Chapter 3 #2
‘It would be good advertising for her. We’ll put her in the acknowledgments, of course, but we could give her a free ad for the bakery in the programme too.’
Sive had to acknowledge they were right. She’d have enough on her plate, and she’d be happy for Chloe to get the job. They all liked her.
‘And for drinks, there’s mulled apple juice,’ Jonathan said. ‘Any alcoholic option?’
‘No,’ Mimi said sternly. ‘If they want alcohol, they can buy it in the bar.’
‘It’ll keep things flowing more easily too if people don’t have a choice,’ Aoife said. ‘And there’s no risk of slip-ups. We don’t want to be liable for someone underage getting served alcohol.’
‘I’ll need to get principals’ costumes sorted as soon as possible, so we can arrange a photoshoot and posters. I can—’ Sive was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
‘Oh, that’ll be Rocco,’ Mimi said as Sive jumped up to answer it.
The three sisters ate dinner together on Sundays, and Rocco, Jonathan and Sam now joined them most weeks for the family meal.
With their disjointed schedules, it was the one time Sive, Aoife and Mimi could usually guarantee they’d be able to get together.
Rocco and Mimi took turns hosting it at their house, but today Rocco was going to cook here while they got on with their meeting.
Sive opened the door to find Rocco standing on the step carrying two large bulging shopping bags. ‘What are we having?’ she asked as he stepped inside.
‘Sea bass.’ He leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek.
‘Ooh, yum! Come on in.’ Rocco was a major Hollywood star, so dinners at his place tended to be more lavish than Sive and Aoife’s humble offerings, which were usually veggie-based. Sive sensed he made a deliberate effort to spoil them.
He followed her down the hall to the kitchen, where he slung the bags onto the worktop and began unloading them. From one, he took out an enormous fish, stiff and bright-eyed with freshness.
‘Wow! That’s quite a specimen.’
‘It’s wild,’ Rocco told her, sliding a finger along the silvery skin.
‘Ooh, very posh! I made bread,’ she told him, pointing to where it stood cooling on a rack.
‘Mmm, it smells amazing,’ Rocco said, bending over it and inhaling. Then he turned it over and tapped the bottom. It made a satisfying hollow sound. ‘Good job!’
‘Thanks. Well, you know where everything is, right?’
‘Yep. I’m fine. You can get back to your meeting.’
‘If you need anything, just shout.’
‘Do you think one of us should go and help Rocco?’ Sive asked Mimi, returning to the living room.
‘Nah, leave him to it. He enjoys it.’
Mouth-watering smells of garlic and herbs emanated from the kitchen throughout the rest of the meeting.
Sam arrived just as they were wrapping things up. He handed Sive a bottle of wine as he stepped into the hall.
‘Something smells amazing!’ He licked his lips. ‘Anything I can do to help?’ he asked, nodding in the direction of the kitchen.
‘Ask Rocco. He’s cooking.’
Sam went down the hall to join Rocco in the kitchen, while Sive returned to the dining room and she and her sisters tidied away their meeting stuff and set the table for dinner.
‘Grub’s up,’ Sam announced, sticking his head around the door, and they all busied themselves bringing dishes in from the kitchen, pouring wine and water, and lighting candles.
‘This looks fantastic,’ Sive said as she placed a platter of sea bass in the centre of the table. ‘Thanks, Rocco.’
‘Just a little something I rustled up,’ Rocco said with a shrug.
It tasted even more delicious than it looked, if that was possible.
The sea bass was bursting with vivid Mediterranean flavours, cooked in a garlicky tomato sauce with olives and capers, and fragrant with herbs.
Served alongside it there were little rosemary roast potatoes, a bright green salad and Sive’s crusty bread.
There were groans and murmurs of appreciation as everyone began eating.
‘This is so good,’ Sam said to Rocco. ‘If the acting gig doesn’t work out for you, you could definitely have a career as a chef.’
‘It’s going okay so far, but it’s always good to have something to fall back on.’
‘It’s gorgeous,’ Sive said. She’d forgotten what a marvellous cook Rocco was.
‘Well, it’s all thanks to my Nonna Gianna. She taught me everything I know.’
‘Your family is Italian?’ Jonathan asked him.
‘On my mother’s side. My grandparents were from Genoa and we used to spend summer holidays there when I was growing up. My nonna was an amazing cook and my sisters and I were all roped in to help make these big family feasts.’ He smiled at the memory.
‘Well, you do her legacy proud,’ Sive told him.
‘Thanks.’ Rocco gave her a grateful smile.
‘And it’s certainly paid off for us. Here’s to Nonna Gianna,’ Mimi said, raising her glass and they all joined in the toast.
