- So thank God you’re the one paying for the phone bill, Lady Somerset. - Peter had picked me up from the airport and had been talking my ear off, first about his semester, then about his Christmas and now, as we were just getting to the Hall, he was just starting about business – And, believe it or not, everything needs to be talked over the phone, then they fax me some shit that I have to fax back with even more shit attached. I swear to God I have mountains of documents already, and I have zero confirmations so far.
- You do know how they work – I said, lazily. I was still tired from the trip from Japan and jet lag was always very harsh on me.
- But I think we may have an answer soon, which will only entail more work, because then I will have to be working with the police and the firefighters, emergency services, public transportation, insurance companies… - he started counting the different entities with his fingers, but figured out it would be a better idea to hold on to the steering wheel.
- I’m sorry, Peter – I was sincere. I really had no idea it would be such a daunting task.
But Peter dismissed me – You know, it’s hard, but it feels like a challenge. And Holly’s help is just priceless, you should give the girl a raise. By the way, do you know where Temple… something Field is? In Berlin.
- Tempelhofer Feld?
He nodded – That. We might just secure that space.
- You’re joking? - I was suddenly awake. If we managed to secure Tempelhofer Feld, that would be huge – It’s almost in the middle of Berlin, close enough at least. Please tell me you’ll get it. If you do, you’re the one who deserves a raise.
He took his eyes off the road for a quick second, to launch me a cheeky smile – Then please tell me you’ll fill up the joint, because we just might bag that one. And you know that, for you, I’d work for free, if we did not live in a capitalist world.
- Just let me know if you need more help. I’ll get you anyone you might need.
- Oh, I’ve been getting some help, already. How do you think I’ve been talking to the Circumlocution Office?
I raised an eyebrow – Besides Holly?
- Yeah. I’ve got a friend, who’s studying German literature and I was talking to him about how difficult it was to approach the City Hall and all those other places and he asked me if he could practice his everyday German.
- Are we not paying him, then?
- Well, no. He just volunteered. He thinks it’s fun.
- Well, that is really unacceptable, is it not? Talk to him, figure out how long he’s been working and set up a price. Hourly rate, whatever. It’s really unfair to him and I’ll have none of that.
Peter laughed, as he leaned out the window and dialled the code that would open the gate – Alright, then, Captain Justice. I’ll have a word with him – he rolled up the window and drove on – You’d like Alistair. He’s a nice bloke.
- Set up a dinner one of these days. A friend of yours is a friend of mine, you know that.
Peter’s smile was a shy one and he even got a little colour on his cheeks.
- And how are we on my Mask of Madness? - I opened the door and got out, pulling my bag along with me.
- Do you want the OK news, the bad news or the horrible news first?
- Oh…
He didn’t even bother taking the car around. There was no need for that. After all, I was expecting no one and had no one else in the house.
- I have all my figures downstairs – he said, opening the door – Let’s have something warm to drink over the depressing news.
The numbers were, indeed, disheartening and I felt deflated. I knew it would be expensive, I did not know it would be astronomical.
- You have a couple of options on the table here – he said, entwining his fingers underneath his chin – you either head to the banks and get some loans…
- Out of the question – I was adamant. I wanted nothing to do with loans, if I could avoid them.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
- Alright… It’s your call, even if I think that’s insanity. Because, on your own, you could afford it, but it would be a major blow to your finances.
- Also, out of the question. I am about to get New House back and I have an investment in line.
- In Greenwich, I know – he nodded.
- What are the other options? - I asked, feeling like my little fantasy would have to be put on the back burner.
- Well, you said sponsors were not an option for you.
I nodded. I was shutting down business proposals left and right, from brands who wanted me to work with them. If I was not willing to be branded myself, then I would not prostitute my masterpiece.
- But… - Peter scrunched his lips – I know you have two major deals on the table, right now, from two gigantic brands.
- Chanel and Dior. But I’m not even giving them a second thought.
Peter avoided my look, as he shrugged – Well, you should. If you could get a good deal, a single campaign could finance this baby almost on its own, without much more personal investment.
- It’s not enough, from what I remember.
- Not for now, it’s not.
I pushed my empty mug aside – What do you mean, my dear?
