Page 50 of Second Act at Appleton Green
Lily was silent. ‘What’s going on, Nigel? Why are you so encouraging for me to be here?’
Nigel sighed. ‘I’m taking the extension on the tour. It’s going to North America. I’ve signed on for another two years.’
‘Wow, okay, wow,’ Lily said. ‘Gosh, that’s a long time.’
‘I know, but I’ve met someone,’ he said.
‘Oh, Nigel, that’s lovely. Who is he?’ Lily asked, feeling happy and sad at the same time.
‘His name is Marcus and he’s in makeup and I adore him and he me. He makes me laugh and I just want to be with him for the rest of my life. Corny?’
Lily shook her head. ‘No, it’s not. It’s lovely and I’m so happy for you,’ she said and she felt a tear fall. ‘But I will be sad you’re not here and I guess you’ll move out? I’ll have to rent your room out?’
Nigel nodded. ‘Yes, I know. I can get my sister and brother-in-law to come over and get everything when the sublet finishes.’
‘Okay,’ said Lily. ‘The end of an era – we have lived together for so long.’
‘I know,’ he said. ‘But you can come and see me, come and have a holiday.’
Lily smiled. ‘I will need to get a job first. The restaurant is closing and the call centre hasn’t even offered me a shift.’
‘You need to teach again. I heard how good some of those students got at the flat.’
Lily shrugged. ‘Maybe, but it feels like failing.’
‘Oh screw those stupid lecturers; that was their bitterness, not ours. The irony of being told you’re a failure if you teach from a teacher is next-level nuts. I thought you realised that?’
Lily thought for a moment. ‘You know, I didn’t. I was so convinced I would be a failure, and there was so much pressure…’ She didn’t finish the sentence.
‘You mean Denise?’ Nigel rolled his eyes. ‘You have to tell her to pop back in her box. If she wants to be famous so much she should have gone to college.’
‘I know,’ Lily said. ‘I just don’t know what I want to be honest. This break here has been lovely, even without the show and Nick.’
‘Have you told Denise you’re doing an am dram show?’ he asked.
‘No, and I’m not going to. I won’t hear the end of it,’ she said. ‘As long I’m here she won’t come over, which is good. She’s got too many activities of her own to do; she’s just joined a bonsai club.’ Lily giggled.
‘Not a surprising choice, considering she loves control,’ Nigel said. ‘Sorry, that was mean.’
‘You’re not wrong though,’ said Lily. ‘I need to stand up to her more.’
‘No, you need to decide what you want your life to look like, not how Denise thinks it should look.’
Lily nodded. She knew he was right but she wasn’t even sure what she wanted her life to look like.
‘I have to go. I have rehearsals,’ she said to her best friend. ‘I love you and I’m so happy for you.’
‘Love you too, babe. Speak soon.’
She thought about what Nigel said as she drove to rehearsals, arriving early to run lines with Henry Higgins.
Opening the door, she saw that Nick was already there, assisting Jasper and one of the set builders in the process of setting up the makeshift stage.
When she approached him with a smile, she enquired, ‘Do you require any assistance there? I can’t say I would be very helpful but I’m good at pointing where things should go.’
Nick beamed, and his eyes lit up as he caught sight of her. He was carrying a flat with Jasper. ‘Always,’ he said and they smiled and Lily blushed.
‘Excuse me, lovebirds,’ Jasper yelled out from the opposite side of the hallway. ‘Less flirting, more working! I don’t want to drop this. These flats are expensive.’
