Tuesday 23 October 2012
The Bea Project - Chapter 9
The taxi pulled up outside the Lowry hotel and the driver got out, walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for me, he then went to the back of the car and removed my baggage from the boot and placed the guitar case at my feet and handed the violin case to me as I handed him a fiver in return to cover my fare. I picked up the guitar and wandered through the hotel lobby to the reception desk.
A young receptionist named Hayley approached me ‘Can I help you?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘I have a meeting at two o’clock with Niamh Pedersen.’
Hayley looked down a list which was placed on the desk in front of her, she looked up nodding her head at me ‘Yes Miss Lovett, please would you take a seat over there and I will ring Miss Pedersen and let her know that you are waiting in the hotel lobby.’
A few minutes passed and a well-dressed woman in her late thirties wandered up to me ‘Are you Bea?’ she smiled as she extended her hand towards me.
‘Yes, that’s me.’ I replied and grabbed her hand and shook it firmly.
‘Hello,’ she said warmly, ‘my name is Niamh Pedersen, but you can call me Niamh. Bea, please come with me.’
I followed her through the hotel lobby and up to the Mezzanine Bar which was buzzing and alive with people chattering and generally enjoying themselves on a lovely warm summery afternoon.
‘Bea, would you like a glass of champagne, or a refreshing soft drink or maybe something else?’ she asked.
‘Ooh, a glass of champagne would be just fine.’ I replied.
‘You know, Arty promised me ages ago that he would be able to do this performance as a favour to my business partner and his nephew, Matthew. From what I can understand that he was quite upset when he realised that he wouldn’t be able to fulfill this opportunity. He has ensured me that you have what it takes to make the mark and you will be able step up to the plate. I am looking forward to working with you now and hopefully at some point in the future.’ She told me.
She then tried to hand me the glass of chilled champagne but quickly realised that I didn’t have a third hand, so she carried the drinks through to another room which was to the side of the bar overlooking the river at the back of the hotel, and I quickly followed.
Niamh put the drinks down on the table and handed a glass to me which I took from her when I had put my guitar case down. I took a sip of the cool fizzy champagne from the glass, the bubbles gave me the weirdest sensation as I could feel the bubbles rising in the back of my throat and almost spiralling back down my nose and they almost made me sneeze.
I placed the violin on top of the table next to my glass and released both catches, opened the lid and pulled the instrument and bow out from the blue velvet lined case. I plucked a couple of the strings before resting it under my chin on a black silk cloth and rubbing my bow gently over the strings. I walked over towards the back of the room where there was a tiny plinth of a stage and stood in front of Niamh who was by then sitting down next to two hunky looking guys and watching my every move. I started to play a few bars of “Summer” from The Four Seasons written by Vivaldi. An enjoyable piece of music, if you have never heard it I suggest you go and listen to it and enjoy instead of me telling you how great it is.
Saturday 13 October 2012
The Bea Project - Chapter 8
I awoke on Saturday morning with a bit of a start, I looked over to the clock it was ten past nine. Although I’d slept quite soundly, I’d woken up just a little bit before the alarm had gone off. I am usually such an early bird, so to have a bit of a lie-in was a luxury for me. I decided get up, go and have a leisurely breakfast and then come back and sort through the stuff that I would be taking with me today. I knew I didn’t have time to go and shop because I knew that I would miss my appointment. Typical girl me, like to go shopping and browse at everything before I make my mind up and I usually end back up in the very first shop I started in. I could feel my nerves kicking in a little tiny bit.
When I’d finished fiddling (pardon the pun) with everything that I could fiddle with the time was fast approaching ten past twelve. I went downstairs to the hotel bar and grabbed myself a quick bite to eat and a drink and thought that I had better get my skates otherwise I wouldn’t be ready or even at the venue on time, and I really didn’t want to be late, that wouldn’t have made a very good impression would it.
I had a quick shower and threw on a clean pair of jeans, and my floral cotton top and tied my hair up into a double knot with the aid of an elasticated hair scrunchie. I slipped my bare feet into my red canvas pumps. I dusted my face sparingly with a minimal amount of blusher, applied some black long lash mascara, moistened my lips with just a tiny touch of lipgloss and squirted perfume around my pulse points. I grabbed my blue denim jacket, my handbag, picked up the guitar and my violin and went downstairs to the hotel lobby. I asked Jaden on the reception desk if he could order a taxi for me to take me over to The Lowry Hotel.
‘Sure, no problem.‘ He replied. He picked up the telephone and dialled for a taxi, he asked if a taxi could be sent to the hotel for Ms. Lovett. He replaced the receiver and called me back to the desk ‘Ahem, Ms Lovett. Your car will be here within the next five minutes.’
