Chapter 44
“L.A. Central TV studios, can I help you?”
“Er, yes, can I have extension number…653 please” Buffy asked
“Putting you through” After a few moments, another phone began to ring………
“Lilah Morgan”
“Hello, Miss Morgan, I received a letter from you asking if I’d be on your show, my name is Buffy Summers”
“Buffy Summers, Buffy Summers…oh yes the ice skater – how are you?”
“I’m fine thanks”
“Good! So, you’re interested in being a guest on Celebrity Squares – okay then, well, we do two shows a day, and we ask all our guests to do two shows, it’ll be all day filming, you get rehearsals and refreshments, meet the contestants and so forth, we film up to one month in advance, when would be most convenient for you, we have vacancies on the 23rd, 25th and 26th of this month………Or you could do us a big favour and come in tomorrow”
“Really, that would be great!”
***********************
“Sure I’m sure William, Mrs Travers will be at the ballet or the opera with one of her clubs, so dinner out will be a nice change for me”
“It isn’t too little notice Quentin?”
“William, all I had planned for tomorrow night was a bath, and one of those more than likely violent TV movies and a plate of cold cuts, no, Dinner at Romano’s sounds just the ticket”
“I’ll see you there at eight then”
*************************
The Following Day
“God, could some of these people be any thicker and more stupid? – You’ll never believe it, this one guy, when asked, ‘Where would you find the Valley of the Kings and the Sphinx, he actually said, in China!”
William chuckled
“I take it geography wasn’t his strong point then!”
“I don’t think he HAS a strong point…later they asked: ‘what would you do with an enchilada, feed and groom it, eat it, or wear it, he said wear it! His subject was supposed to have been sport, but all he knew was about the Lakers …ask him anything about them, and he knew, he could’ve told you what colour socks the pitcher was wearing I’m sure!”
“So, is it lunch break now is it?” William
“Yes, till 1.30pm, then we will film two shows – oh guess what, mom shrieked when I told her!”
“What was that, kitten?”
“Well, you know they swap over all the guests for the second show, well guess who I‘m on with this afternoon?”
“Tell me?”
“Only Den Affeck”
“Who?”
“Ha-ha, don’t be funny, he was in that movie we saw the other night, Dangerman”
“Oh him, tall, dark and forehead!”
“You sound jealous!” Buffy accused, giggling
“What, of that little pip-squeak? – Never!”
“So, you’re having dinner with Quentin tonight?”
“Business rather than pleasure kitten, I want to pick his brains as regards this Hesketh-Browne deal, I want to know what he thinks”
“Didn’t you get your lawyer onto the small print about that though?”
“Course, I just, well see Quentin was in med school with Tim’s father, I thought he might be able to give me some advice or something”
“Well it won’t hurt to try – will I see you tomorrow then?”
“Sure kitten, I’ll come round, early, well early-ish!”
“’Bout ten”
“Around then, yup!”
“Okay then, bye, and Will?”
“Yes pet?”
“Missed you”
“Aww baby, I’ve missed you too, bye pet”
“Bye – I l – bye”
******************************
“Menu?”
“No need, I’ll have the wild mushroom risotto to start, followed by the braised lamb-shank in red wine – a nice bottle of – oh, what will you be having William?”
“I think I’ll have the same as you, sounds good to me!” William didn’t even open the proffered menu, but handed it back to the smiling waitress.
“Good, we’ll have a bottle of no.23, the Chianti please” Quentin said smiling at the waitress
The waitress smiled and left
“So, how did the surgeries go?”
“Fine, routine, you know. So Quentin, I’ll cut to the chase, what do you think of the Hesketh-Browne’s deal, what am I letting myself in for?”
Quentin smiled, and began to nibble on a grissini (bread stick)
“You REALLY want my opinion on things William?”
“Of course, that’s why I’m asking!”
“Then to put it proverbially, I wouldn’t touch it with the shitty end if a six-foot barge pole!” William looked totally surprised, and when he regained his composure, he asked,
“Really, why not?”
“Well, for one, this nasty business the outgoing Hesketh-Browne is bound to leave a stink that lasts for years!”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Know what?”
“Didn’t Tim tell you – that was very remiss of him!”
“Didn’t Tim tell me what, come on Quentin!”
“About three people dying from infections in the clinic, it was in all the newspapers back home”
“Infections? –When was – well I live here don’t I! – When was this, exactly, hmm?”
“Well the first on was the beginning of the year, then the one that bought it to the media’s attention was this little old lady, her grand-daughter or something – went into have a nose job, now she needs a new face”
“Oh my god!”
“And you say he wants not only your good name to shore up the clinic, but your money too?”
“Half a million”
“Pounds or dollars?”
“Dollars – I think anyway”
“I bet he does! Well William, it’s for you to decide of course, but I think you’d be doing yourself a great disservice if you signed up with him – they’d be riding your back for years”
William was still looking thoughtful when his starter was placed in front of him.
“I’m sorry this other deal I made you aware of didn’t come off”
“What – oh that…place was a bit small”
“Suppose…”
“You know William, there is a cheap way for you to get around this you know”
“Hmm…but I don’t want to teach – I haven’t the patience for one, I’d get irritated when they can’t do it”
“Why dismiss it out of hand, it’s not like it would be first year medical students”
“But these insurance companies pay ME to fix their clients injuries Quentin, not some learning student – they’d only have to make one slip – and that could mean somebody’s sporting career down the pan”
“I see your point” They ate on in silence for a while, until Quentin piped up,
“Did Tim say how Eleanor was?”
“Sorry, who?”
