Chapter 44
44
JESSE
Now
Despite the fact Jesse had spent much of the year in a stagnant state of grief, shock and heartache, he was a productive person at heart. Stagnant didn’t suit him. And if his brief friendship and fling with Minnie had taught him anything, it was to take action – Minnie would take action.
He woke up earlier than he would have liked on Sunday morning, both cursing and saluting the sun that blasted through the long windows of his hotel at the end of Hollywood Boulevard, with a determination to get out of his funk and bring back some joy in his life. He had Saraswati back. He had a custody solution. His work was going brilliantly. Max had kicked Liam out and there was a happy calm in the office. The only fly in the ointment was that Minnie was back with that sleazeball, but Jesse had to accept it. He was thirty-two; he had his life ahead of him. Minnie’s catastrophic positivity had rubbed off on him.
Los Angeles was a long way to travel just to get a trinket back, however treasured, so Jesse made a plan to be as productive and dynamic as he could for the next four days. He would put his time there to good use before picking Ida up from school on Friday.
A World Cup was coming to the United States, Canada and Mexico, and Jesse already knew he would get commissions for it. So he got out of bed, showered and went down to the dining room of the W hotel, surprised by how many other people were up for breakfast early on a Sunday morning. He picked up a newspaper he wouldn’t get round to reading and ate pancakes with maple syrup and bacon while he looked at his phone and planned his art gallery itinerary. City art galleries were often closed on Mondays, so today would be an arty day, he decided. A chance to get ahead.
Jesse always found inspiration in a local gallery, whether it was in an artwork itself, the style and fonts on the menu in the cafe, or the journey to the museum: travelling by subway, bus or taxi would always throw up some unexpected inspiration.
After breakfast, Jesse headed in a taxi from his hotel in Hollywood to the Getty in Brentwood, where he weaved among paintings by Rembrandt, Turner, Manet and Monet. When Jesse got to Van Gogh’s Irises he stopped, stared, drank them in and then closed his eyes. In a flash he was transported to Arles with Minnie. He could taste pastis on his tongue and smell the lavender entwined in her legs. He could hear the cicadas, he could see fireflies around the pool of his family home.
When Jesse opened his eyes his vision came into sharp focus on the pale green leaves and stems of Vincent’s irises and he connected the dots. That’s where he had seen that colour before.
In the afternoon, Jesse went Downtown to The Broad for some modern art to counter the abundance of history at the Getty. Within the cool air-conditioned curves of the white modernist building, he drank in paintings by Warhol, Walker, Haring and Lichtenstein, wondering what Minnie was doing right now. What had her first flying experience felt like? The plane hadn’t crashed, he was relieved to assume. Was she having a good time in Los Angeles?
When Jesse had seen the Instagram story of Minnie boarding a plane, it had said it was posted sixteen hours ago. She had travelled to Los Angeles almost one whole day ahead of him.
Is she still here?
In Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room, Jesse marvelled about how much Ida would love the sparkling galaxy of flashing LED lights, and how they felt like the closest he might ever get to space. He longed to show her as much of the world as he could, soon realising it was well after lunchtime and his hunger was also down to a need for food.
While he ate a Cubano sandwich in the restaurant next to The Broad – a hulking modern building that looked both raw and refined – Jesse called his friend Will from London, who was in LA visiting his new boyfriend Lloyd. Lloyd was a Hollywood lighting assistant and they had met on a dating app when Lloyd was in London shooting at the start of the year. They hadn’t looked back.
‘You still on for this evening?’ Jesse asked.
‘Yeah, brother,’ Will replied, an American affectation in his tone. His relationship was obviously still going well.
That evening, Jesse met Will and Lloyd at an Italian restaurant in the Arts District where they ate spaghetti in a sea urchin sauce and Jesse was relieved to find Lloyd was even lovelier than Will had described. Lloyd had a hangdog handsomeness about him, with his bushy beard and red and black checked shirt hugging a soft stomach. He was instantly warm, welcoming and full of tips for Jesse on where to eat and go over the next few days. As Lloyd gave advice, Will fussed over Bingley the Border terrier, back home on FaceTime via his dogsitter, Beth, and her phone. Will was in LA for the whole month, and he missed Bingley terribly, but was seeking solace on FaceTime, his camera roll, and the Bingley The Border Terrier Instagram page, which had almost 100,000 followers.