‘Thank you Jaden.‘ I responded.
I waited just outside the hotel lobby for the car to arrive, it was a very warm and pleasant day and the sun was shining. Exactly five minutes later a car pulled up and the driver wound his window down and called my name.
‘Miss Lovett?’ He looked me up and down inquisitively.
‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘that’s me.’
‘Okay,’ the driver said getting out of the car, ‘let me help you with those cases, Ms. Lovett.’
He got out of the car and opened the car boot and placed both my cases carefully inside. I opened the door on the passenger side and got into the car, the driver got back in and we started to move towards the exit out of the hotel car park.
‘So, where are we headed today then, Ms Lovett?’ the driver asked me as he turned the steering wheel to guide the car out of the exit gate.
‘The Lowry Hotel, please.’ I replied.
Again the Lowry hotel was only a stone’s throw away but because the two cases were difficult to walk with, and because it was so hot I really didn’t want to arrive at the venue all disheveled and sweaty, that wouldn’t have been a very good look.
When I’d finished fiddling (pardon the pun) with everything that I could fiddle with the time was fast approaching ten past twelve. I went downstairs to the hotel bar and grabbed myself a quick bite to eat and a drink and thought that I had better get my skates otherwise I wouldn’t be ready or even at the venue on time, and I really didn’t want to be late, that wouldn’t have made a very good impression would it.
I had a quick shower and threw on a clean pair of jeans, and my floral cotton top and tied my hair up into a double knot with the aid of an elasticated hair scrunchie. I slipped my bare feet into my red canvas pumps. I dusted my face sparingly with a minimal amount of blusher, applied some black long lash mascara, moistened my lips with just a tiny touch of lipgloss and squirted perfume around my pulse points. I grabbed my blue denim jacket, my handbag, picked up the guitar and my violin and went downstairs to the hotel lobby. I asked Jaden on the reception desk if he could order a taxi for me to take me over to The Lowry Hotel.
‘Sure, no problem.‘ He replied. He picked up the telephone and dialled for a taxi, he asked if a taxi could be sent to the hotel for Ms. Lovett. He replaced the receiver and called me back to the desk ‘Ahem, Ms Lovett. Your car will be here within the next five minutes.’
‘Thank you Jaden.‘ I responded.
I waited just outside the hotel lobby for the car to arrive, it was a very warm and pleasant day and the sun was shining. Exactly five minutes later a car pulled up and the driver wound his window down and called my name.
‘Miss Lovett?’ He looked me up and down inquisitively.
‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘that’s me.’
‘Okay,’ the driver said getting out of the car, ‘let me help you with those cases, Ms. Lovett.’
He got out of the car and opened the car boot and placed both my cases carefully inside. I opened the door on the passenger side and got into the car, the driver got back in and we started to move towards the exit out of the hotel car park.
‘So, where are we headed today then, Ms Lovett?’ the driver asked me as he turned the steering wheel to guide the car out of the exit gate.
‘The Lowry Hotel, please.’ I replied.
Again the Lowry hotel was only a stone’s throw away but because the two cases were difficult to walk with, and because it was so hot I really didn’t want to arrive at the venue all disheveled and sweaty, that wouldn’t have been a very good look.
Friday 5 October 2012
The Bea Project - Chapter 7
Friday morning arrived and as I was putting the last little bits and bobs into my handbag and scraping my hair into a topknot, and Dexter bless him, popped his head around my bedroom door and offered me a lift to Swindon Train Station in his old banger of a car, he promised me that it would be quicker than waiting for a bus. Dexter’s car is so old that sometimes it doesn’t always fire up and start first time and it does have the odd occasional tendency to conk out completely at the most inconvenient moment, but I agreed to a lift and we set off through the sleepy villages of the Cotswolds just a little bit earlier than I had originally anticipated just in case something went wrong and I missed the fast train to London Paddington.
As we arrived at the mainline station in Swindon I got out of the car and opened the back door, lugged my guitar case along with my suitcase off the back seat and slammed the back door shut.
Dexter called after me, ‘Enjoy your weekend, Sis. Call me if you need me or let me know what time you intend coming back home on Sunday and I will drive down and collect you it’s no trouble, honestly.’
‘Okay, I will’ I mouthed back ‘See you Sunday. MWAH!’
I made my way into the station and looked up at the train departure boards, found the platform from which my train would be departing. I also noticed that I had a good ten minutes to spare. My suitcase was quite heavy as I had managed to squish my violin case into it on top of my clothes, good job it was on wheels. My guitar case was quite light compared to the weight in the suitcase. I had visions of my arms being twice as long by the end of the day, trailing around in Manchester like some sort of monkey or ape.
