Acting Up Page 19

  As the interview ended, Sharon Westfield came over. Thrusting her hand into Jazz's and shaking it vigorously, she said, 'Many congrats, no one deserved it more, absolutely delighted.' She was smoking a cigar.

  Jazz mumbled her thanks, hoping to God Maddie wasn't watching.

  'We'd love to do a follow-up,' continued Sharon, still shaking Jazz's hand. 'Love to. Perfect Family – that sort of thing, right up our street.' She dropped Jazz's hand to place imaginary words in the sky: "The Field Family – The Last Happy Family in the Country". Perfect.'

  Jazz smiled weakly.

  Sharon winked at her, tapped her nose with her finger and whispered loudly, 'Then when you start the column, our readers will know who you are, eh? Looking forward to your fax.' And she was gone.

  Jazz pulled Josie away from the scene and when her younger sister asked what all that was about, she said she'd explain later. She wasn't going to let politics spoil her night.

  Later, Jazz and Josie danced the night away with Maddie, while Mark watched them morosely, slowly getting drunk. Various tabloid Editors were making fools of themselves over Maddie and she was in her element. It wouldn't be long before she'd be leaving Hoorah! Jazz thought contentedly.

  Yep, it was a good night, she decided, although neither Maddie nor Josie could pogo quite like Mo.

  * * * * *

  Hours later, Jazz and Josie sat in Mo's empty flat, tired, drenched in their own cold sweat and with the music's pumping beat still slightly deafening them.

  It was then that Jazz told Josie her dilemma.

  She was a hypocrite. She had danced the night away with the people who had helped make her career, and all the time she had been secretly selling her soul to a higher bidder.

  As Josie answered her questions, all became clear to Jazz. Of course. It would be Josie, the one who had been her inspiration so far, Josie, who had provided her with her biggest career success so far, Josie, her sister who had it all, who would go on to show her exactly and precisely what to do.

  'You're the one who made your career, not them,' she said simply. 'And you've got them free publicity by winning the award. Agatha didn't nominate you for altruistic reasons, did she?'

  Jazz's sense of guilt evaporated instantly. When had Josie become so mature? Was that what motherhood did to you?

  'Anyway,' her younger sister continued, 'why can't my story be in a quality paper instead? Aren't I interesting enough?'

  Jazz sat up. 'You know, I never even thought of that,' she said, suddenly perky.

  'Well ring them, idiot,' grinned Josie. 'You're famous now. Wait until later though, it's four in the morning.'

  * * * * *

  Jazz stood in the phone box, pushing coins into the slot. It took an aeon for someone to answer.

  'Features,' said a bored, busy voice at the News, one of the more stuffy quality papers.

  'Oh hello, my name's Jasmin Field, I'm a columnist for Hoorah! magazine and have just won the Evening Herald's Columnist Personality of the Year Award. You may have caught me on TV last night.' She winced at how that sounded, but kept going. You couldn't sell hard enough in this game. 'Here's the story. I've been poached by the Daily Echo but would love to write for you.'

  There was silence at the other end. Jazz ignored her dry throat and the countdown on the phone's meter. She put some more coins in. There was silence at the other end.

  'My column is all about my sister Josie,' Jazz continued. 'She's a confident, intelligent, happily-married young full-time mum who has all sorts of hysterical incidents happen to her.'

  Silence.

  'It's a sort of modern, post-erm – post . . .' Posttraumatic stress syndrome? Poster Paint? Postman Pat? Bugger. 'She's my sister,' she gabbled.

  Silence.

  'I'm a bloody fast writer and don't mind re-writing.'

  She put some more money in the slot.

  'I worked with your Assistant Editor, Jackie Summers, years ago at Bonkers!. She might remember me.'

  Silence. She'd run out of coins.

  'Shall I send you some of my work?'

  Silence. Had someone shot him, perhaps?

  'Hello?' she said, irritated.

  'I know your work. Fax over two new columns written to our style for the attention of Brigit Kennedy, Commissioning Editor.'

  And then the pips went.

  Jazz put the phone down in a bit of a daze.

  Even if the News said no, Jazz had already decided that if she worked for the Daily Echo, she'd never be able to live with herself. And although she didn't much like herself at the moment, she had decided she didn't want to live with anyone else.

  Back in the office, she finished her current feature and then, when everyone had gone home, she bashed out two new columns – one about how her family had reacted to her winning the award, the other about how she was happy being single until the right man came along – a man who would treat her like her brother-in-law treated her sister. Then she faxed them to the News and went home.

  She'd worry about the Daily Echo another day.

