Page 7 of Arranging Ayra
TWO
“Ayra and I used to go to school together,” Keely informed Jai. “We immediately hit it off and we’ve been friends since then.”
He once again wiped his hand on a cleaner part of his jeans and held it out for a shake. “Any friend of Keely’s is most certainly worth knowing, I must say.”
I grasped his hand, instantly in love with his delightful British accent.
“Forgive my soiled hands, but that dying bush needed some loving care.”
With my hand in the warmth and strength of his, I didn’t give a flying flute about the dirt.
“She’ll be staying here at the Manor,” Keely interjected.
“Oh,” he said, his hand still holding mine. “You’ll be working on the movie you people are making?”
I nodded. “I’ll be arranging the musical score.”
“Music. How interesting.”
Keely’s phone rang breaking the magic of the moment.
“Yes,” she barked into her phone. “Oh, darn it. Are you serious? Okay. I’ll be right there.”
“What is it?” I said as she ended the call.
She looked apologetically at me. “Just one of the hundred emergencies I have to deal with every day. I’m so sorry, but I really do have to go take care of this.” She looked to Jai. “Would you have time to show Ayra around? I really want her to get a feel of the entire place before we start shooting.”
“Absolutely,” he said with a pleased smile. “It would be my pleasure.”
She looked to me. “I have no doubt that you have a wonderful vision of what this movie should look like. If you see anything that should be changed, or that you believe would be suitable for a particular scene, let me know. I trust your judgement.”
“Will do.”
“Great. Perfect.” With a quick wave, she ran off.
“Let me get my hands properly cleaned before we head off.” Jai turned to dip his hands in the huge water fountain, rubbed them together, then shook off the excess water. Wiping them on his shirt, he turned to me. “The grounds here are quite expansive. We could go down to the lake if you’d like.”
I gestured to the path. “I’ll follow your lead. I’m sure no matter where you take me it will be fascinating.”
We strolled slowly down the winding path, returning to the outer portion of the rose garden.
“We have an impressive collection of world-famous roses here at Moon Manor,” he said as he pointed some of them out. “Of course, you can’t have a rose garden in England without the Royal Jubilee.”
The huge, bright pink roses were spectacular.
“And here we have the Golden Celebration. I think this is a close to a gold colored rose as you’ll ever find.”
“So beautiful.”
“My favorite, however, is this one - Rhapsody in Blue.”
“That is quite stunning.”
“Yes, they certainly are.”
“The fragrance that fills the air is simply divine... heavenly. I should like to set up a cot and sleep right here among them.”
