From Notting Hill to New York . . . Actually

by Ali McNamara

‘Why does it matter what he thinks?’ Jamie asks. ‘If you want to do it just go ahead, you don’t need his approval.’

  ‘No, you’re right, I don’t. But I could do with some backing to help me start up, and his company could provide it.’ I think about what I’ve just said. ‘Actually, that’s not fair; I do want Sean’s approval on this. I want him to think I can do it, that it’s not just about the money.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ Jamie shrugs. ‘Then let’s go for it. What do you want to know?’

  I get my notepad out and begin taking notes on everything Jamie tells me about what he knows of his father so far. After about twenty minutes, his door buzzer rings.

  ‘That will be the new sofa,’ he says, leaping up. ‘Back in a min.’ He goes over to the intercom. ‘Yes?’

  ‘Jamie?’ a female voice comes crackling through the speaker. ‘Is that you?’

  ‘Mother?’

  ‘You don’t need to be quite so formal,’ the well-spoken English voice replies. ‘And you might at least sound pleased to hear your mother’s voice.’

  ‘Of course I’m pleased,’ Jamie says, sounding shocked. ‘You … you’d better come up.’

  Jamie presses a button on the intercom and turns to face me. ‘That’s my mother,’ he says, his face pale.

  ‘Yes, I gathered that.’

  ‘But she’s supposed to be in Australia right now.’

  ‘Ah, that is a bit of a shocker then. I wonder what she’s doing here?’

  ‘That’s just what I’m thinking.’ Jamie looks towards the door just as there’s a tap on it, and he rushes over to open it.

  An elegant-looking woman glides into the room. She’s got long brown curly hair, tied up at the side with a bright blue butterfly clip, and she’s wearing loose white trousers and a navy and white kaftan top with more colourful butterflies fluttering prettily over it. At first glance you might mistake her for someone much younger, but on closer inspection I realise from the abundance of laughter lines around her eyes and mouth that she’s likely to be somewhere in her late forties to early fifties.

  ‘Jamie, darling.’ Jamie’s mother wraps her arms tightly around him in a warm embrace. ‘It’s good to see you again.’

  ‘Mum, it’s good to see you too. But what are you doing here? You never said you were coming.’

  ‘I thought I’d surprise you, darling.’ She looks over in my direction and smiles. ‘And who might this be? Oh, wait, I know who you are. You’re Scarlett, aren’t you?’

  ‘Er … yes, that’s right, I am. But how did you know?’

  Jamie’s mother reaches out a hand garlanded with silver bangles. ‘I’m Eleanor,’ she says, shaking my hand firmly, her wrist jangling as she does. ‘I saw you on one of Jamie’s reports. The one outside Tiffany’s?’

  ‘Of course, yes. That seems ages ago now.’

  ‘I send Mum all my TV stuff so she can see it,’ Jamie explains. ‘But what it doesn’t explain is why you’re here, Mother.’

  ‘I just wanted to pay you a little visit, Jamie. Nothing wrong in wanting to see my son once in a while, is there?’

  ‘No … I guess not.’

  ‘Look, I should go,’ I say, gathering up my notebook and pen. ‘And leave you two to it. You must have a lot to catch up on. We can finish this another time, Jamie.’ I suddenly feel awkward talking about the search in front of Eleanor.

  ‘Sure,’ Jamie nods knowingly. ‘Let me see you out.’

  ‘It was nice to meet you, Eleanor. Perhaps I’ll see you again while you’re here.’

  ‘Oh, I’ll make sure of it, Scarlett,’ she replies, fixing me with her bright blue eyes.

  ‘Right, OK then.’ I head towards the door, where Jamie is already waiting. ‘Is your mother OK?’ I ask him quietly as I step outside.

  ‘She’s what you’d call a creative type, if that’s what you mean? She’s an actress, isn’t she? She’s meant to be a bit unhinged. They’re all a bit like that.’

  ‘Of course she is, sorry, you’ve only just told me about her properly.’

  Jamie nods. ‘Yes, of course, I forgot. Sometimes, Scarlett, it feels like I’ve known you a lot longer than I actually have.’ We hold each other’s gaze for a brief second. ‘Anyway, I’d best get back; find out the real reason she’s here. Because there will be one, knowing my mother – just you wait and see.’

