by A. E. Radley
“Yes, but am I?”
“No,” Nicole said quickly. “No. Your work is exceptional. People are very happy with what you’re doing. This isn’t about that, it’s about the future.”
Emily felt just as confused.
The waiter returned and presented the bottle. After uncorking and pouring a tasting glass for Nicole’s approval, he poured two full glasses, then placed the bottle into an ice bucket beside the table.
“We’ll need a few minutes before we order, but some bread would be wonderful,” Nicole said.
The waiter nodded politely and left the table again.
“Next week, we have opening night. By the next week, we won’t require two members of writing staff on this project,” Nicole explained. “And I know that we have discussed getting you work in New York, but that is seeming to be a very difficult task at the moment. There just aren’t any jobs around that would suit you. As you know, it’s a hugely competitive market.”
Emily took a sip of wine. She had expected this conversation. Becoming a scriptwriter had been her dream, having it become a reality was incredible. Of course, logistics would make it impossible. No one was lucky enough to have everything fall into their lap so easily.
“I’ve spoken with some companies in London, and there are a few opportunities for you here. However, we’ve been supporting you with air travel costs because you have a rights interest in this play. Once you move on from this project, that will cease.”
“So, there are no jobs in New York for me,” Emily summarised. “There are jobs for me in London, but they won’t cover the cost of my travel from New York.”
“Exactly.”
Emily took another sip. When Nicole had first come to her with the proposition of taking a royalty cut on the rights to her play in order to get free travel back and forth from New York to London, it had been like a fairy godmother had waved a magic wand.
Her play was going to be in a West End theatre, she was going to commute back and forth and be involved in its production, and she was going to have the opportunity to learn the ropes with professionals.
Of course, it couldn’t last.
“So, a decision needs to be made,” Nicole continued. “And I know it’s not an easy one. Really I do.”
“I could continue to write from home?” Emily suggested. “And then sell those completed scripts.”
“You could,” Nicole agreed. “But we can’t guarantee that they would sell. We were lucky that your previous scripts were snapped up. That could happen again. But it might not. Theatres are making less and less profit, and therefore they are less willing to take risks. We don’t even know if what we’re working on now will turn a profit. Advanced sales are okay, but nothing sensational.”
Emily sipped more wine, glad that Nicole had taken the decision to order a bottle. It seemed like she’d need it.
“It’s not all doom and gloom,” Nicole said. “You do have options, and I think it would be a terrible shame to throw away these opportunities.”
“But I can’t afford to commute, not on a writer’s salary,” Emily pointed out. “And I can’t move. I’d be taking Henry away from all his friends. And Olivia won’t board a plane.”
“I know this seems bleak,” Nicole said softly. “But you are a great writer and you’re an asset to the business. If we have a production that we could put you in, we would. But there’s nothing at the moment, and I can’t guarantee when the next project will be. And, even if I could, the travel would be an issue.”
The waiter placed a bread basket on the table. Emily quickly reached for a wholemeal roll and broke it apart.
She felt crushed. Even though she always knew that the opportunity was a temporary one, she had expected to be able to move on to other things.
She was learning so much, and she’d barely had time to scratch the surface. She literally had the much-talked-about theatre bug. She couldn’t imagine not seeing the words she’d written at three a.m., at her desk, on the subway, acted out in front of a crowd. Watching the actors and then delivering slight tweaks to dialogue that she knew would improve the performance.
“I know that Olivia would happily use her nest egg to fund your travel,” Nicole suggested tentatively.
Emily snapped her head up to make eye contact with her.
Nicole held up a hand. “I know you want to be independent. I know you don’t want to rely on Olivia’s money.”
“I want to pay her back for what she has already spent,” Emily corrected. “I don’t want to add to the debt.”
Nicole picked up a breadstick and snapped a piece off the end. “It’s just a suggestion. I know you don’t want to feel beholden to Olivia. But if you want to continue in the theatre, then it may be your only option.”
She chewed on the piece of breadstick, and Emily looked down at the mangled roll in front of her. She dusted the breadcrumbs into the palm of her hand to return the tablecloth to its pristine condition.
“Do you think there is any chance that I could make a living writing and selling scripts?” Emily asked.
Nicole let out a sigh. “Maybe. It’s a hard thing to judge. Most people can’t. Some people can. Such is the creative world.”
“Well…” Emily raised her wine glass. “It’s been a great adventure, but I think that once this project is over, I need to go back to my family.”
Nicole looked at her sadly, but raised her own glass. “I will continue to look for things, I’ll be your agent as long as you want me to be. I really wish things had worked out another way. It’s just bad timing.”
“I’d love you to continue to be my agent,” Emily said. “And I’m so glad that I got to experience what I did. I’ve learnt so much, and I’m really grateful for the opportunities I’ve had. It’s more than I ever could have dreamed of.”
They clinked glasses and sipped some wine.
Emily lowered her glass to the table and chuckled.
“What is it?” Nicole asked.
“I was just thinking, I don’t need to worry about my stalker so much now,” Emily said. “A few more days and I’ll be back in New York. And Olivia will be ecstatic as well. Not that she’d ever admit that she didn’t want me to commute, but I know she misses me. And I miss her. Maybe this will be for the best.”
