The Summer Theatre by the Sea

by Tracy Corbett

  ‘The drawings should dry out,’ he said, as though carrying a woman caveman-style was a normal Friday-afternoon activity. ‘Take photos of the drawings just in case they fade. At least that way you’ll have a copy.’ He lowered her onto the sand, next to where he’d secured the rest of her drawings under a stone. ‘I’m assuming these are for the show?’

  She nodded, intense shivering overriding her ability to speak.

  He added the pages she was holding to the pile under the stone. ‘These are good,’ he said, gently shaking droplets of water from the main picture. ‘This’ll look amazing at the theatre. Lauren said you were talented. She was right.’ His eyes dipped to her chest. ‘Well, that’s cooled you down.’

  She followed his eyeline to where her white shirt clung to her breasts, the outline leaving nothing to the imagination – even with the top button still done up. Her hair was plastered to her head, she was covered in sand, and her white jeans were stained with tea. It was her idea of hell. And yet she found herself laughing – albeit a little hysterically. It was ‘Muddy Sunday’ all over again.

  Barney looked momentarily dazed when she started giggling, and then his face eased into a grin. ‘You okay?’

  She shook her head. ‘No.’ And then she started laughing harder, her legs giving way until she sank down onto the sand. Why was she laughing? What was wrong with her?

  Her mirth faded when Sylvia appeared, kicking sand everywhere as she thundered to a stop. ‘I’m so sorry, Charlotte! What a klutz. I’ll never forgive myself for ruining your drawings.’

  ‘It’s fine, really. Barney rescued most of them.’ She accepted his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

  ‘What a hero!’ Sylvia hugged Barney and then began wiping the drawings with the cloth she had in her hand.

  Oh, God. ‘No, don’t wipe them!’ Charlotte dived for her pictures. ‘Just let them dry out.’

  Sylvia stopped. ‘Oh, okay, sorry love. You know best.’ She looked a little hurt.

  Feeling bad, Charlotte touched her arm. ‘Honestly, they’ll be fine. No harm done.’

  Not to the pictures, anyhow. Her appearance, on the other hand, had taken a battering. She collected the drawings, ready to return to Lauren’s flat, where she could assess the damage, and dry them out with a hairdryer.

  Barney’s suggestion of taking photos was a good one. She turned around to thank him, but he was back at the kiosk, talking to a young boy who’d arrived for a lesson. She allowed herself a moment’s appreciation of his smooth back and angular shoulder blades. There was no doubt about it, Barney Hubble might not be her type, but he certainly had his good points.

  Unfortunately, she was now indebted to him … and she wasn’t entirely sure she was happy about that.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Thursday, 30 June – 8 weeks till curtain-up

  Barney sat down on one of the hall’s wonky plastic chairs, resigning himself to a long wait. The Isolde Players had been rehearsing twice weekly for nearly two months, and they’d reached that messy stage of a production when the actors were no longer allowed to use scripts. Some of the actors were already line-perfect, like arse-lick Daniel Austin. Others left it to the last minute and then panicked when they realised how little time was left before curtain-up. And then there were people like Nate, who, despite spending hours studying the script, couldn’t make the words stick.

  Unfortunately, this didn’t prevent the director screaming abuse at him when he messed up. Jonathan Myers was a bit of a dick, in Barney’s opinion. He suspected the man was jealous of Nate’s natural ability, and publicly humiliating him probably boosted his fragile ego, but it did little to encourage his poor friend.

  Thankfully, the rehearsal had temporarily halted so Kayleigh could take photos for the programme. She wasn’t a professional photographer, but as a keen amateur, she’d been assigned the task.

  Jonathan clapped his hands. ‘Can I suggest everyone takes the opportunity of a lull in proceedings to review their lines.’ He frowned at Nate, who looked away, eyes cast downwards. ‘Please listen out for your name when called.’ He gestured to where Kayleigh was erecting a lighting umbrella. ‘Who do you want first?’

  Kayleigh bent the umbrella into shape. ‘Daniel and Lauren.’

  Daniel darted over, responding like the obedient puppy he was. Lauren joined him a few moments later, when she’d finished wiping chocolate smudges from Freddie’s hands.

  Nate sat down next to Barney, looking fed up. ‘I had no problems remembering my lines last night. How come when I get down here, they go out of my head? I’ve got a brain like a friggin’ sieve.’ His frustration increased when Daniel placed his hand on Lauren’s shoulder and whispered something in her ear, making her laugh.

