Chapter 29
29
The following week was a calm time during which Vi felt all her energy return, despite still waiting to hear if Liz had finally approved the changes. The shooting would start when and if she agreed to it, so there was no need for Vi to come to London. While they waited, Dave the director and Jack had arranged for them to rehearse at Magnolia Manor, while the scenery was being prepared. This way, they would be ready to start shooting as soon as they got the go-ahead and make up for lost time, he said. Vi had a niggling worry that Jack’s gung-ho attitude to quit the company if Liz didn’t come around had fizzled out. He was probably not prepared to burn all his bridges for her. Understandable, but disappointing all the same.
A few days later, the first scene of the movie was finally being rehearsed. It was the scene where Kathleen met Don for the first time at the country house in Ireland, a house very similar to Magnolia Manor, but without the backdrop of the sea. That was a minor detail and the difference in location would not be noticed by the majority of the audience, Liz had explained. Vi was prepared to swallow her protest and ‘stop the nit-picking’, as Liz had put it, and do her job. It was a small price to pay if she had achieved what she wanted – the real, true story of Kathleen O’Sullivan. In any case, the new screenplay was wonderful and Vi fell into her role as if Kathleen herself was directing her. She felt Kathleen’s presence very strongly as she said her lines and had no problem rehearsing the love scenes with Peter Black, who also loved the script and the dialogue that now seemed more realistic than before, especially with a lot of drama and arguments between the main characters. It was fun and challenging and very stimulating at the same time.
Leo was a wonderful help. He had a gentle touch when he practised applying her makeup and even helped her remove everything, giving her a lovely little face massage at the end of the day. They were now close friends and all the tensions between them were gone. It was as if that New Year’s Eve kiss had never happened.
Vi hadn’t heard from Jack after her last email to him and that upset her. But preparing for the movie helped her turn her mind away from her heartache and she supposed she would, in time, accept that he wasn’t as interested in her as she had thought.
There was a long break after the rehearsals, as they all seemed to be holding their breaths while they waited for the final go-ahead. Everyone was happy to have some time off before the hard work began, however. Everyone except Vi, who now had plenty of free time to think about her feelings for Jack.
Vi did everything to distract herself during the break, feeling restless and nervous as she waited for the decision to start filming – or not. She even volunteered to babysit one evening when Lily and Dominic went to an Irish music event in Killarney where Dominic’s band, The Fiddler’s Elbow, was performing. They were staying the night in a hotel and, as their au pair had the night off, needed someone to mind Naomi and Liam.
‘Are you sure?’ Lily asked when they were having tea with Sylvia one wet and windy Thursday afternoon. ‘They can be a bit of a handful, especially Liam.’
‘Oh, I can manage,’ Vi assured her. ‘They know me well by now. Naomi is a great help. The best big sister.’
‘She can act up too,’ Sylvia cut in as she served them another slice of apple pie at the kitchen table. ‘Don’t let her get the upper hand, Violet.’
‘I won’t,’ Vi said, smiling. ‘I’ll be a step ahead all the time. I know the rules and Naomi knows I know.’
‘So there’ll be no “Mummy always lets me eat sweets before bedtime”,’ Sylvia quipped. ‘She tried that with me but I didn’t fall for it.’
‘But you did fall for “Mummy always lets me watch TV until ten o’clock”,’ Lily remarked.
‘Well, yes, but that was because we both wanted to watch Mrs Doubtfire ,’ Sylvia said. ‘I knew she was having me on, but I went along with it. Why would I want to sit there alone and watch it? We had fun. Sorry, Lily.’
Lily laughed. ‘She has you wrapped around her little finger, Granny. But she loves you as much as we do.’
‘And that’s all I want,’ Sylvia stated, taking a bite of her apple pie. ‘This is a delicious pie. Must tell Nora it’s especially good. Must be because the Bramley apples last year were so abundant.’ She looked at Vi. ‘So how are you getting on with everything, Violet? The movie and that handsome rascal and everything?’