“No, it’s not,” Nicole said with a pout. “Because I’ll miss you.”
Emily reached a hand across the table and took Nicole’s. “I’ll miss you, too.”
Nicole squeezed her hand and then retracted her own. She took a deep breath and picked up the menu.
“Let’s eat, before I get all emotional.”
Emily smiled and picked up her own menu. She stared at the words on the page, but none of them made sense. Her mind was spinning. She had no idea what she’d say when she saw Olivia the next evening. She felt like a failure. They had moved everything to give Emily the best shot at a new career, at an amazing opportunity. But now that chance had effectively disappeared.
She felt like she’d been fired from her dream job.
30
Emily walked up the path with her suitcase in tow. She was exhausted, and the only thing keeping her awake was the knowledge that she’d soon see her family.
She hoped that this time Olivia wouldn’t be entertaining a random woman, oblivious to the fact that said woman was madly flirting with her.
She had to smile, despite the potential seriousness of the situation.
It had been a long and trying week. The meeting with the police, constantly looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her, and then yesterday finding out that her career was effectively over.
Of course, she’d not told Olivia any of that on the phone. She’d kept things as light as she could. But inside she was desperately in need of the comfort of her family.
Landing at the airport, she had quickly regretted her decision to get a taxi home at the end of every week. She knew it was in Olivia’s and Henry’s best interests, but now the delay o
f being in the arms of the woman she loved seemed unreasonable.
As she approached the front door she waited for it to fly open. Except… it didn’t. The lights were on, so she knew they were definitely home. She reached into her handbag and dug around for her house keys that lay at the bottom, having been unused for a week. She pulled them out and unlocked the door.
“Hello?” she called out as she pulled her suitcase into the hallway.
She could hear the sound of people talking, but no one replied to her greeting. She slammed the door closed and shrugged out of her jacket. While she didn’t want Olivia to make a fuss of her return by dragging Henry to the airport, a hello would be nice.
“Mommy!” Henry ran around the corner and collided with her legs.
At least someone noticed, she thought to herself.
“Aidan is here,” Henry announced and started to pull her hand.
She reached out to put her jacket on the hook. “Aidan?”
Henry dragged her across the living area and into the dining room. When she looked in the room, her heart melted.
At the table sat an adorable blonde-haired boy with thick spectacles. Next to him was Olivia. They were both focused on a sheet of paper on the table.
“So, if I gave you another two lollipops, how many lollipops would you have?” Olivia asked softly.
Aidan shrugged his shoulders and looked up at Olivia helplessly.
“Let’s count them together, okay?”
Emily gently pulled Henry out of the dining room and walked him into the kitchen. For some reason, her wife was in the middle of a math lesson with an unidentified child. It was certainly a step up from the last time she came home, but still a confusing scene to walk into.
“Was that Aidan?” Emily asked as she pulled a tray down from atop the kitchen cabinets.
“Yep. He’s my best friend,” Henry replied. He looked at Emily with confusion. “Are we having hot chocolate?”
“Absolutely,” Emily said. “And wow, Aidan is your best friend?”
Henry hadn’t mentioned Aidan once, and just last week he had told her that a girl called Alice was his best friend. Clearly things moved fast in the hurly-burly world of first grade.
“Yep. And I’m his best friend,” Henry explained.
Emily pulled some cups out of the cupboard. She was happy that Henry was making friends, even if she’d never heard of Aidan before.
“And what are Olivia and Aidan doing?”
“Playing math,” Henry said with distaste.
Olivia had often tried to convince Henry that mathematics was a game, not realising that adding the word “playing” to the word ”math” wouldn’t be enough to make it a fun game.
Henry was happy to have lessons and learn about math for short periods at a time that ended with a suitable prize. But he wasn’t convinced that math was something that could be played.
Clearly, Aidan hadn’t caught onto Olivia’s scheme yet.
“Aidan hates math. He’s really, really bad at it. He cried when we had math class today.”
“Did Aidan come over for dinner?” Emily asked, keen to clarify that Olivia had permission to have the bespectacled cutie in their house.
“Yes. We played in the yard, and we did some painting.”
“And Aidan asked his mommy, right?” Emily pressed.
“Yep. His daddy is coming to get him soon.”
Emily let out a sigh of relief. While she didn’t really expect Olivia to have kidnapped the boy, she’d not wager money on it.
“Captain McFluffypants the Seventh peed in the sink,” Henry announced with some pride.
“Which sink?” Emily asked. She eyed the kitchen sink and shuddered.
“Today?” Henry asked.
Emily shuddered again and decided that the next day she’d give the house a deep clean.
Emily walked into the dining room with mugs filled with hot chocolate on a tray. As she lowered it to the table, Olivia looked up in surprise.
She watched in amusement as Olivia looked from her to the clock on the wall to the hot chocolate and back to Emily again with confusion.
“You’re home.” Olivia walked around the table to embrace Emily.
“I am,” she replied. “You were caught up in your lesson with Aidan.” She emphasised the boy’s name, hoping that Olivia would elaborate on the boy’s presence.
