‘I’m even more sure that we’re going to make a fine team.’
Jodi soon learned that Noelle was as sharp as a razor when it came to deals, but that her biggest asset was her unwavering sense of calm. Over the many years they’d been working together, she’d never lost her temper or let Jodi down.
But while Jodi’s life had shot off at a pace she hadn’t known existed after that first meeting with Noelle, the same couldn’t have been said for Mac.
Part of Into the Sunset was to be shot in a seaside town called Cap Ferrat in France. Reggie decided they would go there first, spend four weeks on location, and return to London for the remainder. Mac had applied for a job as a runner but was passed over.
‘Hey, it’s no biggie,’ he said, to a crestfallen Jodi. ‘You go and become a star. I’ll wait for you here.’
As he looked into her eyes she saw all the love she’d yearned for.
‘I’ll be here if you still want me,’ he said gently. ‘But I’ll understand if I’m not enough.’
‘Oh, Mac, you’re more than enough,’ she said, choked with emotion. ‘You’re all I’ve ever wanted and needed.’
‘Ditto,’ he said, as he stroked her face. ‘We’re meant to be together, Jodi. It’ll always be you and me against the world.’
‘Always.’ She sighed happily as she sank against his chest.
Their time apart was bittersweet. Jodi was growing more as an actress with each passing day, but she missed Mac so much that at times it physically hurt. ‘When they say love hurts, I never understood that until now,’ she crooned down the phone to him one evening. ‘I thought it was more to do with people like Ma whacking me for annoying her!’
‘Christ, Jodi!’ Mac laughed. ‘You really were dragged up!’
‘Don’t you know it. But that’s all in the past now.’
‘It’s you and me against the world now, Jodi,’ he repeated.
‘Just you and me, Mac.’
She’d been happy in the shabby apartment they’d first called home. So when she returned and joined Mac in their new plush pad, she was worried. ‘Mac, the bills for this place are staggering. I don’t know how much money you’ve inherited but even the proceeds of Buckingham Palace couldn’t sustain the place indefinitely.’
‘It’s cool, honey,’ Mac said. ‘I’ll ask you for a dig-out if I need it. You just worry about your own shit and leave the apartment to me. It’ll all work out evenly in the end. We make a great team. It’ll be you and me all the way, baby!’
‘But why don’t we move to a less expensive place? At least until I finish this movie,’ she suggested. ‘I’ve a few more months of filming here and then I’ll know where I stand.’
‘It’s cool, baby.’ Mac fobbed her off.
Mac still went out at least four nights a week. If there wasn’t a party it was to a club or a bar but that was the norm in London. Especially in the film business. Any time Jodi had the energy she went with him. Although she’d no interest in getting wasted, she loved the glam, carefree atmosphere.
Now, as she stood in the Ladies, dressed as Dorothy, her resolve was weakening. Mac could still reduce her to a quivering mess.
‘I love you to the moon and back, my Mac,’ she whispered, and sobbed into a wad of tissues.
‘Jodi?’ Darius’s voice pierced the bubble of sorrow that had engulfed her.
‘I’m in here.’ She unlocked the door and fell into his arms.
‘Get yourself together and we’re out of here. That idiot always has the same effect on you,’ Darius soothed. ‘I’ll find Saul and you go out the back to the driver. Let’s go home.’
‘The first cut is the deepest,’ Jodi said, smiling through her tears.
Darius blew her a kiss. ‘See you in five.’
‘Why do I still love him, Darius?’
‘I can’t answer that for you, darling, but I can try to help your heart to heal.’
‘Thank you for not judging me.’
‘You do the same for me, darling girl. We’ve got each other’s backs. That’s the way it is,’ he said, matter-of-factly.
Saul was clearly loving every second of the party. ‘Dad, we’re getting animal balloons! Magic Marvin can make anything you want! I got a sword and the guys are all having a fight with me!’
‘It looks like a brilliant war,’ Darius said, crouching down and holding his arms out. Saul jumped on to him, nearly knocking him flat.
‘Wow! You’re getting too big and strong to jump on your poor old dad!’ Darius hugged him, then whispered in his ear, ‘Mummy has a bad tummy ache and she needs to go home now.’
