Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER…
The night of the Academy Christmas Show
It was utter bedlam in the Moira Chiles Academy of Drama and Music.
The Christmas show was starting in an hour, and for the first time since the Netflix screening, the lights in the dressing rooms had tripped out again, so they’d all decanted to the canteen.
Funds for a full electrical overhaul of the older parts of the building had been allocated, and Blair was getting started on that as soon as the Academy closed for the holidays.
At the closest table to the door, Kiki was doing Ava’s hair.
The change in her daughter had been phenomenal since she’d secured her full-time scholarship to the Conservatoire.
She would be starting there in January, but she was also going to help out in the evenings and at weekends at the Academy, because the documentary team had been keen to give her an ongoing, paid role in the show.
The money would give her enough spending money for the year, and Kiki was managing to save a bit every month now.
Another few months and they’d have enough for a deposit on a new flat.
Of course, it helped that Kev was finally making regular contributions to Ava’s expenses and had visited her a couple of times too, even if he was only doing it because his other kids wanted to spend more time with their half-sister now that she was on TV.
Ava didn’t mind. In fact, she’d confessed that it was worth it, to remind her dad every time she saw him that she got all her acting talent and drive from her mum.
Ava glanced up from the video she was watching on her phone of a hot new manifestation coach who had gone viral on Tik Tok.
Apparently, Bryony Browne was ‘so over’ now.
And she wasn’t the only one who’d been consigned to history in their house.
Kiki hadn’t heard from Caden, and she’d made no move to contact him either.
It was as if he’d never existed and she was remarkably fine with that.
Maybe her mother was right when she used to say it had never been real in the first place.
‘Did you hear from Mr Tavish’s daughter, Mum?’
‘I did. They got the tickets I sent over for them and they’re all coming tonight. Tammy says Mr Tavish is looking forward to it. He’s back to full health and so much happier now that he’s getting out and about more since he moved in with them.’
Kiki was smiling at that thought when Blair popped his head into the canteen.
‘Everyone good? We have lights back in the dressing room if anyone wants more space. If you need anything else, just shout.’
Kiki’s smile got just a bit wider when she saw that the comment was aimed at her and came with a cheeky smile.
It had been almost six months since they’d met that night at the reception, but it felt like they’d known each other forever.
And he’d told her last night that forever was how long he thought they were going to last, especially now that she’d been a big hit with his son, Lyle.
Kiki had always hoped for a bigger family – and she wasn’t getting her hopes up, but when the four of them were together, and Netta and Mandy joined them too, it felt just like she’d always imagined it would be.
‘Thanks, son, yer a marvel!’ Netta shouted over from where she was furiously loading up cartons with popcorn from the canteen’s new machine.
Moira had wanted her to give up the canteen work now that she was a part-time mentor to the students, as well as a student herself.
Netta had adored every single day of her vocal and dancing lessons at the Academy, and tonight was going to be her debut live performance.
She still couldn’t believe she had an agent now at her age – a lovely lady called Eve at the company Calvin used to own had contacted her after the show aired and asked to represent her.
They already had a commercial and two small parts in Scottish TV dramas lined up.
And, of course, they’d negotiated a healthy contract for the next series of The Academy of Dreams, now that she would have a featured role.
She’d had to warn George that the camera might pan to him when he was in the audience tonight, now that they were courting.
It still gave her butterflies to think of him that way, but with every passing day she was getting more used to it.
This would be the first time George had seen her on stage, since he’d watched the documentary with her on their first date, a week after the first screening.
She’d been nervous about jumping back into a relationship, but her new friend group had persuaded her.
She went to Jessie’s salon in Weirbridge every fortnight now for a blow-dry, and after it, she often had tea and a scone in the Once Upon A Time Café with Moira, Jessie, Nancy Jenkins, the woman she’d met at that cemetery on Fergus’s anniversary, and a few of their pals, including Val, who ran the support group.
She’d even been going to that once a month, more for the company than a need for comfort.
With her work on the Family Line, she was used to listening…
Sometimes it was nice to have a place to talk too, especially as one of her favourite friends was about to leave her.
‘There you go, Ginny,’ Netta said, as she plonked a carton of popcorn on Ginny’s lap.