  Dusty, who was sitting on the other side of Nate, glanced up from filing a split red nail. ‘Don’t fret. Lauren’s not interested in Daniel.’ Her blue silk dress slipped off her knees as she crossed her legs, revealing a flash of sheer stocking.

  Barney could still remember the first time he’d met Dusty. He’d just finished a gig at Smugglers Inn, when a stunning six-foot blonde had walked into the bar, wearing a sequinned catsuit, and kissed him full on the lips. His shock at being accosted by a beautiful woman had only increased when she’d opened her mouth and, in a deep voice, said, ‘Get us a beer, will you, love.’ But he’d got to know her over the last year, and now considered her an equally good mate to both Nate and Paul.

  Nate folded his arms across his chest. ‘She wouldn’t react like that if I touched her.’

  Dusty checked her nail for smoothness. ‘That’s because she likes you. She doesn’t like Daniel. Not in that way, at least.’

  Nate frowned. ‘That doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘Of course it doesn’t. The behaviour of the female of the species rarely does. Tell him, will you?’ She tapped Barney on the knee.

  ‘Jesus, don’t ask me about women. I’m as clueless as he is.’ A point emphasised when Kayleigh waved at him from across the hall. ‘I think what Dusty means is, Lauren doesn’t fancy Daniel.’

  A burst of laughter drew their eyes to the couple as they posed for a photo.

  Nate’s frown deepened. ‘Then why’s she laughing?’

  Barney shrugged. ‘She’s being polite?’

  He didn’t think for a second that Lauren was into Daniel. The guy was creepy as hell. He was deathly pale, and wore square glasses that swamped his bony face. Looks aside, Daniel was spiteful. And that wasn’t a trait Barney admired. Lauren might not fancy Daniel, but as for how she felt about Nate, he wasn’t sure. There was definitely an attraction, but sometimes that wasn’t enough. After all, he fancied Charlotte Saunders, but nothing was going to happen between them. So that just proved his point.

  When Charlotte had arrived at the hall earlier and headed down to the cellar to start set painting, she’d virtually blanked him. There’d been no repeat of the connection they’d shared when he’d rescued her drawings from the sea last Friday. Stupidly, he thought they’d made a breakthrough. Covered in sand, sea, and spilt tea, he’d seen a glimpse of the woman beneath the frosty exterior, and he’d liked what he’d seen. But it was like that moment had never happened. She was back to being all buttoned-up, and ignoring him. And a woman blowing hot and cold was another trait he wasn’t attracted to.

  His thoughts were interrupted by Kayleigh asking Sylvia, Freddie and Florence to come up for their photos. Sylvia looked every inch the surrogate grandmother as the kids climbed onto her lap. When she tickled them, they laughed, creating a great photographic opportunity.

  Barney felt a pull in his chest. Christ, he was getting broody. He thought only women suffered from that?

  Kayleigh checked her list of names. ‘Lauren and Nate, please.’

  Dusty caught Nate’s arm. ‘This is a golden opportunity to usurp that dweeb Daniel. Use those admirable attributes of yours to charm her.’

  Nate pulled a face. ‘What attributes?’

  Dusty gave him a
disgruntled look. ‘Oh, please. You own a mirror, try looking in it.’ She squeezed Nate’s bicep. ‘And if all else fails, flex the guns. Women love that.’

  Nate shrugged her off. ‘People are watching.’

  ‘Oh, stop worrying. You’re not my type.’

  ‘Glad to hear it.’ Nate headed over to Kayleigh, who instructed him to stand behind Lauren. She was perched on a stool, looking unusually rigid. For the first time since meeting Charlotte, Barney spotted a family resemblance. She was a dead ringer for her sister.

  Kayleigh peered over the top of her camera. ‘Rest your chin on Lauren’s head.’

  After a moment’s hesitation, Nate did as he was asked. The pair looked like frightened rabbits.

  Standing on the sidelines, watching, was a very smug-looking Daniel.

  When he sniggered, Barney felt Dusty’s hackles rise.

  ‘Someone needs to wipe that smile off his face … both of them.’ She leant closer, lowering her voice. ‘Did you know, I overheard him say to Jonathan that he’s not happy Paul and I are sharing the role of Helena, and that he’d rather act opposite a real woman?’

