Page 14 of Under A Sicilian Sky
He swiped a stray curl from his eye. ‘No. I like it when it’s orange. I miss you. Are you bringing me some chocolate soon?’
Ruby giggled but had to fight back tears. ‘I’ll definitely bring you some chocolate, sweetheart, but I don’t know when. And I miss you too.’
‘I builded a snowman, can you come and see it?’
‘Aunty Roo is really busy just now, love,’ Kitty told her son. ‘But why don’t we take a photo of the snowman tomorrow and send it?’
He nodded, then turned to the screen. ‘We’re going to take a photo of Mr Snowman and send it to you. But we can’t send the snowman because he lives in our garden. Love you, bye!’ He kissed his hand and waved it at the screen before running away.
‘Bye, sweetheart!’ Ruby called to the boy’s retreating form.
‘Back to bed now, Georgie!’ Kitty called after him, then turned her attention to Ruby again. ‘So, you’ll let me know when you get there?’
Ruby smiled into the camera, feeling anything but happy. ‘Sure. Of course. Give Nelly and George a big hug from Aunty Roo.’ Her lip trembled as she spoke.
‘I will. Stay strong. Remember to contact me. Love you.’ Kitty blew a kiss at the screen.
‘Love you too. Bye,’ Ruby whispered as the screen went blank and she was thrust into that awful feeling of loneliness once again.
* * *
The day before she was due to leave for Sicily, Ruby was called in to see Valerie. The fact that her agent requested a meetingin personand at the office was worrisome. It sounded too official. Philippe was driving her in to the city in his official capacity, but she was relieved to have a friendly face along for the ride.
‘I wish you well, Ruby,’ he said as they ascended in the service elevator of the office block. ‘I’ll be right outside once you’re done. Try not to worry.’
She smiled but couldn’t help noticing the niggling feeling of doubt that weighed heavy in the pit of her stomach. She knocked on the door of her agent’s office and entered.
‘Ruby, darling. It’s so good to see you. The hair looks wonderful. Dark really suits you,’ Valerie said as she air-kissed her cheeks.
She returned to the large, black leather armchair behind her desk and gestured for Ruby to sit opposite. Already it felt like a very official meeting and the sweat on Ruby’s palms did nothing to change that.
‘Now… I have some news… It’s not good, I’m afraid.’ The long, drawn-out way in which she was speaking, and the lack of eye contact, solidified in Ruby’s mind that things were amiss, even without the content of Valerie’s words.
She inhaled a deep, shaking breath. ‘Out with it, Valerie.’
Valerie’s demeanour took on that all too familiar turn: crumpled brow, downturned mouth, dipped head. ‘I’m afraid the team atThe Girl and The Rosehave been in touch—’
Ruby swallowed hard. ‘I’m fired.’
Valerie huffed air through her nostrils. ‘Not exactlyfiredas such. But… filming has been postponed. They still want you for the role. They just feel that at this present time your name carries a somewhat…negativeconnotation that they don’t want to mar their production.’
Ruby closed her eyes and slowly shook her head as she spoke through clenched teeth. ‘I can’t believe this. I thought it would have been dealt with and my name would’ve been cleared by now. Instead, I’ve had to change my appearance and I have to go hide in some run-down shack in a foreign country until goodness knows when. It’s crazy, Val. It feels like people don’t care. Like it’s not important to anyone else.’
Valerie held up her hands. ‘Hey, come on now, calm down, you know that’s not true.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Okay, it may be true in the case of Tyler Harrison. But the rest of us are working hard to clear your name.’
Ruby glared at her agent. ‘Are you? Are you really? Because it feels like very little is being done. I’m still being hounded. I’m still being discussed as public enemy number one. Valerie, as my agent you should be employing PR or lawyers or… orsomething. You won’t let me speak out; you won’t let me try to clear my own name.’
‘You spoke out anyway and look where that got you,’ Valerie snapped.
‘I had to do something. I feel utterly useless, scared and alone. Do you understand?’ The volume of her voice increased exponentially with her anger. ‘I’ve worked so damn hard for my career and the actions of one spiteful, evil bastard have brought my world crashing down around my ears and you say calm down?’
Valerie didn’t speak. She had the common decency to look upset, at least.
‘Who would want to do this to me? What have I ever done to cause someone to hate me so much? If I’ve hurt someone, why haven’t they confronted me? Given me a chance to right the wrong?’
When Valerie treated her questions as rhetorical, Ruby stood.
‘I’m leaving now. I have a plane to catch and I need to pack. Please keep me informed.’ And with that she left the office, closed the door and burst into tears.
