The Boy I Love (22 page)

‘How does your mouth feel now?’

‘OK, except I can’t stop dribbling.’

‘Yes, I must say it is not a pretty sight. Here, take my napkin.’

Jeremy took the proffered napkin and briefly touched Eddie’s fingers. It sent a shiver through him. He wished the dentist had anaesthetized his whole body, he was trembling so much. Could
Eddie tell? He could hardly believe he was sitting opposite the cause of his angst, in a tearoom in Nantwich. He had rung Eddie first thing this morning, having written down a message for the
answer machine in case he had to speak into it. It had taken him several attempts to get the tone just right. Not too friendly, but warm and inviting at the same time.

Hi, this is Jeremy Sinclair here. We met the other night at the theatre. You said you would like a tour backstage at some time. I have spoken to our general manager who says that is
absolutely fine, so any time you and your sister would like to come, just give me a call. The number at the stage door is 01270 377555. I look forward to your call.

He had dialled Eddie’s number and tried to do vocal exercises while he waited to calm himself down. He was totally caught offguard when he heard Eddie’s voice answer, ‘Hi,
Eddie Graham here, how can I help you?’

‘Oh, um, hi, is that Eddie? Blimey, I wasn’t expecting your voice at all! Sorry, you have completely thrown me.’ Jeremy could feel his cheeks burning and was so glad the
recipient of this call could not see him at this moment.

‘Is that Jeremy, by any chance?’ asked Eddie.

‘Yes – yes, it is. I am so sorry. Please forgive me for being so pathetic. I just assumed you would be out in the fields somewhere, as you told me you were working on the
estate.’ Jeremy was trying very hard to pull himself together and sound like a grown-up.

‘Well, normally I am, but I was waiting for a delivery of animal feed – fascinating life I lead, don’t you think?’ Eddie laughed and Jeremy had a mental picture of his
beautiful face lighting up. ‘So what can I do for you?’ Eddie continued.

‘Well, I was just wondering if you and Tilly still wanted to come and look round the theatre. I am actually free this week, as I am not in the next production so I have plenty of spare
time,’ explained Jeremy.

‘Oh wow, that would be tremendous, thank you so much. I will have to check with Tilly, as she has school. If she can’t make it, could I come on my own?’ Eddie asked.

Jeremy felt his heart leap into his mouth and he desperately fought to keep control of his tongue which was trying to tie itself in knots.

‘Yes, not a problem, just give me a ring at the stage door. Have you got a pen? The number is 01270 377555.’

‘Got it, right. Fantastic, thank you,’ Eddie said. ‘How is it all going? Are you getting good audiences? My father mentioned that you had a good write-up in the local rag this
week.’

‘Yes, really good, thanks,’ replied Jeremy. ‘I am just off to the dentist in Nantwich to have a filling done. Not looking forward to that, I can tell you. But it is fortunate I
am not working this week so I can get it sorted out.’

‘Nantwich? Whereabouts? I have to go into town this lunchtime to pick up some tools. We could meet and have a coffee. What time are you going to be finished with the dreaded
dentist?’ asked Eddie.

‘About noon, I guess,’ whispered Jeremy in a fever of excitement. Why couldn’t he pull himself together? ‘Where shall we meet? I don’t know the town at all, but the
address of the dentist is 126 Chester Way. Do you know where that is?’

‘Oh yes, I know exactly where you are going. I tell you what the best thing to do is: you wait there and I will pick you up and we can find a coffee place somewhere around there. How does
that suit you?’

Jeremy agreed. The phones went down and he was left in a state of complete panic. What was he doing? This was madness.

And here they were, three hours later, sitting in a quaint little tearoom, and Jeremy was trying not to dribble on the tablecloth! They found so much to talk about, amazingly. The conversation
flowed and they had laughed and joked like old friends.

‘I guess I had better make a move or I will get the sack,’ Jeremy said finally, remembering he had some shopping to do for Heather for the theatre. ‘Can you tell me how to get
back to Crewe? I came by train, but I can’t remember where the station is now.’

‘Don’t worry, I will take you. It is only round the corner, and there are loads of trains. Come on.’ They both got up and Eddie paid the bill.

‘You don’t have to do that,’ protested Jeremy. ‘Let’s split it.’

Eddie laughed. ‘I think I can afford a teacake or two. You can pay next time, and we will go out to dinner.’

They were standing on the pavement outside the café and Eddie took Jeremy’s arm. ‘Please say we can meet up soon.’ He held onto Jeremy’s arm as if his life
depended on it, and Jeremy had an overwhelming desire to take Eddie into his arms and hold him.

‘Yes, of course we can. Whenever you want.’ Jeremy held Eddie’s gaze until the boy let go of his arm and they both seemed to relax back into the world around them.

‘We’d better get a move on,’ mumbled Eddie and strode off to the van he was driving. Jeremy hurried after him. The station was, indeed, just around the corner, and as Jeremy
was searching for the door handle he felt Eddie move towards him. He turned slightly and was caught by a kiss from him. He started to respond and then gasped and broke the moment. Eddie pulled back
and Jeremy could see fear in his eyes.

‘I am so sorry, please forgive me. Please don’t say anything. I—’ Jeremy took his hand and stopped him. ‘You have done nothing wrong, Eddie, but now is not the
right time or place. Please, leave me a message at the stage door, or come and meet me after the show one night if you can and we will talk. But we have to be careful.’