  20

  'You're leaving me?' said Maddie, her eyes wide with disappointment.

  'Oh, please don't make me feel guilty,' said Jazz keenly. 'You'll be snapped up within weeks. I saw how the Editor of the Reactor was looking at you at the awards.'

  She knew that would work. Maddie's little mouth turned up slightly at the edges. They were sitting on the table in the tiny area next to the coffee machine. Since they'd gone open-plan, private spaces were a thing of the past. They had to be quick.

  To Jazz's amazement, Brigit Kennedy, Commissioning Editor of the News, had phoned her first thing the morning after she'd sent in her columns. She hadn't heard anything from the Daily Echo and hoped Sharon Westfield had forgotten her.

  'Love your style,' Brigit had said. 'It's so rare to get a column that's about a marriage that's working nowadays. Of course, it's a risk because today's readers only want to read about others' troubles, but we think you're a risk worth taking. We'd be delighted to have you on board.'

  Jazz was over the moon. 'Thank you,' she breathed. 'You won't regret it.'

  'I'm afraid we can only offer you five hundred pounds a column––'

  'I'll take it,' Jazz said quickly, and the two women laughed. Contracts were faxed over to her and she'd signed that afternoon. She'd been absolutely staggered at how fast newspapers can move if they really want you.

  After the call, Jazz had felt wonderful, ecstatic, elated, over the moon, tearful, relieved and special. Her dream had finally come true. Until she remembered she'd have to break the news to Maddie.

  'You're leaving me alone with Mark?' repeated Maddie.

  'Oh, you know how to deal with him,' said Jazz sympathetically. 'Anyway, you might find he really lightens up once I've gone.'

  'And Angry Alison?'

  'I thought you liked Alison.'

  'And Mad Miranda?'

  'Yes, I'm beginning to see your point,' said Jazz. She hadn't realised Maddie would take it quite so badly. So she explained that she still wanted to do work for Hoorah! either on a freelance basis or possibly as a part-timer.

  'I'll tell Agatha,' said Maddie. 'Let's hope I come out alive.'

  They both smiled weakly.

  'I can't believe you're leaving me,' Maddie said once more, her little red lips starting to tremble slightly. They walked back to the office and Maddie told everyone Jazz's news. She'd have to tell Agatha tomorrow; she was in meetings all day.

  Mark came over immediately. Miranda continued tapping.

  'Say congratulations to our columnist for the News, Mark,' said Maddie, as sternly as Jazz had ever heard her speak.

  'So are you fucking off then?' he asked instead, leaning back against the empty desk and crossing his arms. His shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows and Jazz noticed that the sun had brought out the fine auburn hairs on his forearms.

  'Yup. You can talk about shagging now as much as you like in the office,' said Jazz. 'As l
ong as you mention IKEA a few times.'

  Mark stared hard at Maddie.

  'Don't think this means we won't still come and see you in your play,' said Maddie, veering off on another subject. 'We'll be there with the banners.' Oh God, the play, thought Jazz. She'd actually managed to forget about it.

  * * * * *

  The next morning, Jazz was staggered to open the Daily Echo and see a double-page spread headed IS THIS THE LAST HAPPY FAMILY IN THE COUNTRY? above a massive picture of her smiling family. Quickly scanning the piece, she could see that it was mostly hearsay and speculation with one or two quotes from Martha, whom they had obviously spoken to for two minutes on the phone. At the bottom, in bold, were the words You can read award-winning Jasmin Field's regular column starting next month. Only in the Daily Echo. Weren't they at all concerned that she hadn't even sent them her first column yet? Maybe they expected columnists to miss deadlines.

  Jesus Christ. She hadn't even sent them her fax yet. And Maddie hadn't told the news to Agatha yet. She certainly hadn't signed anything with them yet. What's more, she wasn't going to write for them, she was going to write for the News.

  She phoned her mother straight away. 'Have you read the Daily Echo?' she asked.

  'Yes,' said Martha.

  'When did you speak to them, Mum?'

  'I hadn't realised I had, dear,' answered Martha, mildly flustered. 'Someone phoned me to ask how I felt about you winning the award and how I felt about having three famous daughters. They said they were the award organisers and this was for their internal journal. Anyway,' she scoffed, 'I didn't say I was "over the moon". I never talk in such ridiculous clichés. Perish the thought.'

  Jazz was furious. She had half a mind to phone Sharon Westfield and complain. But what was the point? It was much more important for her to phone Brigit Kennedy and explain that it was all a horrible mistake and then apologise to Agatha before she was sacked.

