I want to say a great big thank you to Randi, who as she always does, spent hours converting my drivel into something resembling a story. Thanks Randi, you are an amazing generous person.
This is a long story. Yes, I am wordy, and yes there will be mistakes. All mine. I hope you enjoy. Thanks to all the generous people who comment. I enjoy them all.
Cadence and I sat at the table enjoying a hot cup of tea. Cadence, my wife, seemed to be in a particularly jubilant mood.
"Roger, you will never guess who turned up at our meeting this afternoon."
Flummoxed, I shrugged my shoulders. "No, my dear, I have no clue. But, it must be somebody special to get you this excited."
"Well it seems unbelievable even now, but we were sitting around chatting about what to do for our summer extravaganza, and in walks Nigel Jamieson."
We had been part of the theatrical society for many years, and Cadence often acted in plays put on by the society. Over recent years, she had taken up a more senior position and helped guide the Society. She was now on the Committee and was seen as a bit of a leading light. The name Nigel Jamieson stood out straight away, as he was semi famous. He had acted in several movies and TV shows.
"Wow, what was he doing at your meeting?"
She could barely contain her excitement. "It turns out that he has brought a property on the outskirts of the village, down Rumsbottom lane... He is going to be a local."
"Good lord, we are going to have a celebrity in town; that should get the local single women interested"
She gave me a scathing glare. "Stop it, Roger, he is a married man. Anyway, he wants to be part of our next production."
"What... He wants to have a role in your next play? Good lord that seems a bit unbelievable; has his career hit the wall or something?"
"Oh, stop being so churlish. No, he has decided to step away from the bright lights but still wants to keep his hand in, as it were, so he approached us and offered his services."
"Oh, well, I suppose that could be a good thing for the group, so long as he doesn't mind his name being used for promotional activities. So what is he like? He always seems so pompous on TV."
She frowned. "Why would you say that? Actually, he is lovely, really pleasant, and he already has some great ideas for the group."
I did play a minor role in the theatrical group's activities. Being an electrician by trade, I ran their sound desk and lights whenever they had a play. I was never really interested in the acting or drama, so I participated only to stay involved and support Cadence. She was totally and passionately obsessed with it. Over the years, I think as the kids left home, she used it as a means to fill the vacuum the boys left when they both headed off to university.
Gerald, our oldest, was studying law, and Michael, our middle child, was studying sports science.
Our youngest, Diana, and yes she is named after that Diana, Cadence was consumed by her.
Di, although still at home, was a social butterfly herself, much like her mother, and her circle of friends was huge. She loved being part of things and enjoyed being in the spotlight. She was taking English at school, having grand dreams of becoming a writer; her back up plan was journalist.
It had been many years since I had seen Cadence so excited by anything. I guess we had fallen into a bit of a rut lately: Cadence with her involvement in the theatrical society and me with work.
Recently It seemed we lived separate lives in many respects, so to see her so excited was nice, although I must say by the end of the night I was sick of hearing about Nigel bloody Jamieson, that is for sure.
Cadence, although 42, was a very attractive woman: slender and shapely even after birthing three children, she maintained a fabulous figure. I put that down to the cycling. She never drove anywhere; she cycled. Every day she could be seen cycling around the village. She made a handsome figure: her long silken naturally fair locks blowing in the breeze, a summery frock billowing out around her. I often caught the local men catching furtive glances as she rode by. It made me smile and glow with pride.
When she became involved with the theatrical society, she quickly became the star, not just because of her looks, but she was a natural actress and fell easily into roles.
The next day, purely out of curiosity, I took a drive out through Rumsbottom lane. It had been a long while since my last drive out that way. I picked up which house Nigel's was purely by the myriad of flash cars in their car park area. It had been a while since I had seen such a collection of very expensive vehicles.
It was an estate verging on mansion status: very grandiose. It would be fair to say I was impressed...
