This will make more sense if you read the previous chapters, but feel free to read them out of order if you wish! Please comment and vote so I know what people like (or not!), it really does help.
Chapter 17
We really enjoyed our holiday in Ibiza and Italy and returned to Manchester relaxed, all with letters waiting to be opened from the University. We opened them one by one, and each time, the recipients cheered as they read that they had received a first-class honours degree. We hugged, kissed and danced in the kitchen together and immediately decided to celebrate with a meal out that night. We all then phoned our parents to tell them the good news, and after being congratulated, we each told them the PG version of our holiday.
The week passed quickly, and the girls contacted their new employers to tell them their results and agreed on when to start work. I read through the script for the film I was auditioning for and several others Emily had sent. One or two others looked interesting, so I made some notes and messaged Emily with my thoughts. The film I was auditioning for, 'Retribution 7', sounded much more interesting than I'd originally thought. I didn't have the whole script, but what I did have appeared to be the last film in the franchise, and Stewart Rowland, the lead character in the movies, was going to be directing it. I ordered the first six films on Blu-ray from Amazon and watched them all to refresh my memory, as I wanted to be as prepared as possible for the audition.
Naomi and I travelled to London on Thursday to stay with her Mum and her fiancΓ© Steve. Their wedding was the following weekend, and they had a rehearsal over the weekend. Naomi would be a bridesmaid, and Diane had asked me to give her away, not having any other male relatives. It was a great honour, and Naomi and I looked forward to the ceremony.
On Friday, I drove the short distance to the audition and met Stewart Rowland. We discussed the new film, and he gave me a high-level overview of the plot and the role my character would play. My character was going to be his son, born because of an affair his character had in the second film. His character hadn't known of the pregnancy, and when 'my mother' developed terminal cancer, she had reached out to him as she didn't want 'me' to be without any parents. The original actress was coming back for this film to reprise her role. I was glad I'd watched the previous films, as when he mentioned her, I could talk in detail about that plot and her role in it, which impressed him. In this film, Stewart and his team had gone to Kenya to rescue some people from terrorists and had been captured. My character then joins the remaining team, who had escaped, to rescue him and the original people. As far as I could tell, the audition went well, and I felt I had a good rapport with Stewart.
I returned to Diane's house and told them of my day before phoning Emily to update her. I now just had to wait to see if I was what they were looking for and hoping for the best. Naomi and I slept together and made love several times that night. We ensured we kept the volume down, but the walls weren't very thick. Diane and Steve's relationship was still passionate from the muffled noises we heard, so I imagine they'd heard us as well.
On Saturday, we drove to the wedding venue. It was a lovely country house just outside London, and the reception would also be there. The girls finalised the flowers and decorations with the staff, and they walked us through the itinerary for the big day. We had a delicious lunch there, and then the girls went for the final fittings of their dresses while Steve and I chatted in a local pub.
On Sunday, I said goodbye to them and returned to Manchester. Naomi was staying in London with her mum for the week to help with all the last-minute things that needed doing. As we were going to be apart for a week, we had made the most of our time in bed, and neither of us got much sleep. Diane and Steve teased us over breakfast in the morning, having overheard our activities overnight. Diane looked flushed that morning, so I expected they had also been busy.
The following Friday, Alicia, Mai, Sabrina, and I travelled to the country house, where Naomi met us. The preparations were complete, and everything was ready for the big day on Saturday. The wedding went smoothly, even though I was nervous as I led Diane up the aisle. She looked lovely, and they were clearly in love. The reception was great, and even my speech went smoothly. The girls, particularly Naomi, helped me immensely in preparing it. It was a small reception with thirty guests, so we could mix and talk to everyone afterwards. In the evening, while the girls were dancing, I caught my breath and chatted with Steve.
"So," he said in mock seriousness. "Any plans on making an honest woman of my daughter-in-law?"
"I would love to!" I replied. "I wish I could marry them all."
We watched them dancing away as we drank our beers before he said something that would play on my mind for a long time.
"Well," he said, laughing. "Movie stars are always getting married and divorced. You could marry them one after another!"
Just then, Alicia came over and dragged me to my feet for another dance, so I didn't get a chance to reply. We danced until the early hours, and then the five of us crashed on my bed, exhausted. We were too tired for further activity, so we snuggled up and soon fell asleep. The weather had been kind, the meal was fantastic, and the DJ was reasonable, so Diane and Steve had a great and memorable day, as did the five of us.