Page 45 of Not Moving Out
‘I like her. Although I’m worried about what might happen when Dolly goes to university and Maya goes travelling. I’m not sure you can survive that much time apart at that age.’
‘Right? I mean, they’re only kids, but I’m worried about Dolly. It’s her first relationship, and they’re always the hardest.’
‘I remember my first girlfriend,’ said Joe, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. ‘Helen Gibson. We went out for almost a year, then she dumped me on my seventeenth birthday at a McDonald’s. It wasn’t a very happy meal for me.’
‘On your birthday? Ouch! I actually dumped my first boyfriend.’
‘Of course you did.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It’s you, Freya. Overachiever, great personality, and always the best-looking girl in the room. He was never going to dump you, was he?’
I felt myself blushing slightly. ‘You still think of me like that?’
‘Just because we’re separated, it doesn’t mean I can’t see what an incredible catch you are.’
‘You, too,’ I replied, and we both looked at each other, an atmosphere suddenly in the room that definitely hadn’t been there before.
Years of moments like that shot through my mind, and it made me so sad that we wouldn’t have that for much longer. And yet I also knew it was for the best because despite everything – and the warmth I still felt for him – it still didn’t replace the last eighteen months. It didn’t change all the nights we had stayed up until the early hours wrangling over where the passion had gone, and whether we might ever be able to find it again. It didn’t change the fact he had lied to me about seeing a therapist.
After a moment, there was a sudden noise in the hallway and Maya and Dolly appeared in the kitchen. Maya was leaving as they both had college work to do, and Maya thanked us for dinner, and we said good night. Dolly and Maya kissed at the front door, with Joe and I spying from the end of the hallway, and then Dolly came through into the kitchen.
‘Thanks for tonight,’ said Dolly. ‘It was really nice.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Joe and I said in unison.
Dolly smiled before she went back upstairs to her room, Joe and I finished our drinks, and then we moved instinctively to our own corners of the house, back to our strange new reality.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Joe
I was in my bedroom looking out of the window, feelings of trepidation and nervousness sitting inside me like unwanted squatters. I had sent Carl over the first episode ofHouse Shared, and we were about to jump on a Zoom meeting. I couldn’t stop my leg from nervously bobbing up and down in anticipation. What if he hated it?
I had poured my heart and soul intoHouse Shared, and I genuinely believed it was the best thing I had written in years, but that didn’t mean Carl would agree. I knew he looked at my work from a different perspective than me. I only wore my creative hat, but he had his finger on the pulse of what production companies and channels were after, what was flavour of the month, what was already in production, and what was needed next. Like so many things, it wasn’t always what was best, the funniest, or the most well written, but what could be sold and marketed. It truly felt like the success or failure of this project would determine whether I had a bright future to look forward to or whether I would end up a miserable failure, drunkenly lamenting to anyone who would listen in late-night pubs that I used to be someone.
It was a glorious day, and the sun was shining against the window and creating patches of warmth that lay across my room. I looked outside and saw the top of a bus go by, people in seats staring at their phones, and in the distance a plane flying against the sky, and I wanted to be on that plane. Any plane, actually, because it felt like it had been so long since I had been on a proper holiday abroad with sunshine, sandy beaches and exotic food. So many things I wanted, craved, and yet I felt it all rested on the potential outcome of this meeting. I waited for a moment, and then the screen changed, and Carl was suddenly in front of me, sipping a coffee in his office, looking as dashing as always in a smart shirt and tie. I did feel rather grubby in my old polo shirt and with my hair that probably needed a wash, a few weeks of stubble on my face that was turning greyer and greyer with each passing year.
‘Joe!’ said Carl loudly.
‘Hello, Carl,’ I replied, never quite sure of myself over the internet. I always preferred meeting in real life. Old-fashioned? Probably, but it just felt different. ‘How are you?’
‘Yes, yes, all good. Just back from a meeting at the mothership.’
‘The mothership?’
‘Broadcasting House. The BBC. The Beeb.’
‘Oh, right. Did it go well?’
‘Define well, Joe. Anyway, how are things with you? Still under one very awkward roof?’
‘I am, although doing my best to make it work.’ Obviously I didn’t mention walking in on Freya naked and having a huge argument about me seeing a therapist in secret.
‘Right, well, let’s hope it doesn’t impact the writing because, Joe, mate, I have to say that I absolutely loved the script. For a pilot it has everything. I think we can definitely tighten up a few places, tweak some of the jokes, but it’s terrific. I thought the cold water swimming club was a stroke of genius – no pun intended. Very much on the money!’
‘That’s good to hear, Carl. So, you want me to write a full series?’