“His mother”
“Oh she’s out in Africa, running missionary schools and minibuses spreading the AIDS Awareness campaign, handing out free condoms and the like”
“Last I heard she was having some legal battle over the house”
“She kept that, so Tim said anyway”
“Oh she did, did she, good. She kept up a good fight…young Tim’s been rather economical with the truth as far as you’re concerned Will, Tim’s father wasn’t daft, he’d got all his money stashed away in Swiss bank accounts, the courts couldn’t touch it, Eleanor only kept the house as it was in her name, and she argued that the house was hers in the first place, inherited from her father and wasn’t negotiable for selling to cover the costs of the court cases”
“I didn’t know there’d even been any court cases…the way Tim said it, it sounded like it was part of the divorce settlement or something. I’m mighty glad I spoke to you first Quentin”
“Me too William...I’d have hated for you to be cheated like that…so are you definitely thinking of setting up in England then?”
“Well…I don’t know really……most of my work seems to come from Europe – just thought it might be easier”
Quentin nodded
“And what about your girlfriend, what does she think about it?”
“She’s behind me all the way – she thinks it would be good for me to get a clinic”
“In England?”
“Ah…um” Quentin quirked a brow at William, and then said,
“Because if you’re interested, I might have something that’s right up your street, it’s in England, won’t cost you a penny, and it doesn’t involve teaching”
“Really, tell me more!”
***********************
Joyce tapped lightly on the bathroom door and asked
“Buffy, I’m going to bed now honey, goodnight – do you want me to wake you in the morning?”
There were sounds of splashing and Buffy said,
“Please mom, I’m seeing Will at ten”
“Okay, I’m out at eight thirty, I’ll wake you just before I go, night”
“Night mom” Buffy leisurely raised a leg out of the bath and soaped it with a large sponge. Nothing like a warm relaxing bath to help you sleep…
******************
“This is nice!” Buffy sat on the bench by the boating lake
“I thought so, perhaps a spot of lunch somewhere…so tell me, how were things yesterday at the studio?”
“Oh that – it was great! We had SUCH a laugh – we had rehearsals, and if somebody said something really funny, Danny would say, that’s great, well keep that in, do it or say it like that when we go for real – or if things went bad, he’d say, never mind, we can do it again, but don’t say that!”
William smiled; he loved the way she looked so animated, happy at last. She had colour in her cheeks, and at last, a little meat on her bones, she was still possibly 10lbs underweight, but then what young starlet wasn’t in LA?
“Do you like it here love, I mean, living back home in California?”
“What, instead of all that travelling around – sure I do! – Wouldn’t live anywhere else!”
“You wouldn’t – oh”
“Why?”
“Nothing, just wondering, that’s all” William felt crestfallen
“It’s been great to have some time with my mom – you know, I calculated, in all the time I was at the academy, I must have seen my mom for the equivalent of about four weeks all told – shocking when you think about it – so now I’m making up for it!” Buffy said grinning
“Yeah” William smiled
“Oh look, oh, I wish I had some bread or something, look at those ducks, aren’t they cute?”
“You can’t feed them, it says so on that sign over there…Do not feed the ducks” William said pointing out the half hidden sign by some trees.
“Oh phooey, who bothers reading that! It’s half covered anyway”
Just then a little boy of about three ran close to the waters edge shouting, and the ducks paddled away fast
“Connor! Don’t go so close to the water, come here!” The child’s mother admonished him and led him away from the water’s edge.
Buffy raised her sunglasses to the top of her head and got out a tissue and wiped her eyes
“Sure is hot!”
William sat up, clasped his hands together between his open knees, leaning forward
“You okay?” Buffy asked putting her hand on the middle of his back
“Me? – Sure…thinking that’s all”
“What about – oh how did that meeting go with Quentin?”
“Fine – I think he saved me from a fate worse than –whatever…shall we walk, it’s too warm for me to sit out, I’ll get a headache” William stood up
“You’re a true Brit – useless in the sun! So, did you say something about lunch, have you anywhere planned?”
“No, just – no, I didn’t, I don’t” William shrugged
“What do you fancy?”
“To tell you the truth pet, I’m not hungry – I’ve been all over with my eating the last week, and I had a big dinner last night, rice, lamb, potatoes, veg, I’m still quite full”
“Well come on then, we can just walk around the shops”
*************************
“Where’s William?”
“Oh, he’s tired, he’s gone back to the flat”
“Is he okay?” Joyce asked frowning
“Yeah, jet lagged I shouldn’t wonder, he was a bit quiet today”
“Hmm, stupefied by the smell of burning plastic I should imagine!” Joyce said, smiling
Buffy frowned and said,
“Excuse me?” Joyce nodded to the myriad of bags at her daughter’s feet
“All this shopping, I bet it was a wonder your credit cards didn’t catch fire!”
The realisation of what her mother meant hit her and Buffy grinned
“Oh, I get you! Well, Chloe was having a sale…look, I couldn’t resist…what do you think – I couldn’t make up my mind between the blue or the black, so I got both!”
Joyce rolled her eyes smiling, walking towards the kitchen she asked,
“Tea?”
“Please mom…and what’s to eat, I’m starving!”
“You didn’t have lunch out?”
“Well no, we were going to, but Will wasn’t hungry, and I wasn’t bothered once I got to the shops”
“Are you seeing him tonight?”
“No, he said he’d ring me tomorrow, actually, I might phone him in a little while”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“Why not?”
“He might have just gone off to sleep”
Buffy pulled a face and sat down
“Oh I suppose he might have…” Buffy was still frowning when her mother appeared with the tea.
“Why the frown, honey?”
“Oh I – I don’t know…today, thinking back, Will just didn’t seem himself, he was really quiet now I come to think of it – I must have driven him mad, yacketty-yacking all the time”
“I’m sure not honey, like you say he’s probably jet lagged still” Joyce reassured
“Hope so”
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