CHAPTER SEVEN
‘Fluffy is looking perky,’ Mari said, looking at the cat that Andy was holding. She thought the prop manager had done an excellent makeover on his fur.
‘This is Tiddles.’ Andy thumbed behind him. ‘Fluffy is sitting snoozing in the shop window.’
‘I found Tiddles in storage,’ Peter called over from the side of the stage. ‘Tiddles is our action double. I’ve wired up his tail with pipe cleaners so we can alter his attitude.’
Andy bent the cat’s tail in different poses to demonstrate this. ‘I think the upright tail pose suits him.’
Mari mentally gave herself a gold star for not laughing when they were being serious about this. And then something above her on the stage caught her eye. A little silver star dangling high above them.
Huntly saw her looking at it. ‘It’s been up there since we took over the theatre. A prop from a show probably, or a Christmas decoration that got left up there. As it’s so awkward to reach, we decided to leave it up. We’ll use it as part of the night sky in the new play.’
Mari gazed up at the star glittering in the stage lighting. Then she forgot about it as the conversation swung around to the play’s dialogue.
Down in the seating area, Huntly and Niall were reading and discussing the synopsis she’d written, and rather than try to gauge their reaction, she gave her full attention to Jon and Andy.
Jon held a copy of the play. ‘There’s a realistic quality to your dialogue in this scene,’ he said, pointing to it. ‘Rather than sheer theatrics, it has a raw power that I think we can amp up. It lays bare the vulnerability of Oglesby, despite his amazing abilities and the sense of mystery and magic. With Andy’s delivery, the audience will empathise with the character.’
‘There are two lines of dialogue,’ said Andy. ‘Jon thinks we should add more.’
‘I can increase the dialogue,’ Mari told them. ‘I’d deliberately cut it down for that scene in case it slowed the pace.’
‘Double it up, make it deeper and richer,’ Jon encouraged her. ‘Use your descriptions in the scene headings. Work them into the dialogue.’
‘Okay, I’ll do that.’ Mari headed down to where she’d left her laptop eager to write more dialogue, taking in Jon’s directions.
Huntly and Niall smiled at her.
‘We’re going to use your synopsis,’ said Huntly. ‘It’s just what we need.’ Then he called up to Jon. ‘I’ve sent you a copy of Mari’s synopsis. We’re delighted with it.’
Jon checked his messages and began reading it right away.
‘I see you’ve brought your knitting with you,’ Niall commented to her, looking at her craft bag brimming with balls of yarn and knitting needles.
‘Yes, but I’m going to rewrite the dialogue,’ she said.
Niall grinned. ‘I like Huntly’s new jumper. Any chance you’d knit one for me in different colours?’
‘Certainly. There’s a colour chart on my website. Take a peek and let me know the shades you like and I’ll knit it for you,’ she told Niall.
Niall started looking through Mari’s range of colours, unsure what he’d suit.
Mari made a suggestion. ‘With your blond hair and grey eyes, the wintry greys and whites would look great on you.’
‘I’ll have one knitted in those colours,’ Niall confirmed, happy that Mari was going to knit one for him.
‘Terrific synopsis,’ Jon called down to them, giving them the thumbs up.
As more props arrived and were carried up on to the stage, Mari sat down out of the way of the chaos and began to write the dialogue on her laptop.
She was accustomed to writing in quieter conditions, but told herself to buck up and get on with it. After a few minutes, the chatter faded to a buzz in the background and she found herself steeped in her story again, remembering the things she’d left behind and wrote them down until she’d more than doubled the dialogue.
When she looked up from her creative bubble, a tea trolley was being wheeled in laden with tea, coffee, cakes and sandwiches.
‘Help yourself,’ Huntly told her, beckoning her over.
She quickly sent the new dialogue to Jon, and then went over for a cup of tea and a tomato and salad sandwich. Was it lunchtime? Still late elevenses? She didn’t know and didn’t check the time, smiling as she offloaded having to live by the clock while she was in the creative cocoon of the theatre with likeminded people.
Feeling fired up, she felt herself burning up every bit of energy from the snack that kept her going until...whenever the day started to slow down.
There were moments when she managed to knit a few rows of a garment she was making. But her fingers were itching to knit a black cat. She didn’t have the black yarn or a pattern with her, so she knew she’d have to forgo that fun until she got home.