  Twenty-eight

  ‘This is nice – just the two of us, at last,’ Sean says as we stroll hand in hand through Central Park later that afternoon. ‘I wondered for a while if we were ever going to get to be alone here for any length of time. What with Oscar, your TV friends and your father earlier.’

  We’d had lunch with Dad in a restaurant in Greenwich Village and, as I thought it might, the topic of my possible new business venture had cropped up over the main course.

  ‘But who will run the business in London if you come and live over here?’ Dad asked, putting his knife and fork down. ‘We can’t both be in New York at the same time.’

  I sigh; I knew this would happen. ‘It’s not a permanent arrangement, Dad, it’s just for a bit, to see if I can make it work. Tammy and Leon have been great while I’ve been away – they’ve really come into their own, haven’t they, Sean?’ I ask, looking at him for back-up.

  ‘Not that I want Scarlett to come and live here, Tom,’ Sean replies, looking at my father seriously. ‘But she’s right; they’ve done a great job in the short time Scarlett’s been in New York. Better than I thought they would.’

  ‘Sometimes you just need to give people a chance to prove themselves,’ I say, giving them both a meaningful look. ‘So they can show what they’re truly capable of.’

  Dad smiles knowingly. ‘The last time I did that, Scarlett, you disappeared to Notting Hill, where you proceeded to find your long-lost mother, ditch your then fiancé and ride off into the sunset with Sean, never to return.’

  Sean grins now. ‘So not an altogether bad result.’ Then he becomes serious again. ‘Tom, I really think we need to give Scarlett a chance with this one. The idea is very important to her – for many reasons. Let her at least give it a go. If it works out, the rest we can take from there.’

  I reach across the table and squeeze Sean’s hand. I’ve missed him.

  ‘OK, then,’ Dad says, nodding. He picks up his knife and fork again. ‘Prove to us that you can do it, Scarlett. Reconnect a family that has been separated for years. Just don’t involve me in all the tearful reunions when you do.’

  ‘Don’t you worry, Dad,’ I smile, ‘the chances of you being anywhere near one of my reunions is about as likely as me declaring my undying love for Jeremy Clarkson.’

  Dad looks baffled and turns to Sean for an explanation.

  ‘Top Gear,’ Sean states. ‘Scarlett has issues with it.’

  ‘I don’t have issues, I just don’t see the point.’

  ‘There’s a point to everything in life, Scarlett,’ Dad says. ‘Sometimes you just need to find out what it is.’

  As we continue our walk though Central Park, I give Sean’s hand a little squeeze. ‘Yes, it’s lovely to get to spend some time with you again. I’ve missed you.’

  ‘Have you?’ Sean asks in surprise. ‘You seem to have been awfully busy while you’ve been here, with everything that’s been going on. I bet you’ve not even given me a second thought.’

  We stop walking and pause at the top of the Wollman Rink.

  ‘Don’t be daft, of course I have.’

  Sean gazes down at the funfair and the brightly coloured rides. ‘I didn’t know there was a funfair in Central Park.’

  ‘Not all year round; this is where the famous ice rink is set up in the autumn and winter. Jamie was telling me all about it when we came here.’

  Sean’s face snaps back towards me. ‘You came here with Jamie. Why?’

  ‘Er … because we’d just been to see his friend at the Met Museum about my brooch; and we came here for a bit of a wander afterwards. He was telling me about all the movi
es that have scenes set here. There are so many I didn’t even know about. Jamie’s a bit of a movie buff, like me.’

  ‘Is he really?’ Sean says with indifference.

  ‘Sean, you’ve got to stop this. Jamie is just my friend, I keep telling you.’

  ‘I know you do. But it sounds as if he’s got to be quite a close friend over the last couple of weeks, and I think I’m a tiny bit jealous.’

  ‘You know something?’ I whisper, smiling up at him. ‘I think you are too. But at least I know you care.’

  Sean pulls me into his arms and kisses me. ‘I would have hoped you knew that anyway,’ he says, holding me close as he looks down into my eyes.

  ‘I do, but a girl likes to see evidence of it from time to time.’

  ‘Do you think I’ve been neglecting you then?’

  ‘Possibly,’ I shrug. ‘Just a bit, maybe. But it’s fine. I know you’re busy, and I knew what I was letting myself in for when we got together last year. We’ll work it out, though.’