He squeezed Eddie’s hand and climbed out of the car. He turned and waved, and then walked to the platform. He could hardly put one foot in front of the other, for his legs felt as numb as
his mouth – but he couldn’t blame the dentist for this. Oh God no, this was completely of his own making, yet he felt out of control. Suddenly his life was about to change forever, and
Jeremy really was not sure if this change was for better or worse.

When Jeremy got back to the theatre it was getting on for four o’clock. He had brought the bits and pieces that Heather had asked for, and was about to go and find her
when he was stopped in his tracks by a piercing scream. He ran towards the sound, leaping up the steps to the dressing room two at a time. What the hell was going on? The screams grew louder as he
neared the girls’ dressing room, and as he flung open the door he was greeted by a terrible sight.

There were several women – well, they seemed to be women, but they were covered in copious amounts of hair of all different colours and in the middle was one horrible grotesque creature
with a bald head and wisps of hair straggling down her neck. She was semi-naked, as were the other women, clad only in skimpy veils of transparent silk. As Jeremy ran in they screamed again, and
then burst into hysterical laughter.

‘What the fuck is going on?’ he demanded. He was slowly beginning to realize that these creatures were in fact the girls he knew and loved. ‘Sally, what has happened? What is
going on here?’ He had finally managed to recognize his friend under her mountain of blonde hair.

Sally was laughing so much she could hardly speak.

‘Oh, my God, Jeremy, can you believe these wigs and costumes? Gwendoline is having a breakdown. She must be to create this. Look at poor Peggy . . .’ Sally turned to point at the
bald crone and collapsed into fits of mirth again.

Peggy was indignant. ‘Pipe down, Sally! It is bad enough I have to look like this without your mockery. Come on, girls, we have got to see a way through this.’

At this point, Charmaine appeared at the dressing-room door looking stunning in a long diaphanous robe with her auburn locks cascading down her back.

‘Hi, everyone – isn’t this just wonderful? I am so thrilled with my costume – and look at Sarah.’ She turned and let Sarah come forward. She was dressed in a white
silk Grecian-style dress which hung from her shoulders in very flattering folds. A hairpiece at the back gave her thick golden-brown tresses, and the false hair had been braided into her own hair
at the front. The whole dressing room went quiet.

‘Sarah is going to play my maid and the sort of Vestal Virgin of the town,’ Charmaine informed them. ‘She represents love and purity, and all that was good before the men
started going to war and causing grief and famine.’

Sally was the first to find her voice and she half-whispered, ‘Sorry, but I don’t remember any of this in the script I have been reading from.’

Sarah glided towards her with a triumphant gleam in her eye.

‘Oh, I know – it has only just been added,’ she said. ‘The thing was, Percy had been talking to Giles about the play because he did it years ago, and mentioned a scene
that was not in this translation. Well, Giles loved it when he read it, and as I have so little to do in this play, and because Percy has been helping me with audition speeches and knows what I can
really do, he persuaded Giles to put me in the scene. Isn’t that fantastic?’

Sally sat down slowly and looked at Sarah through the mirror. ‘Yes, fantatic,’ was all she could muster for fear of giving the girl a real piece of her mind. Clever little minx, she
thought. That’ll teach us to take our eyes off the ball.

Jeremy could sense that the atmosphere in the room had dropped several degrees; it was feeling positively frosty, so he beat a hasty retreat. ‘Sally, I have to go and deliver this stuff to
Heather, but can we talk later, please?’ He was gone before she answered.

Gwendoline was gathering wigs from the ladies, telling them, ‘Look, girls, please don’t panic. By the time we have dressed the wigs they will look gorgeous.’

‘How can you dress a bald pate?’ whined Peggy. ‘Do I really have to play this old hag? What have I ever done to Giles to deserve this? I will never work again.’

Dora came to the rescue and put her arm round the distraught actress.

‘Now listen to me, Peggy. You are a fantastic actress and you will make this work. In fact, you are the only one who
can
make this work. Think of that scene where you get us all in
the square and talk about women, and what we do for society, and how beauty is but a fleeting distraction . . . all that stuff anyway. Your voice and strength onstage will be fantastic, and maybe,
Gwendoline, Peggy can wear a robe of some sort that has a regal quality to it, to balance the head and the baldness; something in a wonderfully rich colour.’

Gwendoline responded with the perfect answer. ‘Absolutely! You are quite right, Dora. Peggy’s character should have a regal quality about her. Time has ravaged her looks, but not her
mind.’

Everyone waited to see Peggy’s reaction. The woman knew how to hold a moment, and she milked it for all it was worth. Slowly she raised her head and wiped away a tear. Slowly she rose from
her seat and walked to the door and then turned back to the room. A straggling wisp of hair strayed across her face and she blew it away, declaring, ‘Onwards and upwards, girls. I have never
been beaten by a role yet. This will be my greatest challenge, and I shall embrace it with all my being. Bald is beautiful!’ With that she turned and swished out.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Sally turned to Dora and said, ‘Come on, sis, let’s go and get some tea and take these bits of hankie off. I take it we will be wearing a bit more
than this on the night, Gwendoline?’

‘Oh yes, of course. I was just trying to get a general feel of the thing. Goodness knows where Sarah got her costume. It certainly didn’t come from this wardrobe.’

‘I bet she made it herself,’ ventured Janie. ‘She is always up to something, isn’t she?’

‘I wonder what Peggy makes of all this?’ mused Sally, thinking that she was no doubt fully aware of Sarah’s machinations, and watching her progress very closely.

‘Well, there is a lesson for all of us,’ announced Dora. ‘Go for what you want in life.’

No one in the room was cheering.