all in the same job. It’s what we do for a living. He has asked the whole cabin crew to be in the movie, some with speaking parts and the others as extras.”
He took a notebook out of his breast pocket and asked me to tell him my name, banking, and contact details, and the airline we all flew with. When I told him that, he smiled.
“I’m heading for London, via Los Angeles, on that airline, tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll see you there, then. We’re all working that flight and will get some time off when we get to Heathrow.”
“That’s good. Now, we’ll go back to the party. I think that David might have a contract ready for you to sign, and he’ll want to make a big thing of it. Are you happy with this one? If you sign it, I’ll look at what David is offering before I let you put your name to anything else. I look after my stars like a father. Actually, like a father we have to christen you. You can’t go into the business as Jamie Lee Curtis. Have you had any thoughts about who you’ll be?”
“I hadn’t, really. Leave it with me and if you think of something snappy, you can suggest it. Kym has told me that she wants me to play her mad sister in a blood and guts thriller, so it will have to be a name that doesn’t sound too soft.”
“Good thinking. This is between us, so your real name is important. Will you sign?”
“Is the Pope a Catholic, Jim. Of course, I’ll sign. I’d be an idiot not to.”
“Actually, the current Pope is Jesuit, to be pedantic. Write your name in full on this line on both copies, and sign at the bottom. I’ll countersign and date it. Then we’ll get the hotel to scan one and send it back to my office. After that, I need to be introduced to your friends, and get all their names and contact details so that I can talk to them later. If they’re extras, there’s no rush.”
Once the scanned copy had been sent off, Jim got the hotel to delete the one on the email site before we left, me with my copy of the contract in my bag. Back in the room, the party was continuing, with a few other film stars having arrived while we had been away. Jim was the agent to most of them, and the bulk of the evening was him introducing me to famous people, and me introducing him to the rest of the crew, as my new agent.
When we had done the rounds, he went to David, and they had a quiet talk. They both smiled and shook hands, then Jim came over to me.
“He has a lot of faith in you, Jamie. The numbers on his contract, for your first film, may only be five percent of what Kurt will be getting, but they are ten times what a budding actress would get on her debut. He had already been lobbied by Kurt, and you have two percent of the gross, so that could be a good earner for both of us. I think that he is just about to make an announcement.”
I thought about what he just said, and a name sprang into my mind. I wanted to be called Faith Inyew. I looked and saw a big TV screen light up, and then David clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Friends, I called this party to announce the official launch of a new Kurt Andreessen and Jack Fellows film, with the working title of ‘Gilding the Lily’. Over the last few days, I have had the pleasure of meeting the lovely lady who will be playing Lily. Now, up to this morning, she has been an airline stewardess, and we have, with us tonight, the entire cabin crew of the flight that brought me to Hawaii. This morning, we did some test scenes and a few screen tests. I will now show you the edited results of three of them, Cecil had spent the afternoon turning them into something close to what you’ll see on the screen.”
He pressed a button, saying, “The first is a scene between Kurt and Jack. Please pay attention to the girls in the crowd.”
We watched the two great actors do their thing, and I could see that the girls played it to the hilt, with genuine looks from indifference to fear. When it finished, there was some backslapping. Then one of the stars asked his question.
“Those girls, I’ve never seen them, before, and I’ve had a lot of female extras in my films. They’re very good, who coached them?”
“Those girls are with us, tonight, they are the cabin crew I told you about. As for coaching, we just told them to go and sit at those tables and react. Everything they did was their natural reactions. Now, we get to the highlight of this evening. One of the cabin crew really demanded my attention, being a lovely person, as well as looking good. She is here tonight and based on the two screen tests I’m now going to show you, I have a contract waiting for her to sign.”
He pressed a button and the screen lit up with me and Jack. It had been edited so there was close-ups of our faces as it proceeded. I was staggered to see the fury on my face as I went to slap him. The screen went dark as I walked away from him. There was a smattering of applause and I blushed. Jim put his arm over my shoulders.
“That looked good on his phone, it looked like a box-office hit on the bigger screen.”
David just pressed the button again and the screen lit up to show me and Kurt, on the steps of the bandstand. Again, it had been edited to show the general picture, from two angles, and the close-ups of our faces. I felt someone standing the other side of me and glanced to see Kym standing there. When the scene ended with Kurt and I entwined in the kiss, she whispered, “This is where I should call you a bitch and threaten to kill you, but I can see that you’re going to be a great actress and I wouldn’t kill someone who will double my next box office returns.”
I turned to her, and she grinned and hugged me. It was a relief that she could see me in a passionate kiss with her husband and know that it was all acting. Me, though, would be thinking about that kiss for days to come. It may even appear in my dreams tonight. After that, there was some chatter and then David clapped his hands once more.
“Friends, I have a contract waiting for Jamie to sign. She has been clever and has already signed with Jim Younger, so he has had a look at this and agreed that I have been generous. Jamie, would you join me and sign?”
Jim guided me to the table where the contract was. I made them wait while I read it. The numbers nearly made me faint. I was on a monthly salary until the film was released with it as almost a third my yearly salary with the airline. I saw that I had the two percent of the gross and remembered what Kurt had said about it being the real earner. I took the pen and signed three copies. Jim countersigned as a witness after David signed as the director. There was a general applause, and I could see some of the other film stars smiling. David then said something I was waiting for.
“Friends, I will have individual contracts for every one of the other girls, once we have had a chance of doing screen tests for them all. They are all very professional in a very hard job, staying pleasant and focussed while people are screaming at you, or vomiting on you, which means that they all have the patience of an angel, something we all know is a big help in our business.”
There was some laughter at that, and I quietly took my copy of the contract and put it in my bag with the other one. I had noticed that the starting date was today, so I was already employed in two jobs, one of which I would have to leave as soon as I arrive in London. Before we left, I had referred four of the famous stars to Jim, to discuss projects where they wanted me, or me and the crew, to work alongside them. One made me grin, as it was to be a spaghetti western reprise, with us girls being working girls in a bordello, with me as the prostitute with a heart of gold.
I told Belle about that one as we undressed to go to bed, and she grinned, before kissing me.
“I’ve just kissed the lips that kissed Kurt, more than once. Was his wife mad?”
“No, she took it all as something we actors do. Mind you, it was very nice, especially that screen kiss. I might have a bruise on my uvula by morning, the way he flipped it from side to side.”
Belle closed her eyes as she thought about that.
“I wonder what it would be like, playing a whore? In fact, I wonder if we can try out a scene from that film, if you’re up to it?”
“For you, Belle, I’m up for whatever you’re thinking about.”
We spent the next hour in her bed, with me pretending to be her Kurt, and then me pretending, in my mind, that she was Kurt. The main thing was that we were both satisfied with the outcomes of our playacting, and I went to my own bed to sleep the sleep I really needed, after the day I had had.
The morning wake-up call dragged us out of our beds and into the toilet and shower. Belle and I kissed in the shower, which led to us being late down to breakfast, after a rush to get dressed in our uniforms and pack our bags, mine now getting quite full. At the table, Cynthia asked me how many times I had fallen out of character last night, much to the enjoyment of the rest of the crew. Both Belle and I blushed. The atmosphere was joyful, all of us knowing that there was another life that could be had, which could mean that we were the ones in the good seats, sometime in the future.
At the airport, we went through the motions, and assembled in our places on the plane. When the real paying customers came in, we led them to their seats and made sure they were comfortable. I got Jim seated and he was smiling.
“You know something, Jamie. This is the first time I’ve been cosseted by one of my clients. Cussed and cursed, yes, but never cosseted.”
“There’s always a first time for everything, Jim. Now you be a good boy and settle down, buckle up and I’ll bring you a drink when we’re in the air. Remember, the shoe is on the other foot once I’ve resigned, so enjoy my waiting on you, hand, and foot, while you can.”
The flight was uneventful, except for Jim wandering towards the back of the plane to say hello to the rest of the crew. I wondered what those in economy thought this guy was up to. By evening, we were on the ground in Los Angeles, and then it was an overnight hop to Heathrow, where I would need to go to the company office, once I had my personal case, so I could give them back all of the company uniforms. I would need to keep my ID to get me out of the company car park, but they could cancel it overnight.
It was a strange feeling, sitting there with Belle in the pull-down seats, during my last approach in a company uniform. She must have known what was going through my mind as she gripped my hand and whispered that everything will be all right, and that she would look forward to seeing me again.
Jim had given me a note during the flight, with his business card. He would be in the city for some time and wanted me to meet him in two days’ time at the Clermont Hotel Restaurant, for lunch. I had put it in my bag. We stood when we had landed and ushered the passengers out of the plane and onto the airbridge. Cynthia made sure we were all together and alone before we were leaving.
“Now girls, this is our last chance to be private and I know Jamie will be resigning before she leaves the terminal. I have to thank her on so many fronts. She stood up when things went haywire, several days ago, and carried on in an unusual role for her. She has given us all the chance to be something other than glorified waitresses, and it will be now up to each of us with how we move forward with that. She has been a good person to have as cabin crew, and I’ll miss her smiles until we meet, perhaps on a film set. Now, let’s all give her a hug and tell her that she’s in our hearts and minds, for ever.”
I had tears in my eyes as they all took turns to give me a hug and wish me luck. Then, we made our way up the airbridge and into the crew lounge. We went through the usual customs check without any trouble, with me now reunited with my new personal case. I then went to the company office where my adventure started, so long ago. There, I declared that I was resigning, as of now. They told me that I would be docked two weeks wages, in lieu of notice, and I told them that it was all right. I had calculated that I had earned almost the same amount with my new job already.
They allowed me to go into an empty office to change, so I put on my mini-skirt and top. The uniform dress and company shoes went into the flight case, along with the other company clothes. All my personal papers were now in my handbag, with my wallet. I had my white sandals and the silver top and went back to the main office. I left the beige case in front of the managers’ desk while he took my ID to write down the number for cancelling later. He looked up.
“There was a message that came through for you the other day, Jamie. A passenger wanted to tell us how good you were in your job. We’re sorry to see you go, but I’m sure that you have your reasons, especially by the way you look now.”
“Thank you, sir. I did speak to that customer on a later flight. Now, if things are their usual efficiency, there should be another roller case in my name, probably sitting in the crew quarters in L.A. You can tell them it’s not needed now.”
I thanked them for their time and made my way into the terminal. I could see that it was cool and blustery outside, and the only coat I had left in my car was an old anorak. I wheeled my case to the shops and bought a Burberry trench coat that was on a rack, marked down. It was my pointer to a new future, and I was much warmer when I had found my car, putting my case on the back seat, then getting in and coaxing it into life. I sat there for a while, as it warmed up and the oil got circulated. I pulled my phone out of the glove box and turned it on, then sat and thought of the me that had put it there, to get on a flight, almost two weeks before. That was such a different person it almost beggared belief.
I put the car into gear and drove out of the carpark and made my way home. I lived in an apartment in South London. It wasn’t bad, quite roomy, in fact. Having a good job was all it needed to live well, if a bit on the lonely side. I was glad I didn’t have a flatmate, as they would have been very surprised at what I looked like now.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 5
When I let myself in, I looked around and decided that I wasn’t going to bed until I had given the place a clean. I spent the morning, after clearing some space in the wardrobe and drawers for my new things, with a broom and duster, giving everything a good clean. Seeing that it was all modern surface finishes, it didn’t take as long as I thought it would.
There was nothing in the kitchen, so I would need to go to the shops to get some supplies. Before, I would usually eat at the local café, but decided that I really needed something for decent breakfasts. I put the trench coat on and found a shopping bag. I went to the café where I got much better service than I was used to, had a good lunch, and then went to the supermarket to stock up. Everywhere I went, people smiled at me and helped if things were on a high shelf. It was a shock to realise that I could have exposed more of me than I wanted had I reached up for things, although I did see a few old creeps waiting for just that to happen.
Back in the apartment, I put everything away and the time I had been on my feet caught up with me, so I stripped off, went to the toilet, found one of my new nighties and snuggled into my old bed, with the curtains shut, determined to sleep the clock around.
I did, in fact, sleep for about eighteen hours, with a few breaks for a pee. When I finally roused myself, I had a good shower, washing my hair with new products I had bought yesterday. I took my time to dry and then looked in the mirror to see if there was any odd hair that needed removing. I had a few things I wanted to do today. The first was to have a good breakfast, as I was now very hungry. I fried some eggs and bacon I had bought, added about four slices of toast, and heated a small tin of baked beans. After that I felt much better.
I sat in an easy chair and scrolled through the messages on my phone. All the people I knew would send me short texts because they knew that I wouldn’t read them for some time. It was only the advertisers and scammers that sent long messages, and my mother, who couldn’t help but send essays. After working through the list, there was only one from her, and when I read it, I called her.
“Hello Mum, it’s Jamie, what’s wrong.”
“Oh, hello dear, you’re home then.”
“Yes, Mum, it was a long session, this time. I went around the world twice in one duty roster and resigned when I got back, yesterday. I’ve just slept eighteen hours.”
“Resigned, why on earth would you do that. It’s a good job. It will not reflect well on your father, seeing that he must have done something to help you get it.”
“Mum, I really don’t care what happens to him. I worked first class on a flight which he captained. I found out that the girls call him Creepy Curtis and also discovered why. I’ve decided that I’ve admired him long enough.”
“Did he accidentally let you know that he plays around. I’ve known that for years.”
“You did? I never realised. Did you know about Janet in Norwich?”
“He talks in his sleep. ‘Janet, dearest’, and the rest of them. I’m glad you found him out. How did it happen?”
“That’s a long story, Mum, and I think I’d better come and tell you it, in person. I think you’ll be a little surprised with me when you see me. I’ve had a fundamental change in my point of view. Now, what’s this about you having to go into hospital?
“I’ll tell you that when I see you, darling. There’s some paperwork for you to read.”
“All right, I’ll pop around this afternoon, I’ve got to do a bit of shopping, first.”
I washed my breakfast things and went to dress. Now I was going to meet my mother as a girl, for the first time, I wanted to make a statement. I put on my best underwear, some nude tights, my new, blue dress, and a sweater, with the black heels with the straps around the ankles. I made sure that my hair looked good and took a lot of care with my make-up. The day was a little warmer, and that was good for what I had planned.
I took the car to the local shopping centre and hit the fashion shops. What I wanted was some things to get me through the colder days, and ended up with a couple of knit dresses, another good sweater, and some casual sporting things, such as jogging suit, leggings, long tees, and runners. I loaded my car with my bags, went back inside for some lunch, then went to see my mother.
When I knocked on her door, she opened it and looked at me.
“Yes, dear. What do you want?”
“I’m here to have the talk with you that we spoke about on the phone this morning.”
“Jamie! It can’t be. I had a son.”
“Exactly, Mum. You had a son, but now you have a daughter. One who has a great future in front of her.”
We went inside and she put the kettle on. We sat and I took her through the story, from the vomit on. She listened closely, laughed in all the right places, and frowned when I told her that Dad had thought that I was his daughter from Janet, and also made a pass at me. When I told her about the film, an abridged version without the kissing, she found it hard to believe that I had met, and talked to, all the stars I had met. It took me showing her the two contracts that allowed her to accept everything.
“Well, Jamie, if these numbers on the contract are anything to go by, it makes what I have to tell you a lot easier. My problem is that I have to have an operation. If I wait for the NHS to fit me in, I’ll be dead before my turn comes. I was going to let you know about this today. I can jump the queue as a private patient, but it will cost at least a couple of grand. I was going to ask you for a loan, with this property as collateral, which you get when I die.”
“You don’t have to do anything, Mum. I’ll talk to my agent about getting an advance to cover whatever it costs. Start making the arrangements and I’ll back you up. I have enough savings already to cover the initial costs, and will have more than enough by the end of the month. I may have to be in Hawaii for a while, but I’ll try to be by your side when I can.”
She started crying and then we hugged for a long time. When I left, she waved to me as I went to my car. She had told me that I really make a lovely daughter, not just by how I looked, but also how I acted and carried myself. I felt that I had become the person I should have been, except for an accident of chromosomes. I would have treated her to dinner, but it was her bingo night, which she went to with a few of her friends after they went to the local pub. My transition hadn’t gone far enough for me to subject myself to interrogation by her friends. I had met them, and they scared me.
I had nothing to do this evening and wanted to sort out my wardrobe. I planned to wear one of the knit dresses tomorrow, when I met with Jim. If I had a favour to ask, I wanted to look businesslike. I realised that I needed to look around for skirt suits so that I can present a confident persona when I attend future conferences with studio bigwigs. I also wanted to get some boots and other shoes for daily use. I used my serious side to make a list of things I might need to continue as the new Faith Inyew. There were official things I needed to do, considering that I would now have to go through customs as an ordinary person and my passport would have more than a cursory glance.
In the morning, I made myself a good breakfast, again, and washed everything up before I went to dress. One of the knit dresses was ivory, and black tights and the black heels looked good with it. When I looked in the laundry hamper, I realised that I would need to catch up with the washing. No more once a fortnight now!
With my trench coat on I left the apartment and walked to the bank. I got them to check my account and was surprised at the amount in it. When they looked at the screen, there had been two deposits overnight. One was from the airline with my owed pay and accrued leave, while the other was for five thousand US dollars with the note that it was my signing bonus. I now had more than enough to pay for Mum. I organised a safe deposit box, which took the two contracts. Finally, I transferred enough to wipe out my credit card bill and was much happier when I carried on to the tube station.
I sat in the train, aware of glances in my direction, and making sure that my knees were together. In London, I went to an electronic store and got the guy to work out what sort of computer I could use, never having the need for one before. I ended up buying a tablet, with the accessories and a nice shoulder bag to carry it in. He set it up for me with my phone company and gave me an email address. While we were settling up, I got a few emails, welcoming me to the service, along with one that offered a penis lengthening drug, and another that told me that I had won several million dollars, just needing to send all my details to receive it. It allowed him to show me how to get rid of these, permanently.
I stopped off at a department store and bought an ivory shoulder bag, big enough to put the tablet bag and my handbag in, so was reasonably uncluttered when I went to Victoria to meet Jim at the hotel. I left my coat with reception and was shown to his table. I was the fourth person there. Jim and two other gentlemen rose to greet me. Jim gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, while the others just shook my hand, gently.
“Guys, this is Jamie Lee Curtis, our next superstar. Jamie, the young one is Roger Alcone, while the other is Horatio Jermyn. Roger is in charge of our London Office and will be your go-to man when I’m not available. Horatio is our company lawyer, with a huge number of influential friends.”
Roger gave me a big smile, no doubt enhanced by his obvious Italian heritage. It did nothing for me, the girl who had already kissed Kurt. He was quite good looking, though. We were all seated, and our orders were taken before Horatio started to speak.
“Jamie, Jim has apprised me of your; shall we say, special circumstances. There are a few things that we need to do before you can travel freely. The first, as you are aware, is to change your name. Have you thought of one?
“Something said in Hawaii stuck in my mind. I wondered if Faith Inyew would work.”
He got me to spell it and typed it into his tablet.
“Sorry, Jamie, but that name has been used by several people, with different spellings. They’re mainly US citizens and look, to me, to be mainly religious. You can still use Faith, but something else for a surname.”
I thought for a moment, then realised that I needed something which would allow me to use my usual signature, so it had to fit J.L. Curtis, although the scrawl I signed could read anything you wanted to see.
“O.K. What about Julia Leigh Curtis, where we drop the last for a stage name. Does anyone have Julia Leigh?”
He looked on his tablet and muttered to himself.
“Other than Janet Leigh, there isn’t anyone in films. Although there’s an Australian author with that name. That shouldn’t be a problem. Do you have your passport with you? I can organise the name change with the issue of a new passport. When we have finished, here, Roger will take you to the office where he can take pictures that are suitable and email them to me.”
I dug into my bag and handed him my passport. Jim then spoke.
“You should have received your signing bonus, so that should keep you afloat until the first pay comes in. That will come to me, and I’ll forward it to your bank, less my cut. When we finish our meal, Roger will take you to the office, as Horatio has said, and there are a lot of contacts that we want to put on your phone or send to your computer. Do you have a good computer?”
“I bought a tablet this morning, will that do?”
Roger asked to see it, so I got the case out of my bag and handed it to him, after turning it on and logging in. He told me that it was absolutely all right, and then busied himself adding email addresses to my account, just saying that he’ll explain when we’re in the office, but this would save a lot of time.
Horatio was telling me about all the legal things that the agency could do for me, from taxation services to legal representation. In a lull, I asked Jim about helping my mother, telling him that she needed an operation, and I wanted her to go private.
“That’s not a problem, Jamie. When you’re in the office with Roger, call her up and ask who she sees, then we’ll contact the clinic and ask them to send a referral to one of our contacts. With the sort of clientele that we look after, we have a range of medical specialists who do work for us. We even have a clinic that would be perfect for you as things progress.”
I almost choked on the oyster that I was savouring, but managed to start breathing again, unaided. That was a thought that had stayed on the edge of my brain for a few days. For some reason, not only did I work well in a girl’s job, but it appeared that I had looked good doing it. Not once had I thought that I would throw off the clothes and go back to the half wardrobe full of my bloke things. That’s when I decided to get a pack of garbage bags and toss the lot.
We had a good meal that probably cost as much as I used to earn in a week. Jim started talking about some of the projects that had been discussed in Hawaii. If they all went ahead, I’d be working for a couple of years, at least. The guys were talking about them as if they were already signed and sealed. I asked if I had a say in it, seeing that there might be roles I’d be no good in.
Jim laughed. “Jamie, when I saw those two, totally opposite, screen tests, taken within an hour of each other, I could see that you will bring something magic to anything that’s offered. Remembering that what’s offered will already be discussed and fine-tuned to suit you. With everything, we’ll look at the scripts and the plot lines. We won’t allow you to be thrown into anything that hasn’t been looked at, from top to bottom.”
“That makes me feel better about all of this. I just hope that I live up to everyone’s expectation.”
We had some wine in our glasses, and Horatio proposed a toast to a future, full of joy, and, of course, good returns.
Roger handed me back my tablet, which I put in the bag, and we all stood. This time, both Jim and Horatio gave me a hug, while Roger waited to escort me to the office. He helped me into my trench coat, and we left the hotel, with the doorman hailing a cab for us. Sitting in the cab, he told me that he was really excited about my future, and that he knew that it would be hard work, on everybody’s part, to make sure it ran smoothly. I was starting to realise that I was now entering a world that had always seemed to be lived by celebrities.
At the office, he introduced me to the small team, took the required pictures, and then sat me down to go through the contacts on my tablet. I now had a preferred clothing supplier, a salon in the city, a shoe supplier, and a cosmetics supplier. He gave me cards for them all, with Younger Agents as the name.
“When we have your new stage name set and registered, we’ll get cards in that name, as well as business cards for you. In the meantime, these people will bill whatever you get to this office, and we’ll take it off your first million.”
This time, when he smiled, I had been with him long enough to know that it was genuine, and was meant for me, as a person. Then we got on to my mother’s problem. I rang her and, when we had spoken for a few moments, I told her that I was going to pass the phone to Roger Alcone, who would be able to sort out her problem.
He was very good with her, to the point that she told him to call her Agatha. She told him what her doctor had said and gave him the name of her doctor. Roger wrote that down and then told her that he would call her back and tell her when she would be picked up. He then called a name on a list and asked to speak to an eminent surgeon that even I had heard of. He told the person, on the other end, what the symptoms and prognosis was and asked when an operation could be fitted in.
When he had the answer, he wrote it down and then called Mum’s clinic, asking them to send a referral to the surgeon as he would be performing the operation. When they had assured him that it would be emailed, he then called Mum, again.
“Agatha, it’s Roger. You will be in the operating theatre the day after tomorrow. If you pack your things, I will arrange a car to pick you up tomorrow, around three in the afternoon. I wish you a speedy recovery.”
He listened to her for a while and assured her that it was all above board and wouldn’t cost her a penny. When he put the phone down, he looked at me, who was sitting there, agog at the speed it all happened.
“Don’t worry, Jamie. The surgeon has done work with us before, on other aging film stars. It will all be added to your account for later payment, so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Now, I suggest that you go and visit all of these shops who now consider you a valued customer, to introduce yourself and get some new things. It’s a girl’s dream come true, to shop without having to pay a penny. The salon, by the way, has worked with she-males and will look after you with utmost discretion, as well as more professionalism than you’ve been used to.”
He gave me two other cards. One was his, with his contact details. The other was a business card for a telco.
“That’s down on the ground floor. It supplies all our company phones. Show them my card and tell them you want a silent number. They will email me with that number for our files. Get them to set it up, then bring it with you tomorrow, so I can Bluetooth your tablet and migrate all the contacts to it. I’ll pick you up at eleven in the morning, and we can take your mother to hospital.”
He gave me a debit card to use with taxi and then gave me a hug when I left the office. By this time, his hug almost chased away the memory of Kurt’s kiss. At the telco, it didn’t take long to be given a phone that the office had standardised on, have it loaded with a sim card and connected to the service. This one, I realised, was my work phone from now, with only the contact list knowing the number. It joined my tablet in the carry bag.
Outside, I hailed a taxi to take me to the salon, thinking that the last time I had been in one was Sydney. At the salon, they asked to see my card. One of the girls asked me if I had a film yet, I told her that I was going to play opposite Kurt Andreessen and Jack Fellows in their next film. The attention ramped up by several notches after that. I was taken to a private room where I had to strip, completely, and my make-up and falsies were carefully removed. They went over every inch of my body, defoliating where needed and checking all the little spots and blemishes. They asked me if I had a card for the cosmetic company and, when I said I did, they asked what I was using now. I told them to have a look in my bag and then one of the girls went out to make a call.
By the time that I had been waxed, oiled and my breasts reinstated with a new set that were so much better than the previous set, I was feeling like a new woman. They were much better matched to my skin colour and were now sealed so that the join was invisible. When I was redressed and sitting in the hairdressing section, a girl from the cosmetic company had arrived. She talked with the salon girl and, while I was waiting for my hair to dry, they started working on me, fingernails first, now in fiery red, rather than company black. Once my hair was brushed out, they worked on my face, discussing my palette as they worked.
When they finished, they wanted a selfie with me between them. When I looked in the mirror, I really saw a film star looking back at me. The salon girl took my card to put through the till, while the cosmetic girl took my cosmetic card and used a mobile reader. I caught a glimpse of the total and asked her if that was the correct total.
“Yes, Ma-am. That includes my work with you today. It also is for a full make-up box that we will ship to Younger Agents for you to use on set, as well as a travel box for you to take on trips. If you have your handbag handy, please take out your old cosmetics and we can replace them with all that I’ve used today. You can use your card at any of our outlets around the world, our London outlet is in the cosmetic section of Harrods. If you allow us to use your image when your film is released, I’m sure that our payment will more than pay for what today cost.”
With all my cards returned, I took one last look at my reflection before thanking them all and going back out to continue my journey, now without a worry about whether I looked female enough.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 6
After the salon I felt and looked like a star already. I thought that it would be a good time to see what sort of clothes the upper crust wore, so hailed a taxi to take me to the next destination. When we arrived, I saw that the dress shop and shoe shop were side by side. I say shop, but they were both more like fantasy lands. Nothing, in either window had a price shown.
Realising that the old adage ‘if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it’ now applied to me, I suppressed a giggle and went through the front door into a world of high fashion. There, I was complimented on my sense of style, and then shown dresses that were out of this world.
I had to tell them that I wasn’t up for the Oscars just yet, but really needed every-day wear that was businesslike but classy. I also wanted some day dresses that looked good for travelling to the film set in Hawaii. I also wanted a couple of skirt suits. I showed them my card, and they asked if I had one for next door. After that, whenever there was something that I wanted to try on, a girl came in with shoes, in my size, that suited the outfit. When my bags were put into the taxi, I must have spent about six months’ salary as cabin crew. I had the main things I was looking for, along with perfect shoes to go with them, all without having to go into the shoe shop.
Rather than take the tube home, I got the driver to take me directly home. He was very good, and helped carry my bags to the lift, so I gave him a good cash tip to add to the debit card. It didn’t take long to carry my bags into the apartment. It was then that I stood there and wondered just what the hell was I thinking. Today, I had spent enough money to feed several families for a year and hadn’t batted a well mascaraed eyelash. I looked in my mirror, again, and giggled. You have to spend a bit to make a lot, and it looked like I was in line to make a lot. Given, I realised, a lot of work and a lot of luck.
I left the bags and just took my handbag with me as I went out again. I walked to a small Thai restaurant I had been to before, and ordered a nasi goreng with an extra egg, as well as a glass of white wine. I took my time to eat, only bothered by the odd man who wanted to strike up a conversation. I tried to say that I wasn’t interested, but nicely enough to let them leave without getting upset. I paid with my own card, then went home to undress, and cleanse my face. It was hard to remove the great work that had been done, but I had found that the girl had added a ‘how-to’ sheet with the new items.
That evening, I was in a nightie and dressing gown, hanging my new outfits and wondering where I would get a chance to wear them. While I was doing that, I thought of my Mum and then it struck me. If Roger was going to pick me up at eleven, but we were going to get Mum at three, what would we be doing for four hours?
In the morning, I still felt full after last night, so got by with just some toast that didn’t take much to tidy up. That left me longer to get prepared. I decided to wear a new skirt suit, with a silk blouse that went with it. It was, I was assured, in cerise and the shoes were the same colour. I thought about the colours I had to choose from last month, and, once again, thanked the gods that directed me in this new direction. It took a while to recreate the face, but I thought I had done pretty well by the time Roger knocked on the door. The look on his face told me that I hadn’t got it wrong.
With my tablet and phone in the shoulder bag, which he took charge of, I locked up and put my keys in my handbag. He offered his arm as we walked towards the lift and I put mine through his, making him give me one of his sunny smiles. He had a car outside, with a driver, and opened the back door for me to get in. He went around to the other side as the driver greeted me. Half an hour later, we stopped outside an Italian Restaurant that I had heard of.
Inside, a lovely woman came to us and enveloped him in her arms and kissed each of his cheeks.
“Roger, it’s been a couple of weeks since we saw you. Is that Jim chap working you too hard?”
“I was in New York for a few days, Mamma. Allow me to introduce Jamie, our latest signing and soon to be the leading lady with your two favourite actors.”
She gave me a hug and air kissed.
“Mama mia, you’ll be working with Kurt and Jack. Have you met them yet?”
“I certainly have, Mrs Alcone, on set in Hawaii. I had to slap Jack’s face and kiss Kurt. I’m not sure which was the most satisfying.”
“You have the right idea, young lady. Either can be very satisfying, in the right situation. Now, to what do we owe this visitation?”
“We need to do a little work, in a quiet place, Mamma. We also need a quiet lunch. Jamie has been busy for days, so needs a little time to come back to the real world.”
“All right, you take the table near the back. What do you want to drink?”
We both asked for a soft drink and made sure that the driver was looked after before we sat down. I sat, quietly, as Roger took out my tablet and phone and tapped buttons until he was happy.
“I’ve added all the contacts to your phone. If you call any of them, it will just show the name as Julia L. They will be able to call you and their names will come up on screen. Don’t go adding lots of friends. Every email or text sent to your phone will appear on the tablet. This is your working phone, you’ll find that you will be using it more than the other one you have, as you move away from your old friends. I’m sorry, but that’s the way things go. You may think that you will stay close to them, but you’ll be living in a different world in a month or so.”
“I’m beginning to understand that. The last couple of days have taken me into a whole new level of shopping. Those places you sent me to aren’t cheap, but they do make me feel as if I can beat the world. When you knocked on my door, this morning, I felt slightly ashamed at what you would see. I’m sure you get to visit much swankier places.”
“It isn’t the place, Jamie, it’s the quality of the person who lives there. I’ve met a few stars in fabulous houses, who aren’t as good as the dirt on your dainty new shoes. It wouldn’t matter where you live, you’ll always be more beautiful, and more likeable.”
I laughed and took another sip of my lemonade.
“Roger, you are becoming more interesting as the day goes on. Do you realise that, by the time you drop me back at home, I would have met you mother, and you would have met mine. All this inside two days.”
“What would you say if I told you that I didn’t want to drop you back at home. I could take you to my own place and keep you for myself.”
“Do you mean to tell me that you would put up with my whining, rather than taking your cut of my earnings?”
He smiled and we changed the subject, now that he had shown his hand, even in fun. His mother served us with garlic bread, fresh from the oven, and asked me if I liked tortellini. I told her that I loved everything Italian, and she laughed while Roger blushed.
We had a good meal and then the driver took us to a photography studio, where I was sat to get some pictures for my portfolio, that could be used to launch my career. Then we went to pick up my mother.
She was ready when we arrived, and it didn’t take long to get her in the car with her bag in the back. Roger was extremely kind with her, helping her to close up the house and sit in the back seat. I got in beside her, and Roger sat in the front, keeping up the chat. It took an hour to get to the clinic, in the north-east of London. It was an impressive place and Mum looked at it and gasped.
The driver carried her bag in, and we were greeted by a receptionist, who made a call that Mrs. Curtis was here. A guy in green scrubs came down to the reception and shook hands with us all.
“Mrs. Curtis, I will be assisting with your operation. What we want you to do now is to put your things in your room, then we will do all the tests that you went through before, but we will put you through an MRI machine to get a clear picture of your problem. If it’s not too bad, we should be able to sort it out with keyhole surgery, which will have you walking out of here in a few days. That would be the best we will hope for.”
We went, with Mum, to her room and I helped her put her things in the cupboard and drawers. She had brought enough for a week or more. The nurse came in with the usual backless outfit. Roger gave her a hug and wished her luck, then left the room. I gave her a hug; told her I loved her and wished her all the best.
“Jamie, sweetheart, I have the best, and you’ve got me the best care. It will be all right. Now, my girl, I know that he’s a bloke, like you, but that man of yours is a keeper, if ever I saw one. He’s sweet on you, and that matters more than whatever you both have hanging between your legs. Now go and make sure he doesn’t escape.”
I kissed her and left as the nurse came in to get her changed and onto a trolley. As we left the clinic, Roger took my arm and told me that the clinic had my new number and would be calling, or texting, me to let me know how things went. He took me home and we hugged,
I had a quiet night, making myself an omelette for my dinner, with some toast. I would need to shop for more food in the morning. Perhaps I should be a little more adventurous with things, some heat and eat meals, maybe. That night, it took me a while to go to sleep, worrying about Mum as well as thinking about what she had said to me. Did she really give me her permission to have a homosexual relationship? That night I had a weird dream where I was the one in hospital, but in the maternity ward, with Roger, Jack and Kurt arguing about who the father is. I ended up telling them that none of them were. I was about to reveal who the real father was when I woke up needing a pee.
About eleven, the next morning, I got my first text on the company phone. It was from the surgeon, who said that the operation was a success, and that I could come and see her after dinner, for a little while. I forwarded the text to Roger, and he texted back that he would pick me up, at four, take me to dinner, and then we would go and see my Mum. I texted back ‘Yes Please’. I went out to shop and took a while looking at the ready to eat meals selection in far greater detail that I had ever done before. I had a full freezer when I got home and was actually looking forward to trying some of them out.
I had got something quick while I was at the shopping centre, so I just needed to dress for dinner and a hospital visit. As it was a cooler day, soon to be a much cooler evening, I opted for my red mini, a top and a sweater, with black tights and a pair of calf boots that I wanted to try. I left the tablet on charge and put both phones in my handbag. I knew that I would have to put both on charge overnight. I was standing outside, with my Burberry on, when Roger pulled up in a nice Alfa Romeo, which I expected was his own car.
He got out and came around to my side, gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, told me I looked lovely, the opened the passenger door for me to lower myself into it. He closed the door as I settled into the leather seat and found the seatbelt. He got in and we travelled out of the city, going east, until we arrived at a fish restaurant in Whitstable. A bit far for fish and chips, I thought, but this could be just the crazy lifestyle I was joining.
It turned out that this place was run by his father, as his parents had separated some years ago. The father was a large, friendly bear of a man who gave both of us huge hugs and cheek kisses when we walked in. What we ate was not your usual fish and chips, more a Fisherman’s Basket, with the majority of the dish being oysters, the seafood that the area is famous for. The chips were made from sweet potato, something I had never eaten before, and a taste sensation, as far as I was concerned.
Luigi sat with us for a while, and winked at me when he told Roger that oysters didn’t start working their magic until you had eaten at least a dozen. I really warmed to the man, with his easy-going manner and his obvious impression that we were a couple, rather that two work-mates. Hell, who was I kidding, we looked and acted like a couple, except that we hadn’t even kissed.
We left Luigi with the promise that Roger would bring me back again, and then went back into London, taking the Dartford Bridge to get to the Northeast suburb where the clinic was. On the way, I got him to stop at a flower shop so that I could take them to Mum. That would be a first, but, as they say, there’s a first time for everything.
Mum was sitting up in bed, with a half-eaten dinner on a tray beside her bed. I gave her a kiss and asked how she felt. When she said that she never felt better, I gave her the flowers. She had a smell of them and told me that I was wonderful. There was a handy vase in the room, so I put some water in it and added the flowers. While I was doing that, Roger was talking to Mum and asking the questions I didn’t dare to. She told us that the operation was a total success and that the original prognosis had been given by a pessimist. It was a great relief for all of us.
We chatted for a while and then she looked tired, so I gave her a kiss and told her I would be back tomorrow afternoon. As I turned to leave, she held her arm out to Roger, who bent and gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her that he would be back. We left the clinic, arm in arm, and he took me home, full of joy that Mum had looked so good. I could hardly believe that I had only known him a couple of days and that he had only met Mum yesterday.
He escorted me to my door, and I unlocked it, to hear his voice, behind me.
“I won’t come in, Jamie, as I know it’s very early in our relationship. I’ll be there when you’re ready.”
I turned around and put my hand behind his head and drew him to me in a kiss that beat every kiss I had received. It kicked Kurt into the next field. It was tender, loving, yet extremely exciting. It made me tingle, it made me shiver, it made me want to be a complete woman for him and that made me sad. When we pulled back, I whispered the most profound words I had ever spoken.
“Roger, I think I’m falling for you. Mum told me that you are a keeper and to not let you get away. If you can have a little patience, I don’t want to go beyond kissing until I can be a complete woman for you. I can’t bring myself to do anything else. Please be patient.”
His answer was another loving kiss, and I could feel his manhood against my stomach. That was, I was now certain, something that I would strive to be able to take into me, sometime in the future. He held me tight and kissed me again.
“Goodnight, sweetheart, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon to go and see your mother. Don’t worry about my job, as Jim told me that my job was to make you happy. Little did he know that it would make me even happier.”
I watched him walk towards the lift. He waved as he got in and the doors closed. I went into my apartment and sat down in the lounge and bawled my eyes out. I was happy that I had a man who wanted me, yet sad that we would have to wait years, maybe. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted in life. It wasn’t so long ago I was making love to Belle, although I had been on the bottom and dreaming that my penis was inverted, and it was me being ploughed. Had I been queer, all my life? I didn’t think so, in fact I didn’t feel that I was queer, now. As far as I was concerned, I was now a woman, a woman about to become a film star, a woman who had a man go hard when we kissed.
I took off the Burberry and went into the bathroom to examine my destroyed make-up. I stood there, in a mini-skirt and boots, with a typical female figure. I cleansed my face of all the smeared mascara and completed the cleansing and hydration that had become so natural. I stood in front of the mirror and did a striptease, just for me, until I was down to bra and pants. That’s when I knew, deep in my heart, that I wasn’t queer, just that I wasn’t a boy any longer. I still hadn’t bought those garbags, that would be the first thing on the list, tomorrow.
I took the bra and pants off, didn’t look at my groin as I reached for a nightie, pulled on my gown, and started hanging my things. I hummed a popular song that I had heard on the radio when I was younger, on the classic rock station. I stopped when I realised that it was Abba’s ‘Gimme a Man (After Midnight)’. Then I started singing it, quietly, knowing that it was now truly meant for me. It would be my mantra as I went further.
I had a dreamless sleep, for which I was glad. I couldn’t have been able to bear any more emotion. I still woke, feeling as if I needed another eight hours. That was chased away with a good shower. Today, I would see Mum again, and we would work towards getting her home again. I would also see Roger again, and wondered how that would go, after last night.
About ten, my new phone chirruped, and I answered it. Jim told me that I was needed in the office, to sign some papers in regard to my name change. He also told me that I would be going to Hawaii, as soon as my new papers and passport came through, to go through the new script with Kurt and Kym. He was sending a car for me, as Roger had been called away to look after another client, so wasn’t available. I wondered if that had been on purpose, with Jim guessing that Roger was getting too personal with me.
I wondered what Kym had to do with the new script, but that couldn’t be answered until I saw them. At last, things were starting to happen, where I would have to earn the silly money that they were paying. My only worry was leaving Roger behind for I didn’t know how long.
I got myself ready for a trip to the city. The driver was waiting when I went down, and he gave me a smile as he opened the back door for me. Other than cabs, I didn’t sit in the back, and this was a sign of my new status. At the office, Jim was there to greet me.
“Good Morning, Jamie, or should I say Julia, now. We have your applications for you to sign and then we have to wait for the wheels of bureaucracy to turn, which may be a couple of weeks, if we’re lucky. That will give you some time to read the script which Kym will send to you. She’s a part-time scriptwriter, and has doctored some of Kurts scripts, as well as her own. He sometimes spends time directing and is quite good at getting the effects that enhance a scene. We have both on our books, but Jack is with someone else.”
We went into an office where Horatio was sitting, papers stacked all around him. He stood and gave me a hug and then sat me at a side table with some papers on it, then showed me where I needed to sign my real name, and the others where I had to sign my stage name. One was an application to join Actors Equity. Before I signed, I took a piece of blank paper and tried different ways of signing as Julia Leigh, before I decided on one, then repeated it a half a dozen times to prove that I could duplicate it in the future.
After that, Jim told me that my driver would take me to a studio where I would be doing indoor scenes that would be spliced into the final cut. These would include scenes with my movie ‘friends’. He told me that two had passed a screen test with flying colours already, and that we should have enough to start the filming in a couple of weeks.
My tablet had pinged while I was signing, and it had an email from Kym, with several attached pages of the script, from the first scene, up to the point where I come into the action. This was so I could get a grip on the story, so I could have an input on any problems, especially the aircraft scenes.
The driver took me to the studio, where I met with one of the set designers and a bunch of other people who would be shooting the movie. They were all very welcoming and I felt at home with them very quickly. They showed me the various sets that they had already built, with a few being slated for dismantling, now some of the storyline had changed. I asked if that was a problem and was told that it happened all the time, even while the film was being shot.
I found out that Cynthia and Moyra had both come in and had done their screen test. I had to laugh when the director told me that Cynthia, being a bit older, was going to play the Co-pilot on the flight deck. I could just see her, in a pilot’s outfit. I was to be the leader of the cabin crew, which allowed the story to take a few liberties with my spending time with a couple of special passengers.
The set designer took me to lunch at a nearby café, and he told me that he had seen both the screen tests I had done, in both the raw state and Cecil’s edited version. He smiled and asked me to keep up the good work, as he was sure that the picture would be in line for an Oscar. I told him that I could only do my best.
We worked on the early scenes for an hour, and then the car took me home again. I freshened up and then went to see my Mum.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 7
Mum was extremely chipper when I went into her room. She was sitting in an easy chair, reading a book she had brought to the hospital, and stood, carefully, to give me a hug.
“Jamie, how lovely to see you. My! Don’t you look the lady! This new life has been good too you; I can see. Where’s your young man today?”
“He’s doing his job, looking after another film star. I didn’t ask, but the receptionist in the Agency said that he was in Paris, seeing why a starlet had a meltdown on set.”
“You’re different in some way. I can’t put a finger on it. Yes! I can. You’re more settled and you appear more confident in what you’re doing. Did you and Roger go further, last night?”
“Well, Mum, we kissed, but that was all. I told him that it was as far as I would go until I was a proper woman for him. I guess that it means that I’ll be in a place like this one day, having my outie turned into an innie. It’s something I’ve avoided thinking about until we kissed. I felt him against me and knew I wanted him. Is that too stupid?”
“Love is never stupid, my daughter. Lust can be, sometimes, but love knows what it wants. If it had been lust, you would have been to bed with him. One day he’ll take you to meet his parents.”
“Funny, that. I’ve met them both, already. His mother has a restaurant in London, specialising in Italian food. His father runs a seafood café in Whitstable, where they do the most fantastic oyster dishes. He’s taken me to both places. The only person he hasn’t met is my father.”
“That’s unlikely now, Jamie. I sent him a message through the airline not to bother coming home. I packed all his things in two cases before I came here, and the chap next door took them to a courier company that will deliver them to the airline office at Heathrow. So far, he hasn’t replied. He may just take the cases with him and go and live with one of his floosies.”
“That’s a bit drastic, Mum.”
“No, it isn’t. He’s hardly ever home as it is, so I won’t miss him. I feel as if this operation has removed a weight from my shoulders. I want to live as my own person. He put the house in my name, right from the day we bought it. I wonder if it was so he didn’t leave a trail that the other women could trace him by. I’m set up, and it’s paid for, so can get by with my little sideline sewing and my bingo winnings. I’m not destitute, Jamie, so you don’t have to worry about me. It was just that I didn’t have the cash reserve for this operation. By the way, the surgeon is an absolute dreamboat.”
“So was the assistant that met us when we brought you here. That’s something I would never had thought about a few weeks ago.”
She grinned and then sat down again. I pulled up a chair and we sat and talked, mother to daughter, for an hour. I asked her if there was anything I could do in her house before she came home, and she asked me if I could go and give it a clean, seeing that her problem had stopped her doing it properly. I said that I would go and do it the next morning. When I left her, she was happier than I’d seen her for years, and, oddly, so was I.
Next morning, I dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee that should have gone to the op-shop already, with an old jumper over the top. When I looked in the mirror, I still looked like Julia, but a Julia about to clean house. I still had the key to my old home, so parked my car outside and let myself in. Mum had a full set of cleaning materials, so I loaded up and went upstairs. Starting at the top, I thought that any excess dust would go down, to be cleaned when I got to that floor. I found out that my father now spent his nights, when he was home, in my old room. The wardrobe doors were hanging open, with nothing inside. I got to work. For a laugh, I looked in the gap behind a skirting board that I used to hide my illicit miniature bottles of spirits in. What I found made me sit on the mattress in disbelief.
What I held, in my hands, was a roll of high denomination banknotes. There was another roll, which I straightened out on the mattress. It contained marriage certificates in six different names, to six different women, in four different countries, all with the signature that was unmistakenly my father’s. None of them was the marriage that bore me.
I left it all on the bed as I continued my cleaning, needing a lot of time to process what I had found. The money would go to Mum, of course, but I wondered if I should load her with the other things. I knew that my father was a womaniser, but being a serial bigamist was something a whole lot worse. When I finished the job, I had all the rubbish out in the bin, waiting to be collected, and I went back through the house, inspecting my work. The last room was as I left it, with the items on the bed.
I had found a plastic bag in the kitchen and gathered up the papers, putting it all in the bag. I then went to the office, after calling Horatio and telling him that I needed to see him, urgently.
When he saw me, he gave me a hug, as usual.
“You even do the tomboy sexily.”
“Would you believe that these were part of my normal outfits, not that long ago?”
“You look worried, what can I do to help?”
I told him that I had found a stash that my father had hidden, while I was cleaning my mother’s house. I showed him the money and the certificates and sat back while he examined them and counted the notes.
“This is serious stuff, Jamie. The money is the easy bit, even though it’s five thousand Euro, it can be put into your mother's bank. We can put it in yours and then you can transfer it to her. That will cut the paper trail. These certificates are, though, something else again. Tell her about the money, when you see her, but don’t say anything about her bigamist partner. I’ll research all of these before we do anything else. We need to find if any of these women are alive, and whether they’ve had other children by him. Only then will we know enough to take the next step. When is he home again?”
“I don’t think he’ll be back. Mum sent his clothes and things to the airline office with a note for him never to return. She knew about his other women; he talks in his sleep. When he saw me in a dress, he thought that I was one of his children from a woman in Norwich.”
“I’ll look up his record to verify these dates and places. Do you know where he served?”
“He was born in 1962 and enlisted in 1980. I think he trained on Hawk T1’s in Yorkshire and went to Indonesia some time after1983 when they took a batch of T1A’s. After that he was transferred to 17 Squadron in Bruggen, Germany, and flew Tornados during the late ‘80’s. In 1991 they were in the Gulf War flying from Bahrain, and then he was back in Bruggen until 1999, when the Squadron took part in the Kosovo offensive. After that, he was in Lincolnshire flying Typhoons, with deployments to the north to do low level training around the Lochs and into the Lake District. In 2011 he was seconded to the German Air Force, back to flying Tornados from Kandahar over Afghanistan. He left the Air Force in 2015, after his 25 years were up, and started flying airliners.”
“So, this certificate from Middlesborough would be the earliest, in 1981. Then the one from Jakarta in 1984. It looks like the next is 1988, in Eind, in Germany, followed by this one from Manama, in Bahrain, in 1991. When did he marry your mother?”
“That was in early 1999. He was in London on sick leave undergoing treatment in hospital. They met at a dance, and it was a whirlwind affair. I came along in December, that year, and he was then on the base in Lincolnshire, training on Typhoons. He said that I would be about two years younger than his son, so, I guess that the next one is Janet from Norfolk.”
“Absolutely right, Jamie. The last one would have been when he was doing low level training, in the Lake District, because the last one is from Carlisle, in 2008. It all fits. Do you know why he was in hospital?”
“Mum told me that he had been injured at Bruggen, playing the fool in a hanger, he went arse up over an air compressor and fractured his leg. My question is why?”
“That’s what we’ll find out when we research his service record. I have a pal in the Ministry of Defense who I will ask. My guess is that it’s all to do about money. If all these other names are listed as serving officers, every woman would have been getting a family subsidy. You know that this makes you technically a bastard?”
“That has crossed my mind as soon as I saw the earliest certificate. I suppose it’s just one other thing that I have to bear.”
“What was he like, for the times you saw him?”
“I was in awe of his fighter pilot persona. He was a hero, fighting for the country. I always wanted to fly and follow in his footsteps. Whenever I voiced that, he would ask me questions about geometry, and when I couldn’t answer he would tell me that I didn’t have the brain to be a pilot, seeing that I would never master navigation.”
“So, when you were in an airliner, without being able to look out a window, you had no idea where you were in relation to the earth’s surface?”
“I’ve always known where we were. It’s knowing the route and keeping track of the elapsed time. I reckon, that if you asked me while we were in the air, I would be within a hundred miles of the correct position.”
“That’s all you really need to know, and it looks like you have a natural ability in regard to the first rule of navigation. Always be aware of where you are before you plan where you’re going to. You’ll have no problems flying if you want to.”
He took the cash through to the finance officer and told him to put it into my bank account, as is, as it was my own money. He then told me to go home, have something to eat and glam up to visit Mum. He told me that when I felt that I looked good, I would start feeling good. I followed his instructions to the letter.
When I went to see Mum, she was dressed and ready to go home. I was surprised and said that, had I known, I would have organised a car, but only had my own one in the car park.
“Jamie, it doesn’t matter. Your car is perfectly all right. It may have a little age, but that’s what gives it character. My bag isn’t that heavy, and it’s one with rollers, so, all we have to do is get me signed out and you can take me home. Did you get a chance to run the vacuum around?’
“Yes, Mum. That, and more. I hope that you have grub in the house, because I could have done some shopping for you.”
“I tell you what. We’ll take this case and unload everything, then it’s my treat for dinner, at the pub. You’ve done so much for me over the last week, it’s the least I can do.”
I helped her sign out, with the staff all wishing her well. When I looked at my car, I realised that she was right. It wasn’t bad, just a little dirty. At the house, we put her washing into a hamper and rehung what she hadn’t used. We then checked the cupboards and fridge and took her padded bag to the supermarket to get a small bottle of milk, a loaf of bread and some eggs. That would stay good in the bag while we had our dinner in her local pub.
I hadn’t seen her so bright in ages. The operation had been a total success, but she had to stay off alcohol while she remained on the medication that they had put her on, so we toasted the future with lemonade. That’s when I brought up the subject of my hidey hole.
“Is that where you kept the booze. I could smell it on your breath and looked high and low for it. What did you hide, miniatures?”
“Yes Mum. One of my mates worked in his parents off-licence, and he would get us to chip in for a couple each. It made me appreciate my sensible times when I woke up in the morning. That’s why I stay away from spirits now. Getting back to my hidey hole. I wondered if I had left anything there. I found a roll of money that Dad must have hidden. There’s no way I would have forgotten five thousand Euros.”
“What! Five thousand, hidden in your old room! What have you done with it?”
“I went to see the lawyer at the agency, and he will put it into my bank. In a few days, I’ll transfer it to yours, which will give you a little nest egg. If anyone asks, I gave it to you, right?”
“All right, dear. I can see that he may come back for it. If he asks, I’ll tell him that I had some cleaners in, and they were smiling when they left. He can’t badger me for something I don’t know about.”
I took her home and we put the shopping away, had a cup of tea and I helped her change her bed before she got in. I kissed her forehead and wished her goodnight. She told me to look after my own needs for a few days, as her friends will find out she was home and come around, to see how she was getting on. I let myself out, happy in the knowledge that she was much better. That keyhole surgery is something else, pity they couldn’t do it with a sex change, or boob job.
She was right, of course. I now needed to start looking towards my future. The next day I stayed in my nightie and gown, with the tablet on the charger while I read the script, so far. I could see where it would be going to. The finished film would likely be classed as a rom com, with darker parts. I ate a couple of the meals I had bought, which was enough to see me through the day. I drank too much tea, as it seemed that I was peeing every half an hour. At least it showed that my kidneys work. I was about to go to bed when my work phone rang.
When I answered, it was Roger. He reminded me that tomorrow would be Saturday and asked me if he could take me out for the day. I told him that I would be more than happy, and he told me to dress casually, jeans if I had them, because he wanted to take me to visit one of his relatives who had a sheep farm in the Cotswold's. When we finished talking, I went to bed and wondered whether he wasn’t allowed to pop the question before his entire extended family had been able to check me out. The prospect of a whole day with him allowed me to drift off, with a smile on my face.
I had a quick breakfast, showered, and then looked at my options. I found a pair of black, skinny, jeans from my teen days that still fitted, and a white shirt that I had bought the other day to go with a skirt suit. My new calf boots went over the jeans, and a longish sweater went over the shirt, long enough to hide my lack of hips. Made-up, and with my communication devices in the tablet bag, along with some essential supplies, I was ready when he knocked on the door.
When I opened it, the first thing I saw was a bunch of flowers, with a smiling Roger behind it.
“Sorry for being called away when you needed me, Jamie. It was all a storm in a teacup. I’ll tell you about it, later. Oh! These are for you, my love.”
“You’re forgiven. Just hold on while I put these in water, and I’ll be right with you.”
I took the flowers into the kitchen and found a tall glass, big enough to hold them upright. OK, so nobody had ever given me flowers before!
He was still outside when I got back, so I closed the door, and he took the opportunity to try and mess with my lipstick. In the Alfa, I pulled the shade down and used the mirror to repair my lips as he got in. As he drove, I could see that he was aiming to loop around the south-west corner of London and expected that he would end up getting to the Cotswold's though Slough.
As we travelled, he told me that the actress that had the melt down was from a Jewish family, and the scene that she was supposed to be shooting was to be in the Holocaust Museum. She had been all right until she had seen photos of the camps with a wall of names. It had been too much for her to bear and took a day with a therapist to get back on track. The scene was shifted to another room, and she had managed to get through.
I could sympathise now that I had my own family demons to face. It made me wonder what I would do if I met any of my half siblings but kept quiet.
“So, young Roger. Who are we going to meet, today, and why? How many of your family are there to be inspected by?”
That made him laugh out loud.
