Eternally North (18 page)

He was smiling
tentatively, his eyes regarding me warily. “Hey Tash, thanks for
doing all this for me.”

I simply nodded,
pretending not to see his out-stretched hand. His face fell.
Ha!
Good!

The door behind him
flew open dramatically, and in poured Tate and Tink, snapping me out
of my Tudor-filled haze. My fairy godmothers here to save me.

My face broke into a
huge smile. “Hi, Tate.” I quickly hugged him before heading for
my amazing and absolute best friend.

“Tink, you big
fibber! You said you had to work,” I chastised him whilst I grabbed
him for a hug, loving his white three-piece suit with pink tie and
crystal cane.

Fab-u-lous!

He just laughed.
“Gotcha, sausage! As if I would miss your show. I never have before
and I am not going to start now.”

He kissed my head and I
sighed, calming down some. “Love you, Tink.” I really did; just
like the real Tinkerbell, he was always there when you needed him.

“Love you too, Wil.
Now, where are our seats, Director-Bitch?” he demanded, slapping my
arse with the sharp end of his cane.

We began to walk up the
back stairs leading us to the highest point of the theatre, where it
was quiet enough to help Tudor stay incognito.

“How is she feeling?”
said Pamela, obviously referring to her daughter.

I beamed. “She’s
great, very excited. It’s a fantastic show, and her voice will
knock your bloody socks off!”

Everyone laughed.
“Can’t wait!” said the proud mother.

I led them to their
private box and made sure they were all seated. Tink immediately
reached for the complimentary binoculars and demonstrated to Pookie
how to use them. I suspected he already knew, but I was discovering
that Tate tolerated Tink’s dramatics out of pure adoration, and I
for one loved seeing the look he had in his eyes when he was around
my best friend – complete happiness.

I clapped my hands to
get everyone’s attention and said, “I will have to go on stage
after the show but I’ll come and get you when it's over. There’s
an after-party in the grand hall if you’d like to go. I can’t
hide you there though, I’m afraid, so just let me know what you
want to do later on.”

I never once looked at
Tudor, although I could feel him staring at me.

“Enjoy the show!”

I turned to leave,
nodding at the thank yous and wishes of good luck. Tudor grabbed my
hand discreetly as I walked past. “Break a leg, Tash,” he
whispered, quickly rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

I stopped dead and
nodded once, avoiding his direction. I snatched my hand back and made
a speedy exit.

“
Wil
,” Tink
shouted from behind. He had followed me out and witnessed me holding
the wall for support.

“You okay, hot dog?”

I stared at the floor,
unable to speak for fear of crying, the emotional lump in my throat
bobbing higher like a buoy.

Tink pulled me in to
his chest and cuddled me tight. He knew.

“Pookie asked me to
sit with them tonight, and I swear I just want to slap the beefcake
silly every time I see him,
and
I have developed some pretty
inventive suggestions on how to use this cane on the sod. Just ignore
that he is here and have a fabulous show, yes?”

I nodded silently and
he sighed, tucking my hair behind my ear. “You still like him,
don’t you, porky?” he whispered, gripping me harder.

I bit my lip and nodded
against his chest. “I can't help it, I've never felt this way
before about anyone, but it doesn’t matter does it? We are nothing,
remember?” I croaked, wiping away a stray tear. “Every time I
ever think of him fondly, that memory snaps me right out of it.”

I kissed Tink on the
cheek and pulled out of his embrace. “I’ll see you later, babe. I
can’t think about all this right now and do my job.”

He squeezed my hands
and headed back to the private box, but not before I saw Tudor
peering through the privacy curtain with a grief-stricken expression
upon his face, obviously having heard everything we had said.

I stared back for what seemed like
an eternity, then sharply twirled away, desperately trying not to be
buried by the mountain of hurt he had made me feel for the past
several days.

The show was a huge
success, and Boleyn was outstanding. The production received a
well-deserved standing ovation, and the cast had me in tears as they
presented me with a huge bouquet of red roses on stage after the
show.

As I made the thank-you
speeches, Tink and Tate whistled and whooped from the private box,
causing curious looks in the main audience as they tried to work out
who was up there. I announced the start of the after–party, and the
audience gradually began to file out, making their way to the French
Revolution-themed hall.