An announcement was made over the station tennoy that the train for London Paddington was now pulling into the platform and that all the passengers were to stand clear of the platform edge until the train had come to a complete stop.
I boarded the train and found my seat and made myself comfortable, sat back and enjoyed the ride. I watched the scenery change as the train picked up speed and we travelled through the rural countryside and eventually raced along the tracks into the built up residential areas of the City. Soon enough the train was pulling into London Paddington. This is where I had to get on the underground train and go around to London Euston on the circle line before boarding the express train for Manchester, my final destination. It was an easy journey, with no delays or hold ups. I listened to the music on my iPod and my mind drifted with the rhythm of the train as it made it’s way swiftly up to Manchester in the north of England.
The train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly Station just before three thirty in the afternoon. I got off the train with all my baggage in tow and made my way to the station forecourt, hailed a cab to take me to my hotel which was supposedly just less than one hundred yards up the road from the Station. When i arrived at the hotel I got out and paid the driver but as I was doing so a crowd of six or seven girls were walking past me and one of them stopped, turned around and called my name.
‘Bea?’ she cried as she walked back towards me smiling.
‘Bea Lovett is it really you?’
‘Katy!’ I replied, ‘Crikey, I haven’t seen you for gosh, oh at least seven years. How are you?’
‘Yep, it’s me.’ She replied ‘I’ve only just returned to the UK. I’m up here for a weekend with my girlfriends. We’re all going to a concert at the Arena tomorrow night. What are you doing up this way then?’ she spotted the silver guitar case, well you couldn’t be off it really.
‘Well, I’m doing a musical show case here in Manchester tomorrow afternoon and it was better for me to travel up today and be bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for tomorrow.” I told her.
She dipped her hand into her handbag, pulled out a business card and handed it to me.
‘Bea, call me, it would be good to catch up with you at some point. I shall be back home in London next Wednesday.’ Then she ran to catch up with her friends, who had walked on ahead of her.
I picked up my case and guitar and walked into the hotel, made my way to the check-in desk and gave the young man on the desk my name. He tapped some details into a computer and produced a keycard for me to use whilst I was staying at the hotel. He also asked me if I wanted to book a table for dinner that evening, I told him that a table for 7.30pm would be great if they could find me a table around that time and he said it was not a problem. I had decided earlier on the train that it would be easier for me if I ate at the hotel restaurant later in the evening, because I was beginning to feel tired after such a long journey.
I took the lift up to the fourth floor and used the keycard to enter the room, it was a basic room but it still quite cosy and was to be my home for the next couple of nights. I unpacked my case and flopped down on the bed and flicked through the programs on the television using the remote control. I flicked the TV off again and wandered across the room to look out of the window, well at least I had a decent view of the City. I stood there for ages looking at the different architectural structures and just daydreaming really. Eventually I trotted off to the bathroom to have a shower and freshen myself up before I went down to the restaurant for dinner.
I returned to my room after dinner and pulled my mobile phone out of my pocket and made a quick call to my Mum to let her know that I had arrived safely and was now tucked away for the night and yes the door was locked on the double latch, so that the bogie man couldn’t come and take me away at midnight.
At ten o’clock I was falling asleep so I decided it would be best if I went to bed and got some decent shuteye. I got myself undressed, cleaned my teeth, washed my face and brushed my hair. Set the alarm for the morning and snuggled down onto the bed with the cool white cotton sheet draped around my body and I slowly drifted off into a lovely peaceful slumber.
The Bea Project - Chapter 6
When I got home I went up to my room and changed my clothing, I put on a pair of denim shorts and a slouchy T-shirt top and went and sat in the garden with my Mum, Dad and Dexter. The weather had been hot for the last few days, and although it was cooling down now it was still nice to sit in the garden and relax with a glass of something white, nicely crisp and chilled.
Dexter had come to stay with Mum and Dad for a few days, I was pleased that he was as I had a few things that needed to be sorted out before tomorrow and he was the ideal person to help me.
Mum had prepared a dinner which consisted of ham and egg salad with strawberries and cream to follow. It was scrumptious, and slimming too. We sat under the shade of the big oak tree and chatted about the day whilst we ate our dinner.
My Mum was so excited this evening and took great delight in telling us all about her earlier visit to see the new baby, Harry. She did go on about how much he looked like Amy when she was first born. Poor kid, I thought.
It was such a lovely evening, Dexter and myself decided to shatter the neighbours peace by making some noise and had a bit of a jamming session, he on the guitar and myself on the fiddle, started with a little bit of Paganini and progressed through my favourite classical pieces ending up with some modern pieces from Jason Mraz and ending up with Katy Perry. We played until the sun dropped over the edge of the horizon, it was fun to play with Dexter too.