“Would you believe that I have three sisters and two brothers. The one you will meet is an older sister. I think you’ll appreciate what her business is. As for the others, they’re spread far and wide and I have no plans to visit them in the near future. The brothers run wineries in Italy that we could visit on our honeymoon. The other two sisters married and emigrated to the southern hemisphere. We might catch up with them on your world tour to open the film.”
I sat there, wondering if that had been a joke, or not. Not the honeymoon bit – the world tour part. As we travelled on, I told him about my mother being back home and how much better she was. I thanked him for his work in setting up the hospital and other things. He glanced over to me and smiled.
“Anything for you, Jamie. Although I should start getting used to calling you Julia when the paperwork is completed. Have you thought about whether you want to be Julia, Julie, or Jules. It’s important to get it ready, so it feels as if you’ve been called that since school.”
“I’m still getting my head around the Julia part, thank you. Maybe you can start calling me what you think fits, and I’ll go with what your superior knowledge has contrived.”
“Actually, I’d go with the full Julia. Julie Leigh isn’t right; it sounds like a stammer, and you’re too pretty to be a Jules. The scribes may call you Jewel when they see the film. Thinking about that, I wonder if we need to get David to give you another name for the film. Julia Leigh as Lily is also a bit of a mouthful.”
“That could be a problem. Perhaps I could be Barbara, with Kurt calling me that, or Babs. Jack could call me his Barbie, as a put-down, and we might get some spill-over from the Barbie phenomenon.”
“I love your thinking. I’ll put it to David when I see him, next week. He’ll be in town to do your first scenes at the local studio. You will have all week there, and he hopes to get quite a lot of the incidental scenes in the can before the big outside ones in Hawaii. I expect that, with his efficiency, he’ll have most of the film shot inside three months. This digital stuff has taken a lot of time off moviemaking. It’s so easy to edit, now, with a couple of touches of a keyboard, rather than cutting and splicing film. We’re nearly there, prepare to be welcomed by a whirlwind.”
He was right about the whirlwind. Anna was a raven-haired beauty, who couldn’t stay still. She gave me a hug as soon as Roger helped me out of the car, then gave him one as well.
“Roger, bambino, who is this lovely lady that you have brought to visit me?”
“This is Jamie, destined to be a leading lady opposite Kurt and Jack in their next film. We are also very good friends.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Jamie the film star to be. So, good friends or lovers? Not lovers, not yet. There is a difference in body language when you’re lovers. We have that to look forward to, eh?”
Over the course of the morning, Anna and I bonded as good friends, with her regaling me with stories of a baby Roger and his love of old movies on television. I was shown the farm, really just several acres with sheep roaming in them. But what sheep! The flock was all Merino stock, with top grade fleece. Her studio was a separate building behind the house.
“This is wonderful, Anna. I can see that you do a lot of knitting, with all these machines.”
“Yes. My business is the manufacture of fine wool clothing. We do all the cleaning and carding of the wool, in house. I have a few girls in to finish the products, but the bulk of the clothes are knitted on the computer-controlled machines.”
I looked at the labels on a bench.
“I bought two knit dresses that you made, just the other day. They’re glorious, and now I realise why they’re so warm. I think that I also got a sweater from the same place.”
“I supply to the shop that Roger’s company use, yes, but also to shops across Europe. You can see that my output isn’t huge, that’s why the items are expensive in the shops. You’re obviously a good eye with fashion. I’ve got some finished products in the next room if you want to have a look. We can offer farm gate prices.”
I was shown some more clothes, and she allowed me privacy to try a couple of her dresses on. One was what she called a ‘trial run’ of mixed colours in a kaleidoscope pattern. I loved it and wanted to take it home. Over lunch, we told her about the film, and she put her hand on my arm.
“Jamie, or should I say Julia. If you wear that dress at one of your interviews when the movie comes out, I’ll give it to you as a gift. If you wear my sweaters when you’re seen about, during winter, I’ll give you one of the ones you’ve seen, today. If you don’t wear them, I’ll invoice you, later. Deal?”
“Deal. Don’t worry, I hope that you’ll see your clothes on my back enough to expand your workforce.”
“Good. I expect you to be a regular visitor and bring my brother with you. I haven’t seen much of him since he got that high-powered job. I expect that he’s looking after you. Has he taken you to see our parents yet?”
“He has, and he’s met my mother when we took her into hospital for an operation. He can even call her by her first name, already.”
“This sounds serious, girl. He’s too good to be left on the shelf. Do you have anyone in mind as bridesmaids, yet?”
“That, Anna, is some way into the future. I have a film to make, first. In fact, It may be a few films before we can marry, if he still wants me by then.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 8
While we were talking, Roger had received a call on his phone, leaving the room to take it. When he came back, he told us that David wanted to take me to dinner, to talk about how things were going, and that he would have to drop me off at home so that I had time to be ready. Anna seized the opportunity.
“You can wear that dress, if you’re seen dining with David Masterson, I’m sure that there’ll be a picture in the gossip magazines by the end of next week. ‘Who is that stunning woman, seen dining out with the director of this year’s hit blockbuster’ comes to mind.”
She put the dress in a garment bag, along with a gloriously lurid sweater in the same vein. It was to be a part of a new range that she had been planning, and my appearance on her doorstep had given her the opportunity to launch it by the back door. We hugged and cheek kissed when we left, driving back into London.
“Thank you for that. Anna is a wonderful person and so talented. It’s a pity that you don’t get to give me dinner.”
“Actually, I’m also invited. David said that we will be at a table with Kurt and Kym, and he’s bringing his ex-wife, Irene. They can’t live together but remain friends. I think she wants to check out his latest leading lady. I’ll organise a car and will pick you up at seven, so you’ll have time to glam up. The dinner is at the Ritz, so that dress will certainly stand out against all the silks and satins that some ladies wear to that dining room. If you want to make a statement, that’s the way to do it. I expect that the press know that Kurt and Kym are in town, so expect to be asked to pose with them.”
He dropped me off at my door, helping me out and giving me a kiss as he handed me the garment bag.
“See you at seven, my love. Tonight, we may get a chance to offer that Barbie idea.”
When he pulled up, with a driver, at seven, I had been in the shower, made sure I was hairless, dusted and perfumed. I had the dress on, with shimmery stockings and my black heels and a black bag. I left my tablet at home, but took the work phone set to silent. As it was cooler, I had what was now my trusty Burberry coat on and had spent a lot of the interim time trying to get an elegant look with the make-up. That cosmetic company had supplied a lot of variations that I hadn’t tried yet and had made my face match the main colours in the dress. I may be wrong, but I was happy with it. The look on his face told me I wasn’t wrong.
He held my hand as we were driven to the Ritz. There, the doorman helped us out and we left our coats with the reception. In the dining room I experienced something that I had heard about, but not yet heard with my own ears. It was a sudden quietness as we approached the table as Kurt, and David rose to greet us. It was followed by a smattering of comments that my highly trained stewardess ears could pick up out of the background. All along the lines of ‘Who is that girl’.
Both men gave me a hug and I sensed that someone was taking pictures. We were all seated, and I was introduced to Irene Masterson, the ex-wife who still used her married name. With their body language, I guessed that they were still friends with benefits. It was an interesting meal, often interrupted by other, well-known, people who would stop by to say hello. When we had coffee in front of us, the talk turned to the film.
Kym was the one who said that she thought that Lily was too wishy-washy for a leading lady, which allowed me to suggest that we had already spoken about that, thinking that Barbara might be better, and told them about the variations and benefits that we had discussed. Kym reached over the table and patted my hand.
“I knew that you’ll be good value, Jamie. That’s a great idea. It differentiates the two men’s attitude in a single usage of the names. It just needs a new title when you get close to the opening time. I’m sure that one will show itself as you film. Sometimes, the best movie names come, out of the blue, as you’re on the set.”
Kurt and David bowed to her acceptance of the idea, and the dinner wound up around eleven, with Kurt and Kym saying that they had slight jetlag. As we stood, someone with an expensive camera asked us if we could pose. Kym knew the guy and she agreed on our behalf, telling him that Kurt and I were making a movie together.
The picture of the two of us was on the front page of a fashion / gossip magazine the next week. Inside was a picture all six of us, along with a press release that Roger had quoted on the night. Of course, the story wasn’t limited to just that. No, it asked the questions about who I was, where had I trained, and what my relationship with each of the men in the dinner party was. It certainly complied with Anna’s brief, as I had told him the maker of the dress and that it was to be a new line.
The following week we got serious in the studio. Kym had obviously spent much of Sunday rewriting the script, which she emailed to me on Sunday night, with the scenes we would be doing marked in red lettering, with my lines in bold type. That made it easy for me to pick out what I needed to say.
All of the scenes were interior shots. They had built a mock-up of the inside of the airliner, which was the place where the film really starts. David had looked at the script and had decided that the working title should be ‘Turbulence’, seeing that we could mimic a plane movement that would deposit me into Jack’s lap, with my relationship with Kurt being much more normal, as he was the Flight Captain, and we already had a friendship with benefits. At the end of the week, we were joined by Cynthia, Moyra, Belle, and Wanda, who had all done so well in their screen tests that they all had contracts that allowed them to resign. None of the other girls had come in for the screen test. It was odd, wearing the beige uniform, again, with none of us now employed by the company.
By now, you will be able to guess the story. Stewardesses talk about hunky Captain. Barbara has flashbacks of a night spent with said Hunk. All very light, just the closing shot of him unzipping her dress. We were aiming the film at the teen market. On a flight to Hawaii, Barbara finds herself in the lap of passenger, who has taken a shine to her and has never been refused. In Hawaii, the passenger meets with Barbara, leading to the slap scene. Passenger and Hunk face off as Hunk realises that he has real feelings for Barbara. This leads to a car chase and a fight where two great actors show that when it comes to stunts, they’re up there with the best of them. The action all takes place over a four-day layover.
It culminates on the beach, where Barbara, her friends, and the co-pilot, Cynthia, are having a break. Fight ends with Cynthia hitting the Passenger on the head with a beach umbrella. Then Barbara and Hunk meet at the bandstand, and she lets him know that their earlier night of bliss has left her pregnant. The final scenes, with the credits rolling, is the wedding and all the viewers can get their hankies out. There’s a lot more, to fill up the time, but that’s it, in a nutshell.
That week went into the next, and then into a third, before we had fulfilled our job. I was in the studio during the day, and out with Roger to various parties in the evenings. Not every night, but I did meet a lot of well-known people in the arts, politics, and even the odd minor royal.
I worked with a lot of people I had seen on screen in lesser parts. We only needed to have the first and business section, and a mock-up flight deck, with Kurt at the controls, and a very happy Cynthia as Co-pilot. I took on the role as the chief stewardess with the other three working the extras in the two classes. There was a lot of scenes that simply set the authenticity of the travelling, with us bringing the realism to the parts with our natural movements.
The part where I ended up in Jack’s lap was the hardest. We did it without any sound recording, so that orders could be called out when the camera was jiggled, mimicking the spot of turbulence. We said our lines as we did it and went into a sound booth to add them to the scene afterwards. It was hard work, especially needing to repeat scenes when David wasn’t happy. We also did some scenes with me and Kurt, or me and Jack, or me with the other girls in hotel rooms and nightclubs. All the clothing and make-up was professional, with our personal outfits and cosmetics supplied by the preferred shops.
The airline had come to the party and had agreed to let us film us disembarking in Hawaii, as well as using official dresses. I don’t think they had been told who would be playing the parts of the stewardesses. At the end of the third week, Roger gave me the message that I was needed to go into the office to see Horatio. He grinned when he called me Julia.
We were all booked into business class for a flight to Hawaii, via New York, on the following Wednesday. I had been seeing Mum on weekends, and she was getting over the operation and acting like a youngster. I had transferred the money but still hadn’t told her that her marriage wasn’t legal.
When we wrapped it up on the Friday afternoon, Roger was there to take me into the office. We were now very comfortable with each other, and it certainly felt like we were a kissing couple. In the office, I went to see Horatio, who had another gentleman with him. They both stood, with Horatio giving me a hug, and the other guy shaking my hand. He was, I found out, a Major in the British Military Police.
When we were seated and comfortable, he complimented me on my bringing the documents to Horatio, as many wouldn’t have done so. I found out that my father had been part of a group within the RAF, who had been able to add names to the Squadron roster sheet, enabling them to get married and claim extra benefits in the bogus names. They had already arrested two of the group, years ago, but had never looked at Group Captain Curtis as the leader of the gang. The papers that I had supplied had allowed them to get a line on others, as they had been named as witnesses on the marriage certificates. Not only that, but the group had also been selling squadron supplies on the black market, even weapons when they were in Bahrain.
As such, my father had been arrested when he last landed at Heathrow and was now in a military prison awaiting court martial, seeing that he was still on the reserve list. My help had been absolutely central in cracking what had been a cold case for nearly twenty years. The odd thing that the Major said was that, because all the other marriages were in bogus names, and only the one to my mother being in his real name, it was quite possible that the marriage would stand up as the only legal one.
After the Major had left, Horatio gave me my new documentation. I was now, according to a form from the Government, Julia Leigh Curtis. I had a passport in that name as female, with the old records carried over. I had a driving licence, and new bank cards in that name. As Julia Leigh, I had an Actors Equity card and a Green Card that allowed me to work in the USA. There was also another complete set of loyalty cards from our suppliers. I was now ready to face the world as the new me. All that was left was the operation needed to make it real.
On Sunday, Roger took me to see Mum. He sat in the lounge as I spoke to Mum in the kitchen, about the fake marriage crimes, and when I assured her that it was only hers that could be legal, she just said “Pity”. I assured her that I been told that the trial would be held behind closed doors, on an Air Force base, and that any sentence would be served in a prison with no visiting rights. With the selling of arms involved, he would be lucky to get out of it still breathing.
I then showed her the paper that had been the last thing that Horatio had given me. It was the list of all the wives, with all the children that had been born in the likely time frame. I had three half-brothers and four half-sisters. I now had more family than Roger! I left it with her, as I had a copy for myself. I had no plans to organise a get-together. I supposed that they all thought that their father had deserted them. We took Mum out to dinner, and she hugged us both when we left her back at the house. I would be in Hawaii, but Roger said he would be in touch, to which she replied, “Thank you, son.”
Monday, and Tuesday, I cleaned up around the apartment, then packed my new red case with things, finding that I didn’t have enough room. I rang the clothing supplier and asked if they did cases. When they said that they did, they asked me what colour I wanted and where I was going. When I said it was Hawaii, they told me that they had shipped a load of clothes there for the film and then told me they would deliver the case. When it arrived, it was half full of some wonderful warm weather clothes. I added my left-over things and closed it up. All I had, for the morning, was what I would be wearing, plus my shoulder bag with the tablet and phone, and my handbag with my paperwork and essentials.
I was more excited about the flight than any I had been on, and I had been on hundreds. I had an alarm for a ridiculous hour and was ready with my cases when there was a knock on the door. Roger loaded the car and drove me to Heathrow. I was sad to leave him at the door of the flight side, but his quick kiss and the assurance that he will see me as soon as we could get together, made me a bit happier.
Through the bag inspection and into the departure lounge, I was directed to the VIP section, where the others waited for me. With all the times we had waited to get on board, we had never done it dressed to the nines, offered drinks and nibbles, or been treated with deference before. I found that we had been upgraded, so we ended up sitting in the first-class seats, after being greeted by a flight crew and cabin crew that we had all flown with. It was fun, and a little strange to be on the other side.
The flight was good, with us only needing to be on our feet to go for a pee. I think that the stewardesses enjoyed our company, being able to chat with passengers who knew what they were doing. The Captain came out to talk to us. It seemed that the airline had put out a message to all staff that it would be supporting a new film and that there would be some scenes that they would all recognise. With the picture of me with Kurt that was in the magazine, everyone knew some of the cast.
We spent our time in New York browsing the airport shops, buying a few things that caught our eyes. Then we were back in the plane and heading for Hawaii and our workplace for the next couple of months. When we landed, we had the traditional Hawaii welcome, a first for us as we had never been VIP’s before. Then limos took us to the Prince Waikiki, and we were settled in our rooms.
The plan was for us to take a day resting and getting used to the warmth after the cold of London. Then, we would have a scene to shoot in an airliner. We had rehearsed it several times in the studio. Our extras had all arrived, and Kurt was to be here the next day. Jack was already here and raring to get started. The scene was straightforward. We would have two cameras in the cabin, and one set up near the top of the airbridge. We would farewell the passengers and there was some dialogue that allowed Jack to know where the stewardesses were staying. Then the flight crew would come out of the flight deck, and we would all collect our things and leave the plane, with dialogue needed as we walked up the airbridge.
The airline had allowed us a half an hour, with the part we would be using left uncleaned until we were finished. It meant that we would all be waiting in coaches at the bottom of the outside steps to the airbridge. The plane would arrive, the passengers and crew vacate the cabin and we allowed the cleaners into the economy section to start the cleaning. Then we did our scene and left it to the cleaners. If needed, we would be allowed to repeat the process on another day.
We were in our company uniforms, with extras that were playing the stewardesses working the economy in the black skirts, so that we stood out. They were just there for authenticity, and only had chattering roles. The scene was a single take, had to look real, and we did it flawlessly, first time.
The camera and sound guys packed their kit and went back to the hotel in the coaches, while the rest of us continued into the VIP lounge, where we met the boyish-looking owner of the airline, as well as several executives from Head Office. It was a laugh being feted while wearing our uniforms. Of course, the owner had to have a picture of him surrounded by a bevy of beautiful girls. I was sent a copy of the airline magazine, later on, which carried the story.
We still had some way to go with the film, and, over the next few weeks, finished all the interior and exterior scenes that became the links between the action. Then there was the two scenes that defined the turbulent times: me and Jack and me and Kurt.
Jack was adamant that he would be all right if I did actually hit him, as it would add realism when he was in later scenes with a handprint on his cheek. I didn’t want to do it, but we all have to give a little to create cinema, so I slapped him hard at the end of the first take. That meant that we needed to get it right, as he would have needed a ton of make-up to hide the red mark.
When I did the weep-making scene with Kurt, Kym told me to do it right, and that she would make me do it until she was happy with the take. David and the crew had no say in this, and, wisely, allowed her to direct. It took her four takes before she was happy, which left Kurt and I intrigued, considering that we thought we had done a good job with the first one. Kym had a wicked smile when she called it a wrap.
“That was so I could see if you can repeat perfection, Jamie. We’re going to talk about our film after this. I’ve had some ideas about the plot, and I’ve been rewriting the script. David is giving me credits as a scriptwriter on this one, and Jim has been talking to my producer about letting me co-direct the next.”
After that, all us girls had the time off while the boys worked on the action scenes. The whole crew were off to various parts of the island, while we lazed on the beach, learned how to surf, and did some shopping. That was a true two weeks of rest, because that’s how long it took. I didn’t ask how many cars they destroyed, or how many windows got smashed. It was a series of scenes, where Jack would see Kurt and try to punch his lights out, or vice versa. I do know that there was a car chase with two cabs and female American stars in cameo roles. When they did the argument scenes they had a bunch of locals, as extras, in the background.
During that time Kym sat with us, and we discussed her own project. She had revised her plot, going from a pair of mad sisters, to having us as two witches in a coven, adding the other four as other coven members. It would be a crime story, with the coven not revealed until late in the film.
Jack had agreed to play one of the husbands, and she had some other stars that we had met, way back at the party, as other characters. It would be set in Tallahassee, Florida. Cynthia thought that this was an unlikely place to find a coven of witches, and Kym told her that this just why she chose it. Being an old settlement, and a big college town, the place was awash with lovely buildings and gentle vistas in which to place pure evil.
This all made the other girls happy, knowing that there would be something for them after this film. Especially as we could all shed the cabin crew past and concentrate on being real people.
When we all got together, again, the screenplay got a slight change. Seeing as how we could all hold our heads up as budding surfers, the bit where Cynthia was supposed to hit Jack with a beach umbrella became her bashing him with a fake surfboard, which broke on impact.
This was after we were filmed on the waves and then seeing Kurt arrive at the beach, followed by Jack, who had brought a gun to the argument and was threatening to shoot everyone. He played the madness wonderfully. They were able to get a surfboard maker to produce a few in foam, dense enough to look real, but not hard enough to put Jack in hospital. We had a couple of real policemen haul him away, crying ‘Don’t you know who I am’.
The final scenes were shot in the Holy Family Catholic Church, a lovely, but modern, place which provided the most gorgeous backdrops. We were all in our finest, with me in ivory, rather than white, and the girls as bridesmaids in apricot. All the guys looked good in their suits, and it was a wonderful time for all of us, going back to the hotel for an after-shoot party to wind up this part of the production. That was a happy occasion, with us all still in our wedding finery. Kurt pretended that it was the reception and got everyone to hum a waltz while he twirled me around the room.
Me and the girls got lots of hugs and kisses, with some of the older stars telling us that we were the future of movies, and that they all wanted to work with us again. Some, we knew, would be doing just that. In Tallahassee.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 9
Firstly, though, was the matter of getting this project finished. David and the technical crews were on a plane next morning, bound for a post-production studio. Once they had the film in a rough cut, they would be looking for music to go with it.
The rest of us helped the costume girls pack, with a number of items being pushed our way as too recognisable to be in another film. They, and the make-up artists, left the day after, leaving just a few of us to make our own way home. Jack had headed to London with the technicians, and Kym and Kurt had left for their hide-away in Montpellier. The girls and I had no great plans, except to catch up with our friends and just hang out.
Actually, the more we thought about it, the less that stayed important. We decided to go to Tallahassee to check it out, while we were still able to walk the streets without being mobbed. Call it what you liked, but we retained the need to be sure of our facts before we committed to anything. Kym had left us the rough screenplay, so we would have a look at the area and see how the film would look. Tallahassee had been one place that none of us had ever flown to when we were working.
We booked a flight that took us to Los Angeles, and then another, two days later, to Tallahassee. I rang Roger to tell him what we were doing and promised to be home in a week or two. It wasn’t that I didn’t miss him, it was just that I had been much too busy, most of the time, to think about my own life. We didn’t fly with the old airline, so paid for business class. The Prince helped us book our hotels and told us that we would have a limo picking us up at L.A. By now, we all had received two months of salary in our banks and hadn’t needed to spend much while in Hawaii. It was a bit of a wrench to leave the island, but we had work to do.
We had all spent lay-over time in L.A. so knew those safe places to relax. One place we did know was a good spa, so had booked a full day session through the internet. The first evening we had a few drinks in a gay bar, and spent all of the next day being pampered, with my attachments removed to allow my chest to be looked at. Refreshed, and revitalised, we flew to Tallahassee the next day.
We were picked up by a limo from the Hotel Indigo, which was in College Town, so we could walk to see a lot of the places that Kym had set the film. I have to say that she had been right with the lovely buildings that would be in the background. Other places were a little strange, to us English girls. Whataburger and Flippin Great Pinball was not somewhere that I would have set a scene, but, when we looked at the screenplay, we could see where they fitted in.
I had got used to American food, and how they ate it, while we were in Hawaii, but the Madison Social American Restaurant was a little different. I found that the Madso Burger was more than I could finish. We also visited a Popeyes Louisiana outlet, to find that we hadn’t developed a taste for that much spice, just yet. I expect that, if we’re here for any time, I might get to finish one of their huge Spicy Truff Blackened Bacon and Cheese Chicken Sandwiches. Both places had been written in as sites where bodies are found.
When we had seen what we wanted to see, we flew back to New York, then flew, by our old airline, back to London. I had been away from Roger for about ten weeks, and our phone calls didn’t make up for his absence in my life. He was there, waiting for me when we cleared customs, to give me a kiss. We were all heading for our homes, so I hugged Cynthia, Moyra, Belle, and Wanda, and told them that I was looking forward to seeing them soon, and that we’ll be great in the next film. Roger then took control of one of my cases as he led me out to the waiting car.
It was nice to be home, again, but I noticed aspects that I wouldn’t have done so before. The litter, the graffiti, the need of some places to get a coat of paint. It was almost enough to bring me down off my high at being with Roger. What it did do, was to quieten me so that we could carry on a normal conversation. I had been bursting to tell him about the film, and then realised that he should see it, for himself. That occasion would be on the first, private, screening for insiders only.
The driver took us to my home and the boys took the cases up in the lift. When I opened the door, it struck me as being bland and uninteresting, at first, after the hotel rooms I had been in for nearly three months. Roger told the driver that he was off duty, as he would call for a cab once he had helped me settle in. I stood in my bedroom, with two unopened cases, and thought that this wasn’t where I would be coming home to, once the film had opened, if all the predictions came true.
Roger came in and stood behind me as I looked out of the window.
“You’re thinking that this is less than where you want to live, aren’t you?”
“How did you get to be a mind-reader?”
“Because I’ve seen it a few times, before, with other up-and-coming stars, both male and female. Once you’ve lived the high life for months, it’s hard to step back to the old reality.”
I turned around and kissed him, hard.
“That’s for being so understanding. What do you propose I do about it?”
“Leave it a few days for you to get over the feelings, then we can go and look at places that are more suited to your future lifestyle. Places which have in-house cleaning and concierge, a gym, and an office floor where you can call meetings. You don’t have to believe me, now, but it will come. You’ll get over the feeling that it’s all a bit shabby. Everywhere is shabby when you get back to it after a long time away, even the glitziest places.”
“Just my luck, I was looking for a lover and found a sage. Make sure that you keep me grounded, my darling. I felt a bit let down as the project ended, but the girls and I had some time at the setting of Kym’s project, and we think it will work. However, what I need, now, is to empty these cases and lay on my own bed for several hours; just to separate me from the past few months. I would love you to stay, but I’m about to droop and that isn’t a pretty sight.”
He grinned, told me that he would call the next day, kissed me again and then left the apartment. I stood, looking out the window for a while, and then started to giggle. The giggle became a laugh and, with the laughter, came tears. Tears of joy? Maybe, but it was something that released all the tensions of the film. Kym had advised me to let it go when I was alone.
“The project belongs to others, now. You’ll see what they’ve done with it later, but for now, you’ve done all you can.”
She was right, the next time I would see the product of my work would be at the first, private, showing. She had told me that a good cry would make me feel better, but I didn’t believe her until I finally washed my face and looked closely at my red-rimmed eyes. I did feel better, and the project was behind me, with just the future to come. I went and stripped off, cleansed my face, had a shower, put a nightie on, closed the curtains, and went to bed, leaving the cases where they stood.
Around four, next morning, I woke up with an insistent bladder. I was awake and no-one was likely to want me at this time, so I hauled one of the cases onto the bed, opened it, and started to put the clean things away, and adding the dirty things to the wash hamper, which was getting to the ‘must do’ state.
With one emptied, I put it behind my sofa, in the lounge, and worked on the other one. By the time I had that one behind the sofa, I was ready for a good breakfast. That organised and safely in my stomach, I cleaned up and went to have the first shower of the new me, to get me wide awake and ready to face whatever the day brought to my doorstep.
I dressed well, in jeans I had bought in Hawaii, and a top I had bought in L.A., my Anna sweater, and calf boots. I knew that I would feel the cold, this morning. I was doing my make-up when my phone buzzed. Roger asked me how I was feeling, and I told him that I felt fine. He said that he would pick me up in twenty minutes, and that he would take me to see my mother. I thanked him and asked him if it was all right with the office. He said that he had been told to take me there afterwards, as Horatio had some information for me, and that Jim wanted to take me for lunch. At least I wouldn’t have to nuke one of those quick meals.
I had kept in touch with Mum when I could, and knew that she had started divorce proceedings, with the help of Horatio. I had not received any news about my father in the time I had been away. I was downstairs, wrapped in my Burberry, when the Alfa pulled up. Roger got out and we kissed before he helped me get in. On the way to Mum’s, he quizzed me about how I was feeling, and I assured him that I was good.
At Mum’s, I discovered the one thing that she had neglected to tell me about, as the door was opened by a man I had never seen before. He greeted Roger, by name, and said that I must be Jamie. He introduced himself as Bert and ushered us in. Mum was in the kitchen with the kettle on. She came to me and gave me a hug. She was made-up and smelled nice. Bert helped me off with my coat and we sat down. Over the course of the next half hour, I found out that he was a widower, the caller at the bingo hall, about the same age as Mum, and they were living together. I could see that she was happier than I’d ever seen her, and it lifted a weight off my shoulders.
Bert had been a seaman and was a thoroughly nice man. When we left, I got hugs from both of them. I told them that they would get an invitation to a private screening of the film but didn’t know when it would be finished. In the car I asked Roger how long Bert had been around and why wasn’t I told.
“Your mother asked me not to say anything in case you worried. He’s been with her about a month. He had been living at the Mariners Hostel and is well known, and well liked, in the area. She’s happy, isn’t she?”
“She is, and I’m glad for her. Do you think that they’ll marry when the divorce comes through?”
“They haven’t said anything, but it’s likely. The thing with that operation and the divorce seems to have enabled her to start living again. She’s very proud of you, and the way you’ve taken to living as a woman. I think that it has enabled her to set you as removed from your father, which lets her distance herself from her marriage.”
“Not only a sage, but a mystic healer as well. Do you have any other qualities I haven’t seen?”
“Just the model husband and ideal father.” He grinned as he glanced at me.
We both laughed.
In the office, Horatio sat me down and took me through what had been paid into my bank, and also gave me a bottom line of what would be subtracted from the money I would earn from the gross. The amount staggered me, but it included the clothes I had ‘bought’, the spa and salon sessions, and agency costs, such as Roger’s time. There’s me thinking that he was doing it out of the kindness of his heart, or perhaps, love. He also told me that my father had been sent to a military prison before transferring to a normal prison for a period that could turn out to be life.
On the bright side, he ushered me into Jim’s office, who greeted me with a hug, and sat me on an easy chair next to the window.
“Julia, I have to tell you that David is extremely happy with your work. He has the feeling that this film will do even better than his acclaimed debut. Next Monday there will be a car to take you to the studio, where there are a few scenes from the airline sequences that he wants you in to overdub. He said something about when he added the sound that you hear, when flying, it drowns your voice. He could increase the volume but wants you to redo your lines a bit louder, as it would sound more realistic.”
“What about the others?”
“He said that they would just be turned up, but with you being a main character, he wanted total realism.”
“That’s all right. Did he say anything about the Hawaii shoots?”
“Not a lot, I think he’s trying to keep his enthusiasm in check. I believe that he and Irene are back together. Something about the ease that this film took making has slowed down his manic moods, allowing them to be able to relate more easily. Is it right that Kym did some directing?”
“A tiny bit, but a lot of the changes in the screenplay. She did say that she would get credited.”
“Oh, goodie. More money coming our way, and from a movie she doesn’t appear in.”
“Don’t laugh, but there’s a few scenes where she snuck behind the extras, and no-one noticed. I think that she wanted to tell Kurt that she appears in his film, so he should appear in her next one. I’ve seen the draft screenplay and there’s a part in it that’s written for him, seeing that she wrote it.”
“She’s shown you, has she. Do tell Uncle Jim the rest.”
“It is a dark plot that creeps up on you; one of those where they’ll ask you not to tell the end. Kym, with me and the girls, are members of society who are really part of a witches coven. There’s a lot of blood and gore, and some interesting ways to die. Before the detective tracks down the culprits, however unlikely they seem, the body count would alarm a five-star general. When I read her notes on the last scene, I took it to mean that she has a sequel in mind.”
“So, the other stewardesses are already pencilled in?”
“Looks like it. We took a couple of days looking at where she’s setting it on the way home, and I think that it will work magnificently.”
“That’s something you won’t be able to do when this one hits the screen.”
“That’s why we did it now. When I arrived home, I felt that I needed somewhere else to live. Roger suggested a classy place with security and a gym, but I’ve never considered living in a place like that, so have no idea of how to go about it.”
“I’ll put one of the staff on to that for you. They love inspecting upper class residences. You’ll need one in the US as well if you do much work there. It will be needed for you to pay the proper taxes. I have four places around the world, all with a full wardrobe of clothing. It saves you carrying so much luggage.”
Now, that was something I hadn’t thought about. Up to now, I had to make do with the one place and the one, admittedly bulging, wardrobe. All of a sudden, the idea had merit. His next statement stopped me in my tracks.
“There will be, so David tells me, a private viewing of the film to the cast and crew only, to see how you like it, and see if you have any tweaks that you can suggest. The airline owner has been on to him about hosting the press viewing. His idea is for you all to take a flight, out to Monaco, watching the film on the way, and coming back after a lunch there. He was blown away with you girls in the company uniform and wants you to be cabin crew on the way out, along with some of your old friends. He’ll put up gifts to be auctioned for charity on the way back, with you stars leading on the bidders.”
“Jim, you have no idea how bizarre that sounds at the moment. If he had any idea how hard it is to look after passengers, he would have not even thought of it. I suppose that we’ll all have to be in high heels so that we’re ready for the photo-shoot. It could be a giggle, though, when the members of the press get pie-eyed on the booze. They may even write a good review, if they remember anything.”
He took me to lunch, and we spoke about my stellar future as if it was a given. I still couldn’t get my head around what it means to have star status, because all of the stars I knew seemed like normal people.
I hailed a cab to take me to my salon, to make an appointment for a long session. They told me that they could fit me in. They went over my body with a fine laser beam, ridding me of any tiny hairs that dared to make an appearance. They took away the old breasts and replaced them with a pair that matched the new, slightly tanned, skin colour. I took a cab home, nuked one of the quick meals and had an early night.
Over the next few days, I didn’t hear from Roger, and I made use of all the athletic clothes I’d bought, going for long walks, and feeling a lot better for it by the Monday. In the car, the driver was chatty, and told me that there was a lot of excitement at the studio, something about a new film.
When I walked in, it was a buzz of activity. Cecil saw me and came over to give me a hug.
“Julia, darling. This film is shaping up to be the best one I’ve worked on. It may get me an Oscar for the cinematography. I know that the bits we shot were good, but David is absolutely brilliant at putting it together. We’ve got it about two-thirds finished, and he’s being meticulous. Today, we’ll start you in a sound booth reworking some of the in-plane scenes to lift your voice above the background noise. Any other producer would have lowered the volume of it, but he’s aiming at total realism to match how authentic you girls were.”
“How was the arrival scene at Hawaii?”
“That was great. The background airport noises really make it correct, and the echo on the airbridge adds to the atmosphere. I would never have tried that as a single shot before, even with the three cameras.”
He led me to the sound booth where I spent two hours, respeaking my lines while watching the scene on a screen, with headphones on so I could hear everything else. I could tell that the background was right, something we hadn’t factored in when we did the original takes. We all stopped for a catered lunch, and Jack joined me, that afternoon, to add his louder voice.
In between takes, we talked about the likely flight, and he thought that it would be a hoot. If worked right, it would be a big advertisement for the film and might improve the first weekend takings. He said that he had heard that it would have the premiere in London, with another in New York the following week. After that, he told me, it’s absolute mayhem for about a month, depending on how it’s received. He said that the press hound you if it’s a hit and hound you even more if it bombs.
As we spoke about the likely future, we got more friendly than we had been before. I almost stopped to pinch myself, here I was, talking to a famous film star as if we had been old school friends. It made me think about how I would be if I became famous, whether I’d be able to maintain my pleasant demeanour. After we finished the scenes that were scheduled, he took me to dinner, in the city, where I met his wife.
Lisa was a lovely person, and was a very successful lawyer, mainly corporate work, with some pro-bono with homeless shelters and women’s refuges. She told me that Jack had told her all about me, and how I came to be in the film, but hadn’t told her much about the film or its plot. It was a nice meal, and I realised how privileged I was to be eating with them. When we finished, we had hugs, in public, and I went outside to get a cab to go home.
Over the week, I was in the studio, reworking scenes, and it all went well. While I was there, I got to see some of the scenes that I hadn’t been involved in. David showed me the car chase, with two cabs, driven by two American stand-up comediennes. Both were well known for their sassy self-depreciation and wit. The scene went on after both Kurt and Jack had left the scene. The two women ad-libbed for a good two or three minutes, and it was hilarious. David confided that they had never worked together before, so our film would be a first outing for them.
I was being drawn into the inner workings of post-production over the next few weeks and had seen a lot more of the finished product when David rang to ask me if I was available for a day. He had enough of the film to give it to a composer for the music, and there was going to be a recording session at the studio. When I was driven there, I found Kurt, Kym, Jack, and my old friends. David wanted us to be part of the session, to point out any bits that we didn’t agree with.
We were each given some papers on clipboards and a biro, then we were sat on a raised dais that was normally used to place cameras. We could look over the orchestra to a large screen. They had already rehearsed the various parts, but David wanted the recording to be a single take, in sync with the film, to save time. He had told me that he had already pencilled in a date for the private screening and the launch flight, with the premiere already booked.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 10
So, we had our first viewing of the complete film as the orchestra played along with it. I don’t know about the others, as my eyes never left the screen, but I was entranced with the music adding a whole new level of atmosphere. We were professional enough not to make a sound until the recording engineer put his hand up, and then we all stood and applauded the orchestra. David, with Irene beside him, looked totally washed out, with this being the culmination of nearly a year for him.
We had a group hug and Kym remarked that she hardly ever watched Kurt’s films, but this one took the cake.
“Especially the scenes with me in it”
“But you’re not in the film, darling.”
“You wanna bet, hubby of mine. I knew where I was and I could see myself, plain as day. Isn’t that right, Julia?”
“That’s so, Kym. I saw you because I knew where you’d be. It will be one for your fans to pick up on a ‘Where’s Wally’ added to the film.”
While we were all together, David took us for lunch to discuss what we’d seen and go through our suggestions. We all had blank sheets and none of us would change a second of it. We all congratulated him on his next blockbuster, and he visibly relaxed, Irene smiling at us as she hugged him. The private screening for the cast and crew was set for two weeks’ time, at one of the nearby cinemas, in the morning, so as not to mess with their normal screenings. It wasn’t a premiere, so we were told to dress casually.
Over the weeks, I had only seen Roger spasmodically, as he had been busy, and I could feel a coolness in his attitude. We didn’t kiss like we did before. I discovered the reason behind that when we had the private viewing, and he turned up with the actress that he had helped in Paris, all that time ago. I took that as a definite ending of our relationship. I have to admit that when I cried, along with half the audience, I was doing it for myself. The film was as good the second time around, and Jim was bountiful in his praise of it, and everyone in it. I think he had just seen his next house, somewhere in the world.
The week after that, we had the much-vaunted flight to get over. The girls were keen to wear the uniform in front of the owner and were treating it as another piece of playacting. I wasn’t so sure but went along with the madness. When we were leaving the private screening, tickets were being handed out. I thought that I’d pick up a couple, for Mum and Bert, but then had a wicked thought and picked up a dozen.
There used to be a bunch of old schoolfriends that I’d have a drink with when we left school, and while I was working as Jamie, before the flying excess incident. I hadn’t seen them for close to six months. I had my driver drop me near the pub where we’d start the evening, my dress being casual enough not to make me stand out against other girls that would be there. I walked in to see them at the usual table, noticing that I hadn’t been replaced. Saturday was strictly men-only for the first part, with those with girlfriends leaving after the one drink to do their duty. Often, it would end with just Jeff and I, with me relating some of the funny things from the flights, having a couple more before heading off to get a kebab.
I walked up to the table, and sat down, much to their amazement.
“Good evening lads, you’re just like Jamie described. He says that he’s very sorry that he hasn’t seen you, lately, but he’s been very busy. I’m Julia Leigh, by the way.”
Jeff was the first to get his act together.
“Yeah, we’ve missed him, and his stories.”
Larry laughed.
“You mean that you’ve missed him, Jeff. I always thought that you two could have been bum buddies. Oops, miss, excuse the French.”
“No problems, Larry. Jamie is on a special flight next Saturday, and he asked me if I would see you and offer you some tickets. It’s a private screening of a new film and will leave Gatwick at about ten. It will land near Monaco, so you’ll need your passports if you want to have lunch. It will come back to Gatwick for about seven, which will give you time to get back here for your usual Saturday pint. Now, I have exactly ten tickets, so you can take your girlfriends. You can tell them that Kurt Andreessen and his wife Kym will be on board, along with Jack Fellows. I’m sure they’ll be out buying a special outfit before you get the words out of your mouths.”
Three of them took two tickets each, but Jeff only took one. Larry looked a bit sheepish and asked if he could take the three, so that he could take his mother and father. I smiled as I passed them over.
“That’s lovely, it will be a wonderful experience for them. I’ll have my mother there, along with her toyboy.”
We talked for a while and the others stood to go. They thanked me for the tickets, and I told them I’d see them on Saturday, and that I’d be working as cabin crew. Jeff finished his drink, looked me in the eyes and grinned.
“I guess you don’t drink Guiness anymore. White wine do?”
“What did I do?”
“You knew us all, and you called Larry by his name. I think that there’s an interesting story of how you’ve arrived at this table, looking like a film star. But, there again, you are one, aren’t you. I’ve been peeking at my sisters gossip magazines and you’ve had several pictures in it, looking like a million quid.”
“A dry white’s all right. I think that I can tell you all about it. I don’t think the others twigged.”
When he came back with the drinks, he indicated that we should move to the snug, where there was a spare booth. When we were sitting, he lifted his glass to me.
“To you, Jamie. You were always the quiet one with a fabulous job. And now you’re almost famous with a story that might last us longer than usual. Do you still like kebabs?”
“Jeff, you have no idea what foods I’ve had in the last six months. Some that are impossible to describe but tasted great. I spent nearly three months in Hawaii, shooting my debut movie, which will be shown on the plane next week, on the way to Monaco. This pub has a good menu which we never bothered with. How about I order us something and we can sit here to talk, rather than that old wall.”
“The old wall fell down, you have to stand to eat, now.”
“Even more reason to stay here. What do you like off the board, my treat.”
He chose what he wanted, and I went up to the counter to order, paying with my card. I also added another drink each, to come out with the meals. While we waited, we talked like old days, and I related the excess beer incident and how I ended up having to wear a dress for the rest of the flight. He was laughing and I realised that it was almost out of a comedy, like ‘Flying High’ meets ‘Some like it Hot’.
I had always enjoyed our talks, and tonight was no exception. We had empty glasses when two more came out with our meals. We didn’t talk much as we ate, and then we sat back after clearing our plates.
“That was great, Jamie. I never realised that they were so good.”
“Actually, Jeff; I’m now officially Julia Leigh, so you’d better stop calling me Jamie.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how close are you to really being Julia.”
I laughed.
“Jeff, I still have everything that I had before, with some other bits stuck on. I’m planning some serious work before we start the next film. I’ve been well disguised by the best bits of latex that money can buy, but my hair’s my own.”
That cracked him up. When he settled down, he became maudlin.
“I guess that this is the only time that I’ll see you, like this. I’m sure that you’ll be hob-knobbing with the other stars in romantic places once this film is released.”
“It’s nothing like that, usually. I’ve sat having a meal with Jack Fellows and his wife, and the only difference between there and now was that we had better clothes on, and the meal cost a good fifty times more than this one did. As far as people are concerned, we are just that, people. Now, tell me. Why didn’t you want the second ticket?”
“It’s odd, Julia. I can’t seem to get a regular girlfriend, and they only last a couple of dates. Some have even told me that being out with me was like an evening with their girlfriends, only not as much fun.”
“That’s why we get on so well, together. We both have a strong feminine side, one which I didn’t know I had before I was wearing a dress. With you, you’re kind, warm-hearted and you think a lot about how you should react. With those girls, you couldn’t be a he-man, because that’s not who you are. I’ve realised that this is what I like about you.”
“You like me?”
“I’ve always liked you, Jeff. It’s just that now I’m sitting here in sexy underwear and make-up I see you through different eyes. How about I pick you up, tomorrow. I’ve still got my old car. We can go down to watch the water, I know a great seafood place in Whitstable where we can have lunch. It will be good for me to relax; I’ve got a busy week coming up.”
When we left the pub, we walked along the road as we always did, and it felt right. At the kebab stall I saw a bunch of guys standing around eating, then we walked on towards his place. At his door, he asked me how I was getting home, so I rang the cab service we used and told them the address. They said they would be with me in five minutes. That done, I licked my lips as I put the phone in my bag.
“Five minutes, Jeff. Do you mind keeping guard until he turns up?”
I could see him coming round to something he had never thought about. Here he was, standing outside his door with me, his friend for a long time, one that knew his secrets as much as he knew mine. He gulped as I took the initiative and kissed him, lightly. He put his arms around me, and we kissed, properly, until the cab driver beeped his horn. We broke away from each other and he held the door as I got in the back, telling him that I’ll be outside at ten.
At home, I was humming old pop songs as I undressed, cleansed, and went to bed. In the morning, I made sure that I dressed in my favourite blue Hawaii dress, with thicker nude tights, and had my Burberry coat to keep the cold out. As I warmed up the car, I tuned to a light music station, singing along with the songs as I drove to pick up Jeff. When I arrived, he beckoned for me to come in, where I met up with his mother.
I had known both parents when I was at school, but she had no idea who I was now. She told us to have fun, and it looked like she thought I was his girlfriend. Friend, yes, but girlfriend? We were at ease as I drove south, and then east. I had suggested that we have a look at Canterbury, as it could be a relaxing time. I had no idea of the throngs and the different languages spoken. We did get in and was strolling in the lowest level, when I saw a couple of people I knew.
I steered Jeff closer until a big guy told us to stay clear. His voice made Kym look over.
“Stand down, Brutus, that’s the leading lady of my next film.”
The guy then smiled and beckoned us through.
“Hello Kym. Brutus?”
“His name is Harrison, but I call him Brutus when he’s looking out for us. Who’s this young lad, then?”
“Kym, this is Jeff. We’ve known each other since school. Jeff, by the look on your face, I think you know who this is.”
He gulped and the held his hand out, tentatively.
“Miss Kym, I found out, last night, that Julia was in the movie industry, but I never thought I’d be meeting the mad murderer from ‘Blood on the Rocks’. I dreamed about you, that night, and fell out of bed.”
She took his hand and pulled him into a hug.
“Welcome to the madhouse, Jeff. Any friend of Julia is a friend of mine. Especially one who has known her for so long. Kurt’s around, somewhere. I’m looking for backdrops for the film after Tallahassee.”
I thought about the final scene of the next film, and then started laughing.
“Kym, that’s terrible. Nuns, for god’s sake!”
“Why not? They go from aristocratic society ladies to members of the Sisters of the Great Angel. You haven’t heard that, Jeff. It’s something that Julia and I will be working on, in a couple of years’ time.”
Kurt came around the corner.
“I thought it was Julia I heard laughing. Hello there.”
He gave me a hug, and then turned to Jeff.
“Hello, young man, I’m Kurt. You’ve met my wife already. It’s that pasty look on your face, she does have that effect on unsuspecting fans.”
“Hello, -um- Kurt. I’m Jeff and I’m with Julia.”
“How is it that Julia knows so many good-looking guys. Don’t you think this lad would be great as an extra, darling. He’s ordinary enough to be made into any number of bit parts.”
“If he’s got some time to spare, hubby dear, I already thought that he would be ideal for one of the bodies, I thought the one found in Whataburger.”
I laughed.
“Enough, already. You’re not nicking my pal on a whim. He may not want to join the merry band of idiots.”
“He knows you, Julia. He’s already part of the band. We just need to give him an instrument to play.”
“Just take it easy, Kym. You don’t want to frighten him off. What are you doing when you leave here?”
“Roger told us about a fish place that his father runs, we thought we might give it a go.”
“That’s where we were going for lunch, Roger took me there, once. Luigi is a lovely man and a great fish chef.”
“We’ll meet you there then. Say about one? I still have a lot I want to look at, here. I’m looking forward to all your gossip on the young Julia, Jeff.”
I gave them both a hug, and they gave Jeff a hug. Then I took Jeff’s hand and pulled him away so they could finish the job that they had set themselves. He was quiet for a while, and then started talking normally.
“Did you know they’d be here?”
“No, it’s pure coincidence. Now, I want to see the shrine to Thomas, and we’ll go to Whitstable and watch the water until it’s lunch time.”
At Whitstable, I parked the car and we sat in a shelter, looking at the Thames Estuary. It wasn’t the hottest day, so he had his overcoat, and I was in my Burberry, so there wasn’t a lot of intimacy as we sat, his arm around my shoulders.
“Julia, who else will I meet, next week?”
“Well, there’ll be me, Belle, Moyra, and Wanda working as cabin crew, along with another four real stewardesses. Cynthia used to be cabin crew, but she plays the part of the co-pilot, so will likely be spending some time alongside Kurt, who plays the Captain, and my love interest. There’s my agent and some of his staff. Then there’ll be the owner of the airline and some of his people. The media will be there for the free drinks, then there will be families and friends. You’ll meet Kurt and Kym, Jack Fellows, and his wife, then there’s likely to be a lot of other actors you’ve seen on the screen. We must have had a dozen or more with us in Hawaii. We’ll try to get you sat with the other guys. I’ll be up front for a bit, then down the back before we land.”
“Who’s this Roger?”
“Roger is a very nice guy who helped me a lot in my early days. We thought that there may be something between us. What happened was what I still retain came between us. He needed a real girl, so found one. We never got beyond a little kissing as I held back. He’s the manager of the London office of the agency, so will still be part of my future, but as a friend.”
“Like me?”
“You’re more than a friend, Jeff. We’ve been mates for a long time and I’m comfortable with you, almost like a married couple, already. We remember things that are pre-Julia. It’s similar with me and the other girls that gave me the make-over so I could continue the flight. This afternoon I’ll take you to say hello to Mum, and Bert, her bingo caller partner. I still have to give them their tickets.”
“What about your father, he was flying with the airline?”
“Not anymore. He had done some pretty bad things while he was in the RAF and is presently in a Military prison. Don’t spread that around, it was all sorted out behind closed doors.”
“It’s weird, this. Yesterday I was just hanging out, today I’m having lunch with two of the biggest stars in the business,”
I gave him a playful punch on the arm.
“Hey, what about me. Stay in my good books and I’ll let you walk me down the red carpet at the Oscars.”
He smiled, then pulled me close to give me a kiss. It felt good, I felt that I was actually wanted by him. Just about every kiss I’d had up to now had been nice, even sexy, but there had been no true intimacy in them. As we kissed, I realised what love feels like.
We sat some more and contemplated what had just happened. Then we got up and walked to the restaurant. We were the first there, and Luigi welcomed me with a hug and double cheek kiss.
“Julia, so lovely to see you again. Roger brought some bimbo in, and I thought that you wouldn’t be back.”
“Wild horses wouldn’t keep me away from the best fish in the country. This is Jeff, a friend since schooldays. Can you give us a table for six, please, we’ll be joined by a couple of friends and their minders.”
“Minders, are they from the madhouse?”
“Movie madhouse. You’ll know them when you see them.”
He guided us to a big table by the window, took our coats and asked us what we would like to drink. We ordered and Jeff still looked worried.
“Don’t look worried, Jeff. You saw, this morning, that they’re nice people.”
“It’s not that, so much. I’m trying to get my head around the fact that I now realise I had a crush on you since school, but never showed it for fear of being outed. Can you forgive me?”
“Nothing to forgive. We’ve been friends and there had to have been something deeper, the way we got on together. Now, you’re a boy, and I’m almost a girl, so there’s no thought of being gay in my mind. I’ve spoken to my agent, who can organise anything, and he’s got me into hospital in the period between the premiere and starting the next film. He told me that I would have the money to fund the operation as a private patient.”
“That would have to be expensive.”
“Jeff, my monthly salary is enough to call myself well-off. I’m on a percentage of the gross, so, if this film makes an expected fifty million at the box office, I will earn about one point five, less what I owe on my account at the agency.”
“How long will that take?”
“That’s what it’s likely to earn in the first weekend. After that, who knows. I’ll get some out of any DVD sales, merchandise, and anything else they sell regarding the film. The thing is that my salary is paid by David, the director, for this film only. I’ll still have to be employed for future movies. Kym has a guy who does most of her films, so he’ll have to agree with her that I’m going to be in her next two projects. Who knows, you may be on the set with me if you get to play some bit parts and a body.”
There was a commotion at the door, and we looked up to see Luigi greeting Kym and Kurt. Harrison was looking around the room in case there was any dangerous people eating oysters, saw us and pointed our way. Luigi brought them to our table. Kym and Kurt sat close to us, Harrison, and the driver at the other end.
Luigi took the drinks order, offered the menu, with a flourish, then smiled.
“My no-good son never brought a star here until he brought Julia, and now she has brought you wonderful people to my humble restaurant. If you would consent to a picture, to go on my wall, anything you order is on the house.”
Kym and Kurt agreed that it was a nice idea and ordered three of the platters for two. I’d seen someone order that, when I was here with Roger, and it was a humungous plate of different seafoods, with two bowls of the sweet potato chips. Kurt opened the discussion.
“So, Jeff, what do you do for a crust. Nothing you can’t leave to join our band of layabouts, I hope?”
“I’m just a worker in the supermarket, Kurt. I pack shelves and move boxes around, and, if I’m really lucky, I get to carry bags out to cars for nice ladies who may give me a smile.”
“You sound like our kind of guy. What do you think, darling? Do we invite him into the madhouse?”
Kym looked at me, and I winked, so that Jeff couldn’t see it.
“I think he’ll be perfect, hubby. We can put him on the payroll, starting today. I’ll speak to Stan to get it moving when we’re next with him. What do you say, Jeff. Stay at the supermarket or join us in the meat market that’s the movie business. Who knows, you may end up with a lot of those nice ladies throwing themselves at your feet.”
“If you want me to work with you, I’m your man!”
“Right. Now, Julia, we haven’t discussed payment, before. My director will be on the flight, on Saturday. He just needs to see you and the girls act before he gives us the green light. If he does say it’s a go, he’ll organise the money for the film. I’ve shown him the screenplay of the first one and told him my ideas of the second. You, and the girls are certain starters. Jeff is, as well, watching him has given me an idea about one of the policemen, a constable, of course. We work in a different way to David, in that my producer can get the funds to pay us a lump sum for our inclusion, rather than the salary you’ve been getting.”
“I was telling Jeff about that arrangement before you arrived. How does that differ?”
“Well, you did well by getting a percentage for this film. We just got an up-front payment. With the next film you won’t get a percentage, but, if it’s a hit, your up-front payment for the following one goes up. From there on, what you earn is entirely dependent on how good you are.”
“I’m asking this for Jeff. If he’s playing a small speaking part, is he salary or a single payment?”
“For the part that I have in mind, he’ll be all expenses paid on the set, and he’ll start off with a quarter of a million, US, in his pocket. He has to pass the screen test first, though.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 11
When she said that, I knew what the part was. There was a lower rank police officer who is friendly with my daughter, and he learns enough to be needed to be killed. It would have him, on set, until fairly late in the shooting, and will be in a lot of scenes with Kurt. As an unknown, he would have to be good. The screenplay has his death the trigger for the unravelling of the coven.
“That’s a big part, Kym, for very little money.”
“You have read the screenplay, haven’t you? What would you think he’s worth if he passes the test?”
“I think that double will be good, and we can set a test up at the studio, this week, I’ll pay for it, if need be.”
“That’s a deal. Set it up for Wednesday and I’ll get my camera and sound guys in to run it, you can book the studio time. One of the small stages would be good. Can you school him on his last scene, with hubby? If he nails that one, he’ll be worth every cent.”
“That’s the one I was thinking about. We can head for the studio on the way back and I’ll see if I can book that stage for the week. All right if I photocopy the pages he’ll need to work with?”
The meals came out and they were big enough to need our full attention. I stayed off the alcohol, along with Benny, the driver, but the others all had a few. I think that Jeff was trying to numb his nerves, sitting here, and chatting with movie stars as if they were mates at the pub. By the time we sat for the photo, it was if we were all mates at the pub. I sat, next to Kym, and Jeff and Kurt stood behind us. Luigi had called a friend, the photographer for the local paper, who asked us why we were in town and hardly believed us when we told him it was purely for Luigi’s cooking.
Jeff was quiet, for a while, on the way back to the city. Then he turned to me with a smile on his face.
“What do I do, now, Julia?”
