Chapter 8

Claire sat at the table by the window. Her hair shone with the sunshine and the glossy hair treatments she had had. Her clothes were fashionable, showing off her legs and not emphasising her (still not fashionable) bust. She looked out of the window. An eagle-eyed viewer would have seen the spec in the sky far off. It got bigger. Claire took another drink of her cappuccino and gave herself a foam moustache. A quick check in her make-up mirror and she laughed and wiped it away. The spec resolved itself to be a small plane, which landed on the beach. She stood and picked up her overnight bag, making her way to the departure ‘lounge’; a room with an un-upholstered bench seat. Her shoes had heels that added several inches to her elegant frame. They were not the kind of shoes that anybody travelled in. She whipped them off and swapped them with the brand new sneakers in her bag. The plane whirred noisily to the terminal and stopped. Five people got out and walked in. Seven people walked out to the plane. Claire was in front. As she mounted the steps, a voice shouted “And Cut! Excellent. Really good, call Claire back.” The other six got onto the plane and were whisked away. Claire came back, put on the high heels again and swapped them with the sneakers again, this time making sure that the logo for the sneakers was more clearly visible as she slowly put them on. She was apparently thinking about the weekend she had just had with her friend. “Great, great. Thanks ducky. You should be an actress. You are soooo good at this.” It was true, she was. It was also true that she took not the slightest notice of all the bullshit compliments thrown at her. She knew that she could be wearing a teeshirt back to front and everybody would say how great she looked. That’s why she needed Caroline with her, and her Mum. Stephen came over.

“You are good, you know. This was a great idea. Barra is a superb backdrop for this shoot.”

“On a good day.” Yesterday it had rained all day. Stephen, Claire and Caroline had sat in one hotel and the rest of the team in another. There wasn’t enough space for all of them in one. Mentally, Stephen and Claire had reminisced about their earlier trip to Barra. Caroline knew some and guessed others. At night, Stephen’s single room was always empty and Caroline was enjoying the four days – four nights – of very personal attention. Claire didn’t mind, she was comfortable with her friend and her best friend rutting like rabbits every night. Actually, she thought, not like rabbits if I know Stephen; I wonder if she’s done anal with him? She didn’t regret not doing it, she just wondered if other people did.

It had taken some persuasion not to use Spain or Italy or some similar location; Sweet Sixteen had not even been tempted by how much cheaper it would be; they wanted people to see their clothes. Claire had been very confident, she had helped the marketing men see. “It isn’t about me being some boy’s arm-jewellery.” (Arm-jewellery? Oh, yes, that’s good, make a note of that) “It’s about Sweet Sixteen having a mind of her own. She has come up to visit her best friend, she’s a city dweller, happy in the wilds; she’s companionable, she dresses to please herself, not her man. She loves to look good because she loves to look good. And it gives an opportunity to do some work for the winter range in advance.” Initially, she was coming up to see her boy friend; but the Ethics and Morals guidelines suggested that showing a lone, single girl travelling up to meet a lone single boy implied just one thing; and since half the customers of Sweet Sixteen were actually sweet thirteen, fourteen or fifteen; that would not do at all. The friend became female later in the day. “She’ll only be seen in the background, Caroline will do.” had been how the director had put it. Caroline was not offended at all, Stephen and Claire were offended for her. Caroline was seen herding sheep, fishing, and cooking; a combination of tasks that was wholly unrealistic in any part of the country, town or island. But the idea was to sell to people who saw sheep from the window of a car, and fish was always battered, and they had mothers who cooked; so it didn’t matter that Caroline’s character was even more unlikely than Claire’s.