Page 6 of A Very Crumbleton Christmas
‘How is Trish?’ he said.
‘Perfect,’ said Brian with a broad smile. ‘She sends her love. Anyway, are you settling in okay? How’s the jetlag this time?’
‘You know how it is!’ laughed Jack, shaking his head. ‘I’m still half-living out of my suitcases, and my body clock is giving me the run-around… but I should be back on track in time for Christmas.’
‘That’s good,’ said Brian. ‘For the record, it’s about time you had a proper break. I’m happy to bring you anything you need while you’re here, if you want to keep a low profile… though the invitation still stands if you ever fancy a game of darts at the Dolphin and Anchor!’
‘Cheers,’ said Jack, ‘but I think I’ll be keeping myself to myself… at least for now.’
‘Fair enough,’ said Brian with a little shrug. ‘Any idea how long you’ll be staying?’
‘I’m… undecided,’ said Jack.
The truth was, he was knackered. He’d been on three back-to-back shoots, and the hectic press tour he’d just completed had nearly finished him off. Brian was right - he was desperate for a break.
‘Sorry,’ chuckled Brian. ‘You don’t have to tell me, I’m just being nosy.’
‘Honestly, I’d be happy to tell you if I knew,’ said Jack. ‘I’d love nothing more than to take at least a month off – get the house sorted out at properly and start really turning it into a home…’
‘Sounds like a good plan to me,’ said Brian with an approving nod.
‘Problem is, my agent keeps saying things like“we need to ride this wave!”‘ sighed Jack. ‘The woman’s relentless! She doesn’t care that it’s nearly Christmas… or that I’ve taken myself offline for a break.’
‘At least she can’t get at you quite so easily while you’re here,’ said Brian. ‘She’s in LA, right?’
‘Yep,’ said Jack. ‘Unfortunately, the minute Aimee realised I wasn’t checking my emails, she started sending me blasted scripts in the post. There was a whole box waiting for me when I arrived… and three more came this morning!’
‘Well, it’s not all bad,’ said Brian. ‘At least it means we’ll be treated to another Jack Jones movie soon.’
‘Maybe,’ said Jack.
‘Maybe?’ gasped Brian. ‘Don’t tease me!’
Jack shrugged. There wasn’t much he could say. Until the right script came along, he had nothing else in the works. That was probably why Aimee was being quite so persistent. He was the current talk of the town… but all he really wanted was a bit of peace and quiet. He loved his work, but everything that went with it could be… overwhelming.
‘Here,’ said Jack, deciding to change the subject. He handed Brian the envelope of cash he had waiting for him. He’d tucked a hefty Christmas tip in there along with both Trish and Brian’s fees and the cost of his groceries.
‘Cheers!’ said Brian, tucking the envelope away without looking inside.
‘No – thank you!’ said Jack, eyeballing the goodies Brian had picked up for him. ‘This little lot should see me through until Boxing Day. I don’t know what I’d do without you!’
‘Well… if you need anything else, just give me a shout,’ said Brian. ‘Happy to help – and Trish said the same.’
‘Give her a Christmas hug for me when you get home?’ said Jack.
‘That’ll make her year,’ said Brian with a grin. ‘In fact, I’m going to head home now. I don’t like the look of those clouds – it was already starting to snow when I left town!’
‘Well, safe drive, my man,’ said Jack, clapping him on the shoulder. ‘Merry Christmas.’
‘You too,’ said Brian, ambling back towards the taxi and hopping in. Just as he was about to pull away, he rolled his window down and gave Jack a fatherly glare. ‘I meant to say – stay out of the sea!’
‘You know I can’t promise you that,’ said Jack.
Brian had been like a stuck record about Jack’s cold water swimming habit ever since he’d discovered his addiction to jumping the garden fence and legging it down the beach into the waves.
‘Well, at least promise me you’ll wear a bright hat if you’re idiot enough to go in?’ said Brian. ‘I don’t want to be reading about a celebrity cold-water-swimming tragedy in the newspaper next week!’
‘Don’t worry – there’s not much chance of that. I don’t think the reporter at the Crumbleton Times would see it as much of a tragedy,’ said Jack, rolling his eyes. ‘She doesn’t like me very much.’