“Now, my friend, you take your phone and ring your work, they are a seven-day place, aren’t they? You tell them that you have a family emergency and need the week off. Then we go to the studio, and I’ll book us a sound stage and I show you around. Then I take you to see Mum, and then I take you home. Monday, I’ll pick you up and we go to the studio, where I’ll copy the pages you’ll need, and I’ll play Kurt while we do the scene until you nail it. We’ve got until Wednesday.”
“What if I don’t nail it?”
“Then you go back to work, and nothing is changed. Don’t worry, I remember you in a couple of school plays, and you were brilliant.”
“I remember you telling me that, at the time. It made me feel so proud, then. They weren’t like playing opposite Kurt, though. He’s really friendly, is he like that to everyone?”
“Only to the ones he likes, and also the ones he may not like, but are good actors. I think you’re in the first category, Wednesday will see you in the second bit of the second category.”
Jeff made his call and got the time off. At the studio, I parked near the offices and went to see whoever was in charge today. Like the supermarket, this place was open all hours. I was able to book a small sound stage to be reserved for Julia Leigh, for the three days. I then showed Jeff around the place. He was amazed at the complexity of the set-ups, the high technology of the post-production suites, and stood, gob-smacked as we watched some of his favourite TV stars working through a scene from their long-running series.
One of them had worked with us as the Flight Engineer and came over when they had a break.
“Hello, Julia, what are you doing here? I thought you’d finished the film. I’m on the flight, Saturday, and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product. I couldn’t get to the showing yesterday.”
“I’ve just booked a sound stage, Eric. Jeff is going to work through a scene that he may have with Kurt. It’s for Kym’s next film. We’ll be doing the screen test on Wednesday.”
He looked at Jeff and reached out his hand to shake.
“Welcome to the madhouse, Jeff. I’m sure you’ve heard that one, before. This job is a lot of glamour but needs a lot of work and dedication to make it happen. What experience have you had?”
“Other than school plays, none, Eric.”
“That’s good, no bad habits to overcome. Julia, if you want, I can come in and play Kurt while Jeff gets the lines. Is it a long piece?”
“It’s about six minutes, but is an integral part of the film, that breaks open the mystery later on.”
“Fantastic, a really meaty lump of a scene. Together, we’ll get Jeff up to speed or die in the attempt. See you both around nine, on Monday?”
He went back to the set, to shoot the seventh take, the director being a perfectionist. We went back to the car.
“Julia; today is getting so I think I must be dreaming. I’ve had lunch with two of the biggest screen stars in the country, and now I’ll watch Eric solve a sticky murder mystery tonight. Tomorrow, he’s going to take the time to school me for the screen test. Are they all so friendly?”
“Not all of them, but Eric is old school. He is happy to bring new talent to the screen. If he’s happy, you might find yourself in his series one day. Knowing that director, you’ll find that very hard work. Eric told me, while we were in Hawaii, that it sometimes takes fifteen repetitions of a scene before they call it a wrap. But that’s all tomorrow. Now we see Mum.”
When we went to see Mum, she sat us in the kitchen and put the kettle on. It was so far removed from our lunch; it almost made me giggle.
“You seem happy, Jamie. It’s nice to see you, Jeff, it’s been a long time.”
“It has, Mrs. Curtis. It’s good to see you so happy, yourself. Last time you came into the supermarket, you looked very down.”
“I had some rough times, Jeff, but they’re all behind me, now. Bert will be home soon, for his tea, he’s setting up for tonight and the bingo. Now, you look as if you want to tell me something. Are you two engaged?”
“Don’t be hasty, Mum, we only just caught up with each other yesterday. No, there’s two things that you should know. The first is that I’ve changed my name, by deed poll, to Julia Leigh Curtis. That’s Leigh with the ‘igh’. I’ve dropped the Curtis bit for my stage name. I have an equity card as Julia Leigh, and a new passport and licence, as well. The second part is that we’re having a flight on Saturday, to Monaco, with my new film being the inflight movie on the way there. I have a ticket for both of you. You’ll need your passports, as we’re going into the city for lunch. It’s the airline I used to fly with, and my old boss is putting the lunch on. It should be fun.”
“So, nice dress for me and a suit for Bert?”
“Whatever he’s got. It will be warm when we get there, and in the plane, so just a jacket would be all right, he can put a coat in the overhead if he brings one. Here’s the tickets.”
“Who else will be on the plane?”
“All the stars from the film, plus a few of their friends. I’ll be playing the part of cabin crew, on the way out. When you see the film, you’ll see why. You’ll need to get to Gatwick by eight-thirty. I’ll organise a car for you.”
“That’s kind of you, dear, but you needn’t go to that expense.”
“It’s all right, Mum. You’re my guests and the guests of the leading lady don’t turn up for a private screening on the bus. It will be with you around seven-thirty, Saturday morning.”
We drank the tea and chatted for a while, until Bert came in and was introduced to Jeff. He was shown the tickets and instructed to have a haircut during the week. I drove us towards our homes, stopping at my place first, where I nuked two instant meals, which we ate at the kitchen table. Then we watched Eric solve another unsolvable murder mystery together, snuggled on my sofa and kissing during the adverts. I took him home and we kissed before he got out of the car.
I went home and tidied up the lounge, wondering at where this was all going. For the first time, in a long time, I felt settled and able to express myself better. I had been on edge for the last four months, wondering if I was doing well. With Jeff’s acceptance of me, as I am now, and as I will be later, I knew that I could go through any hard times to come.
After a good sleep, I wore one of my good dresses to take Jeff to the studio. All I had to do, for the next three days, is to look my best and add my input if needed. Jeff had worked hard on his own looks this morning. I think the prospect of spending all day with one of his heroes could be the impetus he needed to get out the supermarket mindset. At the studio we met Eric, and I told them which sound stage we had use of, and to get their voices loose, as they would need them working well. I went into the office and used the copier to run off two copies of the pages. I highlighted each set of lines in different colours.
At the sound stage, they were making the sounds that made sure the airways were clear. Eric had done this millions of times, but it was a first for Jeff. When they had finished, I sat them down and gave each of them a copy of the screenplay.
“Right, this is the screen test. Jeff, your lines are highlighted in yellow, Eric, you take the pink. The basis of the story is that there are thirteen matriarchs of thirteen aristocratic families, living in Tallahassee. They are also members of a witches coven, but you don’t get to find out until very late in the film. Jeff, your part is a low-rank policeman, who is the boyfriend of my daughter, and you have deduced enough of the mystery to bring it to your boss, who will be Kurt. You outline your ideas in this scene, and Kurt refuses to listen to you, being very friendly with our families and dependant on our sponsorship to be elected as the police chief. Later, in the film, he sees that you could have been right, and solves the case. It's too late for your character, as you have become just another body by this time.”
I waited until they had both read through the lines, Eric going through a second time, with it obvious he was getting into character and putting himself into the storyline. He looked at me.
“Julia, this is brilliant. I can see it in my mind. Who wrote this?”
“Keep it to yourself, Eric. That was written by Kym, and the film will have her doing a lot of direction as well as being the head witch.”
“I teach at RADA, and this is something I could use as the finals for my male actors.”
“She’ll be here on Wednesday, with her camera and sound guys. You can ask her, then. She also did a lot of the rewrites for our film. Now, I’ll leave you boys to get this on the road, I have some organising to do for Saturday.”
I went off to book cars for Mum and myself to be picked up at seven-thirty on Saturday. I then went to see if David was around, finding him in his office. I asked him about the events on Saturday and he gave me a sheet with all the timings on it. I could see that me and the girls would be changing in the crew quarters at Gatwick, so needed normal clothing that matched black tights to arrive in. I was surprised to see that we would be changing in Monaco, with outfits supplied by a good fashion house, which we would keep when we got back. There had to be a link in there somewhere, and I expressed that thought to David.
“You’re absolutely right, Julia. The link is the next film that Kym is working on. I believe that all the main females will be outfitted in his fashions. I think that he wants to get a picture of you all, before you take off, to have in his outlets. Jim has that sheet, so you’ll be contacted by his office, during the week. I may have another project to talk to you about in a few months. I believe that you’ll be working with Kym for a while, but I hope that you can fit me in between her films. No-one has told me what they’re about, yet.”
“You’re not going to get that out of me either, David. You may be able to wheedle it out of her director. He’ll be flying with us. I’ll be happy to work with you, again, if you want me to. The last few months have been great fun, and very satisfying. Thank you for taking the chance with me.”
I went back to the sound stage, where the two of them were sitting with bottles of water, sweat on their brows. Eric grinned as I walked in.
“I’ve got to hand it to you, Julia. This man is good, but that scene is something to write home about. We’ve been going at each other, hammer-and-tongs, and have just got to the point where we should be able to do it without needing the script. Give us a few minutes to cool down, and then we’ll show you where we are.”
I looked at Jeff, who seemed wrung-out but extremely happy. I busied myself to let them get their breath back. Eric tapped Jeff on the shoulder.
“Ready for another bout, son?”
“Yes, dad.” Jeff smiled.
Eric went over to a chair, which stood for his office chair in the scene. Jeff rapped on a table and Eric called out “Come in” to start the dialogue. I sat and watched as Jeff went from a docile junior officer to a shouting man who knows he’s right. Eric went from a kindly police chief to a man, with his own agenda, who didn’t believe him, and knew he was right as well. The scene ends with Eric telling Jeff to get out of the office and go back to work, with Jeff storming out of shot.
It was well done, it was powerful, and it gave me an idea.
“OK, guys. I think that you’ve done enough for today. I’m going to see if we can get the set furnished for tomorrow, and we’ll run through it a couple of times. Why don’t the two of you go for a cold shower while I do that, and I’ll meet you in the canteen.” I left them to it and went off to see David, again.
“David, I’m giving you a chance to see a scene from Kym’s film tomorrow, if you promise to keep it to yourself. We’ve just been rehearsing a screen test for an old school chum of mine, who has already met Kurt and Kym. I need a camera and sound man, and some minimal set building. Can you help? My friend is good, and I mean, really good. If we can get the set done for tomorrow, I’d like to run it through before Kym and Kurt get here on Wednesday, with their own crew.”
“That sounds good, Julia. I’ll meet you on the set, after lunch, with Cecil and the set foreman, so you can explain what you’re after. That way, you can do the test tomorrow, and I can gauge it for myself.”
When the guys came into the canteen, they looked much better. We had a good lunch, as the place ran twenty-four-seven and catered to people who knew good food. When we had a cup of coffee, I told them my cunning plan.
“Jeff, we’re meeting David, Cecil, and the set foreman this afternoon, on the set. I’m going to ask for them to give us a proper desk and chairs, and a free-standing door, so you can get more realism. I’ve told David that we’re going to let Cecil run a screen test, tomorrow, before Kym gets here. That means that not only will David be able to gauge your skills, but he will also be able to see what a great actor Eric is. What you showed me, this morning, was excellent from both of you. I know that David is looking at a new project, and this may give you a place in it, before anyone else gets a look-in.”
Eric laughed and put a hand on my arm.
“You’re priceless, Julia, almost Machiavellian. I wanted to do Shakespeare when I first started, but realised early on that I hated the constant repetition every night. TV was a lot better, always something different, but I’ve never had the chance to get a really good part in a film. I’m getting to the point where I may not be employable. There’s talk in the sets of the serial that the producers are going to replace me. I wouldn’t mind, working with that bloody dog brings me up in spots, every time I have to do a scene with it. I’ve been ready to give it a kick, sometimes.”
Jeff cut in with the perfect voice of the current sergeant, “Don’t kick the dog, Guv. It’s done you no harm.”
We all had a chuckle and went to David’s office to tell him we were heading to the sound stage. There, I told the foreman what we wanted, and explained the basic dynamics of the scene to Cecil. He said he would use three cameras.
The three of us had a group hug and Eric said that he was looking forward to the morning. We told Cecil that I wanted the boys to do a run-through before the actual test, so that they made sure they had the words. I also whispered that he gets there about twenty minutes earlier than I was going to tell David.
David walked with us as we were leaving.
“Does anyone mind if I bring in the writer of my next project? It will give him the idea that I’m actually doing something. I’d also like to give Jim a heads-up; he may have a new client to sign up.”
We all said it was all right, and to join us at around ten-thirty, but to make sure that nothing was said to Kym, until she had her own test in the can. I drove Jeff home, and told him to relax, and not to drink any alcohol as it might do nasty things to his voice. He leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on my lips, said ‘Thank you for everything” and went inside. I drove home to have a quiet evening, wondering if I’d overstepped the mark today.
The next morning, I picked Jeff up at nine, and we went to the studio. The set now looked a lot better, with a desk, a proper chair, a couple of other chairs and a free-standing door, firm enough to slam. Eric was there, talking to Cecil and the sound man. Cecil got Jeff to stand where he would do most of the dialogue and they set up a camera to cover the two of them, from the side, with another that would show Eric, whether sitting or standing. The third camera would be operated by Cecil, himself, so that he could alter the aspect as the scene evolved. The sound was just a boom mic, set over them.
Eric got them started on the voice loosening, and then they were ready for the run-through. I noted that Cecil got the two remote cameras going, and the sound man set the recording going. They took their places and Jeff was behind the door and knocked. As the scene progressed, the sound man looked at me and raised an eyebrow. Where Jeff stormed out, through the door, closing it with a slam, Cecil waited a few seconds before standing back from the camera.
“Bloody hell, you two. That was brilliant. If I don’t see you in front of my lenses in the future, I’m a Dutchman!”
The guys wiped the sweat off with wipers I had brought with me. We were talking when David came onto the sound stage, with Jim and C.J. Eric went over and shook his hand.
“C.J., I saw your last film and it was brilliant. I would have loved playing the murderer, he was such a multi-layered character.”
They made themselves comfortable in directors chairs, and Jeff went back behind the door. Eric gave me a wink as he went to the desk. With the sound and cameras running, I called action. The scene was already brilliant, but, this time, both of them gave it their all. At the end, both were sweating, and our visitors were sitting there, coming out of their total concentration on the scene. Jim just grinned.
“Jeff, I’ll have a contract for you to be on the books if Julia brings you to the office. I’ll be stupid if I didn’t sign you. Eric, why haven’t we seen that commitment before?”
“No-one asked me, Jim. This is the sort of meaty character that I would love to play.”
“What about your series?”
“That’s nearing the end-by date for my involvement. If they don’t replace me, offer me something I can really get my teeth in and that’ll be it, for me. No more friendly country copper.”
C.J. spoke.
“Eric, that was brilliant. I’ll keep you in mind when I’m writing another screenplay.”
“Pencil me in C.J. that could be something to be a semi-colon, but not a full stop, in my career.”
C.J. then turned his attention to Jeff.
“How would you like playing a policeman, Jeff. It’s a part that is comes in near the end of the film. Hopefully, we’ll have a cast finalised before we start filming. It’s not a huge cast. This film I’m paring it down to create a sort of noire feel, suitable for a slow-cooking gothic horror. It’s set in the wildest storm, in a black-out, so there’s no mention of any technology. David’s getting into the groove with it. It will be a far cry from the latest offering. I’m looking forward to seeing the film at the premiere, I’ll be too busy to go on that flight. David, can you email me a copy of this screen test after it’s been edited. I’ll need to talk to my producer.”
“No!” I said, firmly. “This take is private. The scene is from another director’s upcoming film and I’m paying the studio for the stage, and will pay Cecil for his time, if I have to. If you want to talk to people, then organise your own scene, from your project. I’m sure you already have a scene in mind.”
David looked at Cecil.
“Sorry, boss. Julia’s right, the scene is in my camera and isn’t going anywhere except to Julia and the actors. You can see it, because Julia has told me that you have been invited to, but it’s not going anywhere.”
C.J. smiled.
“I appreciate your ethical stand. I’m sorry that I expected to be feted. I’ll set up a take once I have the script close to finalised, and David will be in touch with you all. Now, you, young lady, have a fiery streak that’s good to see in a younger person in this game. Too many are yes-men who hang onto your coattails and don’t have an original idea in their head. I’ll keep my thoughts to myself until I’ve watched the film. Thank you for letting me see this, today, and thank you for standing up for your rights and the rights of whoever that scene was for. For the life of me, I’ve wracked by brain but have no idea of who the writer or director could be. You can surprise me, sometime later.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
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
Chapter 13
When we arrived at Gatwick, there was a sign with an arrow that just had ‘Turbulence’ on it. It led us to a reserved floor in the North Terminal car park, where attendants were there to show us to a parking area and open the doors for us. Our driver would be back at seven, to wait for our return. Jeff and I certainly looked like we should be there as we followed more signs that took us into the main concourse, through a very quick passport check, finally arriving in a VIP lounge where some had already started mingling.
Jim was there with his new manager, and he greeted us warmly, introducing us to Michael, who looked only a couple of years older than me. I was told to go through to the dressing area, where there were dressers and beauticians and the company uniforms. I went where he had pointed, finding a room with clothes racks and a couple of pop-up make-up stations. Belle and Moyra were already being worked on, while the five, genuine, crew members were talking among themselves.
I had flown with all of them, at various times, so joined them. They all looked as if they thought they knew me, but when I told them that I used to be Jamie the steward, they all said, “No way!” and gave me a hug. I saw that they were in standard issue outfits, so I asked the dresser if there were better ones supplied. She looked on the racks and found five, on one end, with a piece of paper stapled on the hanger that said ‘crew’.
I called the others over and we sorted out which was who’s, and they excitedly took them to go to the portable cubicles to change. Cynthia came in, had hugs, and found her co-pilot uniform. Wanda wasn’t far behind. One by one, we changed into the uniforms, and sat in the make-up chairs to be made extra beautiful. The real crew had their small rollers, and they folded their old uniforms into them. We had new rollers with our film names on, where we added what we had arrived in.
The five crew members went out to meet the flight crew and get the aircraft ready, while the rest of us went back to the VIP area to mingle. The crowd grew, and I spoke to several that I had worked with in Hawaii. Jeff was standing with Larry and the other boys, plus two parents and three girlfriends. I went over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he introduced me to the others, as Julia Leigh. I did pick up one girlfriend whispering to another that Jeff looked good but had only taken up with a stewardess.
Kurt was there, in his Captain outfit, along with Kym, who looked every inch a film star. I pulled Jeff with me and went to say hello. Kym was impressed with the new Jeff and gave him a hug. I could see the three girls we had been speaking to looking on, gobsmacked, even more so when Kurt pulled him into a man hug. I think that they must have almost passed out when we were joined by Jack, Eric in his flight crew uniform, and a few of the other stars, greeting each other with hugs and kisses.
Michael came over and told Kurt and I that it was time to go and be ready for our passengers. He had a clipboard and told Jeff what his seat number was, with the one next to it saved for me. We grabbed our roller bags and went down the airbridge. When we had collected in the cabin, Michael gave us more information.
“Under certain seats, there is a token, stuck with tape. When we’re coming back, there will be a draw of prizes, with a seat number called out, and the token showing what’s been won. If any of the seats are vacant, I’ll advise the nearest of you to move someone to it. Tell them that it will give them a surprise. There will also be an auction, with the prize good enough so only the high rollers will bid, which is what we want for the charity. All of you have seats, we haven’t filled the plane, and there will be plenty of room to move around. I’ve been told that all you girls are trained stewardesses, so you know what to do. I’m going up to start the folks moving. Have a good flight, have fun, and I hope the movie lives up to the hype Jim’s been giving me.”
He left, and we introduced the five girls to Kurt and Eric. Then I opened the door to the flight deck and said hello to the crew. The five went off to make sure the supplies were all in place, and secure for take-off, while the rest of us stood by the door.
It took a while to get them all aboard and sat. The airline owner and his board were in the first-class, the film producer, backers, David, and Irene were in business class. The scribes all had seats where they could see the bigger screens on the bulkheads, while the rest of the passengers were scattered though the rest of the plane, with all the window seats taken up. The curtains had been latched back, so you could stand by the flight deck and see to the furthest seats. I hoped that Michael hadn’t seeded the centre-aisle, as that was mainly left vacant. I had taken Mum and Bert to seats by an exit door, so they could have legroom, and Mum had given me a hug, saying “Isn’t this exciting.”
The whole cabin crew worked as one, all of us slipping into our old roles as if we were still flying. Even Cynthia helped, mainly with the scribes, who were surprised when she didn’t leave as the door was shut, and we were backed off the airbridge, at nine-forty. We all went into the safety routine as we taxied to the threshold, just for show. I made sure I did it where Mum could see me. I went and sat next to Jeff, checking that others were buckled up, as we waited in line, to enter the runway. The usual music was playing over the speakers, but the unusual aspect was the Captain telling everyone what was happening, with the tower chat filling in the gaps.
It really added to the thrill, for those who may not have flown before. He said, “Here we go” as we heard the controller call “Turbo One, cleared to threshold and immediate take-off.” He started winding up the engines as we swung onto the runway and he put them to power as soon as we were lined up, with the resulting surge. We were soon belting along as the nose came up at just on ten, right on time. When we had taken off and the seat belt light went off, I moved to the front, with Moyra, to look after the first-class. As I passed Michael, he put a note in my hand.
“I was supposed to give the introduction, Julia, but I think that you’d be better at it.”
Instead of talking to the boss, I went to the microphone on the front bulkhead, looked at the note, and then spoke.
“Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. You are about to see the first public showing of a new film. It is called ‘Turbulence’, and most of the actors are with you today. The film lasts for two hours, and we will start it very soon, as you partake of the breakfast that my crew are getting ready for you.”
I listed the stars on the plane, and they all stood to acknowledge the polite applause.
“The normal flight time to Nice International is under two hours, so the route will take us down, through France, and loop around the top of Spain, with our arrival at the Cote D’Azur at one-thirty, local time. There will be coaches to take most of you to Monaco, by a wonderful coastal road, a half an hour trip. Lunch is at Monaco, and we will take off to come home at around four, local time. Nice is one hour ahead of Gatwick time, so we will return by an indirect route, getting you back at seven. I’m Julia Leigh, and I hope you enjoy the flight, as well as the film. Thank you for coming.”
I folded the note and slipped it behind the microphone when I put it back. Then I started to serve the first-class passengers from the trolley that Moyra had pulled out. Looking up the plane, I could see the rest of the crew working. We had levelled off as the film started, on every screen, with the soundtrack coming over the speakers.
After we had served the meals, given out the drinks, and had a bite of our own, we took the trays and returned the trolleys to their places, and then we wandered around the plane as the passengers watched the film. I sat with Jeff, to sip on a drink, and he was glued to the screen. The three girlfriends were now gushing when I arrived at their seats, having realised that I was one of the stars. Larry and his parents were engrossed in the film, but his mother took the time to stand and give me a hug. My mother did the same, telling me that I was wonderful on all sorts of levels.
By the time we started the descent into Nice, the film was in the final credits. I had been able to talk to most of the passengers, including all the better-seated ones. I had referred six requests for an interview to Michael, to set up a time before the premiere. When I sat down, next to Jeff, he took my hand and kissed it.
“Greetings, you absolute star. I was almost angry when I saw the scene with Kurt; I laughed myself silly, along with everyone else, as the taxi drivers argued, and my eyes were watering as the credits rolled over the wedding. That is one hell of a movie, Julia.”
The landing was perfect, exactly on time, and we taxied to link with the airbridge. The Captain welcomed us all to Nice, told us the time and the temperature, and said he would be happy to see us all at four. When he had shut down the engines and the real crew had opened the door, the flight crew joined them to stand as we all left, the better seats first. The girls and I collected our roller cases and were escorted off by Kurt and Cynthia and were heading up the airbridge as the rest of the passengers started leaving the plane.
At the entrance to the terminal, there was a girl in a very fetching uniform, who directed us to the VIP lounge. The rest of the plane, including the lesser stars, would be led, through immigration, to a line-up of air-conditioned coaches for the trip to Monaco. In the VIP lounge, we joined the other dignitaries, with Kym’s director cornering me for an earnest conversation about the next film. When I showed him that I had read, and understood, the entire screen play, he told me that he wanted me in Tallahassee before the shooting started, to walk with him through the locations.
I saw that the five other stewardesses had come into the lounge and were looking lost. I went over, to be asked why they were there.
“If you haven’t had the pleasure, you’re about to get a photo with the boss. He does love to be surrounded by pretty girls.”
Sure, enough, we were all called to follow him out onto the airside, where we were gathered around him in front of the plane, which I could now see had the words ‘Turbulence Flight’ painted on the side, behind the logo. It was a long session, with each of us having to stand beside him and look happy, as the others stood behind us, on pallets.
After that, we were reunited with our rollers, and were taken, by coach, to the heliport, where we boarded to be flown to Monaco. Jeff was there, looking smart, so I took his hand as we boarded the helicopter, with the other girls. The boss was in another, with his pals, and Kurt was with Kym and their party, in another. David, Jim, and their party had one to themselves, and the five stewardesses took the last, with Eric, Jack, and their wives.
We were flown along the coast to the Heliport at Monaco, where a fleet of stretch limos waited to take us to the boss’s palatial residence. It was set up with a load of tables on a terrace big enough to land a helicopter, and I saw, by a windsock, that it was probably used for that. All of us in company uniforms were shown into the house, the girls to a large suite. There, we found dressers, with racks of high fashion outfits.
We took the uniforms off, and the dressers asked us if we wanted to keep them, so we all did, except Cynthia, who was sorry to see her status as flight crew disappear, but logical enough to know she’d never wear it. We all took advantage of our semi-nakedness to take turns in the spacious ensuite. Then we all found the new dresses that had been chosen for us, with the dressers making sure we were snug and zipped. I was glad that I had been given my new bottom half, as the old gaffe would have stood out under my outfit.
When we all arrived back on the terrace, I told the crew girls to make sure that they stayed close to the boss and the board, while the rest of us mingled. I found Mum and Bert at the edge of the terrace, looking out over the harbour. Mum gave me a huge hug.
“Julia, my girl. Don’t you look like a proper lady. We were just admiring the view, It’s a beautiful place, isn’t it, Bert.”
“Yes dear, and this is a beautiful spot to see it from. So, this is how the other half live? Or would that be the other one percent? We were talking about that film of yours. Hawaii looks wonderful.”
“It is wonderful, Bert. I tell you what. If you and Mum get married, I’ll give you a wedding present of a two-week holiday there, with flights. Just give me the date, I’ve got contacts.”
“That’s very generous of you, are you sure?”
“Just make my mother an honest, and happy woman, and it’s a promise.”
I went off to mingle, coming across Jim, talking to Kym and another man, who I hadn’t seen on the plane. When he saw me, he commented on how nice I looked in that dress. I said that we all looked like the cast of ‘The Real Housewives of New York’ and he roared with laughter.
“You got it, in one. While you’re wearing my creations in Tallahassee, I’ll be using pictures from the film to convince some American businesses to stock my lines. Now, can you round up the others, I’ve got a photographer so we can get some fashion shots, and I’m having one with you all around me, looking happy.”
I went off to do his bidding, and we assembled by the edge of the terrace for the photo shoot. It attracted a lot of others who snapped away as we posed with the creator of the outfits. When his photographer had finished, we were inundated with requests for selfies, which took us until the food was ready. Before we sat down, Kym asked that all those in the next film should have a group picture. We were joined by Eric, Kurt, Jeff, Jack, and a few others who had been told that they were in. There were a few pictures that the scribes took, no doubt smelling a scoop.
I called for the other hostesses to join us and had a quick huddle before we posed for more pictures, in a typical Real Housewives manner, all leg, power, and sex. We then went to fill our faces with an array of food that defied description. I saw Kym talking to the others as I nibbled. I knew that there was six of us in the film as part of the coven. I had expected that models would fill the other seven places. Perhaps that photo may have found five of the extras.
When it was time to leave, we were taken to the heliport again, and flown to Nice. We put our rollers away and checked the supplies. As we thought, the trolleys now had a substantial dinner in them, which we would start serving after the fun and games. I expected that everyone would sit where they had been, so went around the plane looking for seats which I knew that no-one had used, finding a couple of tokens which I removed, with Michael beside me, and we put them under seats we knew had been used. He noted the seat numbers.
It was a good-looking line that greeted the passengers back on board. Kurt now had a snappy suit. Eric looked years younger, telling me, as I led him and his wife to their seats, that he felt like a new man. His wife smiled and nodded. We made sure that we had everyone, closed up and were in the air just after four, local time.
Once we had levelled out, Michael handed me another piece of paper.
“Come on, Julia. You do this so well.”
I went to the microphone, made sure it was on, looked at the paper seeing that there was a lot of seat numbers, followed by ‘auction’ and then more numbers. By the looks of it, Michael was aware of what was under every seat, so not a totally random draw, and with the ones we had moved, almost everyone in the rear of the plane would get something.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we will be taking an indirect route to Gatwick, to arrive at seven, local time. We do not have a film for you to watch, but we have organised some fun and games, curtesy of our esteemed airline owner, and some of his friends. Some of you have tokens taped under your seats. No, please don’t go looking for them now, it will only spoil the anticipation. I can still some of you guys looking like you’re having a feel. I tell you, sir, stop it, you’ll go blind!”
We started calling the seat numbers. There was a lot of laughter and squeals as the tokens were read out. The prizes were good. Weekends with flights to various European cities; vouchers for our agency suppliers; tickets to popular artists at their next London shows. We came to the auction, and Michael came to stand beside me as I conducted the first one, a round-the world ticket, for two, with six stops. The bidding was brisk but petered out with Kym holding the winning bid. Everyone clapped as Michael went to give her the voucher.
The next item was two weeks in Hawaii, with flights. I started off the bidding with a reasonable amount and it went up to close to the real value of the package, with Kurt holding the winning bid. Kym jabbed him in the side and gave me a wink. I took it with another bid. I told Michael to go and give it to Mum and pointed her out to him. There was a cheer when he handed it to her. When Michael came back, I whispered for him to take it out of my account.
The next item was a Lamborghini car. That one went to close to a million, and Michael whispered that it was just short of the real price, if you could buy one. Then he went the short distance to give the voucher to Jim, the winner. Lastly, we had an around the world flight, for six, with six stops. Kurt was determined to win this one, and, as the bidding went on, Michael whispered that it would go to the charity they supported, along with the first one they had bought. When Michael gave Kurt the voucher, I called out that we would draw some more seat numbers.
There was more vouchers for salon, fashion, and shoe shops. I was happy all three of the girlfriends got one each. Mum was sitting on a salon voucher. Larry’s parents won a weekend in Paris, with flights. As we got to the bottom of the list, and the final voucher handed out, Michael gave me a hug and told me that I was fabulous. I then announced that dinner will be served and went back into stewardess mode. When the trays had all been collected and we could feel the plane starting to descend, we made sure that we had the trolleys secure, and I went to every one of our crew and gave them a hug, thanking them for a good flight. One of the real crew told me that they would fly with me in charge, any time.
When we landed and were linked to the airbridge, it took a long while for the plane to empty. The flight crew came out and the Captain told me that it was all right, the plane wasn’t needed until the early hours of the morning. There was a lot of hugging, and kissing, as our passengers left, the real stewardesses having a ball, being kissed, one by one, by film and TV stars. Kym and Kurt, and their party left as a group, as did the scribes and the airline crowd. The film crews, the families and friends looked like they didn’t want to leave.
The last to leave was Jim, Michael, and two guys who had won vouchers. They were smiling as they gave us all a kiss, one by one, and Jim introduced us to the owners of two of the biggest theatre chains in Europe and America, with the news that we would be shown on two thousand screens on the day of the UK premiere, lifting to at least three thousand screens during the week after, until the interest started to wane.
That was pretty good, for a first-time bunch of actresses. As I walked, one arm linked to Jeff and the other pulling my roller case, I suddenly felt very tired. It had been a very full day. He took the case from me and held me steady until we got to the car. I think that I had dozed off before he got in the other side.
At my place, he helped me up to my door, got the keys out of my bag, and opened it. I told him that I was all right, now and kissed him. He unzipped me and I felt the shiver of lust. Just another few weeks! I kissed him, again, and he left, closing the door, quietly. I let the expensive dress slide to the floor, fell on my bed, and dropped into a dreamless sleep.
When my bladder woke me, about four, I saw that I had smeared my pillow with make-up. I took the pillowcase off and put it in soak, then cleansed my face. Stripping off my underwear and tights, I had a good shower, feeling a lot better when I dried myself. I didn’t want to go back to bed and was feeling hungry, so put on my gown, made my breakfast, sitting to eat, while listening to the five-o-clock news on the radio.
It was amazing how alive I felt. The flight that could have gone haywire had gone like clockwork. We had made new friends, made old friends happy, had fun, and did both trips safely. The main thing, to me, was that I had connected with the new director, and he wanted me to walk through the scenes with him. I just hoped that he would keep Kym happy. Mum and Bert now had their trip to Hawaii, all they have to do is get married.
All, in all, it had been a good trip, but it did take a lot out of me. I dressed in my running gear, put my things into a bum bag and left the apartment to go for a good walk in the early morning dark, getting back as the sun was rising. Over the next week, we should get some feedback from the reviews. Not all of the scribes on the plane would be in print this week, but there would be enough to see where we stood. Next week, we had the premiere to go to, a red-carpet affair with Jeff as my plus one. After that, all I had to do was to become the woman that he now saw.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 14
When I went into my apartment, I looked around at the mess. My early morning breakfast things were still on the table. In my bedroom I picked the expensive dress off the floor, found a hanger for it, then smoothed my bed. I found a new pillowcase to replace the smeared one.
Sighing, I pulled the soaking one out of the bucket, wrung it out and put it in a shopping bag. Filling another bag with laundry, I left the house once more to walk to the laundromat. Luckily, it was open all hours, and there were other early birds in there when I arrived.
We nodded to each other, and I loaded the machine with a week or more of washing. Sitting on one of the chairs I opened an old magazine, reading about people I know, from a period before I knew them. That was weird. I could read the made up stories now and deduce some of the truth from the knowledge I now had. I laughed a bit and put the magazine back on the pile.
“What’s so funny, at this time in the morning?” asked a teenage girl, sitting beside me.
“It’s some of these stories about the stars. The writers must take what’s said and write fiction around it.”
“Yeah! There’s a story in this magazine I bought, yesterday. It’s an expose about a new film star that I’ve never heard of. It claims that she’s really a guy.”
She showed me the article. There was a picture of me, cropped from one that I knew had been taken of Roger and me at an earlier function. I looked good, with no hint of masculinity. The writer cited an un-named source and gave my old name, in full, and that I had worked as an airline steward. There was a lot in what was written that could only have come from one person. I pulled out my phone and called Jim.
“Hello, Jim. Sorry about the hour but I’ve just seen an article in a magazine that was on the stands yesterday. It names me as Jamie and there’s enough facts in it to back that up.”
“This is serious, does it name the source?”
“No, but there’s a picture that I know was cropped from when Roger and I were at a party, before I went to Hawaii to do the film. It’s got to have all come from him.”
“Right, Julia, what’s the magazine and the writer, I’ll get on to this. I’ll put out a press release that the facts are basically true. You might have to explain how you came to be Julia at the interviews, this week. I suppose that it’s best that it’s in the open, at least we can cover up the cracks before the premiere. I’m going to send Jeff to a salon and tailor this week, so that he looks good on the red carpet in London and New York. You’ll be booked in the salon Friday.”
I told him the name of the magazine and writer, ended the call, and gave the girl her magazine back. She was looking at me, wide-eyed.
“You’re the one in the article? No way you’re a guy. What on earth are you doing in a laundromat?”
“I live down the road, and I needed the washing done. And, yes, underneath all this I’m still a guy, and the article has facts in it. The guy who blabbed was very nice to me, some time back. I thought that we could have had a future. He was the manager of the agency I’m with, and that was the owner of the agency.”
“But you look fabulous!”
“You should have seen me, yesterday. I was in a bunch of hostesses, in dresses that would look good on the Real Housewives, on a terrace in Monaco. Nobody would have said that I’m a bloke, the dress I had on could never have hidden the tackle.”
“You were on a terrace in Monaco yesterday, and in a laundromat in London, this morning?”
“It’s called real life, honey. All of the people in that magazine are real people, who had their bums wiped as babies, been smacked by their parents as kids, and smacked by their girlfriends as teenagers. We don’t all live in palaces, with hordes of flunkies.”
“So, if you’re really a guy, how did you end up as a film star?”
“Well, it all started on a flight from London to Sydney, via Singapore, with my spare uniform unusable.”
By the time we pulled our things out of the drier, she had been laughing at my story, and gazing at me in wonder as I related the Hawaii experience, the flight yesterday and the upcoming premiere. Telling the story, to a stranger, enabled me to start composing what I wanted to say in any interview. I pulled out my phone and asked her for her name and address.
When Jim answered, I asked him if he could courier ten tickets for the London premiere to her, as she was the one who had alerted me to the article. He told me that he had texted Roger to tell him to forget about Melbourne. I told him that I would be in the office on Monday, so we could sit down with Horatio to work on the press release.
I then asked her for her phone number.
“What’s your mobile, Sherona? That’s a very pop name.”
She gave me the number, which I keyed in.
“Not as bad as my twin sister, she got called Sharina. She’ll be at the premiere, what’s the film like, anyway.”
“It’s a rom-com chick flick, with a car chase for any boyfriend dragged along to see it. Are the other eight all going to be girls?”
“Yeah. We’re still at school, and we have a big band of friends. So, I can bring all girls, then, it doesn’t have to be boys, as well?”
“All girls is good. I’ll give you a call. Tomorrow evening. I might be able to organise a minibus to pick you all up from school one afternoon, and take you to my dress supplier, so that you all look good at the premiere. What do you say?
“Wow, that will be expensive, though.”
“My treat, Sherona, you did give me the chance to head this article off at the starting gate. I’m sure that the agency will have it dampened down by the time I see you at the cinema. Make sure you bring your phones for selfies. I’ll tell Kurt and Jack to make time to stand with you.”
Back at home, I put my things away, tidied the kitchen and put the kettle on. With a steaming cup in front of me, I sat to compose what needed to be said. I had one thing in my favour. I had never, at any time, knowingly hidden my past. All the cast on the film knew who I was, with the girls knowing me when I was still living as a guy. There were salon staff, all over the world, who had seen me naked and worked on my body. Jeff had known me since school. Even Roger had known when he was kissing me. That was one fact that could sink the story. I made a note to see if there were any pictures that showed us kissing.
That’s when it struck me. Would he screw any chance he had of redemption over the starlet baby? What if he had blabbed to her, with her spilling the beans as a back-handed attempt to discredit him. Everyone who had met her called her a bimbo. No! scrub that. His parents had called her a bimbo, which only indicated that they thought that she was beneath him. But she had been - beneath him, that is.
I rang Jim, again. I apologised for bothering him and he told me that he was glad I was on the ball. I told him that I thought that it could have been the pregnant starlet that blabbed, and why I thought that. He said that Roger had still violated a client’s privacy to another client, and that it was good enough to be sacked, if it turned out to be true.
My mobile rang and it was Jeff, wanting to know how I was. I told him that it had been an interesting morning and said that I would pick him up and take him out to a country pub, for lunch, while we still can. This morning had shown me that recognition was becoming a reality for me.
I showered and dressed in thicker tights, a short denim skirt, woman’s shirt, and a sweater. As I pulled on my boots, I thought that I would have to be as feminine as I could be for the immediate future, to offset that story. With my Burberry over my arm, I walked out to my car, and headed off to see Jeff, who didn’t know, yet, what a pile of crap was coming our way. If our relationship could withstand this, it could withstand anything.
He was at his door as I arrived and he got in, leaned over, and gave me a kiss.
“You look good, this morning. Not as good as you did, last night. If I’d been a brute, I could have taken advantage of you.”
“You wouldn’t rape a sleeping woman, Jeff, so don’t try to kid me. Thank you for looking after me when we got home. I’d just fallen off a cliff, after having a big day. If you hadn’t unzipped me, I’d probably still be wearing that dress, it was so snug.”
“You looked beautiful, darling. Like a goddess.”
“You were quite god-like, yourself. It’s great what good clothes can do for you.”
“You’ll look good naked, Julia.”
“Not yet, my love, just wait a month or so and you’ll be the first to see, I promise you that. That brings me to something we need to talk about. Wait until we see a news-stand.”
I went by one of the railway stations and parked in a waiting zone. I told him to get a few copies of the magazine and gave him a couple of notes. He was off, and back, clutching some copies, in double quick time. I pulled away to continue our trip.
“What are these for? Surely, it’s too early for a review.”
“Just have a look through one. You’ll see what the problem is, as soon as you read the article.”
He went through the magazine, slowly checking each article as he went. As soon as he saw the picture of me, he glanced my way and then read it through.
“Wow, that’s not something I would have thought I’d see. There’s no way you could sue over this, as it’s all correct, as far as I can see.”
“There’s no thoughts of any litigation. What’s done is done. I’ve spoken to Jim a couple of times this morning, and he thinks that we’ll agree that it’s factual, a first for that magazine, and that we’ll tell them the whole story of how I became Julia. If we do it, this week, we can dampen down the conjecture. This will mean that the premiere is likely to attract a bunch of anti-tranny protesters, but any news is good news. It will ensure that we’re on the late news and will probably have bookings to a Sunday show before the film is finished.”
“What about the next picture?”
“Kym will only look at the takings of this one. If we do well, she won’t care about one of the stars being controversial. It will add to the hype around the project. By that time, I would be fully equipped to be Julia, and you will be able to stand up and tell them that I’ve been tried and tested.”
He gulped and looked back at the magazine, with it now on his lap, hiding the boner that had suddenly grown. I knew it was there, I would have reacted the same if a girl had said similar things to me.
The lunch could have been a disaster. The pub had a selection of magazines on the bar, and the waitress picked me straight away. She told me that she could see that the article was total rubbish, so I tested the waters to say it was all true, and that Jeff had known me when I was at school. Instead of telling us to leave, she kept asking questions about how I looked as good as I did, as she knew someone who had worked in a bar with her, who loved wearing women’s clothes.
Before we left, both Jeff and I had signed her magazine, and we had posed for selfies with her, as well as with the publican and most of the patrons. I had told them a little about the film, and that it would be in general release this time next week. We then got into the car, and I started to drive home.
“That went well, darling.”
“It did, Jeff. It showed that there are some people in the world who have open minds. We could have been stood against the dartboard and used for target practice.”
As I drove back to the city, my phone rang, so I told Jeff to get it out of my bag and answer it. When he did so, it turned out to be Horatio. Jeff had it on speaker.
“Jeff, can Julia hear me?”
I spoke so that he knew I was there and asked him what he was calling for.
“It’s good that you’re together. Jim has told me about your alert this morning, and I have some copies of that magazine. I’m calling a meeting of the interested parties this afternoon, at my place. Can you write down the address?”
I pointed at a texta in the centre consol, and Jeff wrote the address on the cover of one of the magazines.
“Can you be here about two-thirty. Jim and David will be coming. I’ve arranged a Zoom conference with Kurt, Kym, Jack, and Eric. I’ll include the other four girls, and we’ll agree on the stand we’ll make.”
Jeff looked in the street directory and gave me instructions on how to reach the address, luckily in Richmond, so we didn’t have to cross the city. When we arrived, a maid opened the door to us, took our coats and showed us to his office. He had set up a big screen with five chairs, so that we would all be visible at the meeting. We had a drink and discussed the situation, as Jim, and then David, joined us. At the allotted time, Horatio hit the ‘host’ icon and, one by one, the others filled the screen.
It wasn’t a long meeting, considering the gravity of the situation. The only people who hadn’t known that I wasn’t a woman at first sight was Kurt and Kym, but they had known my story before we started shooting. With me being looked after by dressers and beauticians, it would have been impossible to have kept it secret.
Kurt was kind enough to say that when we had kissed for the first time, I was as good, if not better, than most of the other actresses he had kissed before – except Kym, of course. The girls could relate on how I had been dressed for the first time, and that it had been brave of me to have gone through with it. David said that he had twigged, early on, because of my lack of jewellery, but that I had been attractive enough, even then, to be asked to go to the shoot for a screen test.
It didn’t take Einstein to figure out what we would present, and Jim said that he would call a meeting, in the office, with any scribe who wanted to be there, so that we could present our case. Kym and Kurt promised to be available, on Zoom, if needed.
On the way home, Jeff asked me if the other girls had laughed when they saw me for the first time.
“No, Jeff. It was a no-win situation. If I hadn’t done it, we would have been one down with an already depleted crew. It was that or jump out of the plane. It would have been a black mark on my record, anyway. It was lucky that Wanda’s a big girl, as it was only her shoes that fitted me, along with her spare clothes. I might have been able to change back, only the problem that my personal case was back in L.A. when we arrived in Singapore, which kicked that off the field.”
I parked outside his home, and we went inside. We talked about the past, and the future. He asked me if I would marry him, when I had transitioned, and I said yes, so we spent a little while kissing. Actually, I think we spent a long while kissing, as it was getting dark when I was back in the car to go home.
On Monday, we had a couple of tasks to do. Jim was in charge of the rest of things, so Jeff wanted to buy a ring. I had told him that it didn’t have to be huge, or even a diamond. I picked him up and we went into the city, where we looked at several rings. The one we bought was a beautiful ruby, with a couple of small diamonds around the main stone. While we were there, to save time later, we bought each other a wedding ring, leaving them to be engraved later, with the date to be advised.
I needed to see my dress supplier. When we walked in the girls noticed the engagement ring and gave me hugs, but the manager was a bit stern and asked about the magazine story. We told her that there would be a meeting with the press when they would be told the facts. That mollified her a bit. What did pique her interest was when I told her that I was outfitting ten teenage schoolgirls so that they could attend the premiere. She, of course, already had tickets.
I got the days when she could stay open a little later, as I told her that they would be brought straight from school. Jeff had been wandering the shop and said that they did menswear as well. She asked him if he had the loyalty card, so he rummaged in his wallet and showed it to her. While one of her girls helped Jeff pick an outfit, she took the card to enter it on her database. While we were at it, I looked for something that would match with Jeff, when he had chosen something.
He was worse than a lot of girls I know. In the end, the girl and I told him what he looked best in, and that left me to only take ten minutes to pick, and try on, something good. Talk about role reversal! After getting the clothes put in garment bags, paid for and his card back in his wallet, we went to the shoe shop, where we showed them what we had to work with. An hour later, we had a pair of big bags with shoes in. We had both seen shoes that we liked, as well as those for the premiere. Once again, his details were added to another database.
We had a late lunch with Mama. She saw us walk in and came over to give us her condolences on the magazine article, and then saw the ring, which changed her attitude to a congratulation. When we were seated, she told us that she knew who had ratted to the magazine, because her no-good son had shown her that very picture on his phone. I had to tell her that even if it wasn’t him, his job was gone because he had given private details to another. She thought about that. “Bimbo?” I nodded.
I told Jeff that I needed to think about what I would say at the press conference. He said that he also needed to think about that. We agreed to meet up when we knew the time that Jim had organised. I dropped him at home, helped him take his parcels inside, had some good kissing time, and then took my own shopping home.
About five, I called Sherona. She said that Wednesday would be best, and that a couple of the mothers wanted to park at the school and go with the girls on the bus. I told her that was good. Then rang the dress shop to tell them to expect ten girls, and a couple of mothers, on Wednesday, after school. I then rang our transport people to book a bus for twelve to fourteen, Wednesday afternoon at the school. Destination at the dress shop and then back to the school. Not long after that, Jim rang.
“Julia, you won’t believe this. I put the word out to the usual suspects, and I have had more answering than we can cater for in the office. I’ve booked a room at the hotel around the corner, so we can fit them in. It will be at two, tomorrow afternoon. I’ll contact all the others. On another matter, the dress designer from Monaco has asked if you girls can all wear the outfits that he’ll give you for the New York premiere. He even wants the five other stewardesses there. He’s going to supply a dress for Kym, as well.”
“That’s nice of him.”
“He just wants to cash in on the picture of you all posing as Real Housewives. He’s already used it for a full-page spread in an American Movie Magazine. I’ve invoiced him for using the image of my clients and told him that he had better run it past us before he does it again. Michael took the details of the other girls on the way home, so I’ll see if they’re free. If not, I’ll talk to their boss. I’ll send cars for you all, tomorrow, to make sure that you’re all present. Can you bring any albums, or photos, that you have as a youngster.”
“Will do, I think that there are a couple that would be good.”
I went and had a look at my collection. There was rather a good one of Jeff and I, side by side, in a class photo from our last year. The others were alongside him. We were quite the bunch, back then. It has soured things, for me, for Larry to suggest that we were in a homosexual relationship. It took some of the gloss off a time that I was starting to discover what I wanted to do if I couldn’t fly. I took it to where my computer stuff was, plugged the four-in-one into the laptop, and got it all warmed up. I scanned the picture and then printed it off on photo paper.
There was another, from my training days, of me, with several other stewards in front of a plane, before we took our first, serious, flight with pretend passengers. That had been our final exam. We had to wait on an angry businessman, without losing our cool. I think that it may have been the first time I had used some of my feminine skills, by listening and being caring. I know that I passed top of that class.
I put these in a folder, to take with me. There would be plenty that showed me as Julia. I looked in the folder, again. The picture in front of the plane did show a slight resemblance to the Jamie I became.
I added my notes of what I wanted to say and put the folder in the bag with my tablet. There was nothing more that I could do now. The only thing that mattered, to me, was that I could leave that press conference with my head held high. I knew who I was, and how I came to be the me that stood here. I was set to become visually indistinguishable from most of the female world; I was already engaged to a wonderful guy who had known me for years; I had been congratulated for a film I starred in that would be premiered on Saturday, and I had another in the pipeline.
“Yes,” I said to myself. “You’re Julia Leigh, actress and star, and bugger anybody who doesn’t see it!”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 15
I took my time in the morning. I made sure that I had a good breakfast, tidied up, then spent a lot of time in the bathroom. Freshly showered, hair washed, and no errant wisps of hair anywhere else, I took a great deal of care choosing what I was going to wear.
My waist was now slim enough to look all right, and the falsies were invisibly attached, so my thought was young and sexy. I pulled on a pair of nude tights, then a black thong. A matching black bra from a well-known outlet finished the underwear. I would have to suffer the cool of the day to look the part, today, so the top was a silvery one, not quite opaque enough to totally hide the bra, and low enough to show the cleavage.
It took several skirts before I was happy. It turned out to be a black, soft leather, straight one that stopped six inches above the knees. I sat at the mirror and matched my make-up to my outfit, with a lot of liner and silver eye shadow. Brushing my hair so it framed my face, I then added jewellery and a bit of perfume. The shoes had to be the tallest strappy heels that I was safe on.
The final touch was wiping off the old nail varnish and carefully painting them black. After I had sat for them to dry, I stood and looked at my reflection in the big mirror. Nope! No blokes here.
Jim was sending a car at eleven, so we could be inside the hotel before the reporters turned up. Looking at the clock. I had just finished in time. I put essentials in a small, black bag, pulled on my trusty Burberry, grabbed the tablet bag with the folder, and went down to wait.
I was only outside a couple of minutes when the car pulled up and the driver jumped out to open the door for me.
“Looking lovely, this morning, Miss Leigh.”
“It is a reasonable day, Colin; I just hope we feel the same about it this afternoon”.
“Not the day, Miss, you look like the star that everyone will want to know when the premiere has been shown.”
“Well, thank you for that. You look pretty dapper, yourself. Is that a new uniform?”
“It is, Miss. The company has caught on that we were ferrying film stars around, so got a new range of gear for us to try and not look dowdy. Thank you for noticing.”
We went and picked up Jeff, also looking dapper in a new suit, and carrying a briefcase. We held hands as we were taken to the hotel. The doorman helped us both out, and I left my coat with reception. We were shown to a large room that looked like it could be used for weddings. There were rows of chairs already set out, with a long table, some chairs, and a large screen at the far wall.
Jim welcomed us and asked to see what we had brought with us. I showed him my two pictures, and Jeff had the same school picture, but had printed it off, putting a red texta circle around us. Jim took a picture of it on his phone, as well as a picture of me as a steward trainee.
He turned the screen on and clicked on a couple of icons, then pressed a button on his phone and Jeff’s picture came up on the screen. With another button press, mine appeared. He then scrolled though various pictures of me, from different sets, with the last one being the full picture that had been cropped for the magazine. This one, though, showed Roger with an arm around my waist, and the host of the party beside me.
Jim led us through to the bar, where we sat with soft drinks as David, and then Cynthia and Belle joined us. Belle commented on my outfit, telling me that I was liable to start a throwback to the Carnaby Street days if there were pictures taken of me today.
Jim said that Michael would be there before we started, but the others couldn’t make it at short notice. We all went to the dining room and had a good lunch, to give us strength for the afternoon. We all went back to the meeting room, via the toilets to freshen up, and waited for our guests. The first to arrive was one of the reviewers that had been on the flight. He told us that his review would be in tomorrow’s paper, notwithstanding the balderdash in the magazine.
As the room filled, we started getting advance notice of more good reviews. I saw Laurie, the reviewer for the offending magazine. I went over and welcomed him.
“I’ve written a good review of the film, Julia. It will be in the next issue of the magazine. It’s well deserved, the film is brilliant and deserves to fly. Don’t ask me what I think about Joe and his article. He’ll be here, with Agnes and a lawyer, to find out what you’re going set as a compensation. I didn’t know that the article was in the issue before I got my own copy. I hope you’ll ream him a new hole, today.”
“You’ll just have to wait and see, Laurie. Did you get a ticket to the premiere?”
“Yes, thank you for that, why me?”
“All the reviewers who came on the flight are getting one, as a thank you for being interested. Also, as a chance to see it a second time and to decide if your first impressions were right.”
“That’s an interesting take on the way things are done, Julia. I’ll be taking my wife.”
“I’d better move, your editor is at the door. Talk to you later if you want.”
I moved away and went back to the top table, where Jim was looking at some papers.
“The magazine editor is here, with a lawyer. Laurie has just told me that they think we’re going to sue for compensation.”
“Well, they’re going to be surprised, aren’t they.”
When we saw Michael arrive and stand by the doors, we waited to make sure that there were no more to come, motioned to him to close the doors, and Jim stood up.
“Ladies, Gentlemen, and members of the press. Thank you for coming to this event, this afternoon. We’ll try not to keep you away from your important jobs.”
A voice came from the back.
“It won’t take long. Just tell us what you want for compensation from Joe, and we can retire to the bar.”
Jim smiled as the journalists all had a laugh as Joe had his eyes to the floor. Agnes, the Editor, spoke clearly.
“We stand by the article, as we obtained it from an impeccable source.”
“Well said, Agnes. For the first time in my long career, your magazine printed an article which is better than ninety percent correct.”
The room buzzed as that sunk in.
“Yes, I said it. Joe has, finally, written something with truth in it.”
There was general laughter, and someone called, “Now he can retire, on the top of his game!”
“Back to why we’re here. We are going to tell you the story, no lies, no bullshit, so you can gauge for yourselves how you want to take it further. The first person to speak is Jeff Thomas, who is slated to be a lead character in Kym’s next film.”
The picture of us at school appeared, and Jeff stood, gulped, and started speaking.
“This picture was taken in our final year of High School. The circle is around me, Jeff Thomas, and my best friend, Jamie Lee Curtis. We had been friends since starting our secondary studies. At that time, Jamie was kind, funny and had the best memory I’ve ever seen. We kept in touch, after we left school, and Jamie would regale me with stories of his time as a cabin steward. That, I can tell you, is a job that I could never do. Those of you on the flight would have seen how hard they work, and how efficient they are. I used to pack shelves for a living; if I had been as efficient as those girls, I could have gone home four hours earlier.”
He stopped for a sip of water as there were some chuckles from the audience. That’s how I now viewed them, an audience to be convinced that what we present is the truth.
“Julia walked into the pub we used to meet in and gave me and our old schoolmates some tickets for the flight. I say Julia, because that was who we saw, that day. It took me a little while before I realised that I was looking at Jamie, but a totally new, and improved Jamie. Since that day, I have seen a lot of Julia, and see nothing of the old Jamie, except the great memory, great personality, and a new level of organisation. We bought a ring, the other day, because there’s a time, not too far in the future, when we will be married, and I’ll be the happiest man on earth.”
