Page 77 of Such a Good Couple
‘Thank you so much.’ She beamed, barely able to believe how well it was going.
‘So …’ Drew paused, apparently selecting his next words carefully. Maggie braced for the inevitable let-down. Maggie knew how these things went from Fionn’s endless meetings with execs back in the early days. They’d love-bomb him and then never call again. She smiled, trying not to betray any disappointment. It was only the first meeting, after all.
Drew clasped his hands together, looking serious. ‘You are no doubt fielding a lot of interest from different companies but we would love it if you would consider entrusting us with this project. I am confident that we could have this up by next fall and we will put our blood, sweat and tears into making this a landmark production.’
‘Oh my God.’ A jolt of happiness caught Maggie completely off-guard. ‘I can’t believe you want it.’ She quickly tried to right herself; desperate wasnotthe look she was going for. ‘Ehm, obviously I’ll need to talk to my agent …’ Maggie flailed, mentally trying to decide who’d be playing her agent in this lie, before settling on the obvious choice. ‘Her name’s Eva.’
‘Of course, naturally.’ Drew nodded. ‘There’s a lot to discuss for you. I know you want this work to be with the best of the best.’ He paused and winked. ‘I do think we are the best of the best, but I might be a bit biased on that front.’
Maggie and Drew wrapped up their meeting just before lunch with plans to meet in New York in two weeks’ time, with Drew meeting with Maggie’s ‘agent’ over Zoom in the meantime.
Maggie immediately called Eva to update her that she’d been promoted from ‘friend’ to ‘friend and agent’. Eva gamely agreed to do the call with Drew, saying that Leon had done theatre in the past so she could talk to him and brush up on the kinds of deals struck between writer and producers.
Maggie didn’t care if she got the shittiest deal ever – she’d paythemto stage her play. Money was not the goal; she didn’t need it, and lately she had resolved to stop feeling bad about that. It felt like Fionn’s career had been somewhat stifling her life for years; she may as well enjoy the perks.
The elation was intoxicating and she was feeling celebratory. She updated Annie and her family WhatsApp. Then she went to the kitchen on a kind of autopilot and liberated the Butterfingers from the bin where she’d thrown them earlier. She also slipped into the pantry and gathered whatever she could find there that didn’t require cooking. It wasn’t the best haul, but a force that she didn’t question and couldn’t stop was driving her. Up in her bedroom she began to gallop through the food. There was not a lot of time before Fionn would arrive and the girls would be back from school. At some point, it felt like it almost wasn’t even her peeling back packaging and forcing more and more into herself. The pacifying effects of so much food was divine. She ate and ate, as any sense of being in control deserted her. It was the exhilaration of falling, but without the fear because she knew it would be all reversed in a few minutes’ time.
Gradually she neared the edge of her capacity; she felt like she was literally packing all the crackers and nougat and chocolate down like you’d push garbage into a rapidly-filling bin. When it felt like the tideline of the food was just at the top of her throat, she lurched to the bathroom and began to vomit. Withevery cascade, waves of peace surged over her. Even while her heart drummed in her chest and she needed to gasp for breath between each contraction of her body, the sense of lightness and of control returning was so soothing.
Then everything veered sideways and went black.
Maggie opened her eyes and realised with a stab of terror that she was lying on the bathroom floor, her cheek glued to the tiles. Her head was pounding and she had no idea what time it was. She pushed herself upright, wincing as the pain in her head intensified. Her right hand was caked in dried vomit.Oh fuck. If the mess had dried, how long had she been out for?Shit, shit.She rolled onto all fours and pulled herself up by the sink. She washed her hand and then turned to the mess in the toilet. The room reeked and she desperately started to spray perfume as she flushed the evidence away.
A year of your life, Maggie.
She silenced the thought. She needed to clean herself up. She hurried into the bedroom to check her phone: 3.15 p.m. Fionn would arrive any minute.Shit, shit, shit.The girls must’ve gotten home an hour ago. She frantically stuffed the wrappers into her underwear drawer in the walk-in. Back in the bathroom, she rinsed her mouth, washed her face, hurriedly applied make-up and lit a candle before she flew downstairs, ignoring her headache.
Betty was serving Dodi and Essie snack plates and all seemed completely, reassuringly fine. She tried to look interested as Betty detailed the evening’s menu but her mind was circling one roaring thought:I was passed out while my girls came home from school and someone else took care of them.
Maggie hugged both her daughters, being careful to keep them slightly at arm’s length in case they smelled anything off her.
All is fine, all is fine, she intoned silently.Nothing bad happened.
Dinner that night was so normal that, to Maggie, it almost felt like they were actors in a play. A mum and dad and two little girls digging into the Thai-inspired feast followed by frozen yogurt with at least a dozen choices of toppings that had been laid out on the kitchen island.
Dodi and Essie were buzzing at having Fionn there and Fionn was the most present he’d been in ages. Full of funny stories about the calamities on the set ofShake It Up– a romcom about the unlikely love story of the widower owner of a milkshake stand and the plucky manager of a nearby vegan ice-cream place. The tagline was going to be ‘Lactose-crossed lovers’. It was a movie he’d gotten tied up in before all the Oscar buzz and he had to honour the contract. He wasn’t worried it would hurt his career, though. He was pushing for them to use the paycheque to buy a ski property in Utah.
By contrast, Maggie felt untethered to the scene around her. Distracted and detached. She was smiling and nodding along, but all the while endless thoughts streamed through her head. Mainly about whether or not to purge after the dinner that she’d barely picked at.
It’s a Monday.
But the day is already ruined. You did it earlier, may as well go again.
But look what happened.
That was a one-off. Do it and then back to good habits tomorrow.
‘So, yeah.’ Fionn was gesturing with his spoon of fro-yo. ‘Brody was kinda leaning towards me breaking contract but Elise – you know, Elise Parks, she was on the movie with me – she’sdoing a Lars von Trier movie next so I think everyone’s bouncing between high and low these days. Look at Nic Cage. Oh, I met Maya Rudolph on set too. She’s something else. A real artist. And she has four kids!’ He put his arm around Maggie and nuzzled her neck to the chorus of amused protest from the twins. ‘I think we should take off this weekend. Yosemite for camping? Or Palm Springs? Less time spent driving and the girls haven’t been to the desert yet!’
‘That could be good …’ Maggie replied. Though her mind had snagged on the Maya Rudolph thing. It seemed to her like the words ‘real artist’ had settled between them with a dreadful weight, though Fionn looked oblivious. She picked up her wine. It was a low-calorie variety owned by one of the Real Housewives.
‘Can we play Fortnite?’ Essie chirped, while Dodi noisily scraped her bowl clean beside her.
‘Sure,’ Maggie smiled. ‘But you know what you need to do first.’
The girls hopped up, launched their bowls into the dishwasher with a clatter and sped out of the kitchen.
‘Are we letting them play Fortnite now?’ Fionn raised his eyebrows.