‘It’s coming along,’ Vi replied. ‘All we need now is for the weather to improve so we can shoot the outdoor scenes in the garden.’
‘Jack told me…’ Sylvia started but stopped, putting her hand to her mouth. ‘Oops. I wasn’t supposed to say anything.’
‘Come on, Granny,’ Vi urged. ‘You have to spill the beans now that you’ve started.’
Sylvia sighed. ‘Oh, what does it matter? It’s just that Jack told me what you had found out about Kathleen. Which I sort of knew already, of course.’
‘Sort of?’ Vi said, lifting an eyebrow.
‘What are you talking about?’ Lily asked. ‘What’s this stuff about Kathleen O’Sullivan?’
Vi put more whipped cream on her piece of apple pie. ‘It’s a secret that will be revealed when the movie comes out. But I’ll tell you now anyway if you promise to keep quiet.’
‘Your secret is safe with me,’ Lily said, leaning forward. ‘So come on, let’s hear it.’
Vi told Lily what she had found out from Fidelma.
Lily’s eyes widened. ‘Oh wow? Really? She wasn’t Irish at all?’ She turned to look at Sylvia, who was making another pot of tea by the sink. ‘And you knew this all the time and never said anything?’
Sylvia shrugged. ‘I didn’t know if it was true. It was a rumour that started to circulate when Kathleen became very famous over in Hollywood. Then it died down when we all wanted to claim this famous actress as our own. She did a lot for Ireland in her day. So everyone stopped saying anything about the fact that she might not really be Irish, because that’s what we wanted her to be. Our very own fresh-faced nice Irish colleen from the Emerald Isle.’
Lily smiled and nodded. ‘I see what you mean. Well, that’ll be quite a story on the screen, won’t it? Something that will resonate with people who came here from abroad and then became Irish. They don’t have to hide their origins, but she did.’
‘Well, she didn’t have to,’ Sylvia argued. ‘She did it because she wanted to fit in. Then she kept her new identity and didn’t reveal the truth when that talent scout found her. Why would she? It was the ticket to Hollywood for her. And then, of course, she had to keep it up.’
‘I know, but people who have emigrated will identify with her,’ Lily countered. ‘A bridge across the generations and nationalities, so to speak.’
‘That’s true,’ Sylvia agreed. ‘So then the story has become something else, something deeper and more meaningful, all thanks to Violet.’
‘Well done, Vi,’ Lily said.
‘Thanks.’ Vi smiled at Lily. ‘Now all we have to do is to get to shoot that darn movie. I’ve had enough of delays and complications.’ She got up from the table. ‘I’m going home to do some more reading. I need to practise my lines a little more. And I’m going to email Liz with what you just told me, Granny. If it was widely known, even if not talked about, that might convince her.’
‘I don’t see why not,’ Sylvia agreed. ‘I can talk to her myself if you want.’
‘That would be a great help.’ Vi beamed a grateful smile at her grandmother. ‘I’ll let you know what happens.’
‘I’ll have to get going too.’ Lily rose from her chair. ‘I’ll help Granny tidy up and then I have to head home. Gretel will have picked up the kids from school and preschool. See you Saturday, Vi.’
Vi kissed Lily on the cheek. ‘See you. Looking forward to minding the kids.’
‘You might regret you said that,’ Lily warned with a wink.
Only an hour into her babysitting evening, Vi did indeed start to regret her hasty offer to mind two small, very tired children. She had waved goodbye to Dominic and Lily, laughing at their concerns, saying she would cope very well and they were to go off and enjoy the break and not worry. ‘And please don’t phone every half hour,’ she ordered. ‘I’ll call if there is an emergency. But there won’t be, so you two have a ball and dance the night away.’
They had taken off laughing and waving. Vi went inside to make the evening meal for the children, planning what she would watch on TV once they were asleep. Which they would have to be soon, after a day of playing on the beach with some of their friends during a very active playdate. She was also going to read the script yet again so she would be word perfect once they started shooting. She had emailed Liz with what she had learned from Sylvia earlier and hoped to get a reply soon.