He sat down to a smattering of ‘well said’, but I did see a scowl on a few faces. We were approaching their comfort zone with a bazooka. Jim stood up and the picture of me in training came up on the screen.
“This is a picture of Jamie, a year or so after that school picture. It shows him, along with other stewards, before their final test, on board and in the air. I have been in touch with the owner of the airline, some of you ate at his house on Saturday. He approved the airline HR to email me a copy of Jamie’s work history. After the exam, on the day of this picture, Jamie passed at the top of his class. In fact, there’s a note on his record that he had been the third best of any cabin crew they had through the training. Second on that list is with us today and will speak next.”
He took a sip of water.
“Jamie had an excellent record, no problems, and no complaints. He would go the extra mile for the passengers and the airline. He was in line to get extra training to become a Chief Steward and be in charge of the whole cabin crew when he resigned. That’s why he was asked to work a double stint, after arriving at Heathrow from the other side of America. On the way from London, he had an event that literally changed his life. I’ll let Cynthia take it from here. She played the co-pilot in our film and will be in the next one of Kym’s.”
Cynthia stood.
“What I’m about to tell you could have been written into a film spoof of cabin crew. Jamie joined us on a flight from Heathrow to Sydney, via Singapore. His change of uniform was already stained and in his personal bag, which should have been in the hold. Over India, he walked into a projectile stream of vomit from a rugby supporter. Moyra and Jamie cleaned it up as much as they could. The area was a disaster zone, with five rows in front and behind all using their sick bags. I was called into the section to see what we could do. Jamie couldn’t carry on with the stinking uniform, he had no spare in the cabin, and we had breakfast to see to, in about an hour.”
She stopped to take a breath and looked out at the journalists.
“The only, and I repeat, the only way that Jamie could complete the flight was to borrow a uniform, and the only uniforms on board were spare dresses that the other girls had. We were all in awe at the way he agreed to follow through, and he cleaned up quite well. Wanda had a spare set of clothes that would fit him, along with her shoes that are usually used in first class. Moyra helped him look more girly, and he joined Belle in the first-class section for the rest of the flight. I cannot speak highly enough on his commitment to the company and the way he carried out his duties, now dressed as a stewardess.”
She sat down and David stood before any questions started.
“I was a passenger on that flight, and Jamie, she was still calling herself that because that was on her badge, was very good, very efficient, and very entertaining. I twigged that he wasn’t a genuine woman, because of the lack of jewellery, which allowed me to notice other, slight, lapses in her actions. The thing was, I was immediately taken by her presence, and her personality. When we took off for the leg to Sydney, she had been showered and pampered, with a new uniform, and looked every inch the stewardess. I was in Sydney for a few days, and she was on my flight to Tokyo, being obviously serious about presenting as a woman, with salon work and now with jewellery. I have since discovered that the airline doesn’t carry spare male uniforms in Sydney, for Jamie to return to steward work. Julia was manufactured, through circumstances beyond her control, by the airline. She was so radiant that I invited her to a screen test while we were all in Hawaii, leading to her being the lead actress in the film. I never saw the complete male Jamie, but the female Jamie, and now Julia Leigh, is worthy of our respect.”
As he had been speaking, the pictures of me in different sets were showing. As he sat, Belle stood up.
“My part in this is very short. A girl normally doesn’t kiss and tell, but I have to tell you that we stewardesses share twin rooms when we are in far-away cities. I shared with Jamie. If anyone can tell you that Jamie was a man, it’s me, as we had some interesting nights, and he was totally satisfying. Thank you.”
As she sat, she winked at me, and I smiled back.
Jim stood, again.
“That, good folks, is the bare facts of the story. The article was, generally, correct. We have no grounds to ask you for compensation, Agnes. I hope that this doesn’t destroy what is likely to be a magnificent career for a very talented lady.”
Agnes asked her question.
“What about our article, are you just leaving it at that?”
“I’m glad you asked that, Agnes. The picture you used in the magazine was taken at a party that I also attended. It was thrown by a good friend of mine and someone that you all know well. He would not be happy if he was pulled into an ongoing conversation about Julia and her gender.”
He pressed the button on his phone and the full version of the picture came on the screen, with some hoots of laughter, some indrawn breaths, and some ribald comments on the size of new hole that Agnes and Joe would have when this man decided to do something about it. Agnes turned to her lawyer, and they had a short discussion, then she said something that I was hoping for.
“Jim, you win. We would be on a hiding to nothing if that photo was released, against the photo in the article. We’ve seen him in action with anyone that questioned his morals. If we get dubbed as the ones who brought out the fact that he had entertained a cross-dresser, or transexual, to a private party, he will deal with us first. I’ll order Joe to print a retraction of the article, and we’ll file under the X-File, stories that were too true to be believed. It might start a trend.”
She stood and looked around.
“You guys are witness to this, any word and we’re toast. Please allow this to become an urban myth, the day that Joe wrote a genuine, one hundred percent true, article. Any time I meet you in the pub, the drinks are on me, if this fades away. We may as well start now, anyone up for a tipple?”
She nodded my way as she stood, and left the room with Joe, and the lawyer behind her. Several of the others followed her out. They had all got a story that, hopefully, none of them would write, and I had not said a word. I went to each of my friends and gave them hugs, telling them that I thanked them all. When I thanked Belle, I said that surely, I wasn’t that good, and she laughed.
“No Julia, you were better. You joined me in a game of what-if that allowed me to have the best orgasm, ever. The fact that it’s led me to being in a film and meeting a number of very fit men who have repeated the performance has been a bonus.”
After that, there were a number of reporters and reviewers who wanted to have their questions answered, so we sat in a closer circle and spent two hours talking about everything that was asked. They took lots of pictures of us, and we even talked about the next film, as well as others that had been spoken about. The reviewers all smiled when they found out that I could be playing a prostitute with a heart of gold, in a bordello with all the other girls. The link with the outfits on the way back was explained, with them being referred to the dress designer for further facts. They all had tickets to the premiere, and they all said that there were good reviews being printed.
For most of the later talking, I sat close to Jeff, and we held hands. I did see a few pictures of that being taken, so I had my hand on my lap, with the engagement ring prominent.
Laurie stayed back to tell me that it had been an absolute hoot, seeing Joe having to pull a perfectly good article. He wanted to know if it was the other guy in the photo that was the culprit, so Jim told him that it was him that betrayed my confidence, but, possibly, to someone who then took it to the magazine, no doubt for the money. We arranged for an in-depth interview, between the two premieres.
When I went to put my unused notes in my bag, I saw that my phone had received a text while we were busy. The caller had left a number and asked if I could call. I moved away from the group and called the number. When it was answered and I said who I was, I was put through to the London manager of Burberry, who asked me if I could come and see him, this afternoon if possible. I said I would and said he would text me the address if I didn’t know it. I told him where I was, and that we might not be there before five, and he said that it didn’t matter, his side of the business ran twenty-four seven, with on-line sales.
As we walked out, I told Jim who I was going to see, and he smiled, and just said, “Interesting.”
I picked up my trench coat from reception, passing the bar where several happy journalists were drinking with Agnes, who, no doubt, was relishing this opportunity to meet and gauge the competition.
In the car, I gave Colin the address I had been given, which he put into the G.P.S. During the trip Jeff and I talked quietly about the press do. I told him that he was brave to have stood up and confessed to being engaged to another bloke. He laughed.
“Hardly any of those guys think you’re a bloke, darling. What they see is a beautiful woman and an amazing star. Remember, most of them spent about eight hours with you on Saturday, watched you in the film, and they were all so certain that you were what you looked like, that they thought we were announcing intentions to sue.”
When we arrived at the address, I asked the driver to wait, and we went in, finding a nice reception area, with a lovely girl at the desk. She immediately pressed a button on her intercom and announced our arrival. Inside a minute, another girl came out and asked us to follow her. We went up in a lift to the executive floor, where she showed us into an office and introduced us to Mister Martine, the manager.
He looked at me, my coat open to show my outfit, and asked me how I acquired my favourite trench coat.
As he motioned for us to sit, I told him that it was from the Heathrow shop, on a reduced rack, and was purely because it was cold outside, and I didn’t have a coat to wear.
“So, it wasn’t supplied by a shop, you paid for it yourself.”
“That’s correct, it’s my go-to coat. Since I got this, it’s been halfway around the world, and I haven’t seen the need to get something else.”
“That’s wonderful. I have to thank you for wearing it because you like it. We sometimes supply clothing to film stars and celebrities. It’s, for us, usually a one-way street. It’s refreshing to meet someone like you who intends to wear it out if you can. This is why I wanted to talk to you. Can my photographer take some pictures, while you’re here? We’ll give you any items that you like. I believe that you’re with Younger Agencies. We’ll pay you, through them, for your time, today. Would you be one of our ambassadors? We could supply you with our product, any time, any place.”
“That’s a very tempting offer. We’re going to be spending some time in the US for a while, but I think that there’s a sequel to be shot, here, in the UK, after that, so I may be seen around the place. Jeff, my fiancé, will be in the film with me when we’re shooting in the US. It will be starring Kym and Kurt Andreessen, Jack Fellows, and some others that you’ll know. He has very little in his wardrobe, seeing that he only got the job, last week. I saw that you do menswear. Would there be room in the deal for him?”
“I’ll come down with you and organise things he can wear, today. I can just see you both on a hoarding, looking loved up and wearing Burberry. Let’s get moving. The quicker we do this, the quicker you’re on the books.”
He led us to the lift, barking out orders to his secretary to organise someone to bring a range of menswear to the studio, in what I knew was Jeff’s size.
“You can gauge sizes well.”
“Forty years of looking at guys and guessing what size they are. Blokes are worse than ladies when it comes to being truthful about their sizes. A lot of them go one size too big, to prove, to themselves, that they’re more of a man.”
I winked at Jeff, we had both been guilty of that.
In the studio, the photographer was ready, and we were changed, snapped, changed, snapped, and changed again until everyone was happy. There had been pictures of us singularly and together, with coats, jackets, trousers, scarves, suits, and bags.
When we left, I had a few things in a bag, but was back in the outfit that I had arrived in. Jeff had a few bags of his own. We told him that we were sorry that we already had suppliers for the two premieres, but promised to wear our gifts as we could. We were told that contracts would be sent to the agency for both of us. With the photographers praises echoing in our ears, we were driven home, where I made us a pasta dish and we cuddled. Jeff took my car home, and I went to bed, thinking about what an amazing day it had been.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
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
Chapter 17
There was a knock on my door as I stood there and opened it to see the two comediennes.
“Julia, sweet cheeks. We had to come and welcome you to the home of bedlam, and to thank you for the friendship you showed us in Hawaii.”
“We hardly had a dozen words when we were there. You were off, filming, on the other side of the island. Congratulations on your scene. When I first saw it, I nearly fell off my chair for laughing. I was told that it was all ad-libs.”
“You bet ya’ bippy, babe. We were both in character and it all came out. We’ve already been asked to perform together on stage, with a double stand-up. No, we appreciated that when we did speak, you were kind and respectful. It doesn’t happen often enough for us. Everyone takes that self-depreciating act as what we are and tries to out-gag us.”
“You will have guessed, ladies, that comedy isn’t my thing. If I had started cracking jokes when I was working as cabin crew, the passengers would have clubbed together and tossed me out of the plane.”
“So, the hype is right, you really were a stewardess?”
“That’s right. When we filmed us in the plane, everyone working as a stewardess really was. Have you actually seen the film, yet?”
“Not right through. We’ve seen our bits, but not the lot. It seems to have done well, in the U.K, but the U.S. is a different market. David’s previous film was all right, good enough for him to be well-thought of.”
“I’m waiting to see how we go, here, myself. I’ll be back in England before the weekend results are posted, I’m hoping that we clear thirty million. That would be really good.”
“It certainly would, and we hope that you’re right. Something that good would do us as well. It would certainly let us thumb our noses at the new acts who make fun of us both as being over the hill.”
I got them some drinks from the bar in the room, and we sat and talked for some time. They were both well-travelled, and we talked about places we had all been to. When it got close to dinner, they escorted me to the hotel dining room, where we were looked after like royalty. My companions were true stage royalty, but I wasn’t used to this level of service.
We were the only ones from our party who dined there, until Jeff joined us.
“I knocked on your door, Julia, but there was no answer, so I came looking for you.”
I introduced him to the other two as my fiancé, and also a starter in Kym’s next film. He was seated at the fourth chair and a setting placed in front of him. We all ordered our meal, and he joined in the conversation. He told the ladies that he had loved their acts, but had the feeling that it was all scripted, until he saw the taxi scene and had been told that it was ad-lib.
“We both have notes for the stand-up, dear boy, but a lot of what we say comes to us as we react to the audience. On that set, we were doing it for the crew, and the sightseers. Put us in a studio, and you’d hardly get a peep out of us.”
Over dinner, we got friendly, and they offered to show the two of us a few of the sights on Friday. We had a group hug, as we said goodnight, and Jeff walked me back to my room. In the room, we kissed a bit, until he had to go to his room to get some sleep.
My room had a big bathroom, with a big bath. I ran a hot bath, with fragrant oils, and undressed. I laid in the bath until I was nearly asleep, and then got out to dry myself. Pulling the plug I found my nightie, got into one of the softest beds I’d known, and drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, I was woken by the bedside phone ringing. When I answered, I was asked what I would like for breakfast, and that it would be brought to my room, along with my outfit for the day. When I queried that, I was told that my day has been planned by the dress designer and would be an escorted coach tour of the sights, some the same sights that we would have seen with our two friends.
After I had eaten, showered, and got myself dressed and made up, I looked in the mirror and posed in Real Housewives style. It was a true day-dress that could grace the show, in a light blue and barely hiding my bum. The heels were higher than I had ever worn before, and I took some time, walking around the suite, before I was brave enough to fill the matching clutch and leave the room.
When I got down to reception, I found that I wasn’t the only one in light blue, and that we all had very short dresses. My two new friends were there and commiserated with me, saying that being highjacked by one of the backers was par for the course. They weren’t part of the group, and I realised that it was just me and the other girls. The designer walked in with Kym on his arm, and we all followed him to the coach. It was funny, watching the others get on the coach, but it did allow me to see how it was done, being side-on as you lifted one leg onto the first step.
It was an interesting day. We did the usual hot-spots – the Statue of Liberty, Fifth Avenue, and the like. We were also taken to many of the best fashion houses, where his goods were retailed, and shown though the back rooms where the real work was done. Everywhere we went, we were escorted by heavies in two SUV’s, and a photo crew who posed us at every stop. I could see why Kym put up with this; the outfits we were wearing would have taken ten grand off the bottom line, each. If he would be supplying different outfits for different scenes, it would take a big chunk off the shooting costs.
Back at the hotel, he thanked us all for being good sports, and told us that the dresses were ours. I didn’t know about the others, but I think that mine would languish in the wardrobe until I found a skirt that looked good, so I could wear it as a long tunic.
I went and changed, and then found some of the others in the bar. Jeff was there, and regaled me with his day, sightseeing with our two friends. Dinner tonight was a long table with most of the bigger stars and their partners. It was a little boisterous, with those who had seen the film commenting on various scenes for those who hadn’t, as well as the protests in London. The film would be opening across the country with the matinee session, and the red-carpet event was set for eight, so we had most of tomorrow free. I say free, but all of the girls were booked into a salon for the afternoon, and then there would be a light dinner, followed by dressing.
We had been booked for a TV interview in the morning. The designer asked us to wear the dresses we had on today, as the colour showed well on screen. That was all right, as it would allow some folks with time on their hands to decide to head for the pictures. We sat around and talked a bit, after dinner, and mostly decided that an early night was the way to go.
The interview was interesting. Of course, Kurt and Jack were featured, with some clips from the film. Of course, the two comediennes had a lot of time, with some clips from their scenes, but not the final part. They had a right royal time, sending each other up and talking back to the interviewer, who wasn’t used to guests calling him out. I suppose that’s why he was a bit nasty when he turned to me and asked me about the claim that I was a guy. I stood up, in the very short skirt, sashayed over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek.
“Now, did you just think you’d been kissed by a bloke. That article has been withdrawn, which you should have known if you’d done some research. That’s the only answer you’re getting on that subject. I’m here to talk about the film, and the fabulous actors in it, not scandalous gossip.”
One of our American friends piped up.
“That’s what he does, honey. Give him a fact and he can’t handle it.”
The audience roared with laughter, which the studio manager couldn’t stop. The interviewer went red in the face and called for a break. While the public was seeing adverts, I went and sat down, and things were brought back to normal.
After that, he was more interested in the film, and we ended up coming out in front, I think. We all trooped off, back to the hotel, for lunch and to change into something easy for the salon. When we re-assembled, for the dinner, we were all very clean, hair dressed and made up. Even the guys had enhancements, but very subtle. After that, it was back to our rooms, with a dresser to help us get changed.
My outfit was not quite over the top, in fact, it was not quite over me. I was glad that the salon had worked on merging my skin with the forms. My outfit was true Housewives – shoulder-less and legless, pretty close to a very wide red belt. If I thought that the light blue was slutty, this one took the cake. I didn’t need, or could even wear, a bra. For the rest of the outfit, I had nude tights with nude panties, and heels that gave me vertigo. This was one time when I envied Jeff in a dinner suit. I wondered whether the designer was testing my patience or my male ego.
Jeff, of course, thought I was beautiful, and I had to tell him not to hug me, in case something fell out, nor could he kiss me, because we needed to keep the make-up pristine. We were put into cars in the underground garage, which was good, as it was cold outside. At the venue, I must have looked ill with goose bumps in the walk between the car and the entrance, but they did have hot air blowers which took the edge off. I didn’t have time to speak to anyone, on the way in, but I did wave to the far-right evangelists, with their placards. Their diction was worse than the protesters in London.
I had more pictures taken of me, in a short time, than ever before. We were taken over to various TV crews and well-dressed lady presenters, who all gushed and pushed their own narrative, while asking inane questions. The film was – well, the film. They laughed, cheered, and cried at the right times. The taxi scene got applause when it faded to the next scene. I think our friends were going to do very well out of their cameo appearance, however minor.
The party was interesting, a lot of male guests wanting to put a hand on my shoulders. I would have to get used to it, once I’d had the operation, as I could see all of the other female stars getting the same treatment. I suppose that I had better be glad that this occasion had given me the chance to show that there wasn’t a speck of male Jamie left. The dress, or lack of it, would have been something I would have run away from if I hadn’t been forced into it. And I say that, literally. If I had eaten anything, I think that you could have seen it going down.
I did get a chance to talk to C.J. at the party. He told me that he was very happy how the film had turned out and said that Kym’s alterations had improved it. When we left, someone kindly gave me a faux fur coat to put on. At the hotel, it, the dress, and the heels, were taken after the dresser had helped me. She told me that they would be on show, in the foyer of the cinema, along with the other outfits we wore. Peeling off the tights, then cleansing, I slipped on a nightie and tried to sleep. Today would be the watershed. My future would depend on how we did over this weekend.
It was a wintery sunlight that came through the bedroom window when I pulled the curtains back. I had finally slept well and was ready to face the day. The designer couldn’t get me into anything more revealing, could he? The answer was that we went the other way today. To appease the hard-right, and most Americans, we were all going to church. Not just any church, but the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. It had been in many films as a great location, so was ideal for those of us that joined the congregation, with our attendant photographers, of course.
My outfit was right out of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ with a little hat to make a statement. I loved it and loved it even more when I was told that it was one to keep. We had the afternoon off, and I was able to spend some quality time with Jeff. This weekend was the one that taught him what being a star was really about. It was hard work making the film, but sometimes harder promoting it.
Those of us going back to London flew out in the morning. It was a happy, yet sad, time for us. Our involvement in the film would be only from interviews from now on, with, perhaps, appearances in other countries if it got taken up. What was now looming, for me, was the operations. For our other stars, it was waiting to see how much their percentages would give them. I knew, that if we did as well as the U.K., I would have enough to see me right for some time to come.
I had just come away from the specialist, on Wednesday, when my phone received a text from Jim. Our weekend in the U.S. had achieved eighty-five million. I had earned one point seven million, U.S., in two days. I had to find a seat, as I read it a second time. The receptionist asked me if I was all right and I told her that I felt faint.
“That’s usual when some of our patients realise that their dreams are about to come true. I’ll get you some water.”
She came back with a small cup of iced water, and I sipped it, while coming back into the real world. Feeling better, I went out to the car, where Colin was looking at the paper.
“Are you all right, Miss Leigh? You look a bit pale.”
“I’m good, Colin. Can you take me to the agency, please. I think I might be there a while, so I’ll call a cab when I’m ready to go home.”
At the office, I was shown right through to see a beaming Jim who had already bought a Lamborghini key ring. That small item lightened my feelings, and we had a detailed discussion with Horatio joining us. I was told that Kym’s producer had sent an email offering me two million as an up-front payment, to which Jim had replied that I was worth four. He laughed as he told me that the dance always happened, even when everyone knew that the result would be meeting in the middle.
While we were talking, his secretary brought in an email, which he looked at.
“Julia, before I talk about this email, can you please tell me, with your knowledge of the next film, what the story is. This is from Kym, and she says that it’s all right. It won’t go outside the three of us but will be important as I negotiate the payments to other clients on my books.”
“All right. The film has a working title of “Thirteen Women.” The opening scene has Jeff, as the young detective, going to pick up my daughter for a date. The radio is playing the song, the Bill Haley version. The words have a meaning through the film. There are a number of families in this city, who are the cream of society. Two are in the restaurant business, two are bankers, and two have high-end fashion outlets. They are the main six wives that Kym, Cynthia, Moyra, Belle, Wanda, and me play. The song has a jeweller, three dancers and three that deal with expensive cars. The five other stewardesses that were in the pictures in Monaco will be taking up those parts, with others that I’m yet to know being the remaining two. I think that the original thoughts were that there would be thirteen families, but Kym mentioned to me, in New York, that she was paring it back so that the remaining seven are family members, all daughters.”
“OK, that sounds good.”
“The film is all glitz and glam, with the first murder happening about twenty minutes in. I won’t bore you with the detail, but Jeff’s character discovers the identities of the murderers, which leads to the screen test scene that you’ve seen. He gets found in a hamburger joint.”
“That fits with what I have here. What about the sequel?”
“OK. Kurt, as the lieutenant, takes over the case when the Chief tells him what Jeff had said, in the argument. He solves the case and is closing in on the women, who are all now known to be a witches coven. The final scenes are of Kurt organising a raid and approaching the mansion where Kym lives, having a running gun battle with the six husbands, interspersed with scenes of the thirteen changing into satanic gowns and laying out a circle in the dining room. In the final scene, he breaks down the doors and rushes in, to find thirteen empty gowns, in a circle, with a nasty smell in the air.”
“How does that lead to the sequel?”
“Jeff and I were visiting Canterbury Cathedral, and we met Kurt and Kym looking for backgrounds. She had given me some inklings and told me that her search was for the following film. I guessed that the most inappropriate concept was that the thirteen have reappeared as nuns. She told me I was right, and I now know that they would be ‘Sisters of the Great Angel’. I haven’t seen any screenplay for that, yet.”
Jim looked at Horatio and they both cracked up.
“That’s priceless. In one film Kym pisses off the cream of society and angers the rabid right, in the next she attacks the Church of England and the Catholics in one hit. They’re both marketing gold. Now, this email has some changes to the story that she’s come up with, since ‘Turbulence’. The two, wonderful, taxi drivers are going to be workers in the hamburger joint. There are some scenes with them and Jeff, and the reason that Jeff was in the place was to leave a package for them, which he has told them to only give to someone who asks for it. He had hidden the package before he was killed.”
“OK, that would work.”
“The two are already signed, sealed, and delivered for the film. She also tells me who will be playing your daughter.”
He named Samantha Zeering, a young sex-bomb who had hit the screens last year. Jeff was going to have a lot of fun when they did scenes, and I knew some of those scenes were almost, but not quite, porn. I was going to have to get him to agree to an arrangement, similar to Kym and Kurt’s.
“How are you going to play her mother, when you’re not that much older?”
“Jim, it’s the movies. They’ll make me look into my forties, and then the designer will give me clothes suitable for a teenager. It’s classic Housewives. That’s no biggie. What else does she say?”
“She says that all contracts with the main cast will be for the two films, so we’ll have to negotiate with the producer if he hasn’t been told this. She has also spoken with her director, who is available for the U.S. shooting, but not for the studio work, which will take place here, where you did the indoor work. They’ve discussed this and Kym wants you to do the directing in the studio, because of the way you interact with the rest of the cast, as well as your knowledge of the screen play.”
“Wow! That’s not something I expected.”
“It means that we’ll need to set a figure on that basis, for you as the whole package of actor and director for both films.”
As he was talking, the secretary came in with another email, and a big smile on her face.
“This is from the producer. He has been told about the arrangement and is making an offer. He’ll pay you twenty thousand U.S. if we agree today, and you sign the contract by the end of the week. He’s also offered a flat rate for both films, with directing credits, of twelve million. Do we need to negotiate?”
“Somehow, Jim, I think that you’d better ask him to send the contract over. I’m happy with that, and all the girls will be happy to know that they have ongoing work. Jeff will be over the moon, although he’ll have to look a lot different if he’s also in the sequel.”
“Good work, Julia. The proceeds of these two will put a garage over my new Lambo. I just have to see where I want to put it. On that front, my staff have come up with three places for you to have a look at. If you see anything you like, Michael will be with you and can sign the lease on behalf of the agency. Do you have the time?”
“If you’re putting up the money, Jim, I’ve got the time.”
Michael was called in and told to take me to lunch and then to the three addresses on the papers. I asked him if we could pick up Jeff on the way round and then rang Jeff to see if he was clear. When he said that he was, I told him that we were on our way. Michael didn’t have a flash Alfa, he had a very nice Jaguar, and we stopped to pick up Jeff. He got in the back.
We stopped for a nice lunch, then we went to see the first property. It was what Roger had advocated, a large apartment in a new tower, with car parking and all the extras, like a gym, pool, and office space. To me, it was antiseptic, with no feeling. Even my own place was more homely. The second property was, again, in a tower, well to the south and close to the studio. It was bigger but didn’t grab me. The third, like the Mystery House on TV, was further out. I loved it, having been cooped up in a tower for several years.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 18
The open gate was in a stone wall, and looked like an electric one, with a speaker set into the gatepost. The gravel drive led towards the house, but I saw older farm sheds on either side as we entered. The house was a barn conversion, single storey for most of it, but I could see a second storey towards the back, on both sides.
We were met by the agent, who just opened the doors and let us look everywhere. There were more bedrooms that I knew what to do with, and too many toilets for one person to clean and still earn a living. It was ‘U’ shaped. With the high ceilings and roof braces showing.
The main reception room was the front of the building, with one wing having a large, empty, room off the lounge, with mirrors, which the agent said had been used as a gym. It would make a wonderful rehearsal room. Next was a home office, fully connected, and then the large bedroom suite. I looked in the huge master bedroom and asked Jeff if he liked it. I think that the gleam in his eyes said it all. There was a door, at the end of the corridor, which led straight into a fully furnished, new-build, annex, with open plan downstairs and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.
The other wing led off the dining area, straight into a chef’s kitchen, and then to another corridor, with a laundry, then three bedrooms, all ensuite, and another door to the second annex, the mirror image of the other one. The corridors, on both sides, looked into the enclosed garden that would be wonderful to laze in, with a drink besides you, while reading screen plays.
As I looked around, things that had passed through my mind came back to me. I thought of a driver, a butler or maid, and a cook. Here, I could employ all three and house them. I asked Jeff, straight out, if he would live here, with me, and he gave me a hug and a deep kiss. I told Michael and the agent to work with the paperwork and let me know when I could move in.
The agent told me that I could move in as soon as they saw the money. Michael took out his phone, pressed a few buttons, asked for the account details and the amount needed to pay for six months. While they were doing the business, Jeff and I looked at the outside. There had been a tennis court next to the back fence, from seeing the high wire netting that was still there with floodlights, but the garden side was now fully open, with a shelter that housed an outside chemical toilet, barbeque, and kitchen units. I could see big outdoor parties. The garden was sheltered by high bushes with poplar trees as windbreaks.
The land was, I guessed, about two acres, and when we looked in the farm sheds near the entrance, we found one had been set up with an artificial turf and goalposts, the pitch big enough to play five-a-side. The shed on the other side was a garage with space enough for about a dozen cars. Back inside, the business had been done and the money transfer verified. The agent handed me several bunches of keys.
“Welcome to your new home, Miss Leigh. When I saw your film, I couldn’t have guessed that I would be standing next to you. My wife cried at the credits.”
“You can tell her that I still do, and I’ve seen it about six times. This house is perfect for me with movements in my career. Jeff will be in the next film, with me, and we’re going to be in the U.S. for a few months. Is there a security service?”
“There is, and a cleaning service and gardening. They have all been looking after the house since the soccer player that was living here went to play in Spain. They have keys, so it wouldn’t be a problem to keep them on. I’ll arrange it for you and email your agents the alteration in fees. We will cover the first six months, as we had contracted for almost that time, anyway.”
Michael nodded and we had a last look around before leaving. The agent showed me all the doors that the keys opened and gave me a bit of paper with the security code and showed me the three keypads that could be used, coming, or going. He asked that if I changed the code, to let him know, so the security could be notified.
He left us and I showed Michael the two sheds and the party area at the back. He, like me, thought that it was perfect for hosting gatherings of our friends. I was already planning a party for the other girls, and their partners, as a housewarming. We set the alarms, locked up and left the house. On the way out, I found a fob with a button, and pressed it as we went through the gate, with it closing behind us.
Michael took us both back to the office. Horatio had received a bunch of contracts for the next film. All the other girls were there for both, with decent up-front payments. I signed mine, and Jeff signed his. He had been offered two million a film, not bad for a guy who hasn’t yet graced a screen. I knew that a lot of the others were with different agencies, so the negotiations would be up to them. Jim told us that our bonus would be paid in, overnight, with the rest deposited over the next three months.
Horatio took us aside and spoke about savings and investments. He explained how easy it was to be cast aside with nothing. I signed an agreement for the agency to invest half of my net earnings into blue-chip stocks. He also showed me another piece of paperwork which would make my future different.
It was an application to set up my own company, which would give me tax breaks, employ people, and claim costs in carrying on the business, such as equipping my lovely new office. With that, I could have that cook and that driver, if I wanted them. This all placed me squarely in the sights of the taxation office, somewhere I had only known that my passengers had worried about. I filled it in, with my new address that was on one of the keyrings, with just my work mobile and email address as electronic contact. For a company name, I thought long and hard, and put down ‘Julialee Holdings’.
Horatio said that it would all be in place when I was out of the hospital. That made me stop and think. I was booked to go there on Tuesday, which left me five days to get my life in order. I asked Jeff if he wanted to shift to the house, and if we could do it together. His smile, and kiss, was all I needed.
When we left the office, we hailed a taxi to take us home to my place first. Jeff said that he would hire a van so that we could move on Thursday and Friday, and that he would see to getting the house ready when I came home to it. I went up to the apartment that had been my home for some years, feeling a little wistful at saying goodbye.
I sat and made lists. I looked in the wardrobe and drawers, I looked in cupboards and the fridge. I listed all the items that I had bought since I moved in, as it had been partially furnished. I made sure that I listed my bedding and cleaning items, and the washing machine that I had bought before I found the laundromat. I knew that the house had everything in it, but I wanted to leave no loose ends. When I thought about the house, I made another list. On that was office equipment, assorted electrical goods and good televisions. Jeff could sort some of that out before I joined him.
The shops were still open, so I went to a large hardware store, buying a toolbox with a bunch of tools for use around the house. I had a guy carry them to my car, using some boxes from their pile by the check-outs. These would come in handy to transport my old foodstuffs. Too busy to sit and eat, I went through a fast-food servery on the way home. That evening, I emailed the agency that handled the tower, telling them that I was giving my lease up, and asking them to let me know how quickly I could leave. I spent a pleasant evening packing my cases.
Jeff rang while I was having breakfast. He was getting a cab to take him to pick up a Transit and would load some of his things that he could move single-handed. Then he would come by my place, and we could load up the easier things of mine. That gave me time to finish eating, clean up, and get dressed in an old tee, jeans, and a plain sweater, with my boots. I had the cases by the door before he knocked, with just enough picked out to see me dressed if we needed to do more the next day.
When he arrived, we put my things in the back, along with his, with boxes of household items. When I looked around, there was nothing we could move today. I pointed out the washing machine and settee I had bought, and he said he had a few bigger items left at his place. On the way to the house, we stopped at a hardware store and bought a sack-truck, putting it in the back.
At the house, I discovered that the master bed was bigger than anything we had, so I took some measurements, using my new tape, and then went to look at all the other beds. The annexes and three spare rooms were the same size as my old bed, so we left one set of sheets in each room. We thought we would have to buy blankets, but Jeff found doonas in the wardrobes. We saw that there was central heating, but nothing had been turned on, so we found the controls and got it going for a steady twenty degrees C. The wardrobes were so vast in the master bedroom that the clothes that were busting out of my old one now only looked like I had just started collecting.
Jeff filled a separate wardrobe, and we allocated the drawers. We stopped, every now and then, to hug and kiss. When we had cleared the van, I suggested that he should give Larry a call, to see if he was available to help with the bigger things. I said that I’d treat them to a good dinner. When Jeff rang, he asked the question, listened for a while, grinned, and told Larry that we would pick them up in a couple of hours.
“Them?” I queried.
“You know how Larry would always put the two of us and our friendship down?”
I nodded.
“He discovered who you really were on that flight. It was his mother that saw it first, and when he realised that it wasn’t a problem for her, he finally had the courage to tell her that he’s gay. That’s why he never had girlfriends for long. He has been in a relationship with another boy for a while and now he’s out in the open.”
“So, it was all a double bluff! Who’s the boy?”
“Do you remember Brendon, the mad soccer player?”
“Him! He was built like a brick outhouse when he was fifteen. So, Larry is now a bottom?”
“That is something I don’t know and have no desire to even think about. Anyway, with Bren helping, all of the furniture will be a doddle. I’d better get in a dozen beers for the after-move social, before you buy us all dinner. Where are you taking us, anyway?”
“If I pick up my car when we load my stuff, I’ll lead you back here. That way, I can take the others when you take the van back, then we can go to see Mama Alcone.”
We went and had lunch, and then we stopped at Larry’s house. We were invited in, with his mother still enraptured by the film. Brendon was there, still a big guy, but far more engaging than I remembered him. Perhaps, at school, he had been bottling up his own true feelings. When we got away, we went to Jeff’s place first, loading up a couple of chairs, his bedside cupboards, and a bar fridge. He had a good look around and gave his mother a kiss before we left.
At my place, we loaded my washing machine, the settee, and a Scandinavian easy chair. I had brought back an empty suitcase, so filled it with the rest of my clothes and the sheets off my bed, leaving the place as bare as when I had moved in. Jeff and Brendon went in the van, and Larry opted to ride with me in the car. On the way, he was full of apologies for his attitude at school, saying that he felt that he had to hide his own feelings of strangeness. I told him that none of it mattered, now, and that all we need to think about is our future, and how we carry ourselves forward.
He told me that his relationship with his mother was a lot closer, but his father still thought of him as a queer. Brendon was a wonderful find, in a pink bar that he had gone into, on a whim. He laughed when he said that it had been awkward before they both decided to tell each other the truth, after a few pints. He told me that he loved the film, and was quite jealous of Jeff’s friendship with me, even back in our schooldays.
When we arrived at the house, I opened the gate from my key fob, and Larry gasped at the sight when we drove in.
“You’re going to live here! It’s huge.”
“It’s the right size for when I get a couple of employees. It used to be the home of a soccer player, and the shed on the left has a five-a-side pitch in it. Let’s get the things unloaded, then you can have a look around. After that, I’m taking you to eat Italian.”
It didn’t take long for the guys to put the odd bits of furniture in the mirrored room, to be used as props in the future. The fridge was sent out to the party area, where it went into a space in the shelter, alongside a power point. I put my last case of things in the bedroom, and the washing machine went into a space in the laundry to be connected up. At least I’ll have one thing that I knew how to use. After that, we showed Larry and Brendon around. They were excited with the soccer pitch and the three lads kicked a ball around for a little while, while downing a six-pack of beer.
Larry went with Jeff in the van, and Brendon came with me as we took the van back. He admitted much the same as Larry, that he had been keen on me in school. I had to laugh, there was I trying to talk to girls when I would have been much more successful talking to boys. Larry had cajoled him into seeing the film, which he didn’t think he’d like. He had thought that a lot of it looked very real and loved the taxi chase. He also asked me what it was like to kiss Kurt.
After Jeff had returned the van and finished the paperwork, I took them to see Mama, who welcomed us in like old friends, to seat us at a prominent table, ‘fit for my film star clients’. We had a nice meal and then took Larry and his partner home. Then Jeff and I went back to the house, walking in as the new residents for the first time. I say, ‘walking in’, as he opened the door and carried me across the threshold, only putting me down to kiss me.
We made sure the gate was closed. And then explored the security, finding that we could alarm the outside while the inside was free of sensors. I could see that we could, if we wanted to, alarm the whole house, and monitor that with an app, which also linked to cameras in the house. I left that to Jeff to sort out, and we went to the spare bedrooms to make up the beds in two of them. Tonight, we would still sleep apart, and tomorrow we would go looking for sheets and a bigger doona for the main bed. We agreed that we wouldn’t sleep in that one until we could do it as a man and a woman.
We went to the main bedroom to sort out our nightwear and toiletries to take into our temporary bedrooms. It would be just four nights for me, until I was in hospital. After that, we would sleep together.
Friday morning, we both checked our bank accounts to see that our bonus’ were paid in, had breakfast from what we had brought in, sitting in our gleaming kitchen. I felt quite regal, after what I had lived in before. We tidied up, then went to our own showers, and then dressed. After the day in jeans, I opted for a blouse and skirt, to be covered by my old trench coat. At the bedding shop, I was recognised, and we attracted some fans. The security guys kept the peace as I spoke to them and signed autographs. The sales staff offered to look for what we were after, so I gave them my note, with the sizes, and said what colours I liked.
When we were able, we looked at what they had collected and I bought the lot, with a couple of lads taking them out to the car. One asked me why a film star was driving a six-year-old Ford, so I told him that I was just forming my own company and would be leasing something better then. He asked me if he could buy it from me, so I got him to write down his details on a bit of paper, for me to contact him later.
From there, it wasn’t far to the electrical store, where we got new radio / alarms for all the bedrooms, and Jeff looked at TV’s, referring to some notes he had. He ordered, and paid for, three super-sized sets, and one smaller. They were for the lounge, dining room, and master bedroom; with the smaller one to go into the kitchen. For the life of me, I couldn’t see why you have a big TV in the bedroom – you go there to sleep – but he pointed out the inbuilt DVD /USB slots and said that we could watch ourselves in our films, giving each other points.
We then went to the computer side, where we chose a desk-top system, with printer / scanner, plus new laptops, and three big monitors, to be delivered with the TVs. We arranged for the shop to organise specialists to come to the house when they were delivered, to make sure that they were properly installed, as well as setting up the computers. By the time I got home, Jeff would be on top of everything.
We went to the café in the shopping complex and had lunch. I felt that we would need home cooking, once a lot of people had seen the film. There were some who looked at us, as if they were unsure, but we were left alone. Who would think that a couple of film stars would be eating toasties in a café?
While we were finishing, my phone pinged. It was a text from Jim, telling me that some screenplays had been delivered to the office, and could we come in and pick them up. We went back to the house and unloaded our goodies, then Jeff drove us to the office.
The screenplays were updated ones for ‘Thirteen Women’, as well as a first draft of ‘Sisters Without Mercy’. There was even a couple for us to read through, to see if we were interested. One was from a very well-known producer and director team, with the other sent in by David. We told Jim that we were both living in the house, and that I had emailed my landlord about stopping my lease. He told us that we were thinking properly. One thing he did tell us was that Wanda was living with her folks in Sydney but would be joining us when we went to the States.
That made me think, and I told him that we would host a small party, Saturday evening, at the house, as a bit of a housewarming. I invited anyone in the office who wanted to come. On the way home, I phoned around, inviting Sherona and the gang, with their partners, as well as Cynthia and the other girls. Then I left a message with the car company, inviting Colin and his wife. Jeff gave Larry another call.
At the house, we made up the master bed, to look all right if anyone looked in. Then took the other sheets and pillows and made up all the beds in the two annexes, finishing off with the third spare bedroom. They would look all right on inspection and would be handy if anyone was unable to drive home after the party. We had bought a dozen towelling gowns and these were laid across each bed.
Saturday morning, I ordered forty assorted pizzas to be delivered to the house at eight, then we went to an off-licence and bought some wine, beer, and spirits, with soft drinks. There was enough for them to offer delivery that afternoon. We went through a fast-food place for lunch and then a supermarket to stock up on food for normal snacks and breakfasts. After that, went home to set up. The fridges – yes, there were three in the kitchen – were checked and wiped out, the food warmers were turned on and checked, and I made sure that all the toilets were clean, with plenty of paper.
Jeff and I went to the main bedroom to see what we would wear. He chose the outfit he had worn on the flight, while I went with my red party dress. The gate was left open, and people started arriving. By the time the pizzas arrived, there must have been fifty of us, sitting and standing, with a lot of chatter. The drinks flowed as well as the banter, with my fan club soaking it all up.
When I had the chance, I took Colin to one side and spoke to him and his wife, Ruth. She was wearing the sweater that he had been given, with a nice skirt. I asked what she worked at, and she told me that she had been a short-order cook in a café that had failed during the pandemic. I asked how her other cooking skills were, because mine were limited to take-away and nuking, with a bit of pasta on the side. She laughed and said that she had been to cookery school. I asked her if she would like to cook for me.
That stopped her in mid-laugh.
“Are you joking?”
“No, I’m trying to assemble a group, around me and Jeff, who will be friends and look after some of the things we can’t do. You can cook and I can’t. That’s simple. The other thing is that Colin asked me if I minded him being my regular driver. I’m asking if he would like to be my driver, full time.”
“What about our having to come here from home?”
“Follow me.”
I took them past the bedrooms and opened the door to the annex, turning on the lights.
“Your own annex, two bedrooms upstairs, with the bathroom, what you see in front of you downstairs, plus a powder room and cupboards. It’s part of your package, should you agree. You don’t have to say anything, now. I have to go and have some treatment, which will be two to three weeks. If you say that you’ll help, then talk to Jeff, who’ll be here. He will take you into the office; my holding company will be up and running by then. Jim and Horatio can take you through the paperwork. When we have the company, we’ll lease some cars, there’s enough room for about ten in the big shed by the entrance.”
They looked at each other, so I thought I’d better back off.
“Look, explore this place, and then have a good look at the kitchen. I’ll be back in the lounge, seeing if our other guests are having fun.”
When I got back to the lounge, it was very quiet. I heard some cheering and went to find where they were. In the shed by the entrance, there was a boisterous five-a side tournament going on, with a girls team against a guys team. The girls were ahead, mainly because they were all from the fan club, and all played soccer at school.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
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
Chapter 20
Three weeks later, Colin was holding the back door of a glorious dark blue A8 for me to get in, while Brendon and Jeff put my things in the boot. In the meantime, I had been subjected to one major surgery and several minor ones. I was now classified as a genuine replica of a woman. One that was still a bit slow moving and still had minor horrors at my reflection.
They had told me that the bruises would leave, the way that most of the swelling already had. I now had a nice pair of breasts if you liked multi-coloured ones. I had been lipo-sucked and now had a much better waist. They had added some filler to my butt, and did a minor adjustment to my larynx, so that I couldn’t drop into a bloke voice anymore. That, alone, was a relief. I just hoped I snored prettily.
Colin had test driven the A8 and loved it. He had loved it even more when they took him to a test track to try and put one out of shape. He was in a uniform that Ruth and Jim had come up with. Ruth had spent two weeks back in cooking school, to catch up with some new trends. Larry had been in a private school for butlers, on a crash course, and I was assured that he had scrubbed up very well. Brendon had been on a crash course in body-guarding and looked buff in his suit.
To my mind, the break had been well worth it. I was now swimming in hormones and ready to test my new equipment, although the doctor had told me to hold off, and just to keep dilating, for another couple of weeks to allow all the stitches to fully heal. The last had only been taken out yesterday. I had been visited often, while in hospital, and had read the screenplay for ‘Gone with the Gale’ several times, with a lot of notations. I was ready to sit down with David and talk about it if he still wanted me to be in it.
It was a lovely summer day, and I was in my orchid sundress that I had worn at the screen test, all that time ago. The fact that it fitted me better was nice, but it was the way I felt in it that mattered. I wasn’t wearing it as a costume, to project the notion of femininity, I was wearing it as a woman. The last few weeks had been a learning curve on how I would be living, and I was determined to live my life to the full.
Jeff came and sat beside me and held my hand. He had been in to see me, almost every day, and had seen me at my worst. Jim and Belle had been in, a few times, as had Cynthia and Moyra. I even had a visit from Horatio – but that one included signing the papers he had brought with him. He had told me that the first payment of six million dollars had gone into my account, with half going into my investment fund. My little break, so he told me, had stayed under the radar, with any enquiries being told that I was studying screenplays.
As we left the hospital, I waved to the nurses at the door. They had been wonderful. They had also told me that I was wonderful, and most were registered on the fan club website. I had been kept in the loop while I was there, with all the goings on. Kurt and Kym wanted me to join Tony as soon as I could, and I thought that if Jeff and I could marry, we could make Tallahassee as a destination for a honeymoon.
Jeff had been working with the vicar, and it was all set for the wedding in two weeks. Jim had organised the wedding party, and had asked Agnes, as I had suggested. She had been told that it was a great honour and that I had asked for her to keep it quiet until the issue went out to the newsstands.
The car was gloriously quiet as we glided home. At the house, Larry, now in a good suit, came and opened the door for me, and held out his hand to help me out. Tonight, Jeff and I would be sleeping in the big bed, although sex wasn’t on the cards. Ruth was there and told me that I would be eating proper food for dinner. Brendon took my cases through to the master, and Jeff took my bag with the screenplay into the office.
I stood in the lounge and wondered at the difference. We were now a tightly knit team, with me at the center. Jeff would join me there once we got the film out of the way. I wondered when I would be contacted about the other screenplays, only to find that out as Larry came in with some notes in his hand.
“Julia, a David Masterson and a C.J. will be calling on you, tomorrow at ten, if it’s convenient. They said to let them know if you want to postpone.”
“That’ll be all right, Larry. What else do you have for me?”
“The Fan Club would like to talk to you. It seems that Jim has organised some posters and photos for them, and they want to thank you. The thing is that they want to meet you at their school, for a special visit. They’re on their summer break, but have organised a party, next Saturday evening. They asked if you and Jeff would join them for a while. It’s semi-formal, and Cynthia and Moyra have said that they will come along to help.”
“All right, let them know we’re coming. Other than that, I’d like to catch up with normal living, and to get ready for the wedding. Right now, I see that we have a huge TV in this room. I think that all my new computer equipment must be in the office. I’ll go and have a look at that, then I’ll be unpacking my case. After that I may try out the bed for an afternoon nap.”
I went to look at the office but didn’t power up the computers. The screenplays were on the desk, waiting for me to look at them again. I emptied my case, putting away some items and adding others to the empty laundry basket. I then undressed and put on a gown, then lay on the bed, and allowed my body to totally relax. I was home!
I was woken by Jeff sitting on the bed and running a hand up my leg. I opened my eyes and gazed into his.
“If you’re a good boy, you can join me here, tonight. But no nookie, doctors’ orders.”
“Ruth and I have already cleared the two spare rooms and everything’s here, my love. All the more perfect with you here.”
I held my arms out and he swivelled to lay next to me so we could kiss. Before I knew it, he was kissing my neck and working down to my new breasts, which had stood to attention.
“What an amazing colour,” he whispered. “If you wore Anna’s dress, they would be invisible.”
That started me laughing and then he silenced me with another kiss.
“I truly love you, Julia Leigh Curtis.”
“I love you, too, Jeffery Thomas. It will be sad that I will still have to use my stage name, after we’re married, but that’s the movies for you.”
“I could always become Jeff Leigh.”
“No, you don’t, you stay your own man, as well as being my man. What’s the time?”
“Time for you to get ready for dinner. Ruth has done something nice. Let’s face it, I’ve eaten better since she arrived. She’s better than my mother.”
“All right, let me up and I’ll get dressed. Do we go formal or informal in the house?”
“With just the six of us, it’s informal. Breakfast in gowns, dinner in jeans. Ruth will be making something for our visitors tomorrow, so semi-casual should work. I wonder what David and C.J. want to talk about.”
“Probably their project. I’ve read the screenplay of ‘Gone with the Gale’ a few times. It will be a powerful piece of film. It’s not a big cast, only five main characters and a few minor ones. Our input will depend on who he has signed for the main five. I did leave a message that I wanted Gayle if they want me in it.”
He left me to redress. I put a skirt on, as jeans were still too tight around the nethers. With a light sweater and my fluffy slippers, I was ready to see what the new dynamic looked like. Colin, Larry, and Brendon had changed into slacks or jeans, Jeff and Ruth stayed as they were. We all sat in the kitchen and Ruth put out bowls of vegetables on the table, then handed out plates with pork chops on. We helped ourselves and tucked in, the conversation ranging from current politics to the weather.
As the talk swirled, I realised that these had done this for a couple of weeks, and I was still the newcomer. I tried to stay focussed, and they answered any queries I had about the last few weeks. I found out that the garden furniture had all been pulled out and cleaned, then put back with covers on. The garage had been thoroughly swept, and had a new surface put down before any cars went in. The outside toilet, in the party area, had been serviced, as had the barbeque. We had the big TV’s, and both annexes had been added to with personal items.
Larry had just left home, while Brendon needed to leave his rental. Jeff told me that my lease had been closed, with the refund going into my account. Colin and Ruth had put their home up for rent, as a security for their old age. When I heard that, I realised that they would probably retire and go back there, sometime in the distant future. It was coming home to me that Jeff and I were the employers, and that these four depended on us for their future.
“Julia, you’re very quiet.”
“Just thinking how nice it is to be home, sitting here with you all, Ruth. I feel that I’ve lost three weeks of normal living and may take a little while to get back together.”
“Knowing you, my girl, you’ll be your usual dynamic self in a couple of days.”
“I like the big Audi, Colin. What else do we have in the garage.”
“There’s your Sportback, with just delivery mileage on. Jeff’s has a bit more, as I think he has enjoyed himself a little. There’s the A8 we picked you up in, and there’s another, on order, that will be suitable for high protection, with extra bodywork, bullet-proof windows, and run-flat tyres, in case someone tries to kidnap you. Jim suggested that one. Then there’s an A4 Estate, for Ruth to use for shopping. Your Ford was taken away, and the guy that took it told me that they had been offered ten thousand for it, as long as it had the old registration papers. Other than that, there’s my old Ford and Brendon’s new Jaguar. We now have everything on an insurance that Horatio organised, along with the house and contents. I have to say that when it comes to getting things done, the agency is second to none.”
“Yes, Horatio has a lot of very good friends. Tomorrow, I’ll have the two visitors. Ruth, could you organise a light lunch if they stay? Brendon, do you have a passport?
“Yes, Julia, I applied for one as soon as you offered me the job.”
“Right. The remark about being kidnapped has made me think. Can you organise some exercise equipment for the rehearsal room? It was used as a gym before, and there’s plenty of outlets. A walker and rowing machine will fit, easily, and I did notice a hook in the ceiling for a punching bag. I’m sure that you’ll need to maintain your own fitness.”
“I’ll get on to that, Julia. Thank you for thinking of it.”
“After the wedding, in two weeks, Jeff and I will be going to Tallahassee for a working honeymoon. I want you and Larry with us as a driver and bodyguard. Colin, you, and Ruth can live in the place as if it’s your own while we’re away. I expect it will be about two months, or so. It will be a pity if we can’t have a garden party this summer, but we’ll hope for a mild Autumn. We will be in the studio for quite a while after that, with another film to do in Spring.”
“There’s some mail for you, Julia, through the agency. I left them in the office.”
“Thanks, Jeff, I’ll have a look at that tonight, then turn in. Try not to wake me up when you come to bed.”
We all helped clear the table after we had a baked dessert and coffee. I discovered that we had two dishwashers, on top of the three fridges and warmers, adding to the three ovens. This was some party house!
I went to the office to see what I had received. There was account statements from the agency, along with all the paperwork for the company. There was a copy of my contract with Kym for the two films, and an unopened package from the airline. When I opened it, I found a nice letter, thanking me for helping put the airline in the minds of cinemagoers everywhere. There was a photo, of me, with the boss, with all the crew behind us. There was another, taken on that terrace, of us all hamming it up in our Real Housewives dresses.
What made me sit back and think was a laminated card, for me to put in my purse, which gave me a lifetime usage of the airline, in first class, for me and a companion. That meant that Jeff and I could fly free, with just the others needing us to buy business class tickets. Even then, I knew that a good accountant would put these down as expenses against earning a living. That meant that everything we do, from now, with travel, accommodation, and other expenses, will have to be organised through the agency. There was a letter, from Burberry, with the official appointments of both Jeff and I as ambassadors, with a request to organise a proper photo shoot. That led to the last letter I opened.
It was on Agency letterhead, and it informed me that they were employing another staff member, to be paid for from our accounts, who will be our contact person for all our dealings, effectively our PA. The applicants will be interviewed during this week, with Jeff and I invited for any second interview in the week after. Until they start, Michael would remain our go-to person.
I looked at the desk, realising that it was much heavier than usual. There was a bottom drawer with a combination lock that was unlocked. I reset the combination to something I would remember, then put the paperwork into it and set the lock. I took the Burberry letter, the pictures, and the pass through to the lounge, where Jeff was watching a movie.
“Have a look at these, darling.”
He smiled at the two photos, and his mouth dropped open when he looked at the airline pass.
“These means that we can go anywhere, free, for life!”
“That’s right. It’s certainly a bonus. ‘Turbulence’ is a film that keeps giving. It does mean that whenever we fly, we will have to look like film stars, to uphold the company image. We won’t have much trouble doing that, seeing that we’re now Burberry Ambassadors.”
He gave me the items back, and I left him to the film, after giving him a goodnight kiss. I looked at the clock as I put them back on the desk, then went into the bedroom to undress, cleanse and put on a sexy nightie. I was only a few minutes out when he came in.
“That movie was getting silly, so I thought I’d turn in.”
I giggled, quietly, as he went into the bathroom, coming out in his pyjamas. He got into bed, then saw me in the nightie. When he turned out the lights, he snuggled close and kissed. It was the first time we had slept together, but there was no rush. He knew that we couldn’t have sex, but I plucked up enough courage to satisfy him, for the first time. We went to sleep, entwined in each other’s arms.
He did wake me when he got out in the night, and I followed him in to use the toilet. It made me realise that sleeping in one bed is something that takes a learning curve. In the morning, I was out before him, and had a good shower going when he joined me. It was the first time that we could see each other, in a bright light, and totally naked. He didn’t disappoint.
I let him have a good look at my new body, complete with the mottled look around the breasts and groin. We washed each other’s backs and giggled a lot. As we dried ourselves, he said that he might go with Brendon to look at gym equipment, to give me privacy with David and C.J. I took my time getting dressed, content to watch him dressing. I have to say that he had shopped a lot while I wasn’t here, and everything he had was new and good quality.
I opted for a simple shift, with tights and slides for inside the house. When we were ready, we went to get breakfast. Obviously, the ‘breakfast in gowns’ concept was for when the boss was away, as everyone was dressed for the day as we walked into the kitchen. We ate and cleared up. Colin and Ruth said they were going shopping, and Brendon got his Jaguar out of the garage. Jeff joined him, after giving me a kiss, and they went off to look for a walker. Colin and Ruth left, not long after, in the A4.