  Sean pulls me even closer to him. ‘I’m sorry, Scarlett, I didn’t realise. Maybe you’re right, maybe I have let that side of things go a little. But I’m going to make it up to you, just you wait and see.’

  Later that day, I’m sitting in my hotel room trying to do some research using Google on my phone, and wishing I’d got my little MacBook with me, when my phone rings. I answer it straight away thinking it’s Sean who, true to form, has managed to find ‘a bit of business’ to do while he’s in New York, even though he’s promised me he’ll be back as soon as he possibly can. So I’m surprised to hear a woman’s voice speaking at the other end of the line.

  ‘Hello, is that Scarlett?’ she asks.

  ‘Yes it is. Who is this?’ I ask, thinking as I speak that I recognise the voice.

  ‘This is Eleanor, Jamie’s mother. We met this morning.’

  ‘Yes, hello again. What can I do for you?’

  ‘I was wondering, Scarlett, if we could meet up sometime while I’m here for a little chat.’

  Oh. I’m immediately on my guard. What does Eleanor want to talk to me about? It could only be that Jamie’s told her about my helping him search for his father, and she doesn’t want me digging around in her past.

  ‘Yes, that would be lovely. When were you thinking of?’

  ‘How about breakfast tomorrow?’

  Wow, she certainly doesn’t mess around.

  ‘Yes, I can do breakfast.’

  ‘I know it sounds a little bizarre,’ Eleanor explains, ‘but Jamie says he’s doing a live over to the UK tonight, so I know he’ll be sleeping in in the morning.’

  So it’ll be just the two of us …

  ‘Then breakfast sounds great. There’s a little diner not far from Jamie’s apartment that does a good breakfast.’ I bite my tongue. That might sound odd, me knowing that, but it’s where I went with Dad for breakfast.

  ‘Yes, I know it,’ Eleanor says, not sounding at all bothered. ‘Shall we say nine?’

  ‘Nine is great.’

  ‘See you tomorrow, then. Bye for now. Oh, and Scarlett, not a word about this to Jamie if you speak to him before then, OK?’

  ‘Sure, yes, that’s fine.’

  ‘Good. The morning it is, then.’

  And she’s gone.

  The next morning I’m waiting patiently for Eleanor in the diner where I’d had brunch with my father a few days ago, although now it seems like much longer. Had I only been in New York for nine days … really? It seemed like for ever.

  I’ve read the menu about ten times, and know exactly what I’m going to order. Although how I’m going to eat anything when I feel this nervous I don’t know. But why should I feel nervous? I haven’t done anything. What’s the worst that can happen? Eleanor could ask me to cease searching for Jamie’s father. I think about this for a moment. There’s something that has secretly been bugging me about that. Maybe she did know where Jamie’s father was, but she didn’t want him to find out. Maybe his long-lost father was a criminal, or a murderer or an international terrorist wanted in several countries for crimes against—

  ‘Good morning, Scarlett,’ Eleanor says, breaking into my spiralling conspiracy theories. ‘I do hope I’m not late.’

  ‘Hi … hello,’ I stutter, hurriedly standing up and dropping the menu in the process. ‘I didn’t see you come in. No, not late at all.’

  Eleanor slides elegantly into the seat opposite me wearing another brightly coloured outfit, this time it’s a dress with red and pink roses all over it. She takes a quick glance at the menu. ‘Do you know what you’re having?’ she asks.

  ‘Yes, yes I do.’

  ‘Good, then let’s order.’ She lifts her hand and a waiter comes scuttling over.

  After we’ve placed our orders – both for pancakes – Eleanor clasps her hands together and places them on the table in front of her.

  ‘Now, down to business.’

  I don’t know whether to be intimidated by this no-nonsense approach she has to everything or whether I quite like it, but I don’t have too long to dwell on the matter because she continues talking.

  ‘You’re probably wondering why I want to meet with you like this this morning.’

  I nod.

  ‘It’s quite simple, Scarlett. It’s to do with Jamie’s father.’

  I knew it. Here we go. I fiddle with the corner of my napkin.

  ‘I think I know where he is,’ she continues.

  ‘And you don’t want me to go looking for him, is that it?’ I interrupt. ‘You want me to back off my search and leave him alone.’

  Eleanor looks puzzled. ‘What are you talking about – back off your search?’