When the dusk rolled in I said Goodnight to my Mum, Dad and Dexter and made my way back into the house, up the stairs to my room. It was late and I still had my stuff to pack for the weekend, I was supposed to do this earlier on this evening but hey ho, I think I was a bit too excited to sleep. I rummaged around in the back of the double wardrobe for my suitcase. I used to think that was where the lion lived but Mum always kept the holiday suitcases stored there when I was little and they were always put back in the same place whenever we returned from far flung holidays, even now I had a choice of four.
I decided I would use the hard-sided silver one it would make it easier to transport everything and hopefully get there in one piece. Otherwise it was completely beyond me how I was going to transport my violin, my guitar and my clothes up to Manchester on the train, this was the easiest solution.
I hauled the suitcase up on to the bed and unzipped it. I threw in a couple of pairs of jeans, some clean underwear, a nightie, and a couple of cotton tops, a handful of scrunchie hair bands, my toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss. The list was endless, oh and not forgetting my make-up kit and a hairbrush.
I looked at my watch it was now gone midnight, time for me to get some serious shuteye. I showered quickly and was in bed by quarter to one. Good job my name wasn’t Cinderella because I would have turned back into a pumpkin by now but I was all set and I was ready to go when the morning in all her glory arrived at my front door.
Thursday 4 October 2012
The Bea Project - Chapter 5
On Thursday morning I had a relatively easy journey into work, not that it is ever difficult. I get on the bus where I live, we trundle along for a bit, I ring the bell and then I get off the bus in Chedworth and toddle up the hill to the Gallery, simple! I think Arty was amazed this morning because I arrived on time, my bus never runs to time it doesn’t matter what time of the day it is it’s always late regardless of which direction your journey takes you.
I made my way through the front door into the back office. Arty was already working and preparing his equipment in readiness for an appointment he was attending Cirencester on Friday afternoon. It was another portrait commission, he’d been painting quite a few of those recently, not all in the same place but around and about, I would hazard a guess that he would travel far and wide but never be too far from home.
‘Ah, Bea, you’re early this morning.’ He said calmly ‘I’ve got your train tickets and I’ve booked you into a hotel for the weekend. Can I make a suggestion, just grab a cab from the Station to your hotel, ask for a receipt and I’ll settle that one up with you when you come back to work on Monday. Okay and one other thing before I forget Bea, on Saturday make your way over to The Lowry Hotel, you have an appointment with Miss Niamh Pedersen of Pedersen Profiles at 2pm. Go to the reception desk and ask for Niamh, she will be expecting you.’ He handed me a large brown envelope which contained all the info that I would need for my weekend away. ‘Here are your train tickets and paperwork.’ I took the envelope from him and placed it inside my bag.
‘Okay Arty, thanks for that. Now what would you like, tea or coffee?‘ I asked.
Erm, a milky coffee would be lovely, Bea‘ He replied. ‘You can go home a bit earlier today if you would like to. Give you a bit of time to pack your things together and have a bit of time to relax before you leave in the morning. Just remember that if you’ve got any problems, any problems at all, I’m just at the end of the phone, you can call me, and I will advise you to the best of my abilities, but just try to do your best and most of all make sure you enjoy it. It will be an exhilarating experience for you.’
I made Arty a very milky coffee in a rather large china mug and got on with my work. I tidied the front shop and then set to and made sure that the booking diary was up to date. Telephoned a few possible clients as there had been a few new people just making general enquiries too. I did the filing, typed up a few letters, waded my way through the day’s post and sorted the orders for the canvas prints that were to be collected from the shop on Friday morning, before Arty closed up for the afternoon and went off to Cirencester.
The day soon zoomed by, I was nearly up to date with my work when I realised that I hadn’t stopped all morning, lunch time had been and gone and the afternoon had rolled around already I glanced up at the clock which was showing three o’clock. Arty came into the shop from the studio out the back.
‘Bea, I thought you were going to go home a bit earlier today?’ He asked.
‘I was,’ I replied ‘I’ve just been so engrossed with everything, I didn’t notice the time. All my work is now up-to-date though.’
‘Well, go on, gather your bits and bobs and I’ll see you on Monday morning, sharp.’ He laughed.
I grabbed my bag and I wandered to the bus stop and waited for the bus to take me home. The bus as usual was late and I got home at just after four o’clock.
I made my way through the front door into the back office. Arty was already working and preparing his equipment in readiness for an appointment he was attending Cirencester on Friday afternoon. It was another portrait commission, he’d been painting quite a few of those recently, not all in the same place but around and about, I would hazard a guess that he would travel far and wide but never be too far from home.