‘Can I stay? I could get a taxi home later on.’
Darius roared laughing. ‘I expected you to say something like that to me when you’re a teenager, not at four!’
‘But I’d be fine! Uncle Garrison will call me a cab.’
‘I’m sure he would, but I need you to come home and see me,’ Darius said, sticking out his bottom lip.
‘Okay then.’ Saul sighed. ‘Let me say goodbye to the guys.’ He wriggled free of his dad. Darius watched him high-five the other children and heard him promise to catch up next time he was in town. It was so cute, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Jodi was already in the car by the time they emerged.
‘Poor Mum, is your tummy really icky?’ Saul asked, as he climbed into the back seat.
Glancing at Darius, she nodded. ‘Sorry, pet, but I really need to go home. Did I ruin the fun?’
‘I would’ve come home later in a cab but Dad said I’m a bit young for that.’
The moment they got home Darius shot into the bathroom. ‘You go and have a bath. I’ve put in your favourite Jo Malone bubbles. Saul and I are going to have some boys’ time together,’ he told Jodi, when he came out.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘You’re the dearest human being I’ve ever known.’
‘I do my best,’ he said, flicking his hair dramatically. ‘I can’t help being fabulous, can I, Saul?’
Saul giggled and hurled himself at his father. As they wrestled and growled, Jodi slipped away. The citrus-smelling steam and the bubbles lapped around her tense body, making her sigh from the depths of her soul. She closed her eyes and berated herself for allowing Mac to make her cry again. Years had passed and so much had happened since they had parted. She was so successful, but Mac was her Achilles heel.
Darius knocked gently on the door, then let himself in. ‘You okay?’ he asked, as he perched on the side of the tub.
‘Yup. Just feeling a little silly,’ she said. ‘Saul didn’t realise I was upset, did he?’
‘He’s fine.’
‘Good.’
‘Jodi,’ Darius began, ‘you need to put this situation to bed once and for all. It’s been too long. We all have skeletons but Mac can’t be allowed to control you like this. You’ve got to stop him.’
She sighed. ‘The time has come.’
‘I’ll be here.’
She smiled sadly and reached for his hand.
‘Besides, it probably won’t be as bad as you think. Let the story run, the press can go to town on it, and then it’ll be over. We’re strong, you and I. We’ll cope,’ he promised. ‘Enjoy your bath and I’m going to call our agents and get a meeting set up. It’s the end of the line for Mac blackmailing you.’
‘Okay.’ Jodi waited until he had gone before she allowed herself to cry once more. She knew Darius would do everything in his power to get her through the controversy when Mac spilled the beans, but she wondered if coming clean would ever ease her pain. How harshly would her fans and, more importantly, Bakers Valley judge her? When they knew her secret, how would they think of her?
Chapter 23
Francine gave up after the fourth phone call. No one would have Cameron at their house or send their child to hers.
‘Paul would have loved to go and play but we’re off to the dentist today,’ his mother had said. ‘You know how it is during school holidays – thes
e jobs need to be done.’
‘We already have plans, Francine, sorry. Thanks for the call,’ Jordan’s mum said curtly.
‘My sister is arriving with her new baby and I’d prefer to keep the house quiet,’ said another.
‘Well, let me have your Liam here and you can have some quality time with your sister,’ Francine offered.
‘Liam needs to bond with his little cousin.’
Cara, Craig and Conor were all occupied with friends and Cameron would have to join in with them, Francine decided.
Arguments erupted all day.
‘Mum!’ Cara yelled. ‘Tell Cameron to get out of my room. We’re trying to do nail art and he’s jumping on my bed.’
‘Come down to me, Cameron, and we’ll read a story,’ Francine said.
‘No!’ Cameron growled. ‘I’m playing with Conor.’
‘Muuuum!’ Conor called. ‘He just trashed the Lego fort we’ve spent hours building.’
‘All right, all right, I’m coming,’ Francine said, through gritted teeth. ‘Cameron, why don’t we go into the garden and do some watering? You can do the hose and I’ll pull weeds. That’d be fun.’
