The Tube pulled into the station. More commuters piled on; a smart-suited shiny-shoed man with a briefcase sat down with a thump next to her. Maybe Jenna would buy a copy of House & Home on her way home; it could be her bedtime reading, imagining what the cottage could become. The builders had already been booked, her dad had been quite happy with the father and son team he’d spoken to when they’d been in Cornwall, but there was no harm in Jenna coming up with some ideas. After all, once the place was done up she hoped she’d at least be able to spend a bit of time down there, perhaps with someone special. A blue-eyed, tanned and toned actor like Harry would do rather nicely.
~
Jenna got off the Tube and emerged from the Underground into dusk. She wrapped her chunky knit cardigan tighter and set off down the road. Her phone beeped. Two missed calls, all while she’d been on the Underground and from her agent too. She listened to her voicemail.
‘Jenna, call me back as soon as you can. Thanks, hun.’
Jenna quickened her pace. It was late and she’d be lucky if she made it home before it got dark. She’d had an insanely long day, and the last thing she wanted to think about was more work. Part of her was too nervous to phone Beth back in case she had a last minute job lined up for tomorrow. She shouldn’t have that attitude, she knew, but she was dog-tired and the thought of another early start and a long day of shooting made her feel even too tired to tackle the ten-minute walk home.
At a crossing she phoned her agent back.
‘Jenna, hun. Sorry to phone you late, I know you’ve been working all day. I hear it went well, they were super impressed with you.’
The lights changed to green and Jenna started across the road. ‘Yeah, it was good, totally shattered now though. Although there are worse ways to spend a day than getting chased by a fit bloke for hours on end.’
‘I bet.’ Beth laughed, a throaty chuckle that always made Jenna smile. ‘Well, the reason I’m phoning out of hours is I’ve just heard back about the casting for the period feature film you went to.’
‘The Affair?’
‘That’s the one and they want you.’
‘Oh my God, Beth, that’s amazing. When’s the call-back?’
‘There isn’t one. They loved you, said you’ve got exactly the look they want. The job’s yours. A part like this is incredible, you never know what it might lead to. So, what do you think?’
‘It sounds too good to be true – what’s the catch?’
‘There’s no catch – honest! It’s an eight-week shoot and I need you to let me know ASAP. The only issue I can foresee is that it’s not in London. You’ll have to relocate for two months; it might not be something you’d want to do.’
‘Relocate where?’
‘Cornwall.’
Chapter Four
Jenna’s heart was racing by the time she reached her apartment building. Instead of going into her flat she made her way to the underground car park, got into her car and joined the tail-end of rush hour traffic heading out of London. The moment Beth had said the location was Cornwall, an idea began to formulate. She could have just gone into her flat and phoned her parents, but she was too excited. She needed to see them in person in case they needed persuading that her idea would work. If her mum would agree to it, more like. Her dad was pretty laid back about things, but her mum, an eternal worrier, would find reasons to say no to Jenna’s idea. She was already thinking about the cottage as a headache rather than an opportunity; the last thing Jenna wanted to do was make her stress about it even more.
She pulled into her parents’ road and slowed down. It was half eight and not quite dark yet. How amazing would it be if Jenna got to spend the whole summer in Cornwall, by the sea, a world away from the choked-up streets of suburban London. Both work and her summer sorted. The combination could not be any better. If this worked out... The bubbling in the pit of her stomach was something she’d felt countless times before at auditions or call-backs for roles she really wanted. She was so disappointed when she didn’t get chosen. She knew she had to contain her excitement, and that her parents might not agree to her idea.
She backed into the drive behind her parents’ car and got out. The lamp in the living room was on, the TV flashing, but she couldn’t see her parents. She rang the doorbell. Her palms felt sweaty, a completely irrational reaction. All she was going to do was ask her parents a simple question.
Her mum opened the door. ‘Hiya, love. This is unexpected. Everything okay?’
‘Sorry, yes, I was on my way home but my agent phoned and she kinda got me thinking... I thought I’d come and ask you something.’
‘Okay,’ Kath said slowly. ‘Come on in. It’s just lovely to see you.’
The sound of the TV filtered into the hallway as Jenna followed her mum through to the kitchen. Her dad was sitting at the kitchen table tucking into a half-eaten plate of spaghetti bolognese.
‘Hello. Well this is a nice surprise. Didn’t expect to see you.’ He shovelled a forkful of pasta into his mouth.
‘Have you eaten?’ Not waiting for a reply, Kath grabbed a plate from the cupboard.
‘I did, at lunchtime.’
Kath dolloped a large spoonful of pasta on to the plate, topped it with meat sauce