Heather ran through from wardrobe a couple of times during her breaks to show Mari her handiwork.
‘I’ve cast on the stitches to knit the cat’s wee body,’ said Heather. ‘And knitted a few rows. It knits up quick and easy. A few more rows and then I’ll have to start decreasing to shape his head.’
This only made Mari want to get stuck into knitting a kitty. ‘You’re doing a great job with it. You really are a good knitter.’
‘I’ve been dressmaking all my life, and I like to knit, but your class was ideal for improving my intarsia. But this wee cat, it’s a fun project. I like knitting things that I can finish in a day or an evening.’
Mari popped through to wardrobe to take a peek at the clothes later on.
‘These are the outfits that I’m working on for this show.’ Heather was pleased to give Mari a tour. ‘This rail is exclusive for Andy’s outfits. Over here are the rails for some of the other main cast. I’m sorting through the dresses for the ladies today and trying to find a memorable one for our damsel when Andy’s character goes to try and save her from the clutches of those shadowy men following after her.’
It interested Mari that Heather had to know every aspect of the play’s story. Learning the machinations of the work that went on behind the scenes was fascinating.
Heather’s sewing machine was set up beside her fabric stash.
‘I buy a lot of the fabric and trims from Ivy’s shop. She has a gorgeous selection and is happy to order special items in for me,’ Heather explained. ‘I’m popping down later to buy sequins and braid.’
There wasn’t time to try on the fairytale ballgown, but Mari planned to try it on another day. But she got to feel the beautiful blue chiffon fabric that was stitched with sparkle.
Mari was holding the dress up and looking at herself in the full–length mirror when Huntly came searching for her.
‘I thought you’d have disappeared down the rabbit hole in wardrobe,’ he said, casting her one of those sensual grins that set her heart rate skyrocketing.
Mari hung the dress back up. ‘I was just—’
‘You’d look beautiful in a ballgown like that,’ said Huntly. ‘Maybe there will be a grand occasion to wear it and you can borrow it for the night. Until midnight,’ he joked.
‘Before the fairytale ends and reality reigns once again,’ said Mari.
‘Fairytales can come true,’ he insisted. ‘Isn’t that right, Heather?’
‘Yes, they can,’ Heather agreed. ‘Look what we’re all up to. A few days ago, the previous show had been cancelled and none of us knew what we were going to do. Now the theatre is a hive of activity. And Mari is a busy bee along with us.’
Huntly then explained to Mari why he’d come looking for her. ‘I’ve been updating the theatre’s website. I wondered if you’d like to take a look at it, as our official wordsmith.’
Mari smiled. ‘My other new title, courtesy of Jon.’
Huntly escorted Mari away to the office to check the latest updates on the website.
She peered at the computer screen and read the banner headline, the title of the show, starring Andy, and it included her name as the playwright.
‘The artwork for the show’s title is great,’ said Mari. It depicted a starry night sky above a city of glittering lights. The mysterious shop’s windows were aglow, and Oglesby and his cat were inside.
‘Sammy designed it. He worked on it until late last night.’ Huntly told her.
She looked surprised.
‘He’s our set director nowadays, but back when he started out in theatre work years ago he designed the graphics for the show posters. Then he started getting involved in painting the scenery. He’s a brilliant artist. We’re fortunate to have him work for us.’
‘It looks magical!’ she said.
‘So if you approve, would you like to press the button to make the update live?’ Huntly offered.
‘I’d love to.’ Mari was about to press the update button, when Huntly said, ‘Hang on. I’ll grab of photo of you doing it, for our archives.’
Taking out his phone, he then made sure he had Mari in the picture. The computer was on the desk, and she stood there poised with her finger on the button and turned to smile at Huntly as she pressed it.
Huntly clicked a picture of her, checked the image and showed it to her.
Feeling her leaning close to view it, his heart started to thunder, and he stepped back as if she didn’t affect him at all.
Mari was none the wiser, and wanted to know about the theatre’s archives.
‘It’s something Niall and I do, to keep the special moments in the theatre, so we can look back on them and see how far we’ve come,’ he said.
‘That’s a lovely idea.’
