by Jade Winters
Chapter 34
Hannah was relieved when Saturday rolled around, she was grateful to catch her breath after a whirlwind week. The temperature had been steadily rising since morning and the sound of the Carpenters playing on the radio filtered through the air while her mother sunbathed in the garden. Hannah peeked down at her; she had gone into the garden as pale as snow but was now turning a golden brown. She called it sunbathing but Hannah called it by its proper name—sun burning.
She felt a stab of guilt. Since her mother had arrived she hadn’t spent much time with her. Though they’ve been out together a few times, she still felt she was neglecting her. Deciding to catch up on work later she made her way down to join her. The garden was compact with a concrete path and luscious green grass on either side, with colourful flowers filling the borders. A magpie stood on the brick surround of the waterfall seemingly fascinated by the cascading water. Two hardwood sunbeds were positioned side by side on the stone patio. Maggie lay on one and Hannah sat down on the other.
“Hey, Mum. I’m really sorry I haven’t been able to spend much time with you lately but I’ve had so much on.”
Maggie turned onto her back, her oily skin glistening under the relentless rays of the sun. “It can’t be helped. Don’t worry about it, you’ve been run off your feet, darling.”
“It can’t be much fun for you being here all day by yourself.”
Maggie pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Don’t worry, honestly. I’ve got more than enough on my plate to keep me busy.”
“Are we talking about a certain Clive here?”
Maggie smiled slyly. “Could be.”
“Why don’t I make a space in my schedule for next week sometime and you can invite him over for dinner. I’d love to get to know him since you’re obviously very smitten by him.”
She shook her head. “No, that will only give him the wrong impression.”
Hannah looked puzzled. “What’s that then?”
“That I’m serious about him.”
“And aren’t you?”
Her voice dropped and she looked everywhere but Hannah’s eyes. “If there’s one thing I’m not and that’s stupid. At the moment I’m just fun for him, I’m something different until he meets somebody his own age.”
Hannah grabbed her slippery hand in hers. “Has he actually told you that?”
“He doesn’t have to. I know what young men are like.”
“So why are you with him then?”
Maggie looked down at her body. “Because he makes me feel young and beautiful again.”
“Well, you must be doing something for him as well. He looked like a very intelligent man.”
Maggie frowned at her as if such a thought had never crossed her mind. “I have no expectations from Clive, it will last as long as it lasts and when it ends, as I know it will, I will remember it for the beautiful thing it was.”
It was obvious her mother’s feelings ran deeper than she was letting on. “You can’t keep flittering from man to man. Why don’t you find someone nearer your own age who wants to settle down?”
Maggie let out a short laugh. “And have them bore me to death! The last thing I want is to be sat with some miserable old fart whose idea of fun is sitting in front of a TV set falling asleep mid afternoon. I’d rather be dead than settle for a life like that. When Clive asks me if I want to go for an afternoon nap, I know he doesn’t mean it in a literal sense.”
There was a long pause. “Come on, not all old men are boring,” Hannah said, breaking the silence.
“Hannah, darling, no insult intended but I think I know a little more about men than you do.”
Hannah laughed. “Fair enough, but I’d still like to be properly introduced to him. I think it will be fun to have him over for dinner, it’s been ages since there’s been any laughter in this house.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Okay. Have you got any plans for today?”
“I’ve been sorting out my winter clothes. I’m going to drop them at the charity shop this afternoon. It will give me a chance to catch up with Kerry. I haven’t seen her in an age.”
“Will you tell her I’ll have some more clothes for her soon? I’m going to go through the rest of Naomi’s belongings in a few weeks.”
“Of course I will.”
***
Maggie tugged the bag she was carrying through the door of the charity shop. Kerry sat at the counter, her face engrossed in a magazine. She looked up as Maggie walked in.
“Oh, my God, Maggie how’ve you been?”
“Hi, Kerry, not too bad.”
“I haven’t seen you in ages, which is understandable given the circumstances,” Kerry said sadly.
“Here you go,” Maggie said, lifting the bag she held full of clothes onto the counter withdrawing her skirts and dresses.
“Oh, the young crowd are going to love these,” she said fawning over them. “Are they Hannah’s? I wish I could wear stuff like this but I’d just look stupid at my age.”
Maggie frowned. “Actually they’re mine.”
“Oh.” Kerry looked down quickly, her cheeks scarlet red. “Well, you’re one of the lucky ones, Maggie. You appear ageless,” she said quickly trying to recover some ground. “I’m one of the unfortunate ones who traded in good looks and a trim figure for knowledge.”
“Hmm,” Maggie said not wanting to be drawn into a conversation about aging. Though she was in her fifties, she felt better than she did at thirty and she planned on staying that way until she popped her clogs. She was damned if she was going to let herself turn into one of those women who once they hit their sixties start dressing in non-descript clothes such as pleated elastic waisted trousers and scroll shoes. One only had to look at Jane Fonda, a woman in her seventies, to know that age didn’t mean you had to look like someone’s grandmother. Aging did not mean becoming invisible, not in her mind, anyway.
