Olivia's Curtain Call

by Lyn Gardner

  “But it wasn’t too late,” said a quiet voice behind her. Jack had come into the room while she’d been speaking. He put the coffee down and wrapped his arms around her.

  “Oh, Liv, I’m so sorry. I let my own emotions get the better of me. Yes, I was disappointed when you chose Juliet over the tour, but only for me and maybe a bit for Tom. I wasn’t disappointed in you or your choice. I want you to make your own decisions and to grow up to be your own woman. I want you to be happy, and I know that means I must let you go and make your own way in the world. And sometimes the decisions you make won’t be easy for me but whatever choices you make, of course I’ll understand.”

  “But why does it have to be one or the other, Dad?” said Olivia. “I want to do both.”

  Jack smiled ruefully. “If I had to bet on anybody pulling that off, it would be you, chick.” He looked down at Eel. “I always thought it was you who was so like Toni, and Eel looked more like me,” he said sadly. “But lying there she looks so like her mother.”

  “Do you think she’ll ever wake up?”

  “We all have to believe she will,” said Jack, his voice thick.

  Olivia looked at him. “Dad, can I ask you a question about you and Mum?”

  Jack nodded.

  “Would you have given up the high-wire for her in the way she gave up acting for you?”

  “Of course,” said Jack without hesitation. “I’d have given up everything for Toni. Even my life. Especially my life. I wanted to stay here in the UK so she could carry on acting. But it was Toni who said that it was better if we got right away and began again. She was right, and maybe she was wrong too. However far away you run, you can’t get away from the pain you’ve caused other people. But I always knew that one day Toni would return to acting. She knew it too. It was in her blood. And I know that it’s in you too, Olivia. It is part of who you are. You’ve been lucky enough to be given more than one talent, Liv. Use them.”

  “Oh, Dad,” said Olivia. “How could I ever have doubted you?”

  “I love you and Eel so much,” said Jack. Tears suddenly started to pour down his cheeks. “What if we’ve lost her, Liv? I made a promise to Toni to keep you both safe. I’ve failed.”

  Just then Tom walked into the room, but seeing their stricken faces he began to back hurriedly out again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said, looking awkward. But Olivia dragged him into the room and started asking him about what was going on at the Swan. In this extraordinary situation, it was the ordinary that was most comforting.

  A few moments later a nurse walked in to do some checks on Eel. Olivia recognised her immediately as the ward sister who had been in charge when she had fallen from the trapeze at the Swan, and then again when the flying apparatus had failed during a rehearsal for Peter Pan.

  “As soon as I saw the name Marvell on the ward lists, I wondered whether it had something to do with your family, Livy,” said Fran. She was very pretty. Fran had a soft spot for Olivia and had been really nice to her when she was in hospital, and Eel had always said that she had a soft spot for Jack too.

  “I’ve been off for a couple of days or I’d have been in to see you before. Poor little mite,” said Fran, busying herself around Eel’s bed. She pushed back one of Eel’s chestnut curls with a tender gesture. “We’re going to do everything we can to make you better.” She turned to the others. “Have you been talking to her?”

  Olivia and Jack nodded.

  “You must keep on doing it. It’s very possible that she can hear you and recognises your voices.” She looked hard at them both. “But you need to look after yourselves too. You both look terrible. You must eat properly and not just live on coffee and thin air.” She clucked like a mother hen. “It won’t help Eel at all if you two get sick. You need to keep up your strength because…” She glanced at Eel with a sad smile. “You might be in for a long haul.”

  Jack and Olivia knew she was right, and Tom promised that he would stay with Eel while they went to get some food. Fran said that somebody would come and get them if there was the smallest change in Eel’s condition, and she practically pushed them out of the door towards the cafeteria. They were only gone half an hour or so, but the break and some hot food did them both good. But when they arrived back at Eel’s room they were surprised to see Tom gone and Fran sitting by Eel’s bed, holding her hand and crooning to her gently.

  “Where’s Tom?” asked Olivia. It wasn’t like Tom to break a promise.

