Page 42 of One Day and Forever
‘I’m afraid your flight is delayed for two hours at the moment,’ said the lovely lady behind the desk.
‘More time for beer and tequila,’ he quipped, then he heard his publicist in his head reminding him comments like that were off limits. If there was a pap or a press mole anywhere nearby, he’d soon know about it because, based on that comment alone, there would be headlines for the next two weeks, talking about how he was devastated about his wife’s antics and using alcohol to numb the pain. Or how he couldn’t get through the day without a drink and was on his way to rehab. He’d once visited a drug treatment clinic as research for a role and, by the following day, several press outlets had reported he’d checked into rehab for his addictions to both drugs and sex. Ironic, given that he was the married bloke, who didn’t sleep around, and the only drugs he did were Rennies for the occasional heartburn.
As soon as his case whisked off on the conveyor belt, he made his way upstairs, still head down. He always paid extra for Priority Security, avoiding the general security line that he’d noticed snaked back almost to the entrance barriers. He briefly wondered if Drea and Kara were stuck in that, but he didn’t want to put his head above the parapet to search for them. Hopefully they were already through and waiting in the lounge.
A few of the security officers were familiar to him, because he’d been travelling in and out of Glasgow for years, so he made a point of saying hello. Not that it got him off trashing the bottle of water he’d mistakenly left in his backpack, and nor did it get him any favours, like being able to leave his boots on when goingthrough the scanner. Apparently fame only got him perks in LA and the car rental return office here.
Reunited with his boots and backpack, he made his way straight to the BA lounge and had a look around for Kara and Drea, but they weren’t there yet. He grabbed a can of Budweiser from the beer fridge and settled in the furthest corner from the door, his back to the world, so that no one would give him a second glance. One of his favourite memories was of coming to the airport when he was twenty and going to LA for the first time. Kara had come to see him off, and they were just skint hopefuls who couldn’t ever have grasped what was to come. He’d got the dream… he just hadn’t realised it would come with shadows in the corners.
He pulled out his phone and hit the #sloppysienna hashtag, only to discover that #OllieCallMe and #CryOnMyShoulderOllie were trending too. He could already gauge Sienna’s reaction to that development, and it wouldn’t be pretty. What a shitshow this day had turned out to be. This morning he’d climbed out of the shower, pretty chilled and happy, and now…
His phone burst to life in his hands and he answered it straight away to hear Calvin’s melodic tones. ‘Well, hello! Apparently #OllieCallMe is trending, so I thought I’d save you the bother and get in there first, just in case you suddenly realise I’m the man of your dreams.’
‘Appreciate that,’ Ollie replied, laughing. ‘And if there was going to be a man of my dreams, it would be you, my friend.’
It was all in jest – Calvin and his husband, Pierre, had been married for years and they were devoted to each other.
Calvin’s laugh was infectious. ‘My ego thanks you. But enough about me… I’m just calling to check in. How are you doing, what’s the latest on everything that kicked off this morning, and is there anything I can do to help?’
Making sure no one was in earshot, Ollie filled him in on his conversation with Sienna, rounding off with, ‘Feels weird saying it out loud, but I guess that’s it. And what’s even weirder is that it honestly feels like it’s the right thing to do. I don’t think we’ve made each other happy in a long time.’
‘Maybe that’s what you need to think about going forward then – do the things that make you happy, Ollie, because otherwise what’s the point? Listen, no pressure, and I know that today isn’t the day, but at some point, come back to me on the theatre school. I’m going to make a decision on whether to go ahead with it in the next few days. No pressure though. If being part of it isn’t for you, I’ll completely understand.’
With everything that had happened in the last few hours, that had slipped down the list of things that were taking up headspace. Sienna no longer being part of his consultation process was a plus – but if he was going to have to reshape his life post-marriage, did he really want a commitment this big and to have more people depending on him? He needed to think it all through.
He nodded, even though Calvin couldn’t see him. ‘Yeah, I will do, pal. Let’s catch up again later in the week. And, Calvin, sorry to drag you into my mess this morning.’
‘Any time. Mess is my specialty.’ Ollie knew he wasn’t joking. Over the years, Calvin had managed some of the most notoriously difficult talent in the business. His client, Odette Devine, was a legend and a brilliant actress, but it was well known in the industry that she could give J.Lo a run in the diva stakes, yet Calvin had been her manager forever. ‘And like I said, if you suddenly realise you’re besotted with me, call me. You’re my celebrity hall pass, so you won’t be wrecking a home.’
That made Ollie laugh. ‘Good to know.’
He said goodbye and put his phone back in his jacket pocket. He rarely left it on a table in public just in case anyone managed to swipe it.
Picking up his beer, he took a sip, thinking about what Calvin had said about focusing on things that made him happy. Now that his life had blown up in his face, he was going to have to rethink what that was.
He got up to go for another beer, but as soon as he turned, he spotted a couple of new arrivals entering the lounge.
One of the things that made him happy had just walked in the door.
He rose his hand and waved to Kara and Drea.
21
ALICE
Alice was feeling wave after wave of nausea, and not just because of Val’s driving. This was such a bad idea. A terrible one. The last time she’d seen Larry, he’d been in a hospital bed, recovering from a crash that had almost killed him and Sophie, the young woman her son now lived with. Larry had been driving his taxi, drunk and high on drugs, and Sophie had the misfortune to get into his vehicle that day. Thankfully, Sophie had survived, and when Rory had gone to her to apologise for his estranged father’s despicable actions, it had sparked a friendship that had led to where they were now. That, and Rory’s birth, had been the only two positive outcomes of Larry McLenn’s existence on this earth.
Back then, Larry’s injuries had been far more serious, and Alice was fine with the knowledge that one day she’d go to her grave, and be judged because every single minute of that day of his accident, and the days that followed, she’d wished he would die.
The bastard had lived. The only consolation was that while he was in hospital, she’d got the breathing space to escape him, with Val and Rory’s help. When she’d also discovered that he was having an affair with his workmate, Sandra, it had onlybeen a relief, because the other woman had pressured him to let Alice go. Alice had tried to warn her what she was getting into, but Sandra had brushed her off. At the time, Alice had nothing but scorn for her, but she’d soon realised that the woman was no different from the young Alice, who’d been too besotted with Larry to see the monster that he truly was.
Every word of their exchange during that last meeting with Larry still played out in her mind on the nights when she couldn’t sleep. Over the years leading up to that moment, she’d been accumulating damning evidence against him, photos, notes, recordings, and she’d used the threat of exposing it as her final goodbye, in the Intensive Care unit at Glasgow Central Hospital.
‘If Rory or I see you or hear from you again, I’ll make it all public. Every. Last. Word. Of. It. And it will bury you under so much shit you’ll never breathe again. So I’m going to get up from here and I’m going to walk away. And Larry? You can rot in hell.’
She’d already been on her feet when he’d snarled,‘I was tossing you out anyway. Sandra is moving in with me.’
Alice had stopped. Turned.‘You know, I think that’s the first time you’ve made me happy in thirty years.’