‘I don’t want to play with you. Leave me alone.’ He burst into Cara’s room again.
‘Muuum, get him out of here, will you?’
‘Ah, girls, won’t you allow him join in for a few minutes? If he promises to sit quietly?’ Francine begged.
‘Mum, he kicked Jackie in the head earlier. We’re trying to do beauticians here. Being beaten up doesn’t go with whale music.’
‘Okay,’ Francine said. ‘We’ll do something fun together, darling.’ She reached over and scooped Cameron into her arms.
‘’Snot fair,’ he said sulkily, as she carried him down the stairs. ‘Nobody wants me.’
‘Oh, they do. What about me? I’ve nobody to play with. Won’t you keep me company?’
‘Can we play PlayStation?’ he asked hopefully.
‘Okay. But only for half an hour – deal?’
‘Deal. We’ll play Grand Prix Drivers! It’s my favourite.’ He looked so delighted that Francine sighed with relief.
The game was beyond her. She marvelled at how swift he was with the controls and how precise he was at negotiating the car into the sharp bends. ‘You’re so good at this, Cameron,’ Francine said. ‘I keep crashing and you’re miles away shooting off like a bullet!’
‘I’m the fastest!’ He giggled.
She groaned in frustration as she ended up mashed into yet another barrier. ‘I might just watch you, if that’s all right?’
‘’Kay, Mummy,’ he said, hitting the restart button. ‘I’ll click it on to single player and you’ll see how fast I can take the track.’
‘Good plan.’
Francine found his accuracy mind-blowing. Yet again she found herself questioning the idea that he had attention deficit disorder. She hadn’t a thing wrong with her, yet she couldn’t even master driving in a straight line. Cameron was four and he was negotiating the twisting and turning track like a pro.
Once the agreed half-hour was up, the trouble started again.
‘You promised it would be half an hour and that’d be it,’ she warned. ‘It’s already forty minutes. As soon as you finish this lap of the track you have to turn it off.’
‘No! I’m only getting good now.’
‘Cameron!’
He ignored her.
‘Cameron, I’m going to get cross,’ she said, to deaf ears. ‘I’m going to switch it off now.’ She stood up to unplug the television.
‘Don’t! I need to finish the round and save my times,’ he begged.
Francine didn’t want to be cruel and erase his great work, but at the same time she knew he needed to do as he was told. ‘Right. I’m standing here until you finish that round. Then it’s going off.’
As he hit the finish line and the cheering on the television erupted, she warned him she was turning it off.
‘You’re such a meanie,’ he shouted, throwing the control pad at her. It hit her leg, and Francine felt anger rising. Stay calm, she reminded herself. He’s only small. He can’t help it. You’re the adult.
‘I’m going into the kitchen to make pizza for everyone. You come and help me set the table, please,’ she instructed.
He accompanied her to the kitchen, but instead of doing anything constructive, he lay on his back and gave out. ‘I hate it here. I’m bored. I don’t want pizza. I want to go to the swimming pool. I want to go to the play centre. I want to have an ice-cream. I want crisps …’
‘Cameron, please!’ she said, in exasperation. ‘Give it a rest for a few minutes, will you? The others will be down for dinner and you can join in with that. Then we’ll go upstairs and you can have a nice deep bath and play with the water toys, okay?’
The arrival of the others seemed to quell Cameron’s temper. Food and a drink meant he was much calmer by the time the other children’s friends had been collected.
‘Let’s go up and you can have that bath,’ Francine coaxed him. ‘I need to put the laundry away so I can keep an eye on you. I’ll give you all the pirates and the ship and you can have a nice long bath,’ she promised.
By the time she’d finished doing her bits and pieces the bath water was only barely tepid and Cameron was looking cold. ‘Right, lovie, out you hop,’ she said. ‘Come here and I’ll wrap you in a big fluffy towel.’
‘Leave me alone!’ he screamed, trying to bite her.
‘You’re freezing,’ she said, as she struggled to lift his flailing body out of the tub.
‘I’m fine!’ he said, kicking wildly. ‘Leave me alone, bad Mummy!’ As he charged off, naked and wet, to his room, Francine plonked herself heavily on the lid of the toilet. She felt as if she’d been beaten up.