‘Ah, Bea, you’re early this morning.’ He said calmly ‘I’ve got your train tickets and I’ve booked you into a hotel for the weekend. Can I make a suggestion, just grab a cab from the Station to your hotel, ask for a receipt and I’ll settle that one up with you when you come back to work on Monday. Okay and one other thing before I forget Bea, on Saturday make your way over to The Lowry Hotel, you have an appointment with Miss Niamh Pedersen of Pedersen Profiles at 2pm. Go to the reception desk and ask for Niamh, she will be expecting you.’ He handed me a large brown envelope which contained all the info that I would need for my weekend away. ‘Here are your train tickets and paperwork.’ I took the envelope from him and placed it inside my bag.
‘Okay Arty, thanks for that. Now what would you like, tea or coffee?‘ I asked.
Erm, a milky coffee would be lovely, Bea‘ He replied. ‘You can go home a bit earlier today if you would like to. Give you a bit of time to pack your things together and have a bit of time to relax before you leave in the morning. Just remember that if you’ve got any problems, any problems at all, I’m just at the end of the phone, you can call me, and I will advise you to the best of my abilities, but just try to do your best and most of all make sure you enjoy it. It will be an exhilarating experience for you.’
I made Arty a very milky coffee in a rather large china mug and got on with my work. I tidied the front shop and then set to and made sure that the booking diary was up to date. Telephoned a few possible clients as there had been a few new people just making general enquiries too. I did the filing, typed up a few letters, waded my way through the day’s post and sorted the orders for the canvas prints that were to be collected from the shop on Friday morning, before Arty closed up for the afternoon and went off to Cirencester.
The day soon zoomed by, I was nearly up to date with my work when I realised that I hadn’t stopped all morning, lunch time had been and gone and the afternoon had rolled around already I glanced up at the clock which was showing three o’clock. Arty came into the shop from the studio out the back.
‘Bea, I thought you were going to go home a bit earlier today?’ He asked.
‘I was,’ I replied ‘I’ve just been so engrossed with everything, I didn’t notice the time. All my work is now up-to-date though.’
‘Well, go on, gather your bits and bobs and I’ll see you on Monday morning, sharp.’ He laughed.
I grabbed my bag and I wandered to the bus stop and waited for the bus to take me home. The bus as usual was late and I got home at just after four o’clock.
Wednesday 3 October 2012
The Bea Project - Chapter 4
I returned to the front of the shop from the back office, I needed to somehow get my head around the fact that I was going all the way to Manchester just for a couple of hours to play my fiddle. Was it really worth it I wondered. Don’t get me wrong I was very grateful for the opportunity to show what I was capable of doing musically but why did it have to be in Manchester.
So many memories came flooding back to me, and my heart lurched. When I was twenty years old I moved in with Sam, he’s now my ex-boyfriend and he owned a flat in Manchester. I’d met him at a nightclub in the city centre when I was eighteen, around the same time that I had just started studying at Manchester University. I thought he was my Mr. Right and I spent a long time looking at the world through rose tinted glasses, but by the time I was twenty-three I couldn’t be dealing with his drinking problems and his kinky demons anymore so I left him to deal with them on his own.
Three years have now passed and I’ve never seen him or heard from him since, and to be completely honest, I don’t think that I ever want to and I don’t really know what I would do if I ever bumped into him. He messed around with my head, he cheated on me and completely turned my life upside down, to the point where I didn’t know if I was on my head or my heels.
Eventually I managed to bring myself to leave Sam, something I kept putting off, but I needed to get away before our relationship spun out of control and into something which couldn’t be undone. I moved back home to live with my parents, I sorted myself out and I got myself a job as Arty’s Assistant, and that’s the way it’s been ever since until now. Okay, so at the ripe old age of twenty-six I still live at home with my parents.
Arty made me jump and brought me and my thoughts back to the present moment when he popped his head around the back door.
‘So Bea, are you going then.’ He asked, ‘It really is a fantastic opportunity for you to get your own foot in the door, so to speak. To be honest with you I know that you’re capable of doing this, you just need to have a bit more confidence in your own abilities.’
‘Hmm, I guess so.’ I replied, ‘I have nothing to lose at the end of it, do I? Only my job!’
‘That’s great!’ he cried, ‘As I said I’ll make some travel arrangements and book you into a hotel for the weekend, and I’ll pay you an extra special bonus for helping me out of this bungled mess. You know, I really do appreciate you stepping into my boots so to speak to help me out with this project, I think I can safely guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.’
