‘I thought you weren’t going to tell me what to do,’ I tease, deflecting with humour – oldest trick in the book.
‘As if. And before you do anything else, talk to Nicholas – see how that goes. The guy could be moving heaven and earth to get to Capri. You don’t want to be swooning over Superman, then have Nicholas show up out of the blue.’
‘I wouldn’t cheat, Megs.’
‘I know you wouldn’t.’
Megan promises to hug the kids for me and saysgoodbye. I check the time. I should call Nicholas now, but what does it say that I’m dreading talking to him? Megan’s words run through my brain:maybe this thing with Nicholas has run its course.
I down my untouched espresso, even though it’s now cold, then make the call.
‘Hello,’ Nicholas answers, his indifferent tone stinging a little.
There was a time when the sound of his voice would make everything fall away and my body flood with warmth. After meeting at a bar in London on a rainy Friday afternoon – I was taking a break from scouting locations and he was killing time between a wedding ceremony and the reception – we only had a few days together before I had to fly back to LA. So, this is how I fell in love with him – talking on the phone.
We tried video calls a few times, but the intimacy of having his voice in my ear… that sealed the deal for me. And we talked about everything. Our lives are so different, especially our upbringings, so there was a lot to say.
At first, anyway.
‘Hi,’ I reply – without adding the usualbabe. ‘How’s Iceland?’
‘It’s fine. Only you’re not here,’ he replies.
Is he just saying that?I wonder, the seed of doubt that Megan planted starting to germinate.
‘Same,’ I say.
‘I saw on the news that you’ve escaped the ash cloud.’
‘Barely, but yes. How is it there?’
‘Clear skies. Pity about the giant band of unflyable air between us.’
‘Yeah,’ I reply. ‘What are you up to today?’
‘I’ll probably explore the city a bit.’
‘Nice.’
‘Oh, I meant to say – the bloke who’s with you on Capri – I had no idea this trip was for hiswedding. His brother and sister-in-law are here, and her parents,andher sister… I mean, what a cock-up, eh? Far worse than what’s happened to us.’
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
Nick’swedding? Why the hell didn’t he say anything?
9
NICK
After Delaney leaves, I give myself a good talking to –Get your head out of your arse, James– that sort of thing – then crack open the laptop. It’s been a few months since I’ve readWhere the Road Endsand in the wake of Saira Qureshi’s rejection, I want to come at it with fresh eyes.
It stings to get rejected for something because it’s not commercially viable, but I suppose it would be worse if she thought it was rubbish. And yes, agents do sometimes couch a rejection in lies, but I’ve had enough of those to know the difference.
I skim through the screenplay, pausing at my favourite scenes and reading them properly. Saira called it a ‘thoughtful two-hander’ and that’s exactly what it is. Inspired by my favourite film of all time,Before Sunrise, it’s about two people who meet unexpectedly while she’s on holiday in Edinburgh, his hometown.
They spend an entire weekend together – seeing the sights, talking nonstop about their lives, families,dreams… diving into the ways they’re both stagnating, which is why she took herself on holiday – to break the cycle of sameness. And because they’re convinced they’ll never see each other again, they’re completely honest. It’s only when he takes her to the airport that they realise they’ve fallen in love – but neither will admit it to the other, because… totally bonkers – who falls in love in a weekend? And their goodbye is heartbreaking because it’s unclear what’s going to happen after she returns to Colorado.
When I get to that scene, I read it three times, tearing up each time. It’s a good thing Delaney left for the morning. She must already have me pegged as a moody bastard – wouldn’t want her to think I’m a big sook as well.