Rowan: I would have preferred to be changing those nappies. I swear to you.
Siobhan: Sure you would. I’m off to bed. Joshua’s finally asleep.
Rowan: Give him a kiss for me.
Siobhan: And risk waking him up? You’ve got to be kidding.
Rowan: You can wait until he’s awake again.
Siobhan: I will. You should be sleeping too y’know. Goodnight.
Rowan let the phone drop onto his lap and rolled his neck, squeezing the muscles at the back. If only it were as easy as that. His family had always assumed if he was awake at a stupid time in the night if was because of filming or time differences or going out with friends – and he hadn’t bothered to put them straight. He’d barely been eighteen when he left home to start filming the first part he landed, and he hadn’t wanted them to worry.
He got up from the bed and went to the carved wooden railing that separated the downstairs from the mezzanine bedroom, leaning his elbows on it to look out of the full length windows across the living space below. The night was inky black, just the faint touch of moonlight picking out the edges of the rocks around the back of the villa. The sea was out of sight, but not far away. If he walked down a winding staircase carved out of the rocks the villa stood on, it took him straight down to the beach.
How lucky was he?
He’d go for swim in the morning. That would help to loosen up the muscles in his back after all that hunching. He checked the time on his phone. Only four hours until the sun would be coming up. It would be a beautiful sunrise no doubt, but he really hoped he wasn’t awake to see it.
Lila
Lila was nursing a cup of coffee on Sunday morning when Ruth exploded out of her bedroom.
‘Hey, are we still up for a shopping trip?’ she called over her shoulder, while opening the fridge and staring into it.
Was Lila still up for it? No. Not really.
The first week had been so long. On top of the “ice-breaker” embarrassment, then the “flashing” incident, she’d also committed the sin of literally running back from the van when Sibyl sent her to fetch something, her loud footsteps ruining the shot and earning her a dressing-down from her boss at the end of the day, along the lines of:don’t show me up, minion, you’ll receive no special treatment from me, I will end you.
All of that, plus adjusting to the early mornings and, frankly, Lila was shattered and wanted to hide in her bedroom, watchEmmaand switch off for the day.
But she didn’t live by herself, and her roommate was reaching out to her again. She needed to force herself. She had known that this situation would push her in all sorts of ways and at some point she was going to have to start changing her ways, if she wanted to get any better.
‘Yeah,’ she croaked, and took a sip of her coffee.
‘Aw, bless you, baby.’ Ruth sat down opposite her, pouring a glass of juice for herself. ‘You’re knackered, right?’
‘Pretty much.’
‘You’ll get used to it I swear.’ She took a swig of her juice and then snorted. ‘Actually. No. You build up stamina and your body clock changes but everyone hits a wall at some point. Give it a month and it’ll look like we’re making a zombie flick rather than a World War II film. Considering this is supposed to be a glamorous industry it’s amazing how many of the people who work within it look like crap.’ She tossed her bangs out of the way as she smirked. ‘That help?’
‘Erm…yes?’
Ruth laughed. ‘Look. I know the temptation is to go back to bed and sleep the day away, but honestly, the best thing is to get a change of scenery. That way you break up the monotony.’
‘I’m not finding it monotonous.’
‘Really? Watching a man dragging something, very slowly, across a field for a week wasn’t a bit disappointing for your first proper week on a film set?’
Lila shrugged. ‘It was a very pretty field.’
Ruth sniggered. ‘And a very pretty man, to be fair.’ Lila took a hasty swig of her coffee to hide her face. ‘Lila, chill. You can admit you like looking an attractive man – it’s not a crime.’
Lila lowered her mug. ‘Isn’t it a bit pervy though?’
‘What? Having eyes in our head and using them to look at an actor, who gets paid to be watched by people. No. That’s not pervy. Jeez, you’re so innocent. You got to loosen up. When was the last time you got laid?’
‘A million years ago,’ Lila joked.