When work was over for the day I collected my things from the back office and made my way to the bus stop and waited for the bus to take me home. All I could think about was Manchester. Wait until I got home and told Mum and Dad where I was going for the weekend. I hadn’t been back to Manchester since I’d left Sam. I felt a little bit sick that I was returning to the City but it might do me some good, give me a chance to have final closure on that chapter of my life and rid me of the horrible memories that have haunted me these last few years.
The green and white number fifty-three bus pulled up at the stop less than five minutes later. I nearly missed it, I was so deep in thought that I forgot to put my arm out. Oh golly, what if I had missed it, the buses around here are not that frequent, there’s usually about an hour in between each bus. Lucky for me the driver recognised me and stopped anyway. I boarded the bus, paid my fare and pulled the white paper ticket out of the machine. I found a seat in amongst all the other passengers, sat down and made myself comfortable as the bus trundled back home through the country lanes.
When the bus arrived back at the sleepy Cotswold village where I lived, I hopped off the bus and practically skipped all the way home, I almost felt like a ten-year-old again. I’d been thinking about the forthcoming weekend all the way back on the journey home. Being totally honest with myself I hadn’t really thought about anything else all day, especially after Arty and myself had discussed it earlier this morning and now all I could think of were the possibilities that could come from this one opportunity and of course, the fact that Arty believed in me and wanted to give me a chance to shine at what I did best.
So many memories came flooding back to me, and my heart lurched. When I was twenty years old I moved in with Sam, he’s now my ex-boyfriend and he owned a flat in Manchester. I’d met him at a nightclub in the city centre when I was eighteen, around the same time that I had just started studying at Manchester University. I thought he was my Mr. Right and I spent a long time looking at the world through rose tinted glasses, but by the time I was twenty-three I couldn’t be dealing with his drinking problems and his kinky demons anymore so I left him to deal with them on his own.
Three years have now passed and I’ve never seen him or heard from him since, and to be completely honest, I don’t think that I ever want to and I don’t really know what I would do if I ever bumped into him. He messed around with my head, he cheated on me and completely turned my life upside down, to the point where I didn’t know if I was on my head or my heels.
Eventually I managed to bring myself to leave Sam, something I kept putting off, but I needed to get away before our relationship spun out of control and into something which couldn’t be undone. I moved back home to live with my parents, I sorted myself out and I got myself a job as Arty’s Assistant, and that’s the way it’s been ever since until now. Okay, so at the ripe old age of twenty-six I still live at home with my parents.
Arty made me jump and brought me and my thoughts back to the present moment when he popped his head around the back door.
‘So Bea, are you going then.’ He asked, ‘It really is a fantastic opportunity for you to get your own foot in the door, so to speak. To be honest with you I know that you’re capable of doing this, you just need to have a bit more confidence in your own abilities.’
‘Hmm, I guess so.’ I replied, ‘I have nothing to lose at the end of it, do I? Only my job!’
‘That’s great!’ he cried, ‘As I said I’ll make some travel arrangements and book you into a hotel for the weekend, and I’ll pay you an extra special bonus for helping me out of this bungled mess. You know, I really do appreciate you stepping into my boots so to speak to help me out with this project, I think I can safely guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.’
When work was over for the day I collected my things from the back office and made my way to the bus stop and waited for the bus to take me home. All I could think about was Manchester. Wait until I got home and told Mum and Dad where I was going for the weekend. I hadn’t been back to Manchester since I’d left Sam. I felt a little bit sick that I was returning to the City but it might do me some good, give me a chance to have final closure on that chapter of my life and rid me of the horrible memories that have haunted me these last few years.
The green and white number fifty-three bus pulled up at the stop less than five minutes later. I nearly missed it, I was so deep in thought that I forgot to put my arm out. Oh golly, what if I had missed it, the buses around here are not that frequent, there’s usually about an hour in between each bus. Lucky for me the driver recognised me and stopped anyway. I boarded the bus, paid my fare and pulled the white paper ticket out of the machine. I found a seat in amongst all the other passengers, sat down and made myself comfortable as the bus trundled back home through the country lanes.
When the bus arrived back at the sleepy Cotswold village where I lived, I hopped off the bus and practically skipped all the way home, I almost felt like a ten-year-old again. I’d been thinking about the forthcoming weekend all the way back on the journey home. Being totally honest with myself I hadn’t really thought about anything else all day, especially after Arty and myself had discussed it earlier this morning and now all I could think of were the possibilities that could come from this one opportunity and of course, the fact that Arty believed in me and wanted to give me a chance to shine at what I did best.
Tuesday 2 October 2012
The Bea Project - Chapter 3
This is where I take you back in time, to the beginning of my story, not too far back though. The beginning of a whirlwind romance that would never last but would introduce me to my real soulmate who would change my world for the better and change my life forever.