She swiftly changed the subject. “How’s business these days, Kerry?” she asked looking around the empty shop.
“A bit slow at the moment. With all these shops selling cheap clothes now, not many people are on the lookout for hand-me-downs.”
“But you get good stuff brought here. How did the clothes my daughter sent in sell?”
Kerry frowned. “I thought your daughter decided against it.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Some wires must have been crossed. Leah did drop by but she said Hannah had changed her mind.”
“She said that?” Now why would she have said a thing like that and more importantly what has she done with Naomi’s clothes? Maggie thought to herself. “It must be my mistake, Kerry, I don’t know what my daughter is doing from one day to the next. One minute she says this, the next she changes her mind.”
Kerry laughed. “I know what you mean, my daughter’s exactly the same.”
“I’ll have a word with her when I get back. She was just saying she was going to sort through more stuff in the next couple of weeks.”
“That would be fantastic.”
“Until then, take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
Exiting the shop, she tried to come up with an explanation as to why Leah would have lied to Kerry. Was Hannah aware of the situation? Maybe there wasn’t anything to it—just crossed wires like Kerry had said. At any rate, she would talk to Hannah about it the first chance she got.
Chapter 35
The days were quickly turning into weeks and Hannah was having great fun. It helped that she was doing a job that she loved and despite her initial reservations about her mother staying, she now actually enjoyed having her to come home to. Though there still didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to spend any quality time with her, once filming was wrapped up Hannah would make extra effort. Maybe I’ll book us a trip away for the weekend, she thought as she flipped though the shooting schedule.
Today’s focus was on Alisa’s character feeling guilty
about leading a double life and Skye’s character coming across as the villain of the story as she threatens to tell all if she broke off the relationship.
As she envisaged the emotionally charged scenes in her head, she had no doubt the women would pull them off exactly as she wanted. She looked up from the script and watched them in the living area laughing and joking around like two teenagers. They had a real connection which was working out great for the film but not so great for Hannah’s heart. As Alisa’s character was going through a confused state, it mirrored Hannah was still dealing with her own burgeoning romantic feelings for Alisa.
“We’re nearly set to go, Hannah,” the cameraman called out to her as he attached the tripod to the tracking poles and pushed it along to test it out. Once satisfied he attached his camera to the tripod and looked through the viewfinder.
“Would you both sit closer together, I just want to do a test shot,” he said to Alisa and Skye who did as they were asked.
“Beautiful. Thanks girls”
“You’re welcome.” Skye said fluttering her eye lashes at the slightly flustered camera man.
On the other side of the room Hannah gathered her boards together, walked onto the set and took a seat in her director’s chair. Alisa and Skye looked towards her.
“Okay, ladies. Alisa—I want you to really get into the feel of this, you’ve had enough of the lying and cheating. Skye—I want you to use all your natural charm to talk her out of it. I want every ounce of emotion you’ve got put into it.”
The women nodded and got into place with Alisa remaining seated and Skye standing up, hovering over her.
“Okay, guys, can we have some quiet please,” a voice called out.
Once everyone hushed, Hannah called, “Okay, 3-2-1, action!”
Skye started the scene with tears running down her eyes as she pleaded with Alisa not to leave her. It never failed to amaze Hannah how actors could switch at a drop of a hat. Looking at Skye in distress, no one could imagine just moments ago she was laughing. Skye dropped to her knees and took Alisa’s face in her hands and drew her closer. Even though Hannah knew they weren’t going to kiss, it still didn’t stop an intense feeling of dread spread over her body. She clenched her teeth as they embraced, Skye’s hand running up and down Alisa’s back. Talk about glutton for punishment, she thought as she felt heat rise in her cheeks. But what choice did she have? Should she just close her eyes every time they touched each other? That wasn’t conceivable seeing as most of the script was centred around intimate moments.
“And cut.”
“How was that, Hannah?” Skye asked her.
“Brilliant, you both were.”
“I’m going to pop out for a cigarette then,” Skye said wiping away her tears. “You coming?” she asked Alisa.
Hannah listened to their exchange as she pretended to focus on the next scene.
“No, I’m going to get a drink.”
When Hannah looked up next, Alisa had moved. She jumped when she realised she was standing beside her.
“Are you pleased with everything?”
“Absolutely, Alisa. You and Skye have been brilliant. I can’t believe how quickly we’ve got through shooting.”
“Are you so happy that you’d join me for a drink tonight?”
“Alisa, I would love to—”
“But you’re not going to . . . it’s alright, forget I asked.”
Hannah grabbed her arm and swung her around to face her. “Alisa, I’m only saying no because I invited my mum’s boyfriend round for dinner tonight. Any other time I would have said yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“So we’re definitely going to go out for a drink sometime?”
Hannah smiled. “Definitely, whenever you want, just not tonight.”
A wide grin spread across Alisa’s face. “Okay, I’m going to hold you to that.”
“You do that,” Hannah said wishing she could turn back the clock and have arranged Clive coming for dinner on another day.