‘Thanks, Netta. Please change your mind about coming to LA with me. I’ll starve without you.’
‘Och, I don’t have time, love. I’ve already booked a fortnight in Rhodes with George and we’re thinking about New York for Easter too.’
As Netta bustled off, happy as ever, Ginny looked around her, taking it all in, thinking yet again that this would be her last performance here for a while.
In a week’s time she was flying to LA, to take up her new role on The Clansman.
As the newly-discovered sister of Ollie’s character, her shooting schedule was intense as they groomed her to take over the clan when the laird left for foreign shores at the end of the next season.
Right now, her plan was to work six months there and six months back here at the Academy, because she wasn’t ready to let go of the people she loved here.
One person that she’d never regretted letting go of was Caden.
According to the gossip websites, he was last seen with Bryony Browne, probably manifesting some publicity and a couple of brand deals, because he’d been let go from Judas – The Traitor.
Apparently, Carl Boddins had told him that they were going in another direction.
However, Ginny had heard through the grapevine that Caden had been caught shagging Sherry, the choreographer, and at least one other member of the cast. It had resulted in a stramash of biblical proportions that had caused chaos for the production.
And by ‘grapevine’ she meant Carl Boddins himself, when he’d travelled to Glasgow last month to try to persuade her to join the West End run of the show next year.
She’d politely declined but promised to get in touch if she changed her mind and could fit it into her hectic shooting schedule.
Ginny heard the noise of a chair being pulled out beside her, and turned to see Stevie, in a Santa hat, easing herself and her bump down into it.
‘Don’t you dare laugh,’ her pal warned her. ‘I’ve no idea how a pregnant Mary did all that travelling to Bethlehem stuff, because I can’t walk fifty yards without stopping for a pee.’
‘Oh, I remember that stage,’ Georgie shouted over from a table in the corner, her six week old son, Oran, fast asleep in the pram beside her.
She’d come up with her fiancé, Lachlan, to spend their first Christmas as parents with Jessie and Stan, and decided to come tonight to help Jessie with hair and make-up.
‘It’s a whole bladder-nightmare,’ Stevie concurred. ‘And don’t make me tell you what happens when I laugh. Oh, hang on…’ At that, Ginny saw her friend crease over with giggles at the sight of a new arrival.
Ollie Chiles walked into the room, dressed as a Christmas tree. One that had apparently lost its festive cheer. ‘You lot are hilarious. You really are. This will be all over the celebrity websites. The downfall of a Hollywood star. Last seen dressed as a flashing bush in Glasgow.’
The truth was that much as he joked about it, he didn’t care how he looked or what anyone outside this room thought of him.
He was going to marry the love of his life and his baby was on the way.
He and Stevie had got engaged the week after they’d found out she was pregnant, and now they both wore matching simple silver bands.
Stevie had chosen them. She hadn’t wanted anything fancy because she wanted to be able to wear it to work.
She had no intention of giving up her job, and so far, they’d managed to keep their relationship out of the press.
If that changed, they’d deal with it, but the important thing was that they both knew they had a lifetime together to figure it all out. He couldn’t wait.
In the meantime, Stevie had used all her holiday allowance to travel to visit him on set over the last few months.
He was already more than halfway through shooting his final season of The Clansman, but now that Ginny was on board, the writers had reduced his role so that he could come back at least once a month, and then be home permanently before the baby was born.
And after that? Who knew? If a movie role or some short-term TV work didn’t come up, he could always just work for fun here. Even if it meant dressing as a tree. The centre was making more than enough to support itself now that it was one of the highest-rated shows on Netflix.
‘Right, folks, curtain up in ten!’ his mum bellowed, getting up from the chair where Jessie had just put the final touches to her coiffure.
As she’d said on the screening night six months ago, she wasn’t going to be in the cast of the show tonight, but she was giving a welcome speech at the start, so Jessie had insisted she should have a fresh hairdo.
Moira made a beeline for her son and chuckled as she hugged his foliage, then gave Stevie and her grandchild a cuddle too. Ollie felt his heart explode.
Being a star had been a great life.
But he was pretty sure that being a husband, a son, a father and a tree was going to be so much better.