‘I can’t take all the credit,’ Rocco said. ‘Sam helped.’
‘I chopped the herbs,’ Sam said proudly. ‘And I cut the bread.’
‘Good job!’ Sive said to him. ‘Those slices are exemplary.’
It wasn’t long before the chat inevitably turned to the impending theatre festival.
‘It’ll be odd not having a show in the festival this year,’ Sive said.
‘Or being in one,’ Mimi added.
‘But the beauty of it is we can be punters. We’ll be able to go and see the shows for once.’
‘I’m looking forward to that,’ Mimi said. ‘It’s a great programme.’
‘Me too,’ Sam said. ‘I’m just sorry I won’t get a chance to see that production of The Plough and the Stars at the Abbey. I’ve heard it’s brilliant. But it’s ending next week.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame,’ Sive said. ‘I haven’t seen it yet either – too busy – but I’m hoping to get to see it before it closes.’
‘I’m sure Cara could manage without you for one night,’ Mimi said to Sam. He was slated to continue working in his capacity as assistant stage manager until rehearsals for A Christmas Carol began. ‘She’s already found a replacement for you, hasn’t she?’ Mimi said.
‘Yeah – a temporary one. He’s been in for a bit of training, but he’s not due to start work officially until Monday week. I’d feel bad about leaving Cara in the lurch.’
‘She’d hardly be in the lurch,’ Mimi said. ‘She’s hasn’t even had an assistant long enough to get used to it.’
That may be true, but they all knew that unofficially Sam had been Cara’s right-hand man since he’d started at Halfpenny Lane.
‘You’re not irreplaceable, you know,’ Mimi said. ‘Take a night off and go see a play. It’s an important part of your education as an actor, apart from anything else.’
‘That’s true,’ Aoife said. ‘Weekly theatre visits are compulsory on the Gaiety acting course.’
‘Well, I get to watch you two all the time,’ Sam said, nodding to Mimi and Rocco.
‘Watching the same play over and over doesn’t count. You should see as wide a variety of stuff as possible.’
‘And you’re backstage in the prompt corner or in the control booth with Cara, watching on a screen,’ Aoife said. ‘It’s not the same experience.’
‘We could go together,’ Sive suggested.
‘Really?’ Sam beamed. ‘That’d be great.’ All his objections to taking a night off seemed to have suddenly melted away.
‘I’ll see if I can get us tickets, will I?’
‘Yes, please.’
‘Are you looking forward to starting at the Gaiety?’ Rocco asked Aoife. She was due to start at the acting school in a couple of weeks.
‘Yes, I’m so excited,’ Aoife said, her face lighting up. ‘But I’m nervous too.’
‘Don’t be. You’ll be brilliant,’ Rocco said. ‘You’re already way ahead of the game.’
‘And you’ll have the time of your life,’ Mimi added.
‘Yes, you’ll have the best time,’ Sive said.
She, Mimi and Rocco were all graduates of the Gaiety School of Acting.
‘I’m kind of envious of you, actually.’ The course was rigorous and demanding, but she still remembered it as the most exciting time of her life.
She was excited for Aoife experiencing it all for herself – the joy of spending every day doing what you loved, discovering a whole new world opening up before you and gradually acquiring the skills to master that world, the magic of learning to navigate a text and inhabit a character.
‘I can’t wait,’ Aoife said.
She’d already waited long enough, having turned down her place in acting school after their parents died and instead getting a sensible job and taking over as breadwinner for their little family. It was great to see her so happy now, finally pursuing her dream.
‘So what else do we want to see in the festival?’ Mimi asked, looking around the table.
‘Well, the touring shows at Halfpenny Lane, for one thing,’ Aoife said.
‘Yes, I know someone who might be able to get us into those,’ Mimi said. ‘Sam, Cara’s down as their first point of contact, of course, but we’ll give them your mobile number as back-up, if that’s okay?’
‘Of course.’
‘The Polish company’s SM will be coming over next week to scope everything out, so you can help Cara show him around.’
‘Back to talking shop already?’ Jonathan said teasingly. ‘It’s been, what, five minutes?’ He glanced at his watch.
‘What other kind of talk is there?’ Sive said, laughing. ‘We’re like those people who live over the shop. It’s all the talk we’ve got.’
Jonathan’s eyes crinkled in amusement. ‘I don’t think people who live over the shop spend their evenings discussing the stocktake or their next delivery of supplies.’
‘Well, I guess they just don’t love their business as much as we do. Shop talk is our favourite kind of talk.’
‘And our favourite type of holiday?’ Aoife prompted him.
‘I know this one.’ He smiled. ‘Busman’s holiday.’