Chapter 12
NATE SAT IN THE CAR AND DIALLED his parents’ number.
It would be evening in London, and if he didn’t call now, he’d have another whole day of avoiding the conversation he knew he had to have.
Jess finding out about him at the cafe made him realise he couldn’t run from reality forever and, surprisingly, it was a relief to get it all out in the open.
She’d been far more understanding of the whole situation than he’d expected.
Hopefully, his parents would be too.
“Nate?” Hearing his mother’s voice, he bit the inside of his lip with guilt. The concern was obvious, even in how she said his name.
“Where are you? We’ve been so worried. Your father and I rang Samantha, but she wouldn’t tell us anything. She seemed upset. Said you’re gone, and she didn’t know where.” Her voice switched to the stern tone she’d always used when he was in trouble as a teenager. She wasn’t someone you lied to.
“What’s going on, Nathaniel?”
“I’m so sorry, Mum. Samantha and I aren’t good. I’m—” his voice cracked and he shifted the phone away from his chin to clear his throat. “I’m okay. I took a job in New Zealand and—”
He wanted to tell her how, since finding out about Samantha’s infidelity, it was like someone had shoved him in a washing machine and turned on the spin cycle.
Nothing made sense, and he couldn’t get a handle on his own emotions.
He was exhausted, wrung out, couldn’t tell which way was up and which was down.
Instead, he let his voice drift off.
His mother picked up the thin thread of conversation. “In New Zealand? I don’t understand? Are you saying it’s over with Samantha? Why didn’t you tell us? George! It’s Nate on the phone!”
Nate moved the phone away to avoid being deafened. When she stopped shouting, he took a big breath and tried again. “Mum. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. It ended….suddenly and I didn’t, I couldn’t face anyone. I needed to get away to get my thoughts straight.”
“But the wedding. We’ll have to tell all the guests and cancel the arrangements…And your job. Did you quit? What’s going on, Nate? I’m totally shocked. Wait, dear, yes George, I’m talking to Nate. He’s in New Zealand. Samantha and Nate broke up.”
“Mum?”
“Sorry dear, your dad wants to talk to you. I love you, my darling.”
“I love you too, Mum.”
“Son, what’s this? Your mum says you’re in New Zealand?”
“I am, and I need a favour.”
“Anything, son.”
“Can you check the apartment for me? I don’t want to talk to Samantha right now, and I’m not really sure what’s happening with it. Whether she’s staying there…I left in a hurry.”
“Understood. How long will you be away?”
“Just a month. I took a short-term contract here.” They’d assume it was a medical position. A white lie, but he’d fill them in later. “I have to go to work now, but I’ll call tomorrow and talk more. I promise.”
“Love you, son. Keep your chin up. It’ll all iron out in the end.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Nate hung up and sat staring out at the parking lot for a moment. First Band-Aid ripped off.
He wondered how many people on set Jess had already told.
She came across as a social butterfly type of person.
They’d had a good chat after the incident at the cafe, but overall she’d been very hot and cold with him, which, thinking about it now, made him nervous.
Yes, she’d acted understanding, but he probably shouldn’t have said anything.
Shouldn’t have opened up and trusted her so much.
He could imagine her telling the story surrounded by crew, revealing his secret to everyone.
No more hiding quietly in his fake role then.
FEELING A LITTLE UNSETTLED by the waitresses’ close call and by the conversation with Nate, Jess grabbed another coffee, a takeaway one this time, and found a quiet place to park to clear her head before she arrived on set.
Since their conversation, a worrying thought had snuck its way into her mind.
If they found out Nate was a qualified doctor, would she get dropped?
He seemed far more knowledgeable about the history aspects than she did.
And as a male doctor, frustratingly and incorrectly, people might assume he’d be superior to a midwife.
That was the kind of thing that drove Jess wild.
Although, in this case, they’d probably be right. She was completely out of her depth.
She took a long sip of her coffee. Losing this job now would mean her dream house and her chaos-to-calm plan were so much further away. It would mean returning to her old life and bumping into Dave at work.
No, she needed this month to get everything sorted. She’d just have to work harder and prove her worth to the team.
Laney had said she wouldn’t be required first thing, but wanting to make sure she impressed the director, she threw back the rest of her coffee and headed to set early.
By the time she arrived, she’d found her composure again.
