by Katie Ginger
‘So the man who hasn’t had a date in like, fifteen years, suddenly does and you didn’t think I’d care?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ he said snapped and Lottie became still. ‘Even now when you’re just at home you don’t want me interfering and getting under your feet. I can’t remember the last time I set foot in your house.’
Lottie turned away. Sid took a deep breath in.
‘Listen, Lottie, I—’
‘Just forget about it, Sid. I’ll figure this out on my own as you’re not willing to really listen.’
He leaned forwards and turned to her. ‘I am listening, Lottie, you just don’t like my opinion of your new boyfriend.’
Lottie stood up. ‘I don’t know how you, of all people, Sid, can be so unsupportive.’ She marched off leaving him alone on the bench, and there he stayed silently watching the sun set wondering what the hell had just happened.
Chapter 17
A couple of nights later, Lottie hurried to the theatre for a meeting of the Greenley Players. She was running late, having forgotten to swap her camera bag for the one with all the theatre stuff in it and had to run back to the office to fetch it.
She wasn’t really sure what to expect from tonight’s meeting. It wasn’t a rehearsal because, according to Gregory, you did a read-through first. But he’d rung Lottie and suggested that while everyone learnt their lines they have a sort of acting lesson together to practise ‘the craft’. Lottie agreed but wasn’t sure that if she told the rest of them they’d turn up so lied and said it was a rehearsal. After the argument with Sid she’d really not been in the mood to come but these meetings were starting to cheer her up.
The players were all waiting outside for her when she arrived, enjoying some evening sunshine. ‘Sorry I’m late,’ she said and opened up to let them in. The thought of performing in front of actual people had caused a few more to drop out but Lottie didn’t mind. More and more people were showing an interest all the time. It was a hot evening and Lottie hoped it would still be like this when they performed in just a month.
As Lottie walked down towards the stage Sarah caught up with her. ‘Are you ready for the committee meeting tomorrow night?’
‘I think so.’ She was going to tell them about Jeremy’s offer and wasn’t sure they’d agree it was a good idea – after all, Sid hadn’t. The thought of him made her wince. Work had been horrible for the last two days as they’d barely spoken.
‘Do you need me to do anything for it?’
‘No, but thanks.’ Sarah nodded and sat down. ‘Right, everyone,’ Lottie said to the assembled group. ‘I’ve agreed to Gregory leading this meeting because he’s going to take you through some acting lessons. Gregory, if you want to just get on with it, I don’t mind.’
‘Right you are, dear. Are you okay? You look a bit tired.’
He had such a kind and caring face, she wanted to tell him about her argument with Sid but knew she couldn’t. Not yet. Maybe once she knew him better. ‘I’m okay,’ she replied and he headed to the stage with a grin.
‘Okay, then,’ Gregory said, clapping his hands together. ‘I wanted us all to meet this evening to go through some acting exercises. I don’t remember the old group ever doing this and I think it’ll really help. We all need to learn and improve our craft and performing Much Ado will help a lot, but it’s important we shed a lot of our inhibitions before then.’ He shook out his arms and legs as he spoke. ‘I remember some exercises from my days training at RADA so I’ll be leading this evening.’
Mrs Andrews scoffed but Gregory ignored her. ‘Let’s begin by all of us coming up onto the stage and finding some space to work.’
They did as they were told and nervously shuffled up then stood there staring at each other bemused and terrified.
‘I think we should begin by going through the simple exercises I’ve showed you before,’ said Gregory. ‘Let’s start by pretending to be a young sapling growing into a tree.’
From the front row Lottie and Conner watched on. They were supposed to be talking about staging and directing but Lottie couldn’t drag her eyes away. The players looked ridiculous and clearly felt it too.
‘That’s lovely, Lee. Great work. Well done, Sarah, very floaty.’ Gregory wandered around the stage in between the players watching them and making comments. ‘Mrs Andrews, you’re a bit stiff – can you sway a little more, perhaps? Loosen up those hips?’
