Chapter 7 #2
How on earth was he messing everything up so badly?
It was like setting foot back in Halfmoon Quay had undone the months of hard work and self-improvement and he was back to that feckless, aimless waste of space bouncing from one disaster to another.
For a moment Ed wished he’d stayed away.
Life had seemed much easier around people who didn’t know him, where he didn’t carry years of expectations – most of them bad – and he was free to be the best version of himself.
He placed an apologetic hand on Kat’s arm.
‘I’m really sorry, Kitty. You know I’m not that kind of man.
Can we put it down to horrible travel lag and not enough caffeine and start again? ’
Kat glared at him for a few more moments before her posture softened and her features relaxed. ‘I’m sorry I snapped, but it just makes me so mad that people say such awful, cruel things about someone they don’t even know.’
‘People are dicks. And this morning I’m definitely people.’ When that earned him the ghost of a smile, Ed wanted to punch the air in triumph. ‘If Frankie is your friend, then she must be one of the good ones.’
Kat reached out and patted his chest. ‘You’re one of the good ones, too. Most of the time at least.’ Raising her hand to his cheek, she pressed gently and Ed turned his head obediently. ‘You’re going to have to do something about your hair,’ she said. ‘We can’t have people gossiping.’
‘Hopefully it’ll fade in a few days,’ Ed replied. ‘And besides, I’ve never cared what other people think.’
‘Oh, I’m not worried about you, I just don’t want rumours to start that might cause trouble for Frankie.
She doesn’t need any bad publicity right now.
In fact we’ve been trying to avoid publicity full stop until they’ve finished filming.
The production crew have brought in a great deal of money to the community at a time when we need it the most, and we’re doing our best to make sure that they have a positive experience while they are here.
They’re hoping to finish up on Wednesday, so it’s just a few more days to keep everything running smoothly. ’
‘I should never have shared that photo,’ Harry said, his face a picture of contrition.
Ed’s eyes narrowed. ‘What photo?’ He vaguely recalled Harry pointing his phone at him last night. ‘You didn’t?’
Harry shrugged. ‘It was too good an opportunity to resist, but you might not want to look in the family WhatsApp any time soon.’
‘Well, that’s just bloody brilliant, isn’t it? Now everyone’s going to think the worst of me again.’ Ed blew out a breath. ‘Coming home really was a mistake.’
‘You don’t mean that?’ Harry looked appalled at the thought. ‘Honestly, Ed, if I’d known you were going to take it this badly I never would’ve shared it. The last thing I want is to make you feel unwelcome. It was just a joke.’
‘That’s the problem, though, everyone thinks I’m a joke. I really wanted to prove to everyone that I’ve changed, but I’m not off to a very good start.’
His twin closed the short distance between them and dragged Ed into a bear hug. ‘You’re not a joke and you don’t need to change anything about yourself. You’re perfect just the way you are.’
Ed accepted the hug and leaned into it. Being away from Harry really had been like missing the other half of him. ‘You have to admit I was a bit of a pain in the arse before I went away.’
Harry laughed. ‘Well, that makes two of us, then.’ He pulled back and stared hard at Ed as though by force of will he could drill into Ed’s brain and read all his thoughts.
‘I hate the idea you went away thinking there was something wrong with you. I know we had our moments, but we love you, Ed, and we only ever wanted the best for you.’
Ed smiled, hoping it didn’t look as wobbly as he felt inside. ‘Yeah, I know and I finally figured that out and decided I wanted the best for myself as well, which is why I went away to figure some stuff out. But here I am messing everything up again.’
‘Rubbish,’ Kat said, moving close enough to put one arm around his waist. ‘Last night was a silly mix-up, that’s all.’
‘Which only happened because I lost my phone and I was too disorganised to get another one,’ Ed interrupted her to point out. ‘And I showed up without letting anyone know I was coming home. You don’t have to try and make me feel better, Kitty. I know I’ve messed up.’
‘Oh, hush yourself and let me try anyway. I had breakfast with Frankie earlier this morning and she’s fine.
She was a little bit shaken up but there’s no harm done and she understands it was a genuine mix-up.
If you pop down to the chemist, I’m sure they’ll have some black dye and I can help you apply it this evening. ’
Ed held up his hands to show her the stained palms. ‘And what about these?’
Kat winced. ‘I suppose you’ll have to wear gloves when you’re out and about.
At least it’s cold enough that no one will think that’s strange.
And I’ll do some research and see if there’s something we can use that will help it fade quicker.
’ Her eyes unfocused as she caught sight of something over his shoulder.
‘Is that the time? I’ve got to run. I’ve got a meeting with the production manager before I set up for lunch and I can’t be late.
’ Popping up on tiptoe, Kat brushed a kiss to Ed’s cheek. ‘Get that dye and we’ll sort it out.’
Harry followed her over to the table to help Kat gather her paperwork together and then walked her to the door. Only after he’d seen her out did he return to the kitchen.
‘Did she say she had a meeting with the production manager?’ Ed asked him. ‘On a Saturday?’
Harry nodded. ‘Yeah. We’ve been providing catering for them on set.
It’s been a brilliant training ground for my latest batch of students and a great way to show them a different way they can make money from the skills they’re learning other than going to work directly in a restaurant.
Like Kat said, it’s the last few days of filming, so everyone is under the pump to get it done in time.
The budget is getting close to being maxed out because they’ve worked the last couple of weekends, so we want to make sure we’ve got accurate numbers.
People are finishing their parts and leaving all the time, so we don’t want to over-cater if we can help it.
Look, sit down and I’ll sort you out some breakfast.’
Ed sat at the now empty table. ‘Kat wasn’t kidding about this being important to you guys.’ And Ed could’ve ruined everything blundering in on Frankie last night and upsetting the star of the show. ‘I’ll make sure I apologise to Frankie when I see her.’
Harry nodded. ‘Avoiding her might be better. She’ll be gone before the end of next week so just keep your head down and keep out of her way.
’ He stopped what he was doing to come over and sit opposite Ed.
‘She’s really nothing like the public perception of her.
There was a nasty incident last year with some weirdo who was stalking her, so Kat and the others are really protective of her. ’
Ed sat back in surprise. That bit of gossip hadn’t made it his way.
‘No wonder she freaked out last night.’ Guilt stabbed deep in his gut.
‘She must’ve been terrified to find a strange man in her house.
’ He raised a hand and scrubbed it through his hair.
‘Jesus, I can’t believe I put her through something like that. ’
‘It wasn’t your fault.’ Harry sighed. ‘And I didn’t help matters sharing that photo, even if it was just in our private family group. I know we can trust everyone to keep it between us, but Kat said Frankie was really worried about any of what happened last night getting out.’
‘She’s not the only one,’ Ed observed, drily. ‘You could’ve waited twenty-four hours before trashing my reputation with the entire family.’
‘Sorry.’ A telltale twitch at the corner of his brother’s lips suggested he wasn’t that sorry.
Ed rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got a hat and a pair of gloves I can borrow, have you?’