CHAPTER TEN
Nate
Readying for the live TV interview I was at my desk in my home studio.
Two screens were open on my desktop, one live-streaming the broadcast, and the other a Zoom window connected to the downtown New York TV studio.
A glass of iced Kombucha sat on my desk to the left, my silenced phone was to my right, and a page of notes lay on the desk in front of my keyboard.
“Welcome to Entertainment A-OK, I’m Mindy Sommers!
” The perky primetime presenter was seated in front of a giant back-lit pink and purple neon A-OK!
logo. I was strangely nervous, not just because wanted to get the interview over and done with, but because I longed to see Jack in real time.
I doodled on the page of notes, drawing lines of ducks as I waited anxiously for the studio Zoom page to go live so the interview could begin.
It had been an intense couple of days. On Monday evening I’d attended an emergency session with my therapist Dr. Kushmann and we’d talked through the implosion of my marriage.
Then, as Erik had stated, first thing on Tuesday morning I was served the summons with notice papers.
I’d expected them, but having the official court papers in my hands and seeing our names heading the forms bought home the crushing finality of the situation.
We didn’t love one another anymore. Our dreams of a lifetime together had come to this; a collection of legal papers coldly stating that we’d failed at love.
It was demoralizing to fail. But there was no point in stalling.
I wasn’t fighting to get Erik back, and so, I’d met with my lawyer Carina Ramos.
As I expected and she’d put the case forward that the divorced could be way more lucrative if I contested, she would happily work to squeeze millions more out of Erik.
I didn’t want an ugly, protracted back and forth fight that could drag on for years.
I signed the forms stating that I agreed with all that was being asked in the divorce summons.
I’d get twenty million and the penthouse worth double that.
Carina explained that, as the divorce was uncontested, we could get the marriage dissolved in as little as six weeks.
I needed to move on to the next chapter of my life.
Next, I’d visited my physician for blood work. The test results were negative, and so I supposed it was one mercy that my soon-to-be ex-husband hadn’t given me an extra, unwanted gift!
I was pulled from my rambling thoughts when a small screen on the Zoom page suddenly displayed the smiling handsome face of my co-star.
Immediately, his boyish smile lit me up.
Jack waved with both hands like a giddy kid.
Our microphones remained on mute so we couldn’t speak to one another.
He mimed some actions which I understood to mean ‘I’ll call you after this’.
I nodded and gave the thumbs up in response.
I was curious about where Jack was for the video call and what his background said about him.
He wasn’t using a green screen with a stock image, like me.
There was a wall of white modular IKEA Billy bookcases behind him and I could see rows of books, the BAFTA award he’d won for Harmon Hall, was placed to the left, and framed photographs were to the right.
I enlarged his screen so I could see the details.
Jack was as fresh-faced and handsome as always.
He was wearing a stonewashed blue Fraggle Rock t-shirt that said ‘Dance your cares away’.
It clung to his sculpted chest, and man, that t-shirt was so him!
At noticing the t-shirt I laughed out loud.
Jack assessed me with those playful chocolate brown eyes while sipping from a mug of what I knew would be tea.
Jack loved what he called ‘Builders tea’, it’s a British thing, look it up!
I tried to focus on the books on his shelves, reading the titles of several thrillers, a little Shakespeare, and some gay classics with romance titles in the mix too.
Then I noticed the photos. One of the photos was of Jack when he was younger.
He was hugging a mixed-race girl with a cloud of Afro hair.
They both looked to be in their late teens or early twenties at the time the photo was taken and both appeared carefree and joyful.
Then there was another of Jack with the same girl, both of them in white theatre make up that made them look like Pierrot and Harlequin characters.
Jack waved to get my attention. He pointed at me, then with two fingers pointed at his eyes, then at the photo.
Damn, he’d caught me out ogling the framed pictures on his shelf.
I shrugged, nodded. I was glad the CIA never came knocking because; in real life I’d be a god-awful spy!
A male voice I knew to be the producer Chas Boudreaux suddenly said “Hi, Mr. Linden, and Mr. Boyd. Just to let you know, this is a four-minute segment with a video insert break and we’re going live in sixty seconds. Please remember, don’t swear during the interview.”
I took a sip of my Kombucha, then sat up straight, cantered myself and took several breaths. Both Jack and I gave one another a nod and thumbs up. Soon, the producer was counting down, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go.”
“Welcome back. I have such a treat for you all now. I’m delighted to be speaking with two very talent actors.
Nate Linden and Jack Boyd are stars of the new blockbuster thriller movie ‘Need to Know’ that you’ll see released nationwide this Friday.
Hi Nate, Jack thanks so much for joining me on Entertainment A-OK! ”
My mic went live, “Hi Mindy, hi Jack, good to see you both,” I said with a lively showbiz tone pitched to mirror Mindy.
Jack’s eyes sparkled as he turned on his allure. “Hello from rainy old London, it’s so great to chat with you both,” he said in that swoony British voice.
“Oh, is it raining where you are? What a shame. It’s a gorgeous day here in New York,” Mindy revealed.
“It is. I’m in New York too. I took a run in Central Park earlier when it was cool, but it got a little too hot for me to handle this afternoon,” I admitted with a grin.
“Well, talking of things that are too hot to handle, your movie, guys! I’ve seen some wonderful reviews that say what an action-packed, sexy film it is. Who wants to tell me about it?” Mindy asked excitedly.
“Jack, why don’t you take this one,” I suggested as I settled back. We’d always taken turns to do the sales pitch. Jack launched into the spiel that we’d learned by rote. Thriller, LGBTQ representation, thanks to studio for making it happen…blah, blah, blah.