- I mean – he leaned forward – let it stew for a little bit. Your album is coming out in a few weeks, your movie is also coming out, later in February. If all goes well, we’ll nail Tempelhofer just before the starting point of your European tour. Combine all of this and you get, not a rising star, but a full-blown one. - he smirked – and full-blown stars get paid more. How are we on managers or agents or whatever?
- We’re not – I crossed my arms, defensively – I’m getting another PA, to help me out.
- Let me deal with them, then. - he said, referring to the brands – I promise I’ll get you a good deal and that you’ll get your play premiering at the beginning of next season.
He sounded so confident that it would be hard not to fall straight for those words.
- Keep up those promises and I will get you a share of the sales.
- 5% - he bit his tongue – That’s how confident I am on that work of yours.
- Work your magic, then, and you shall receive it – I said, as we shook hands. It seemed some of our most far-fetched, but best deals were settled right on that kitchen table.
----------------------------------------
I realised how much of a horde we were becoming, when we left for Australia, New Zealand and Japan, where the live debut for Snake-haired Gorgon would take place. It wasn’t just the five of us, along with a couple of techies and roadies anymore. It was a whole team just to put up the show itself, along with security, Pat, who had brought her boyfriend, girlfriends and friends from the band… And Holly had come along with Chloe, the new PA, to show her the ropes on the road. It would be a mere 10 days away, but it felt like I was carrying a whole train of people behind me.
The thought alone almost gave me a mini-anxiety attack and I decided, there and then, that I would not do that anymore. I hated the idea of a massive entourage and made the decision to only travel with the bare minimum from then on. If we could travel by bus, it would be just me and the band and that was that. I had grown up with so few people around me that the noisy mess of large numbers made my brain spark. And not the good kind of spark.
In Japan, I was to stay with my family for the duration of my very busy schedule there. We had set three shows, alongside interviews and photoshoots and whatnot.
That little island of privacy was welcome, but I did notice some distance from my siblings, which I had also noticed over Christmas. I did not understand why because I was still me but, somehow, the whole dynamic had shifted.
I still did my best to travel over whenever I could, I always called and sent presents from around the world but… there was some iciness that I was not able to break.
Tommy was just opening the doors to his teenage years and the rebelliousness was almost palpable. He was defiant and sharp with his answers and remarks. As for Clara, she just followed the lead of her idol and so, wherever Tommy went, she just trod in his footsteps.
So if, for some reason, he started resenting something (or someone, in this case), and presenting an argument for it, Clara would analyse his case and, generally, agree.
If we did see things from their point of view, Clara’s especially, they did have a justification for their angst. After all, and after all that had happened, I had gone from being their sister to just being an idea. An idea that would become corporeal on holidays or at birthdays, that would sometimes call and ask for news, and a name on boxes addressed to them. I was their sister, of course, but I could very well be an eccentric aunt and it would not make a difference.
Even in those few days, that I kept running around, I got to the conclusion that maybe the strangers whom I spent all day talking to, might just know more about my life than my own siblings. My very own flesh and blood.
I needed to soothe things over and start anew and so, after the dinner my dad hosted for the whole team, I gave both Tommy and Clara a last minute present I had organized with Clo and Holly. I would take a week, which happened to sit in the middle of June, and we would all go to Norway. My brother was going through his Viking phase and it felt right to just take them to see the fiords and anything else they wanted to see. He got new photography material, and Clara a camcorder, so she could document the entire trip. I just needed them to feel that I still cared, that I still loved them with all my heart and that, if I was not there, it wasn’t because I did not want to.
- I think I might have an idea to help keep costs nearly to a big fat zero, with Tempelhofer – Peter said, over the phone.
- A big fat zero sounds wonderful – I replied – who do I have to sell my soul to, this time, Mr. Collins?
I heard a laugh from the other side – Only to the gods of television. If I can sell the reproduction rights to a major TV network, I think our own money input would be merely residual.
- Everything? - I asked and he knew exactly that I meant the flight of fancy I had envisioned for the encore of the show, with fire, fireworks, SFX…
- Everything.
- You have carte blanche, my dear – I said and could almost feel the smile of joy from the other side. This sort of approval meant a lot to Peter and he really deserved it as he really had the ability to think outside the box. More so, as he had never done any of this before, it was all trial and error, still.