  Brigit Kennedy was surprisingly phlegmatic about it. She knew Sharon Westfield of old – 'She was my Deputy at Smile!' she told Jazz. 'Morals of a dog on heat. Knows her stuff though. Don't give it a moment's thought.'

  Brigit gave Jazz her first commission there and then. If anything, Jazz felt it had worked in her favour.

  Then it was off to Agatha's office. The door was open and Jazz could see Agatha at her desk, reading the Daily Echo. Smiling out at her was Jazz's entire family.

  She knocked feebly on the door.

  Agatha looked up at her. She said nothing.

  'I can explain,' said Jazz.

  Agatha crossed her arms and waited.

  'I'm not going to write for them. They asked me to and I hadn't even sent them my provisional fax yet. It's a horrible mistake.'

  Agatha started to look slightly more human again.

  'That's all right then,' she said. 'Otherwise I'd have had to fire you.' And she turned the page over and ignored Jazz.

  Jazz didn't think it was the right time to mention the News.

  She started her first column for them at midnight when she couldn't sleep. It was full of bile. At 1.30 am she e-mailed it and made herself a Horlicks. She slept very peacefully until 6.30 am.

  The next morning she got a call from Brigit.

  'Thanks for the column. Really nice. Loved the nostalgic bit about you and Josie arguing about Euro '96. You telling her that football had nothing to do with reality and her pointing out that it had become political because even John Major had told Gareth Southgate he had nothing to be ashamed of when he missed the penalty.'

  Jazz smiled over the phone. This was a good start. But Brigit went on. 'And then you saying that Gareth Southgate had never returned the compliment,' she finished, as though Jazz didn't remember the cadence and rhythm of every single one of her beloved jokes. The Commissioning Editor laughed loudly. 'Politics, humour and sport. Keep it coming, gal.'

  Brigit told her it would go in as soon as possible, and gave her her direct line. That meant Jazz had to pluck up the courage to tell Agatha very soon. She tried not to think of Sharon Westfield.

  21

  It was a Saturday night and Jazz, Josie and George turned up to the latest cast party together, just like when they were teenagers, hundreds of years ago. Jazz was on a high for the first time in a very long fortnight. George circulated easily among the crowd. Jazz saw that Jack was staying put in the kitchen, nursing a beer and a forced smile and William was flitting. Of course William was at the party, thought Jazz. He could be safe tonight because he knew that Harry would be on stage most of the evening.

  Jazz introduced Josie to all and waited patiently for William to flit round to them. She was going to test him.

  She didn't have to wait long.

  'Hello,' he grinned, eyeing Josie up. Josie had George's vibrant colouring, and even though a few years of exhaustion had faded it somewhat, Jazz knew her sister still looked good.

  At first Jazz tried hard not to notice those crinkly lines at the corner of William's eyes nor his warming smile. But then she realised that looking at them didn't hurt her like she thought it would. She introduced him to Josie, and William seemed delighted to discover there was another Field sister. She wished she'd warned Josie about William, but she supposed there would always be time. Jazz told him that she had managed to get tickets for Harry's play and waited for his reaction. William looked surprised. After a pause he edged nearer to her.

  'I suppose knowing the truth about him, you're doubly intrigued to see the difference between a false act and a genuine one?' he said lightly.

  Jazz couldn't help but smile at his words. It helped the hurt a bit.

  'Oh, I've got to know him a bit better since we last spoke,' she said. 'And I find Harry's manner – with some people – easier to swallow now.'

  Jazz got a sense of deep satisfaction watching the different reactions that fought for control over William's pleasing features.

  'You mean,' he began, when he could trust his voice to be indifferent, 'that you've grown used to his manner? Or has he turned into a lovely warm chap who will surprise us all at the next rehearsal?'

  'Oh no,' replied Jazz, enjoying the conversation even more than she thought she would. This was probably the only good thing that would come out of the e-mail. 'He's still the same old Harry Noble. I just mean that when you get to know more about the man's past – and the past of those he loves – it's easier to understand the reasons behind his actions.'

  To her delight, William actually coloured.

  'I'm surprised to see that Carrie isn't here,' she said, looking round.

  There was now no doubt that they both knew what Jazz was talking about.

  'Harry's sister?' he asked evenly, though it was obvious to Jazz he wished he were no longer talking to her. 'She rarely comes to parties.'

  Jazz nodded slowly. 'Maybe she doesn't like what drink does to some people,' she said quietly and then with one last look at him, she turned and walked away, leaving him, not without some regret, to talk to Josie. The fact that he looked annoyed instead of embarrassed put a final end to her crush on him.