On the morning of 10 June 2009, it was a Wednesday, just in case you were wondering. My sister, Amy had literally, just hours earlier given birth to her first child, a boy. My parents were both overjoyed at the thought of having a grandson, a brand new addition to the family. My mother had already made it well known that she would take him to the Church playgroup when he was old enough to give Amy some peace and maybe a little bit of quiet once a week. The moment she announced that idea the baby was barely four hours old. Although I think Amy might have had other ideas about how our parents should behave as Grandparents, after all there is a first time for everything, and I knew that my father would do a good job at storytelling because when Amy, Dexter and myself were children he used to tell us all about Long John Silver and he managed to do all the voices including the Polly the Parrot.
I arrived in work at my own blonde dizzy pace having been up for most of the night waiting to hear news from the hospital about Amy and the birth of Baby Harry. I caught the bus into the next village and arrived at the gallery a little bit later than usual. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning because I was so happy, the other passengers on the bus must have thought I was a proper geek, but to be honest I didn’t care. I had a brand new baby nephew and I felt like a kid at Christmas.
As I pushed the front door open, the little bell that was attached to the top of the upper latch just inside the door made a lovely sweet busy tinkling noise as I entered.
‘Morning Aunty Bea.’ Arty called out from the office at the back of the shop ‘I hear that congratulations are the order of the day then. Is Amy okay? What sex is the baby?’
‘Yes, Arty.’ I replied ‘Amy gave birth to a baby boy at 4.30am this morning with no complications. As you can imagine, she and Luke are overjoyed and my parents are absolutely over the moon. The baby is to be called Harry James and he weighed in at just under seven pounds, so he was a good weight too. Mother and baby are doing well.’ The words came tumbling out of my mouth at such a pace that I am surprised Arty even managed to understand what I had just said, and I felt like my tongue was tripping over my teeth in my excitement to get the words out without even coming up for air in the middle.
I moved to the back of the shop and put my handbag and purse away in my desk drawer and grabbed the invoice that was laying on the top of my desk which was for a portrait that Arty had been commissioned to do more than four weeks ago. The portrait which was finally finished was being collected from the shop later on that morning.
‘Bea, have you got a minute?’ Arty asked, peering at me over the top of his reading glasses which had slid half way down his nose.
‘Yes, sure.’ I replied ‘What’s the problem?‘
He pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose
‘Well, I have just looked in the Entertainments Diary this morning and we have a double booking this Saturday and as I’m not quite Olly the Octopus these days, I simply cannot stretch myself to be in two places at once. Would you do me a huge favour and take care of the second booking? I know that you can pull it off, your musical talents are very good and I think by now you should give it a go all on your lonesome, my dear.’
I looked at him in shock and disbelief, my mouth was open and my chin was nearly on the floor. He was asking Me, if I, me, lil’ ol me, would be prepared to do a musical spot on my own. At nearly twenty-seven years old I thought go for it, just do it. Finally I was being given a chance to put MY own stamp on the world of music. Would the world be ready for me?
‘Yes, Arty, I would love to,’ I answered ‘Is it a local booking?’
‘No Bea, that’s just the point, it’s a one-off chance for you to show case your musical talents, and show the world that you’re made of good strong stuff. I know you can do it.
You are going to have to pack an overnight bag and travel on Friday, stay overnight, it’s cutting it too fine to travel up on Saturday morning to meet up with the clients on Saturday afternoon. Then if the clients like you and what you do, you will perform on Saturday evening. You can travel back home again on Sunday, there’s simply no other way to do it. I would have done it myself but as I have already explained to you I cannot manage to be in two places at once and besides you’re much prettier than me.’ He grinned at me.
‘Okay Arty, so where are you sending me to?’ I asked. ‘How am I going to get there?’
Arty turned and raised his eyebrows at me, ‘Well you can catch the express train or you can fly if you like, the train will be a lot quicker than going by coach, I can book you some travel tickets this morning and sort some hotel accommodation for you.’ He said.
‘Fly? Arty, you still haven’t told me where you are intending to send me?’ I asked him again.
‘Oh yes, I haven’t told you that bit yet, have I.’ he said,
‘Well, you’re off to Outer Mongolia,’ he joked, ‘no, not really, only kidding Bea. You’re going off to Manchester for the weekend.’
‘Manchester!’ I cried, at that point I really think I preferred the idea of Outer Mongolia. ‘You mean Manchester the home of United and City, Coronation Street and Take That and all things northern.’
‘Yep,’ Arty roared with laughter, ‘the very same!’
‘Okay. Yes, I’ll do it, but I’ll travel up by train if you don’t mind, it will give me a chance to relax and prepare myself for Saturday,’ I told him.