  ‘My search to find Jamie’s father. He told you about it, didn’t he, last night? That’s why we’re here this morning. You’re going to ask me to stop looking because you don’t want Jamie to see him again.’

  Eleanor shakes her head. ‘You’ve lost me now, Scarlett. Why wouldn’t I want Jamie to see his father again after all these years? That’s why I’m here with you today.’

  Eleanor and I sit and stare at each other as the waiter brings Eleanor’s herbal tea and my coffee.

  As he leaves the table, Eleanor speaks first.

  ‘I don’t know why you think we’re here today, Scarlett, but Jamie hasn’t said anything to me about you searching for his father.’

  ‘He hasn’t? Then what are you talking about?’

  ‘I saw you on one of Jamie’s clips he sent me with a brooch, a brooch shaped like a dragonfly.’

  ‘Yes, that’s right, I was taking it into Tiffany’s.’

  ‘Do you have it with you, by any chance?’ Eleanor looks towards my bag hopefully.

  ‘No, I’m afraid I don’t. Why?’

  ‘Oh, that’s a shame, I wanted to take a closer look just to make sure.’

  ‘To make sure of what?’ This was getting odder by the moment.

  The waiter brings our pancakes now, and sets them down on the table with a jug of syrup for me and blueberries and cream for Eleanor.

  ‘To make certain if it had got one blue eye and one black. It was difficult to see on the TV screen, it was only on for a few seconds, and it doesn’t matter how many times I play that bit over and over, I still can’t tell.’

  ‘The dragonfly does have one blue eye and one black,’ I say carefully. ‘Well, it did.’

  ‘What do you mean, did?’ Eleanor says in an urgent voice. Her hands grip the edge of the table tightly.

  ‘I don’t have the brooch now; it was sold in a charity auction. It raised quite a bit of money.’

  Eleanor releases her grip on the table as her face drops into her outstretched hands.

  ‘What’s wrong? Look, Eleanor, I’m not really following all this. What has the brooch got to do with anything, and how would you know it had got one black eye and one blue, unless’ my voice trails off as I realise what I’m saying. Then, as the rest of the jigsaw begins to fall into place in my brain, my hand cl
aps over my mouth as I suck my breath in sharply. ‘You’d already seen it before up close.’ My hand falls limply back down into my lap.

  Eleanor looks across the table at me; her blue eyes stare back into mine.

  ‘Did the brooch belong to you originally?’ I ask. ‘Were you the person who gave it to my father?’

  Eleanor nods.

  ‘You’re the woman from Stratford?’

  She nods again, and there’s sadness in her eyes.

  ‘But you left suddenly, Dad said. Why?’

  ‘I think you’ve already worked all this out, Scarlett. But I’ll honour you with a proper explanation. I was pregnant.’

  ‘With Dad’s baby?’

  Eleanor nods.

  I think about this for a moment. ‘But why, why didn’t you stay? You could have at least told him, even if you didn’t want to stick around.’

  ‘I was young, and I didn’t know what I was doing. Your father was a very attractive man, Scarlett, but he was just out of a bad relationship, your mother had not long left and he had you. He didn’t want to be lumbered with another child to look after.’

  I shake my head. ‘No, you’re wrong. Dad would have looked after you and another baby. He wouldn’t have turned you away.’

  ‘Yes, I knew that deep down, but like I said, I was young and foolish then, and I thought I’d be trapped. So I left, and Jamie was eventually born in London after I’d travelled around for the next few months.’

  ‘Jamie!’ I shout. My hand flies up to cover my wide-open mouth.

  ‘Yes, Scarlett,’ Eleanor says calmly. ‘Jamie. Who did you think I was talking about when I mentioned a baby?’

  ‘I … I don’t know. I’d just assumed you’d had more than one child, that it was another baby. But that means that Jamie could be my brother.’

  ‘Half-brother, yes, if it’s the same brooch. Is your father’s name Tom?’

  I nod.

  ‘Then it’s definitely him.’ She smiles. ‘I knew it the first time I saw you on the TV screen. You remind me very much of Tom.’

  ‘Do I?’

  ‘Definitely. The way you spoke to Jamie with such passion about the brooch, and your love of the movies, it’s just like your father used to be. He had a great passion for life did Tom, back then. Life had knocked it out of him a bit, and understandably so, given what he’d been through, but it was still there, lurking.’