Chapter 36
Hannah stared at her mother for a long time as she walked around the table adjusting the cutlery and napkins.
“Mum, take it easy, the Queen isn’t coming for dinner, you know.” She had never seen her mother so nervous. She knew she had pushed her on arranging the dinner but for her to have done so she must like him a lot. Her mother was not an easily led woman.
Hannah had ordered the food from a caterer. She was too exhausted to spend the evening in the kitchen cooking when she could be sat down relaxing. She hadn’t gone as far as hiring a waiter service, serving up the food she could manage.
“If you’re going to do something, do it properly,” Maggie said, arranging the glasses.
“Mum.”
“Yes.”
“You look beautiful tonight.” And she did. Wearing a sequined black top and black trousers, she looked glamorous as well.
Maggie seemed pleased with the compliment as she straightened up and looked at her. “Thank you, Hannah. Did you invite Leah for dinner?”
“No, I thought it would be nice just the three of us.”
“I nearly forgot, something very strange happened the other day,” Maggie said, standing back to view the table.
“What was that?”
“You know when I went to drop my clothes off at the charity shop.”
“Yes.”
“Well, Kerry said Leah didn’t drop Naomi’s stuff off.”
Hannah frowned and halted to a stop. “Are you sure?”
“I’m fifty four, Hannah, I’m not senile.”
“I wasn’t talking about you, I mean was Kerry sure? Maybe she left them outside and someone walked off with them.”
“No, she went into the shop and said that you’d changed your mind.”
“I’ll call her in a bit and find out what this is all about.”
If Hannah was honest, she needed a break from Leah. She had become overbearing lately. Every time she turned around she was there. She knew that Leah had told her she was there for her but she was beginning to wonder who needed who. Not that she would ever say anything to her. But she had been on set with her all day, she didn’t want to spend the evening with her as well.
At seven o’clock on the doorbell rang.
“He has impeccable manners, I see,” Hannah said, impressed by his punctuality.
“Is my hair alright?” Maggie asked gently patting it.
“Yes, you look fabulous. Now just relax and let’s enjoy the evening. I’ll open the door.”
Hannah left the room while she sneaked a glance back as her mother poured a shot of vodka and knocked it back in one gulp, this was a special occasion, after all.
Hannah smiled at her mother’s behaviour. It was if she was a nervous teenager on her first date again.
She made her way to the front door. On opening it she found Clive standing there dressed in a stylish black suit and with two massive bunches of flowers hiding his face. He parted his hands and flashed her a show of perfect teeth. His smile reaching his blue eyes, he was the epitome of charm itself.
“Good evening, Hannah,” he said, handing her one of the bouquets.
“Thank you, Clive, do come in,” she said, stepping back.
It wasn’t until he passed her that she realised just how tall he was. At least six foot two inches, give or take an inch. He was what some women would call very manly. The sweet scent of his aftershave followed him down the hallway as Hannah directed him to the living room.
“Clive, darling,” Maggie said, tiptoeing upwards to kiss him on the lips.
She gracefully accepted the bouquet of flowers he handed to her.
“What can I get you to drink, Clive?”
“Scotch, please,” both her mother and Clive said at the same time. They all laughed. Hannah could hear her mother giggling as she went into the kitchen to pour the drinks. She poured herself a glass of wine, placed all three on a silver tray and
headed back into the living room. Clive and her mother were sat close together on the sofa, his arm casually draped around her mother’s shoulder. Even though the age difference was quite evident, they looked good together. She could tell by the way he looked at her that he cared for her deeply. She lowered the tray in front of them so they could take their drinks.
“You have a beautiful home, Hannah.”
“Thank you,” she said taking a seat in the snug chair.
“So your mum tells me you’re working on a film at the moment.”
“Yes.”
They spoke briefly about her work then she returned to the kitchen to plate up the food. She felt a twang of loneliness as their laughter floated into the kitchen. That was what she missed more than anything. The feeling of knowing that someone is there that loves you unconditionally. Deciding to let the happy couple have a little more time together she found her phone and called Leah. She answered after one ring.
“Hi, Leah, this is just a quick call. Mum went to the charity shop and Kerry told her that you didn’t drop Naomi’s stuff off.”
She listened to Leah’s brief explanation. “I appreciate you took it to another charity shop, Leah but you could have saved my mum from a major embarrassment if you had just told me. No, there’s no harm done. It doesn’t matter to me which charity got her stuff, it’s just that mum felt like a bit of a fool. I’m glad we’ve cleared that up. Okay, no that’s it. I’ll see you on Monday. Bye.”
It was strange that Leah wouldn’t have told her. She was normally so open and honest about most things, however, she wasn’t going to let something that minor spoil her evening.
Over dinner they spoke about Clive’s work and he explained to her the ins and outs of the financial markets. She was still none the wiser hours later when she was loading the dishwasher. Maths was one of her weaker subjects at school. Even now as an adult, her mind went fuzzy if someone talked about numbers. She did wonder what it must be like to do a transaction for millions at the touch of a button. You would have to have balls of steel. That was one thing she didn’t have.