On the morning of 10 June 2009, it was a Wednesday, just in case you were wondering. My sister, Amy had literally, just hours earlier given birth to her first child, a boy. My parents were both overjoyed at the thought of having a grandson, a brand new addition to the family. My mother had already made it well known that she would take him to the Church playgroup when he was old enough to give Amy some peace and maybe a little bit of quiet once a week. The moment she announced that idea the baby was barely four hours old. Although I think Amy might have had other ideas about how our parents should behave as Grandparents, after all there is a first time for everything, and I knew that my father would do a good job at storytelling because when Amy, Dexter and myself were children he used to tell us all about Long John Silver and he managed to do all the voices including the Polly the Parrot.
I arrived in work at my own blonde dizzy pace having been up for most of the night waiting to hear news from the hospital about Amy and the birth of Baby Harry. I caught the bus into the next village and arrived at the gallery a little bit later than usual. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning because I was so happy, the other passengers on the bus must have thought I was a proper geek, but to be honest I didn’t care. I had a brand new baby nephew and I felt like a kid at Christmas.
As I pushed the front door open, the little bell that was attached to the top of the upper latch just inside the door made a lovely sweet busy tinkling noise as I entered.
‘Morning Aunty Bea.’ Arty called out from the office at the back of the shop ‘I hear that congratulations are the order of the day then. Is Amy okay? What sex is the baby?’
‘Yes, Arty.’ I replied ‘Amy gave birth to a baby boy at 4.30am this morning with no complications. As you can imagine, she and Luke are overjoyed and my parents are absolutely over the moon. The baby is to be called Harry James and he weighed in at just under seven pounds, so he was a good weight too. Mother and baby are doing well.’ The words came tumbling out of my mouth at such a pace that I am surprised Arty even managed to understand what I had just said, and I felt like my tongue was tripping over my teeth in my excitement to get the words out without even coming up for air in the middle.
I moved to the back of the shop and put my handbag and purse away in my desk drawer and grabbed the invoice that was laying on the top of my desk which was for a portrait that Arty had been commissioned to do more than four weeks ago. The portrait which was finally finished was being collected from the shop later on that morning.
‘Bea, have you got a minute?’ Arty asked, peering at me over the top of his reading glasses which had slid half way down his nose.
‘Yes, sure.’ I replied ‘What’s the problem?‘
He pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose
‘Well, I have just looked in the Entertainments Diary this morning and we have a double booking this Saturday and as I’m not quite Olly the Octopus these days, I simply cannot stretch myself to be in two places at once. Would you do me a huge favour and take care of the second booking? I know that you can pull it off, your musical talents are very good and I think by now you should give it a go all on your lonesome, my dear.’
I looked at him in shock and disbelief, my mouth was open and my chin was nearly on the floor. He was asking Me, if I, me, lil’ ol me, would be prepared to do a musical spot on my own. At nearly twenty-seven years old I thought go for it, just do it. Finally I was being given a chance to put MY own stamp on the world of music. Would the world be ready for me?
‘Yes, Arty, I would love to,’ I answered ‘Is it a local booking?’
‘No Bea, that’s just the point, it’s a one-off chance for you to show case your musical talents, and show the world that you’re made of good strong stuff. I know you can do it.
You are going to have to pack an overnight bag and travel on Friday, stay overnight, it’s cutting it too fine to travel up on Saturday morning to meet up with the clients on Saturday afternoon. Then if the clients like you and what you do, you will perform on Saturday evening. You can travel back home again on Sunday, there’s simply no other way to do it. I would have done it myself but as I have already explained to you I cannot manage to be in two places at once and besides you’re much prettier than me.’ He grinned at me.
‘Okay Arty, so where are you sending me to?’ I asked. ‘How am I going to get there?’
Arty turned and raised his eyebrows at me, ‘Well you can catch the express train or you can fly if you like, the train will be a lot quicker than going by coach, I can book you some travel tickets this morning and sort some hotel accommodation for you.’ He said.
‘Fly? Arty, you still haven’t told me where you are intending to send me?’ I asked him again.
‘Oh yes, I haven’t told you that bit yet, have I.’ he said,
‘Well, you’re off to Outer Mongolia,’ he joked, ‘no, not really, only kidding Bea. You’re going off to Manchester for the weekend.’
‘Manchester!’ I cried, at that point I really think I preferred the idea of Outer Mongolia. ‘You mean Manchester the home of United and City, Coronation Street and Take That and all things northern.’
‘Yep,’ Arty roared with laughter, ‘the very same!’
‘Okay. Yes, I’ll do it, but I’ll travel up by train if you don’t mind, it will give me a chance to relax and prepare myself for Saturday,’ I told him.
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