Chapter 33
Violet
Violet’s hand emerged from under the covers, felt its way around in the dim light and silenced the horrid beeping sound. Mornings were lighter now, and through the gap in the bedroom curtains, the sky was already brightening.
Groaning softly and shifting in the cocoon-like bed, Violet tried to ease out from underneath the weight of Finn’s arm that was draped across her. He responded by tightening his grip around her waist and pulling her back into him. He tilted his hips forward into her bottom.
‘We don’t have time,’ Violet murmured over her shoulder. ‘So you can put that away.’
Finn groaned and nibbled her ear. ‘I promise to be really quick,’ he said, grinding himself into her bottom. ‘Two minutes. You’ll barely notice it.’
Violet giggled and rolled over to face him.
‘Finn.’ She cupped his face with one hand, green eyes earnest. ‘We promised not to let this interfere with work in any way. This,’ her eyes flicked down into the sheets wrapped around their waists, ‘will make me late.’
‘You’re right. We did promise that. Get up then, you lazy wench.’
He yanked back the duvet, slapped her on her bare arse, then lay there grinning like a Cheshire Cat as she hurried into the bathroom.
Violet stood under the steaming hot shower and smiled to herself as she lathered herself with rose-scented shower wash Finn had bought for when she stayed over at his.
It had been two weeks since she had shown up at the hospital after his mum had a fall.
Two weeks of tentatively finding their way with whatever this was.
Anna had nearly re-cracked Violet’s ribs when Violet told her that she and Finn were trying to make it work, smothering Violet in a bear hug.
After Violet explained that they wanted to be together but were trying to go about it the right way, whatever that meant, Anna was persuaded to share her view.
While Anna made Violet acknowledge that she was not a contract expert or HR professional—mercifully for everyone, Violet thought—Anna was firm in her opinion that there were no rules against this.
She suggested that they approach the producers and senior AD team and simply explain the situation.
Honesty, Anna said, was likely the best policy.
Finn and Violet had then agreed on three things.
One, talk to each other about any worries or wobbles.
This would only work if they were in this together and were completely honest with one another.
Two, a clear wall between work and private life—never the twain shall meet.
No more secret trysts or toilet hook-ups.
Three, per Anna’s advice, they would tell the producers and key crew at work about them.
Violet was still terrified that they were going to fall foul of some HR rule, or that she would be overlooked for future work if people thought this was some casual hook-up, and she hardly slept the night before the meeting.
They had met first with the producers, and it turned out Anna was right—there were no rules against relationships.
They gave Emma the full picture, or at least a version of it.
They explained that they knew each other long before they started work on the show, but they left out the part about unbridled dislike.
Emma said it was good for the execs to know in case anyone else raised a concern or question.
Emma took care of speaking to the director, Ed, and the 1st AD, who then told Rachael and Jake.
No one else on the team needed to be told.
Finn reported that he had told Jennifer, who wasn’t really listening and asked, ‘Which one is Violet again?’ and Mark, who said he assumed Violet would no longer want to see him naked.
Last night was the first time Violet had slept over at Finn’s on a work night.
Her idea, not his. He had respected her initial stance that they not stay at each other’s places during the week.
Once they had told the producers and the senior AD team, Violet had gradually calmed down, like a birthday party balloon slowly deflating in the days after the party.
While keeping their distance in the workplace and not blurring lines was still the professional thing to do, she was feeling a little more relaxed about their time outside of work.
She emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, face pink and glowing, skin still wet from the shower. Finn, still dozing in bed, opened one eye, groaned and bunched the duvet around himself.
‘Vi, if you want to be on time for work, get back in that bathroom where I can’t see you.’
Violet laughed, revelling in her power. ‘Finn, exert some control over yourself, please.’
Finn growled and pulled the duvet fully over his head.
Fifteen minutes later, Finn was in the shower when Violet was ready to go. She tapped on the glass screen and blew him a kiss goodbye, then let herself out of the apartment building and into the rapidly brightening day. The skies were blue, and the soft, spring air was full of promise.
They were at the studios today for the final day of the shoot.