  “We were talking,” said Fran, “and Tom came up with the most brilliant idea, one I said he should put into practice immediately.” She saw Olivia’s concerned face. “It’s all right, I’ve been with your sister all the time. Eel hasn’t been alone for a second.”

  “So what’s the big idea?” asked Jack curiously. As far as he was concerned anything was worth a try. Fran smiled, and there was a twinkle in her grey eyes that suggested she was a woman with a well-developed sense of mischief beneath her sensible exterior.

  “Just be patient. Tom promised he’d be back very shortly. Then you’ll see.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jack and Olivia were sitting on either side of Eel’s bed. Jack was reminding his younger daughter about a few days they’d spent at Lake Como and how Eel had said that she wanted to stay there forever because it was so beautiful. The ten-year-old Olivia had said Eel liked it so much because of the number of ice-cream shops, and her extraordinary ability to wheedle free samples out of the owners. Jack was talking about the amazing villa they’d borrowed from a friend, with the swimming pool where Eel had first learned to swim, when they heard an odd but strangely familiar noise coming from the corridor. Olivia and Jack looked at each other and rushed to the door.

  An extraordinary sight met their eyes. The whole of Eel’s tap class from the Swan were dancing their way down the corridor, led by Emmy, Georgia, Katie and Aeysha. Following behind was Alicia, who was holding Olivia’s iPod and blaring out the soundtrack to Matilda. With her was Tom, holding a huge cake box. Behind them stood a beaming Fran and several other bemused, but obviously delighted, patients and doctors.

  Olivia and Jack stood back as the Swans tapped their way into the room and surrounded Eel’s bed, singing along to “Miracle” and then delivering “Revolting Children” with mad exuberance. When they’d finished, they chorused, “Hello, Eel,” and those from her year started to fill her in on all the Swan gossip – who had left the tap in the girls’ cloakroom running so it flooded, how Thalia Minchin had told Mr Shaw that she didn’t need any more acting lessons because she planned to be a reality TV star and if she acted too well it might hinder her chances, and how two Year Elevens, Vicky Dennis and Chris Trunch, had been discovered kissing on the fire escape. “Gross,” said Emmy, and the others all made faces and agreed.

  There wasn’t a flicker from Eel. Olivia felt a swell of disappointment. As soon as she’d heard the tapping she’d thought it was just what Eel needed. Tom was a complete genius. But what had she been expecting? The Marvell family’s own personal miracle? She blinked to push back the tears that were stinging her eyes.

  Fran saw, and put her arm around Olivia as she whispered, “Remember what I told you: Eel might not be reacting but she may be hearing every word.” Then she looked at Tom and nodded. “Go on, Tom. This is your show.”

  “We have another secret weapon,” said Tom, putting the huge box on the bedside table. He opened it up. The most deliciously rich chocolate smell filled the room. The Swans all gasped at the magnificence of the cake.

  “I think we should cut it,” said Fran firmly. “What we all need is a slice. Chocolate is a great mood lifter.” For a moment Jack hesitated, and then he realised that Fran was absolutely right. Eel was a full-time party girl. She didn’t know the meaning of the word subdued. Maybe this was just what she would want. He caught Fran’s eye and wondered how she could have known that this wasn’t just what Eel needed, but what they all did.

  “Yes, let’s all have
cake,” he said. Tom cut slices for all of them. Even Olivia found herself nibbling the edge of a slice, surrounded by her friends. The smell of chocolate in the room was intense. The Swans wolfed theirs down and then had seconds and there was still loads of cake left.

  “Time to go, children,” said Alicia. She told Jack that she would return after she’d taken them all back to school.

  “Bye, Eel. See you soon,” chorused the Swans, and then they tap-danced their way out of the room. Emmy ran back and planted a kiss on Eel’s forehead. She looked at Olivia. “She’s going to wake up. I know she will, Livy.” Then she was gone.

