Chapter 4
T om was great. Hearing him going on about his show in Edinburgh was very refreshing, Zoe thought. At least, it made her not think about her own job for a minute.
“You can’t imagine how busy we were up there.
I didnae have any free time, not a wee bit!
” He exclaimed, running a hand through his short black hair.
He still had a bit of Scottish brogue in his voice, which made Zoe smile - it was clear he’d been immersed in his role.
Tom had gotten home only yesterday evening, after being away for three weeks.
Having him back felt a bit weird after all this time, but Zoe was happy having someone to talk to again in the mornings.
“How do you feel about it? You just crashed into bed last night. You were so exhausted.”
“It’s the kind of exhaustion that makes you feel alive, y’know?
It’s going to be a big hit, I think. A gritty crime show like that is all people want these days.
” Tom was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, taking a glass out, then thinking for a minute and picking up a mug instead before settling for the glass again. He was restless from the excitement.
“What’s so gritty about-”
Zoe was interrupted by the sound of the tap. Tom was generously filling his glass with water.
“Sorry love, I didn’t hear you. What were you saying?” He turned around smiling wide while he was drinking.
“I was asking what was so gritty about it.”
“Oh you know. Psychos. Bad cops. Young women being murdered. All that.”
“I’ve never seen such grittiness before.” Zoe chuckled.
Tom frowned. “I mean it does follow a formula but it’s going to add quite a lot to the genre. You just have to watch it.”
“Come on, Tom. I was joking.” Zoe looked at her phone. It was almost 10:30 am. Nicki was supposed to pick her up to go to one of her interviews planned this week, the one with the women’s magazine.
“It’s alright, love.” He paused. “What are your plans today?”
“I have an interview in the morning - I’m leaving in 10 minutes - then we’re filming the new season this afternoon.” She looked at Tom. Seeing as he was not saying anything, she added: “Why? Do you have any plans?”
“No, I just wanted to know. I might catch up with a friend later this evening. He says he has a potential new project for me.”
Zoe’s face fell. She was still getting used to him being back, but part of her had hoped that Tom had come home to start on wedding plans.
Ever since he’d proposed, nothing had moved forward.
To be fair, Zoe hadn’t really been pushing to start planning either.
And with Tom’s new show taking up all of his time, why should she be the one to make sacrifices in her career to organise this?
“Sounds good.” Zoe answered flatly. “Filming will probably end late again. We’re cursed this season.”
“Sorry to hear that. C’mere, give me a kiss.” Tom leaned in and kissed Zoe on the lips before heading upstairs. “Break a leg with the interview!”
A few moments later, the doorbell rang. Zoe headed out to find Nicki with a small paper bag in her hand.
“Got us some scones from the coffee shop for us on our way there.” She held the bag up high, wiggling her brows.
“You didn’t.” Zoe snatched the bag and looked inside. Blueberry and chocolate chip scones. “And you got my favourite?”
Nicki smiled. “Of course. I’ve worked with you long enough to know your scone tastes. And also that you perform better with sugar in your blood.” She walked back down to the driveway and got into the driver’s side of her car.
Zoe sighed and got in on the other side, biting into one of the pastries as she did. “Nicki, I swear to god I’m going to marry you.”
“Do you think Tom’ll agree with that?” She laughed.
“Honestly, I think he would.” Zoe said, her smile dropping. She leaned her head in her hand, elbow propped up against the window. She took another bite of her scone, followed by another larger one.
They stopped at a red light. Nicki turned to Zoe. “Is there something you want to talk about?”
Zoe sighed. “I don’t want to bother you with this. I’m sorry I even mentioned it. Forget about it.”
“This is still part of my job, Zoe. If you do this interview with Her in a bad mood, it’s not going to go well.”
Nicki was right. Zoe should just get it out of her system. There were for sure going to be questions about her engagement to Tom. It had been minor gossip in the tabloids when he proposed last spring. The car rumbled and started again.
“Fine. We’ve been engaged for a year and nothing has been planned yet. We don’t see each other that much. I thought that being engaged would make us more involved in the relationship but it didn’t.” Zoe bit her lip.
“Do you know why nothing is happening?” Nicki was driving carefully, eyes on the road, but still managed to seem very focused on Zoe. She really was a pro.
“It’s tough to say. I think we’re both at major points in our careers and it’s going really well. Why would we stop the momentum to organise a wedding?”
“Then why did you get engaged in the first place?”
Tough question. “We got engaged so we could have more time together.”
“And now you’re not planning the wedding because you don’t have time with each other.”
Zoe leaned back in her seat. “It sounds so pointless when you put it like that.”