Mrs Andrews muttered something under her breath which might have been a swear word, Lottie wasn’t a hundred per cent sure. Seeing nervous eyes glance at her, Lottie said, ‘Well done, everyone. You’re looking great from down here.’
A few moments later after they’d been a piece of rubbish being blown about in the wind and a tiger kept in a zoo, Gregory said, ‘Time, everyone. Now, I’d love for us to start working on our imaginations. Let’s begin with some mime.’
Oh no, thought Lottie and suddenly wished Sid was there. He would have found this brilliantly funny, but he was out with Selena again and they weren’t really talking anyway.
‘Now,’ said Gregory. ‘I’m going to call out some things and each time I do you have to act it out.’
‘Excuse me, Lottie,’ said Mrs Andrews. ‘Why does Gregory get to tell us all what to do? I thought we were a group? A team? Shouldn’t we be deciding together?’
‘I understand what you’re saying, Mrs Andrews,’ said Lottie. The woman only ever wanted to be a team when she was in charge of it. ‘And we’ll decide most things as a group but Gregory has some great expertise and I’m sure this will help in getting ready for the production. If you have any ideas you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them and perhaps we can do those next time?’
Mrs Andrews tossed her bleached hair over her shoulder. ‘Well, not at the moment, but I’m sure I shall.’
‘Thought not,’ Lottie whispered to herself as Gregory carried on.
‘So, first off, digging the garden.’ The players dutifully began digging and throwing imaginary dirt over their shoulders. Lee was quite good and stopped to pick out a few weeds while Mrs Andrews appeared completely nonplussed but then, she had people to do that sort of thing.
‘Receiving bad news,’ said Gregory and Lottie had to bite her tongue at the completely over the top panto reactions. Cecil’s hands flew to his face as if his nose was about to drop off, and Mrs Andrews actually laid a hand on her forehead like she was getting a fit of the vapours in some bad Fifties movie.
‘You’re an angry goat,’ said Gregory and everyone paused. Was Gregory actually speaking to Mrs Andrews? He looked around at the confused faces staring back at him. ‘Come on, everyone, this is all about inhabiting character and not being embarrassed. Embarrassment will always hold you back.’
No one moved and Lottie was just about to step in when Lee chuckled and knelt onto all fours, snarling and headbutting the leg of the person next to him. Sarah laughed but not everyone joined in and after a few minutes Gregory called time.
Lottie was having a lot of fun and, surprisingly, the players were too. Gregory was very encouraging and she thought he’d missed his vocation as a teacher. The players were beginning to look a little tired and Lottie said, ‘Why don’t you all take a break for a few minutes, guys.’
‘Good idea,’ said Gregory. ‘We’re onto vocal exercises next.’
After the break Gregory said, ‘The first thing I want us all to do is to put our hands on our ribs and take a slow breath in through the nose, then blow it out through our mouths making a loud huffing noise. Like this.’ He made a long sniffing sound then exhaled saying, ‘Herrrrrrrrrr.’
Lottie’s laugh nearly got the better of her and she quickly grabbed a tissue and pretended to blow her nose.
‘Why are we doing this exactly?’ asked Mrs Andrews. ‘I can breathe perfectly well already.’
Cecil leaned over to Sarah and whispered, ‘She’s had so much surgery on that nose I’m surprised it still works.’ And Sarah stifled a laugh by chewing her lip.
Lottie rolled her eyes and turned to speak to Conner. ‘Have you got any ideas about staging? Where you want people to stand and that sort of thing?’
Conner looked up from under his long fringe which now had bleached white ends and Lottie had to resist the urge to watch his lip ring wiggle as he talked. ‘I was thinking we should keep it quite free actually — let them stand where they want and move about naturally. I don’t want to give them too much to remember for their first time.’
Lottie nodded. ‘Sounds sensible.’
‘And I thought we should just have one or two props that show the audience where the setting is, rather than try anything big. People will be sitting all around the bandstand so we don’t want to block anyone’s view.’
‘Great.’ Conner was pretty switched on. ‘It sounds like you’ve got it all under control.’
The sound of the players saying ‘Yah-yah-yah-yah,’ over and over again came into her ears.
