Stepsisters by Rupert James

Author:Rupert James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cleis Press
Published: 2012-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

Filming was going well. Once they were in the studio, a sprawling complex on the outskirts of Bucharest, formerly the pride and joy of the Romanian film industry, now being slowly reclaimed from dereliction by budget-conscious foreign producers, it was easy to forget the chill and squalor of their surroundings. Most of the scenes were interiors, and most of the interiors were the bedrooms, luxurious apartments and hotel rooms where Nana plied her trade. In some of them, Rachel was alone, preparing and pampering her body for her next tryst; a monologue would be added in voiceover. In others, she romped with a selection of men of various shapes and ages. But for the majority of her scenes, she was acting opposite Alan.

She had dreaded the moment of their first meeting, assuming that he would still hold a grudge for her part in Elizabeth’s misfortune; it would be typical of Elizabeth to have spent the last two years poisoning his mind against her. She expected chilliness at best, open hostility at worst; what she didn’t expect was the warm greeting that awaited her.

‘You two know each other?’ asked Gerald, when they finally met at the read through, a week before they’d flown to Bucharest.

‘Oh, yes,’ said Alan. ‘We go way back.’

‘Indeed?’

‘We have . . . mutual friends,’ said Alan, raising an eyebrow at Rachel. ‘It’s lovely to see you again, darling.’

‘Lovely to see you, too,’ said Rachel, reminding herself that she wasn’t supposed to know about Alan and Chris.

Since then, there had been no time to catch up on the good old days, not least because Rachel was busy keeping Gerald satisfied, and Alan – well, Alan had other fish to fry. Mererdith Chase had seen him off at Gatwick, where there was a surprisingly large number of photographers for what was meant to be a private occasion, and Rachel had read all about their great love in the newspapers. He didn’t seem to be pining, exactly; perhaps theirs was the kind of love that could withstand such separations. That’s certainly what they told reporters.

At the end of the first week’s shooting, when most of the studio stuff was done and they were about to move into town for restaurant and nightclub scenes, the two stars were summoned by Gerald for a meeting with the unit publicist.

‘Guys,’ said Gerald, ‘this is Polly Hamlin. For the foreseeable future, she is your representative on earth. I place myself in her capable hands, and so should you.’

Polly was a voluptous black woman of indeterminate age, with thick, wavy hair and an even thicker Birmingham accent. She wore gold lipstick, gold hoop earrings, a gold chain around her neck, gold sandals on her feet.

‘Do your stuff, Pol,’ said Gerald. ‘I’m off to throttle the location manager.’

A few preliminary pleasantries were exchanged, during which Polly said the soothing words ‘magazine covers’, ‘exclusive’ and ‘Rankin’. Then she said:

‘So, Alan, Rachel. How do the two of you fancy having an affair?’

Alan crossed his legs. He was wearing, Rachel noticed, ironed jeans.

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.