21. Melanie #2
‘Let him settle and find his place. If we can figure out what he can bring to the agency, we just let him have ownership of that fiefdom and leave him to do his thing.’
‘But what is his thing?’ Melanie asked.
‘Being a wanker?’ Jamie said.
‘Being the king of irritation?’ Melanie said, and Jamie laughed.
Frank shook his head. ‘No. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think he should head up a film, TV and theatre rights department.
It means the agency wouldn’t have to outsource it any more and, to be fair, Mason-White haven’t done much for us, so it’s not a huge loss.
It seems to be a very tough industry where an assertive man could do well.
He’s bright and he’s ambitious, and his sharp edges will soften once he’s feeling valued. He could be an asset.’
Melanie was impressed – Frank’s reasoning was solid and he had really thought this through.
‘The feedback from London is that he was a very tough negotiator and sometimes pushed too hard, but that he did get some good deals over the line,’ Jamie said.
Melanie had heard similar things. ‘I’ve heard from women that they found him verging on aggressive at times, but that he was persuasive and did get some strong deals done.’
Frank beamed. ‘You see? We just need to channel his energy and let him do his thing. All families are different, and everyone has their place.’
Before Melanie could reply that not all families were as messed up as this one, there was a commotion in the lobby.
‘NANCYYYYYYYYY! OH, NANCYYYYYYY! COME ON OUT!’
They all went out to see who was bellowing and why.
Nancy threw open her office door and limped out. ‘What on earth is going on? I was on an important call.’
Melanie froze when she saw what was happening. In the small reception area there were four middle-aged men dressed in brightly coloured striped blazers and trousers, wearing boater hats and talking in a sing-song voice.
‘ARE YOU NANCY?’ the man in the yellow trousers sang to Nancy.
‘Yes, now will someone tell me what in God’s name this is about?’
‘MMMMMMM …’ The men tuned their voices.
Oh, dear God, no, Melanie thought. They broke into song:
‘Oh dear, Nancy, I made a blunder,
In a moment of rage and thunder,
The words I used, I must confess,
Caused a mess, and such distress.
Oh, I didn’t mean to make that glitch,
I’m truly sorry, I called you a …,
Now I feel so very small,
Please forgive me, for it all.
We’ve had our ups and downs,
But I never meant to make you frown,
You and Lucy are peas in a pod,
It’s a precious thing and I thank God.
So let’s forget that ugly spat,
I’m sorry, Nancy, I take it back,
I will eat the humble pie,
Let’s move on, can you please try?
Thank you for listening to Katie’s APOLOGYYYYYY.’
The four men howled out the last note.
Melanie covered her mouth to stop the cascade of giggles popping out. Frank clapped and whooped. Jamie whispered, ‘Katie, you absolute nutter.’ Ross and Nancy were open-mouthed with shock.
‘Well, that’s the best apology I’ve ever seen – or heard.’ Frank waved to the barbershop quartet as they left hurriedly, sensing the tension in the air. ‘Well done, Katie.’
‘Christ, has she lost her mind?’ Ross spluttered. ‘So crass, has she not heard of a bouquet of flowers?’
‘She obviously wanted to make a big gesture to show how sorry she is,’ Jamie defended her.
‘A lot of thought went into that song and set-up,’ Melanie added. She wished Katie had called her first. She could have told her that Nancy would not appreciate being sung at.
Nancy finally spoke. ‘That was tone-deaf – both the song and the gesture.’
The reception door opened and a figure came in, half hidden by an enormous hamper filled with food.
Katie placed the hamper at Nancy’s feet.
‘Well, did you like it? Am I forgiven? Amanda helped me write the song, I’m rubbish with words – as you know.
In case the song didn’t totally work I baked and brought you all your favourite things.
Ta-dah!’ Katie was trying to smile brightly in the face of Nancy’s very obvious disdain.
‘How thoughtful,’ Frank said.
‘She was up all night baking,’ Jamie added.
‘I can’t believe you organized all of this in less than twenty-four hours. Wow,’ Melanie said.
‘Amanda helped you with this clown show?’ Ross did not look one bit happy about his wife being part of it.
Nancy stood silent and stony-faced.
Katie sighed. ‘Look, I messed up and I’m sorry.
I don’t really care if you hate me, but I do care about Jamie and Lucy.
I never want to do anything to hurt them or cause problems for them.
So, ignore me, insult me, do whatever you want, but please don’t let my stupid mouth affect how you feel about Jamie and Lucy, Toby too. ’
Nancy pursed her lips. ‘Nothing you can do will ever change how I feel about my son or my granddaughter. The only person you are damaging by your alley-cat behaviour is yourself. Can you please leave now? You have caused enough drama and chaos. We are trying to run a professional agency. Thank God none of our clients was here to witness this. Do not ever darken my door again.’ Nancy turned on her heels – one heel and a boot – went back into her office and firmly closed the door.
Ross rushed in after his mother. Katie shrugged, but Melanie could see she was fighting back tears.
‘Oh, well, you can’t say I didn’t try.’
‘It was incredible.’ Frank hugged her.
‘The song was brilliant.’ Melanie squeezed her hand.
Katie looked to her husband, who remained silent. Shoulders sagging, she turned to leave.
Jamie called, ‘Katie.’
She turned. Jamie went over and threw his arms around her. Kissing her, he said, ‘You are a total nutter and you have caused mayhem, but you’re my nutter.’
‘I love you, babe, and I’m so sorry.’ Katie cried into his shoulder as they held each other tight.
Melanie felt a wave of emotion watching her in-laws. They were mad about each other. As much in love now as they’d been when they’d first met. She glanced at Frank. They were so far from this – they’d lost each other. She wondered if they’d ever find each other again.