  Barney flinched. ‘I hope you challenged him?’

  ‘Of course I did.’ She smiled. ‘I told him I would rather act opposite a real man, but we can’t always get what we want.’

  Barney’s sudden laughter caused heads to turn.

  But Dusty’s smile faded. ‘It’s bad enough that my family give me grief. I don’t need it from the likes of him.’ She pointed her nail file in Daniel’s direction. ‘Nasty little man.’

  Barney watched Nate clumsily place his hand on Lauren’s shoulder. ‘Talking of family, has anything more happened about Will’s wedding?’

  Dusty resumed filing. ‘An invitation arrived in the post this morning. It was addressed to Mr Paul Naylor in bold typeface, followed by the words “and only him” in brackets. Not exactly subtle.’

  Across the room, Lauren glanced up at Nate, a fleeting look of longing passing across her petite features. It was gone in a nanosecond, but it was definitely there. Shame his mate hadn’t seen it; he was too preoccupied trying not to look at her. ‘Have you decided what you’re going to do?’

  Dusty shook her head, making her wig sway. ‘Part of me thinks I shouldn’t rock the boat, and should just stay away. But the other part of me thinks, why should I? If the Naylor family love Paul, then they should embrace me as well, but they don’t. They’re too afraid of upsetting the bridal entourage. Anyone would think I was a mass murderer.’

  Barney could empathise with the trials of trying to appease family. ‘It seems a shame to miss Will’s wedding.’

  ‘I agree. But if Paul and I don’t make a stand now, then they’ll know they can bully us and we’ll never be allowed to attend any future family gatherings. And I don’t think that’s fair.’

  Lauren and Nate moved away from the camera, both turning in the same direction and bumping into each other. This was followed by embarrassed apologies, shy smiles, and hurrying away from each other.

  Nate returned to his seat, reprimanding himself for behaving like a ‘complete tool’.

  Barney was about to assure him it wasn’t that bad, when Jonathan yelled, ‘Lauren! Kayleigh needs a shot of you with Glenda.’

  Barney was sure he saw Lauren grimace as she returned to Kayleigh, and not just because the director had bellowed at her.

  His feeling was compounded when Nate said, ‘Something’s going on there.’ Nate nodded to where Glenda stood behind Lauren. She was smiling into the camera, her hands squeezing Lauren’s shoulders like a bird of prey gripping its victim. ‘I don’t think Lauren’s ever been a fan of Glenda, but now it’s like she can’t even look at her.’

  Barney was inclined to agree. There was definitely tension between the two women. Glenda chatted away with nothing to indicate anything was amiss but, far from engaging with her, Lauren’s expression remained blank. She closed her eyes, as if trying to shut the older woman out.

  ‘You don’t think she’s borrowed money from her, do you?’ Nate looked worried.

  Barney shook his head. ‘Unlikely. She must’ve heard about Glenda’s reputation.’

  Dusty checked her reflection in a compact mirror. ‘She’s not known as Glenda-the-Lender for nothing.’ She wiped a smudge of lipstick from her front tooth. ‘Lauren’s smarter than that.’

  Nate didn’t look convinced. ‘But people in desperate situations make bad decisions.’ He checked to make sure no one could overhear. ‘I get the impression money’s a bit tight.’

  Dusty dropped the compact into her white Louis Vuitton handbag. ‘Of course it is, she’s a single mother. Lauren is also very proud. If I were you, I wouldn’t broach the subject. Not unless you want to kill off any chance of a romance.’

  Barney nudged Nate, alerting him to Tony Saunders, who’d joined the women for the next photo. ‘It also might cause trouble elsewhere.’

  Glenda smiled up at Tony, while Lauren stared straight ahead, her expression frozen. It was an awkward shot.

  The crestfallen look on Nate’s face matched the one on Sylvia’s. They both watched the scene unfold, mourning for something they both wanted but didn’t think they could have.

  Jonathan bellowed from the other side of the hall. ‘It would be good to get something done tonight, other than a few snaps, Kayleigh, dear. Time is pressing on.’

  ‘Only a couple more to go!’

  ‘Glad to hear it.’ Jonathan gave her a dismissive wave.

  Barney opened his script, intending to practise his lines, but Dusty nudged him in the ribs. ‘No luck deterring your admirer, I see.’

