Chapter 60
When the curtain finally fell, Bridie walked off the stage to greet the audience as they left their seats.
She thanked them for their support and for buying tickets to see her show.
They congratulated her and the cast. Lili passed her a bouquet of flowers.
All the time, Bridie was keeping an eye out for her grandad.
She’d reserved a seat for him, hoping he’d make it down for opening night. He was the one who’d always, always supported her, and she so wanted him to be there.
She’d kept looking for him while she was on stage, scanning the audience, but the bright stage lights made it impossible to see much beyond the orchestra in the pit.
She was still looking, as people congratulated her, to see if he was there. Then she was stopped in her tracks by Jade.
‘Bridie, I just needed to tell you what a super-fantastic show this was. It totally exceeded my expectations. I know I said you’d never get a show off the ground, but I was angry with Jack, with you, because …
well because I thought he loved you. I was afraid he’d leave me for you, so I said really mean things to you on the phone.
And I’m sorry for that. Truly. I secretly wanted you to succeed.
I really did. Milo and I love live theatre.
I go to lots of shows in London, and I take Milo when he is on school holidays, don’t I, love? ’
Milo smiled shyly. ‘Yes, Mum. I love the theatre. Now that Dad loves the theatre too, do you think we can tell him you signed the permission slip and I joined the drama club?’
‘Yes, sweetheart. There you see, I told you that every cloud has a silver lining.’
Bridie smiled. She said, ‘Milo, it is lovely to meet you.’ Although she’d met him already, outside the theatre after the fire, that wasn’t the time to say hello to the scared little boy who thought something had happened to his dad.
She said to Jade, ‘You don’t have to travel all the way to London to see a show. You can come here with Milo.’ She had a feeling they could bury the hatchet and be friends, just like Jake and Oliver had managed to do.
‘I know. I’m looking forward to your next show already. I hope you star in it too. You’re an amazing stage actress.’
Bridie sensed there was something else Jade wanted to get off her chest. Bridie raised her eyebrows in the awkward silence. ‘It was you, wasn’t it? You were there at my last performance in London. You posted it on social media.’
‘I don’t regret it.’
Bridie looked at her, surprised.
Jade offered up a satisfied grin. She lowered her voice. ‘If you hadn’t come back, it isn’t only the theatre that would still be closed, but so would Jack’s heart – to me. He needed to put the past behind him, to move on.’
‘You mean put me behind him.’
Jade nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘And I, him,’ Bridie admitted.
‘I know. I’m so glad you did. Oliver loves you. He always has. Jack knew that. We had a conversation …’
Jade told her everything that her and Jack had talked about standing outside the cottage next door to the theatre.
‘I heard that giving the cottage next door, to me and Oliver, was your idea, Jade.’
‘Oh, you should have seen his face when I suggested it.’
Bridie could imagine it was the last thing Jack expected from her. ‘He’s going to be spending time with me doing it up. Is that all right? It’s not just going to be me. Oliver will be there too.’
Jade’s smile said she was no longer worried about her husband spending time with Bridie. ‘It’s fine. I’m looking forward to seeing the place when it’s done.’
‘Good,’ said Bridie, ‘because I was thinking of having a little housewarming when the cottage is completed.’
‘Then I shall be very happy to come.’ She looked down at Milo standing by her side. ‘Come on, Milo. Say goodbye to Bridie. We will see her again soon.’
Milo stayed rooted to the spot. He looked up at Bridie. ‘Can I have a part in your next show?’
Bridie shifted her attention to Milo’s mum. ‘If your mum agrees.’
Jade looked at her son. ‘Of course you can, my little star.’
Bridie suddenly had a thought. ‘Milo, how would you like to star in this production?’
His eyes lit up. ‘Really?’
Bridie told Jade, ‘I think this production is going to have a long run, and I’ll need another actor to play Oliver.’
Jade said, ‘Seriously – the lead?’
‘He’ll need to audition.’
‘Of course,’ Jade said. ‘Just tell me when.’
They agreed on the next weekend.
As Jade turned to go, she said, ‘Thank you, Bridie. You’ve made Milo’s day. And mine.’
Oliver appeared by Bridie’s side. ‘Come on. There’s someone here to see you.’ He took her hand.
‘Oh, Grandad! You came!’ He had been sitting in the seat she’d reserved for him.
‘Of course I came. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I’ve missed you so much these past few weeks.’ He hugged her fiercely.
‘And I’ve missed you,’ Bridie said, tears of happiness rolling down her face. The theatre was gradually emptying, the audience making their way out of the auditorium.
