Page 87 of And Then There Was You
“I think we got it, thanks, Chloe. Your sets run like clockwork,” Mel said, peeling off her headset. “And your scenes shoot like a dream.”
“This wasn’t one of mine,” Chloe said with a grin. “But thank you.”
They were filming a short film she’d cowritten with Viv, a writer she’d met on her course at UCL. It was a comedy drama about a woman who married a robot. This was a passion project, rather than anything commercial. The new production company she worked for let her use their kit and crew as part of an“emerging talent” program. But she had to do this around her day job as an assistant location manager, where she helped wrangle logistics on shoots—location permissions, call sheets, and last-minute panics about weather. Chloe loved the variety of every day, loved being busy, engaging the creative side of her brain again. She was only a small part of the films they made, but she knew she was good at her job, and she was learning something new every day.
Once filming wrapped, Chloe stuck around, making sure every department was prepped for Monday’s shoot, double-checking the equipment returns and that everyone had the latest call sheet.
“Don’t stay here all night, Chloe,” Mel called out, pulling on her motorbike helmet and zipping up her jacket. A moment later she roared off the lot, engine growling, taillights glinting in the afternoon sun.
When Chloe was finally satisfied that everything was in place for Monday’s shoot, she grabbed her bag and headed for the studio gate. There, sitting patiently and looking regal in the glow of afternoon light, was a familiar velvety gray figure. Richard. She smiled to herself, because wherever Richard was, John was never far behind.
She scanned the parking lot, eyes quick with anticipation as she looked for him. Sure enough, there he was, in scruffy jeans and a creased pink shirt. His eyes glinted as they fixed on her, then they both broke into a grin. His face was so familiar to her now, and seeing it conjured so much affection. She knew every expression: his composing face, his anxious face, his anxious composing face. His loving face, his passionate face, his “I missed you even though you were in the next room” face. She noticed and loved them all.
“Hey,” she said, biting her lip as she ran straight into his outstretched arms. “What are you doing all the way up here?”
“A little bird told me you might be finishing on time for once,” he said, kissing her. “So we’re taking you away for the weekend.”
“For the weekend? Now?” she asked, and he nodded, clearly delighted with this surprise. “But I don’t have any of my things.”
“I packed for you,” he said, holding out an arm with a flourish. “It’s all in the car.”
“Where are we going?” she asked, but then she frowned and shook her head. “Wait, we can’t go away this weekend, Sean and Gracie are coming over.”
“They rescheduled,” John said. “Sean’s been asked to host an awards ceremony.”
She held his arm. “I’m sure there’s other stuff I’m supposed to be doing. Don’t we have the roof survey? Isn’t your mum coming for lunch?”
John gave her an affectionate frown. “Ask your assistant.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she pressed the smartwatch on her wrist. “Assist, John wants to take me away for the weekend. What does my diary look like?”
A soothing female voice replied, “Your calendar is clear. Have a great weekend, Chloe!”
She looked at John, brows lifted. “You hacked my calendar.”
“I politely collaborated with your diary to resolve a few minor clashes,” he said, grinning.
“Looks like I’m free then,” she said, clasping his hand. He swung it back and forth as they walked toward the car.
“Will you tell me where we’re going now?” she asked, hugging his arm and kissing his shoulder.
“You’ll see,” he said with a secretive grin.
He kept the mystery going all the way up the A1. When they passed Leeds, she had an inkling, but she wasn’t sure until she saw the sign for Castle Howard.
“No!” she cried, half squealing. “Brideshead?”
“Damn those brown signs,” John muttered with mock irritation as he reached out to stroke Richard’s head. The dog, nestled in the footwell by Chloe’s feet, stretched out his paws, impatient for the drive to be over. “There’s a festival this weekend, a celebration of all thingsBrideshead. There’s even a teddy bear’s picnic on the grounds tomorrow. It all sounds gloriously camp.”
Chloe clapped her hands, delighted. “Oh, I should have brought Aloysius!”
One eye on the road, John reached blindly into the back seat, rummaged through a tote bag, then pulled out the bear. “You think I wouldn’t pack him?”
Chloe hugged him to her chest, then leaned across the car to kiss John on the cheek.
“I love you.”
“I love you more,” he said, catching her hand and bringing it to his lips.