‘Lovely,’ said Gregory, clapping his hands. ‘Now, oo-oo-oo-oo.’
‘They sound like monkeys,’ whispered Conner.
Lottie giggled. ‘I’m sure it’ll come in handy on opening night. Or if we do a weird interpretation of apes.’
‘Planet of the Apes meets Shakespeare?’ Conner smiled. Gosh, he was young. Lottie remembered being at university, which made her think of the picture of her and Elsie at her graduation sitting on the dresser at home. Lottie’s heart gave a little twinge but deep down she knew Elsie would be proud, and that was reassuring. Her mind went back to Sid who had always, always been there and she realised she wanted him there now, on this journey with her. But he was with Selena tonight. For some reason the thought of him with a girlfriend made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Lottie tried to re-focus her mind. ‘What sort of props did you need?’
‘I don’t know yet. I’m still reading it and trying to decide. Is it okay if I email you later?’
‘Yeah, that’s fine. It’s not interfering with your uni work, is it? If it is, we can get someone else to do it.’
Conner’s eyes met hers in concern. ‘I can do it, it’s fine. I have enough free time.’
Lottie thought it an odd response. ‘I’d have thought you’d be out with your mates?’ Although Lottie’s time at university had been spent in the library, she assumed everyone else was out drinking.
‘No. I don’t go out much.’
‘Now everyone,’ interrupted Gregory, just as Lottie was about to probe further. He walked to the side of the stage and picked up a football. ‘We’ll take another break in a minute, but before we do I’d like you all to get into a circle. We’re going to explore some of the emotions in Much Ado—’
‘With a football?’ asked Lee.
‘Yes. We’re going to throw it to each other and when you catch it you have to say an emotion. So think about Much Ado About Nothing and what you’ve read so far. What emotions have you identified? It can be from any of the characters, not just yours. Ready? Go!’
Gregory threw the ball to Cecil who screeched as it came towards him, missed the catch, and ran to get it before it rolled off the stage. By the time he got back to his place in the circle he was red and out of breath but managed to shout, ‘Love’ before throwing the ball to Lee.
Lottie had to give Gregory credit. Though some of the things were a bit silly he was doing a fabulous job. He was right that they needed to lose their embarrassment if they were going to act properly and the football game was great for getting them to think about the play. Sarah shouted, ‘Jealousy,’ and Lottie looked up.
Something niggled at the back of her mind but Lottie couldn’t figure out what. ‘Well done, everyone,’ she said. ‘This is such a great idea, Gregory.’
Her phone beeped with a message and a smile spread across her face as she saw it was from Sid. She hoped it was an apology for his behaviour before but it wasn’t. It was a peace offering, though.
How’s the meeting going?
She texted back: Fine. They’re playing with a football and shouting emotions at each other.
Sounds weird. Have fun.
It was like there was her old life with Sid and a new life with the theatre and Jeremy. Her nan wanted her to move on but Lottie didn’t like the way her old life seemed to be drifting further and further away. She always wanted Sid by her side but so far she didn’t know how that could happen. Picking up her phone she tried to think of something funny to say but nothing came to mind. She put it back in her pocket to text him later.
When it beeped again, Lottie was elated to see it was from Jeremy asking her how things were going. She responded straight away and before she knew it rehearsal time was over and they’d been chatting nonstop. Slumping in disappointment that he hadn’t asked for a second date Lottie conceded she hadn’t had the courage either. As she said goodnight to everyone she took out her phone and wished Jeremy goodnight too. When he signed off with a kiss, Lottie couldn’t stop smiling.
It wasn’t until later she realised she hadn’t texted Sid back but by then it was too late.
Chapter 18
In the living room, hunched on the sofa, Lottie eyed the large glass of wine she had poured herself and took a sip. Savouring the cold fruity liquid, she let her eyes drift back down to her book and tried to concentrate. Her feet ached from a day at the local library where a wasp infestation had taken over the reference section and she’d had to go up and down a ladder trying to get a shot of some of the pesky little things emerging from the nest.