He looked around the theatre. ‘You’ve been keeping secrets from me.’ He wagged his finger at her.
‘I know,’ she said apologetically.
‘You used to tell me everything, Bridie. I was your confidante.’
‘Yes. But after what happened on stage during my last show in London, I felt I’d let you down dreadfully, behaving the way I did. It was so unprofessional. I didn’t want to tell you about this, in case I failed and let you down again.’
‘Well, I’m glad I was here to see what a triumph it’s been.’
‘Grandad – was it you?’
‘Was it me?’ He shook his head. ‘Was what me?’
‘Was it you who gave me this theatre?’
‘Ah, I heard about that. If only I could have given you this wonderful place, but I wouldn’t have my council flat if I owned a property on the seafront in Aldeburgh, would I?’ He looked about him. ‘It would have been my dream come true, my own little theatre by the sea.’
‘Come and be part of it,’ said Bridie excitedly. ‘Move into the annexe at Mum and Dad’s house. I know they’ve completed the work. It’s all set up ready. I just can’t bear the thought of you returning to London on your own.’
Something occurred to her. ‘How did you get here? Nobody was sure you were coming. You didn’t travel all the way here by public transport, at your—’
He held up his hand. ‘I am quite capable of travelling by public transport at my age. But I didn’t have to. Julian brought me.’
Bridie’s mouth dropped open. ‘I’m sorry – what did you just say?’
‘Julian brought me in his car. Came to pick me up from my flat.’
‘You came with … with Julian?’ Bridie was flabbergasted. Why would he even speak to her horrible ex-fiancé, let alone travel with him to Suffolk?
‘Yes – why not?’
‘Why not?’ Bridie couldn’t believe this. ‘Why not?’ Was her grandad losing his short-term memory? ‘We are talking about the same Julian who cheated on me and ruined my career?’
‘The very same,’ Grandad said with a chuckle.
Bridie did not think it was something to have a chuckle over.
‘Hi, Bridie.’
Bridie jumped at the sound of a familiar voice behind her. She whirled around. ‘You!’
‘Yes, me! How are you?’
Bridie blinked. She had to be imagining it. He was the last person she’d expected to see on the opening night at The Little Theatre by the Sea – or on any night, for that matter. She growled at him, ‘What do you mean – how are you? What are you doing here?’
‘I came to see your show.’
‘How did you even know about it?’ Bridie suddenly remembered that call she’d made to her agent.
‘Ah, silly me,’ said Bridie sarcastically.
‘The West End is a small world, isn’t it?
’ The agent must have told him. But why was he even interested?
She glared at him when she realised exactly what he was doing there.
He’d come to gloat. ‘You came to see me fall flat on my face.’
‘Not at all,’ said Julian, smiling. ‘It’s been quite the success, hasn’t it?’
‘Yeah – no thanks to you.’ Bridie paused. ‘Actually, it was thanks to you. If you hadn’t dumped me, I would never have come back here, and met such amazing people, and found a life for myself I never knew could have existed.’
‘And achieved all this,’ said Julian, casting his eyes around the theatre. ‘You’ve achieved something quite remarkable. I never thought you’d pull it off.’
Jack appeared by her side. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘No!’ Bridie exclaimed.
‘Yes,’ her grandad said. ‘Everything is just perfect.’
Bridie shot him a look. How could he say that, when he’d brought Julian to her show? ‘No, it’s not.’
‘Who are you?’ Jack asked Julian.
‘I’m Bridie’s secret benefactor.’
Bridie suddenly felt the room begin to spin.
‘What’s happened?’ said Rufus and Reggie, rushing over to the little crowd of family and friends that had gathered around Bridie, flapping their hands, waving theatre programmes, trying to give her some air.
‘She’s fainted,’ Oliver said, anxiously. They sat her in a theatre chair, Oliver beside her, his arm around her shoulders, supporting her lolling head.
‘Bridie just had a little shock,’ said her grandad matter-of-factly. He turned to Julian as Bridie started to come round. ‘Perhaps you shouldn’t have just come out with it.’
‘Sorry.’
Bridie looked up at her grandad.
‘Are you all right?’ Oliver asked.
She sat upright. ‘Yes, I think so.’ She stared at Julian before shifting her gaze to her grandad. ‘You knew all along about the theatre, and that Julian is my secret benefactor?’ She still couldn’t believe it.
He shook his head. ‘No, not until the day, about a week ago, when Julian turned up at my flat. He had a confession to make.’ He turned to face him. ‘Julian – it’s time you told her what you told me.’