I told Larry that I would be in the office and went there to have another look at the screenplay. I had looked at it a lot, and there were things that I thought could make it better.
Around ten-thirty, Larry knocked on the office door to tell me that the visitors were here.
“They’re in the lounge, and I’ve given them a drink. Shall I bring you something?”
“Thank you, Larry. I’ll just have some soda water.”
I went into the lounge and the two of them rose to give me a hug. Larry put a glass next to an easy chair and I put the screenplay on the coffee table and sat. There was some general chat about recent events, and David told me that our film has passed the two hundred and fifty million mark in box office returns. He proposed a toast to ‘future success’.
When we got down to it, C.J. looked at me with a serious face.
“Julia, you know that I can be a little imperious, at times. I have watched your film and I’ve spoken to others in the business. You have a reputation as a girl who knows what she wants and knows what buttons to press to get it. Please tell me what you think of my screenplay, and what you would do to make it better. Don’t hold back.”
“Thank you. I’ll try not to ruffle your feathers too much. Over the last few weeks, I’ve read it over, and I’ll try to simplify the plot. You have a happy couple who are planning a holiday in a cliffside cottage. With them are their two daughters. You have the wife planning to kill the husband so that she can live with her lover. They kill the husband, and then the lover plans to kill the daughters, who manage to kill him, instead. The wife goes crazy, so they have to defend themselves, killing her. All this takes place, in the cottage, in a roaring storm.”
“That’s it, in a nutshell. What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s too simplistic, with not enough tension. Sorry, but I do have some changes which shouldn’t need a lot of rewrites.”
“All right, lay it on me.”
“Right. First, the married couple. We make the father a lot older and it’s his second or third wife. The daughters are both from a previous marriage. We make him an abusive husband which lets his death be some kind of justice. It will also send a message to abusers that there could be consequences.”
“That sounds doable, carry on.”
“His death could happen before the storm, perhaps the wife and lover could do it, together. The wife introduces the girls to the lover, saying that he’s staying until the storm has passed. We find out that the lover is after the widow’s money and is planning to get rid of the girls. There are scenes in the house, during the storm, that set the tension. Then there is an eye in the storm and the wife and lover tell the girls to join them to look at the view. The girls have realised that their lives are in danger and have made their own plans. At the cliff edge the younger one points out to sea and cries, “Look at that”, or something similar. The two murderers turn around and the girls push them over the edge of the cliff, just as the back end of the storm is coming in. They go back into the cottage and discuss how they would tell their story as the storm rages. The phones come back on, and they ring the police to tell them that their parents went out to look at the storm but never came back.”
“Has anyone told you that you have a very devious mind?”
“More than once, What did you think?”
“I like it. We can change the title to ‘Lost In A Gale’ and it does make what we have come to talk about a little easier.”
David nodded.
“Our questions were to ask you about a likely cast. We are very limited, or were very limited, with age ranges. If we put you in as Gayle, we already have a verbal agreement from Samantha Zeering as the younger daughter, Carol.”
“She will be playing Jeff’s love interest in Kym’s film.”
“So, she’ll have some more exposure before we open.”
“Quite a lot of exposure, actually. I’ve yet to let Jeff know what some of the scenes call for. I’ll let us get married before then.”
“We’re looking to make it a British film, in a British location, with a British cast. With you showing us what Eric can do, I think that he would now be perfect for Marshall, the abusive father.”
“I agree. Cynthia will be looking for more work and is of an age where she could play the wife. Jack’s a good age as Murray, the lover. Jeff could reprise his police persona as the country copper who comes to investigate the disappearances. It could end with Gayle telling Carol that she has a boyfriend, with Carol ending the film by saying “Well, you know what we can do if he hurts you.”
C.J. sat for a while, and then started laughing. He was tearing up and it was infectious. As he came back down, he picked up my copy of the screenplay.
“You won’t need this, now. We have had sessions when we tried to work this into something better, and you’ve just laid it out for us, and solved the casting problem as well. Any more insights?”
“Well, from my reading, pretty much all of the film will be shot in the studio, with just a few outside shots to be in the lead up to the murder, and then after the girls leave the cottage. You’ll need some general outside shots for fitting in at appropriate moments, and I would have a second crew on stand-by to go west as soon as they hear a weather report of a storm heading across the Atlantic. That way you can have a bank if real-time shots, in the actual locations that you used for the other fine weather shots. About the only scenes where the cast are at the location will be getting to the cottage, the first murder, the second murders, and the girls showing the policeman where they saw their parents before them leaving the cottage. I want to be a shareholder in this, if the final screenplay is as good as I know you will make it. We can work out the details later. Now, I saw Ruth coming back with the shopping, I believe that she’s arranged a light lunch. Will you stay, please.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 21
Ruth had laid the dining table and had put out some plates. We went and sat down as she brought out some sandwiches and poured tea. The talk was light, with some idea of a timeline. I would be able to work at it after we tidy up ‘Thirteen Women’. I still wasn’t sure about the sequel.
David asked what I had planned, and I told him that we would be attending a Fan Club party at the school, on Saturday night. The following weekend was the wedding, which they knew about, having been in the select few who had been asked. The week after that, Jeff and I would be flying to Florida.
David looked as if he was thinking hard.
“Florida? Honeymoon?”
“Tony Hampton has asked me to go to Tallahassee early, so that we could look at the locations that have been found and talk about the general feel of the film.”
“I thought that Kym was doing some direction?”
“She was talking about it, but I think she has decided that she would concentrate on the writing, and let Tony call the shots.”
“Why you?”
“I don’t know. He did see how we set up that screen test that you both saw. He may have been talking to Kym about me.”
“Can you talk about the film, now. The scene we saw told us a lot.”
“Well, it’s called ‘Thirteen Women’. That’s brought home in the opening sequence with the title and stars coming up as Jeff drives his police car to a barbeque to meet up with his girlfriend, played by Samantha. The music is the Bill Haley version of the song. At the barbeque, he’s greeted by me, as her mother, and whoever we have playing the father. The father walks him around to meet the other guests.”
“I can see it.”
“The other guests are the other five families. There’s Kym, her husband, and a daughter. Kym is the owner of a high fashion store, and the daughter is a jeweller, working in the store with another girl who is the daughter of Wanda and her husband. That gives us the two gals who made clothes and the one gal who gives a diamond ring from the song.”
“I suppose the other gals mentioned in the song are included?”
“Right. My husband and I have a bank in the town, and Samantha is a development manager. That gives us the two gals who give money. The two who keep him well fed are Cynthia, her husband and daughter, who have a restaurant. In the song, the last verses are a bit odd. There are three dancing mambo. So, we have Wanda, her husband, and the other one of her two daughters who run a dance hall and night club. The third dancer is Moyra’s daughter. The last verse has three gals ‘Ballin’ the Jack’.”
“What on earth does that mean, unless it’s another way of talking about sex?”
“I did look it up, and there’s one meaning where it is a term for going fast. I wondered if it came from ten-pin bowling where you throw a fast ball straight at the headpin. In the film, we have Belle, her husband, and two daughters who are into NASCAR racing.”
“That fits with Tallahassee and the South, in general. I can see a lot of scenes to make the film interesting.”
“The last family is Moyra and her husband. They have the one daughter and two sons, but she does have a living mother who is the last member of a witches coven. It’s through her that the thirteen women who make up the current coven have formed, but that’s not shown until later in the film. Before that, it shows all the fine ladies, going about their totally lawful lives.”
C.J. asked how the film develops.
“Well, one of the daughters has been hurt by her boyfriend, and the coven decide that they would try out their powers, to see if they can call up some retribution for him. The retribution is hideously fatal, and they realise that they can change things to suit themselves. Over the course of the film, several business rivals, and even old school bullies, are killed through mystic powers. Jeff has a lot of screen time with Kurt, as the young detective, and has gained some inkling into how the murders have occurred, and that leads to the scene you saw. Eric, as the police chief, gets a lot of screen time shmoozing with the six families to ensure his re-election. It ends with Samantha killing Jeff in a hamburger joint with a knife, and Kurt taking over the case. Then there’s a gunfight between the police and the husbands. The witches set up a circle and have disappeared when Kurt enters the room.”
“And the sequel?”
“That’s problematic at the moment. There’s a lot of detail to be worked through, but the basic plot is Kurt on holiday, in England, when he sees some of the coven in habits. I expect that would be Kym, Cynthia, and me, seeing that we have the most interaction with him. The coven is now far more powerful, so the plot does take on a more ‘good versus evil’ slant.”
David smiled, and looked at C.J., who nodded.
“Thank you for that, Julia. It allows me to disregard a couple of projects that have been put our way. It does leave one which would suit you, for a couple of years down the track. What we’ll do now, is to see if we can get Eric on board for ‘Gale’, and then fill out the others with some of the usual suspects. We’ll make an offer, through the agency, for both you and Jeff, with up-front payments. I think that you’ll have a solid body of work before you turn thirty, both of you. We’ll send you updated copies of this screenplay. Thank you for the lunch, but we must get going. We’ll see you at the wedding?”
“Unless you want to turn up at the Fan party on Saturday evening. I don’t know what they had planned but a visit by the director would make their evening.”
“I’ll see what Irene has to say about that. She’s onto me to socialise more and not be too driven. The success of ‘Turbulence’ allows me to sit back and take my time, and it has brought us together. I must have been a right bastard to live with when I was doing my first film. I could have been trying too hard.”
He picked up the draft screenplay, and I pointed out that there were a lot of notes in it that might help, but that I didn’t mind if he disregarded them. They both gave me a hug before they left. When I closed the door and went back to the kitchen, Ruth gave me a hug.
“I heard most of that about the next film, Julia. From what I heard I could see you in America for the Oscars next year.”
“If we are, it will be for ‘Turbulence’. ‘Women’ will be released in time for the following year. Who knows what we’ll be doing by then.”
Jeff and Brendon came home, having ordered a walker, a small rower, and a punching bag. They had added a set of weights and an exercise mat with reinforced area if you drop the weights. They had the sizes, so we went into the rehearsal room to move things around for when they were delivered. When Jeff and I were alone, he kissed my forehead.
“So, how did it go, darling?”
“We had a good talk, and I offered my ideas on how it could go. They took my copy away and said that we’ll get revised copies, each. I’m to play Gayle, and you’ll be getting an offer to play the policeman, in the last twenty minutes. It’s not huge but it does get you into the credits, and they will offer an up-front payment.”
“Wow, another film and I’ve still to complete the first one.”
“Remember, they did see the screen test, so they both know what you can do. Did you read the screenplay for ‘Women’?”
“I’m working through it. I don’t have the memory that you have, so it’s a bit harder. I’ll study it over the next couple of weeks and you can test me while we fly to Florida. It might help to make the trip go quickly.”
During the rest of the week, he read ‘Women’ and I tried to get some sense out of ‘Sisters’. In the end, I decided that it was not very good, so doodled with alternative ideas. On the Friday, Jeff drove me to the office, where we sat in on an interview with Jacquie. She was keen, she was just a couple of years younger than me, and she had graduated with a degree in Business, with a second in computer studies. Once she got over seeing me sitting opposite her, she was level-headed and grasped what it was that we would require. Although she would be working out of the office, I told her that there would be a room for her at the house if needed.
On the Saturday evening, we both dressed as film stars and Colin took us to the party, with Brendon beside him. It was the school that all three of us had been to, many years before, so were surprised when we were greeted by a teacher that we all knew. If we were surprised, it was nothing to how surprised he was to have three of his less likely students turn up with a chauffeur. Colin parked the car and followed us into the school. In the assembly hall, there were a lot of kids, both male and female, but with more females. They had a DJ playing music and there was a good collection of parents looking on.
Sherona and Sharina saw us come in and came over to take charge of our wellbeing. A lot of the kids were in the Fan Club, and a lot had brought posters to be signed. They had arranged a table, with chairs, and I spent some time signing and talking. Several mothers came over with their own posters. When I saw David come in, with Irene, I excused myself and went to lead him in, introducing him as the director of this film, as well as his hit debut. He was sitting by me, signing the film posters, for some time, with a lot of mothers telling him how much they liked his first film.
We had food, a pizza and fast-food delivery, and plenty of soft drink. It was a nice, gentle, affair, and I found myself talking to Irene. She was happy with the new, slower, David. Brendon was having a long talk with the sports teacher, acting as a chaperone. Jim had ordered several hundred new posters, with signatures already printed. As the food was eaten, Colin and Brendon went out to the car and brought them back. It was a picture of the main cast and crew, taken at Waikiki Beach, and had all the signatures, as well as David and Cecil. Kym was next to Kurt and her signature was on it.
“If I can have your attention, please. We have enough of these new posters for everyone, so don’t rush. The are signed in the printing and are of the whole cast. You may notice Kurt’s wife next to him. I can assure you that she does appear in the film, but in the background of some scenes. In ten days, Jeff and I will be flying to America to shoot another film, with both Kym and Kurt playing major roles. It will be a polar opposite to ‘Turbulence’ but will be worth seeing. We’ll be going, now. Thank you all for inviting us tonight. There’s something you should know. Jeff, Brendon, and I all attended this school. We made something of ourselves. You boys and girls can do the same. It only takes confidence that you can achieve your dream. We wish you goodnight.”
The following week was busy. The exercise equipment was delivered and installed. Jacquie had arranged the Burberry photo shoot and we went to London for a long session in their studio. Cynthia and Moyra came around to supervise me for the wedding. I hadn’t even chosen a wedding dress. They took charge and took me to our dress supplier, where I ended up with something in white that I could also wear on a red carpet. I was now almost bruise free, so it was more revealing than anything else I’d worn before, except that wide, red belt I had worn some time ago.
On the Saturday morning, I was in the salon with them covering over any remnant colours. The wedding was in the afternoon, and Jeff had gone off with Larry to get ready. Colin drove me to the church, with Brendon alongside him and Moyra beside me as my only bridesmaid. Jim was there to walk me down the aisle, and Mum was in the church with Bert. Agnes had a photographer, who jousted with our own professional for the best angle. The church was full, and there were a lot outside, including a lot of the Fan Club. Jeff had organised a large screen outside, with a single camera looking at the main area in front of the altar.
It was a lovely ceremony, and we went to the village hall for a reception. That was an informal affair, with a buffet that was kept loaded. I’m sure that everyone ate and drank their fill. After some impromptu speeches, Colin drove us away, but only back to the house, leaving the others to continue the party, which, we were told, went into the early hours. At the house, we went into the master bedroom, to undress and make genuine love for the first time, now I was ready for him. Once again, he didn’t disappoint. It was so nice, we did it again, later in the night.
On the Tuesday, we each packed two cases, and Colin drove the four of us to London. We would be staying in the airport hotel overnight, with an early morning flight to New York, in the old airline. After that it was a local carrier to Tallahassee. On the first flight, we were all in First, with a flight and cabin crew that I had flown with, so we had a wonderful time. The local flight had us in their business class. It gave me the chance to quiz Jeff on his knowledge of the film. He had much of it in his head, but I still wasn’t sure how he would go when we started shooting scenes from all over the screenplay.
When we arrived, there was a stretch limo waiting to take us to our hotel. Tony was already there and welcomed us in the lobby. He had his main cinematographer, and three other cameramen. He told us he already been scouting the locations.
We were shown our rooms and changed for dinner. It was the same hotel that we had stayed in when we were on our way home, so I knew where to go. Larry and Brendon were looking around, in wonderment, at the level of luxury, as well as trying to understand what the staff were saying. My months in Hawaii had let me get used to the speech patterns and accents, so I could let them know what had been said if they didn’t get it.
We had a good meal, meeting all the other members of the crew, and had an early night, as Tony said we would be on the road directly after breakfast. It was odd, in a strange bed for the first night, but we did get some sleep. We had breakfast in the room, showered and dressed for what looked like nice day. Down in the lobby, we found the crews waiting for Tony. When he arrived, he looked a little pasty, but hurried us outside. Larry and Brendon were having a few days off, seeing that we were surrounded by guys, and I was sat in the back of Tony’s car with him, as his driver looked a list of addresses and left the hotel.
Jeff was gazing out of the window at all the older buildings. He said how beautiful they were. Tony answered that this was why we were here. At the first location, we didn’t take long for him to show me the sightlines that he wanted. I stood where he indicated and took a picture on my phone. The day carried on in a similar fashion. We would stop, get out, discuss the view that he envisaged, while the crew would get out of the coach and look at mounting points for the cameras.
We stopped for lunch at the Whataburger, the site of Jeff’s demise, and they let us look at the back rooms where we would film. It would be tight, using a hand-held, but that would give the noir look that the scene needed. The detail stuff would be done in the studio. The set builders had already taken photos and measurements.
I could see all the vision that he had, but wondered at why we were doing this in such a fashion. The second day was much the same, and the third saw us inside some of the public buildings. The fourth day we were in private homes where the owners were going to allow us to film. We saw the big room, once a ballroom, where the final scene would take place. We saw the garden where the first scene opened the body of the film.
I was taking it all in, like a sponge, and Jeff was beginning to fit the words into the physical spaces. On the Tuesday, Kym and Kurt arrived and we had a small meeting. It was in their suite. Kym asked Tony how it was going.
“It’s good, Kym. Julia is a natural, she’s taken it all in and has asked all the questions I hoped she would. She’s good for what is needed.”
I mentally put my hands on my hips.
“So, what’s needed. Why all this crash course in looking at locations?”
Kym nodded at Tony, who left the room.
“Julia, you must have noted how Tony has looked since you’ve been here. The reason that he’s been showing you around in such a manner is because he’s quite ill. He has a problem with his digestive tract that makes it difficult to get any goodness out of his food and he’s slowly wasting away. I’m asking you if you will be in charge, directing all of the scenes where you’re not involved. Tony will direct the ones with you featured, but then has to go to a specialist clinic. You will do the studio as we discussed. If Tony is well enough, he’ll be involved with post-production. We’ll give him a few days, and then we’ll hit the ground running, with all the scenes with you. Seeing that the story is spread over the six families, it works out to about ten days filming, and then you’re in charge. I’ll be still the scriptwriter, but won’t tread on your toes, so that the rest of the cast know who to listen to.”
Kurt put his hand on my arm.
“Julia, Tony is an old friend. He’s been with us for a lot of films, and this is a shock to all of us. We can’t postpone the filming; we have crew and support booked. The costumes and the rest of the cast arrive tomorrow, and the filming has to start. You will get paid extra, with a percentage of gross over the up-front payment, but if there are any awards for cinematography, they’ll be in Tony’s name, having done all the groundwork. You will get credit for second-unit direction. I’ve read the medical report, and it’s possible that it will be you who goes up to collect his Oscar. What do you say?”
“What can I say? It’s a big responsibility, out of the blue. I still can’t see why you think I can do it.”
“We’ve watched how you get the tempo of the story, no matter how haphazard the filming. We’ve seen you pass on that knowledge to others on set. We saw how you directed Jeff and Eric in that one scene. It could be your training as cabin crew, but you soothe people’s fears and let them do their best work. We’ll set up a meeting with all the camera and sound guys, tomorrow, and tell them what’s going to happen. We’ll have a cast meeting when they’re all here, to see who has read the screenplay and know their places. Then we start working.”
“All right. I’ll try to not let you down. I will warn you that I have some of my own ideas about some of the character agendas.”
I went and found Jeff, to let him know what will be happening. He was astounded.
“They get you here and drop that on you at the last minute. I hope they pay you some more!”
“It’s all good, darling. Together we’ll make this picture a winner.”
The next day, we had the meeting of all the crew members. Those who had worked with Tony could see how ill he was. We all voted to make him proud of the film. Tony told them that I had been shown the visions, but it was up to me how I used them. The cameraman and sound guy, who had seen the screen test, told the others that they were happy to follow my directions, and the meeting broke up in a positive mood.
When we had the cast meeting, it was only Eric and Jeff who had seen me in action, as well as the rest of the girls that had been in Hawaii. Both Kurt and Kym told them that when I was directing, listen to me and not any negative thoughts. We would be filming the scenes in a very haphazard way, but they told the doubters that I had a handle on the whole screenplay. A few of the guys who were playing the husbands weren’t sure, but Eric stood up and gave a nice speech about my talents. Coming from a revered member of the industry, they were mollified, for now.
After that, the work started. We did the barbeque scene first, with the bit with me being shot first, followed by a scene where all the wives get together to plan a ‘meeting’. After that, it took two days while Tony filmed the scenes where Jeff is introduced around. I had changed and was out with the second unit, filming scenic vistas, that would be blended into the story as the characters arrived at the locations. We knew what we wanted, and it went well. I got to know all the guys and they got to see that I wasn’t changing everything.
As the barbeque scene was the main one with most of the cast present, we worked on my remaining, smaller scenes next, including the coven gatherings, and wrapped those up in eight days. Tony went around with handshakes and hugs, and a limo took him off to his flight, which left it to me. Over the next eight weeks, we did all the work we could in Tallahassee. Larry and Brendon were added to the payroll as my assistants, and even started being able to understand the local dialect. Those of us in the cast had been seeing a vocal coach since we arrived but didn’t have to try for the ‘full southern’ - just a more genteel version, which was easier once you got the hang of it in relation to the script. Most of the lesser roles were American, so their vocals fitted the scenes.
Just on three months since we arrived, we ate our last cheeseburger and packed to go home. I had another two months in the studio, with the other actors coming in as they were needed. I would have both units to work with, so could do more than one scene a day. In the end, Kym’s screenplay lasted well, with the only changes being made by her on the run. I had overcome any reticence in the cast, with my ability to tell them about the scenes prior, and the scenes after, that allowed them to get the tempo of the one they were in.
When we arrived at the house, in a pair of limos, it took a while to unload our bags and settle back in. Colin and Ruth had been busy while we had been away, getting some redecorating done to suit a star, rather than a footballer. It was much more neutral, rather than having rooms in his club colours. The weather was still reasonable, so we planned a garden party for those of the cast who could come, as well as the Fan Club and the agency.
I think that I enjoyed that more than the cookouts we had been eating in Florida, with good old British sausage and chops being wolfed down, along with some local beers. Those of us who had been in Florida were asked what was our favourite scene. Mine was still the one between Jeff and Eric. They had nailed it in the actual police chief’s office. Brendon and Larry loved one of the murders, just like guys.
That one happened during a car race. We had hired the Daytona track to film this. We had three cars made, all identical and all radio controlled with a camera looking out over the dummy in the driving seat. The scene had the coven getting together in the pit and concentrating on a vital part of one of the cars. The story was that the Belle’s husband was leading the second pack of cars, but his rival was about to put a lap on the pack, so relegating the family car to second place and costing them points in the driver standings. We had about twenty genuine NASCAR cars and drivers. The first car we wrote off was just steered off the racing line and into the wall. It just didn’t look accidental enough. With the second car, we rigged an explosive to the inside back axle, with the back wheel blown off.
That caused it to spin and slide into the wall backwards and then roll along the track. It was good, but I knew we could do better. The third car had the explosive on the axle and another in the back of the car, next to some plastic bags of high-octane petrol. When we did our last take, Brendon was allowed to press the first button, on my call, with Larry pressing the second at the point of impact. That one would be the one we use.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 22
The party was a lovely event and allowed me to show all my friends how much I appreciated their friendship. From now, until close to Christmas, I would be going to the studio and would be unlikely to be able to socialise.
After that, it would be down to Tony, who I heard had been under the knife, when he had recovered. He would have all of my takes to work with and would pick what he wanted. The music would be all suited to the era, with a lot of times where the local radio was playing bluegrass. The final credits came up with the original song running, with those of us playing the ‘gals’ shown as the ‘gals’ lyrics came up. The film would be released into the New Year, with all the usual hoopla. The world premiere would be in Florida. With a private screening for the reviewers in both London and New York, in the weeks prior.
Of course, a lot of other things had been occurring while we were in Florida. Ruth had saved a dozen copies of the wedding article, with Agnes milking it for all she was worth. She had been to our garden party and was very friendly.
The Fan Club had grown into a sizeable club, and the merchandise that they were taking from us had become well worth it. A lot had happened politically in the country, but none of that bothered us. It kept on happening, with monotonous regularity, these days it was an odd year when we ended it with the same prime minister we started with. More important was that Mum and Bert had got married with Jeff and I flying in for the ceremony, and then flying with them as far as New York as they took the Hawaii trip.
I went to see the agency, and Horatio showed me my account. I had received all of my twelve million, with a half of it going into my investment fund. My two percent of ‘Turbulence’ had earned me five million and climbing. I advised him that I had been promised a percentage for taking on the direction at short notice. He told me that he had already seen the contract, and if this film was as good as my first, I’ll be one very rich lady.
The studio work went as I thought. The set builders had been busy, and we could add the scenes as needed. Kurt and Kym came in to add their close-ups. We had Kurt smashing through the doors for the last scene. We had him, his squad, and a crowd of the husbands in a shootout that led to that scene. For that we had small explosive pellets embedded into fake walls, which were detonated at the right time. We also broke a number of windows that the actual property owners wouldn’t have liked. We did some scenes with him and Jeff discussing the murders as they occurred.
One thing that was a complete surprise was when Kym left, she handed me the revised screenplay of ‘Sisters’, with an official letter clipped to it. She told me that the letter was her giving me the screenplay, to do with as I wish. It also stated that the money that had been paid as a two-film package would remain for the single film, as she was certain that it would be a money-earner. She had decided that ‘Women’ was her last big film, and that she would concentrate on writing scripts, with ‘Sisters’, to her, being too difficult to complete, if she wasn’t going to appear in it. So, there I was, with a screenplay and directing creds, and enough money to produce it. It wasn’t going to happen, as I had decided that it was bad as it was. As a kernel of an idea for something else, now that was a different kettle of fish! That was one piece of paper that I took in for Horatio.
We needed to do the bedroom scenes with Samantha and Jeff, which took all my will to stop scratching her eyes out. Jeff was much more energised on the nights after those takes. Then we did the scene with her stabbing him, with camera angles that were impossible in the actual site. We had to do the scene of the first murder, with a recreation of the room the victim had been in. It was a simple one, with him looking extremely scared and then running to the window to crash through the glass. We had already filmed the scene with Kurt and Jeff looking at the body, skewered on the real spiked fence below that window. The demon would be a C.G.I. creation, along with all the other demonic murders, except the car crash.
With those, and all the other scenes, it took until mid-November for me to wrap it up and leave it to post-production. By that time, all of the crews were calling me boss and following my direction. A few of the lesser roles took a while, but soon followed suit. Tony had popped in, a few times, and was looking healthier, but didn’t offer any words of advice. I gave him a list of all the take numbers that I thought would work, and we hugged as I wished him ‘Good Editing’.
Winter had set in, with a vengeance. We had turned the heating up, but thoughts turned to warmer places. Kym and Kurt would be in the south of France, and the lure of the sun spurred us into action. We had a look at an atlas and decided that Spain beckoned. I notified Jacquie of our plans and closed up the house, with all six of us flying to Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast. We were picked up by a stretch limo from the hotel I had booked us into, and we settled into the Balneari Les Arenes. After a few days of lazing on the beach, strolling the shops, looking at the boats in the marina, and having a good time, I realised that now I could make something like this permanent, or, at least, a winter hide-away. We spoke to a few real estate agents, and, after seeing about six places, one took us to a property that was some way north of Valencia.
It was perfect. A Spanish Villa in an enclave of larger houses, several kilometres north of Valencia. The nearest town was Playa Puebla de Farnals, with a huge development of tall apartments between us and the town, and not much at all to the north. The villa was almost on the beach, with just a wide esplanade from our wall to the sea. The access road was on the inland side of the house, and it led to the Cami-PlatjaA, which then linked to the Avinguda de lar Mer and straight inland to an interchange on the V21, that would take us back to Valencia or north to Barcelona.
I signed the lease and emailed my copy to Horatio to add to the regular payments from my account. We had enough rooms for everyone, the kitchen was modern and there was some furniture still in it. A week later and all the beds, chairs, appliances, and entertainment had been delivered and set up, so we piled into the Mercedes V Class people mover that Colin had chosen, to move into the villa for Christmas. We agreed on cards only, and some of them needed a Spanish-English dictionary to see the jokes.
It was a totally relaxing time, with all of us taking long walks along the promenade (called the Passeig Maritim), trying to cook as many different types of Spanish food as we could, and just relaxing after what was, for me, a full two years. We took a ferry ride to Palma with our people mover for ten days, just driving around the island and staying anywhere they had the room for us. I fell in love with a little place on the north-east coast, called Port de Pollenca, and bought an apartment in a new high-rise, overlooking the sea, on the southern edge of the town. We didn’t furnish it, but just left it empty for the moment. There was an airport at Palma, so we could fly there directly. It was big enough for two, in comfort, as I wanted it as a bolthole for Jeff and me to be alone.
We watched UK TV, with some streaming, and could see the news of the storms and snow that we had escaped from. In the middle of January, David gave me a call, thanking me for suggesting that we had a crew on standby to go to Cornwall. We had nearly an hour of fine weather and storm shots in the can from the same viewpoint, so there would be no need for manufactured storm scenes. He told me that we would be doing the studio work from the middle of March, with any location scenes shot in late spring. He asked for my address and said he would courier two copies of the final screenplay to us. Almost as an afterthought, the devil in him told me that he had just come back from Los Angeles where he had picked up a Golden Globe for directing ‘Turbulence’.
When we got the screenplays, we were both in working mode, sitting in the sunshine with our pencils, making notes for a few days. Some of my ideas had been used, and some had been the basis for C.J. to become more inventive with his action. The tension almost leapt off the pages and I was hooked. We let the others have a look as well. Ruth was aghast at the two extra murders but had to agree that it had to be done for the sisters to live.
We had a call from Jim, to tell us that ‘Turbulence’ had been nominated in the Oscars. Seven times! It had also been nominated for BAFTA awards, for Best Film, Director, and Cinematography. At the end of the month, we were closed up, with the villa in the hands of the cleaning, gardening, and security firms, and on a plane back to Gatwick.
We had no chance of winning some, I was sure. There had been good films in the cinemas last year. I thought that we had a good chance with Cinematography, Director, and Original Screenplay. I wasn’t sure about the Best Actor, Actress, or Picture. The seventh nomination was for the music score. We had invitations for the main cast and crew members, with Jeff as my plus one. The Fan Club had gone into overdrive when the announcements were made, and David had organised a fresh set of cinema posters with the Nominations overprinting the original artwork. A couple of boxes of these were sent to Sherona, at the school. Of course, our favourite airline just had to offer us a charter to go to California with the owner coming along for the ride. David was excited, as his first film had only become a hit after its release, so didn’t qualify with the required number of screenings in its first month.
David and Cecil got their BAFTA awards but were pipped for the Best Picture. Some of us had attended that ceremony and congratulated them on their wins. We had a party at the hotel that night. It was a good start for the film, and a possible pointer for the Oscars.
We ended up with over half the plane filled with our people. I took our four close friends, and we also took Sherona and Sharina, with their parents. They wouldn’t be at the actual presentation, but there were places, with a big screen, for them to look on. Our dress supplier had come to the party, and our cosmetics supplier would be doing all our make-up when we were there.
If I thought the premiere nights were big, this event was on steroids! The logistics were sent to us, with our exact times to arrive at the entrance to provide a steady stream of celebrities on the red carpet. Being one of the Best Picture nominations, we were among the later arrivals. The main table was Kurt, Kym, David, Irene, me, Jeff, Cynthia and Moyra, Jack, Lisa, and C.J. - with his boyfriend. There was a second table with the other stewardesses and their partners, plus Eric and his wife. A third had Cecil, the main camera and sound guys, the writer of the music and their partners.
There were rules about what we could, and couldn’t, say if we got an award, although these were usually ignored by the more vocal winners. There was a huge crowd in the hall, the compere was a comedian with a questionable script. One of the other films had been a musical, so the entertainment was songs from the film. When we got into the actual awards, the one for the Musical Score was an early one, and we won it. The writer went up to collect his statuette and gave a short speech about how wonderful it was to be asked to write the score and thanked David for the opportunity.
Our next nomination was for cinematography and Cecil was the winner. In his speech, he thanked all us girls who, he said, improved his vision as he watched us act. Straight after that came the Best Original Screenplay. C.J. went up to collect the award, dragging Kym with him. He thanked David for turning his words into such a wonderful film and thanked Kym, who had rewritten some of it as it was being filmed. She gave a short speech thanking everyone involved in the making of what was a fun project.
Then, as a surprise to me, our two comediennes came on stage with the compere, and proceeded to parody his earlier jokes, but with more bite and slightly risqué punchlines. We were all in tears from laughing, as they ended their act with a thanks to David for including them in ‘Turbulence’. If anyone in America hadn’t seen the film, I was sure that they would be urged to go, after seeing those two.
The next award was Best Director, and David was up against some of the biggest names but was announced the winner. He hauled me and Kurt up on stage with him and declared that we had made the film almost too easy to direct, but he had done his best to curb our enthusiasm. As I expected, we didn’t get the Best Actress and Best Actor, our parts were nowhere near as prolonged, or intense, as those that did win.
There was more music before the Best Picture award was announced. It was better than fifty-fifty that we would win, and we did. Three whole tables were on their feet, hugging and kissing, as David dragged everyone up on the stage to receive the Oscar. It was manic, it was intoxicating, and it was a whole lot of cheering and clapping. After the speeches and the on-stage interviews, we all went back to our tables to collect our bags and awards, to go to a party that our friendly airline owner had organised.
Of course, we all had to be in a photo opportunity with him again, but it was no longer a chore. I borrowed the Best Picture Oscar and took it down to the big room where our other friends had been watching the event on a big screen, along with a lot of others. When I walked in, I was smothered with kisses from all the rest of the crew, my friends, and the fan club leaders. We had a big session with me and lots of others with photos where I held the statuette. By this time, a couple of security guys in the room had seen what I was carrying and were standing nearby.
After a while, I told them that I had to take it back to the main party, but that I would see them all tomorrow, unless I was called in for interviews. We would all be flying back to London on Monday morning. I found out, later, that Sherona and Sharina had called the girl who handled the website content, waking her up and sending her a picture of the three of us with the Oscar. That was on the website as the Sunday sun was rising over London.
Back at the main party, only Jeff had noticed that I had been gone, as I rejoined the throng. It was a relief to hand the Oscar on to others to hold, with the person I handed it to being Eric.
“Get someone to take a picture, Eric. Then you can send it to your TV director.”
“Thank you, Julia. This is a precursor to next year, when ‘Thirteen Women’ is nominated. I’ll be able to send him a picture with me holding the Best Supporting Actor. That’ll really piss him off!!”
The party went until the early hours, and it was a bunch of very tired stars who went to their beds. I know that some were still going as the sun rose, but it had been almost too much to take in. Security gathered the Oscars to put in the hotel safe and Jeff almost carried me to our room, where we truly celebrated the day as he gave me a little award of his own.
Sunday morning, we were having breakfast in the room when the phone rang. It was David, who told us that we were to be in the lobby in thirty minutes, and a minibus was coming to take us to a TV studio. We had a lightning shower and dressed for the public. At the studio, we were made up and sat with two mid-morning show comperes, with clips from the film and a range of questions about how it was made and what we were planning to do to top that.
David answered most of the questions, except the one about what he had planned. He just said that he had another project in mind, with C.J. writing the screenplay, again. When I was asked, I said that I had not long ago finished a film with Kym and Kurt, and it was their place to answer. Kurt said that the film would be released, sometime in this year, so watch out for it.
We were back at the hotel in time for lunch and met up with all those that we had left behind. It was several tables of very tired looking, but happy diners. We talked about what we could do, that afternoon. One of the waitresses told us that ‘The Grove’ was open on Sundays and was worth a look. We decided that this was for us, but first I needed to go and change into jeans and find some sunglasses.
It was Jeff and I, our party and the fan club who found our way to the Grove. A few other crew members did come along, but it was our group who stopped there to make sure that we saw everything. There was a big Nordstroms that took a lot of time, and we all had some bags when we left that store. The guys had been taken by the silk ties at very low prices, while I had bought a couple of slip dresses. We found a concierge where we could store our bags as we explored further. I liked the Paige store and the Dolce et Gabbana, the twins were happier in the Brandy Melville store which had more teen items. We stopped for a snack and then took our purchases back to the hotel.
We had a late dinner scheduled and were able to change back into proper outfits for it. We had two big tables, with all the thirty, or so, who had been in the main hall, plus another three tables for our guests and the crew members. David made a nice speech, in which he thanked everyone and made sure that we had plenty to drink by proposing toasts to all and sundry. I asked the waitress for soda water as I didn’t have a head for a lot of alcohol. Sherona took lots of pictures, many showing up on the website later.
We had an earlier night, as we had to pack and be out by ten Monday morning, to get to the airport. On the flight home, the atmosphere was joyful. I made sure that we all had pictures taken with the cabin crew. The flight crew came out one at a time to join in. The airline owner had pictures taken with most of the girls, with the statuettes arrayed in front. I think that he considered it all a winning situation. I realised why he was so pleased as we taxied towards the terminal, passing under the streams of foam being pumped from two airport fire tenders. I could see crowds of people lining the viewing decks. Were they waiting for us?
When we were opened up to the airbridge, the flight crew came out and stood to see us off, and the cabin crew lined the airbridge. Cynthia and we ex-crew made sure that we gave each and every one a hug as we left the plane. They would be back in the air in a couple of days, with their memories. We would be in the madhouse that I predicted that we were about to enter.
We were all diverted through the VIP lounge, and they had organised a special customs and immigration team to process us. Of course, the Oscars needed to be properly inspected, ending with all five in front of the officials for a photo. We were offered the opportunity to go back airside to waiting coaches, and everyone except us main players took that offer. We had a big session of hugs and kisses as they took their luggage and left. Then it was just David and Irene, me and Jeff, Eric, and his wife, C.J. and his boyfriend, Cecil and his wife, and the score writer and his wife.
The chief customs officer wished us good luck as the doors opened to pure bedlam. The airport police were keeping the hordes at bay but the noise, as we emerged, was deafening. They were shouting questions, I was almost blinded by camera flashes, and everything suddenly became incredibly bright as the TV lights were switched on. David led us out to the waiting crowd, waving his hands for a bit of decorum.
I saw Agnes, with her photographer and Laurie, a bit further along, so I walked towards her, ignoring all of the questions and microphones being shoved in my direction. I had to raise my voice to talk.
“Hello, Agnes, thanks for welcoming us. You could have left the rest of these guys at home, though.”
“They all want a piece of you, Julia. A British Director with British stars bringing home Best Picture doesn’t happen every day. We can’t talk here, can I come over to your place, in a couple of days, with a full crew? That way, you can be more relaxed, and we can get an in-depth article on you, the film, and your plans.”
“All right. I’ll get our PA at the agency to set it up. Right now, we have to figure out how we’re going to get to our cars, without calling in the riot squad.”
“There’s a group of security guys that have just come out of the exit from customs. I think that they’ll help if you ask them nicely.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 23
“Thanks, Agnes, see you later.”
I went to where David was trying to answer fifteen questions at once.
“David, we have a security screen. They’ll help us get out to the cars. I don’t think that we’re going to be able to answer everyone, or to make the fans happy, but we have to get out.”
He nodded so I went over to the leader of a very fierce looking group of guys.
“I believe that you’re going to help us get to our cars, lads. Can we do it without blood on the floor?”
“We’ve done this before, Miss Leigh. Just get your group behind our ‘Vee’ formation and we’ll have you outside, quick as a flash.”
I went to each of the others and told them to be ready to fall in behind the security guys when they moved. It was all too easy in the end. The security guys formed a ‘Vee’ and marched into the crowd, parting it like a ship’s prow. We were all in behind, and the airport police were behind us. We went through the terminal like a triangular wedge and arrived outside, where the cars were lined up. We didn’t have time to say cheerio to each other as we were bundled into the cars, our cases in the boots, along with the Oscars. A few reporters had cars and motorcycles that tried to keep up with us as we left, but there was a temporary police roadblock along the road, which let us flow through but stopped everyone else. We were allowed to get away.
The cars took us to our homes, with Jeff and I arriving at the house before the others. I left the gates open as we unloaded our cases and opened the door. Somehow, we had the Best Picture Oscar in the car boot. The others would have been secured by the winners. After the picture in immigration, I had lost track of where they were.
It was good to be home after the excitement and rush in America. One thing that was certain, now, and that was that the box office returns would go up for a few more months. The phone was ringing, so Jeff answered it. It was a reporter asking for a story, so he told the man that we had just got home, were tired and unable to string two words together. He ended the call and turned the base unit off. I was sure that when we turned our mobiles on, they would be full of messages.
We unpacked our things and took a full hamper through to the laundry where I started the washing. The coach with the other four arrived, having dropped everyone else off on the way. We had the kettle on, and made tea for us all, including the coach driver. The others took their cases to their rooms, then we sat in the kitchen and quietly had our tea. When the coach driver left, we brewed another pot and just relaxed. Larry broke the silence.
“I had never thought that I would be at an Oscar presentation, even though I wasn’t in the actual room, the atmosphere was amazing.”
“It was just as amazing in the room, Larry. At least you could get up and walk around. My bum was flat by the time I was dragged up when David won his Oscar.”
“What was it like to be up on that stage, Julia, with all those film stars applauding you?”
“You know, Ruth. I could hardly see them for the TV lights. I would say that many were only clapping out of politeness, as some would have liked to be there instead of me. We ended up bringing the Best Picture one home, by the way. I think that I’ll hang on to it until Agnes brings her crew, then I’ll take it to the office so they can show it off.”
“It’s very quiet.”
“Yes, Colin. The phone is off. Larry, can you take a while to get back to normal, then it’s your job to turn the base unit on and handle the incoming. Just make a note of the reporters and refer them to the agency. I’m pretty sure that Jim will organise a press conference. In the meantime, I’ll be in the office and will turn mine on. Then, I suppose, there’ll be emails on the tablet. I think that they will all have to be on the charger for a while, after this. But first, I think I need a shower and fresh clothes.”
So, we slowly returned to our normal life. Over the next couple of days, we were inundated with calls, texts, and emails. I had a nice talk with Sherona’s mother, who was telling me how much they had enjoyed the trip, and how much more focussed both girls now were, with firm ideas about the direction of their lives, having seen something of the world beyond their suburb. I told her that we would be having a garden party for just the Fan Club when we could organise it.
Agnes and her crew came around and we sat down for a snack, while being photographed. The interview included Jeff as well. There was one or two pictures of me and Agnes with our Oscar, one with her holding it that I was sure would be on her office wall before the week was out. I told her a bit about the next film, and some of the funny things that had happened in Tallahassee. I had some stills from the filming, which I gave her, but didn’t give away the plot. Her next issue had one of the stills on the cover, taken at the opening barbeque, with me and Kym. There were two articles: the story about my home life, and one about ‘Women’.
I had asked David about the Best Picture award, and he told me to either keep it, or take it to the agency and see if Jim wanted to put it on show. We took it to the agency, and the next time I went there it was on a shelf in the inner office, with pictures of all of us who are clients of the agency, which was quite a big portion of the main cast.
I didn’t have long to rest. David called to tell me that filming of ‘Gale’ would be in Cornwall in early March before the holiday crowds litter the backgrounds. The cottage was the Blackpool Mill holiday let, just back from the Abbey River Beach. It was perfect as a location, because there was a small headland with steep cliffs not far from it, with a large area behind that where we could land a helicopter.
David and some of the crew were staying in the cottage, some others were at the Hartland Quay, with us actors staying at the Anchor Inn in Hartland, itself. There was a field within walking distance of the Inn where we could keep the helicopter. As it was just Jeff, me, Cynthia, Eric, Jack, and Samantha, we could chopper to the site, film the scenes that we could, and chopper back for dinner.
We were lucky with the weather, cloudy but dry, which would fit in with the approaching storm. We also filmed some scenes in Hartland, of the family stocking up for the stay, and of Jeff, in uniform, outside the police station. It was actually only a white private house with a blue door and a ‘Police’ sign temporarily fixed. We completed all we could inside three weeks, with just the studio work to finish, although that was a lot of the filming still to do.
The set builders had made rooms in the studio, and had inventoried the same rooms in the cottage, so it would only take a few days to dress these, and we could run through all the scenes pretty quickly. Samantha came to stay with us while we did the studio work, which made it easier for her. She may look like a sex siren on screen, but, at heart, she was a normal girl with exceptional abilities. The two of us acted like sisters all the time, and it showed in the final print.
Eric was almost scary as the abusive father. C.J. had written some horrific scenes where he raged at all of his women. If there was any one role to bury the country copper image, this was it. Jack played evil like he was the devil incarnate, and Cynthia was so self-centred I expect that most who see the film will leave the cinema happy that they all got their just desserts. Jeff, as the country copper, took a lot of advice from Eric, and played the simple boy, with two girls wrapping him around their fingers to perfection. I could see the final film, in my mind, as we did each little segment.
We were at the studio, one day, when Tony came to the soundstage where we were and waited for us to finish what we were doing. He told us that ‘Women’ was completed, and that he would run a private viewing for us, even before Kym saw it, to see if we could pick any holes in it. He invited our entire crew to sit in to see what they thought. We all turned up, the next day, to see it. Colin took me, Samantha, Jeff, and Ruth, with Larry and Brendon in Brendon’s Jaguar.
Tony was on edge and had a soundstage with a load of chairs and a big screen. Once we were all seated, the lights went down, and the picture started. It opened, as we had planned, with Jeff coming out of the police station, getting in his car, and turning on the radio. The shock, for me, was when the title ‘Directed by’ came up and it listed both Tony and me. I saw David look over at me with a big grin.
As the action painted the pictures of the six genteel families and scions of the community, Eric playing the needy Chief beautifully, I could see the audience wondering where this was going. When the coven got together to cast a spell on the first victim, it changed the dynamic. The first murder was a shock, with the C.G.I. demon enough to make you want to close your eyes. That set the tone for the rest of it.
The car race and the crash was spectacular. I could see where Tony had used some shots from the first two cars, but the actual crash was all the third car. The scene with Jeff and Eric was better, in the actual office, than the screen tests. It finished with Kurt breaking into the room where all he finds is the empty gowns. He looks around at the closed windows and asks the final question, “Where did they go?” The song came back with the credits. Being all in the industry, we all watched the credits to see if we were there.
I stood up and went to Tony to give him a hug. Cynthia and Samantha followed. David shook his hand and then pulled him into a man-hug, telling him that he must take the Best Director next year or there was no justice in the world. With the lights up, Tony asked if anyone saw anything they wanted changing. Someone called out “I didn’t see much of the middle bit; I had my eyes shut!”
David came over to me.
“How much of that did you direct?”
“All the scenery shots, and everything that I wasn’t in front of the camera for.”
“Even the car crash?”
“Yes. I gave it to Tony, with just the takes that I liked marked, and he’s added the editing, the C.G.I. and the music. I have to hand it to him; I think a near-death experience has sharpened his vision of gothic horror. When he left Tallahassee, he was almost a walking skeleton.”
“Julia, this one has hit all over it. You seem to be touched with success whatever you do. I was planning to release ‘Gale’ later in the year, but, seeing this, I’m holding it back until early next year, taking the extra time to fine tune it and show it to the cinema owners. That will give this one a free ride into the Oscars and clearing the way for us the year after. Will you be filming the sequel?”
“Ah! The sequel. Kym has given it to me to do with as I want. I haven’t been too happy with what she’d written, and she’s decided to retire from the acting side. I might take some time off, seeing what I can do with it, but it will end up as an adaptation of an original screen play.”
“So, no Kym and Kurt sequel to this one. That’s interesting. I reckon that you could pare back the coven numbers and do something as dark as this one, but on a smaller budget. Do you have any ideas?”
“I was thinking that it would be in Kent, as Kym had envisioned, but I thought that I would have a few of the coven without the powers, setting the scene in Pluckley, where there’s already fifteen known ghosts. I’ve yet to think of the plot and ending. It might have to end with a single priest facing them down and C.G.I. angels appearing, with the witches erupting in a burst of flame.”
“Who will you cast?”
“If we set it as a possible sequel, we would have me, Cynthia, Moyra, Belle, Samantha, but no Wanda as I think that she’s now filming in Australia. Four witches would be enough to create a story. I’ve got a little bolthole in Palma, which I’ll use for some peace and quiet to work on it. Unless you have something else for me, I should have several months to see what I can do. It will be good to spend our winter in the sunshine.”
A lot of our crew came over to me to give me hugs and congratulate me on my part. Cecil had a grin on his face when he ribbed David that I should be given the chance to direct something of my own. So, I took a stab in the dark.
“Cecil, if you’ll be my cinematographer, and David shares the directing, do you think we can make a good film?”
Cecil looked at David, and David smiled.
“Show me that screenplay, when you’ve written it, Julia, and you might have a deal!”
When the crowd had left, I went to Tony and thanked him for showing us the film. He told me that he couldn’t hold it in any longer, and just needed to have the acceptance of his peers.
“That illness took it out of me, Julia. It was desperation that forced me to give up some of the control of the film. I’m glad I did, because you took it and improved my original vision, without altering the cinematography but getting more out of the cast. If we get the Best Director, we’ll go up for it, together.”
“That will be fun, Tony, but you will get to keep the statuette. They have an award for Editing, which you might be up for as well. David is giving you good chance. He’s going to hold the release of the film we’re on to next year. He’s really a fan of yours, I think, but is too shy to tell you.”
“Don’t tell him, but I’m a fan of his. While I was recuperating, I saw ‘Turbulence’ three times to see if I could pick any holes in it. It was his congratulations, today, that I was hoping for, and his hug was the best thing that’s happened to me for a long time. You guys deserved your Oscars, and you look like you may be better than both of us.”
“Thank you, Tony. I never thought that I would be a genuine celebrity, but I have a Fan Club, even if it did start as a school project.”
“I’ve had good looks at that site. Those schoolgirls have a lot of talent. I’d like to meet them, one day.”
“I’ll let you know when I organise a garden party. I’m going to do a Fan Club one in a couple of weeks. They’re lovely girls, we took them to the Oscars, and they had a picture with me holding Best Film on the website within hours of the event.”
“Which you ended up with, at home, I see.”
“It wasn’t planned. We found it in the boot of the car when we took the cases out. Did you read the article that Agnes organised? She has a picture of her with the statuette, no doubt on her office wall. She did do a nice piece on ‘Women’ which could help the pre-release reviews.”
“What did you think of the sequel?”
“Not too happy, but it doesn’t matter, now. Kym has given me her screenplay to work with as I wish. She won’t be in it.”
“Yes, she did tell me that she was thinking of pulling back. She deserves a rest, but I think Kurt has a few more years. I think I have a few more in me, but, if I get an Oscar, I might rest on my laurels.”
“Nobody will think badly of you if you do, Tony. You have a huge body of work and could take little trips on the celebrity circuit.”
We had another hug, and he unplugged his computer. I went back to our sound stage and joined a discussion about ‘Women’. The consensus was that it was going to be a huge hit, especially in America. We agreed to get back to work the next day, and all went home.
Samantha was quiet on the way back, so I asked her what was wrong.
“It was weird, Julia. I went into this film thinking I would come out as another femme fatal. But I ended up more fatal than ever before. I don’t know what that, and what we’re doing now, will do for my resume.”
“What it will do, Samantha, is to ensure that you’ll have a career after you turn twenty-five. It’s all right being a sex-kitten, but it’s not so good if that’s all they see you as, and then they don’t want you anymore once you start looking like just another cat. I might have an even more evil part for you, next year. You’ve shown that you can really act. I’ll bet you that you’ll be given a lot more screenplays to read over the next twelve months.”
Over the next few weeks, we finished off the main indoor scenes, and I organised the Fan Club party in June. It was a lovely evening, and I had laid on plenty of soft drink for the teens, beer for the fathers and wine for the mothers. I invited Cynthia and the others to join us, along with Eric, David, and their wives. I also invited Jim, Michael, and Jacquie. I’d had a quiet talk to Tony to bring along his laptop and had set up a big screen with sound bars hooked to the netting. We had enough chairs and tables to seat everyone. For food, the church group came to the party with a pig on a spit, salads and all the single-use tableware. When everyone had eaten, I stood up, while Tony went to his laptop.
“Fans, parents, and our other guests. Tonight, we are here to let off a little steam from the success of ‘Turbulence’. Since then, Cynthia, Moyra, Belle, and I spent some time in Florida, making another film. Also, in that film, we had Samantha Zeering playing my daughter, and Eric, everybody’s favourite policeman, playing the police chief. The film was directed, and edited, by Tony Hampton. All are here, tonight, and would be happy to talk to you. What we’re about to see, as a very private screening, is the final cut of that film. It hasn’t had a reviewer screening, and the premiere is still a few weeks away. I will warn you, some of the scenes are scary, but integral to the story. It is also the screen debut of Jeff, my husband.”
I sat down, Tony hit the go button, and we sat and watched ’13 Women’ on the big screen. The food and drinks were forgotten as the film unfolded. The demons brought squeals from some of the girls. The car race sequence brought oohs from the guys, and the scene with Jeff and Eric almost brought the house down. At the end, there was applause and a rush to talk about it.
It was a great evening, with Jim giving me a big hug before leaving with Belle. The Fan Club girls were amazed that Tony didn’t have a fan site, so promised to set one up. They gave him an email address and he promised to send them some pictures for it. Samantha got the same treatment. Eric was a magnet for fans telling him that he was now an even bigger hero, and that they would watch his series with a new appreciation of his acting. The church group were very happy, as they tidied up the food preparation. We had some large slices of the pig wrapped in clingwrap for our fridge, with Ruth overseeing that.
There were a lot of pictures taken, but I asked that none which had the picture in it should be on the websites before the premiere, but they would be able to beat the newspapers to the punch that night. When Michael left, with his wife, he told me that this film will cement my place in the list of stars. He had taken note of the directing credit and wondered just how far I would be climbing over the next few years. I asked Jacquie if she could stay a few days, as there was some things that I wanted her to organise. I took her into the house, showed her the spare room, then took her through to the master to find her a nightie and gown.
When everyone had left, we closed the gates, and we sat around the kitchen table with mugs of hot chocolate. There would be a crew coming in, in the morning, to clear the party area and pack away the furniture. I had been impressed with the screen and sound; it had worked very well. I had the feeling that the evening had been a turning point in my life. I could now move on with other projects. In a couple of weeks ‘Gale’ would be in post-production and there was a complete crew with just some advertising work to keep them going. What I needed was another project.
Next morning, Jacquie came into the studio with us, and we talked between takes. I wanted her to see what screenplays have been sent in and read them through.
“I want a story, not just a piece of fluff. If you finish it and think that you’ve just read a book, that’s the one I want to see. I’ve had one, for ages, and I looked at it, but it didn’t do anything for me. I’ll give it to you to take back to the office. It was by a respected team but had no substance. You can tell them I said that if they ask. They only have to see ‘Women’ and ‘Gale’ to know what I like.”
“All right, Julia. I can do that. I do like reading, and I know what you mean. I’ve read some novels, lately, that seem to be rushed at the end, as if the author can’t think of any more to say or had reached the editorial deadline.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 24
“There’s also something else I need doing. Make sure that your passport is up to date. I have the house near Valencia. I would like you to go there, in October, and open it up for me. Colin, Ruth, Larry, and Brendon will be spending a few months in it, and we will close this one down for winter. Talk to Michael and get a credit card linked to my account for all your living expenses.”
“Thank you, Julia. I’ll be careful.”