‘Sammy started us off,’ he admitted. ‘He showed us all the old photos he had from his heydays in the theatre. Real treasures. People’s smiling faces from decades ago, queuing outside theatres in the snow to see a Christmas show, or candid shots of the happy times behind the scenes. Moments from the past that shouldn’t be forgotten.’
Mari realised she’d only taken photos of her knitting recently, and didn’t have any pictures of herself in the city or her flat. Something to remedy soon.
Huntly accessed the theatre’s archives and showed her the collection on the screen. ‘This is Niall and me outside the theatre the day we took it over. It’s not that long ago, but so much has happened, it seems like a lifetime.’
‘I’m still trying to catch my breath with what’s happened to me with the play,’ she confessed. ‘I think it’ll take a while to sink in.’
‘It will,’ Huntly agreed. ‘But I’ve sent you a copy of the picture. The first one for your archives.’
Mari checked her phone and saw the photo of herself smiling as she pressed the button.
Huntly glanced wistfully at several of the pictures from his archives. ‘It’ll be nice to show the grandchildren one day.’
Grandchildren? Her expression gave away her thoughts.
‘I know I don’t look like the settling down and raising a family type, but I live in hope of having that type of life one day, when I meet the right woman to share everything with.’
Although his tone was light, it was the most insightful thing she’d heard him say, and the feelings it stirred in her lasted even after they were interrupted by Jon coming in looking for Mari.
‘I thought this would be where you were hiding,’ Jon said to her. ‘Come on, Andy’s about to read the new dialogue.’
Beckoning her through to hear it, Mari went with Jon, leaving Huntly behind in the office, and her lingering feelings trailing behind her.
Andy stood on stage, backlit by the shop that was being constructed. Every time Mari saw the shop, Sammy and his crew had built another part of it.
The lighting guy up in the control box adjusted the spotlight, helping to create the right effect for Andy’s reading, and everyone’s chatter fell to a polite hush as he performed.
Mari and Jon sat in the front row and took in the new dialogue.
‘Excellent, Andy,’ Jon called up to him. ‘I think we should do the same with the next part of the scene.’ Jon turned round to look hopeful at Mari.
‘I’ll do that,’ she said, opening up her laptop and getting ready to enrich the dialogue. Having heard the difference it made to Andy’s performance, she was keen to do the same with the next paragraph.
The white–haired and bearded Sammy walked across the stage, hoisting a lightweight, old–fashioned lamp post on his shoulders. He waved to Mari as he went by.
Mari waved up to him, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t take as long as she thought to feel part of this fantastical world. Then she continued typing, hearing the words in her imagination, as the laughter and chatter in the theatre faded into the background.
Mari was a fast knitter, and a fast writer. The latter came in useful for the rewrites, and she’d always had thoughts like quicksilver when writing her plays.
Jon read the new dialogue as soon as she’d written it. He approved it, and then Andy read the new material, while Sammy stealthily set up the lamp post outside the shop.
Huntly came to join Mari and Jon for the reading, and the three of them applauded as Andy finished.
Jon then directed the rehearsal for the next part of the scene that included some of the other actors.
Mari and Huntly sat in the front row of the audience seats.
Huntly stretched his long legs out in front of him and relaxed back. ‘Wil is coming along to rehearse his dance show tomorrow afternoon. I promised him the use of the theatre when we hadn’t anything special on, but I don’t want to break my word to him and the dancers he’s bringing with him. So, you’ll meet Wil then if you’re free.
‘I’m teaching an extra knitting class at the craft shop tomorrow afternoon,’ she said, wishing she could’ve met Wil.
‘That’s fine,’ he assured her. ‘You’ll meet him another time. And eh...I wanted to ask if you’d be free to have dinner with me tomorrow night. To discuss the play, things like that.’
‘Yes, I don’t have any special plans for dinner.’
‘Shall we say seven o’clock?’ he suggested.
Mari nodded, forcing herself not to read anything extra into his invitation.
Laughter erupted on stage, involving Andy trying to create a dramatic scene with the cat as part of the props. He was using Fluffy, his personal favourite. Nothing went according to plan, and the mechanism the prop manager had stuffed inside the cat had gone awry.
‘I’ll read those lines again,’ Andy announced as everyone burst into giggles.
