But that was then and this was now. I still had Normandy. Better to play with two decks of cards and keep both possibilities.
‘No, please don’t,’ I begged her. Either way, I’d sort him out. Even if I had to sell the shirt off my back.
‘Of course. Have a great day!’ she said and rang off.
‘Yeah,’ I said to the ether. ‘You have a great day, too.’
*
Later, I swung by the Post Of ice for some crumpets. Stephen Nanfan was there, talking to Alf at the counter.
‘And of course everyone knows Jack’s sweet on Emma.’
I leaned back against the crumpet shelf. Jack… and Emma? There it was, that tiny, minuscule seed of suspicion that had always been there, in the back of my mind, although I had never even wanted to think it, let alone say it. And now I had to hear it from Alf?
I felt left out, if not betrayed. What they did behind closed doors was their affair. But they could at least have been honest about the relationship. The Three’s Company joke had always been just that – a joke. So why were they playing silly buggers? They had both changed drastically in the last couple of months, since Luke had arrived, actually. I guess that my being busy with him had forced Jack and Emma into an intimacy they hadn’t seen coming and bam. It all fitted perfectly – the embarrassed silences, their secret rendezvous in Truro. Now all the invisible pieces had fallen into place.
*
The next day Alice came over for coffee and a catch-up on my work. She was as annoyed as I was that Luke had gone AWOL. It seemed to me lately that men just couldn’t be trusted. Every time I went near one, it was a disaster. Better single, in the end.
‘And not one word about the script?’ Alice asked me when I told her about my worries about Ben and about Luke’s messages (or lack of) over the past months.
‘Not a word about anything. I know he’s busy and frustrated, but Jesus…’
‘Of course, you should sue him if he doesn’t come back by the end of the month,’ Alice suggested.
‘Sue him? Why on earth would I do that?’
‘Because he’s in breach of contract. You have to protect yourself, Nina.’
I lowered my head. ‘I just thought… I wanted to be able to finally trust someone.’
‘Oh, honey, don’t we all? But this is unacceptable, running off from a job – and you – like that without a word except for cursory texts.’
‘Alice, you know what happened. His wife threatened to take his daughter away. He could really lose her. He needs time and space.’ Or so I kept telling myself.
She sighed. ‘We all have problems, Nina. And I sympathise, even if his decision is affecting me as well, long-term. But he has responsibilities he can’t just shake off. Every day that goes by without that script loses us money.’
I knew she was right. She was the money side of everything. But sometimes, I wished she understood that it wasn’t always about the money. What about love, dreams, pride, honour, hope and happiness? Was there really no room left for such things in our modern-day, hectic, vain lives?
But as much as I hated to admit it, Alice was right in a way. Luke had behaved like Phil, leaving me hanging in a hot mess. Granted, Luke had no responsibility towards my children but he did to our project. I didn’t want to rock the boat with demands I wasn’t quite sure I had a right to make. On the sentimental level, at least. But work-wise, Alice was right. I had to protect my family’s future.
‘Especially after he stopped us from making the deal with Ben. We’d practically be in production by now if it wasn’t for Luke.’
I shrugged, unsure of what to say. She did have a point, but this entire showbiz thing was definitely not for me.
‘Nina, face it, he’s gone, and what has he given you in return?’
I was silent. ‘It’s not like the project is dead. He told me to keep writing in his absence.’
Silence.
‘What, you don’t think I can do it?’ I asked.
‘Of course I do. But you’re not Hollywood. We need Luke’s name – and money – to back us up.’
I knew she was right. Three Sunday Times bestsellers did not a scriptwriter make.
‘I’m calling Ben Stein.’
‘What? No.’
‘Why not? He wanted that movie badly. I’m sure he’ll gladly take it off Luke’s hands.’
‘But that’s unethical!’ I cried.
‘Unethical? Honey, you need to wake up and smell the coffee here. Luke is – make no mistake – in breach of contract. If you sue him, not only do you get a settlement, but you could still get a new deal with Ben Stein.’
‘I don’t like it, Alice…’
‘Nonsense. It’s a win-win situation. What’s not to like?’
‘What about the clauses? Wasn’t there something in the contract about delays?’
‘Yes, but not regarding delays this long, Nina. It’s been months now.’
Sue Luke? I could never do that to him. Even if he could afford it and I was in desperate need. My mind simply didn’t work that way.
She huffed. ‘Did he promise you anything?’
‘Like what?’
‘A ring?’
‘A ring? Of course not, we’ve only just met.’
‘Well, then make sure he returns and gives you one. Either that or the contract. You can’t be left empty-handed.’
I groaned. ‘Alice, I can’t think like you. Can we just drop this for now?’
‘For now,’ she conceded. ‘But it will rear its ugly head again before you know it.’
While I was wrapping up my next batch of arancini, all two hundred of them, my mobile phone went. Chloe was at Chanel’s and Ben was with Jack, working on their secret