‘I’m not asking you to be careful, Jacquie, just thorough. Before that, though, I want us to fly to Palma. I bought an apartment there, unfurnished, and I want to look around the furniture stores and see what looks good. I’ll be aiming at seaside comfort. I’ll give you the keys before I come back. There will be just Jeff and me in the apartment, for some months, while I look through whatever screenplays you’ve given me, as well as trying to write a semi-sequel to ‘Women’. One thing I will need will be a good desk, with a view of the sea, a laptop and printer that is big enough to print screenplays. Tell Michael that I want you in the house, you can bring your partner, so that you’re close by. There is a service between Valencia and Palma, so you can be with me inside a couple of hours. The apartment has a spare bedroom, so set it up so you can stay overnight. Put some of your things in the wardrobe, or, better still, get yourself new stuff suitable for a working holiday.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
“Jacquie. You’re a bright girl and have worked well while in the office. What I want, now, if you’re happy with it, is for you to be at my side, while in touch with Michael. You saw ‘Women’ last night. If that doesn’t get at least nine nominations I’m in the wrong game. We are going to need to be on top of our game when that’s released. We’ll be going to the premiere, wherever they have it. There’ll be interviews to organise. So far, I’ve just gone along with whatever others have told me. From now, I want them to ask you, nicely, and for you to make sure we can do the business. You’ll be working for both me and Jeff, so you’ll have to compartmentalise our different lives. Do you think you can do it?”
Her answer was to give me a hug, while saying “Thank you” several times. I was certain that she would be good in the job, even as it ramped up into total bedlam. She would be racing around ‘like a blue-arsed fly’ and would have to keep her cool while doing it.
“Do you have a significant other, Jacquie?”
“My husband, Bronte. He’s a freelance graphic artist.”
“If you want to relocate here, he could set up in the gym room. I had thought that we could do rehearsals, but it hasn’t been used for that. Both annexes are in use, but you could stay in the room you slept in and store any furniture. As you’ve seen, you’re joining the ‘family’, we all pitch in to do things we have to. There’s a cleaning and gardening service so all we have to do is keep tidy.”
“That would be wonderful. When I go into the office, I’ll set it up with Michael, and talk to Bronte about moving. Can I bring him down to have a look?”
“Of course. When we go home, I’ll give you a set of keys and a gate controller. There’s room in my office to add a desk and another computer. We can share the printer. We’ll need to get a set of filing cabinets, as well. I never thought that I’d generate enough paperwork to need one. There’s a pile of papers on the floor, at the moment. It’s time for us to become the business that we need to be, going forward.”
She looked on as we did some minor scenes, and then I took her around the studio, meeting all the guys, and they were all guys, that called the shots. We saw David, in his office, and discussed the new timetable of the ‘Gale’ release, getting an idea of the premiere date. He asked us if we could organise a garden party, with the screening set-up, and he would pay for the food and drinks. He thought that it would be good as a private screening for the cast and crew. I agreed to that idea, and he said that he would have the music recorded by the end of June, so a date in the middle of July was noted in Jacquie’s diary. He told me, that if I was dropping in to see Tony, that he would be welcome. He also dropped the bombshell that ‘Turbulence’ had surged past four hundred million dollars at the box office.
As we walked towards Tony’s office, I was quiet, which Jacquie picked up on.
“It’s the numbers, Jaquie. I’m on two percent of the gross in that film, so I’ve earned eight million from it, even though I was only on salary while we were filming. I’ve also been given two percent of ‘Women’ for my directing input, after being paid twelve million for two films, of which the second won’t be released until I write it. With ‘Gale’, I put in five million as a shareholder, with a three percent return on gross. That didn’t cost a lot to make, seeing that the cast was small and the location so accessible. Jeff got a million, up front, with no percentage. I may break even, but the visibility will keep me in people’s minds.”
Tony was very happy at being invited to the first screening of ‘Gale’, I was starting to see some kind of friendship developing between him and David – the old and new guard, together, would be a force to be reckoned with.
Back at home, Jacquie had a good look at the house, and we measured the office to see how much more we could get in. The gym was a bit of a mess, but the gym equipment was neatly laid out. I decided that we didn’t need my old furniture any longer, and, with it gone, there was a lot of space for a drawing desk and a large printer, needed for posters. I was already thinking that if Bronte was any good, he would get a contract to supply posters and advertising originals.
The next day, Jacquie went back into the city, while I got Larry and Brendon cleaning out the old stuff, putting it by the bins for later pick-up. The only thing I kept was the Scandinavian easy chair, which I put in the office, picking up the paperwork and putting it on the seat for safe keeping. That would be a job to sort out, later, when we had filing cabinets. I told the others that we may be joined by a new couple and gave them the reasons why.
The private screening of ‘Women’, for the cast and reviewers, was a simultaneous event in London and New York. Kym and Kurt attended New York, with some of the minor cast, while Jeff, me, Tony, Eric, and Cynthia attended the one in London. That was followed, in the last week of July, by the world premiere, in New York, seeing that the main backers were all American. That was an evening showing, with the film opening on several thousand screens at the matinee opening. The reviews had all been positive, and we had just been able to have it rated for teen viewers, as they saw worse violence on their computers, these days.
We all flew to New York for the event, being picked up by limos to be taken to our hotel. My group was now eight, with Jacquie and Bronte along for the first time. I think that this may have brought it home to Jacquie just what sort of circus she had joined. She was able to be the go-to person when I was being asked for interviews, and made my life, as well as Jeff’s, so much easier.
We stayed in New York for a week. I gave each of my extended ‘family’ a credit card to use on themselves, and we had a ball shopping. Bronte wanted to see the art galleries and shops, which gave me, with his knowledge, a much wider appreciation of that genre. When they had moved in, I had seen that Jacquie was his model, but he had started drawing portraits of the rest of us, as various anime characters. By the time we flew home, ‘Women’ had passed the hundred and forty million mark and climbing steadily.
August was a quieter month, with the main highlight being the wedding of Jim and Belle, now pregnant. It wasn’t a big affair, just a civil ceremony and a reception for about a hundred. So, Belle became number four, or was it five. What I had found out was that none of the other wives left with bad feelings.
The party to screen ‘Gale’ to the cast, crew and other invitees was a roaring success. We had all the crew and cast, with Jim and Belle back from a week in Italy. While we had been filming it, I had wondered if it was still too simplistic, but the screening showed that this was its main feature. It was a morality tale, where the winners had as few morals as the losers.
Tony gave David and all the others he knew a hug. He told me that it was one of those films where you walked out of the cinema thinking that you had understood it, only to need to go back to see it again to see if you’d missed anything. We had another party, with the fan club and parents, the weekend afterwards, making sure nobody filmed it on their phone.
Through September I sat in the office reading the few screenplays that Jacquie had thought were worth looking at. The ‘spaghetti western’ had turned up and was quite a good story. I told her to get back to the producer to see what he was prepared to pay, and to get the timeline. I also asked her to tell them that Wanda was filming in Australia and Belle was unavailable until the middle of next year, at the earliest. The only thing that made me grin was the working title of ‘A Handful of Dolly’ with my character being the Dolly. There was another murder mystery which looked all right, until you got to the ending, which had one of the old ‘Perry Mason’ endings where a total stranger turns out to be the murderer. I shelved that one.
In October, I took Jacquie and Bronte over to Valencia, staying in the hotel while we hired a car to take us to the villa. I showed them through the house and pointed out the stores where we had bought our food. The plan was for the ‘family’ to go there in early November for a total relaxation, in order to be at the top of their game next year.
We then flew to Palma, where we booked into another hotel, hired another car, and went to the apartment. We didn’t stay long, just long enough for Jacquie to take some pictures and for Bronte to take measurements. Back in Palma, we looked in the furnishing stores and gave Jacquie the basic idea of what I wanted it to look like. Leaving them in Palma to get the apartment furnished, I flew from there back to home. I knew that it would be good for the two of them to have some responsibility, as a couple.
When they were happy with what they’d done, they flew to Valencia and opened up the villa. Colin, Ruth, Larry, and Brendon closed up the house for winter and flew to Valencia, where Bronte would pick them up in the Mercedes. Jeff and I flew to Palma, to settle in and read the screenplays, and for me to write one. First, though, I had to think of a story which could, loosely, be considered a sequel.
We spent days, walking along the beach, and talking about the various things we had been reading, and wondering about how we got to be here, both film stars. I would sit at the desk that overlooked the sea with a laptop open for me to get a spark of creativity. It was beautifully quiet. Jacquie was the only person with the number of the locally purchased mobile, with our others diverted to her to deal with.
Eventually, I did come up with a story, but totally opposite from the concept that Kym had written. I had just four of the witches demonically transported to England, with the others going to other places. By not having the full coven, they couldn’t cast spells, but retained their evil ways. I put them in the Kent village of Pluckley, living in a country manor. Now, Pluckley is Britain’s most haunted village, with around fifteen documented ghosts.
My village had a row of shops - a butcher, Post Office shop, chemist, hairdressers, unisex clothing shop and a mini market. The four witches would be me, Samantha, Cynthia, and Moyra, and we kept busy planning robberies, collecting blackmail evidence, a side-line in ‘protection’ extortion with the local shops, and generally creating havoc by stirring up the existing apparitions. In effect, we were a female version of a typical skinhead gang, only with less empathy.
The story harked back to the ‘Women’ film in that we had the same names and looked similar. We did like to dress well, even when we were beating someone to a pulp for not paying up. I did add a scene, in the manor house, where Samantha yearns for the ‘good old days’ when she could enjoy sex, with Cynthia temporarily becoming a demon and breathing fire at her.
The shopkeepers got fed up with paying and formed a resistance movement. They clubbed together to get a couple of silver letter openers, purely as a token of their commitment. I had written in a number of side-stories involving the shop keepers and the villagers to fill it out. We had a few love interests between the female salon and clothing store owners and the butcher and chemist owners. I did write in one love affair, between the supermarket owner and the barmaid in the Blacksmiths Arms.
The butcher was always the first shop in the shake-down, and they set it up so that when they were visited, one of them was behind Samantha and stabbed her in the heart. The intention was to cut her up and feed her to the pigs.
What they didn’t expect was the screaming demon that came out of her body, disappearing through an open window, with the body turning to dust, leaving a pile of clothes. Undaunted, they followed through with the plan, finding her car keys and putting the clothes in the car, then one of them took the car, with a following car, to a secluded place and torching it.
When Moyra comes to find out what had happened to Samantha, who hadn’t returned with the takings, she was also stabbed with the silver knives, with the same effect as the first. Her clothes, and her car, went the way of the first. This set up a confrontation between me, Cynthia, and the shopkeepers, who had, by now recruited most of the village to rid themselves of the ones taking their money. They had filmed the second killing on a phone and showed it to others.
The final scene is in the Screaming Woods, at night, with the two witches sure that they had the upper hand but find themselves boxed in by villagers forming a fence of wooden crosses. The village group includes the vicar and the local policeman, ready to murder. The vicar approaches the witches with his silver cross held in his hand. The butcher and the policeman are wielding silver knives. As they get withing striking distance, the remaining witches cackle loudly and their demons leave their bodies, with their clothes pooling where they stood. As the villagers take in what’s happened, the manor where the witches lived burns down.
I think that it did follow the premise of the sequel, as well as leaving it with another that could follow. Who knows, perhaps others would take the reins and we could see different takes on the un-killable demon witches. That made me write a note to Horatio to copyright the concept, with Kym and me with equal ownership.
I wrote it first as a story, and then rewrote it as a screenplay, using google maps to plot the locations. We could do a lot of the filming in the studio, just needing to dress the village locations for some exterior shots. Some exterior shots against the known haunted places would add further atmosphere. There were two pubs, a churchyard, and other places where visions had been seen.
I had pencilled in Jeff, Eric, Jack, and Kurt as shopkeepers. There were plenty of good actors from the TV world to fill the other places; I expect that Eric could recruit some from the stable of faces that featured in his show so often. When I read it through, one evening, I realised that it just needed the spooky opening music, and it could be an extended special of Eric’s TV show. As far as I was concerned, it would take about as long to film as ‘Gale’. I called it ‘Wind of Change.’
I let Jeff read it when I had finished. After he finished laughing at the audacity of the plot, we worked through a few tweaks. Then we organised Christmas gifts for our ‘family’ near Valencia and had a very quiet and loving Christmas of our own, with nobody to bother us. We went into Palma for New Year and spent the night in a hotel after watching the fireworks.
In the first days of January, Jacquie called us on the mobile. ‘Thirteen Women’ had been nominated for several awards in the Golden Globes and the BAFTA’s, where we were up for Best Picture, Editing, Director, Cinematography, Original Screenplay, and Casting. Eric was up for Best Actor, Kym for Best Actress, and me and Jeff in the supporting roles.
We also had a bunch of nominations for the Oscars. We were in for Best Picture, Original Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Score, Director, and Visual Effects (for the demons and the car crash). Both Kurt and Eric were nominated for Best Actor; Kym was up for Best Actress, Jeff was in the list for Best Supporting Actor, with me also listed for Best Supporting Actress. That made a massive total of twelve nominations. Jacquie assured us that the residents of the villa were very happy and itching to get back to England and back to work.
Jeff and I flew directly to Los Angeles for the Globes. Tony got the Directing and Kym got the Screenplay awards, while Eric picked up a Globe as Best Actor in a Movie (Drama). He was over the moon. Those from the villa went home first to open the house and then Colin picked up Jeff and I from the airport when we got back from America. I turned on my devices and called both David and Tony to let them know that I would be popping in with the screenplay. I then made a round of calls to congratulate all of the others from the film. Kym told me that she had heard from the academy, and that they would have a cover band on stage doing a few of the songs from the film. As well as the title song, we had ‘See you Later, Alligator’ as the backing to the fifth murder scene, set in the local zoo.
At home, I went in to personally congratulate Tony and to give him a copy of ‘Wind’, then went to see David and gave him his. He told me to expect a reviewers screening after the Oscars, with a premiere of ‘Gale’ in the beginning of March. He wished me luck with my nominations, and it made me realise that I was up for both the Supporting Actress, and by association, Best Director.
We settled back into life at home for a couple of weeks. I gave Bronte the screenplay of ‘Wind’ and some stills of the demons and the four witches from ‘Women’ and asked him if he could produce a set of pictures, no more than twenty, that I could present to prospective producers and backers.
We had a big contingent at the BAFTA awards. It was tough competition, but we took home some masks. Tony and I went up to collect the mask for Direction. He also took out the Editing one. Kym was there to collect hers for the Original Screenplay, as well as the Best Actress. I took home the Supporting Actress. Eric achieved his goal of getting a mask as Best Actor, with Jeff taking the Supporting Actor. We partied into the early hours after that. As another pointer for the Oscars, it was a very good result.
With the BAFTA results and the Oscar nominations announced, there were plenty of calls on our time for interviews, both magazine and TV, for Jeff and me. Jacquie was kept busy juggling our time and fitting two or three interviews in a single day, with us going into London with Colin to fulfil our obligations. We entertained Agnes at the house, with Tony joining us, for an in-depth interview about the film, and Tony told her that the sequel would be a humdinger, the first peer review I had received for the screenplay.
All too soon we were packing for our flight to America. Our own group was big, with the eight of us, plus Jim, Belle, Michael, Cynthia, and Moyra. Then there was Tony, Eric, Jack, and their wives. We did include Sherona and Sharina, with their parents allowing them to come unattended. We didn’t get a charter supplied by our airline, so we had chartered our own. Tony invited David and Irene to join us. I was beginning to see a development of a friendship between them. Kym and Kurt would be flying from France, with Wanda going from Sydney. Most of the rest of the cast, and crew, lived in America, as did our two comediennes, who had played their part as workers in the hamburger joint.
During the flight, David came to me and asked me if we could go to the back of the plane, as he wanted a quiet word. We were joined by Tony.
“Julia, I know you were hedging your bets when you gave both of us the screenplay. I can understand Tony getting the chance at the sequel. The thing is that we both love it. Do you think that you would be happy co-directing it with me, and Tony would recreate the visual effects and his editing skills that he ably demonstrated with ‘Women’?”
“That would be wonderful. Do you think we’ll get backing?”
“How much do we need, Julia? You’ll get a big return after the Oscars, Tony and I have agreed to put some in. If we can sign on all of the major players with a percentage deal, we will be able to start filming this year. The village exists, the story is centred around real places, and we could do it with two camera crews. There’s no expensive set-ups as much of the effects are in the post-production. When we get back, we can set up a meeting with all of the people involved. I know Cecil will jump at the chance, along with his cameramen and assistants. We can fund it and get all the returns. If it bombs, we take the tax break and just carry on, but if it’s a hit, we swim with the tide. What do you say?”
“I would rather be swimming, I agree. I wonder if Jim would be in it, say, as the producer. It could be the first ‘Younger Films’ production.”
“I wasn’t going to say it, but you really do have a devious mind. I know Eric will want to be in it, perhaps as the butcher, with a final middle finger to his TV producers.”
“All right. We’ll keep this between us for now. If either of you want to hint to the others that you have a sequel to ‘Women’ in mind, it’s all good. When this lot quietens down, I’ll organise a party at my place, with just the ones we nominate. Tony, you can invite your own crews; David, you can invite Cecil and his crews. I’ll invite the main stars and we can work from there. We can take our time with the filming, I wouldn’t want to release it this year, because of ‘Gale’, but we could get it in the can and release it the year after.”
When I got back to my seat, Jeff took my hand.
“That was an intense looking meeting, back there. Can I know what’s going on?”
“It was about a screenplay that you’ve read. That’s all I’m saying, for the moment.”
“It’s going to get made?”
“Eventually, my love, eventually.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 26
I did what I had done before, by starting to write it as a story before aiming at the screenplay. I had a lot of it on the computer when Jacquie informed us that we had nothing to go to the Globes for, but a number of nominations in the BAFTA awards this year.
‘Lost in the Gale’ was up for Best Film, David as Director, Cecil for Cinematography, and I was up for Casting, which I had been credited for at the end of the film. All four of us were in the mix for our acting, with Eric up for Best Actor, Jack up for Supporting Actor, both me and Samantha as Best Actress, and Cynthia as the Supporting Actress. C.J. was on the list for the screenplay.
The Oscar nominations followed, but we were not so fortunate with them. They obviously thought that the picture was too English, too simple, or too psychological. Or, maybe, they couldn’t get their heads around a story where nobody except a country copper had any morals at the end.
David was still nominated for direction, with Cecil for cinematography, and, weirdly, Visual Effects. If they thought that the storm scenes were C.G.I. then that was their problem. Eric was in the list as a Supporting Actor. It meant that we would be attending, but it wouldn’t be the crowd we had taken with us last year.
I had another couple of weeks on my story before we needed to head home to get ready for the BAFTA’s. We were fairly sure that we would have some success, as we had a British film through and through. It was, as usual, a glittering evening. Jeff and I were outfitted by Burberry, from a new range. We were driven, in style, by Colin in the armour-plated A8, which we hadn’t used very much.
I got a mask for Casting. David got his for Directing, Cecil got his for Cinematography, and C.J. got the one for the screenplay. We swept the board with the masks for acting, with Eric and Jack getting the Best and Supporting categories. I missed out to Samantha as Best Actress, but Cynthia got hers as the Supporting Actress. Of course, after that we walked away with both the Best Film and the Outstanding British Film masks. It was a very good evening, and I was sure that David breathed a sigh of relief when we were up on stage. It had been a gamble to hold off the release, but it had paid off.
After that was the usual round of interviews, and then Jeff and I, David and Irene, Cecil, Eric, and their wives, along with Jacquie and Bronte, flew to America. With the pre-ceremony interviews, we were asked if we were happy or angry with our lack of nominations. We could only say that there a lot of films around, and that the Academy calls it how they see it. I saw a couple of TV anchors who had differing views on the subject. The left leaning one saying that the Academy was going too far right, and the right leaning one saying that we deserved all we got, as godless heathens, adding that ‘Women’ should have been banned, and films like that would be banned under their next government.
We went, we had a table for us, and we won the Oscars for Director, Cinematography, and Supporting Actor, but not the Visual Effects, which went to a sci-fi film. I took a picture of the three winners sent it to the Fan Club webmaster. They had already uploaded a bunch of pictures from the BAFTA evening. We were satisfied with what we received; it all adds to the saleability of the film.
A week later, Tony called us to say that he had the final print of the new film. He sounded a little tired. I found out why when we assembled at a soundstage, he told me that it had been a tough edit, with all the C.G.I. We had all of the cast, all the shareholders and all the unit leaders. He had also invited some prominent members of the Pluckley village. After the doors were closed and locked, he stood in front of the screen.
“I’m about to show you the first screening of ‘Wind of Change’. If you have any comments on how it can be changed, then feel free to speak. If the film shows the village in any bad way, we can fix it now, rather than later on. Enjoy.”
We saw the film and I was pleased that all my imaginative notions came out intact. The demons were demonic, the witches evil, and the villagers were brave. The scenes with Kym and Kurt were lovely, and the core love story dominated the middle of the film. At the end I didn’t have anything to comment on. One of the village elders pointed out one scene which had part of the original signage showing. Tony thanked him and promised that it would be airbrushed out.
Everyone thought that it was both a love story as well as a horror film. Later, in the reviews, one scribe referred to it as a ‘lorror story’ which was picked up and became a genre, like ‘romcom’. We showed the film to the village, in the sports pavilion, along with some other invitees, such as Agnes and her current reviewer. It was just a social evening so they could see it first. A “Wind Week’ was mooted for next year. The villagers were happy with what they had seen, and we set up a proper reviewers screening.
The reviews were good, and the premiere was in London, two weeks after that. It was promoted as the sequel to ‘Women’ and the viewers flocked to see it. When we released it in America, it was reviewed as a welcome change that the demons were vanquished by religion. Six months after release, it had clocked up four hundred and fifty million. That gave the crews nine million to split between them.
The main thing, for the film company, was that we had over a hundred million in the kitty after all the shareholders, expenses, and cast had been paid out. It gave David, and Tony close to thirty-four million, each. Jim had sixty-seven and a half to share among his backers.
Jim was keen to get something else going. We made two more films that year, both with screenplays that we had been sent, and the casts drawn from a multitude of new talent that were knocking on our door. David and Tony took turns in directing, with me helping out with locations, casting and some second unit directing. I wasn’t in either film but concentrated on my own new screenplay.
I had been working on it, on and off, for most of the year. What had started as a simple idea, had grown into a hefty piece of work. The opening was set in New York, where we see a very self-centred man in the finance business. He is very successful and exceedingly rich. He treats everyone around him with distain. He has bought a new luxury yacht, complete with crew, and plans a cruise to the Caribbean to show off to his acquaintances.
We have a trophy wife, three trophy ex-wives and their new partners, plus two prospective mistresses. The crew is a captain, and engineer and three very virile stewards who double as deckhands. There is jealousy, hatred, sex in many forms, and then a sudden storm that the captain had warned him about but that he had ignored. They get blown further and further into the Atlantic and things get dangerous when a huge wave almost capsizes the yacht, and floods some of the interior, via the large windows of the master bedroom that he has kept open so that he could breathe the sea air.
As the yacht rights, one of the stewards sees the water rushing through the stateroom door, goes into the stateroom, closes the windows, and then goes to report the flood to the captain. The captain shuts the engines down and tells our man that it was his stupidity that allowed the engine room to be flooded. The yacht tosses around like a cork, being built so that it was hard to sink. The captain and crew know this, and work on the owner, saying that they’re all going to die. The man is ground down until he would do anything to live. That’s when the rest of the passengers, and all the crew, work on him to share his wealth with them, seeing that if they all died, there would be a wider range of beneficiaries.
One of the partners of an ex-wife is a lawyer, and makes up a set of contracts, which the man signs, at the end of his tether. They all had other pieces of paper where they share their own money should his yacht come through. Of course, all of these are totally bogus. The papers are put into a waterproof container which went into the safe to be found if they were all dead. The weather improves, the engine room is pumped dry, and they return to the Florida port where they had started the cruise.
When the man tries to go back on his agreements, he finds that all the papers he signed were binding, stripping him of his wealth. As they had been cruising home, the rest of the passengers had been busy on their phones, organising transfers with the passwords that he had given them. None of the other passengers would have anything to do with him now. He had even given the luxury yacht to the captain, who orders him to leave. We last see him trying to thumb his way back to New York to return to his job. As he gets into a car, we see a newspaper stand, with the headlines that a global financial crash is happening.
When I had finished it, I ran off a dozen copies, and gave one each to the other shareholders, asking them to join me, at the house, for a dinner, so that we could talk about it. Jeff said what I expected, just a day later.
“Julia, my love. This is a good screenplay for a powerful film, but we don’t have enough behind us to make it.”
I agreed with him and asked him to wait until the others were with us. At the dinner, Kurt said what I had expected him, with his wide knowledge of action films.
“Julia, this is a great story, a huge film and a big money earning vehicle. What it isn’t is something that could be made here.”
“Exactly, Kurt. Some time back, your American backers promised me the earth, should I ask for it. What I have written has to be an American film, with top line American stars, made in a big studio with experience in similar films. It will take more money than we have. All we can offer is our combined directing skills, and the original screenplay. Do you think that’s enough to get them opening their wallets? If they do, this one has a chance to get close to ‘Titanic’.”
“That’s an interesting proposition. I can see this doing well, if made properly. You’re right, it can only be made with a big budget by a studio with a huge water tank. There are a few in America, I used one in one of my action films. You’ll need the use of a yacht, although there’s a few around that can be chartered. You could always just offer the screenplay to another film company.”
“No. If we retain control, we can get a percentage of the gross and make sure it doesn’t get messed around with. We get ‘Younger Films’ as a co-producer which will attract more actors and writers coming to our door. That, alone, will be worth not making this film ourselves.”
“You’re not doing this for personal gain, then?”
“I’ve got more money that I know what to do with, Kurt. My lifestyle is as good as I want it to be. I have a wonderful husband, a good family of friends, even a Fan Club. I’m not into grand houses all over the world, or fleets of million-dollar cars. What I want to do is to help others achieve their potential, and a successful outlet for creative people is one way to see that happen.”
Jim had a smile on his face.
“I can see your aim, Julia. It wouldn’t expose us to any financial risk if it bombs but will give us a big boost if it’s a hit. We could offer the rights for two percent, which I’m sure the backers would be very happy with. Although we can offer it at five and be prepared to haggle. It would have our company in the credits as co-producers, in a big-budget project. I like it.”
Tony, who had worked with Kurt in American-made movies, nodded.
“We can always offer the three of us as a directing, editing, location, casting and writing package, for five percent. The only locations come at the beginning and the end; the casting will need to be careful, but the main character goes through such a range of emotions there would be several who will put their hands up for a certain Oscar.”
Kym had been quiet, but then added her comment.
“I can see Kurt as the Captain. It’s a strong role and could get a supporting statuette. I’ll put my hand up to play the ex-wife married to the lawyer. To hell with retirement with a film like this. There’s a few that I’ve worked with who will want to be in it. If you all agree, Kurt and I will take some copies of this and talk to our friends in America. The worst that can happen is for them to say no. There’s the studio where Kurt has worked, and we can put it to them as a first in line once we put together a stellar cast. There will be some who will think that it’s too hard to make, but we can only hope.”
We took a show of hands, and Kym gathered up all of the copies, bar mine, to take on a trip to America, to talk to their friends. It was now out of my hands until we had a positive response. In the meantime, we worked on films that we could make, even doing one that was totally made in the studio, like films of old. It was the ‘spaghetti western’, with me as Dolly, the whore with a heart of gold. Cynthia, Belle, Moyra, and Samantha were the other girls, Jeff was a gunslinger sheriff, with Eric as a hard-as-nails rancher. It was surprisingly quick to make, with most of the cast and crews so used to working with each other. We did change the name for the release, to ‘Deadwood Dolly’.
In the meantime, we had followed our usual winter holiday. Jeff and I went to the apartment on Palma, with the others near Valencia. I didn’t write a thing, but just relaxed until Jacquie rang to tell us that we would be going to the Golden Globes, followed by the BAFTA awards again, as well as the Oscars. The Globes had us nominated for the Best Motion picture (Drama), Kurt and Kym were up for the two supporting performances, with me for the screenplay.
‘Wind of Change’ was up for the four acting, direction, and editing in both the other ceremonies, as well as Adapted Screenplay in the Oscars, and Cinematography at the BAFTA’s. Jim also rang me to tell me that a three-DVD set that had been released for the festive season was leaping off the shelves, and that I was needed to make a couple of appearances in the big store entertainment departments. One would be at Harrods and Burberry were on board for that one.
I had never set out to have a DVD set of films, but this set was marketed as Julia Leigh’s ‘Weather Set’, with ‘Turbulence’, ‘Lost in a Gale’, and ‘Wind of Change’. There was also a two DVD set with ‘Thirteen Women’, and ‘Wind of Change’ that was listed as my ‘Lorrorfilm’ collection.
We worked the same as we did the previous year, with Jeff and I meeting David, Tony, Kurt, and Kym in Los Angeles. We brought home the Globes in everything we had been nominated for. When we got to the BAFTA evening, we had a big table for the big crowd of us. It was an interesting evening. David, Tony, and Cecil each got their masks. Kurt and Kym won the main acting ones, while Eric and Cynthia got the supporting ones. I didn’t mind, the cleaning service was starting to complain about dusting and polishing my collection. We didn’t take home the Best Film but did win the ‘Outstanding British Film’.
After that, it was the usual craziness that’s the Academy Awards. You can never get used to this award night, as there are always new faces among the old. A lot of the established stars were retiring, or dying, and there was a new breed of crazies taking their place. I decided that I may have had enough of it, vowing to work in the background so that I’ll never have to come again. Some revel in it, to some it’s like a drug, but to me it had become as unwanted as a plane full of drunken louts and crying babies.
We did have a successful evening, all the same, so it wasn’t all doom and gloom. I took home the screenplay statuette, while David took the directing one. Kurt and Kym made it a treble with the main acting ones. Eric missed out on the supporting actor, but I picked up the supporting actress award.
I was looking at spring and summer without anything happening, the first time for some years. None of the small films we had made were good enough for premieres, but all did get reviewer screenings. Little did I know that others were planning to fill my days. Jim had been working with Jacquie to organise a world tour, seeing that I wasn’t wanted on a set. Burberry wanted to be on board, as well.
So, Jeff and I were at the spring fashion shows, in France and Italy, in Burberry, as well as attending special showings of our films. After that, it was several capital cities in Europe, then it was down through Africa, across to India, and then across Australia, in their winter. That, I found, was almost as nice as our English spring.
We started in Perth, went to Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney. After that, it was New Zealand, back to Brisbane, Singapore, and then up to Japan, where our films had some kind of cult status, being akin to some anime monster magazine stories. We caught up with Wendy in Sydney and went to see her on stage in a drama, she was becoming a popular Aussie actress.
After that, we were in America for two months, coming home to Heathrow and bringing the first snows of the following winter with us. Larry and Brendon had been with us all the way, augmented by Ruth and Colin across Asia. They went home from Auckland, and Jaquie and Bronte joined us for the Japanese and American leg.
All the time, I was being spoken to about projects, offered screenplays, parts in local films, and also about involvement in an executive capacity. I kept records of everything and told all of the people that I would sit down and look at everything when I had arrived home. In America, Kurt and Kym caught up with us and told us that they had a list of very well-respected actors for the cast and had a studio that was interested. While we were in Los Angeles, we visited the studio, discussed the screenplay, and shook hands on a deal.
After it had been discussed by the shareholders, we all flew to New York to meet with the studio heads and the backers. We signed contracts that gave them the right to changes in the screenplay should any part be impossible to film, but only after consultation. They also had the rights to make any changes to the script to make it more American. The money that was going to be paid up front to the cast was eye-watering. The film would have to pass four hundred million to even begin to break even. I took one percent as the screenplay writer and ‘consultant’. ‘Younger Films’ was on the two percent for supplying the directors and other services package. The backers had assured themselves that it would fly, so they were now the pilots.
David and Tony spent the best part of the next year on this one, with me flying in to help as needed. Kurt and Kym were revelling in their parts and had snared Jeff to play one of the crew, so he was spending a lot of time away.
When I was at home alone, I started thinking about another story. If this one flew, another would be good to follow it up with. I had learned enough about all of the different facts of the business to have an appreciation of how things work, if ‘Tycoon’ as it was now being called, was a hit, they’ll be clamouring for more.
It took a visit to see my Mum which gave me the idea. We spoke about my father, and I went home and wrote the title to my next film on a blank sheet of paper. The title was ‘An Interesting Occupation’.
I wrote nothing more for a month. Then we had our winter break. Jeff was home again, oddly withdrawn, and we were in the apartment on Palma. As we had no awards to attend in the New Year, we were able to spend a bit longer resting. Jacquie was keeping us in the loop about the irons we had in the fire. “Turbulence’ was still showing around the world and had been slowly earning good money. ‘Thirteen Women’ was still showing in a lot of cinemas and had pushed well past the billion at the box office, as had ‘Wind of Change.’ ‘Lost in the Gale’ had been taken up by television stations around the world and had become very popular as late-night movie watching.
I had spent a lot of time on research with my new story. The film opens with a large body of soldiers on parade. The Sergeant-Major shouts “At Ease” and the commanding officer addresses the assembled men. The time is June 1945, the place is Germany, and the soldiers are the British Army of Occupation on the Rhine (BAOR). The speech is all about the letter that Montgomery had sent out, stipulating how the soldiers should show the vanquished German population that they are everything that their own army wasn’t. The C.O. calls for the three ‘C’s. Caring, Compassion, and Correctness in their dealings with the locals, as well as with the Prisoners of War that they would be guarding and helping to be absorbed back into civilian life.
As the men are dismissed, we meet our main cast members. A lieutenant, sergeant, two corporals and twenty privates who had enjoyed a good war, only arriving on the beach after D Day, as after-invasion support. These were men who had sold rations for sexual favours, looted museums on their way to Berlin and had created a small squad of villains that the army didn’t, yet, have the power to stop.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 27
We, in Europe, now think that the influx of migrants is a problem. In Germany, after the war, there were over seven and a half million German prisoners, as well as an influx of thousands more being shipped in from other theatres of war.
On top of that, there were tens of thousands of Displaced Persons, some fleeing the Soviets and the Soviet Zone. The British, alone, had two million prisoners in a space no bigger than Suffolk, on top of the local population. The speech was wishful thinking, at best.
Add to that the shortage of food, with it rationed to one and a half thousand calories a day, which reduced to eight hundred and fifty a day later on. It was a recipe for all sorts of skullduggery for a year or more, until rules changed, and things got more serious after the zones were unified in nineteen forty-seven. A year after that, the Soviets withdrew from the pact.
The troops, in general, had a wonderful time for a while. They could buy a packet of cigarettes for less than a shilling, and the sell them on the black market for up to a hundred and sixty Reichsmarks. They could then get four pounds for the Reichsmarks and buy more cigarettes. This was stopped in forty-six, by the introduction of vouchers in the canteens and NAAFI shops, but by that time the crooked ones had made a killing. Rations were swapped between armies, with the American Zone being supplied directly from home. The French Zone had its own problems, having to rebuild its own country at the same time.
In my film, the platoon milks the system, creating wealth which they send back to Britain to their families. They fraternise, they loot, they organise a brothel, they buy stolen goods to on sell to the Americans. As a platoon of motor and diesel engineers, they find themselves in charge of a Mixed Service Unit of Displaced Persons who are being used as drivers and general labourers. This gives them access to trucks and light vehicles.
Now, they could move things around with impunity, made even better when they get assigned a Civilian Labour Unit as well. These were units of German prisoners, who had been given a choice of spending some time in a concentration camp until they were processed or working as labourers in the clean-up and rebuilding. The platoon and the ranking German are of one mind, and together they increase the rate of illegal activities. They even hire out DPs and prisoners as temporary labour.
My story comes to a head as they start a side-line of transporting former SS and camp guards to ports, like Hamburg, where they can get on ships to escape justice. Eventually, the Military Police get wind of it and work to find the culprits. The arrests get made as four trucks, with the platoon as escort, are stopped to find ten wanted Germans and Poles, along with a load of contraband. The platoon are all court-marshalled and sent back to Britain. The Germans are sent to the camps to be processed, and the DP’s remain working to rebuild the country.
The final scene is in a pub, in Britain, some years later, where the six main members of the platoon (our major characters) are having a reunion, after spending the bulk of their sentences working in reconstruction crews, where they made more money. They are well-off, and now respected members of society with their money being used to buy cheap property. The meal is interrupted by the publican turning up the radio to hear the news that the King had died. They raise their glasses, and the ex-lieutenant says, “The King is dead. Long live the King!”
It would be a film with a dominantly male cast, with filming in Germany, and a mixture of European characters. I wrote it with the intention of using sub-titles, with the characters speaking their own language among themselves.
I finished the screenplay and printed off copies for the shareholders. When Jeff read it, he didn’t laugh, just gave me a hug and a kiss, telling me that I was a genius. He wanted one of the main characters, something I was sure that he could do now that he was fast becoming a box office attraction in his own right. ‘Tycoon’ was to be released in April and was getting good reviews. I couriered the screenplay to the shareholders and sat back to see what they thought.
It took a while, with a short break to go to New York for the premiere of ‘Tycoon’. It was the first time that I met the rest of the cast. They were certainly a stellar group and I saw my creation for the first time. It was very well produced, with the storm scenes quite believable. Some of the words had been changed to fit the American audience. Only one thing bothered me, and that was how Jeff as one of the crew, and Pamela, a mistress-in-waiting, looked like they were enjoying their roles a bit too much. After that, Jeff stayed in America to go on a promotional tour with the cast.
We had a meeting in May, with Kurt and Kym flying over. It took place in Jim’s office, with his backers present. David and Tony were up for directing and editing, as usual, Kurt wanted to be in it. This time, it was decided to approach one of the bigger British studios with the story, to see if we could do a similar deal as ‘Tycoon’. Horatio offered to make the approaches, as long as I went with him to the meetings.
I joined Tony and Cecil scouting preliminary locations in Germany for three weeks. We came back to join Horace at the office of one of the bigger British studios, with a strong catalogue of war films. They were happy with making ‘Occupation’ and our offer of technical assistance and the screenplay, for a four percent part of the box office was negotiated. We would supply the directing and cinematography crews, locations, and some casting.
It was a good deal all round, and we left with ink drying on contracts. This was one that I wasn’t going to sit in the back room on. We had enough money behind us to sign on the best crews that we had and put them up in decent hotels when we were ready to film. Our location scouting had put us ahead of the game, and we just needed to get a good cast.
Eric was asked to play the C.O., with some scenes after the original parade ground address. Kurt was up for an American officer. Jack was the lieutenant and we had some of the studio stars, as well as Younger Agency clients, for the rest of the English. We had Germans and Poles for authenticity and arranged with a collector of military vehicles for some trucks. Things like tanks were only seen in backgrounds. I sent a message to Jeff about parts, and he said that he had been contracted to be in an American production as soon as the promotional tour finished, so would stay there for the moment.
I had a visit from Agnes, who showed me some pictures of why he was keen to stay. One showed Jeff and Pamela in a snogging session outside a restaurant while they were waiting for a cab. Agnes told me that she had written evidence that they were sharing a suite at the hotels. She had more pictures. I wasn’t surprised, after seeing the heat between the two of them in the film. She wanted to know if I had anything that I wanted to say.
“Just one thing, Agnes. Jeff is still my husband and will remain my husband until he asks for a divorce. He is now a movie star in his own right and is worth enough money to buy them a place in America to live in, should they decide to stay together. When he does, I’ll have an address where I can send his things. If you come up with evidence that she is pregnant, I will be the one to file for divorce.”
When she had left, I went to the bedroom to lay on the bed and have a good cry. I then took his pyjamas from under his pillow and went through to the kitchen where I startled Ruth by borrowing her kitchen scissors and cutting them into small pieces. It was merely a gesture, but it allowed me to start thinking straight. Ruth didn’t need to say anything, but her look of support was enough. I suppose that a lot of it was my fault for getting him into films. As a couple of friends, we hit it off. As a pair of stars, though, it became complicated.
I wondered how much of it was him wanting to be a father, seeing that I wasn’t any good in that way. I went back into the bedroom, with a few suitcases, and carefully packed his things. I even boxed his awards that were on show in the lounge. I then asked Colin to get Jeff’s Audi opened and to help me load all of his things in it. We parked it in the space over the hoist so that it was out of the way. Jeff was no longer ‘in the building’. I would need to do something about his things in Valencia and Palma, sometime in the future.
The filming of ‘Occupation’ would start in the following March, so that we had authentic weather for the outside shots. That meant that David, Tony, and Cecil could fine tune the locations, and find good interiors for the few inside ones. There were still British troops stationed in Germany, mainly in NATO training roles, so we could use the few older buildings that were dotted around.
I decided that I was going to have a long break, in the villa near Valencia. I took Jacquie and Bronte with me, closing the house and letting Colin, Ruth, Larry, and Brendon have the apartment in Palma for a change. I started to write a story about an airline stewardess who fell into a movie film and became famous, marrying her old school friend and being happy until he cheated on her. I got some way into that before putting it aside to see how it ended.
It ended when Jacquie showed me some pictures that Agnes had sent, showing Pamela with a distinct baby bump. I called Horatio and asked him to start the divorce proceedings, and that I would fly home to sign the papers. Jacquie came with me. I had an extra case with Jeff’s things from the villa. When we got home, we put them in his Audi.
The next day, we went into London in my car, still with very little mileage on the clock. The signing of the documents didn’t take very long but discussing the success of ‘Tycoon’ took a while longer. It had been breaking records from the first weekend, and our share of the takings was substantial. We also discussed Jeff’s involvement as a shareholder, without any input. It was decided that Horatio would write a letter, pointing out that if he has no more input, the rest of the shareholders will buy out his share at the original value. Jeff could think what he liked about the reasons, but a quick ring around the others all agreed. When I thought back, he hadn’t actually put any money up front.
I also arranged that one of the other shareholders would collect any awards I may win. Kurt would be attending, as well as Tony and David. Jacquie and I flew back to Valencia for the rest of the year and into the next. I spent a bit of time reading screenplays, rather than writing them. Jim had given me six that the British studio were looking at. They wanted me as the leading lady in all six. Three were linked. They were about an ordinary girl who joins a dramatic group and becomes a star in her local area, catching the eye of an agent. The end of the first film sees her in a big West End Production and getting awards. The second film had her cast in movies, and her marriage to the agent, with that one ending with her about to have a baby.
The third film is a complete turn-around. The baby was stillborn, and she spirals into depression. She still makes hit films but is kept going by an increasing reliance on drugs. Her marriage falls apart and her star wanes. She ends up as a producer in another small drama group, with most of the actors in the detox group she now attends.
The studio wanted to make all three as a single project, and Jim had said that Tony and David would be part of it if I decided to come on board. The rest of the cast would be from the studio’s own stable, some of them would be working on ‘Occupation’. It was a compelling story, with a lot of twists and turns. I rang Jim, in January, to tell him that I was very interested, and agreed with the up-front payment they had offered.
I won the screenplay award in the BAFTAs and the Oscars but didn’t attend. ‘Tycoon’ almost swept the board in the Oscars. I noticed that Jeff had picked up the Supporting Actor. I sent him a congratulatory text. His reply said that he was sorry about the way things had turned out, and that someone would be coming to the house to collect his things.
I spoke to Colin at the apartment, asking him to pack any of Jeff’s things that he could find, and to bring the case home with him. I told him that we would open the house in the first week of March. They flew from Palma to Valencia, and we joined them on the flight back to Britain. On the way I put everyone on the same page, and we arrived home ready for a busy year. We were home for three weeks when we had a message that someone was coming to collect Jeff’s things. We pulled the car out of the garage and just had to give them the keys and the paperwork. It made the van they had brought a little superfluous, as all the larger items that he originally brought to the house had gone out when we re-organised the gym.
I decided that my own A5 was now old enough to trade in, organising an A4 on lease. I would be spending time in Germany and then more time in the studio. The studio was north of London, so that I would have to find a hotel nearby if there was any extended days of filming. I threw myself into the work to keep my mind occupied. My part in the making of ‘Occupation’ was finished fairly quickly, with us having a meeting of all the cast and telling them what their parts entailed. I wanted the platoon to be shifty, the Germans to be haughty and the DPs to be cowed, yet canny.
They got the gist and things went well after that. It wasn’t a film that put anyone on a pedestal but was meant to be one where the ensemble was the star. It did work out that way, although the officers and NCOs had more dialogue, and I left them to it as I went back to make my first picture in the trilogy. It would be my first picture without my friends around to help. A new director and crew was daunting, but I had made enough films now to know what to do.
We made ‘Kathleen Cary, Drama Queen’ that year, to be released in the next year. ‘Occupation’ was also finished that year, so, for the first time, I would have two films up for awards the year after. We went into the winter season at the house. We stayed at home over the festive season, and I went off to film ‘Kathleen Cary, Film Star’ early the next year. That one was a little more complicated and took all that summer. By that time, ‘Occupation’ was doing well in the cinemas and the shareholders were getting income.
I was off on a U.K. tour for ‘Drama Queen’ when I met Adrian. He was an owner of an independent cinema in Bristol. It was funny, when we first met, as he was a member of the Fan Club and was almost tongue-tied. It didn’t take long before he realised that I was just another person and I stayed in Bristol for a week, at various events, with him taking me to lunch on a few days.
It was strange, being dined by another man. After Roger and Jeff, I had become a bit reclusive, but he made me laugh. I went along to a matinee showing and it was a treat for the audience when he stood me up, in the stalls, and announced that they had just watched me on the screen. We had a good half hour talking to the customers. I met some nice people. Adrian and I swapped phone numbers, as well as some saliva.
It also turned out that his family owned a range of independent cinemas around the country, and Adrian had a Cessna that he used to do the rounds, now and then. The jewel in the crown was the CineWorld in Crawley, a multiplex with a leisure complex. He rang me to tell me that he was flying into the airfield at Redhill, and that he normally hired a car. It was, he said, a lot cheaper than landing at the bigger airport at Gatwick. I told him that I would pick him up.
I drove my Audi to Redhill and sat to watch the planes for a while. I went into the main office building to ask about courses in flying. When Adrian landed, it turned out that he was a regular, and well known by the guy I had been speaking to. I drove Adrian into Crawley, and explored the Centre while he did what he had to do. We had lunch with his Centre manager and then we went back to Redhill. He took me for a flight in his Cessna, down to the coast and along the beaches until we turned to go back to Redhill. Along the coast, he handed me the control and I tried some gentle turns. I was hooked!
When we landed, I asked him if he was in a hurry to go back to Bristol. He smiled and said that he was mine for a couple of days. He secured his plane and I drove him home. Jacquie had met him during the promotion tour, so he was introduced to the others. Ruth gave me a wink and said that she had some oysters for a seafood cocktail entrée. Whatever the old wives say about oysters, these worked, twice.
During our pillow talk, I revealed that my father had flown Typhoons and Tornados and that I had always wanted to fly. Being cabin crew was enough, at the time, but I thought that I could now find the time to take classes. We went back to Redhill the next day, and I signed on for a test flight with an instructor, to see if I had a chance. Adrian waited while I was in the air.
Ben, the instructor, took us up, then got me to take the controls, telling me to make turns, climb, descend, and then climb again with a circular movement, like they use with gliders. All the time he was asking me where we were, and I could tell him the road numbers we were passing over. After some ‘S’ turns, he asked me which way we should go to head back to the airfield. I pointed off to the right and he nodded.
“Take us there, please. I’ll take over when we reach the landing approach. I have to tell you that you’re a natural. We can have you with a restricted licence inside a couple of months.”
He allowed me to keep my hands and feet on the controls as he took us down. I could feel every movement as he did so. When we got out, he took me into the office where Adrian was waiting.
“How did she go, Ben?”
“Daughter of a fighter pilot, Adrian. How would you think. She’ll be flying formation with you inside three months.”
I didn’t know what to make of that comment, so let it slide. I wasn’t about to film the third film of the trilogy until early the following year, so signed up for the course, there and then. I felt more alive than I had been for some time. By the time I took Adrian back to his plane, he was almost a member of the family, and turned out to be an anime fan, so would have long conversations with Bronte that was so far over my head it wasn’t funny.
I went flying nearly every day, and also spent a lot of time in the classroom. When it came to navigation, I found out that my father had been speaking rubbish. It was either that, or that I had become a lot brighter since those days. There were a few times that I would go to Redhill and fly off with Adrian to visit the other cinemas, with him happy with me taking the controls. I still had the knack of knowing where I was when I had looked at a map and was able to factor in the flying speed.
We would stay in hotels and make love into the early hours. I asked him if he would like to spend Christmas with me in the apartment in Palma. That year, all the others went to Valencia, while we flew his Cessna to Palma, with a couple of fuelling stops along the way. There was a light aircraft airfield not far from the city of Palma. We hired a car to go to the apartment, where we kept ourselves to ourselves, and then took walks along the beach.
Jacquie called me to tell me that both ‘Drama Queen’ and ‘Occupation’ were in the running for both the Globes and BAFTAs. After Christmas, we took a commercial flight to London, stayed long enough to be outfitted for the Globes, and then flew to Los Angeles. The Awards night was interesting, with me there as a star, with Adrian as my plus one. We went to a couple of parties beforehand, so that he could get to meet some of the people I hadn’t seen for a couple of years.
I picked up the Screenplay Globe for ‘Occupation’, as well as the Best Actress Globe for ‘Drama Queen.’ ‘Occupation’ took the Directing, Cinematography and Best Picture Globes. Eric added to his growing collection with the Supporting Actor Globe. Jeff didn’t attend. He wasn’t nominated for anything, this year. Pamela was, though, with another actor on her arm.
We didn’t stay long at the after-party and flew back to London the next day. We stayed at the house, alone, until the BAFTAs, where ‘Occupation’ took the Best Film, Direction, Cinematography, and Screenplay. I got the Best Actress for ‘Drama Queen’, which also got the Most Outstanding British Film.
Jacquie had told me that I wasn’t nominated for the Actress Oscar but was in the running for the screenplay of ‘Occupation’. There would be a big group going to that one and I asked if someone could get mine for me. I wasn’t surprised that a decent British film wasn’t considered. Leaving all the awards at the house, we flew back to Palma to continue our time alone.
We discussed things, and Adrian decided that he would put on a special Julia Leigh week, showing my films, a different one each night. I said that I would bring the various awards, as long as he arranged proper security. By the time he had arranged it, everyone was home. I had soloed and had bought my own Cessna. When I arrived at Redhill, Ben was there to help me load up my case and the boxes of awards.
“What on earth are in these, Julia, they’re heavy?”
“Globes, BAFTAs and Oscars, Ben. They’ll be on show at the cinema in Bristol, a bit of a surprise for the audience during ‘Leigh Week’.”
The next week, we worked through my films, in order of production, with the Saturday night being a surprise showing of ‘Kathleen Cary, Film Star’. On Monday, Adrian and I flew in a loose formation back to Redhill, where he helped me load up the cases and I drove us back to the house.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 28
As we moved into the year, I made the final film of the trilogy, ‘Kathleen Cary, the Slide’. It was hard for me to make, with a lot of emotional scenes. If this didn’t win anything I was in the wrong game.
I put in a lot of hours in the air, flying myself around the country, now able to take passengers, so Jacquie joined me as we went around. We could fly to nearby airfields, get picked up, do the promotions, and fly on the next day. It would take a lot more training before I could fly at night, and I was always very careful with the weather predictions. If the show was at one of Adrian’s theatres, he would fly in and meet us. He said that my being so approachable was a real money-maker when we were there, with whatever film I was promoting doing well for weeks after.
I was feeling a lot more settled with my life. Adrian was often at the house for days on end. I had no films to be making, at the moment, but was still looking at screenplays. Life, at the house, ran smoothly until Colin and Ruth announced that they were going to retire at the end of the year. Their own house, which had been let, was going to be vacated and they were going to get it renovated and go back to it. Both Brendon and Larry would be able to take over the driving duties, but we needed a cook.
When I spoke to Adrian about it, he just said to hold on, he might have an answer. A week later, he rang to say that his cook in Bristol would be happy to relocate, as long as he was relocating as well.
So, two weeks after that, a van turned up with Molly, and her clothes and utensils. It also contained his clothes and knick-knacks. We had never discussed any permanent relationship, just happy to take it as it comes. He couldn’t marry, as he was separated but not yet divorced. She was being paid as a partner in the cinema business and had no desire to give that up.
Molly moved into the spare room of the annex with Colin and Ruth, while Adrian moved in with me. Our planes were parked together at the airfield, and we continued to carry on with things. Molly fitted in well; she and I had become friends when I stayed over at his place. At the end of Autumn, we had a big party to say our cheerio’s to Colin and Ruth, closed up the house and all went to Valencia and the villa, for Christmas.
I was walking along the esplanade with Adrian when a thought struck me. I had started to write a story about me becoming a film star but had put it aside. I remembered that dream I had, so many years ago now, where I was a little girl, on a swing as a fighter jet roared over and I had called out ‘Dadeee’. It made me think about the women in aviation, who had to fight twice as hard to get into the air. Back in the villa, I started looking on the internet for women in aviation. Other than the well-known ones, like Amy Johnson and Amelia Earhart, there was a large number of women who had been leaders. It went back as far as hot air balloons and dirigibles.
One that took my interest and made me gasp was the youngest sibling of the Wright family. Katharine Wright was born in 1874, the young sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Her mother died when she was fourteen, and her father, Bishop Milton Wright, expected young Katharine to look after the house and the boys in the family. She did this, while continuing her education. She was the only one in the family to gain a college degree, in 1898, aged 24, from Oberlin College, after two years at Oberlin Academy.
She managed the bicycle shop that gave the brothers their income. On top of that she taught English and Latin at the Steele High School, in Dayton, and some of her salary went towards helping the brothers when they went to Kitty Hawk to test their creation in the summer of 1901, finally achieving powered and controlled flight in 1903. Although she isn’t known to have worked on the maths, she knew others who could help the brothers. She was a great letter writer and wrote virtually all the correspondence between the brothers and all the various departments that they had to deal with, officially their executive secretary after the designs were patented in 1906. She did the press releases and kept the bicycle shop running while the brothers were away.
In 1908, Orville and an Army Lieutenant crashed on a test flight at Fort Myer, killing the soldier and badly injuring Orville. Katharine took leave from the school and went to Orville’s bedside in an Army hospital. She was there, looking after him, for seven weeks, and never went back to the school. In 1909, she joined the brothers to sail to Pau, in France, to demonstrate the aircraft and also set up a manufacturing centre. Here, with Pau being where the great spent their holidays, she became the darling of the social set, meeting royalty and political figures, being able to speak French was a great help. While in Pau, she made three flights with Wilbur, so becoming one of the earliest women to go on a powered flight. Before they returned to America, having been instrumental in setting up what was the biggest aircraft manufacturing centre in the world, the French gave each brother a Legion d’Honneur, and awarded Katharine an Officier de L’Instruction Public, the highest academic award.
Wilbur died of typhoid in 1912, and Orville sold the airplane business in 1915. They had moved to a large mansion called Hawthorn Hill in 1914, the same year that Katharine attended a suffrage parade in Dayton. She went to Columbus to lobby the legislators, with the state giving women suffrage in 1919.
She continued to look after her father until his death in 1917, and then Orville until she went to Kansas City to join an old friend, Henry Haskell. She married Henry in 1926, with Orville refusing to have anything to do with her, as he considered that she had broken a deal to look after him. In 1929, the happy couple were about to embark on a delayed honeymoon when she came down with pneumonia and died on March 3, that year.
It took until 2022 for the Smithsonian to add her input to the public display. There had been a few books on the Wright Brothers, with some after 2003 including Katharine as an important part of the story. When I looked at movies or documentaries, only the 1978 film ‘The Winds of Kitty Hawk’ had a Kate Wright as part of the cast. To me, it was time that this marvellous woman had her own story told, from her own viewpoint.
From what I could gain from my searches, I made notes for the story. After New Year, I took Molly with me on the ferry to Palma, where we opened up the apartment so that I could sit down and write. With the research, I didn’t need to write a story first, so got straight onto writing the screenplay. Molly kept me fed and proofread the pages as I produced them.