After making sure
everything was settled backstage, I made my way up the back staircase
to the Norths. I pulled back the curtain to the excited sounds of the
family chattering, and Tink and Tate huddled close, whispering sweet
nothings in each other’s ears.

As I entered, Tink –
always my biggest fan – screeched and ran over, picking me up and
spinning me around. “Wil, that show was amazing, the best yet, in
fact. I’m so proud of you! Big G and Glyn-Glyn would have loved it
too.”

I laughed as he
grounded me, and welcomed the congratulatory hugs from Pamela,
Tater-Tot, Samantha and Henry. Tudor came towards me, and Tink,
seeing my body freeze in anticipation of his embrace, grabbed my hand
and jerked me towards him, leaving my heartbreaker the only option to
simply pat me on my shoulder awkwardly and compliment me on a good
show.

At least his family
weren't picking up on the tension and uncomfortable vibes.

I cleared my throat.
“So, who's coming to the after party?”

Everyone said yes
except Tudor, who put his hands in his pockets and shook his head.
“Is there a back way into the hall so I can say ‘bye to Bee?”

“Err… yeah there
is. It’s just a corridor though, but nobody will be there, it's not
been in use for years, it’ll be the safest place. I’ll tell
Boleyn to meet you there shall I?”

“Yes, please. Is it
possible for you to show me the way?”

Tink clenched my hand.
I gave a squeeze back, signalling to him that it was okay. I nodded
at Tudor, keeping up a professional pretence in front of the family.

“If the rest of you
follow the staircase we came down and go out that door to the left,
you will come right out at the hall. I'll take Tudor the back route
again.”

I pointed over the
ledge, showing them the way out. They all began to make their way
down the stairs. Tink hovered behind never letting go of my grip. I
smiled at him in gratitude. “You can go too. I’m only showing him
the way there.”

He shook his head. “Not
a fucking chance!” he declared, glaring at Tudor menacingly. For a
slight guy, he had balls of steel against Mr. Hollywood Hulk.

Tudor lowered his head.
“Tink, I know I don’t deserve to speak to her, or even to be near
her, but please can you let her show me the way to the corridor? I
just want to see my sister before I leave. It’s for Bee.”

“It’s okay. You go
on with Tate,” I urged.

I looked over my
shoulder to see poor Tate waiting awkwardly on the top of the stairs.
Bless him, he was truly stuck in the middle of this mess. Tink rubbed
his face, muttering under his breath as he walked off.

I turned to Tudor,
never looking up. “This way.”

I began to walk ahead
and felt his hand take mine. “Tash, please. Will you look at me?”

I shook my head,
keeping my focus straight forward. “No, I won’t. Just let me show
you the way please. I have nothing to say to you.” I snatched my
hand back and led him to the back steps.

“Tash, please wait.
I… I’m so sorry, what I said was–"

“Tudor, enough!” I
said a bit too loudly, my shoulders slumping in defeat.

I turned to face him.
“I can’t be friends with you, and I don’t want an apology. Just
leave it alone. I am not strong enough when it comes to you to deal
with your erratic friggin’ moods. You don’t get to treat me the
way you did and then act like this, like my friend, like you care.
You led me on for weeks, spent every waking hour you could in my
company, flirted with me, made me fall for you and only then made it
clear how you truly felt – I’m not your type. I get it. Enough is
enough, okay? I’m your sister’s teacher, nothing more and I’m
nothing to you
remember? Your words, not mine.”

“But–"

“No buts! Well, none
except mine, walking away from you. Now, I’ll show you to the
corridor and get Boleyn. I’m still working tonight and will not do
this here, or anywhere, for that matter. Surely you understand
professionalism? You were spot on when you said we shouldn’t see
each other anymore. I very much agree. It’s done... just... leave
me alone...
please
.”

I didn’t wait for his
reaction and continued to lead him to the back corridor. I assumed he
had followed and was through the door to the hall in record time.

I found Boleyn with her family in
amongst a whirlwind of hugs and high fives and took her to Tudor. I
left them to their own little celebration, and threw myself into the
mob of parents to mingle and actually do my job.