The set buzzed with people in a way Jess had started to enjoy.
There was an excitement and urgency before filming that reminded her of the maternity ward, but where the ward was designed to be a peaceful environment, quiet and calm for new parents and birthing mothers, the set was bright and loud and chaotic.
It was a heady mix, and she already knew she’d miss it when it finished.
She hated to admit it, but she could see the appeal of this world.
Quietly slipping into the writers’ room, she hoped to get some research in before the day started, but the minute she sat down, Laney and a crew of makeup, costume, and writers surrounded her. They stared down at her, as if measuring her up for the evening’s meal.
“What? What is it?” She checked her outfit. Was it covered in blood or beans after their incident in the cafe?
“I think she’ll be perfect,” purred Frankie, the makeup artist, fingering a lock of Jess’s hair and tucking it neatly behind her ear.
“Yes, I think this will work.” Laney sounded both stressed and relieved, her voice even higher and faster than usual.
“What will work?” Jess asked, her composure slipping as they poked and examined her like a chess piece.
“I’ve got a nurse’s outfit that will fit. She looks almost exactly the same size as Sarah.” The costume artist let her eyes run up and down Jess’s body briefly. “Close enough. A belt will show off her curves too.” She patted Jess on the shoulder. “You’ll look great, hun.”
Nurse’s costume? She could see where this was going. “Can someone fill me in? I love all the attention, but you’re starting to make me feel like I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. What the heck is going on?”
“Sorry!” Laney laughed, maniacally playing with the end of her messy plait, clearly stressed. “We just need you to step in for one scene. It’ll be fun. It won’t even be like acting. Just think of it as doing your normal midwife job. Nate said you’d—”
“Nate said, did he?” Jess interrupted Laney’s verbal diarrhoea and lifted her eyebrows. Another item to add to the list of things to discuss with Nate later. First, the cottage. Now, putting her name down for acting?
“Please say yes. We really need you.” Laney released her poor harassed hair and clasped her hands, prayer-like, in front of her lips, waiting for a response. A circle of hopeful faces surrounded her. How could she say no?
“I guess I can give it a try.”
The director clapped her hands, beaming. “Life saver! Come on then. Let’s get into it.”
She led Jess by the shoulders out of the writer’s room and towards hair and makeup, the team trailing behind them. As they walked, Laney bombarded her with acting tips.
“Don’t look directly at the camera. Did you do school plays or anything? You don’t need to raise your voice or make exaggerated expressions. It’s different to theatre.
“Small movements. Feel it, think it, and it will show on camera.
“Calm the mother, help deliver the baby, that sort of thing. Easy-peasy.”
“I don’t—” Jess started, a sudden bout of nerves hitting as Laney handed her over to Frankie. He guided her into a chair, swivelling her towards a large, brightly lit mirror.
In the reflection, she could see Laney’s back as she raced out of the room, most likely running away before Jess could protest.
The makeup artist placed his hands lightly on her shoulders, and they stared at each other in the mirror.
“Mm-hmm. The cameras are going to love you.”
She couldn’t help feeling cheered up by the delighted look on his face.
“But will I love the camera?”
Frankie tipped his head to the side, examining her again. “I don’t buy it. You strike me as someone who’s always up for an adventure.”
She widened her eyes in mock offense, but he wasn’t wrong.
Her best friend Poppy would confirm that.
Poppy was the responsible planner. Jess was the risk taker.
The spontaneous one. The free spirit. Maybe she’d inherited that from her birth father?
Although she liked to think she was more loyal to the people she loved than he’d been.
Another reason she was so careful who she gave her heart to.
“Fine, I wouldn’t have said no,” she admitted. “But who wouldn’t get nervous? It’s not like I have cameras watching my every move in my usual job.”
“But you should. Look at you! Everyone loves a hot nurse delivering cute babies.”
“Stop it.” Jess smiled at him in the mirror, and Frankie shrugged.
“What? It makes complete sense. I’ll pitch it as a reality show.”
“Tell them I don’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day,” Jess said.
“You and me both, darling girl.”
Having a laugh made her feel slightly better, but she still wanted to know exactly what Laney was expecting from her.
“Can you fill me in on the details of what I’ve signed up for?” she asked.
Frankie ran a wet brush through the top of her hair, smoothing it into a ponytail as he explained the schedule for the day.