I open the film with Katharine walking home from the Central High School in 1888, her heart heavy as she knows that her mother is getting close to death with tuberculosis. She visits her mother in her bedroom, and they talk about the coming changes. Her mother, Susan, tells her to be a good girl when she’s gone, and to look after the men folk.
As I work through the story, I have to invent scenes that reflect the actual events, but there’s enough there to build her narrative. I make it as a timeline, with things happening as they did in real life. The final scene is Haskell unveiling a bronze sculpture commemorating her life at Oberlin. Although she wasn’t longing to fly, she was the one person who made it possible for the brothers to achieve their dream. My screenplay almost wrote itself, and I finished the first draft at the end of January. I sat on the beach while Molly reread it, from beginning to end, with the instruction to put red lines where it didn’t sound right.
When she called me in, there were a few places with red, and I could see why when I looked closer. I edited the file in the laptop and sent a copy to the home email address. I also sent a copy to Kym, with the note that this was hot off the press and whether she knew anyone who had access to old film of the events for accuracy, as well as the access to any of the buildings still standing. Also, whether she knew of any studio that might be interested, this was, after all, an American story, and she had worked longer in that country than anyone else I knew.
We then closed up the apartment and went back to Valencia for another month of relaxation. I found that Adrian had gone to Bristol in the middle of January but didn’t want to bother me with that. He was back in Valencia in the second week of February, and I realised just how much I had missed him. I let all of the others read the screenplay, with reasonably good reviews. Bronte went on the computer and printed off all the pictures of Katharine that he could find, then made portraits of her at the different stages of her life.
She wasn’t a pretty woman, by any means. If you were asked to describe a Victorian Latin teacher, you would get it spot on. She wasn’t ugly, merely somewhat plain. I scanned his pictures from the three main eras – a teenager, twenties to thirties, and the older woman. I added these to another email to Kym, with the note that we only needed the brothers in their twenties but would need to cast three females for the title role.
Two days later, she replied. I sat and looked at her email in wonder. It read ‘Way ahead of you. Attached are three photos of likely cast members made up for the era. It didn’t take long to get the studio that did ‘Tycoon’ on board. I sent them a copy of the screenplay and they’re ready to sign contracts, with the same terms as previous. They have access to other films about the brothers and are keen on the new viewpoint. Nearly all the locations still exist and are happy to be used. Oberlin very happy to host us for as long as it takes, as she was one of their own, a past trustee of the college and they want her on the pedestal that you have shown them. Organise your trip to America, and we’ll all get together at the studio to sign the paperwork. Kurt wants the part of Haskell.’
It had been so quickly accepted that I hadn’t sent the screenplay to anyone else. I forwarded Kym’s email to Jim, Tony, and Cecil, with another attachment of the screenplay. Jim replied inside an hour, with a long line of exclamation marks and just ‘will reply after I read it.’
It was only then that I looked at the three pictures she had attached. The teenager was very close to what Bronte had envisioned, an actress that I had heard of as one to be watched. The middle one was one of the ‘Tycoon’ cast, one of the ex-wives, with some cheek pads and a severe make up job. The third was Kym, as a haughty suffragette. With the brothers, it was only Orville that took part in most of the film, and we could change a single actor to look older, especially once he had been injured. I thought of Eric as the Bishop, but the studio may well have someone in mind, seeing that it would be aimed at their home market.
We closed the villa and went back to the house in Britain. Once we had settled in, we put on a small party for the shareholders of the film company, as well as inviting the new group of girls who were now running the Fan Club, now part of the curriculum at the school within Business Studies. When they arrived, they had brought Sherona and Sharina, with their husbands. They had both grown into beautiful and clever girls, as well as mothers of tiny ones. They had both met their husbands at the good jobs that they had walked into, based on their Fan Club experience.
When Jim arrived, he had the award that I had won in this year’s round of ceremonies. I had won the BAFTA Best Actress for ‘Film Star’, as well having a nomination in the Oscars but not getting it. If I picked up the Best Actress for ‘The Slide’ I think it may be some kind of record, so, if I get nominated, I’d better attend. Horatio gave me my latest account figures. I could never make another film and dash all over the world, but still be rich when I shuffled off the mortal coil.
We organised our trip to the studio that evening. We rang Kym at her home to get her to set up the meeting. Everyone had read the screenplay and were excited about it. David and Tony told me that they would stand back and let me direct it, as long as the studio was happy. They would see to the second units and the editing. A lot depended on what footage the studio already had. If we could make the film without having to recreate the flying parts, it would be a quick one to complete.
Adrian came with us when we went to America. At the studio, they were more than welcoming in their praise of what ‘Tycoon’ had done, both in gaining respect for the studio as well as gaining hard cash. They already had a full cast ready to start filming. We looked at the pieces of film that they already had, with much of it able to be slotted into our production without looking out of place. We signed the contracts and had a little party to celebrate.
After that, David and Tony joined me, Adrian, and my little group, to go and look at the locations. The two earliest schools did not exist anymore but were generic enough for us to find other buildings which would work equally as well. Oberlin was as grand as it had been when Katharine was there. We were welcomed and shown around, the architecture might have been the same, but the classrooms were up to the modern day.
Hawthorn Hill was very much the same as it had been, despite having been a guest house for V.I.P.s with the National Cash Register company for many years. A complete set of photos of the house, taken after Orville died in 1948, were available should we want to redress a room as it would have been, although Orville’s office looked very much like it did in his lifetime.
Kym had told me that she would scout the locations in France. Her home wasn’t far from Pau, close to the Spanish border. Pau had been greatly developed since 1909, but there were enough of the old villas and grand buildings to make locations easy to find.
While we were in Dayton, we made our bookings in one of the local hotels. We estimated that we would be three months there, planning to start filming at the end of May. I would do the early parts of the story, with the younger actress, up to 1890, while David and Tony would film in Pau, with the middle actress with the section between 1909 and when the Wrights returned to Dayton.
After that, the middle actress would join me to film the central part of the story between 1890 and 1909. Then we would transfer our attention to Hawthorn Hill for some background and to meet Haskell properly, with Kym and Kurt now playing their parts, before moving to Oklahoma City for the last part of her life. Tony would do the editing in the American studio, and we hoped to have the premiere, in Dayton, the following February.
Adrian decided that he needed to have a holiday from his cinemas, so would stay in America. He would spend some time touring the museums and aircraft collections, promising to pick out any that may be helpful to me. While I stayed in Dayton, we was never away more than a week or so at a time. The filming went well, with David, Tony and the second unit joining us in early July, happy with what they had done.
We wound up filming in Dayton, including the final scene, in late July. We had time then to move to Oklahoma to finish the film. From there, we moved everyone to the studio to do some soundstage shots. The filming ended in mid-September, and my group went back to Britain. David and Tony stayed with the studio for a little while longer. Post-production, and the score, would be the job for the studio, which was something they did very well.
The screening, for the reviewers, took place in the main hall at Oberlin, so they could be the first to tell us where we had gone wrong. That took place in the middle of January, which made for some interesting rumours circulating by the time the Globes came around. The premiere was at The Neon, in Dayton. It wasn’t a big place, so the audience was by invitation only. The red carpet was very short, but the atmosphere was positively electric. We had invited a lot of female aviation celebrities to see what they thought.
It all went very well. Some of the female pilots were in the Ninety-Nines, and I was invited to visit the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchinson before I went back to Britain. After that, I was invited to attend their Head Office in Oklahoma, where they made me an honorary member, seeing that I had spent years in the air as cabin crew, flew my own plane, and had put one of the pioneers of flight on the pedestal she had always deserved.
Katharine would have loved knowing them but had died in the year the group first met and was founded. I cherish my membership certificate, which is in the display with the film awards. I also put my name down to offer scholarships for women in aviation, but one named after Katharine Wright, to sponsor women who are studying aeronautic engineering, rather than actual flying.
My main task that I set myself, in that year, was to upgrade my pilot licence to a larger plane, getting my twin propellor rating and trading the Cessna in for an old Piper Cheyenne 400LS. I also sat all the classes to upgrade to all-weather flying in the Piper, which had been upgraded to the current Garmin instrumentation and aeronautics. Compared to the Cessna, it was like moving to a jet. It was quiet, it went a very long way, and it would take our whole group if we wanted to.
By the time I was needed to go on promotional tours with the stars of ‘Katharine Wright’ we could do it in style. The fact that I would be piloting the plane we arrived in was an extra bit of publicity. That year was very interesting, with Adrian also getting rated to fly the Piper. He left the cinema business for his managers to manage, and we flew to a lot of places, together. We put the Piper into one of those huge transport planes and took it to America, getting it put back together by Piper, and getting upgrades and a full maintenance done at the same time.
We took all of our group and spent three months in America, never in one place more than a few days. We saw all of the aircraft museums, visited as many air shows as we could, and generally made that time our honeymoon, interspersed with the odd promotional visit. When we landed at Will Rogers World Airport, in Oklahoma, we were greeted by the Ninety-Nines as guests and treated well. We were told that ‘Katharine Wright’ was improving the chances for women in aviation around the world.
While there, we were taken up in one of my old employers’ planes, by one of their female pilots, and we were both given some time at the controls. That made me think, as my father may well have sat in that very seat, some years before. So much for me never being able to fly! It was tempting, but I couldn’t afford the fuel bill for one that big, the Piper being expensive enough.
We had Piper do a full check of the Cheyenne before packing it for shipment back to Britain. I suppose, with good enough planning, we could have flown it there, but it was good to be sitting in comfort with someone else at the controls.
We flew ourselves to Spain, that year, and relaxed for a while. We were back in Britain in the middle of January, as we had news that the film was breaking all nomination records on the awards circuit. We had special invites to the Globes and cleaned up. I got one for the screenplay and direction. We picked up the Best Actor, with the guy that played Orville nailing his complex personality. We picked up Best Film, Casting and Editing. After that, we did almost as good in the BAFTAs. With Best Film, Screenplay, Best Actress for the one who played the middle ages. Tony and David got the Editing, and I got the Directing mask.
The Oscars were daunting, and I had to swallow my prejudice to attend. All three of our female leads had been nominated in the Best Actress award, our American star was in for Best Actor, with Kurt as Best Supporting Actor. We were in the line for most of the other awards, and, on the night, took nearly everything we were nominated for. The studio heads gave us a big party, afterwards, and we were promised the world should we come up with another blockbuster idea.
The studio party was nothing compared to the one we were invited to in Oklahoma. The Ninety-Nines had hired a big venue to celebrate the success, and all of us were flown there by one of the members, with everyone getting some time in the cockpit. When we left, some two days later, I was minus one Oscar, now in their Museum of Women Pilots, alongside a poster from the film, signed by us all, and a framed history of the difference that Katharine had made to the history of powered flight. There was also a blow-up picture of her, sitting next to Orville, in one of their planes in Pau.
That year, we went off on another promotional tour, back through Europe and down through South Africa to Australia, New Zealand and up to Japan again. We flew by commercial airlines on that trip. When we got home, I decided that this time, I would just do my own thing for a year or two. It had been a busy few years, I was in my mid-thirties and now very rich, getting richer by the week as the various films were shown around the world. It was time for a genuine break.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 29
They say that the real world has a habit of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. I was determined to do nothing for as long as it takes but was only home for a week or so when the phone rang. Larry answered it, listened for a few seconds, and then passed it to me.
“It’s for you, Julia.”
I took the handset and went to sit in an easy chair before I spoke my name.
“Miss Leigh, I’m Group Captain Smithers of the Royal Air Force. I am based at RAF Shawbury, the home of the Number One Flying Training School, here in Shropshire. As part of my job, I’m liaison with HM Prisons Berwyn, not far away near Wrexham. There are a number of ex-military prisoners there, including your father. He should, because of his offence against the state, be in a Class A prison, but he is in the Class C prison, because of his age and health.”
“What can I do for you, Group Captain?”
“Your father has been asking to see Jamie, and your mother gave me this number. I don’t know what he wants to talk about, but he is very ill, and may only have months to live. I have spoken to him on several occasions, and he has no remorse for the things he did, only that he never was able to apologise to you for putting you down when you were young. The inmates do see movies, and he saw ‘Turbulence’ a few weeks ago, recognising you as the Jamie who served him drinks on a flight. He had to be told that you were, indeed, his son. Is it possible for you to come and see him? If you come to Shawbury, I can take you to see him, it's just over twenty miles from here.”
“I can make the time, Group Captain. Is it possible for me to fly there, I have a Piper Cheyenne.”
“Certainly, the lads and lassies will be pleased to see a film star arrive in her own plane. We can park it for you, and I think that I’ll be able to squeeze a few gallons of fuel into it before you leave. Actually, if you land in the afternoon, I’ll see if I can organise a movie night with one of your films for that evening, then you can stay on base, overnight, and have all the next day with your father.”
“I can bring a digital copy of ‘Katharine Wright’ if you want.”
“That would be wonderful. Could you fly in, next Monday? I’ll text you the co-ordinates and the airfield radio frequency.”
“Would it be all right for me to bring my partner as co-pilot?”
“Certainly, I’ll set up a room in the married quarters for you. I’m looking forward to seeing you on Monday.”
After we finished the call, I sat for a while and wondered if seeing my father was a good thing, or not. He was, after all, my father, even if I was one of many that he had sired to so many women. I picked up the handset and called my mother. She told me that she had no idea what he wanted to say, but, as far as she was concerned, he could rot in hell and told me that I could tell him that.
I sat down and worked out a flying time from Redhill to Shawbury, then texted Smithers with my ETA and my aircraft ID, just so they didn’t try to shoot me down. I spoke to Adrian about it, and he said that it would be an interesting experience to land at an RAF base. About an hour later, he came back to me to tell me that it was a training school for helicopter pilots, and he wondered if we could wangle a ride in one.
I got myself a quick appointment with the salon, so that I didn’t disappoint the fans, and to also make sure that my father knew that he was talking to someone far and away removed from the Jamie that he knew. While I was sitting in the chair, getting my hair done, I remembered his words when he thought that I was his illegitimate daughter. He had said that I, that is she, shouldn’t tell me, as in his son, as it would burst my bubble.
For a long time, I had thought that this was to keep his secrets from me and Mum. I started wondering if he had said that in order to save me from learning about his other lives. I decided that I would, at least, give him some slack to see how our meeting went.
On the Monday morning, Adrian drove us to the airfield, where we took our time checking the Cheyenne, before powering up, double checking all the gauges. We both loved flying this wonderful machine, so I let Adrian take off and we set a course to the airfield. The Cheyenne could have done the trip in an hour, but we conserved fuel by flying a little slower, arriving over Roden at just on midday.
I called up the tower on the frequency I had been given and was instructed to turn as I passed over Astley Lodge and line up on their runway as the wind was from the north-east. The Cheyenne had modern avionics, and I was able to pick up their approach beam and we set down on the airfield at a quarter past twelve, the ETA that I had given them. What I didn’t expect was the eight helicopters each side of the runway as we came in, hovering in parallel lines to look like a guard of honour.
When we had shed our speed, we saw a truck in front of us with a ‘Follow Me’ sign on it. We followed it to the end of the runway and around a taxiway to the main tarmac, where we were led to a parking spot between two hangars. I shut the engines down, looking out the window to see a couple of air force officers standing next to a staff car and a jeep. When we turned off all of the electrics, we went to the door and opened it, then dropped the steps. The officers were at the steps as we left the plane. I could see a couple of squaddies putting chocks under the Cheyenne. As I stepped onto the tarmac, Group Captain Smithers came forward and welcomed us to the base, and I introduced him to Adrian. He then introduced us to Captain Tolhurst, who would be looking after us while we were on the base.
Smithers said that Tolhurst would take us to the quarters and then to the mess for lunch. He then left us and went to the staff car to be driven away. I turned to the Captain.
“Busy man, your Group Captain.”
“He likes to look that way, Miss Leigh. It’s us underlings that do all the work, as usual. If you want to get your bags, I’ve got the jeep to give you the realistic experience of life in the military. Please call me Edie.”
“All right, Edie. I’m Julia and this bloke of mine is Adrian. So, what has the air force got up its sleeve. That guard of honour was a nice touch.”
“That was put together as a training exercise, this morning. The pilots were just told that a fixed wing would be arriving and to plan that manoeuvre. When they get to be piloting gunships, they may have to do something similar to fend off enemy fire as one of ours gets into the air. They will get good marks for it, as they held position well.”
“How far do you go with the training?”
“We teach them to fly, then we teach them some advanced stuff. For training on armed helicopters, they are deployed to active bases where they get to fly the real thing, along with weapons training. Anyway, here we are at the married quarters. Bring your bags and I’ll show you the room. It’s not flash, but pretty good, considering some of the places I’ve had to doss down in.”
She showed us to the room, where we put our bags on the bed.
“No key?”
“Julia, you’re inside a double barbed wire fence, with armed guards, dogs, and regular patrols. Your bags are perfectly safe. Now we get you to the lunch, many of those who were flying today will be coming to the mess to see who they paid homage to.”
She had a cheeky grin when she said that. As we were standing there, I took the opportunity to look at her ribbons. Among the general service ones, one stood out that I knew.
“You flew in Afghanistan?”
“Yes, I was a combat pilot then. It was mostly air support for the pickup missions. I didn’t get to shoot at anybody, but it was scary enough. How did you know?”
“My father had that ribbon for when he flew Tornados with the Germans. I suppose that all his medals have been stripped from him. I don’t think I’ll ask him about that when I see him tomorrow.”
She walked us to the mess, where we were greeted by a load of trainees, of both sexes, who were told to keep it polite, as I would be there for the rest of the day. We had a light lunch and answered a lot of questions. There was a big screen on one wall, and I asked if this would be where we would be showing the film. When Edie said it was, I went back to the room to get my bag with the laptop in. We checked the plugs and I put the trailer for the film on the screen. Edie stood and called out that this would be the film for tonight, and that I would be with them to answer any questions. One of the trainees was cheeky enough to ask if I had any which I was in, so I said that the laptop had compressed files of all my work. It took some discussion before it was agreed that we would show two films, straight after the evening meal. One was going to be ‘Gale’, and the other would be ‘Katharine Wright’.
In the afternoon, we were taken to the simulator and we both spent time learning to fly a helicopter. It was different, I have to say. You had to use the effect of the rotor to go up, down, forward, and back. It was fun and I managed to be quite good at it. Not enough to make me want to buy one, though.
Later, we were taken up in the real thing, with an instructor. I was in one helicopter and Adrian in another. We flew a circuit around the countryside. I was given the chance to take the controls and had a lovely time. Back at the airfield, we had a chance to freshen up before dressing for dinner. We had been told that it was usually dressy when the base is hosting visitors, so we made sure that we looked right.
The mess was set up with a top table, which would seat us, the C.O., and the upper ranks. It was a very good meal, with a choice of good wines. Afterwards, the chairs were rearranged so that everyone had a view of the screen, and I brought up the first film. They wanted me to say something first, so I told them how the film got made, and our daily helicopter flights to the location. I then got the film going and sat back in my seat.
When that one finished, there were some questions about the plot, and I also related some of the amusing reactions that it had generated in America. After that, we watched the Wright film. When that one had finished, a lot of the female trainees wanted to talk to me about other women in aviation. I explained about the Ninety-Nines, with what I knew of the history.
One asked me how long I had been flying, so I explained that I had spent a number of years as cabin crew, so would have millions of air miles before I learned how to fly, with my time with the Cessna and then with my Piper. Many nodded when I told them what my ratings were, our time spent exploring America, and the amount of avionics that the Piper carried.
By the time I was able to pack away the laptop and escape, I had gained a lot of new friends. It allowed me to settle down when we went to bed and get a good sleep. Being a military base, the day started at an ungodly hour, and I dressed to see my father. Adrian was going to stay behind, mainly to show some of the trainees the Piper. It had attracted a lot of attention, being one of only about thirty still flying.
Smithers and I were in the staff car and heading to the prison after breakfast. He was in full uniform, as befitting the RAF liaison at the prison. It took longer to get me all the proper accreditation than it took to drive there. Eventually, I had the proper lanyard, my handbag was stored in the front office, and we were escorted to the room where my father would be waiting.
Entering a prison is an experience that very few law-abiding folk get to sense. It is frightening, after the first few doors that are locked behind you, and you know that you have as much chance of leaving as the other inmates, unless someone was with you all the way.
When we arrived at the room, I was shown the seat that I had to sit on, with my father on the other side of a Perspex barrier between us. He looked terrible. We were left in the middle of the room, with a warder standing by the door on both sides. Smithers had told me that the visit would be recorded in case he said anything new. I was happy just to say hello. He looked at me and then spoke.
“Hello, Jamie. You certainly have made changes in your life. All for the better, I have to say. I now realise why my wife kicked me out after we spoke on that flight. I had been able to keep it all quiet for years.”
“Sorry, father, she knew all along. You talk in your sleep. The meeting on the plane had no bearing on the events.”
“She never said anything.”
“Quite possibly it was because she loved you – once.”
“We three was the only real family I had, and then I just couldn’t help myself and stuffed it up.”
“The way you look now, father, it’s your body that’s stuffed up.”
“It’s my way of getting an early release, Jamie. I knew that something was wrong by the blood in my stool, but I held off saying anything until it was too late. If I die in the next six months, which is what they’ve given me, then I’ll be out of here a lot of years earlier than they hoped. Please say that you’ll give me a decent burial.”
“Even though you did all those bad things, father, I’ll see that you get a good send-off. I might even invite all of the other families to see you put in the ground. I’ve got a list. There I was, thinking that I was an only child, and here I am with lots of half-siblings.”
“There’s something that they haven’t taken away from me that could pay for the service. They cleared out my apartment and sold my car, but I’ve asked the Governor to give you a key when you leave. Near Watford there’s a small airfield at Elstree. I had a plane parked there, with covers on, so that I could leave the country if things got too hot. Unfortunately, they got me while I was still airside at Heathrow. You can sell it if you want, there’s plenty who would take it off you. It was a near-new Piper M600/SLS, almost as much fun to fly as a Tornado. It’s all I have left, so make good use of it. I think that it would need a good maintenance check now, seeing that it’s been sitting there for close to ten years. It may even have to be scrapped. I had planned to be gone a few months after they nabbed me.”
“Thank you – Dad. I promise to make sure that you have a good burial. You are still my Dad, even if you were hardly there when I was young, and used to put me down when you did come home.”
“That, Jamie, was because I could see that you were a better person than I was, and it was a reaction to that. You have done well. I was proud of you when you were cabin crew, but too afraid to lower my guard. I saw you acting in that film of yours and could hardly believe that you were my child. They tell me that you’re a gifted writer for films, the only things I could write were usually forgeries.”
He coughed and held his hand to his lower stomach.
“Time for me to get back to bed, Jamie. I did love you, and your mother. You were the one stable thing in my crazy life.”
He motioned to the warder, who came over and unlocked the cuffs so he could stand. He looked at me as I stood, and he smiled.
“Goodbye, Jamie. My clever daughter.”
“Goodbye, Dad.”
He was led out and I stood for a while, with tears in my eyes. I had come, expecting to be angry and vindictive, but I finally realised that he really was a father to look up to, most of the time. I could tell, by his goodbye, that he had told one lie. I expect that it wouldn’t be six months before I organised to collect his casket.
I hardly noticed all the doors, gates and locks that opened in front of me and clanged behind me as the guards escorted Smithers and me back to the reception. There, I retrieved my bag and was given the key, on a tag with a plane ID. Smithers said that they would leave it my honesty to report anything in the plane that they should know. I asked about my father’s health and was told that he had started with bowel cancer, but it was now in so many places he was already terminal.
On the way back to the air base, I thought about what he had said, and the way he had said it. I expect that I’ll find his escape kit in the plane, maybe false papers, and money. There might even be a good suit we could use to bury him in. I knew that I was going to have to sit and have a good talk with my mother, no matter what she now thought of him.
Back at the base, Smithers talked us into staying an extra night, so that we could show a couple more films. In the afternoon, we both flew in helicopters again, with the instructors giving us a lot more time at the controls. Mine was surprised when I could tell him where we were to about a mile. The dinner was, again, dressy, and we showed ‘Occupation’ first. I stood and told them that the idea came to me from the things that my father had done, many years after the film setting. Then I showed the ‘Thirteen Women’, which got some applause when it finished.
The next day, I called Elstree to ask them if they had room for the Cheyenne. They were happy to have me visit, so I filed a flight plan, and some squaddies pushed my plane out to the main tarmac. When we switched everything on, I noticed that they had topped up the tanks, so I gave Smithers and Tolhurst a wave, made sure that nobody was close and started the motors, warming them nicely.
When I called up the tower, I was told to take the taxiway due south, as I would be taking off from the north-south runway. As I reached the end and got permission to take off, a swarm of helicopters came from the main tarmac, and formed up beside me, twitching as if they were looking for enemy. I gunned the engines, and we left the ground in the shortest distance I had ever done, climbing higher than the helicopters and banking to the left, at ninety degrees before I was over the boundary fence. I heard some applause through the headphones as we then started an anti-clockwise circuit to line us up with Elstree.
We took it easy to Elstree, landing at about eleven, and the tower directed us to a spare parking bay. This airfield was set up like a wartime one, with each plane having a designated space, with direct access to the taxi ways. When we shut down, a truck had arrived with some chocks and tie-down cables in case the wind came up.
When we had left the plane with our bags, and had locked the plane, the guys in the truck took us to the main reception building. The Pilot Shop was where we would find the airfield management. Leaving Adrian to guard our bags, I went in and saw the manager. I explained who I was, and why I was there, and showed him the key, able to give my father’s full name and final rank.
He went to a wall safe and pulled out an envelope.
“The last time he was here, he asked us if we would do a maintenance check on his plane, and to keep it ready to go. When he didn’t turn up, we covered it, but made sure the tyres were inflated, and that no water was creeping under the covers. He had paid enough for that to happen, but, with the intervening years, there will be a storage fee outstanding. If you pay that, we can get it ready to fly. I see that you came in a Cheyenne, and the 600 is very similar in the controls but has Garmin avionics. If you give me your key, we’ll get it ready to go, and I’ll get one of my instructors to take you on a shake-down circuit. He asked me to give this envelope to anyone who came for the plane who were not the police, or military police. If you and your friend want to spend a couple of hours in the café, someone will come for you when the 600 is ready to fly. We will give you an invoice, which you can pay through our banking machine.”
I thanked him and we went into the café for an early lunch. I pulled out the envelope and opened it while we were waiting for our food. There was another key, and I left it on the table as I read the letter. When I had finished, I sat back, astonished. In it, he told me the full scope of his criminal days. He had been ferrying drugs and contraband while with the airline and had done cross-channel flights in the Piper, dropping packages as he passed over certain fields in France. There was a small CD which he said held enough proof to put a lot of people in jail, with names and addresses. I resolved to pass this to the police once he had died.
What it did solve was the way he could afford the Piper and all his other activities. I didn’t show the letter to Adrian, saying that it was dynamite and the less he knew, at the moment, the safer he would be. After the meal, I found the bank of lockers mentioned. In the one that the key opened, we saw his military flying kit, with the g-force clothing and the proper fighter pilot helmet. There was also a package, which I opened to find a large amount of money.
We went and sat, watching planes until the manager came and told us that the 600 was ready to fly. He said that he would make out an invoice. I handed him the bundle of cash and said that I would like a receipt and any change. It looked as if we would be leaving in plenty of time to get back to Redhill, so opened up the Cheyenne and put our bags away. The 600 wasn’t far from where we had parked and could see a guy doing the visual inspections as the motor warmed. It made my heart sing, with the single multi-bladed turboprop giving a particular sound.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 30
When we reached him, we shook hands and he helped my into the plane, getting into the second seat as I buckled up in the main seat. We spent some time going through the instruments, seeing that it was a similar upgrade to the Cheyenne, with the Garmin system, and similar touch screens and the automatic landing at the touch of a button. With the headphones on, he called up the flight control and we had permission to taxi to the end of the runway.
It was so similar to the Cheyenne I was doing all the right things by habit. We lined up at the end of the single runway and I had permission to take off. If the Cheyenne went like a startled rabbit, this one went like the jaguar that was chasing it. The acceleration was fantastic, and we were wheels up almost before I could rotate. After a few circuits he guided me to an airspace designated for aerobatic training, and we spent a good hour rolling, twisting, looping, and even climbing up and allowing it to go into a flat spin, with him calling out the moves to get us out of it. Not once did he have to take the controls.
When he told me to head back to the strip, he congratulated me. He said that he had flown with my father, and that I was a chip off the old block when it came to flying. He suggested that I could do aerobatics at shows, with my skills and star power being a great drawcard. As we were on approach, he pulled out his phone and took a selfie with me flying.
When we landed, we taxied to near the Cheyenne, now ready to take off. The manager was there, and the instructor signed me off as rated on the 600. I was given the receipt, and a big bundle of change. I peeled off several notes and told him to give his maintenance guys a good meal, on me. I also told him that if I was added to a cast of a TV show, I might be back as it was close to the Elstree Studios.
On the way home, I called Larry and asked him if he could go to Redhill to organise a parking space for the 600. He laughed, cheekily.
“Typical woman, can’t send her anywhere unless she comes back with a new plane.”
By the time we arrived at Redhill, he had just enough time to sort out a pair of parking spaces for us, side by side, and was waiting near them with the car as we taxied in and shut down. The airfield guys were quick with chocks on both planes and added tether cables. We unloaded the Cheyenne and put our bags in the car, then opened up the luggage compartment of the 600 for the first time.
We carefully took all the bags out and put them in the car, then I used a flashlight to inspect the bulkheads. I was expecting something, and a crack, just a fraction too wide, led me to a secret compartment. There were packages there that looked like drugs, so we closed it up again and locked the plane.
With both planes secure, Larry drove us to where Adrian had parked, and he followed us back to the house. Larry was keen to know what had happened, but I stalled him so I could tell everyone. At the house, I put all of the bags from the 600 into the office, and our personal bags were unpacked in the bedroom. It was still midafternoon, so I took the chance and rang Horatio.
“Hi there, Horatio. How are you?”
“All the better from hearing from you, Julia. Have you got another screenplay?”
“Not at the moment. What I do have is my father’s plane. He had been asking to see me, so I went to Berwyn Prison with a Group Captain Smithers from RAF Shawbury. I spoke to my father, and he gave me a key before saying goodbye, probably for the last time.”
“Sounds interesting. The key was to a locker or safe deposit?”
“Something much bigger. It fitted his Piper aircraft, which is now sitting on the ground at Redhill, next to the Cheyenne. I flew it home from Elstree, where it had been since before he was arrested.”
“Do I detect a ‘but here?”
“You got it. Do you know someone in the drug squad who you can trust, implicitly? I found a secret compartment in the plane with about twenty kilo of drugs. There is also a mini-CD which he told me would put a lot of people in front of a judge.”
“And?”
“What I would like is for nothing to be done until he dies. From what I could see, that will be about three months, or maybe less. It will give time for surveillance to be set up so that the named ones don’t get out from under.”
“Can we meet, at Redhill, tomorrow afternoon? Bring whatever you think is useful. Was there money?”
“Bundles of it. I used some to get the plane fettled so I could fly it back. He even kept his old flying suit from the Tornado days, I might see if it fits me when I take the new plane barnstorming.”
“Hold on to the money but check every bag to see if there are more drugs. Be ready to make a statement, tomorrow, and to fly the plane to a secure field, where they can go over it with a fine-tooth comb. I believe that they have a private hangar at Northolt. You may be without the plane for a few days.”
“That’s all right, I’ve got another one.”
“You’ve really taken with this flying, haven’t you?”
“I always wanted to learn, and an instructor told me yesterday that I was my father’s child when it came to flying. We spent an hour in an aerobatic zone doing things that I had never thought possible. My father said that the 600 was almost as much fun as a Tornado, and I have to believe him.”
“All right, eleven am tomorrow, by the clubhouse. I don’t know who will be with me, but you can be sure that they’ll be looking forward to seeing what you have for them.”
When I hung up, I went through to the office to see what was in the bags. Two flight bags had only money. I didn’t bother to count it, but just put them in the bottom drawer with the lock. One case was all clothes, new and still with tags, including a good suit which will come in handy.
There was a small shoulder bag with passports and IDs. Six in different names with the pictures looking like my father the last time I saw him on the flightdeck. They had subtle differences, some with a moustache, others with sideburns. That was why there was another case with stage paint and glue, plus bags of various bits of hair. There was another sheaf of lists of airfields across Europe, with callsigns and runway bearings, some with an asterisk beside them. I copied the original letter for my own records.
I put the flight bag with all the paperwork out to take with me and added his original letter and the small CD. I was tempted to take a copy of that but it maybe password protected, so I left it for the experts. When I went out into the lounge, I had to stop and laugh.
Larry had put the fighter pilot suit on and looked quite dashing in it. When he saw me, he gestured to the pants.
“They’re a bit loose, Julia.”
I remembered one time that my father had dressed up for me when I was young. He had told me about the way the pants inflated when you were pulling out of a dive. He had foolishly shown me the emergency button on the belt, and I had tapped it, inflating the pants. I walked over to Larry.
“These are designed to stop your blood pooling in your legs, Larry, see.”
I tapped the button and there was enough compressed gas to blow the pant legs up. Adrian and Brendon fell about laughing as Larry tried to move. Molly came through at the sound of mirth and had a giggle, pulling out her phone to take a picture.
“Help, let them down, they’re squashing my nuts.”
I relented and pressed another button that released the air. In flight, they would be connected to hoses in the cockpit that inflated and deflated them as needed. We got him to put on the helmet and Molly took some more pictures of Flyboy Larry. As soon as I heard those words, I went back into the office, got some blank paper, and wrote ‘The Flyboy’ on the top. It would take some relenting, on my part, but I envisioned a film about Group Captain Curtis and his service career, intermixed with his peccadillos. It would end with his arrest at Heathrow, as nobody would believe what I had discovered recently. I would now need to see photos of my half-siblings, and my step Aunts.
I went back to the lounge, where Larry had got out of the suit, and we relaxed. Molly did a nice dinner, and we watched a bit of television. I went off to bed early, as it had been a big day, and Adrian wasn’t far behind me, to relax me further when we were in bed.
The next morning, I wore jeans and boots, seeing that I would be landing at Northolt, not sure how I would be getting home again. I took my time over breakfast, loaded up my Audi with the bags, and went to Redhill. I was early, so checked both planes and got the ground crew to take the tethers off the 600 and turn it around. I sat and had a cup of tea while I waited for Horatio.
When he arrived, he had the Military Police Major that I had met all those years ago. He probably was a much higher rank by now but didn’t tell me. As well, there was a beefy guy who could only be the detective. Actually, he was a Chief Inspector. I led them out to the plane. The detective asked me questions before we got on board. He wanted to see the luggage hold, so I opened it up and showed him the bags I had brought with me. He asked me where the compartment was but didn’t want me to open it.
“If you opened it before you knew what was inside, we’ll have to take your fingerprints to eliminate them when we dust. Has anyone sat in the passenger area?”
“No, when I went to be rated, there was only me and the instructor up front.”
“Good, we can dust the whole cabin and see if anything crops up. This was laid up for about ten years, so Horatio told me.”
“Yes, it was his getaway transport. In one of the bags there are several different passports and IDs.”
“Right, what we’ll do is have Horatio drive me to Northolt, and the MP will fly with you in the second seat. That way there’ll be no contamination in the cabin, although it does look like it had been cleaned. Horatio can bring us all back. Let’s go!”
He got in the car with Horatio, and they left the airport. I did a visual around the plane, checked the fuel, and we got in, with me in my seat. Switching everything on, with the Major looking on, I called up the airfield management and requested permission to start the motor and gave them my destination as Northolt. The controller told me that I surely got around. The Major raised an eyebrow, so I told him that the last time I took off, I was heading for RAF Shawbury. I was given a circuitous route north-east and around the north of London.
Making notes of the bearings, I warmed the engine, checking the gauges. I got permission to taxi and was told which end of the runway I was to use. As we taxied towards the holding point, the Major started to chat, with a lot of questions about Prisoner Curtis, his health, and the likely reason he had given me the plane.
“I never told him that I fly, so he probably thought I would sell this to fund his funeral. He had no idea how much money I’ve earned from the films, with more coming in every month.”
“How long has he got?”
“He said six months, but I don’t think he’ll get past three. He has massive cancer points all over his body. He told me that he hadn’t mentioned it so that it would get worse, and he would be out of there quicker.”
“A hard man, that one. I spent many hours with him when he was brought in. He had no remorse. In fact, he was quite proud that he had got away with it for so long. If it wasn’t for you, he may be sunning himself on the Riviera.”
We stayed quiet as we reached the hold point and I had to wait for a training flight to land. When I got permission to take off, I turned onto the runway and gunned the motor. As it had, before, the plane was almost airborne as I rotated and we climbed away, heading for Chatham.
At a steady cruising speed, we got to Chatham and veered left and went north to Basildon. There we turned left once more heading towards Wembley Stadium, where I did a gentle turn until I picked up the approach beam of Northolt. We set down after giving our ID, and a police van had a ‘Follow me’ sign to lead us to a secluded hangar, where the doors were open, and I was beckoned to taxi inside.
When I had shut down, it was very quiet. We got out of the seats and left the plane. Horatio hadn’t arrived, yet, but there was a team of crime scene officers. Their inspector got me to take the bags out of the luggage compartment, and to point out how to open the secret compartment. He followed my instructions with his gloved hands and whistled when the door opened to reveal the packages.
I was shown to a desk, where a female officer took a very detailed statement. Then she took my fingerprints as elimination. After that, she motioned to the Inspector, who came over and witnessed me signing the statement after he had read through it. He then turned to the bags I had brought.
He held up the CD.
“Did he say what was on this?”
“He said that it held enough names and contact details to fill the Old Bailey, and that he was intent on taking everyone down. I expect that he was miffed that none of them had been in touch after he was arrested. I haven’t looked at it.”
“Good. What about these passports?”
“You had better talk to the military about those. They are one reason he’s in prison. The trial was a military one, under wraps. I recognised the names as the ones he had used when he married all his wives. The only time he used his real name was when he married my mother.”
He nodded and went off to speak to the Major, who was now looking on as the drugs were being removed from the compartment and stacked on a table. They stood and talked for some time as I watched the pile of bags grow higher. I had underestimated the number, as the compartment must have gone back quite a way. I would have to adjust the trim when I took the plane back. There was a crew in the cabin, dusting for prints and looking for anything left behind.
After about an hour, the detective and Horatio arrived. The inspector gave his boss a quick run-down of what had transpired. Horatio came over and took me to an urn. We made ourselves tea and went to some seats to rest and watch.
“I think that you have made some drug squad members happy, by the size of that pile. If it’s cocaine, it’s probably worth a million or more. They would usually put a find this size on the tele, but as you asked, it will be kept quiet. The Chief Inspector grilled me about your history on the way, so is up to speed with who you are, where you are, and the outline of why Curtis is in prison. I expect that the military will have to give them the file, and they will have to find someone with the clearance to read it.”
“How on earth did you get mixed up with these guys?”
“I had spent some time in the Army, Military Intelligence. They called on me to spend some more time with SIS when Falklands happened. I just kept in touch, it’s what I do. You never know who you’re going to need. You had better watch it in future. You have an impeccable background, can go anywhere in the world, usually in your own plane. The Chief Inspector has written down the details of both planes and said he may contact you, through me, should they need to move things around. He will tell you to keep the secret compartment as is, just in case.
He was right. Two hours later, the Piper had been dusted, searched, and thoroughly cleaned. The CI told me that it was good to go, as they had all the information that it could give up. He thanked me for my help, and the Major murmured “Again”.
The doors were opened, and the Piper was pushed out and turned around. They all wanted to shake my hand, probably because of my star status with most of them. Horatio was going to take the CI and the Major back to their cars at the office, so I climbed aboard the 600 and made sure all the gauges were as they should be. I switched on and started the motor, after calling the tower for permission. The controller guided me to the holding point.
“Cleared for take-off, Julia, Shawbury has sent us a clip of your take off there in the Cheyenne, I’ve got fifty quid that this stallion will get in the air in double quick time.”
“You’re giving me permission to make a battlefield exit?”
“Yes. You’ll be taking off in the opposite direction from when you landed, so you don’t have to veer like you did at Shawbury. Just go up to five thousand, contact London Tower, and return in the opposite direction that you came to visit us. Have a good flight.”
I got onto the end of the runway, run the engine up to reasonable revs. Then asked permission to leave.
“Stopwatch is on, go.”
I released the brakes and wound up the revs. I was well before any rotation point as I felt the wheels were off the ground. I pulled back the stick and climbed, throwing in a climbing roll as I went higher.
At five thousand, I levelled off and lowered the revs as I pulled up the wheels. Then I adjusted the trim for the lack of weight in the back.
“Thank you, Julia, I won the pot on that one. There was a second pot on whether you would do something different, which I won as well. That is one hell of a plane. Have a good trip home, and no loops on the way.”
I took it easy as I passed over Wembley, climbing to ten thousand as the London Tower requested, and then Basildon, before going south to Chatham and then on the bearing for Redhill. When I put it down, I taxied to its parking spot and switched everything off. On the way, I had time to think. While I had been in America, I had found out about Angel Flights. I knew that we didn’t have an organisation in the UK. I wondered if it was time that we did have one. I had the money, I had the contacts, and I had two planes.
When the plane was tied down and locked, I walked to where the car was and drove home. I had something to do when I was there, getting on the computer and emailing the Ninety Nines, asking for any advice. Adrian wanted to know how I had got on, so I told him that the plane was searched and dusted, and I was fingerprinted when I filled in a statement. I couldn’t tell him how much weight of drugs were found, only that it was a lot more than I had estimated.
I sat in the office and checked for Angel Flights in the UK, finding that there are quite a few that used helicopters. The majority were registered charities. There was a fixed-wing service that covered the East Anglia region, and also from the Channel Islands. I could see, straight away, that there wasn’t much of a chance to gain regular work for the two Pipers. What I could do, however, was to offer a premium service, and no limit to distance. The only service that offered what I was thinking of charged for its services. I would have to talk to Horatio to pass it around his circle of friends. I could see us working with politicians and landed gentry. I would also have to get cleared on night flying. I had done all-weather training, but needed to get an instrument rating before I was fully certified.
The Ninety Nines answered me with a lot of information. It seemed that I would have to set up a charitable operation, or else go for a commercial licence. They suggested that I think of another name. There was a heap of case studies of similar operations in the US. I was starting to get the idea that it would be possible. On the end of the email was a list of five women aviators, in the UK, with suitable planes and time on their hands. Three had Lear Jets, and two had King Air 200s.
In order to set up the service, I would have to register the charity, and find a base where we could have all our aircraft together. Then I would need to look into changes to the cabin to take a stretcher, as well as medical equipment that would be able to monitor a patient. We wouldn’t be taking anyone with severe medical problems. I reread the email and saw that there was a company, in England, who could make the cabin changes.
I then emailed each of the other pilots, telling them the sort of thing I was planning and to see what their feedback would be. I rang Horatio the next day.
“Horatio, this is your favourite biting insect, Julia. You know we were talking about working with the Government. Do you think that they would be happy to donate to a charity when we fly them somewhere. I’m thinking about setting up an operation like an Angel Flight, able to cover the country and into Europe. Most cases are treated by NHS flights, with helicopters, within local areas. I’m thinking of longer trips, and a richer clientele.”
“You’re a classic, Julia. Both the Major and the Chief Inspector were discussing something similar on the drive back to the city. I think that you’ll find your way made much easier than the usual application. Everyone was amazed at how you left Northolt.”
“The tower controller told me it was all right, and they were taking bets on how quickly I would be off the ground. He thanked me for giving him the closest guess.”
“I’ll contact you and set up a meeting with some influential people. Are you sure you want to do this? It will limit any movie-making time.”
“I think I’m over all that. I’m writing a book. Well, I have the title on a sheet of paper so its officially started.”
When we finished our call, I rang the head office of my old airline, asking to speak to the boss. It took a while, but he came on the line.
“Julia, my favourite stewardess, what can I do for you?”
“I’m toying with the idea of setting up a charity, similar to Angel Flights. But aimed at the more well-off clients, as well as working with the government. What I’m asking is if you know of any hangars around, where we can base ourselves. It will need its own fuel tank, and room for about seven planes, none bigger than a Piper Cheyenne or a King Air 200.”
“When you ask for something, young lady, you don’t ask for anything easy. It’s good that you called. Tomorrow I’m having a meeting with my property managers. We might have something along the lines of what you want. I’m not promising anything, but it would give my accountants something to write off as a donation. I’ll email the agency when I know something. Your films are quite popular on our flights, and your cut-out is still in pride of place in the VIP lounge. Got to go, my secretary is waving papers at me, Bye for now.”
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 31
I couldn’t do any more, so went into the lounge and asked the lads if they had any ideas about a name for my project. There was some hilarious suggestions before Brendon came up with ‘Unicorn Air’ with the logo being a kiddie version of a unicorn, with wings, flying over a rainbow. Bronte went for his sketchbook and turned the thought into reality.
I booked a full maintenance for the 600 with my usual company at Gatwick, and flew it to them, with Larry picking me up and taking me home. Over the next few days, I started my research into the various Curtis families. I had the list that Horatio had created from the marriage certificates, so I started emailing them to tell them that their husband, and father, was close to death and asking them if they wanted to attend his funeral, whenever that happened. I offered to pick them up and would pay for their accommodation when in London.
Two replied that they would like to see him before he died, so I emailed Smithers to ask if my father would see them. One was the Janet, from Norfolk, and the other was May from Carlisle, the two after my mother. The three from overseas emailed me back to tell me that he could rot in hell but would welcome the trip to London if I’m paying. The only one to not answer was the one from Middlesborough. My main reason was to get as many as possible in the one place for a group photo. My book would be the true story, warts - and all.
A few days later, Smithers called and told me that my father would see any of his wives who wanted to say goodbye, but only one at a time. I called my mother and asked her if she wanted to have one last goodbye. She surprised me by saying that it would give her closure. I had phone numbers for Janet and May, so called them and we arranged to pick them up at their nearest airfield. I called Smithers back and told him that there would be me, Adrian, and three others. He said that we could stay at the airbase again. He gave me a date to arrive, so I worked out the flight plan and rang the other two to tell them when I would be landing, and to bring enough for a few nights. I arranged a car for my mother to get her to Redhill.
That morning, Adrian and I had visually inspected the Cheyenne, made sure we had enough fuel and that there was drinks and nibbles in the cabin when the car with mum in arrived. I gave her a hug and helped her in, getting her comfortable and strapped in. Then I joined Adrian in the cockpit, and we went through the procedure of getting started and into the air. Once we were on a bearing for Norfolk, I went back to see how mum was getting on. She still wasn’t sure about the meeting but was keen to meet the other wives.
We set down at the Fenland Airfield, and collected Janet, getting her settled and introducing ourselves before taking off again for Carlisle. A few hours later, we had landed and collected May, the last of the wives. She, of course, was also the youngest and was still a beautiful woman, not that much older than me. By the time we landed at Shawbury, the three of them had regaled each other with their times and I could hear some laughter as we were flying south.
At Shawbury, they realised that they were now involved with something a little more serious, as Smithers collected us with a minibus and took us to the quarters. The evening meal wasn’t as dressy as before, as the CO was away, but I was asked if I had any more films to show. I showed them the ‘Kathleen Cary’ trilogy. It was interesting to watch them in sequence. They had an almost hypnotic inevitability about them and there was some heartfelt applause when they had finished.
The next day, Smithers drove us to the prison. After all the official paperwork at reception, we were taken to a room with a few chairs and a café bar. May went first, coming out after twenty minutes with tears in her eyes. We all gave her a hug and then Janet went in. When she came out, crying, it was time for mum to see him. The reaction of the other two should have told her that he was different, but I don’t think that any of them had considered what he was now going through.
When mum came out, I left her to the others and went through to see him. He was hardly even the man I had seen not long ago.
“Thank you, Jamie, for organising this. I didn’t think that I would be so emotional about seeing my wives, but now they all know the truth, there’s no need to hold back. I had feelings for all of them but kept that firmly shut away. I suppose you have the Piper?”
“Yes. You were right, it is fun to fly. One of your old flying buddies took me to an aerobatic designated area and I put it through its paces.”
“You have a licence?”
“Yes, just a clear weather one but I’m rated for my old Cessna, the Piper Cheyenne that I brought the others in, and also the 600. I plan on getting an instrument rating as soon as I can.”
“Impressive. You are a much better person than me, with all your skills. I’ve asked to see as many films as I could that you have been involved in. That ‘Interesting Occupation’ was like standing next to those guys as they plotted the next bit of mischief.”
“I have to thank you for supplying the original idea. It didn’t take a lot of research to be able to write a story about that place, at that time. The MP did tell me that it was almost like reading some his old files.”
“I won’t be long for this life, now. Is there anything you want of me?”
“Do you have any old photo albums or diaries? I’m going to write your life history and it’s going to be called ‘Flyboy’. I started thinking along the lines of a screenplay but would like to write it as a book, from your point of view if I have enough material to use. The actual places and times are easily researched, these days.”
“Talk to the Major. He took all of the material like that. When I’m dead, you can demand it as my bequest to you. I’ll write a note, tonight, so it’s in the system. What did you think of May and Janet?”
“A couple of lovely people, who I would be glad to know better. The three from overseas wouldn’t come but might do for the funeral. I would like a picture of all the families together, at the end of the book. It may give closure to them all. The only one that I couldn’t contact was your first wife.”
“I know she had children, so they might be around. You should be able to track them down if she’s already died. I would love to give you a hug, but that’s not allowed. Would you accept one if it was offered?”
“As long as it was my father offering, not ‘Creepy Curtis’ the womanising airline captain.”
He laughed and then broke into a coughing fit, causing the warder to come over and give him a smack on the back and an inhaler to suck on. He looked at me as my father got himself back together and smiled.
“I had heard that name, you know. At the time I took it as a badge of honour, not that I think that way now. I wasn’t very nice, was I?”
“Considering that you thought I was Janet’s daughter and having you make a pass, no, Dad, you weren’t nice, at all. It looks like the years since then has altered your outlook.”
“That, and the fact that you came to see me, and now bringing three of my wives. I’m ashamed to say that I treated everyone as if they were pawns in my game. I now know that my game was really charades, rather than chess. My whole life was for nothing, but your book may give me something to look down on you and smile. For everything, Julia, I’m eternally grateful to you. I can’t say that I would change anything if I had my life to live again. When you see my birth certificate, you’ll find there’s no father listed. Anyway, I’m now very tired. I doubt that I’ll see you again, so goodbye, my daughter. I do love you.”
“Goodbye, Dad, I love you too. You gave me somebody to look up to as a child, and nothing will take away the fun times we did have when you were home.”
He smiled and the warder led him out. I watched him go. I didn’t want to, but I was crying when I joined the others. We were all quiet on the drive back to the base. Smithers dropped us off at the mess, where we had a light lunch. The others wanted to leave, so Adrian arranged for the plane to be readied. We took off, just after one.
On the way to Carlisle, I left Adrian at the controls, making sure the autopilot had understood its directions. I went back and sat with the others.
“I’m sorry to tell you, but we pilots only have clear weather ratings, so, when we land at Carlisle, there won’t be enough daylight left for us to get to Norfolk.”
“That’s no problem,” said May. “My husband and I run a hotel in Carlisle. You can all stay there. He was going to pick me up when I call, so I’ll get him to bring the people mover. Can I ring from here?”
She called her husband and told him that she was on her way home and would land at – she looked at me and I said, “About four-thirty.”
“We will have guests, Bob. There will be two singles and a double, on the house. It’s been a wild couple of days. Do you know what Chloe is up to?”
She listened, then said, “I’ll pick her up from that. See you later.”
I smiled, “Chloe?”
“As you know, I married your father in 2008, and Chloe came along the next year. She’s now 26 and working with us at the hotel. She is in a drama group who rehearse at her old school. I told Bob that I would pick her up if you’d like to come along. She’s a great fan of yours and looks a lot like you. Not surprising, considering that you share genes. Bob and I were partners before an officer came to tell me that my previous marriage was a sham, after the arrest. After we married, Chloe has been adopted into Bob’s family and she really never saw much of her real father.”
“At one stage, I wondered if I would ever get to meet my half-siblings. Now, I’m rather looking forward to it. Give me some time to get out of these slacks when we get there. They’re all right for flying, but not for meeting a fan who is my sister! Janet, I had a dream where I was in a swing and there was a jet coming towards us. I screamed ‘Dadeee’ as it went over. It was a Typhoon, so must have been his East Anglia deployment.”
Janet went pale.
“That happened a lot, Julia. My daughter was born in 2001, so would only be a couple of years younger than you. She used to love the jets going over. We lived north of Boston at the time, and he had a habit of rattling our windows whenever he was on the landing approach to Coningsby. That’s when we knew he would be home soon. I have to say that you and Linda are like peas in a pod. She is an English teacher in Kings Lynn, where I have a small place.”
“So, me, with a love of flying, a knack for acting and a love of the written word, have a sister who’s into drama and a sister who teaches English.”
“You write?”
“Screenplays, not books - yet. I wrote the Wright film, as well as ‘Tycoon’, ‘Wind’, and ‘Interesting Occupation’. The last three were written as stories originally. Maybe I should polish them up and get them into print. The one I am going to write is called ‘Flyboy’ and will be the true story of my father’s life, so any memoirs or pictures would be appreciated when I get going on it. He told me that there is a case with his own collection that I’ll get when he’s gone.”
“You’re going to have a problem with that. How many names has he gone under?”
“Seven that I know of. That’s why it’s going to be called ‘Flyboy’, with that being the constant reference with his other names appearing as they did in real life. He’ll be called what he was using by the other characters, but the RAF will always call him Curtis, because he joined as Alec Carl Curtis in 1980. Mum and I are the only ones who were graced with that, which is why her marriage has been considered the only legal one. I have promised him a good funeral, and, from the tears this morning, it looks as if it will be.”
“Yes, we thought that we would gloat, but seeing him so vulnerable was a surprise. He was always so strong. We all had good times with him, for as long as they lasted. Seeing that he was deployed away a lot gave us all time to get used to being without him. The homecomings were good, it’s amazing that there aren’t more of his offspring around.”
I went back to the cockpit, settled in, and allowed Adrian to stretch his legs. The clouds were blowing in as we approached the Carlisle Lake Airport and were able to get parked, unloaded, and tethered down before the first spots of rain. I had checked and had been told that I would be unlikely to get in the air tomorrow with my rating. Mum and Janet called home to let them know that they may be away another day or so.
Bob was waiting with the people mover, and we were loaded in as the rain started getting serious. The introductions were made as he drove us into Carlisle and their hotel. We were shown our rooms and unpacked. I had been given a half an hour to be ready to meet Chloe, so had a quick shower and dressed in one of Anna’s creations I had in my bag. Adrian said that he would head into the city to visit the cinema that he had a stake in.
I met May in reception, and she had her car waiting under the awning. She drove me to the school. When we got there, we had to scamper to the door, with the wind threatening to tear the umbrella from my hands. Inside, she led me through to the school gym, currently being used by the drama group. We went in and stood with a bunch of other mothers waiting for their little darlings, as May had told me the bulk of the group were still at school.
The kids weren’t bad, just not motivated. I could see a few glancing at the mothers, as if to speed up the end of the little vignettes that they were working on. I could see Chloe without having her pointed out. She was the one working hard at her character, the one with a range of facial expressions, and the only one that looked like she was enjoying herself. I wondered if I would have looked like that if I had been a girl.
I looked at May.
“You have good reason to smile. Chloe is the only one here with a future. The others are only in it for two things. The boys to meet girls, and the girls to be able to dress up – and meet boys.”
“You really think so? It would be nice for her to get a good role, like that ‘Drama Queen’ film of yours. I’ve lost count of how many times she’s watched that and copied you. I think she’s just caught sight of the two of us talking and is trying to work out who you are.”
“Let me go and tell her, then. It will be a relief to all the others when I stop the class.”