“I don’t think it’s necessarily negative.
You both got engaged because you love each other and felt spending time with each other was a priority.
That sounds pretty good. Weddings take time and you’re not quite there yet, but the fact that you know you want to have that with each other at some point is a good thing, don’t you think?
” Nicki pulled into the parking spot in front of a fancy hotel - where Zoe was meeting up with the journalist.
A silence filled the car for a moment. “That makes sense. I think I need to stop worrying about it. Things are working out with Tom and it’s good. I never moved in with anyone before him, you know?” Zoe could feel the clouds in her head clearing out.
“Yes, to each their own pace.” Nicki put a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “You’ve got this. Now go inside and smash this interview.”
“I will!”
* * *
Two hours later, the black Fiat 500 screeched to a halt in another parking lot, the one from the filming studio this time.
“We’re only re-shooting some scenes for the Christmas special today. It shouldn’t end too late.” Nicki pulled her phone out. “And we already have an email from the Her journalist thanking you for the lovely moment!”
Zoe was glowing in the passenger seat. “You can answer her and say that the pleasure was all mine.”
The interview had gone pretty well. It was the usual questions about Zoe’s work-life balance ( “It’s difficult, but I make a point to make time for my friends and family!
”) , her favourite recipes ( “I like challenges so every new recipe quickly becomes my favourite. Though I have to say that my grandma’s recipe for lemon drizzle cake is my go-to when I have guests over.
”) , the new season of “Cooking from A to Zoe” ( “This one’s going to be everybody’s favourite, stay tuned!
” ) and finally, her relationship with Tom Wright ( “It’s wonderful, he’s my best friend and my partner.
Sometimes it’s tough with our schedules but we make it work.
The wedding is coming along but we have no date yet, we’re not in a hurry.
What matters is that we’re together.” ) Zoe didn’t know how she would’ve answered that last question had Nicki not cleared her head out.
Once again, everything was a success all thanks to her amazing assistant.
Nicki reached for her backpack under the backseat of their car and took a Tupperware out.
“My mum made some patés chauds for lunch. She insisted that I share them with you.” She gently shook the container.
“She loves your show by the way, but she says that you should buy a rice cooker. She doesn’t understand why you keep cooking rice in a pot.
She says you can get some very good and cheap rice cookers at Currys. ”
Zoe laughed loudly as she eagerly took the container of meat-filled pastries. “Please thank your mum for me. I love her patés chauds . Tell her I’ll see with production if we can get a rice cooker.” She thought for a moment. “Maybe we could feature her paté chaud recipe on the show?”
Nicki looked shocked and made to take back the container from Zoe, who snatched it out of reach.
“Of course we can’t. It’s a secret recipe for a reason.”
The two women entered the filming studio, walking directly to the show’s set.
They opened the stage door to an army of black-clad crew members hurrying around, making sure everything was perfect.
One assistant immediately greeted Zoe and offered to take her coat, then whisked her away to costumes and then to make-up.
As much as she loved her black dress with the white Peter Pan collar, it was not fit for a Christmas special.
She moved quickly through the set and into the changing room, Nicki following closely behind.
“Zoe, since we will most definitely finish early this evening, I suggest you and I discuss your catering agenda before we head home.” Nicki was swiping frantically on her tablet.
“That’s a brilliant idea.”
“I’ve already noticed some jobs that are in the same geographical area. I’ll tell you later.”
A silence.
“Is everything alright, Zoe?”
The door abruptly opened. “Sorry Nicki. Can you zip me up?” Zoe was wearing a red velvet dress, much too warm for the season, but that’s what happened when you shot Christmas specials in April.
Nicki waved for Zoe to turn around, which she obliged.
“Oh god, you’re ripped. I don’t remember scheduling that many workout sessions in your planning.” Nicki zipped up the dress with a swift movement.
“I do some extra exercise when I feel guilty about snacking on set.”
“This sounds very unhealthy. But at the same time, you look great. As your assistant, I’m torn.”
Zoe chuckled.
After a quick make-up session - the Zoe brand was to be as natural as possible - Zoe took place behind the counter of her fake kitchen.
A lot of viewers thought this was Zoe’s actual kitchen and that the show was filmed at her house.
They might be disappointed to learn that Zoe’s real kitchen did not have a giant bay window with a view over a lush courtyard with natural sunlight shining in for 10 hours a day. Zoe knew she was.
Sound check and light check were done. The director waved at Zoe.
“You’re ready for some Christmas magic?”
“Can we hurry? I’m already sweating in my velvet dress.”
“You should try dressing for the weather, Zoe.” He smirked.