by Rupert Smith
And yes, Simon is always beside me. At first he was a secretary, then a friend, a confidant – and now a lover. All my life I’ve been drawn to the young. And Simon, so full of promise, recognizes a kindred spirit even in an international superstar. We’re soul brothers. We’re two peas in a pod. At last, I’ve found a kind of happiness I dreamed of all my life. How Simon’s eyes mist over with pride when I talk of the things we’ll achieve together, just as soon as I’ve ‘got rid’ of Geoffrey (almost as if I must murder him before I can get on with my life!). We’ll revise the book, we’ll work on the screenplay, then – I have decided – Simon will star in the film. Not as me (I’ll play myself in later life; we’ll find another young talent to play the earlier scenes) but as the romantic lead, the great love of my life: Nutter. Yes, that’s the real story, I can see it so clearly now: the love between comrades, denied, misunderstood, but finally flowering when two mature adults throw off the shackles of the past and face up in an honest and loving way to the truth of their passion. Nutter – our Nutter – will not be the lily-livered coward who chose a life of dismal obscurity. No! My Nutter is a hero who breaks free from the chains and runs to the light! I long to see that story up on the screen.
And Ginger! What can I say of a woman so full of energy, so full of life! Without her I might never have got back to work. I might still be lying in my hospital bed – I mean my sick bed at home, not my hospital bed, the hospital bed is work. Without her I’d have been in the wrong bed, instead of the studio bed where I now lie in readiness to start shooting our film! That is, just as soon as we’ve finished with Geoffrey. It’s hard to concentrate on lines when all I can think about is the next project – my mind’s running ahead of me so fast! It was ever thus! Give me the new, the exciting! But Ginger has kept me in line, working on scripts, finishing the book, even when at times I felt it was too hard to go on with my memories. Ginger always knows when I’m feeling down, and smiles brightly: ‘Deadlines, Marc! Deadlines!’ It’s her joke. She knows there’s nothing better than hard work for getting me well. Doctor Theatre! Still the best medicine in the world.
And so I work on with dear Simon always near me, and Ginger by my side ready to take the pages out of my hand as soon as I’ve read them. ‘I want the book on the shelves in time for Christmas!’ she says – which must mean next year, I need time to revise the manuscript, to tell the story the way I want it to be told. This literary lark is hard work, I must say – harder work than I would have believed! The memories don’t come out as easily as they used to. So many friends and faces that I don’t remember any more. But there’s so little time to work! The cameras are always around my bed, ready to roll for that last, greatest scene. My greatest challenge! Am I ready, Ginger’s asking me as we get ready to ‘roll’. And the answer – as it always has been – is Yes!
Copyright © 2007 by Rupert Smith.
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eISBN : 978-1-573-44848-2