Bridie sat up in her seat as her friends from Cobblers Yard and her family gathered round, taking seats either side, and in front, and behind.
Bridie said, ‘You never told me you owned that theatre.’
Julian frowned. ‘I know.’
‘But … but you grew up with your parents in Cornwall. How did you end up with a theatre on the Suffolk Coast? You didn’t like visiting Suffolk, said you didn’t like the easterly wind, or my parents.’
‘It wasn’t either of those things. They were just excuses – it was this theatre and going on a guilt trip over it because of my parents.’
‘Your parents?’
‘Yes. You see, my grandfather left them the theatre but didn’t have the money to do the place up.
I think my grandparents briefly reopened it for one school year to stage a play – something about seeing if an investor might consider throwing some money at the theatre for a good cause, you know, helping out the local community. But it was not to be.’
‘Hey, that was the school year I joined the drama club and acted on that stage.’
‘Yes, I remember coming along to see the show at this theatre as a talent scout. How could I forget? It was the first time I saw you,’ said Julian.
‘So, anyway, they decided, in their wisdom, to give it to me, as I was a hot-shot theatre producer, earning pots of money – so they said. The expectation being that I’d do the place up to honour my grandparents’ legacy and run the place. ’
He sighed heavily. ‘For one thing, I don’t earn pots of money, so I didn’t have the means to do it up, or the inclination. But even if I’d had the money, I didn’t have time to get involved with a local theatre when I have a full-time job working in theatres in London.’
‘But why not just sell it rather than leaving it to go to rack and ruin?’ Jack asked.
Bridie glanced at Jack knowingly. If Julian had sold it years earlier, Jack would probably have got his hands on it, and the little theatre wouldn’t exist now. She shuddered at the thought of an ugly, boxy new build in its place.
‘It had a blasted covenant specifying it had to remain in the family and be passed down.’
‘So, you couldn’t sell,’ Oliver said.
‘No, but I didn’t want the responsibility of keeping hold of it, with my parents breathing down my neck, forever on at me about it. Then I happened to have this conversation with a lawyer friend who said there was a way to get it off my hands without selling it. It was a loophole.’
‘What was the loophole?’ Bridie asked
‘Give it away.’
Oliver said, ‘And who better to give the responsibility of a run-down theatre to than the woman whose life you’d ruined.’
‘I treated Bridie appallingly,’ Julian admitted.
‘I understood why she wouldn’t answer my calls or texts, and I understood something else – if she knew it was me gifting her the theatre, she wouldn’t accept it.
So it had to be done anonymously. I wanted to help her out, truly, I did.
’ Julian sighed. ‘I am sorry, Bridie. I sincerely regret how I treated you. I wanted to make amends. We’d been together all that time.
You deserved something better than that – than me.
So, I’d been keeping an eye on your progress with the theatre, and when I heard that you’d called your former agent and you were staging a show … ’
‘You came.’
‘Yes. Nobody else would, and I’m afraid that’s my fault. But look, if after all this, you want to return to the London stage, then the door is wide open. I’ve got shows lined up with your name at the top of the list.’
Everyone fell silent.
Bridie stared at him, thinking, you have got to be kidding me.
‘What about that woman you left me for?’ Bridie blurted, unsure why she was even asking. Was he there to see if they’d get back together? Was that really what it was all about?
‘We went our separate ways.’
Oliver immediately reached out and took Bridie’s hand. ‘If you’ve done all this …’ Oliver raised the other hand, indicating the theatre, ‘thinking you’ll win her back, you’re too late, mate. She’s moved on.’
‘I haven’t moved on,’ Bridie said, surprising Oliver, Jack, and everyone else seated around her.
‘After all this,’ said Oliver, still looking at her in complete surprise, ‘after all we’ve been through, setting up this place and staging a play, and … and us finally getting together, you’re going to return to Lon—?’
‘I never moved on,’ Bridie interrupted him, ‘from the love of my life, sitting right here. He’s always been the love of my life.’ She squeezed Oliver’ hand and smiled. ‘I realise that now.’ Bridie shifted her gaze to Julian. ‘You did me the biggest favour, Julian.’
‘Giving you this theatre?’
‘No, having an affair. It forced me to leave London, the place I thought I loved, and change my life. And I’ve discovered I love this place, Suffolk, where I grew up, and the amazing people here …
’ She glanced about her at her friends from Cobblers Yard ‘… and one person in particular.’ She turned her attention to Oliver.
Oliver returned her smile, the relief palpable.