Twelve weeks and one job that had changed her life in more ways than one.
She could hardly remember what life had been like just a few months ago.
Fumbling about in the freezing cold and rain on her first day, her horror on finding out Finn was lead cast, walking in on a nearly-naked Mark.
It all felt so long ago, it was as if it had happened to someone else.
When she arrived at unit base, there was a buzz in the air, a demob-happy feeling as everyone sensed the final hurdle, the last push. In less than twelve hours, the first full season of Huxton Bridge would be complete.
‘Morning!’ Violet called as she clambered into the AD trailer to pick up her radio.
Rachael tipped backwards in her chair to see who it was. ‘Ah, Violet! Good morning,’ she sing-songed.
‘You seem relaxed,’ she said to Rachael, who was leaning back in her chair and grinning.
Rachael threw her hands in the air.
‘I am! We’ve made it! And today, all I need to do is focus on the shoot.
No schedule to check, no weather cover to think about, no call sheet to prepare for tomorrow.
’ She tore a strip off one of the two croissants sitting in front of her and sighed.
‘Enjoy it, Violet. This is your first last day. Make sure you’re on set when they wrap on the final scene. ’
Violet wound the radio cord around her fingers, suddenly feeling a little emotional.
‘I will. Thank you, Rachael. For everything. For taking a chance—’
‘Shhh.’ Rachael held up a finger. ‘You’re on set this morning, but I’m putting Leanne on lunches today. Come back and see me at lunchtime.’
Violet nodded. ‘Okay. Sure, will do.’
Hooking her radio handset onto her waistband, she ducked back out of the trailer.
The sound stage was buzzing, crew energy high and excitable.
Despite the fact that many of them would be sending out CVs on Monday, looking for their next job—if they didn’t already have one lined up—the mood was giddy.
A bunch of people, most of them strangers to one another at the start, had worked fifty-plus hours a week, through lots of bad weather and plenty of bad moods, to create a brand-new show.
They were one big unruly team. As she hovered by the edges of the set, Leanne saw her, waved and grinned.
Stacey, Jennifer’s makeup standby, shuffled past with her kit bag.
‘Hey, Violet, have a great last day!’
‘You too!’ She called back as Stacey disappeared around a corner.
‘Morning, Violet,’ Jake said, appearing at her shoulder.
‘Oh, hi.’
Jake, who as 3rdAD was always in a hurry, looked at her for a moment.
‘You’ve done a great job on this, Violet. I know it’s not easy. You should be pleased.’
He squeezed her shoulder, then was off again.
As the noise built around her, with HODs calling to their teams as they rushed to get ready for the first take, Violet, for the first time since she started her new career, felt like she truly belonged.
***
When lunch was called, Violet, relieved of her usual duties, made her way back to base. The usually frenetic energy of the 2ndADs office on the truck was replaced by more of a holiday mood.
Rachael all but had her feet up, and several unopened bottles of champagne, prosecco and wine in gift bags sat on and around her desk, while a number of cards displayed various messages of Thanks and Well Done.
‘Violet, come on in,’ Rachael exclaimed as Violet stuck her head into the trailer.
Rachael pulled a chair forward, and Violet plumped down in it.
‘Violet, I can’t imagine how much harder it must be to take on a trainee role like this when you’ve had such a great established career elsewhere.’
Violet nodded at the acknowledgement and wondered where this was going.
‘We’ve got to know one another fairly well these past weeks, haven’t we?’
Violet nodded. ‘Yes, I think so.’
‘And of course, I can’t be everywhere, so I’ve had feedback from the team as well.’
Violet swallowed.
Rachael suddenly laughed. ‘Don’t look so worried, Violet! They all have only great things to say about you. Leanne in particular is your biggest fan, and they’ve all loved working with you.’
Violet let out a breath. ‘Oh, okay, well, that’s good to know.’
‘You’ve impressed Jake and me,’ Rachael said. ‘You stay calm, you think quickly on your feet, and you’ve built great connections with the team and the rest of the crew.’ Rachael paused and Violet wondered what this was all leading to.
‘I’m going on to a film soon,’ Rachael said.
