“Or a minor alien invasion? Ooh, a body swap comedy where you become Suki? Now that I’d watch.”
“I think I’d rather have the alien invasion—anyway I should go, wish me luck, love you.”
“Love you too.”
After saying good-bye to Dee, I see I have a message from Vanya, warning me Suki is on her way to Jersey. I reply:
She already found me—I’m going to meet her now. Fear I’ve found myself in a bit of a Katniss/Gale/Peeta situation . . .
She’ll know what that means, Vanya loves The Hunger Games books.
Vanya: Which one is Suki? Peeta?
This makes me laugh.
Laura: No, Suki’s not a part of it. Well, maybe she’s Snow.
Vanya: I’m Team Gale all the way. On a date right now, but will call to hear all when he leaves. The fish miss you, as do I. X
* * *
* * *
At Jasper’s place, I find the rest of the team already there. Dionne and Saul have set up a lighting rig in the Malala kitchen. Suki is chatting away to Jasper as if they are old friends. I overhear them having a conversation about the advantages of polymer resin work surfaces. Jasper is wearing a fitted black T-shirt with ContessaKitchens.com written across the front in pink writing. As I walk over to them, Suki picks up the picture of Henry Cavill on the stag do, which is next to her on the side.
“See, Laura, not so hard to find, is it?”
“I’m not sure I can let you have that, though, Suki. I would need to ask the chaps if it’s OK,” Jasper says, shifting his weight.
“Oh, Jasper, don’t be such an old prude,” Suki says, pouting at him and then prodding his chest with a finger.
Jasper actually blushes and then says quietly to me, “She’s hard to say no to, isn’t she?”
I don’t have time to respond, as Dionne pulls me into a chair and starts tugging at my hair.
“Makeover time!” cries Saul. “This is like the part of the movie where Dionne turns you from Plain Jane into Hot Hilary, and you finally get the guy.” He winks.
“I don’t think anyone would describe Laura as a Plain Jane,” Dionne says, and I see her roll her eyes at Saul in the reflection of the portable makeup mirror she’s set up. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing what you look like with a full face of decent slap, though.”
“Don’t go too Kardashian, will you?” I ask, feeling myself frown.
“Sacrilege,” Dionne hisses at me, but then she pulls out a makeup palette the size of a Ping-Pong table.
Jasper comes over and hands me a coffee, then goes for a kiss on the lips but misses slightly, and it’s a half cheek, half lip smack. Saul cocks his head and hugs himself, as though swooning at how cute we are.
“I’m sorry about this circus, Jasper,” I say quietly.
“It’s fine, I enjoy a circus,” he says, then he leans over and picks up three apples from a perfectly styled fruit bowl and starts juggling with them while pretending to walk an imaginary tight rope. “I was born for the circus!”
Saul laughs, Dionne claps, and even Suki smiles in approval. I can tell they all like him; he’s very easy to like. I think of all the How Did You Meet? couples I’ve interviewed this year, and wonder if any of them ever had doubts they didn’t vocalize at the time. I wonder how many of those couples are still together.
* * *
* * *
Twenty minutes later, my hair has been styled to within an inch of its life. I’m wearing what feels like a cement mixer’s worth of makeup, highlighter, contouring cream, and who knows what else. Looking in the mirror, I think, Well, at least no one will recognize me.
“Right.” Suki claps her hands. “New plan. Laura, we’re going to broadcast a little interview live from the website, to trail the full write-up to come. The Travella marketing team loved the idea of a live How Did You Meet? with you both. So, we’ll knock that off first, then move on to the stills shots. Oh, and when you’re telling the story about the bag, you must make sure you mention the brand name—Travella. There are a few other brand partnerships I’ve added in there too—if you could say how much you love the smell of Colton Rouge products, Jasper’s preferred toiletry brand, plus socks from Greeves—“Where the discerning gentleman buys his footwear.”
She’s throwing this on me at the last minute, so I don’t have time to object that my genuine How Did You Meet? story is being turned into some kind of shopping channel infomercial. She pushes the case full of products in front of us, and then starts counting down to live while Saul mans the camera phone on a tripod.
Jasper whispers in my ear, “You look gorgeous by the way.”
“Good afternoon to all you romantics out there.” Suki beams to the camera. “Now, our regular viewers will be used to hearing Laura Le Quesne’s voice hosting these interviews—she’s tracked down some of the most romantic meet-cutes out there. But today’s live broadcast is a little different—because this time, Laura finds herself on the other side of the camera. Laura, Jasper, tell us”—Suki leaves a dramatic pause—“how did you meet?”
Before I can speak, Jasper jumps in.
“Well, it all started when our eyes met across a crowded concourse at Gatwick Airport. I saw this beautiful creature, and I just knew.”
I frown, then try to stop frowning, aware of the camera picking up every expression I make. Jasper’s not telling it right. The whole reason it’s a great story is because I found the suitcase first, that the contents led me to him, not that our “eyes met across a crowded concourse.”
“Of course, being British, I didn’t know how to ask her out at the time, but destiny wasn’t going to let my reserve get the better of us.” Jasper shoots a smoldering look to the camera and smooths down his T-shirt to make sure the lettering of his website is fully visible.
“Right, yes, but really the story began when I picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport,” I say, attempting to get the narrative back on track. “I only realized it wasn’t mine when I got to my hotel room. At first, I was annoyed I didn’t have my case. But then I found all these things in the bag, these possessions that spoke to me. I thought it had to be a sign.”
Why did I agree to this? I thought it was going to be a few photos; speaking to a camera feels like much more of a commitment.
“What was in the Travella case, Laura?” asks Suki, wide-eyed, willing me to keep performing.
“Well, there was a book of piano music—Phil Collins, I’ve always loved Phil—and—”