Chapter 11 - The Simple Things.
Song - Love My Life By Robbie Williams.
The sun was shining over merry old England as a welcome change, and Tommy was sitting in the kitchen sorting out bills. Looking at the glare coming through the window, he knew his fortunes were about to change but right now, money was going out rather than in, but he knew he had to wait, and his patience would be rewarded in the long run, speaking in the third person, "Just as well as my brother gave me some money to keep us afloat, but it won't last forever..."
Tommy pays his mortgage broker online, clicking the send button with a sigh of satisfaction. "That should keep the vultures away for another month," he smiled to himself.
His phone on the kitchen table rings, and he notices Sophie trying to video call him. To avoid confusion and have a private chat, which he thought was suitable at the time, he carefully closes the door, sitting himself back down, and answering the call.
"Hey sexy, what you up to?" Sophie asked, lying on her stomach in her bed.
"You're very cheeky" he chuckled. "I'm fine, how are you Sophie?" Tommy spoke while holding the phone to his face.
"I'm fine, you want to come over to my place later tonight and we can have that coffee, Minnie's on the nightshift, so we'll have some privacy," Sophie added seductively.
Tommy responds, sighing. "I'd love to, but my daughter's cousin will be with us in the afternoon and may stay the night."
Sophie continues her sensuous teasing, "Well, Tom, you don't know what you would be missing..."
Tommy smirks, elbow on the table, and replies, "Well, what would that be..."
Sophie gives him a cheeky wink and gets out of bed, slowly taking off her clothes until her slim naked torso is exposed, Tommy enjoying what he is seeing, watches on in complete silence, putting her bra on slowly followed by a pink t-shirt, she gazes her phone, and says "Did you enjoy that, hehe?"
Tommy grins and replies, "It was alright" as though he isn't bothered by it.
"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it, I can tell by looking at your face you're getting a hard on, resisting the urge to have a wank..." Sophie smiled.
"Well, I have self-control, but why wank when I could shag you at yours?" Tommy snidely remarked.
"Let's not leave this too long then, I need to go but I'll text you later," Sophie remarked, blowing a kiss before ending the call.
Placing his phone back into his pocket, he goes through his drawer where he keeps his bills, making sure everything is paid for and he isn't falling behind, taking up a stack and going through it one by one until he comes across that photograph of him and Kimi.
This time, he looks at the picture longer, his smile expands, he lets out a long sigh, and replaces it in the drawer. Tommy returns to his laptop for some leisurely viewing, checking out what new films are coming out and watching some classic Reptar clips on YouTube.
Shutting down his laptop and hearing Tammy laugh in the living room reminded him that he needed to be more frugal with his money but seeing his young daughter innocent and playing reminded him of the more important things in life, his daughter Tammy, "I really want to buy her some new toys and redecorate her room, she deserves the world and more..."
Tommy enters the living room to see Tammy happily playing with the Reptar 3000 which she has been playing with non-stop since Didi gifted it to her, Gleefully playing young Tammy exclaiming, "Look, Dad, I've learned to make Reptar do a backflip!"
Tammy rapidly learned and perfected the sequence on the controller, while Tommy watched on, like a parent should, as the robotic toy completed a graceful backflip.
"That's amazing honey!" he said, clapping his hands and filled his heart with excitement. Can you tell me how you learned to do that?" Tommy inquired.
Tammy meticulously showed him the sequence, and he then lifts her up and quietly says, "Tammy, honey, money's going to be a little tight right now, we won't be able to do all the cool stuff, but we'll still have fun together."
Tammy responds, "I just want to spend time with my Dad, the best Dad in the world, as long as I get to spend time with you, it doesn't matter how much it is"
"The plan for today is that we will go to the Synagogue and we will take Tilly to Hyde Park for a couple of hours too play," Tommy explained, placing her back down.
Tammy is ready to acsend to the stairs first, as Tommy flips through the stations and declares, "Nothing worth watching, I better get myself ready."
Smiling at Tammy, Tommy asks her "Do you want a piggy back upstairs?".
Tommy kneels down, scooping Tammy onto his back, securing her knees with his arms. "Giddy up horsey," Tammy joked.
"I remember when you, Tilly, and Leo would jump on my back to play horsey when you were babies, you could say I was a monkeys uncle," Tommy chuckled as he took one step at a time up the stairs, grasping in the simple pleasures that money couldn't buy, Tammy just wanted to spend quality time with her Dad as much as Tommy wanted to spend it with his daughter.
Forgetting to turn off the television. The sports channel was showing and a female presenter gave an update on the women's football scene in America: "Highly decorated, female football US international Lil Kawalski signs for Eucaipa United Women on a short-term deal, the manager stated her experience will be a valuable addition at a crucial time of the second half of the season.", the article finishes just as the two return down stairs shortly after getting changed.
Both were dressed, and Tommy turned off the television as they left the house to head to the Synagogue, where they regularly attended, and after the Shabbat service, Rabbi Peterson checked in to see how he was doing, "Hello, Tommy, how are you and little Tammy been doing?"
Tommy responds to Rabbi Peterson, smiling and looking down at his daughter, cuddling her in with one arm. "Every day that passes, things get slightly better."
"I know it's very hard what you're going through and we all miss Gillian very much, but you're among friends, we're all one big family here, and we're all here for you and Tammy," Rabbi Peterson adds as he places his hand on Tommy's shoulder.
"Thank you so much, coming here has given me comfort through these testing times," said Tommy.