Violet’s heart leapt. Was this it? She had almost given up hope that Rachael might want her to join her.
‘Chloe is stepping up to floor runner, so I need a new base runner. I thought you would be great. The job is yours if you want it. I’d need you to start in about six weeks.’
Violet’s head was full of static noise as she managed, ‘Yes, please, I mean, yes, I will, I want to. That’s great!’
‘Good!’ Rachael slapped the desk. ‘That’s that then. Get some lunch and get back to set.’
Violet was walking on air as she left the trailer and headed to the catering truck. She had another job!
She hung around in the lukewarm spring sunshine with the standby makeup artists, Stacey and Hannah, picking at her lunch and quietly taking in the hubbub around her.
The streaming company had sent a crepe truck as a last-day treat and thank you for the crew, and the air was full of the smell of lemon, sugar and melting chocolate.
The main topic of conversation was what everyone was wearing to the wrap party the following night.
People pulled out phones to share pictures of recently purchased outfits and shoes, and discussed the best time to arrive so as not to look too eager.
Back on set, Violet found a quiet spot, pulled out her phone, made sure the screen was hidden, and typed a message.
I’ve got news.
Three little dots appeared.
It better be good Finn fired back. I’m very busy and important.
Violet rolled her eyes and typed back.
Rachael offered me the base runner role on the film she’s doing! THANK GOD!
Vi, that’s AMAZING! And also smart of her - she knows you’re an asset to the team xxx
Violet couldn’t stop a huge grin spreading across her face.
Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she continued on around the edge of set. Rounding a corner, she stopped abruptly as Finn stepped out of the green room. Leanne was two steps ahead of him, leading the way onto set.
For a split second, Violet and Finn locked eyes. His dark eyes glinted in the dim light, the crinkles visible at the corners, even though he was barely smiling. Violet could sense his joy for her but, per their agreement, he kept it neutral. A moment later, he stepped away onto set.
A few hours later, they were on the final scene of the shoot.
Although they had shot Huxton out of order, this scene was from the final episode of the show.
In the story, little Euphemia had been seriously ill.
She was Nathanial’s most beloved sister and the apple of her mother’s eye.
In the scene, she finally awoke from a fever and showed signs of recovery.
The young actress who played Euphemia had done a great job of lying still and quiet as the other actors wept around her tiny bed and argued over what to do for the best. They had done a few takes on the scene, and they had twenty minutes left of the day.
Some of the non-shoot crew had quietly crept onto the set in the last hour or so to be there when wrap was called on season one.
Costume team members, the production team, construction team crew and more had respectfully crowded into the sides of the sound stage.
They had reset and were underway with one final take. Nathanial was arguing with his mother about getting a doctor. He was prepared to ask Beatrice for the money if he had to. Euphemia’s father sobbed silently at his daughter’s side. The scene ended with Nathanial marching out.
In the short pause between the door slamming behind him and before the 1stAD could yell cut, a little giggle erupted from tiny Euphemia, who was too tired to hold it together any more. Cast and crew erupted in laughter.
‘Cut there!’ the 1st AD yelled, and the bell rang.
‘That’s a wrap on Huxton Bridge season one!
’ The 1stAD yelled and a roar of a cheer went up.
The bell rang again, for longer this time.
Crew were clapping and hugging one another, and Violet found herself pulled into various hugs and group hugs, without always being able to see who it was.
Chloe and Leanne wrapped her in a group hug.
‘Violet, I am so glad you were on our team!’ Leanne said. ‘I thought it might be weird cos you’re older, but it wasn’t!’
Violet burst out laughing. ‘I’m glad to hear it!’
As much as people wanted to thank and congratulate one another, they also wanted to pack up and get home and sleep. The real celebration would be the next night, at the wrap party.
After about twenty minutes, as the hubbub on the sound stage was calming down, Violet made her way to the AD trailer.
There was no one there. She had never found the AD truck empty before.
It was eerily quiet. She unplugged her radio cord from the handset, wound it neatly and put it in a little bag, along with her earpiece.
Then she switched off her radio and settled it on the charge rack for the final time.