Page 7 of One Hollywood Sunset

‘Greek builders,’ Freya remarked.

‘Yes.’

‘Greek builders progressing well,’ Freya stated.

‘I know what you’re getting at, but it really isn’t a mythical tale. They’ve nearly finished building the main structure. When you come over, I’ll take you on a tour,’ Emma promised.

‘I’ll bring a hard hat, just in case the progress slows down between now and then.’

‘You have no faith,’ Emma said, laughing.

‘I’m sorry. OK, well, I’d better go. It costs a fortune to phone you in the daytime. Give Melly a kiss from me and tell her Aunty Freya can’t wait to cuddle her. Unsoiled, of course,’ Freya said.

‘I will, and, Freya, give me a call later. Let me know about Jonny,’ Emma ordered her.

‘I will. I’ve decided it won’t be the Jonny we know. It will be some fifty-something high roller who wants me to take some pictures of his numerous skyscrapers. I get a lot of those at the moment,’ Freya said.

‘Well, call me anyway, but not after seven my time because we’re trying to get Melly into a routine.’

‘Noted. I’ll speak to you later,’ Freya ended.

As she replaced the receiver, Sasha came into the office waving a brochure in the air.

‘Don’t tell me! New menu for Phoenix Chinese? Gimme!’ Freya said excitedly.

‘No it isn’t, it’s the latest issue of Entertainment Now magazine. You and Nicholas are on the cover,’ Sasha said and she put the magazine down on Freya’s desk with a flourish.

‘Oh, is that all? Sasha, I think we’ve had a conversation about this before – several conversations, in fact. Having my face on the front of a magazine does nothing for me and… good God, will you look at my outfit? Someone call the fashion police. What was I thinking? Horizontal stripes do nothing for me,’ Freya announced as she picked up the magazine and studied it more closely.

‘I think it’s quite a nice picture. See how the photographer got the light just right? I think this was taken around dusk, going by the shadows,’ Sasha told her.

‘Are you trying to impress me, Sasha? This picture was taken when we visited the Carlton General Hospital to donate some money. It was definitely dusky, good spot,’ Freya answered her.

‘Whoever took it has captured Nick really well,’ Sasha said, studying the photograph.

‘He’s the most photogenic person I know. I could take a picture of him sat on the toilet and he would still come out looking amazing. Note the hint of jealousy.’

‘He has a great bone structure.’

‘Yes, he does. But enough now or next you’ll be asking for a poster to go above your bed,’ Freya said.

She picked up the magazine and dropped it in the bin.

‘Sorry,’ Sasha apologised.

‘That’s OK. It’s you and half of the female population of the world. I am one lucky lady, but don’t worry, I do know it,’ Freya answered with a smile.

As she had no appointments that morning, Freya took her equipment and drove to County Bridge.

County Bridge was ten miles north of Carlton and one of the five old bridges, all in a thirty-mile radius of the city. Freya had been told about their existence by Casey, who ran the diner in Mayleaf. Their history was they were over a hundred years old and had been built by a group of Christians for the purpose of giving the surrounding towns easy access across the river to the area’s churches. All of the bridges were different in their style. Two had arches, two had a straight design and County Bridge, Freya’s particular favourite, was a mixture of both. That bridge had an inscription on one of the spindles halfway across which read:

Glory to the Father, leave sorrow behind and take hope from the past.

Freya had taken to photographing all the bridges and had built up quite a collection of pictures. Her favourite time of day for capturing them was in the early morning when the mist was on the water and the sun was just starting to rise. It was important to have the light just right when taking photos of the bridges, as unlike most of the wooden structures in the area, the Christian Fathers Bridges, as they were known, were painted black.

Freya stood on one side of the river and waited for the bird she was watching to land on the bridge.

It was a black crow with a huge beak, scanning the water for flies it was chasing and catching. It flapped its wings and Freya took a picture.

---