By the hundredth set of
parents and extended family members, I was losing the will to live. I
had been meeting and greeting for about an hour, answering the same
mundane questions and giving the same automatic answers, when I
managed to take five minutes to grab a complimentary glass of Cava
from the back bar.

I had just taken my
first sip when a gentle hand on my shoulder broke me from my
thoughts. I turned to see a tall, blonde-haired guy smiling at me
with his hand out. “Ms. Munro, isn’t it?” he asked with a wide
smile.

Wow, this guy was
lovely. Light brown eyes and athletically built, blonde shaggy hair
and a tanned face. Very nice.

I put down my glass.
“Hi, yeah I’m Ms. Munro. Sorry, do I know you?”

I couldn’t place him,
I would definitely have remember this fine man. He was as hot as a
tray of scones fresh out of the oven!

He cast a shy smile.
“No, excuse me. My name is Gage. I’m Arianna Scott’s brother. I
saw you at the start-of-school Introduction Evening months ago, but
never plucked up the courage to speak to you. ”

“Oh, okay. Arianna
did very well tonight, you must be very proud,” I responded,
automatically repeating my stock phrase and preparing to switch on to
autopilot.

“Yeah, it was all
great. I hear you’re responsible for that?”

“I directed it, yes,
but the kids were fabulous, so I can't take all the credit. It's nice
to see a brother who doesn't find sitting through a
two-and-a-half-hour show a chore.”

He shrugged, "Well,
it's not exactly my thing, but I came here to support her, and I knew
her Musical Director was hot so my intentions were not entirely
honourable," he teased, looking a little cheeky.

I stepped back,
surprised. "Well, I'm flattered, and," I leaned in closer,
"you're not too hard on the eyes yourself!"

He blushed slightly and
ran his hand through his long blonde hair. I shook his outstretched
hand and, laughing, went to make my excuses when Tink came barrelling
over, oblivious to Gage’s presence.

“Wilbur, Wilbur!
Guess wh–," he whipped his head to Gage, hand on his chest,
stumbling back, “… be still my beating heart.
Who
is this
Californian beauty in a pea-coat?”

I observed Gage, who
was looking down at his jacket and smirking.

I elbowed Tink in his
ribs. “This is one of my students’ brothers, Gage.”

Tink shook his
outstretched hand, squeaked out a “Hi, I’m Tink,” and then
looked at me in shock. “Not another brother of a student? Since
when did schools become more successful at hook-ups than dodgy street
corners?”

I took in a calming
breath,
how embarrassing!
Gage simply looked confused.

I turned to my
mortifying bestie. “What did you want, Tink? I’m working right
now.” I knew he would get the ‘bugger off’ tone in my voice.

“You certainly
are
working it, aren’t you, girlfriend? Anyway, I came to tell you that
my Pookie is taking me away tomorrow to Vancouver, a little
gay-day-getaway! Apparently the scene is booming there. I’ll be
gone for five days, how great is that?” He shimmied his shoulders
on the spot and whooped, popping his bum.

I love Tink,
theatrics included, but there really is a time and a place!

“That’s great. Will
I see you at home tonight, or in the morning before you go?”

“Yep, probably the
morning. I need to get my beauty sleep! I’m going now to pack.
Great show, ham roll. I’ll catch you later, alligator!” he
air-kissed both sides of my face and body-rolled away.

As Tink ran off, or
more like split-leapt away with perfect dance fingers on his extended
arms, I faced Gage again. “Sorry about that, he’s my best friend
and a bit… different.”
Hell different? Let's say it how it is
– he's off his fucking tits!

Gage burst out
laughing, and I couldn't help but join in. It was nice to laugh after
days of fluctuating between episodes of depression and spontaneous
crying.

“Listen, sorry to
keep you, I understand that you’re busy. Erm… look, I'll get to
it. I know this may sound a bit forward seeing as though we’ve only
just officially met, but how would you feel about getting a coffee
sometime? Maybe this weekend if you're free?”

Wow, I wasn’t
expecting that!

At that moment, Tudor’s
face popped into my head. I shut my eyes tightly to erase the image.
We are nothing.

“Ms. Munro, are you
okay?” Gage was holding my elbow seeming concerned at my sudden
change in behaviour.