“I can’t think why. I’m fine.”
“And Julia?”
Brenda played with her wedding ring, twisting it around her finger. “She’s fine too.”
Flick scrutinised her mum’s face. “So we’re not becoming a bit of a nuisance? As if we’re expecting too much?”
“From Julia?” Brenda asked. “Whatever gave you that idea? She’s happy to help, she just doesn’t want to see the band.”
Flick scoffed. The way everyone else had gone on she found that hard to believe. “Why not?”
Brenda drew her mouth into a straight line. “Not everybody likes Argon Fire, Felicity. You of all people know that.”
Despite not quite believing her mother, Flick tried to dismiss her unease.
“Look,” Brenda said, suddenly relaxing over the whole thing. “All Julia wants out of this, is for you to succeed. And if I knew of something that would prevent that from happening, don’t you think I’d tell you?”
Flick nodded. “I suppose.”
“So, does this mean we can stop worrying about other people and just enjoy today’s event?” Her mum offered a tender smile, encouraging Flick to cheer up with a gentle shoulder bump. “Please?”
Flick took a deep breath. What choice did she have? “It does.”
“That’s the spirit.”
Brenda returned her attention to the crew. “Apparently this shoot has created quite a stir,” she said, her enthusiasm reignited. “According to Julia, the mayor’s been fielding off calls all morning. Apparently, everyone and their dog spotted the convoy of vans passing through the village. They’re all dying to know what’s going on.”
Flick followed her mother’s gaze. “I can understand the curiosity. That’s a big workforce and a whole lot of equipment.”
“I know. And isn’t it exciting?”
Flick took in her mum’s reinvigorated demeanour. The glint in her eyes and the smile on her face were as bright as a child’s on Christmas morning. Despite it still being early, such was her anticipation, she’d already donned her best clothes and applied her lipstick, enough to make Flick feel bad for almost spoiling things. “It certainly is.”
Brenda appeared wistful. “Do you think I’ll get to meet them?”
“The band?” Like Flick needed to ask.
“I’m not talking about any of this lot, am I?”
Flick stepped back to make room for yet another crew member hauling goodness knew what kind of equipment inside. Flick apologised, not wanting to get in anyone’s way; after all, this shoot was as important to her as it was to them. Unlike her mum who sought to be around to meet the infamous Argon Fire, Flick was simply showing her face should anyone need anything. She laughed at her naivety. Continuing to observe the organised chaos, both she and her mother might as well have been invisible.
She thought back to Rob’s visit, appreciating why everyone here seemed to know which direction to go in and with what. Rob had taken a tonne of photos and even sketched floor plans for people to work from. According to him, this was a role normally undertaken by someone else. On this occasion, however, time had been of the essence so he’d had no choice but to cut out the middleman. She pondered his actions for a moment; he never did explain why the rush.
“Who do you think is in charge?” Brenda asked.
“The director, I suppose.”
“And that would be?”
Flick didn’t have a clue. She scanned the group in front of her, her eyes resting on one particular individual. Placing her in her twenties, the woman exuded confidence and seemed to be the one doing most of the organising. “That woman there, I guess,” Flick said, pointing her out.
All at once, Brenda stepped forward, setting off on a march.
“Mum, where are you going?” Flick asked, to no avail. She cringed. What on earth did her mother think she was doing?
Flick shook her head as she watched her mum accost the director. Rob had suggested they might want to go out for the day and she could see why. Her mother hadn’t exactly kept quiet about her love of Argon Fire when he’d visited. He must have known from experience that she wouldn’t be able to keep herself from interrupting events.
Her actions clearly didn’t go down very well and Flick stifled a laugh as the director took a firm hold of her mum’s arm and began leading her back to the chateau. “Perhaps you could go and have a cup of tea or something,” Flick overheard her say.