By the time Carl arrived home, calm had been restored. Cameron was in his pyjamas with a Puffa coat, hat and scarf on, ready to run into the back garden with his father.
‘It’s dark and cold so we’ll only do a few quick minutes, okay?’ Carl warned.
Francine was standing in the kitchen, cradling a mug of tea, when Cara tiptoed in to sit at the table. ‘They make so much noise we’re going to end up in trouble with the neighbours,’ Cara said grumpily.
‘I don’t think they’re doing any harm,’ Francine said.
‘What is it with boys and football?’
‘I don’t know, honey, but they seem to love it. I suppose they don’t know why you sit and paint tiny flowers on your nails,’ she said.
‘Sometimes I wish I had a sister,’ Cara mused.
‘Well, you’re my special princess and I love you,’ Francine said, and went over to hug her. ‘I think our family is quite complete.’
‘If you’d had another baby we could’ve ended up with a second Cameron. That would have been a total disaster,’ Cara said.
‘Cara! That’s not very nice,’ Francine scolded.
‘Seriously, Mum, he’s a demon.’
Just then Francine realised how difficult it must be for her older children when Cameron behaved badly. ‘He’s okay some of the time, isn’t he?’
‘If you say so.’ Cara was thumbing through a comic.
‘You do love him, don’t you? He’s your little brother after all. He’s really cute at times.’
‘If you say so,’ Cara repeated, not looking up.
‘Cara, help me out here. You know we’re having problems with him and he’s going to this lady,’ Francine said, putting her arm around her daughter’s shoulders.
‘Yes,’ Cara said. ‘But you’ve told us not to discuss it and that it’s not a big deal.’
‘I know, and it’s not a big deal …’
‘So why are you looking like it’s terrible?’ Cara was puzzled.
‘I’m not. I suppose I just want to make sure you and the other boys are okay with all of this. I know Cameron can be very disruptive.’
‘He’s just annoying. But so are the others. That’s just brothers,
Mum,’ Cara said. ‘As I said, at times I wish I had a sister, but knowing my luck she’d steal my stuff and annoy my friends and be totally embarrassing.’
Francine smiled. Cara was such an easy-going girl. At least one of her children was stable.
Francine and Carl had watched a movie, which they’d enjoyed, but now it was late.
‘Are you coming to bed?’ Carl asked yawning.
‘I need to sit for a few minutes longer,’ she answered listlessly. ‘I’m exhausted but I wouldn’t sleep if I go up now.’
‘Was your day that bad?’ he asked, full of concern.
‘No.’ What was the point in moaning to Carl all the time? He couldn’t change their youngest child. He didn’t own a magic wand. She just needed a bit of time on her own and silence. ‘I’ll be along in a while. I think most of my problem stems from the fact that I’m not at work. I’ve too much energy for my own good!’ she fibbed.
The serenity of the silent house was quite soothing. But the quiet was soon unnerving so Francine padded upstairs to check on the children. Opening Cara’s bedroom door softly, she tiptoed in to kiss her daughter. She was growing up so fast it was scary. The smell of nail polish and the mess of glitter on the carpet made Francine smile. She was nearly a teenager, making strides towards true grown-up behaviour. She was yearning to experiment with makeup and big-girl stuff, yet she still enjoyed making pictures and shaking glitter over them. Her pyjamas were still adorned with Hello Kitty, although they were black now rather than cough medicine pink. Cara had never been any trouble. She was sweet-natured without being a pushover and never lacked friends.
In the next room, Craig was sprawled sideways on his bed wearing pyjama bottoms and a soccer shirt. Popcorn lay on the floor at one side of the bed. Francine picked it up, deciding not to mention it. She’d told them all a million times not to bring food upstairs, but every now and again kids needed to get away with a bent rule.
She kissed his flushed cheek and went into Conor’s room. He’d been messy from the word go. No matter what the lad did, he seemed to make the place untidy. But the most endearing thing about him was that he was so oblivious to it all. Even in his sleep a smile played on his lips. She rescued his pillow from the floor and placed it near his head, straightened his duvet and scooped up some dirty socks.
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