Summer Loves by Georgia Hill

Author:Georgia Hill
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780008211073
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2017-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

The entire cast had gathered at the theatre for the first run-through. The bucket was still present, with water dripping occasionally through the ceiling from the offices above. Dora placed her chair fastidiously to one side of it and glared up.

‘Should really get something done about that.’ It was Greg. He flung his chair down next to hers with a clatter. ‘Kirstie thinks it’s a central heating pipe.’

Dora shivered. ‘This place has heating?’ She pulled her woollen jacket closer. She’d quickly learned that even when it was seventy outside, the inside of the theatre remained icy. As it was likely there would be a fair bit of sitting around today, she’d come prepared. She wrapped the shawl she’d borrowed from her mother more tightly around her neck and snuggled down.

Greg collapsed onto his chair and laughed. ‘Well, Persuasion is set during the autumn, isn’t it? At least we won’t have to act being cold.’

She was about to reply when Mike strode to the front of the theatre, levered himself onto the stage and began to speak.

Dora found she couldn’t make eye contact with him. Although she was still furious and eaten alive with jealousy over him and Kirstie, frustratingly she still loved him. And always would. It seemed Michael Love was a habit too hard to kick. She ground her teeth. Giving up nicotine had been easy in comparison. It was all so hopeless. Forcing herself to concentrate, she listened as Mike gave them a pep talk followed by their notes.

During the little time she wasn’t on stage, she hung around, refusing to take a break. She watched Mike at work. She couldn’t help herself. Somehow, despite the killer phone call, what he’d recently confided made her love him all the more. The hormone-driven rebellious lust for Berecombe’s bad boy had been replaced by a deep admiration for the man he had become. He had overcome so much and, despite it all, he’d risen to the top of his profession. Watching how he gave notes to some of the younger, amateur members of the cast – or ‘the kids’ as they’d been nicknamed – during the lunch break, her heart swelled with pride at what he’d achieved. Had become. And then, seeing Kirstie waiting patiently to one side, her heart shattered at the knowledge he would never be hers.

There was nothing for it. She had to put up the barriers. Her heart was breaking into jagged pieces, but she’d die rather than admit it.

The day dragged on interminably. Some of the kids hadn’t grasped that it was a run- through and kept stopping. When they didn’t receive the usual prompt or suggestion, their performance dived-bombed.

‘First run-through,’ muttered Greg as they were waiting in the wings for their cue. ‘Nearly as bad as the read-through.’

Dora smiled at him. His performance hadn’t been good, but then no one’s had been. It wasn’t the point of a run-through.

‘I think the kids are rather discouraged,’ she whispered.

‘Bound to be. Mike will give them a pep talk later.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.