  “We’d better go too,” said Aeysha, and she, Georgia and Katie surrounded Olivia and gave her a huge hug. They looked enquiringly at Tom as they were about to leave, but he shook his head and said, “I’m staying” and, as he said it, Olivia thought to herself: “He’s always there for me. Every step of the way.”

  Fran went off to see to other patients and Jack was helping Alicia shepherd the Swans into the lifts and down to the front of the hospital. Olivia and Tom were left alone with Eel. Olivia took both Tom’s hands.

  “Thank you,” she said. “It was such a nice thing to do for Eel.” For a microsecond they looked into each other’s eyes and Tom raised Olivia’s hand to his lips. Then there was a noise at the door and they pulled apart.

  “Only me,” said Katie. “I forgot my scarf.” She rushed in and out again but the moment was broken.

  “I’ve got something else for you, Liv,” said Tom. He rifled through his backpack and brought out a copy of Roald Dahl’s novel Matilda. “I thought we could read it to Eel. I know she loves the book. She was reading it over and over in the run-up to her audition.”

  Olivia nodded. She had a lump in her throat. It was hopeless. Eel was never going to wake up. They’d lost her.

  “Liv,” said Tom fiercely, “we can’t give up on Eel.”

  Olivia sighed. She knew he was right. She opened the book and began to read while Tom sat on the edge of the bed stroking Eel’s hand.

  “It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think—”

  “Liv!” interrupted Tom. “Her eyes moved. I saw her eyelids flicker.”

  Olivia sprang towards the bed. Eel was lying very still. Tom must have been mistaken.

  “Liv!” Tom’s voice was urgent. She looked closely at her sister. Tom was right; Eel’s eyelids were fluttering.

  Then Eel blinked, opened her eyes very wide and murmured, “I hope you didn’t eat all the chocolate cake.” She closed her eyes again. Olivia and Tom looked at each other and ran out of the room, shouting for Jack and Fran.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The cast, crew and production team of Romeo and Juliet were assembled in the Clapham rehearsal room. They all looked grave. It was five days since Eel’s accident and a week until the first preview was due to take place. Tomorrow they should have been moving into the theatre. Jon had kept them rehearsing in the faint hope that Olivia might return to the production, although in his heart he knew it was unlikely. Not with Eel’s life hanging in the balance. Juliet was a massive emotional ask in any circumstances; it would be impossible for a fourteen-year-old whose little sister was seriously injured.

  Jon knew that they had reached the end of the road; there was no point in carrying on. Howard Franks and the other producers said the sooner they cancelled the better; they had to do whatever they could to contain the mounting losses. All across the West End there was talk about this Romeo and Juliet revival being the unluckiest production in living memory. Some said that Howard Franks would be wiped out financially.

  Jon stood up. It fell to him to announce to everyone that the production was folding. He knew that there was no secret about what he was going to say, but he still felt it important to let everyone know how much he appreciated how hard they had all worked in difficult circumstances. He cleared his throat.

  “Some would say that we were ‘fortune’s fools’ ever to attempt this production with such a young cast. Maybe we were. But I just want you all to know how proud of you I am. And you should be very proud of yourselves. Because what I’ve seen you do in this rehearsal room convinces me that all of you – and of course Olivia – have all been part of the most extraordinary show, quite possibly the greatest Romeo and Juliet that the West End will never see.

  “So today, as we take our final bow, I want you all to know—” He looked up as the door to the rehearsal room slowly opened and Olivia stood there, looking a little shy. A buzz rose in the room.

  “Livy,” said Jon in astonishment. “What on earth are you doing here?”

  Olivia looked hesitant. “I came to rehearse,” she said, looking around shyly. “Of course, that is, if you still want me to play Juliet?”

  “Of course we do!” shouted everyone.

  But Jon frowned. “Are you sure you’re up to it?” he asked Olivia gently.

  Olivia nodded. “Yes.” She looked at their worried faces. “I know I am.”

  “Eel?”

  “She’s going to be all right,” said Olivia with a sob. “She was the one who said I should come back. She said she was fed up of me sitting by her bed with a face like a wet bank holiday in Blackpool. I want to do it for her.”