  He followed Dusty’s gaze to where Kayleigh was waving coyly at him. ‘Christ knows why. I couldn’t make it more obvious I’m not interested.’

  Dusty raised an eyebrow. ‘Then perhaps kissing her face off at the Smugglers Inn Valentine’s party wasn’t such a good idea.’

  Barney flinched. ‘I was drunk.’

  Dusty grinned. ‘Ah, the folly of many a downfallen man.’

  Barney’s laughter was cut short by an irate Jonathan. ‘No more chatting, people!’ He stamped his foot. ‘Act Two, Scene Two.’

  Amongst the frantic flicking through of scripts, everyone checked to see if they were needed.

  Dusty pulled a face. ‘Oh, joy. It’s my scene with Daniel the irritating spaniel.’ She stood up, flattened down the front of her shiny blue dress and joined Daniel on stage, who was already curled up in a sleeping position, ready to start.

  ‘It’s good to know some of my cast are professional.’ Jonathan shot Nate a disappointed glare.

  Nate looked affronted. ‘What did I do?’

  ‘It’s what you didn’t do, Mr Jones.’ Jonathan wagged a finger. ‘Rehearsals cannot progress when actors fail to learn their lines.’

  ‘I bloody have learnt them,’ Nate mumbled. ‘So friggin’ unfair.’

  ‘Teamwork, people. We don’t want anyone letting the side down.’ Jonathan looked around the hall, his ruddy complexion reminding Barney of a constipated patient he’d once treated.

  Barney’s idea of teamwork clearly differed from the director’s. Not that he wanted to swap places with Jonathan – he was a follower not a leader. But still, he wasn’t sure that crushing a person’s confidence demonstrated appropriate people-management skills. ‘Ignore him, he’s an asshole,’ he assured Nate, speaking low enough that Jonathan wouldn’t hear. He wasn’t about to put himself in the firing line.

  As the actors prepared for the scene, Tony strolled over. ‘Thanks for your help last night, Nate. I’m sorry it was a late one, but I’ve had word from the crew, and they’ve rejoined the race.’

  ‘Not that they deserve it.’ Nate’s eyes followed Lauren as she returned to her seat. ‘People just don’t respect the sea. And then they expect us to rescue them.’

  ‘To be fair, they couldn’t have predicted an engine failure.’

  Nate ran his hand through his hair. ‘They should’ve be
en better prepared before they set off.’

  On stage, Jonathan pointed to where he wanted Dusty to lie. She looked quite disgruntled as she lowered herself to the grubby floor, avoiding discarded bits of chewing gum and splinters of wood.

  Barney felt for her; Dusty wasn’t dressed for rolling around the floor. He turned to Nate. ‘Are you talking about last night’s shout?’

  Tony nodded. ‘A yacht got into trouble taking part in a round-the-world race.’

  Barney was full of admiration for the RNLI. Nate would often get called out, usually in the middle of the night, returning with bizarre rescue stories … unless they were too traumatic to talk about, and then he would shut himself in his room. Barney could empathise with this better than most. He’d been the same during his days as a junior doctor. ‘Was anyone hurt?’

  Nate dragged his eyes away from Lauren. ‘No casualties. Just a busted engine.’

  Their attention was diverted to the stage, where things were getting somewhat testy.

  Daniel had run towards Dusty and dropped to his knees. He was now clasping hold of her legs, preventing her from getting up. ‘“And run through fire I will for thy sweet sake!”’

  Dusty slapped Daniel’s hand, trying to make him let go. ‘“I thought you lord of more true gentleness.”’ There was an audible ripping sound. ‘You’re tearing my dress!’

  Daniel fell backwards. ‘And you’re ruining the scene!’

  Jonathan ran on stage. ‘People, please!’ He placed his arm around Daniel’s shoulder, but Daniel wasn’t appeased.

  ‘I can’t work like this! He doesn’t know his lines,’ Daniel said, pointing at Nate, ‘and he’s a freak!’ He jabbed a finger in Dusty’s direction.

  Dusty flipped him the bird. ‘She, you ignorant bastard!’

  Barney was just deliberating whether Dusty needed an ally in her corner, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find Kayleigh pouting at him like a Kardashian posing for a selfie. ‘I need to take your photo, lover boy.’ She hooked her finger into his T-shirt and led him over to the camera set-up. ‘Time to get cosy.’