I left her and walked onto the gym floor, my heels clicking on the wood. A thought went through my head that heels weren’t allowed in gyms. As I approached Chloe, we locked eyes, and it was like looking into a mirror. I walked up to her, my arms wide.
“Hello Chloe, sister.”
We stood there, hugging, as she asked me how I was here and why I called her ‘sister’. The drama teacher rushed up to us and demanded to know why I had upset her class. Chloe still held my hand as she answered.
“Miss Steel, this is the famous actress, Julia Leigh, and she has just called me sister.”
“Explain yourself, woman!”
“I am, as Chloe says, Julia Leigh, and I have starred in a few films. I am here because I’ve just been at a prison where her mother met with Chloe’s birth father, also my birth father. He is nearing death. You will be able to read his life story, in a few years. In the meantime, except for Chloe, you seem to have the usual group of temporary actors to work with. I think that most of them would be happy to go home.”
“Is that a professional view?”
“It is, Miss Steel. I could hardly see a glimmer of talent, or motivation, as I was looking on. I pity you the job but admire the way you had set them up in vignettes. I was expecting something like a Shakespeare rehearsal. Are you going to put on a revue?”
“Yes, much to my growing horror.”
“Tell them that I’ll bring along a London Agent when you have the performance. That should shake a few up. When is the opening night?
“Just the one show, in a theatre, weekend after next.”
“What do you have to do after that, Chloe?”
“I suppose that I’ll still be helping out in the hotel. Not much to look forward to, is it?”
“What say we talk to your parents, and get you coming south, with me, so I can show you around a studio, meet some people far more talented than me, and see if we can wangle you a screen test.”
This time she just said ‘Thank You’ as she gave me a bear-hug. The teacher also said her thanks as she turned to the class.
“I can see some curious faces. This lady is Julia Leigh, the famous actress, and is, so I’ve just been told, Chloe’s half-sister. She will be at your performance and has promised to bring along a London Agent, to see if any of you lot can rake up some talent before then. Now, with that news, you can go home and brush up on your lines while looking in a mirror to see if you can actually create the right expressions. See you tomorrow, after school, for another session.”
As the others started leaving, she turned back to me.
“Will you still be in town, Miss Leigh?”
“If the weather doesn’t improve, I think I will be. I’m not rated for instrument flying, so will be on the ground until the sun comes out.”
“This is Carlisle, you may be here for your next birthday. Go and get your things, Chloe, I think that you have an interesting evening ahead of you.”
Chloe seemed reluctant to let go; in case I disappeared in a puff of smoke. May had joined us as she went off to find her things.
“You certainly put the cat among the pigeons, there. Julia.”
“She certainly did, May. Can you see if you can hold on to her for a few days. Julia, would you please give us a little time, tomorrow, so that we can breathe some life into the dead dog that we have to perform in ten days’ time.”
“I’ll see what I can bring to your table, Miss Steel.”
When Chloe joined us, she latched on to my hand again as we made our way past a group of curious mothers and their little darlings. In the car, I got in the back and Chloe got in the front. The rain had eased as we went back to the hotel. May told me that she had organised a large table in the dining room for tonight’s meal. When we got there, Chloe rushed off to get changed, while I went up to my room to freshen up. Adrian was there and greeted me with a kiss.
“How did it go, darling?”
“Very well. Chloe is a real talent. I’m going to have to ask Bob and May if I can borrow her after she has the final performance of the show they’re putting on. Without an injection, it will be lucky if it gets into its second half. I want to see how she goes in front of a camera. If we can get home, I want to bring Jim or Michael back with us when we come up to see it, Saturday week. I promised the drama teacher to see if it will add some life to it, even she calls a dead dog.”
That evening, the dinner was good country cooking, and the table was alive with talking. Chloe sat next to me, and Bob kept on looking at the two of us with a smile. Adrian surprised our hosts with a big sheaf of single-use vouchers for the cinema, to be given to guests. He explained that the manager was to report back on the usage, and, if they were popular, he would supply more. Bob wanted to know how many cinemas he owned and cried “Enough, already’ as Adrian ran out of fingers, second time round.
I told Bob and May that their daughter had a genuine talent, that would never be appreciated here in Carlisle. I asked them if she could come and live with me, so that I could take her to the studio and get her a screen test. I had to explain our set-up, with individual suites and a cook, butler, and security guy. If it was all right, I would take her south on the Sunday after the performance. The pleading look that Chloe gave her parents worked, and the meal ended with Bob raising his glass in a toast to the future.
After the meal, I pulled Chloe into the snug.
“Chloe, we have to show your drama group what acting really is.”
We got some notepaper and quickly wrote a scene, where one sister starts an argument, with it going white hot before they end up clinging to each other and telling each other of their love. It was about the length of the scenes that were in the revue. We rehearsed it, quietly, then made sure we were private when we did it, for real. It reminded me of my first two screen tests, so long ago. It also reminded me of Jeff and Eric. She was good, very good.
When we were still hugging, the door opened, and May put her head in.
“Are you all right, I thought I heard shouting?”
“More than all right, Mum. Julia has just shown me what acting is all about. Do you want to get Dad to see what Julia meant about putting life into that dog?”
The two of them came in, with Adrian, Mum, and Janet in tow. They sat down and I explained that we were about to show them a short act that we had just written. It was to show the others in her group that when you are acting a part, you have to believe that you really are that person, not just a dummy mouthing the words. As they were nodding, I heard a voice say “Bitch’ behind me.
I whirled around and gave her a blast, getting a withering return of fire. We called each other everything under the sun until we collapsed in each other’s arms, saying sorry and both raising some tears. We had five sitting there with their mouths open. I whispered, “I love you, sister” and got a similar answer. After that, there was no uncertainty that Chloe was coming south as soon as the show finished.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Chapter 32
The next day was still that constant drizzle that makes the world feel as if it’s been submerged into the North Sea. I sat quietly, catching up with my tablet and emailing Jacquie to see about getting one of the spare rooms ready. Later that afternoon, May took me and Chloe to the school. Chloe led me through to the gym, where Miss Steel was standing with a worried look on her face.
“Welcome back, Miss Leigh. I’ve had a few phone calls since you were last here, many wondering who you were to end my session. I’ve had a look at your profile. You certainly have made some excellent films. I loved ‘Turbulence’ but didn’t know that you had actually written three box office hits, even doing direction. Now I see how you could peel away the coverings on my little troupe. Today, I thought we would run through the whole show, with you giving a little talk beforehand. We won’t use costumes until the actual night, they’re far too precious.’
“Quite right, Miss Steel. Acting comes from within, not because you have a costume on. You can wear a suit of armour, but it doesn’t make you a Knight, unless you believe that you are that Knight, and the armour is your birthright. Chloe and I put together a short piece, last night, that could demonstrate that.”
We spoke about various things, and she asked about the other actors I had worked with. She had picked up on the rise of Eric after he started appearing with me. Her only regret was that she could now only see him on the daytime reruns of his old series.
One by one, the group arrived, Chloe going over to her friends as we had decided. When they were all together, we got them around us. Miss Steel made the proper introduction and passed to me. I told them about acting being a projection of yourself into the character, not just learning the lines and repeating them. I spoke about my second screen test in Hawaii, and how I had channelled anger about my father, and only just stopped short of knocking Jack Fellows into next week. Then I told them that he had asked me to actually slap him during the take of the same scene, so that he had the redness of the slap on his face for subsequent scenes.
“The best actors make you believe that the scene is real.”
“Bitch!”
Chloe and I faced off as her friends cowered away from us. We went at it, hammer and tongs and then fell together with tears and told each other we were sorry. As we pulled apart, I turned to the group.
“What did you just see? How did it make you feel?”
That made them realise that they had just seen two actors making it look real.
“You all have parts that you’re playing, but from what I saw yesterday, you’re just repeating the lines. If that’s acting, the only people you would see on the big screen would be wind-up dolls. Actors can play any role you throw at them. Before I met Eric, all he was playing was a country copper on TV. Successful, yes, but hardly using his talent. What brought him out was mentoring Jeff, my husband at the time, in the role that Jeff played in ‘Thirteen Women’. Eric ended up playing the police chief and has won several awards that had eluded him until that inner beast was unleashed. Think about it when you prepare yourselves for this rehearsal. Are you a wind-up doll, or do you really want to be an actor.”
I stood back as they got themselves ready for the revue. When they were ready to rehearse, Miss Steel came over to me and we sat on a couple of seats, waiting for the start.
“You know, Julia, you and Chloe frightened even me, back there. I had no idea of the talent locked into that girl. She’s never had someone like you to play off, before.”
“As long as it has motivated a few of the others, it will be worth doing.”
The music track started, and the revue went into the first vignette. I could see the difference, immediately. All the actors were thinking about the role, rather than repeating the lines. There were more facial expressions and more bounce. It was a rather entertaining piece of work. As it worked towards the end, I heard a voice beside me whisper, “The dog is dead, long live the dog.”
When they finished, we stood and applauded them. I could tell, from the smiles, that most of them had realised what acting was about. Those who had embraced it lifted the ones around them. Chloe, and the ones she had played beside, had stolen the show.
Miss Steel congratulated everybody and told them that if they repeated that during the actual performance, they would be poking a finger up to those who called them losers. I told them that the Agent who was coming along would be happy to see them. They all got ready to go home as the parents arrived, happy to be here, and ready to regale their long-suffering family with their new hope for a career.
May came in and Miss Steel gave her a hug, telling her that Chloe is bound for fame and fortune. She then went over to Chloe and had what looked like a serious discussion. May asked me how it had got on and I just gestured to the children, chattering to their parents as they left.
“They got the message, I think. It might be a good show, after all.”
Chloe came over and hugged us both.
“Guess what! Miss Steel wants me to be a co-director over the next week, up to the show.”
On the way to the hotel, we told May how well our bit of acting made the rest realise what they could do. The dinner was a happy affair. I had rung the weather office at the airport, and they had told me that there would be a window of opportunity in the morning to ride the change all the way south. I asked Janet if there was somewhere we could stay overnight in Kings Lynn, so we could meet Linda. She rang her daughter, gave her the likely time of landing, while I rang the Fenlands airstrip and organised a tethered parking spot.
I told Chloe that if the weather looked bad, next weekend, I would organise commercial flights, so to keep her packing within the limits. The next morning, being Saturday, we all went to the airport in the people mover, loading up the plane. I had called them, first thing, and had booked the fuel truck, so it was just a matter of inspecting everything, saying our cheerio’s, and agreeing to meet up when we arrived next weekend. May said that we could stay at the hotel again.
Bob thanked me when he gave me a hug, asking me to take good care of his bundle of joy when she’s down south. We got into the plane as the others retreated behind the fence. When the engines were warm, we gave them a wave and took the plane out to the staging point, waiting for a gap in the operations to get onto the runway and head for Norfolk.
We had a following wind and made good time to Kings Lynn. When we landed, Linda was there with a minibus. It was another situation where we may have been looking into a mirror, Linda and I held each other close, and cheek kissed. Loading up, after getting the plane tethered and locked, we were driven into Kings Lynn to a hotel. Linda had booked a table for lunch and would take Janet home when we had finished talking.
Over lunch, and the next few hours, she was brought up to speed on her birth father, and her two half-sisters. Since Janet had called her, she had researched my body of work and declared that I was a good writer. I explained my project with the new book, and she promised to edit it for me. I told her about the films I had written as stories first and she was keen to see those. I got my laptop and emailed her the original stories for ‘Wind of Change’, ‘Interesting Occupation’, and ‘Tycoon’.
The afternoon turned into dinner, and it was late evening when Janet gave me a hug and thanked me for the opportunities to see her ‘husband’ and meet a couple of the other wives. The three of them were now firm friends with similar stories, as were me and my two new sisters. It had been an interesting week, and my life would never be the same.
In the morning, we got a taxi to the airstrip, and left on the final leg before the weather from the north caught up with us. We arrived at Redhill in time to get the plane secure and load our bags into the car. We took Mum home with us and I phoned for a car to pick her up in an hour. She rang home to say that she was on her way, then we sat, over cups of tea and spoke about the last few days. When she left, I went and took a long shower and dressed casually, going into my office to write up some notes. I emailed Horatio to tell him what had happened, asking him to see if the Major had papers and photos that he could release to me.
I also emailed Jim, asking if he, or Michael, could attend the performance next Saturday, in Carlisle, with the main person of interest being my half-sister, who I would be bringing south the next day. He replied that he will take his car, and Belle with their bub, on a country drive and see me there. I also researched coffin makers and emailed one that was close, asking about a special coffin with removable lugs for tie-downs, so that it could be transported in a Piper 600. I got the size off of the flying suit and measured the length to give them the body size.
I spent the Sunday jotting down notes for the book. I hadn’t thought of an opening, as that would be crucial in setting the scene. I ate, I sat, I drank tea, and I scribbled my notes. With Chloe coming to stay with us, I went and looked in the room that Jacquie had prepared. I was restless, and not sure why. I did a full circuit of the house, looking at things, and then realised what was on my mind.
I was a film star, a writer of screenplays, a director (of sorts); yet here I was without a project of any kind. No-one had sent me a screenplay for months, I hadn’t had an idea for one of my own, even the modelling side had fallen away. Was I fading – past it! I made a promise to myself that I would get immersed again. Tomorrow I would go to the studio and see what was happening. I wondered if Younger Films had anything I could get in on.
I went and found Adrian, dragging him into the bedroom to tell him about my new determination while allowing him to explore my current one. We were laying there, and he took my hand.
“You’ve been spinning your wheels long enough, darling. It was time you found your drive, again. You have so much talent it’s a pity to keep it hidden from view. That little scene that you and Chloe put together is a case in point. It was loud, in your face, almost violent, yet bittersweet. I felt assaulted by it when you two unleashed it. I want to see the pair of you on the screen. If it’s something you’ve written for the two of you, all good. If it’s something else that comes along, you have to grab it. Being nominated doesn’t mean that you have to go to an award, but if it’s something with the two of you in, I know that wild horses couldn’t hold you back.
“You’re right. I have had this thing with Dad recently, and the concept of the book is hovering at the back of my mind. I emailed a casket maker to see about getting one we can carry in the 600. I want to fly him back to London for his funeral, in his plane and his child at the controls. This last few days have torn open a curtain that I had constructed between me and my extended family. Meeting Chloe was like adding another person to my personality, and Linda has welded herself on, as well. Things are not just me, not just the two of us, but a lot more besides.”
After we had showered, we had dinner and made sure the others knew what was likely to happen. I brought them up to speed on the situation with my father, and how we would be organising a funeral, plus bringing in the other families. I told them all about my expanded family, as far as I knew it. I told them that I was going to try and get working, once more, before I’m totally forgotten.
On Monday morning, I took myself to the studio, where several welcomed me with “Long time, no see.” I strolled around, immersing myself in the life, once more, and then went to find the ‘Younger Film’ offices, where David and Tony were discussing something. When I opened the door, they both stood and hugged me.
“So, Julia, to what do we owe this visit. We thought that you may have retired.”
“I almost had, David, but I had an experience a few days ago that made me think twice about my direction in life. I met my half-sister, Chloe, and we put together a little scene to breathe life into the drama group she’s in. It made me think of my first screen tests and all that has happened, in between.”
“Tell us all about it. Sit down, I’ll get some drinks.”
I sat and gave them the background on why I met Chloe. They knew a little about my father, so that wasn’t news. What was news, to them, was the fact that I had another six extended families. I explained that I would be organising his funeral, then writing a book about his life, not a screenplay. I said that I had realised that I needed a project to energise my being, and that I wondered if they may have a screenplay, or two, that I could look at. Tony smiled.
“So, you’re, what, 35 or 36 now, and your sister is?”
“I think she’s 26.”
“And she acts. How good is she?”
“That’s why I thought of the first screen tests, she’s as good as I was, back then. I would have only been a couple of years younger when we started ‘Turbulence’.”
“What does she look like?”
“Except for the age difference, and hair colour, it’s like looking in a mirror. It’s the same with my other half-sister that I met, coming home. She’s about 32.”
“What do you want, Julia. You have us both on tenterhooks.”
“Chloe is going to star in a small revue, in Carlisle, on Saturday. After that, I want to bring her home and see if I can get her a screen test. Beyond that, it’s a matter of how good you guys think she is.”
“Are you going to the revue?”
“Yes, and so is Jim. I promised the group that I would bring a London Agent to see them, and it injected them with talent they had never shown.”
“So, it wouldn’t look out of place if one or both of us turn up?”
“That would be wonderful if you can. If the weather is fine, I’ll be flying there and bringing her home after. If it isn’t, I’ll get a commercial flight from Gatwick”.
David reached beside him and picked up a screenplay.
“This, Julia, is what Tony and I were discussing when you arrived. It’s a story about two sisters, about ten years different in age, who see a violent crime and find themselves on the run from the criminals. It has flaws, even we can see that. It was given to us by C.J. and I know that he will welcome your input, the way you lifted ‘Gale’. Take this copy with you and we’ll talk some more after we see your sister on stage. If she gets a screen test, it will be a scene from this. You can choose which one.”
I thanked them, took the screenplay, and went off to the studio canteen, where I sat with a cup of tea and started to read. I stopped long enough to get something to eat and another few teas later I had finished reading. Only then did the odd person come and say hello. I sat and thought about the film. Yes, it did have flaws, but C.J. had absorbed a lot since he wrote the first draft of ‘Gale’. I knew which scene would be the screen test. It had the girls at their lowest ebb, seemingly about to be killed, and the older one was ready to give up. The younger one berated her for letting the side down and gave her a stern talking to.
When I looked at my copy, it was now covered in notes, and even a few greasy thumbprints. It made me smile, happier than I had been for a while. I had a project, and I had already put my mark on the paper.
Back at home, I realised that there was something else that needed to be done. I looked up Private Investigators in Middlesborough, looked at their websites and emailed the best looking one. I asked if they could see if they could find the whereabouts of the first wife, giving the details that I had on the list, with the bogus surname he had used. If that failed, I asked, could they find any living children from that marriage. When I thought about it, I realised that, so far, every wife had born the one daughter that I knew of.
Looking at the list, I saw that there were two boys from that first marriage, with one of the overseas wives also having a boy, while the other two had girls. I did a little calculation and realised that the boys from the first marriage would be in their fifties, while the others would be in their late forties. So far, none of my sisters had children of their own, and I wondered just how wide the family tree had spread with the others.
The next day, I was in the office when the phone rang. I let Jacquie take it and she came in with the handset and told me it was a Private Eye.
“Julia speaking, are you ringing about my email?”
“I am, Miss Leigh. I wanted to confirm that it was really you who requested our services.”
“All right, are you able to help?”
“With the wife in that information, I can tell you that she is buried in a nearby cemetery. She died about twenty years ago. The local records show twin boys, names Barry and Bertram. They were registered under the surname Bancroft that you gave us. Neither are in the local phone book. If you want us to go further, we can see if we can trace their movements. That may take a few days. Our fee is three hundred a day, with five working day minimum. What I have just told you is free, if you want to stop here, as it’s all public record.”
“I do need to find them. Their birth father is dying, and they need to be told about it. Can I pay you over the phone so that you can keep working on it?”
We did the business and he emailed me a receipt, and promised to email me whatever they could dig up at the end of the five working days. That meant that I would get that next Wednesday.
I was getting somewhere, so looked at the screenplay again. I sat, quietly, and went through it, writing down the points I thought were the flaws, along with my ideas on how to make them better. When I had finished, I scanned my ideas and emailed it to David, with the note that C.J. might like to look at them.
On Wednesday, I called up the Gatwick weather guys and asked about the likely weather over Friday to Sunday. Their prediction was for low cloud and rain, so I thanked them and rang the airline to get three seats going to Carlisle on Friday, with four seats coming back Sunday. I then called the hotel to say that we would get a taxi in from the airport on Friday afternoon, with a double and a single wanted. This trip I would be taking Jacquie with me.
Later, that day, I had an email from the casket maker, with a picture of the coffin and a quote. They would include the tie-downs, made to suit the cabin configuration I had supplied. I called them up and did the payment over the phone, asking them to deliver it to a warehouse in Wrexham for further delivery to HM Prison Berwyn at a date to be notified. I then looked up Funeral Directors in Wrexham, making a booking for a hearse to take a coffin from Berwyn to RAF Shawbury, also at a date to be notified.
After that, I looked at Funeral Directors in the London area. As far as I knew, he had been born in the Midlands, so it really didn’t matter where he was going to be buried, but my senses told me that it had to be somewhere under the flightpaths into Heathrow. I found a place in Hounslow and rang them.
When I had described what I wanted to a bewildered receptionist, an old man came on the line. I told him that my birth father was dying and had been a fighter pilot as well as an airline pilot in later life. I wanted him buried, not cremated, and somewhere under the airport flightpath, so that he could hear the sound of the jets. He was a jovial type and saw, right away, that what I wanted may be lucrative. He suggested the Fulham North Sheen Cemetery, next to the big crematorium, but that a burial plot was quite expensive, these days.
“The money is not a problem, sir, but the placement of his body is important. Can you find out if a plot is available, if you can buy it, and if you can pick up his casket at the London City Airport when I fly it there. If there is a non-denominational chapel that is happy to conduct the service, all the better. He was no saint, but I promised him a good send-off when he does die. He has terminal cancer, and we may need to do the business any time in the next few months.”
I gave him my name and email address, and told him that I would pay, up front, for his services. I also asked if he had a monumental mason that he used, and that the stone may have quite a lot of words on it.
“Was he famous?”
“Infamous, sir. There has to be room for the seven names he used when he married.”
“Oh, my! That will be a funeral for my scrapbook. Will there be anyone famous at the funeral?”
“Well, other than me, sir, there may be a few film stars who will come along to support me, as well as members of all seven families. I can let you know when we get to that stage.”
“You’re a film star?”
“Yes sir. I’m Julia Leigh. I gave my name to your receptionist.”
“You’re that girl from the ’13 Women’ and ‘Wind of Change’?”
“That’s right, they were two of my films.”
“My daughter gave me the DVD set for Christmas. She knows that I like horror films. Goes with the profession, all the dead people I see.”
“I hope that you enjoyed them as much as we enjoyed making them.”
“They do have that air of people liking what they do. I’ve seen so many, lately, where the actors are just in it for the money. I’ll be happy to help you, Miss Leigh, and look forward to meeting you, although it will be a sad time.”
When I put the phone down, I had to sit back and have a laugh.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
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
Chapter 34
After the lunch, we drove to the studio. May and Chloe were amazed at the size of the complex. We went to where David usually shot the screen tests and Cecil was there with his crew. Chloe was introduced and I saw that there was a settee where I would sit to start the scene. I took Chloe through some vocal exercises.
When everyone was ready, I sat on the settee, Chloe stood to one side, and I started with “I don’t think I can take much more.”
When we finished, there were smiles all round and Chloe was on the receiving end of several hugs. Cecil had used two cameras, and spent another ten minutes playing with the feeds, then showed us the edited interaction. I thought we looked, and sounded, good. At the salon, they had done a hair colour on both of us which was close, which made the sister look more prominent.
Chloe and May looked at the screen in wonder. This was the first piece of film and was crisp and impressive. David told Chloe that there was a contract in his office for her to sign, a similar one to my first contract, with a salary and a percentage of the film. I didn’t need one for me, being a director of the company and a recipient of any profit, as well as a backer in case of loss.
The group split into small units to work on what they were doing before we arrived, and David took Chloe and May through to his office where they looked at the contract and signed. She was now on the books and would get her signing bonus. Unlike my original contract, which had been with David, hers was with Younger Films.
After that, it was my job to take them both around the complex, to show them the various sound stages, and to teach them when to stay quiet. We did find Eric on one of the sound stages, rehearsing a scene for one of the new things that Younger Films was now working with, that being short films and series for streaming services. I introduced him to my companions, and he gave them each a hug and asked them about the obvious similarity between me and Chloe. He had wound up his scene, so the director called for a break and the four of us went off to the canteen for a drink and a piece of cake. We had a good talk before he left us to go back to work.
May was quite flustered at how she had been able to talk to a living TV legend. Chloe was starting to take all of this in her stride, no doubt due to the strong genes that we had both inherited. It made me realise why I was able to carry on when things got tight, something that I now knew was part of our father’s strength.
We went back to the sound stage and David gave us a list of scenes to study, as well as a pair of revised screenplays. I told him about my flight training on the end of the week, and he said that we would start serious work the following week, with the studio work. Before we left, Chloe was sent to costume to be measured. They did me as well, seeing that it had been some time since I was last done.
When I drove us back to the house, May was quiet, at first, then brightened.
“Today has been a real eye-opener. It has made me realise how much hard work goes into a successful film. Thank you both for showing me this. I can go home, now, safe in the knowledge that my girl will be happy. I’ll call to see if I can get a seat back to Carlisle.”
Back at the house, she was able to get a seat north, in the next afternoon. That was perfect, as I had a plan for our morning. She rang the hotel, telling Bob she would be home, and he wanted to talk to Chloe. While they were busy, I called our cosmetic supplier on my mobile and made an appointment for both of them next morning. At dinner I told them that we would be going into London in the morning, and then taking May to Gatwick after lunch, so she should have her bag ready after breakfast.
In the morning, we loaded the Audi, and I drove them to the city. We parked and I led them to Harrods, where we went to our cosmetic supplier. There, Chloe had a make-over, with a full palette study, and was given a travelling case with her new cosmetics. She was told that a full studio case would be sent to the make-up department at the film studio.
May was given the treatment, on my card, and we left with both of them looking a million dollars and carrying their new cosmetic cases. I took them to see Mama for lunch, where we were given a good table, a good Italian meal, and a grilling about this look-alike that I had brought to see her. A photo was taken to go on the wall, later. Mama told me that Roger had found a job, in Brisbane, working in sports agent’s office, and seemed happy enough.
At Gatwick, May was checked in and we went to sit in the food area until she needed to go to the departure lounge. She told me that Bob was going to get a shock when his wife comes home looking like a star. Chloe told her that she had always been a star. I said that I would be in touch when our father died, to organise my mum, May, Janet, and Linda to come to London for a make-over before we went to collect the body. I wanted us to look as good as we could, and to do things properly. He may have been a bad man, but he had been our bad man.
Wednesday, Chloe took the A4 to the studio, to immerse herself in the film experience, while I went to Gatwick in the A8, to immerse myself in flying by instruments only. At the training school, they looked at my record and put me on a simulator to test my general flying skills. Then it was a simulated flight with an instructor, unable to see anything from take-off to landing, and flying a known route to another airfield, in real time.
It was weird, at first, and the instructor was very good with me until I mastered the skill of better reading the instruments shown on the Garmin display. I learned a lot more about the equipment that I had been using that morning.
We stopped for lunch, then my afternoon was spent in a simulated flight from Gatwick to Venice over the mountains, purely using the screens to navigate the mountain passes. For this, I had to plot my course first, with positioning and heights. On the way, I was diverted by air traffic control, and had to re plan the flight as we went. It was a scary experience, even though I knew that there was no way that I could crash. The simulation was so real I was sweating when I put down at Venice.
On Thursday, the weather was ideal for my actual test, rain, and low cloud. We plotted a course from Gatwick to the Isle of Mann and back via an overflight of Hull. It was a long way, but well within the range of the King Air that they had, complete with the Garmin avionics that I used. I won’t say the trip was enjoyable, as I was on tenterhooks the whole time, but we did the circuit, flew over mountains and sea, and arrived back in Gatwick having to circle for a while to allow commercial liners to land in front of us. I found that the circling bit was the most un-nerving part of the whole flight, like being spun while blindfolded.
When we landed, I was given the certification and congratulated on my ability, as well as my innate sense of position. I drove home, in the rain, wishing that the Audi had some of the computer skills that the plane had. It could tell you exactly where you were, true, and like many cars these days, had autonomous steering, but lacked the screen to tell you what was around you. I suppose that if you let the car do the steering, you just read the paper and hoped for the best.
I went to the studio with Chloe on Friday, after spending a relaxing Thursday evening with the screenplay. David and Cecil were starting to work through the scenes which had just the two of us in, set in hotels, behind bushes, in cars, and in the safe room in our cottage that allowed us to escape the second contact with the murderers. We worked through the morning and David told us that we were needed back to start filming on Monday. We had lunch in the canteen, then Chloe drove me to Gatwick to pick up the Piper and would wait for me at Redhill.
On Monday, we got serious with making the film. The story was simple. We were visiting a friend in hospital when we saw three men, dressed in scrubs, come out of a room. We were both highly sensitive of a man’s persona, having both been subject to an abusive father, the main reason why we were still both single. These guys looked shady, so we went into the room where they had just left, to find a policeman on the floor, a bullet hole in his forehead, and two men in beds, handcuffed to the frames, with bullet holes in their chests.
We go back into the corridor, making sure the men had gone, and raise the alarm. The men escape the police that swarm the hospital, but we could give good descriptions. Our background is revealed during the interview, with our names coming up on the computer. The chase starts when we are at home. Because of our previous experiences, we had a safe room with a secret entrance through a door behind a pantry wall. It had a couple of screens showing the kitchen and there were a couple of cameras showing the outside of the house.
Chloe had been outside, weeding, when she saw the murderers park in the lane. She dashed inside and we went into the safe room to see what happened. We watched as they came into the house, guns in hand, and searched. When they left, they had put a couple of microphones in the kitchen and lounge, to let them know when we were home. We had backpacks and walking gear in the safe room, so changed, silently finding our money and papers, then leaving the house before putting on our boots and walking away.
We purchased a burner phone from a town some way away, and let the police know that we were on the run. We had some close calls, as the gang seemed to know where we were, leading to the scene in the hotel room where I’m given a stern talking to. We decide that the burner phone is compromised, so tossed it onto the back of a passing lorry and got another.
We are holed up in a barn when two men come in. We stay still as they talk, quietly, and find themselves a warm spot on the other side of the barn. From what they were saying, we realised that they were running, like us, but were escapees from a mental hospital where they had been put when they had finally argued with their abusive parents. In the morning, we reveal ourselves and try to calm them down, telling them that we were on the run as well. We form a little group and stay in the barn for several days, learning about each other and slowly developing trust.
That’s when the film turns around. We plan a trick which would solve both our problems at the same time. They still had siblings at home that they wanted to save, so we set up a scenario where the two of us make ourselves seen near the house that the boys had escaped from, then call the police on our new burner to tell them that we had been taken in by the people in the house. After a while, we call the local station to tell them that suspicious characters were lurking near the house.
The gang arrived and stormed the house, having been tipped off by the snitch in the force. They shoot the parents, but are then surrounded by the local police, ending in a gunfight with the gang killed. We all turn up and the boys lead the local police to the cellar where four of their siblings are chained to shackles on the wall. We explain why we were there and our idea who the snitch had been. The whole thing gets cleared up and I get to stay in his old house with the oldest of the boys, looking after his siblings, while Chloe heads back to our cottage with the younger one. The fact that they are a good five to ten years younger than us is glossed over, as we are still beautiful sisters. OK, it’s far-fetched but this is the movies, everything is far-fetched.
We had finished all the studio work and were about to head out to locations when I got a call to say that my father had died. My plans could now be set in motion. I called the casket maker to tell them to take the coffin to HM Prison, Berwyn, for the body of Alec Carl Curtis. I contacted Smithers and told him that I would be bringing three wives and two sisters with me in a week, and asked if we could stay on base as I planned to fly him back to London. He told me that I would be able to land at Northolt for the body to be transferred to a hearse. I rang my friendly funeral director and told him that we would be landing at Northolt, rather than London. He was happy with that. I then called up all the family that I had phone numbers for.
After that, it was just a matter of collecting all the others when they arrived and putting them up in a hotel near the house. I took them into London to our salon, dress supplier and called on the cosmetics company to be at the dress shop to make sure all of them looked good. As the overseas family flew in, we met them and took them to the hotel in London.
On the day we were to fly north, I had his flying suit and some underwear in a bag. We flew to Shawbury that afternoon, in the 600. I was flying, with Chloe in the second seat. Mum, Janet, May, and Linda were in the back. We landed at Shawbury, and I handed the bag to Smithers to take to the prison. That’s when things stopped going as I had originally envisaged.
Smithers told me that, although my father had been in prison, he had still been a serving pilot with campaign medals, so would be given a full-dress farewell by the base. It was a quiet dinner, that night, and we all dressed in our black outfits the next morning. We were taken out to the tarmac in a minibus, where two lines of officers stood at ease. The plane was sitting there, ready to go, and there was an order to stand to attention as the hearse bearing the coffin came into the base, led by an Air Force Jeep.
It was extremely moving as six officers slid the coffin out of the hearse and loaded it into the plane, locking it in place with the specially made shackles. The guard of honour presented arms and were then dismissed, marching away from the plane. I thanked Smithers and he told me that we would have an escort down to Northolt. We got on board, closed up and I asked the tower for permission to start. That’s when I found out that my call sign for this trip was Black One, and that my airspeed had been nominated so that a helicopter could keep up.
I made a very gentle take-off this time, climbing to ten thousand, as told, and headed for Northolt. We had a helicopter on each side of us, keeping pace, until about halfway, when they peeled off to be replaced by a pair of gunships that escorted us all the way into Northolt, only peeling off when we were on final approach. It was a surreal experience. On the ground, at Northolt, we were greeted by another armed guard of honour as we left the plane. The Major, Horatio and the Chief Inspector were there as well.
The coffin was taken out of the plane and loaded onto a hearse to be taken to the funeral home. When it left, it was in the centre of a small convoy of a police car in front, and a Military Police car behind. I had spoken to the funeral director and told him that I would see him the next day, at the viewing, to finalise the proceedings.
The Major waved to a squaddie who came over with two suitcases which we loaded in the plane. I asked why there was such reverence for a fallen officer, and the Major said that he had earned the respect in his years of service, even if he had died in prison. What my father had given them, over the years, and with what had been in the plane, was enough to wipe his record clean. He couldn’t tell me the details, but he did tell me to keep an eye out for arrests that would start after the funeral.
We were allowed some time to freshen up, then were back in the plane to go back to Redhill. Adrian was there with a minibus to take the others to the hotel and Mum, me, and Chloe back to the house. Tomorrow, they would all be given a tour of the studio, and would be shown some of the film, so far. I was keen to see what was in the suitcases, as they were quite heavy. I did, however, curb my enthusiasm.
The whole group were taken to the studio the next day, where there were several film and TV stars to show them around, Chloe becoming a fast favourite around the place. We all had lunch in the canteen and discussed what had happened the day before. I explained to David what had happened, and he was incredulous when I said that we were flanked by gunships into Northolt. He told me that there had been a snippet on the evening news, with the newsreader wondering who had been so very important as the film of us on approach to Northolt was shown. It had been, like so much on the news, filmed on a phone by a member of the public.
The next day, we were all in black once more, as we took the A4 and both A8s to the funeral home, where there was to be a special viewing, our drivers being Adrian, Larry, and Brendon. We were joined there by the rest of the family that I organised cars for. The twin brothers from the first marriage had turned out to be living near to Heathrow, both flying for an airline as Flight Engineers. The other brother had come in from Bahrain, saying that his mother couldn’t come. Nobody would come, in the end, from Jakarta, but the other sister had come in from Germany with her mother.
Chloe and I had met the overseas visitors as they arrived and got them settled into their hotel, giving them a sheet with the viewing place and time, and then the actual funeral. We could see the family resemblance when we had met, spent some time, and then let them enjoy their stay while we did the collection of his body.
The funeral home was crowded when we got there. Bert had come to take Mum home afterwards, the visitors were there, and there was a small contingent of fans outside, having heard, through the fan club, that we would be there. Agnes was there with a photographer, the Major and the Chief inspector were there, in full uniform, along with Smithers and four uniformed and armed Air Force officers who stood at each corner by the now open casket. Jim, Belle, Cynthia, and Moyra were there, even a representative of the airline he flew for,
It was all very hushed as we took our final look at the reason that we were all here. In death, he looked almost boyish, and the wife from Germany broke down in tears at her first sight of him. The twins had never seen him, as he had gone long before they could walk. Our brother from Bahrain looked on him with distain, at first, but was then caught up in the general feeling of loss. I had organised my own photographer and was able to get good pictures of all the families, as singles and as groups, with a last picture of us all together, four of the seven wives, four of the five sisters and all the three brothers. It was, for me, one of the best things I had ever done.
The actual funeral was interesting. The funeral director had found a good-sized church for the service, and the coffin was on a stand, still with four on guard, The place was packed with the families, some of their friends, many of our friends from the film industry, and Agnes, along with some more scribes and photographers. It had broken that Alec Curtis, father of Julia Leigh, was being buried today, so there was a good contingent of fans. The service was mostly non-denominational, and then the body was loaded into a hearse for the final trip to Fulham North Sheen, with a long line of black cars behind it.
There, he was lowered into the ground, and a bugler played ‘Taps’. We took turns dropping earth onto the coffin and then went back to our cars to be driven back to the church, where our own transport had been parked. I had booked a function room in the hotel where our overseas visitors were staying, and we had a family wake, finally able to ease into really knowing each other. I found that I could talk aircraft to the twins, films to the one from Bahrain, and everything under the sun to our sister and aunt from Germany.
By the time Adrian drove me and Chloe back to the house, we had addresses and contact details of everyone. May and Bob were staying in the hotel for a few days before going back to Carlisle, the Bahrain and German relatives would be staying over as well. I had told them that they could take as long as they wanted. Bert took Mum home. Janet, and Linda, would have a couple of days before going back to Kings Lynne.
I just wanted to go home and sleep. It had been a stressful couple of weeks but exciting at the same time. I needed rest, and the studio didn’t want us back for a few days. The next day, I opened the suitcases and pulled out what was in them.
There was a lot of paperwork. The Major had given me his service record, in full, along with the trial records. I had the marriage certificates once more, and a lot of scrapbooks, journals, and photo albums that my father had saved. In one journal, marked ‘One’, there was a birth certificate folded inside the first page. I opened it up and read what it told me. That’s when I shouted, “You bloody bastard” and started laughing so hard that Adrian and Chloe rushed into the office to see what was wrong.
Marianne Gregory © 2024
Here you go. The final chapter of this story. It was difficult at times, trying to come up with almost plausible storylines for the various films. Don’t worry, while this has been going I’ve written more – maybe not so long, I seem to get one of those a year.
Enjoy! Marianne
Chapter 35
With the certificate, and from what I read in the first journal, I had the start of the book, and after that the words flowed like water over a waterfall. The opening paragraphs set the tone.
I was born in a run-down terrace house, in a run-down Midlands town that doesn’t deserve to be named. My mother was a whore, and she was called Candace Sophia Harringby. She named me Alexander Hamilton Harringby. I never knew who my father was but had a great number of ‘Uncles’ as I grew up.
The only true father figure in my life was her pimp, Carl Curtis. He made sure that I was kept clean and tidy, that I went to school, and that I made every attempt to take myself out of the rut I had been born into. He had a number of girls, my ‘Aunties’, who would mother me more than Candi, my own mother, later teaching me about sex as I grew into a teenager. They taught me how to love and treat a woman. They also showed me that one woman was never enough. They all called me their little ‘Smart Alec.’
Carl taught me how to stay on top of things, and, most of all, he taught me mischief. He wasn’t a bad man but did like to create mischief as a way to keep him alive. It was him that organised paperwork for me to leave my past behind. I was proud to bear the name of Alec Carl Curtis when I applied for a place in the Air Force. There, I learned to fly, in more ways than one, with Carls’ words of wisdom locked in my brain. “Whatever you do, don’t get caught.”
Over the next few months, we finished the film, and I finished the book, inserting a lot of pictures from his service days, as well as originals of all of the families. I was even there, a doe-eyed boy, gazing at my hero when he took the picture. Most of my siblings had that same look. There were several pictures from the funeral. I left out the Piper and what it contained as superfluous to the main story. I sent the Major the story and pictures in Word format, and he sent me back an official letter that allowed publication, as well as a note that said he knew a lot of guys who would buy the book.
I emailed the story to Linda for her editorial input. A couple of weeks later, she rang me to say that she was going to come to London to meet a friend of hers, a person who ran a publishing house. She had sent him my earlier works, once she had cleaned them up, and had also sent him ‘Flyboy’. He wanted to meet me and discuss business. I told her that I would love to meet him but would try to bring Horatio to add his gravitas to the situation.
I emailed Horatio with a copy of the story and told him that I was to meet a publisher, asking if he would like to join us. He said that he would let me know after he had read the story. Two days later, he said that he would be with me as he considered the story would fly off the shelves. I called Linda and we made a luncheon appointment, with the publisher paying the bill.
I went to the agency that morning, where Horatio brought me up to date on the arrests that had been made since the funeral. I hadn’t picked up on them, as the majority had been baggage handlers and ground crew, not only in this country, but also across Europe and America. From what had been on that small disc, over sixty were already behind bars. He told me that they were closing a net around the main gang members, the ones who called the shots but never got close enough to be tainted.
We went to the lunch and had a good meal, a good talk, and shook hands on a deal. It would see my original stories of the three films being released over a period, but after ‘Flyboy’. The publisher took a picture of me to use on the cover and wrote down a potted history of my achievements. The book, I was told, would be into a print run within the week, then released to critics in a month. The initial print run wasn’t huge, but this allowed for advertising when it needed to be reprinted as ‘The Wildly Successful Book by…’
Horatio was given a cheque to be put into my account. It wasn’t huge, but I would get a fair chunk of every book that left the shelves. Linda was given a cheque as a ‘finder’s fee and editing’. We all left the table, happy that it had been finalised. I was told that book signings would be organised later.
First, though, was the launch of the film, now called ‘Alone!’ That was, I thought, better than ‘Fly’. Over the filming time, Chloe had become a popular cast member, with her given several screenplays to read. She had also fallen for one of our camera crew and had moved out of the house about two weeks ago. I had asked her about her love life, prior to our meeting, and she had told me that she had boyfriends, with the last one breaking up a few weeks before I met her.
We attended the previews and spoke to the critics. They were in praise for the film and were especially taken with the pairing of us sisters. That became a talking point after the premiere and first few weeks on screens. All of a sudden, there were screenplays which had us together, as explorers, policewomen, criminals, dancers, you name it. When ‘Flyboy’ hit the shops, the interest exploded, with our real-life story out there for all to see. The film and book went into the stratosphere. I went from wondering what I was going to do, to wondering how I was going to fit it all in.
With my ‘Angel Flight’ idea, we had registered ‘Unicorn Air’ as a charitable organisation, offering transport for the needy and infirm, and I had seeded it with enough funds to pay for an office and receptionist. Her work was, so far, minimal, but we had her designing fliers and putting together lists of places that we would consider going to, and from.
My old boss had come up trumps, offering the charity the use of a hangar at Gatwick, which was too small for the aircraft he was now using, but too big to use as a club base. We could fit all of our small fleet inside, and it had its own fuel tank, which he had left half-full. The other women fliers that finally came on board put their planes there. It was a win for them, with their pride and joy under cover.
We did start getting work, moving sick children of the aristocracy into London for hospital. They were then generous with their donations. All our planes had been given treatment to be able to carry a stretcher and life monitoring equipment. We had developed a working relationship with the London City airport, so that we could land, transfer the patient, and take off again, without parking fees, and a heavily reduced landing fee. I had been too busy to be a working member, so far, and both Pipers were still at Redhill.
That changed, one day, when I was called to attend to a job where I, and the 600, had been specifically asked for. I was told to fly to our Gatwick base, where I would pick up Sally, an ex-747 pilot and one of the Ninety-Nines, as well as two passengers. The flight was to Aerodromo der la Cerdanya, in the Catalonian region of Spain, with the return back to Gatwick. Both Sally and I were all-weather rated, and she had Garmin fitted to her older Lear Jet.
I told Adrian that I was off on a job and drove to Redhill to get the 600 into the air. I had plenty of fuel but would top up from our tank. I landed at Gatwick and taxied to the hangar. There was an ambulance parked inside the hangar, and I went in to file our flight plan, only to find Sally was there and had done it for us. Our passengers were a woman in a nurses uniform, and a man in scrubs, with a gauze mask over a large moustache. They helped to load the stretcher attachment and put their bags in the luggage compartment.
Fully fuelled, I got permission to taxi out, and then to take off. The weather in the mountains north of Spain was given as changeable. The flight there was unremarkable, with our passengers keeping to themselves. The landing was in misty rain, and we taxied to the small collection of huts where an ambulance was waiting. Our passengers opened up and jumped out, with the man now looking like a Spanish labourer, without the scrubs and with his moustache in full view. He opened the back of the ambulance and pulled out a set of chocks, putting them by the wheels.
Then, another two men, in scrubs, got out of the ambulance and carried a stretcher over to the plane, where they loaded it on the mounting rack. From the cockpit, the guy on the stretcher looked in his mid-twenties. Then, we had to wait for an official to inspect everything before we could take off again. It was during the waiting period that our original male passenger took his bag out of the back and put it in the ambulance, with the other two guys bringing heavy bags and putting them in the baggage compartment.
When the official arrived, Sally and I were out of the cockpit to show our passports and the flight plan back to Gatwick with our sick passenger. When I opened the luggage compartment to let him look, there was no sign of the big bags. Our passengers were now the nurse and one of the ambulance guys, who showed their passports. Our original passenger had a chat to the official, in Spanish. I had learned enough to know that they were talking about the chances that Barcelona had this season. The chocks were pulled away, and our moustachioed friend pulled them towards the clubhouse. The ambulance left and we were free to go.
On the way back, I realised that we had, unwittingly, been party to something out of a Le Carre novel. We had taken an agent into Spain and swapped him for someone coming home. Who the poor sod was in the stretcher was I would never know, as he was put into the ambulance, back at Gatwick, along with the big bags. With the other two inside, it drove out of our hangar and out of our life. I guess that we had just had our first job from some government arm, as our payment towards getting it all organised so easily.
I never bothered to tell Horatio, but he did give me a wink the next time we discussed finances, and he told me that we had been given a nice little government grant. That was the first of several trips I was asked for, usually to a remote place, but always bringing someone out on a stretcher, in an unconscious state, and always with extra baggage in the secret compartment.
And so, my life continued. I had given the church a donation that had paid for the building of the bell tower. With my own wedding being so well reported, a lot of couples wanted to wed in the same church as a film star, with the vicar being canny enough to suggest that a donation to the bell fund would be good. That had resulted in them being able to install a set of automated bells, operated by computer, so that you could choose the tune, or the changes wanted.
Chloe and I made more films together, for both general exhibition and for sale to streaming services. We did our own detective series, with us being members of a secret government agency, tracking down spies and foreign agents. That ran for about four years before it faded. Chloe was a star in her own right and had picked up her own awards.
May and Bob were regular visitors, and we had a number of good parties in the back of the house. We all got together for Chloe’s wedding at the same church that had seen me and Jeff. It was the first time I heard the bells in the tower. I, and many of the congregation, had tears in our eyes as we listened to the ringing.
We saw a bit of our extended families, and Linda was a regular visitor to the house in the school holiday periods. It was her that pushed me to write more. I wrote three more books over the years, all as preliminary works to the screenplays. Younger Films turned them all into films, after the book had been on the market. I was in high demand for book signing tours, as well as visiting film events. I had been in the game long enough for ‘Turbulence’ to be considered a classic, and Adrian started a series of retrospective Julia Leigh events that had us flying around the country, and then around the world.
Of course, as you age, so does everyone else. My mother passed away, followed a few months later by Bert. Jeff died in America from an overdose, a solid body of work to his name. Tony finally had a return of his problems, going downhill quickly. Kym and Kurt were fully retired and living in their home with a full set of carers. A lot of actors that I had worked with decided it was time to die or retire, and I was invited to a lot of retirement parties and funerals. I decided that I would truly retire.
‘Unicorn Air’ was getting steady work and steady donations. We were the go-to transporter for the well-to-do, our film friends, even minor royalty, seeing that we were discrete and reliable. I wasn’t needed and gave the Cheyenne to the charity, a nice tax dodge. They sold it by auction, with it going to a museum that would use it for short scenic flights, my ownership of it giving it extra attraction. Adrian sold the plane he was currently flying, and we used the 600 whenever we wanted to go anywhere.
The villa lease had been given up, and the apartment in Palma was sold. We bought a place near Nice to retire to. We gave up the lease for the house that had been our home for so long and bought an apartment in a tower for use whenever we would be in Britain. Jacquie and Bronte were absorbed into the administration of Younger Films, both on good salaries, and found themselves a small house for them and their two little ones.
Larry and Brendon surprised us by setting up their own company, training butlers and bodyguards, finding a place big enough to be a home and an academy. We had all done well out of our time in the house, with all my staff amassing a good amount in savings, having all their food and accommodation supplied over the years.
Molly came with Adrian and I to Nice, the 600 housed at the Cote D’Azur airport. Our home had a lovely view, plenty of rooms and a study overlooking the sea where I could sit and think about ideas for stories. A couple of years later, with me in my late fifties, I was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BAFTA’s, the year after that, the Academy matched it. Two years after that I was awarded an O.B.E. for services to the film industry and to the country, with the setting up of ‘Unicorn Air’.
I became a celebrity, as a film star and respected author with a lot of influential friends. We were invited to many parties but didn’t go to a lot. I did regular book tours, mainly to Book Weeks as part of bigger festivals. I was also on call for Film Retrospectives. A couple of my works had become classed as classics, with ‘An Interesting Occupation’ being one. A few times, there were events which linked ‘Alone!’ to ‘Flyboy’ where they saw the film and bought the book from one of the stars, sometimes with Chloe coming along as well.
I sold my share of Younger Films to Chloe, now she was earning more than I was at her age. It was now the third biggest production house in the country, having taken over the entire studio. I planned to live out my life as a grand dame, in the sunshine, with Molly continuing to live with us until she passed on. Adrian finally gave his ex-wife the control of his share of the family business, so they went through an uncontested divorce, and we then married in a civil ceremony in Nice.
We were absorbed into the social fabric of the Cote D’Azur, being asked to join various community groups and charities. Life was good until, some years later, Adrian had a massive heart attack and was dead before he hit the floor. The sixties is far too early to die, and far too early to be a widow. It turned my world upside-down.
Molly and I were like a couple of old friends, and we spoke about what we should do. Over the course of a few days, we decided to move back to Britain, in the tower apartment, where we would be closer to our old friends. Once more, the 600 carried a coffin, with us taking Adrian home to Bristol, where he was laid to rest next to his parents, with both me and his ex-wife holding Molly as we cried over the grave.
The house in Nice went onto the market, where it sold well, and we settled into the apartment in London with us both sharing household duties. It didn’t take long for me to be taken into the circuit, once more, and our lives picked up. Molly wasn’t left out of invitations, and we found ourselves as regular guests at premieres and private screenings. I had loaned all my awards to Younger Films, to be displayed in the reception at the studio, joined by the original Best Picture statuette and display that had been on show at the agency. With others they had won since, it was an impressive display.
Michael had closed the London offices and had set the agency in bigger premises at the studio. The number of stars on the books had quadrupled since I was taken on. The staff had doubled, and Michael’s successor, Justin, was now running the whole business. Jim and Belle now had three children, with one girl called Jamie, and had moved to Paris, with Jim now wheelchair bound. Cynthia and Moyra had adopted two girls, now in university, and had settled near Ashford, to live on their accumulated earnings and the interest from dividends.
David was now the studio CEO, with a good dozen or more in his directing team. He had set up a training school for all the duties within the industry and were now training all of the crews in-house. This created a particular level of production that set the ‘Younger Standard’ ensuring that the studio never put out second-rate product.
I found myself being called in at odd times to teach location finding, with particular emphasis on sightlines, seeing that this had been my own skill. I would take groups out to scout for locations for films that were being proposed, bringing our ideas back to the directors to follow up. Molly would come along, acting as the den-mother to make sure we all came back as we had left. It gave both of us a reason to get up in the morning.
One of the other classes I was involved in was screenplay writing, with a few good writers to work with. I set them a task to write a screenplay from a book of their choice. They chose ‘Flyboy’. As each scene was presented to me, I could see it in my mind, in eager expectation for what they would produce next. I was too close to the concept, so we presented it to David and his directors for final assessment. I wasn’t surprised when they wanted to film it.
It became the main film for the following year. I would be in the studio, watching a young actor playing me as a young boy. May came down to see them playing her wedding day scene. The guy they had as young Alec had all the sex appeal that the real Alec had, and the even younger Alec had boyish charm in the scenes with the whores. There had been a picture of Carl, and every effort was made to have the characters looking as close to the real people as possible with the crews going overseas to the right locations to film the postings.
They had even been able to get a couple of Typhoons and Tornados for the airfield scenes. The studio pulled out all the stops for this one, with it becoming the most expensive film it had made without any input from other studios. Justin explained it to me when I queried the expense.
“It’s a true story, Julia, with a fighter pilot hero who is a serial bigamist and lawbreaker. It has two future film stars as actually being in the story and is an adaptation of a best-selling book written by one of them. Of course, we’re giving it our all, it’s going to be a box-office hit and we’ll make a lot of money out of this. The film will be your crowning glory and you’ll be able to fully retire after you finish the round of interviews and the premieres.”
The film followed the book, but with me being the catalyst in his downfall by finding the marriage certificates. Eric came out of retirement to play Horatio, another one who had passed on, and the Major, now retired, was pleased that they had one of the best actors around to play him. As in the book, the last part glossed over his years in prison, as well as the arms-dealing reason for his long incarceration. The 600 got its scene in bringing his coffin south, without saying that it had been his plane, and they recreated the pomp and ceremony of the pick-up and the flight, including the helicopter escorts. The funeral had actual footage taken at the event.
The credits were run on one side of the screen, while the other side was taken up with pictures of the real people, along with what they had done with their lives. For me, it was sad to see the ones we had lost along the way. Our twin brothers had passed on, but had read the book first, telling me that they loved it. Of the wives, only Janet and May were still alive to be at the premiere, and only the brother from Bahrain and us four youngest sisters attended. Even Molly, who had watched a lot of the studio work, didn’t last long enough to see the completed film. The 600 got another trip with a coffin, down to Bristol where she was laid next to her family.
The film was released fifty years after ‘Turbulence’. So much had happened in that time. The 600 was then stored at the Gatwick hangar and would then be given to ‘Unicorn Air’ along with a very healthy donation, no doubt ending up in a museum as it was the last one still flying. Before that, I flew myself to various places to be seen and to sign everything put in front of me, along with the other stars of ‘Flyboy’. One destination where it wasn’t needed was the Palace, where I was made a Dame at the ripe old age of seventy-eight.
After that, I sold the apartment and went to live in a retirement home with other old actors, spending our days reliving our pasts and laughing at the good times we had had, and crying, together, over the bad ones. Chloe and Linda would come to see me to tell me the news.
I had lived a good life, had met, and loved a lot of good people. My accidental intersection with the projectile vomit had shifted me onto another track, and my transition was not even a discussion point now. To everybody around me, I was Dame Julia Leigh, film star, director, writer of screenplays and respected author of a number of best-selling books. Perhaps, one day, they may make a documentary of my life, with another young lad playing the part of Jamie.
I was finding it harder to get around and started thinking about my life ending. I had asked that my funeral service would be held in the church where Jeff and I had married. That way, I could hear the bells of their tower one last time. Then, I would have my last flight in the Piper to look forward to, now being carefully maintained as it was almost as old as I was. I had asked the ladies at ‘Unicorn Air’ to take me for a scenic trip, landing at Northolt.
The son of the funeral director would collect my coffin. I had already arranged for a plot close to my father, and the service would be held in the church where he had been farewelled. I would be under the flightpath of the planes that were my start in my working life, and the means by which my life took a fundamental change.
I often went off to sleep with a smile as I pictured the scene in my mind. Two headstones, one for Alec Carl Curtis and the other for Julia Leigh Curtis. Neither name being the ones that was on our birth certificates. For one, the difference was for illegal means, for me the change was expected in the film industry. As they say, ‘A rose by any other name……’
Marianne Gregory © 2024