  Olivia looked round the room at the cast and their tense faces. Was she too late? Had the production already been cancelled? Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Howard Franks.

  The producer looked totally shell-shocked by this unexpected turn of events. From his face it was clear that a battle was taking place inside his head. Then he suddenly grinned and winked at Olivia.

  “Why not?” he said. “This entire production has been a mix of nightmare and fairytale. Let’s go with it while the fairytale is winning. My head is telling me one thing and my heart quite another. But let’s take the risk. Let’s do it. Let’s make it happen.”

  A huge roar rose from the cast. People were hugging each other, Kasha gave Olivia a whopping great kiss on the forehead, and Jon even wiped away a tear.

  “Right,” he said, clearing his throat. “Let’s get to business. Let’s try and run it, and see what it looks like. Places, please. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Eel was sitting up in bed wearing a T-shirt that Aeysha, Georgia and Katie had found for her online. It bore the slogan: “Just give me the chocolate and nobody gets hurt.” Olivia was sitting next to her, telling her about the technical rehearsal. It had gone on so long that Cassie had said if it went on any longer the audience would arrive for the first preview. Someone else had then made them all laugh by uttering a little prayer: “God give me patience, and give it to me now.”

  It was several days since Eel had emerged from her coma and she was improving steadily. Olivia had walked in after rehearsal one day to find Fran and three of her off-duty nurse friends lined up in the room learning a high-kicking routine that Eel was directing imperiously from her bed.

  Fran was bright-eyed with pleasure. “I love this,” she said. “Do you think it’s too late for me to take up tap dancing?”

  “It’s never too late for tap dancing,” said Eel firmly.

  Fran said that Eel was going to be as good as new, although her ribs still hurt when she moved so she was trying hard not to laugh, something that was proving impossible, and her leg was broken. Eel was yearning to get up and try out the crutches that were sitting by her bed. But the doctors said that she wasn’t ready yet. Tom, however, thought it was probably less a question of Eel’s readiness for the crutches than the hospital’s reluctance to be terrorised by a mobile Eel.

  The unspoken question was whether or not she would ever be able to dance again. They wouldn’t know for weeks. Alicia knew that a broken leg had put paid to many a promising young performer’s career. She knew Eel knew it too. But she didn’t want Eel to have to face up to any heartbreak at this delicate stage in her recovery.

 
; Eel hadn’t mentioned Matilda, and Fran had agreed that in the circumstances it was probably best to leave it for now. It was clear that Eel was suffering from mild amnesia as a result of the concussion and swelling in her brain. She could remember lots of things up to the morning of the accident, including what she’d had for breakfast, but she couldn’t remember anything after eating her cereal. They had to tell her about the accident more than once.

  They had also told her all about the all-singing, all-dancing Swans who’d helped rouse her from her coma, but Eel hadn’t asked what they had been singing and they hadn’t told her. Olivia had taken her iPod away, and Jack had discreetly removed the copy of Matilda. Emmy had been told not to mention anything about the musical. They all wanted Eel to be as strong as possible in mind and body before the news was broken to her that she had won her dream role but was not going to be able to take it up.

  “So,” asked Eel, “is this Romeo and Juliet going to be any good, Livy? Is it worth me bothering to come and see you in it?”

  Olivia grinned. She knew that Eel was winding her up. “Actually,” she said, “I think it’s going to be very good. Kasha’s great. A Romeo worth dying for; I reckon all his fans will think so, and it might win him some new ones.”

  “And you, Livy? Are you any good?”

  Olivia was about to bat the question away and say something self-deprecating as usual, when she paused. Was she good? She didn’t know. Sometimes when she saw the faces of Jon and Tish and the others, she suspected that she might be good, maybe very good. But what did good mean? All she knew was that when she was playing Juliet, it felt as if she had sprouted wings and was flying. She smiled at Eel. “You know, Eel, I think I’m going to be OK. Really. There’s a chance I might even be quite good.”