‘The black smoky burger at Mr T is the bomb. I think it’s a chain – started in Paris, right?’ Lloyd looked to Will who nodded knowingly. Paris . Which reminded Will of the last time he saw Jesse, on Father’s Day, their brunch with Bingley and Ida. It had been Jesse’s first Father’s Day without his dad; he had mentioned in passing that he was contemplating a trip to Paris.
‘Did you ever make it over to Paris, buddy?’ Will asked as he half looked at his phone.
Jesse nodded. ‘Yeah I did…’
‘Wasn’t there a girl?’ They hadn’t really been able to talk in front of Ida, but Jesse had alluded to something . A friend.
Lloyd raised an intrigued eyebrow. Will had told Lloyd about Jesse’s unfortunate year, but he hadn’t mentioned a girl. Lloyd listened eagerly. He had the face of a guy who rooted for an underdog. Lloyd looked like a bit of an underdog himself, although he and Will had certainly hit the jackpot with each other.
‘Yeah with the girl.’
Jesse looked both sheepish and heartbroken.
‘Shit, what happened?’ Will asked, finally flipping his phone over and giving Jesse his full attention.
Jesse skipped some of the detail: he told Will and Lloyd how Minnie was an actor and had an audition for a film in Paris; how they went to his mum’s for a couple of nights afterwards. That they had hooked up in Provence and why she had fled. All because of a silly game.
‘Not just a silly game – I omitted to tell her when we met, that I knew her boyfriend and my wife had been sleeping together behind our backs.’
Will gasped. ‘Fuck!’
‘Oh no!’ Lloyd looked like he might cry.
A stunned silence fell over the table.
‘It’s not like that’s your fault though? Fucking Hannah…’ Will shook his head. Jesse had protected her, he hadn’t told Will why they had separated.
‘It’s OK. I should have just told Minnie up front. She’s right, it was a bit weird.’
He told the boys how Minnie was now in Los Angeles promoting Summer of Siena .
‘ Summer of Siena ?’ Lloyd said. ‘That’s like, everywhere right now, that’s pretty cool.’
Jesse nodded. He was so happy for Minnie, he was just desperate to tell her so.
‘Is that why you came?’ Will asked. ‘To LA?’
‘No, mate, I didn’t know until I got to the airport that she was here too. Pure coincidence.’
Will gave a doubtful look.
‘I had to get the plane I was getting because I left something on it. My keyring. If the plane was scheduled to go to Lahore on Saturday, I’d be in Lahore right now.’
‘That’s an expensive key chain,’ Lloyd muttered to himself.
Jesse took it out of his right pocket and put it on the table.
‘My dad gave it to me…’
Will recognised it. The three men went quiet for a moment while they looked at Saraswati, who almost glowed under the pendant light over their table.
‘Look, man,’ Lloyd said, wiping his mouth and placing his napkin down. ‘I only just met you, but I gotta say: she’s here, you’re here. Seems a bit fuckin’ opportune…’
Will nodded. ‘There’s no real reason she doesn’t speak to you, is there?’
‘I was deliberately dishonest.’
‘You didn’t lie!’ Will interjected.
Jesse shrugged.
They continued to eat copious amounts of pasta and focaccia and Lloyd ordered a third bottle of Chianti while Jesse contemplated it.
‘She’s here with work, she’s really busy. I’m just a stalker loser guy. I wouldn’t know where to begin anyway.’
‘You could start with her agent?’ Lloyd suggested helpfully.
‘She’s back with her creep ex.’
‘The one who Hannah…?’ Will stopped himself.
Jesse nodded in defeat.
Lloyd put a rounded hand on Jesse’s arm. ‘Sorry, buddy.’
‘Ah look what Beth sent!’ Will said deftly. ‘She’s trying to bath Bingley, the fool!’
Lloyd twirled spaghetti on his fork, not as interested in his boyfriend’s dog as he maybe ought to be.
‘What harm would a conversation do at least? Call her agent! I can find out who reps her if you need me to…’