Chapter 40 #2
‘I think the answer is right here,’ Kate said. ‘You produce them instead.’
‘A producer, like Julian?’
‘Yes, why not? You probably know a lot more than you think, living with Julian over the years, and you’ve got lots of experience starring in shows.
’ Kate looked at her for a long moment. ‘Hannah knows, doesn’t she?
About the theatre. That’s why she said what she did about you running your own business. She was talking about the theatre.’
‘Yes, she does know.’
‘You could do it, you know. Everyone has always been on at you about what your back-up plan is for if things go south. This is it, Bridie. You could still work in theatre. You might even take a small part in the shows, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t be at the helm, putting on the plays, hiring the actors, all that sort of thing. ’
‘I’ve never thought of myself as a businesswoman.’ But then she knew that neither had Hannah.
‘You’re so lucky to have made such a good friend in Hannah.’
Bridie nodded. ‘Along with everyone else in Cobblers Yard. They all insisted on coming here with me to clean the place up, the day I got the keys. I didn’t expect that. But that’s why the place is quite clean, no rubbish or debris. They all pitched in. It was just marvellous.’
‘I wish I’d been there,’ Kate said, surprising her.
‘Well, you’re here now.’
‘I am. So, what is it you want to show me?’
Bridie looked about the stage. Unfortunately, there were no chairs or stools.
She was thinking that Kate might need to sit down for this one.
‘Come over here a moment.’ Bridie led her to the side of the stage where there was a large poster propped up behind the curtain.
She drew the curtain to reveal the large, dog-eared poster.
‘What’s this?’ Kate asked.
‘It’s an old poster from the last professional show that was staged here.’
‘Okay.’ Kate looked at her sister. ‘You want me to look at the poster?’
‘Yes.’
Kate shrugged. ‘All right.’
Bridie waited, watching her.
Suddenly Kate gasped. She pointed, ‘Is that? No! It can’t be.’
Bridie said, ‘I’m afraid it is,’ as Kate turned around to look at her, eyes wide.
Bridie handed her the shoebox. ‘Just in case you think that isn’t Dad, I have photos in here of him with Reggie, my shop neighbour in Cobblers Yard, who used to star in productions with Dad.’
Kate just stared at Bridie, speechless. Bridie said, ‘Aren’t you going to say something?’
‘What do you mean, he starred in productions with Dad? I was looking at that woman – Isobel Raine? Do you think Mum and Dad adopted you?’
Bridie creased her brow. She hadn’t expected that. ‘No, of course not. You know, everyone has a doppelg?nger, It’s just a coincidence.’
‘Have you asked Mum?’
‘No.’
‘Has she seen this poster?’
‘I’m not letting her inside, at the moment.’
‘What did Dad say?’
‘He doesn’t know, and I want it to stay that way – for now.’ Bridie was seriously beginning to regret letting Kate into her secret. But she still deserved to know about their dad.
Bridie walked up to the poster. ‘Stop looking at Isobel Raine.’ She pointed.
‘And look at him.’ She guessed why Kate’s eyes hadn’t registered their dad.
For one thing, he was in a costume, and he was a lot younger.
He was still recognisable, but she hadn’t registered him because he the last person she expected to see.
‘What the—?’
Now she’d seen him.
She watched Kate turn wide-eyed to look at her. ‘Is this some kind of joke?’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘The poster – why would you do that?’
‘What?’
‘Have this poster created superimposing Dad on one of the cast?’
Clearly, Kate didn’t believe what she was seeing. Bridie sighed. She should have expected this. Kate worshipped their dad. Finding out he’d lied, and worse still he’d lied about being on the stage was going to … well, she didn’t know how Kate was going to take it.
‘I … I’m sorry.’ Perhaps it was best if Kate believed the poster was fake.
Kate said, ‘What’s in the shoebox?’
‘Nothing, really. Why don’t we call it a day?’
‘Call it a day? You expect me just to go home after this?’ Kate suddenly lunged for the shoebox, catching Bridie unawares.
The lid flew off, the shoebox tilted in Bridie’s hands, and before she knew what was happening, the whole box tipped sideways, strewing the contents around the stage – photo after photo of their dad in various costumes, in various poses, in various plays with other cast members like Reggie.
Kate gasped as she slowly knelt down and picked one up, then another. Bridie watched as she collected every single one.
Bridie sighed. ‘I’m afraid the camera doesn’t lie.’
Kate finally turned to her with the pile of photos. ‘This is … is …’
Bridie wasn’t at all surprised that her sister was lost for words and having a hard time getting her head around the truth.
‘Insane?’ Bridie offered as she held out the shoebox for Kate to return the photos.
‘When were you going to tell me about all this?’
‘I wasn’t – not for the moment, at any rate.’ Bridie thought Kate would have a go, but instead she said, ‘I’m not surprised. We don’t exactly have the best relationship.’
‘Didn’t,’ Bridie corrected her, smiling. ‘Today, as far as I’m concerned, that’s all changed.’
Kate smiled at her affectionately. ‘I think so too.’
Bridie said, ‘When I first discovered this, all I thought about was myself and how betrayed I felt that they’d kept his past, his life on the stage, a secret.’
‘You think Mum knows?’
‘Yes, of course. I spoke with Reggie, the other guy in the poster who used to be Dad’s friend.’
‘Oh, the guy from the music shop?’
‘Yes. Turns out Dad was still working in the theatre when you and Jeremy were toddlers before I came along.’
Bridie searched through the photos and showed Kate the one taken outside a pub, probably after a show, with their mum and dad, Reggie, Isobel, baby Kate, and Jeremy.
‘How did we not know this?’
‘Because they didn’t want us to know,’ Bridie said.
‘But why? Because they didn’t want us to follow in his footsteps and go on the stage?’
‘Maybe.’ Bridie sighed. She didn’t want to get into the possibility that their dad and Isobel Raine had had an affair.
‘I think it has to be more than that,’ Kate said, turning to the poster. ‘I think it had something to do with the actress who disappeared.’
Bridie nodded. Kate had heard that story. Most people had who lived thereabouts.
Kate pointed. ‘Isobel Raine.’