Lottie wiggled her cramping toes. At least it was a Friday night and she could have a lie-in tomorrow. Her eyes drifted to her mobile phone on the seat next to her. The council had approved Jeremy’s donation to the theatre and Lottie had offered to tell him the good news but she also wanted, more than anything, to see him again. The trouble was, every time she considered calling him, her nerve failed. She told herself to stop being a great big wimp, took a big gulp of wine for courage and dialled.
‘Hello?’ came Jeremy’s sexy voice.
Lottie launched off the sofa to standing, her grip tightening on the phone. ‘Hi, Jeremy, it’s umm, it’s Lottie. I was, err, I just wanted to let you know that the committee approved your donation to the theatre.’
She could hear the smile in his voice. ‘Really? That’s fantastic. I can organise the work straight away if they’d like?’
‘And umm …’ Her brain ran in circles shouting at itself. ‘I was wondering if you fancied going out for a drink sometime. Or not. If you’re too busy, that’s fine, I totally understand—’
There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. ‘You’re lucky, I’m on my way down to Greenley as we speak. In fact, I’m probably only an hour away.’ He hesitated and Lottie wondered what he was going to say. ‘If I’m honest, I’ve been on tenterhooks wondering what the committee said so I left early and was planning on calling you later to find out, but this way, we can celebrate together, if you’re free tonight?’
Lottie gave a heavy sigh of relief and did a little dance around the living room. ‘That would be great.’
‘Okay, I’ll meet you at about eight-thirty at the wine bar on the seafront.’
‘See you then.’
‘Lottie?’ He paused. ‘I’m really glad you called. See you later.’
Lottie flopped back down on the sofa, grinning, and exhilarated, the tiredness washed from her body. It was time to get ready for another date. Not having run anywhere since the school cross-country, Lottie raced upstairs, arriving in her bedroom hot and out of breath.
In front of her wardrobe, she gazed at the mass of clothes falling from every shelf, slung over every rail and piled on the floor. A box of shoes sat in the corner with unworn high heels and much used comfy flats precariously balanced on top.
‘Right,’ she said to herself, putting her hands on her hips. ‘Operation Sexy has begun.’
As if in some kind of Eighties movie montage, Lottie quickly went through her wardrobe and found a
pair of black skinny jeans she’d never worn and a dark blue top with a sequin covered collar. The soft short sleeves of the top would hide the worst of her arms and the length skimmed her tummy – the bit she hated most. She decided on a pair of plain navy ballet pumps to keep it casual, not wanting to look like she’d tried too hard. Plus her feet still hurt and she wasn’t that great in high heels. She looked a bit like a baby giraffe learning to walk.
Next was a hot shower and hair and make-up. Having spent time on her appearance, the Lottie that emerged from the bathroom in no way resembled the one that went in. She’d tried the lotions and potions left to gather dust for so long, and the weird hairdryer attachment she’d never used before. Her hair curled delicately and she let it hang loosely around her shoulders rather than tying it up in a boring ponytail as she always did.
Checking the clock on her bedside table she saw she had thirty minutes left. The walk into town would take about ten so she had just enough time to sort out some decent make-up. An internet tutorial taught her how to apply eyeliner without it going all wobbly and the result was a subtle, defined look. A quick swipe of mascara and her usual lip balm and, for once, Lottie felt sexy.
Locking the door behind her, she began to walk to the seafront. As the wine bar came into view, Lottie spotted Jeremy sitting outside in his suit. He’d removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves to reveal his arms. Jeremy stood up to greet her and she noticed the guys a couple of tables away watching her approach.
‘Hi.’ He reached an arm around her waist and guided her to the table, placing a kiss on her cheek. ‘You look incredible.’
‘Hi,’ Lottie replied, disappointed her voice sounded the same. She’d hoped it would exude confidence and sexiness.
‘What can I get you?’
‘I’ll have a white wine, please.’
Jeremy disappeared into the bar but glanced behind him before he entered. Was that a good sign? Lottie sat fumbling with her bag as the same guys looked over again. Did she look like a teenager who’d been playing with make-up? She nervously stroked her hair wishing she’d stuck to something more normal.