Our little hamlet was a quiet backwater, which was the reason Cadence and I chose it. Once our children were born, we decided we wanted them to grow up in a small community with a community feel and values, where it was safe from some of the influences available to kids in the concrete jungle of greater London, so we had spent many weeks driving endlessly through the English countryside until we stumbled upon this little slice of heaven. Upper-Piddlesworth is a tiny village on the Dorset coast, and it suited us perfectly. The village was just big enough to supply most needs, but close to the seaside and natural beauty of the surrounding farmland. After much searching, we finally found a great house on the edge of the village with rambling grounds and plenty of bedrooms. You certainly get value for money when moving away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Life had been wonderfully idyllic. However, I had sensed that Cadence was feeling the effects of the empty nest. After the boys left, the house did feel big and empty' even I felt it. The only good thing arising from their departure was Cadence's relationship with Diana really blossomed. It wasn't that their relationship was previously bad, it was just with the boys in the mix, Cadence's time was spread between them. Now, with Diana sliding into her teenage years it was nice to see her get on so well with her mother. She was the centre of her mother's universe. Teenage girls so often fell off the rails, and to see mother and daughter build such a tight relationship was heartening for a father. Diana, a very attractive girl, was starting to attract the local boys' attention.
As the week unfolded, it was getting to the stage I had to meet Nigel. I had heard his name at every turn. The committee had a couple of meetings to discuss the options and the plays that Nigel had suggested.
I waited until the following Wednesday afternoon when the group had their Committee meeting.
It wasn't unusual for me to be around the theatre, as I carried out most of the maintenance to what was in essence a converted old church. I didn't sneak in, but I didn't make any announcement either. I had my tool bag as I pretended to be carrying out some lighting repairs. Up in the lighting booth, I watched as Nigel chatted and interacted with the other members. What amazed me was how easily he had charmed his way in. Now all of the women and even a couple of the men fawned over him as if he was a megastar.
They were in awe of his celebrity status. I always considered myself to be a normal everyday bloke, and this grovelling sycophantic behaviour was a bit galling. Even my wife hung around him like a moth drawn to a flame. I didn't wait around for an introduction; I had seen enough. Perhaps it was jealousy on my part, but this deferential treatment of a chap who was, I mean let's face it, nothing more than a second-rate has-been actor, annoyed me.
At home that night, Cadence could talk of nothing other than the meeting and the play they had selected. She was in a state of rapture as she told me about it.
"Goodness, you won't believe this, but Nigel himself wrote the script.
"Really, what is it about?" I asked.
She gave me a pensive sideways glance. "It is about a troubled marriage. The wife is having an affair."
"God, that sounds awful." I muttered. "What do the others think, I mean it sounds very tawdry."
"No decision has been made yet. We are still considering it."
"Surely there must be something better than that. Surely? It doesn't sound like anything the group would be interested in."
She cringed a little. "It did raise a few eyebrows."
"Well, I guess we wait with bated breath," I mumbled softly. "Could I have a look at the script?"
She seemed somewhat nervous handing it over.
As Cadence scurried around the kitchen, I quickly scanned through some of the pages, glancing up at her from time to time. Her face was bright red. I hadn't seen her blush like that for years.
It was full of simulated sex scenes, lots of semi-nude scenes and the dialogue was bordering on pornography.
I threw it down on the table. "Good heavens. Surely you are joking. This is the very worst kind of drivel. It is just crap."
She cringed at my stinging rejection. "It is a bit out of our normal comfort zone, I admit. But that is a good thing, don't you think?"
"No, I bloody don't. I think it is disgusting: cheap tawdry pornography. What's more, it's poorly written."
"You are being a little harsh, darling. It's not that bad."
"Not that bad! Good god, Cadence, where do you think you will find an actress to play the lead? None of our group will agree to that."
She flinched, but replied hesitantly. "Actually, Nigel suggested I would be perfect for the lead role."
I choked on my tea. "I hope you bloody well told him to get stuffed."
"Actually, I was rather flattered. It's nice to know he thought I would be good enough to play beside him."
"You mean he is going to act in it?"
She nodded. "Yes, my love. He is going to play the lead."
I picked up the script and glared angrily at her, then back at the script. "You realise you would be almost naked for the entire bloody play?" Her grimace told me she knew, all right. She was about to say something, but I interrupted her. "Are you going to sit there and tell me, you would be prepared to stand up there on stage, in front of the whole village in nothing but your underwear?"
"It isn't that bad, sweetheart. It would be a chance to act on stage with one of England's leading actors."
"Leading actors my arse. He is a washed up has-been. A never-was really. His career has been over for years. The only thing you see him in these days are dog food commercials."
"Stop being so mean. Nothings been decided yet. We are all having a think. We're meeting again on Friday evening to discuss it."
"I just hope the others can see this for what it is, It is nothing but pornography masquerading as theatre."