“Wonderful. Now, for the viewers at home, let’s take a look at a clip,” Mindy said. The feed cut to our movie trailer, and then the producer said, “You’ve got fifty-five seconds until we’re live again,”
I saw Jack mime wiping his brow with relief. I gave him a thumbs up. I took another sip of my drink and checked the notes I had in front of me. Soon enough we were live again.
“So, you’re playing a married couple who discover that they both have secret lives the other doesn’t know about. Nate, hasn’t art recently reflected this in your real life? I understand that there’s been a little drama there.”
I knew that Mindy would take the opportunity to ask, and I was prepared. Roz and I discussed it and I had a short statement ready.
“You could say that, Mindy,” I began. “After eleven wonderful years together Erik Thorne and I have decided our relationship journey has come to an end and we’ve agreed to divorce.
I wish Erik the greatest happiness on whatever road he chooses next!
We’d both be grateful if the media would give us privacy to process this change,” I stated with finality.
“Awww, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Mindy said sounding genuinely taken aback, as if she hadn’t expected me to divulge the whole truth that my marriage was over.
“But, silver lining…I guess the boys of New York had better start queuing for the chance of date now you’re back on the market,” she cajoled.
I laughed, hoping it was convincing. “I’d say that’s…
a little premature, Mindy. I’m far too busy to get back on the dating scene.
Maybe one day, but this is not it,” I grinned.
“I’m looking forward to the many exciting projects I’ve got coming up.
But for now, the promotion tour for Need to Know is heading back to Europe,”
“And who wouldn’t love summer in Europe,” Mindy commented.
“Exactly, I love visiting Europe and I can’t wait to get back there to promote our movie.”
“I saw that one of your European fans recently got a little too invested in meeting you,” Mindy probed.
“Yeah, that was a very scary incident and thanks to Jack’s quick reflexes the man was subdued and no one got hurt,” I stated. I didn’t want to make the attack into a salacious gossip point.
Jack spoke up then, “I’m relieved that no one was injured too and I hope the fan gets the mental health help he needs,” Jack stated, falling into line with the narrative that the attacker was an over-zealous fan with mental health problems, and not someone who was planning to purposely injure me.
“Now, moving on, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of what everyone wants to know about ‘Need to Know’.
The trailer hinted at some pretty steamy love scenes between you both, and the reviews go further, like this one from Cine-Geeks that says ‘All you need to know about the intimate scenes featuring Nate Linden and Jack Boyd is that they are fire!’ What do you say to that? ”
Both Jack and I chuckled. I spoke up first, “The writer, Brett Kahn was very specific about how he wanted us to portray his characters. Their intimacy was vital to pushing the story along so I’d say we did our job!”
Jack chipped in then, “We wanted to make the intimate scenes as touching, natural and real as we could. And honestly Mindy, I’ve never had a more fun time on set,” Jack’s smile was wicked and his eyes sparkled.
Heat pooled at my groin and I was so glad that it was only my head and shoulders on the screen.
“I can only imagine what fun you both had. What I want to know is, will there be a sequel, and where do I sign-up to be a fly-on-the-wall when you perform together again?” We all shared a laugh.
“So, what’s next for you Jack?” Mindy asked.
“Well, Mindy, I’m delighted to announce that I’m the new brand ambassador for an iconic British high-end suit brand–the details of which will be announced very soon in a Vogue exclusive.”
“You know, my girlfriends and I discussed this over cocktails last week, and we all agree that there’s nothing sexier than a man in a well-tailored suit!”
“Oh, I totally agree with your girlfriends,” Jack winked.
“I can’t wait to see you modelling suits, but what about acting? What’s next for you there?” Mindy flirted.
“The big news I can announced on that score is I’ll be playing Prospero in a two-month run of The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.
That means fans from all over the world can come and see me in my happy place, performing live on stage in the town where William Shakespeare lived,” Jack announced with an incorrigible boyish grin.
“How exciting to be returning to the stage! Do you prefer theatre or screen work?”
“Any jobbing actor would be a fool to pigeon-hole themselves into one or the other. As long as I’m offered challenging, interesting roles, I’m up for anything!”
“That’s a great attitude to have. And Nate, what’s next for you?”
“Jack and I are still on our tour to promote the movie. We have premières in Berlin, Germany and in London, England. Then, I’m planning to take a year off to complete a screenplay.”
“A man of many talents! I had no idea you wrote too!”
“Yes, writing’s been a passion since high school.
I’ve reached a stage in my career where I can afford to take a step back and focus on projects that have been bubbling in the background for a while.
I can’t say any more, other than, it’s all very much need to know!
” I beamed a cheesy grin at having led the conversation back to the name of our movie.
“You are so funny!” Mindy fawned. “Jack, Nate, thank you so much for chatting with me today, it’s been a pleasure.”
We both smiled at the screen until the producer’s voice said, “And—were clear. Thanks Mr. Linden, Mr. Boyd that was great, I’ll be in touch with your agents with a copy of the interview,” the producer said before we all said our goodbyes and ended the Zoom call.
I sat back and let out a sigh of relief.
I was glad that was over and I’d been able to remain in control of the announcement of the impending divorce.
The gutter press could go fuck themselves with their exposés, seedy photos, and innuendo.
I powered off my computer, scooped my phone up, and left the home studio, stripping off the shirt I’d worn for the interview.
I strode into my bathroom, tossed the shirt in the hamper, took a leak, and then washed my hands and face.
I was emotionally exhausted and honestly, I just wanted to starfish on the bed and forget the past few days. But then my phone screen lit up.
****