The trouble started at the kitchen table when Vi served up chicken meatballs, mashed potatoes and peas, which Lily had declared was their favourite. Not so, Naomi said.
‘We want Coco Pops for dinner,’ she declared. ‘We always have that.’
‘No, you don’t,’ Vi argued. ‘This is what Mummy said you wanted. And Coco Pops are bad for you. Full of sugar. You know the rules, Naomi.’
‘Yeah, but tonight is Saturday,’ Naomi tried. ‘That’s when we’re allowed treats.’
‘You can have treats when you’ve eaten your dinner all up,’ Vi said. ‘Then I’ll give you Coco Pops for dessert.’
Liam banged his spoon on the plate. Then he threw the spoon on the floor and started to eat with his fingers. Vi decided to let him. It was easier than arguing with a two-year-old. Larry, the big white dog, sniffed the floor waiting for any crumbs that might drop down. Liam threw one of the meatballs on the floor, which Larry wolfed down in seconds.
‘Liam is rude,’ Naomi said, pointing at him with her spoon. ‘He’s feeding meatballs to Larry. And he’s messy. Look – he’s taking the ketchup and getting it in his hair, ha ha!’
Vi looked at Liam and discovered that Naomi was right. He had taken the bottle of ketchup when she wasn’t looking and squirted it all over his nearly clean T-shirt and his face and now he was smearing it into his hair. ‘I eat ketchup,’ he said, laughing. Then he dug into his meatballs again and ate most of what was on his plate, stuffing his mouth full and grinning.
Vi sighed. ‘I’ll just let him finish and then I’ll give him a bath.’
Naomi nodded. ‘Yes, that’s what you should do. Look, I’m eating my dinner all up with my spoon and not spilling.’
‘You’re the best girl.’ Vi kissed Naomi on the top of her head.
Naomi nodded. ‘Yes I am. So I can watch TV with you when Liam is asleep.’
‘We’ll see,’ Vi said, not wanting to start another argument. Then she saw that Liam had finished and scooped him up in her arms, not caring that she was getting ketchup and mashed potato all over her shirt. ‘You can watch the cartoons now while I give Liam a bath and get him into his pyjamas.’
‘And then I can have Coco Pops?’ Naomi asked, looking hopeful.
Vi nodded. ‘Yes, because I said you could.’
‘Me too,’ Liam shouted. ‘I want Coca Pops too!’
‘Okay,’ Vi agreed. ‘When you’re in your pyjamas. And then you’ll both have to brush your teeth and get into bed.’
‘Then you have to read us a story or we won’t be able to sleep,’ Naomi stated, sliding off her chair.
‘Of course,’ Vi said, mentally waving her peaceful evening goodbye. She lugged the little boy up the stairs and started to run the bath, then she sat on a stool and peeled off his dirty clothes. ‘You are a mess, Liam.’
Liam laughed as she put him into the warm water and started to splash, soaking Vi. She smiled at him and looked down at her wet T-shirt dotted with ketchup stains. ‘I’m a mess too.’
She had just finished washing Liam and was drying him with a towel hanging on the radiator when the doorbell rang, making Larry bark furiously. ‘That’s all I need,’ Vi groaned. ‘Open the door, Naomi, but don’t let in any strangers,’ she called as she walked towards the stairs carrying Liam wrapped in a towel. She could hear Naomi opening the door. ‘Who is it?’ Vi called.
‘A man,’ Naomi replied. ‘But he’s not a stranger. And Larry likes him.’
‘Is it Martin?’ Vi called, remembering that he had said he might drop in to see if she needed anything.
‘No,’ Naomi called back.
Vi arrived downstairs and went into the hall to see who was at the door. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the person on the doorstep smiling at her and holding out a bunch of flowers. ‘What are you doing here?’