“I told you I had two mommies,” Henry said proudly.
Olivia took a step back. “Aidan, this is my wife, Emily.”
“Hi, Mrs White,” he replied, complete with lisp.
“Hi, Aidan.” Emily smiled. Aidan was adorable. She turned to Olivia. “Does Aidan have any allergies… or parents?” she muttered under her breath.
Olivia picked up a piece of paper from the table and handed it to Emily. She looked at it and bit her lip to hold back a chuckle. Olivia’s neat script detailed what appeared to be Aidan’s full medical history, a set of emergency phone numbers, names and addresses, and his doctor’s details.
“The rest is on the back,” Olivia assured.
Emily felt her eyes bulge and quickly glanced at the back of the piece of paper to see another full sheet of information. At this point, Olivia probably knew more about Aidan than Aidan did. She quickly checked the allergies.
“Aidan, would you like some hot chocolate?”
He swiftly nodded.
“My mommy makes the best hot chocolate in the world,” Henry said.
Emily handed each of them a small mug.
“Thank you, Mrs White,” Aidan said. He held the mug with both hands, and Emily realised how small the boy was. Clearly, he hadn’t had a growth spurt yet.
Olivia reached for a mug of hot chocolate, but Emily quickly grabbed her hand and tugged at her.
“Boys, we just need to clean up the kitchen, we’ll be back in a moment.”
Emily kept hold of Olivia’s hand and pulled her towards the kitchen.
As soon as they got into the room, Olivia started to look around in confusion.
“The kitchen looks clean to m—”
Emily pressed Olivia back against the wall and kissed her deeply. Her temple rubbed against Olivia’s glasses, the ones she had started to wear more upon realising how it drove Emily wild with desire.
“I thought you’d forgotten about me,” Emily teased. “But then you were there helping the most adorable boy—don’t tell Henry I said that—and it made my heart melt.”
“I didn’t hear you come in,” Olivia said apologetically. “Aidan seems to be scared of numbers. He shuts down, so I tried to make it more enjoyable for him, to show him that he could do it. We had just—”
Emily put her finger on Olivia’s lips to silence her. “Later.”
She removed her finger and replaced it with her lips. Olivia got the message and returned the kiss. A few moments passed, and Olivia ratcheted up the intensity.
“I’ve missed you,” she breathed as she started to plant kisses down Emily’s neck.
The kitchen door flew open, and they sprang apart.
“But Ironman is the best,” Henry explained to Aidan as they entered the kitchen. “Superman is okay, but his outfit is silly.”
“Superman can melt stuff with his eyeballs,” Aidan argued.
Both boys placed their mugs on the counter, ignoring Emily and Olivia as they continued their debate about favourite superheroes.
The doorbell sounded, and Olivia quickly excused herself from the potentially awkward situation.
“I’ll get it,” Olivia said, already half out of the door.
“That’s probably my daddy,” Aidan said sadly.
“You can come back another day,” Henry promised.
“As long as it’s okay with Aidan’s parents,” Emily added. She mentally filed away a note to talk to Henry about asking for permission before making promises. “Aidan, did you bring anything with you?”
“My bag,” Aidan said.
“It’s in my room,” Henry said.
She hurried the two boys out of the kitchen and watched them climb the stairs. She could hear Olivia having a conversation with a man.
“He’s been no trouble at all,” Olivia reassured.
“Great, maybe you and your husband could come over at some point?”
“Oh, I don’t have a husband,” Olivia explained.
“Well, then maybe you can come over at some point?”
Emily frowned. She didn’t like the change in the man’s tone. She knew that Olivia wouldn’t pick up on it, and before long, would be committed to visiting Aidan’s parents and presumably being ogled at by his father. She quickly walked into the hallway.
“Aidan’s getting his bag,” she explained. “I’m Henry’s other mother, Emily.”
She held out her hand and smirked as he stumbled to quickly shake it.
“Oh, right, um… M-mike.”
“Nice to meet you, Mike.” Emily held onto his hand a moment longer than necessary, gripping it tightly.
Aidan rushed into the hallway. “Can I come again soon, Daddy?”
Mike retracted his hand and smiled at his son. “Sure, we’ll talk to Henry’s mommy… ies and arrange something.”
“Absolutely. We’d love to have Aidan over again,” Emily said while engaging in a staring contest with Mike.
After some farewells, Mike and Aidan left and Emily closed the door behind them. She wasn’t happy with the way Mike continued to look at Olivia. While she would agree that Olivia was stunning, that was no way to behave. Especially not in front of her wife and two impressionable young boys.
“He seemed nice,” Olivia commented before turning away.
Emily felt herself seethe. She took a deep breath to calm down, reminding herself that Olivia wasn’t the best at picking up on signals.
“Henry, could you make sure your room is tidy before bed?” Emily asked.
Henry, unlike Olivia, could detect the change in atmosphere and hurried off to clean his room.
Emily followed Olivia into the kitchen.
“Wine?” Olivia asked.
“Please.”
Olivia pulled out a bottle of white from the fridge and picked up two glasses from the shelf.