‘Heather showed me the cat she’s knitting,’ Huntly said to Mari as the chaos continued on stage. ‘Andy has claimed first dibs on it when she’s finished it. As a souvenir from the play. And Niall wondered if we should consider something like this for the show’s merchandise. Our audiences love to buy items from our little shop in the foyer.’
‘I didn’t notice you had a shop,’ she said. ‘But I’ve purchased souvenirs from shows I’ve seen, like a mug or a tote bag.’
‘We set up the shop near the box office when a show is on,’ Huntly explained. ‘You said you designed your own knitting patterns. Could you design a black cat for us?’
‘I have a pattern for a white cat I designed years ago that I could adapt and knit in black with white whiskers and green eyes.’
‘That sounds ideal,’ he said.
‘I’ll get my class to try the new pattern tomorrow afternoon. I could work on it during the morning, and then ask if they’d like to give the pattern a go. Ivy has plenty of black yarn in stock.’
‘I’ll pay for any yarn or other stuff your members use,’ he insisted.
Agreeing on their plan, Huntly then had to take a business call in his office.
Mari checked the files on her laptop to find the pattern for the white cat she’d designed, found it, and thought how she’d adapt it. Swapping the white yarn for black was easy. So too was using white for the whiskers and a vivid green to stitch the eyes on. The entire pattern was knitted and hand stitched with yarn, and stuffed with soft toy filling.
This could work, she thought to herself, picturing how she’d love to knit it.
Closing her laptop, she went through to wardrobe to chat to Heather.
Finding Heather within the rails of costumes, she explained about knitting a new black cat.
Heather showed her the progress she’d made on her pattern. ‘It’s a cute pattern, but I’d be interested in seeing your design too.’
‘I’m going to show the class tomorrow,’ Mari explained. ‘I’ll help them with whatever they’re working on, but maybe a few of them would like to try knitting a black cat.’
‘I’ll certainly knit your design,’ said Heather. ‘Andy wants this cat, so I’ll finish it for him. And buy more black yarn tomorrow from Ivy’s shop.’
‘Huntly is paying for the yarn and the soft filling anyone in the class uses,’ said Mari.
‘That’s kind of him. It should be a fun class. My hours are flexible, so I’ll be there in the afternoon after working in the theatre all morning.’
Mari glanced around to check that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. ‘Huntly has invited me to have dinner with him tomorrow evening upstairs in his turret,’ Mari whispered.
‘Oooh! How romantic.’
‘Ssh! You know how voices carry here.’
Heather giggled and kept her voice to a whisper. ‘Is Huntly going to cook dinner? He’s a marvellous cook. Not that he’s made dinner for me, but he’s baked cakes for us before and they were delicious.’
‘Yes, he’s cooking dinner. I’ve no idea what he’s planning to make.’
‘Romantic overtures will surely be on the menu.’
Mari tried not to smile. ‘No, nothing like that will happen. We’re working on the play.’
Heather gave her a knowing look and a grin. ‘Huntly is sooo handsome though.’
‘Stop it, you’re making me blush.’
‘And I still think he’s quite taken with you.’
‘I’ve no plans to have my heart broken,’ Mari insisted, forgetting to keep her voice down.
Huntly, having finished his business call, had come looking for Mari, and overheard her comment.
Heather gestured to a rail of dresses, and tried to stifle her giggles. ‘These are some of the costumes I’m reworking for the show,’ she prattled to Mari.
‘They’re gorgeous dresses,’ said Mari, brushing aside her previous remark. ‘Such lovely fabric.’
‘I wanted to talk to you about the production,’ Huntly said to Mari. ‘Jon’s suggesting an idea for one of the scenes and I’d like your thoughts on it too.’
Mari smiled and walked away with Huntly, wondering if he’d say anything about her remark.
As they headed to the stage he glanced at her. ‘Is there someone you’re concerned will break your heart?’
Mari stomach flipped. ‘It was just silly gossip we were chatting about,’ she lied, hearing the tension in her voice.
Huntly pressed his firm lips together and nodded as they continued walking along.
But Mari sensed he suspected she’d been talking about him.
‘Are we still on for dinner tomorrow night?’ he said.
‘Yes,’ Mari replied brightly. ‘I’m looking forward to it, and to seeing the view of Edinburgh from your world.’