Rabbi Peterson gives him a two-hand handshake and says softly "You look after yourself and I'll see you both next week"
Tommy and Tammy retuned home, changed into their casual clothes, had a quick lunch and drove over to pick up Tilly from Poppy's as Tommy arranged to take the girls to spend the afternoon at Hyde Park, a magnificent urban park in Westminster, London's equilvement to New York's Central Park, 350 acres, plenty of the park to explore.
Arriving at Poppy's flat on time, beeping the horn, out walks Tilly, with Poppy beaming and waving from the front door to ensure she gets securely into the car.
"Hello, Uncle Tommy," Tilly exclaimed, giving him a big hug. "You alright, Tilly love?" Tommy said, smiling.
He opens the backdoor, and the young girl jumps into the seat, hugging Tammy and saying, "Hi, Tammy." "How are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks, and I'm glad to see you," Tammy responded cheerfully.
Tommy says, "Okay, girls, buckle up" as he looks over his shoulder.
They were almost there when they passed by Buckingham Palace and the Royal Guards smartly dressed in thier uniform who defend the nation's iconic building.
"Look, that's where the Queen lives!" Tammy said through the window.
"I wonder how many rooms the Palace has, I say at least ten," Tilly added.
"I'm pretty sure Buckingham Palace has more than ten rooms," Tommy grinned at his daughter and niece's remarks.
They arrived to find Hyde Park crowded with people taking advantage of the nice weather, with people jogging, elderly relaxing on benches, and children running around.
Tommy accompanied the girls to the children's playpark, which was packed with kids and parents. On this occasion, nobdy pestered Tommy for a selfie or a signature, but blending in and spending time with the girls was all he wanted.
Tammy and Tilly are being pushed on the swings as the swings were their first choice of activity.
"Higher, Uncle Tommy!" Tilly yelled, thrusting her feet up in the air to go faster. "I'm going to fly like a plane!" says the pilot. Tammy said with delight.
When the girls have had enough of swinging to dizzying heights on the swings, Tommy stops them both and suggests, "How about we get some ice cream from the van?"
"Yay ice cream!" Tammy and Tilly both agreed.
They stroll up to the ice cream van for a cone and some juice for a nice treat, patiently waiting in queue. Tommy opens his phone and discovers that he has a missed call from Maxwell.
He clicks the voicemail button and listens to the message over his ear so nobody else could hear. "Don't worry, Thomas; I'm just getting in touch to let you know that the final auditions are now complete, and we're just negotiating Lee Houston's salary; once that's settled, the final castings will be complete, and we can begin filming."
"Mate, I saw online that Dr Lipschitz Children's Hospital in America has these wicked themed rooms for expecting mothers," a stranger in the queue stated.
"I saw a Reddit post from an anonymous user, he has a PHD in Pig Latin and judging by the post, he knows nothing about child psychology, fam," the stranger's friend added.
"Me American Aunt would say otherwise mate, she has all of his books from Amazon, you have to take these posts blasting him with a grain of salt, I looked at his published journals and they look mint mate," he answered.
"If you say so, bruv, but I'm still sceptical about him, seem's a bit of a hippy and a quack to add to that mate..." challenging his statement.
"You got to give his book's a chance me old son, after all raising a baby is a serious venture..." concluding the chat.
An hour later, Tommy is sitting on a bench with a takeaway coffee, watching Tammy and Tilly comence their play time. His phone rings just as he is enjoying a quick moment of relaxation, but when he realises it's Maxwell, he quickly answers his phone. "Good day, Thomas." I really apologise for interfering with your plans, but I need you in an urgent meeting right now."
Tommy responds quickly and cordially, "Yes, Maxwell, I'll be over right away."
Maxwell is sitting at his desk, appearing anxious, but with a brief moment of relief, he says, "Bless you old bean, see you shortly" before finishing the call.
Tommy sighs at the prospect of finishing their day out early, but he knows his financial future depends on it, as he walks up to Tammy and Tilly as they prepare to ascend the climbing frame.
"I'm afraid we'll have to finish up a little early, but would you like to accompany me to work?" Tommy was curious.
"Okay, Uncle Tommy," Tilly murmured as Tommy lifted her from the frame and lowered her to the ground, doing the same for Tammy. "Sure, Dad, let's go to your work," Tammy responded.
Returning to Y-Off studios with two young one's in tow, Maxwell is suprised to see Tammy and Tilly. "Maxwell, I hope you don't mind if I bring my young children with me," Tommy stated as he arrived at Maxwell's office.
"Of course not, Tommy, and who would these two young ladies be?" Maxwell inquired, rubbing the end of his waxed moustache.
"This is my daughter Tammy," Tommy remarked, smiling as he introduced her.
"It's very mice to meet you Tammy," Maxwell replied, bending his knees slightly. Tilly hides slightly behind her Uncle, pretending to be shy. "And this little lady pretending to be shy, this is Tilly," Tommy said.
"It's very lovely to meet you Tammy and Tilly, my name is Maxwell" said Maxwell smiling.
Barbara, his secretary, entered the office and smiled as she said to Tammy and Tilly, "Come with me, there's an arcade machine and a bowl of sweets with your names on it."
Tammy and Tilly smiled as they each held Barbara's hand as they exited the office for the arcade area to allow Maxwell and Tommy to speak alone.
Maxwell smiled and waved them off, "Right, Thomas let's get down to buisiness shall we?"
"Of course, Maxwell. What is it you want to discuss?" Tommy questioned.
"Some fool in the finance department had already paid Houston his salary in one lump sum payment, and because he is wealthy enough to hire the country's best lawyers, they found a legally binding loophole," Maxwell stated angrily, shaking his fist.
"I can see your frustation, for sure" Tommy replied.
"Once my legal team find out who's the one behind this obsecurity, there will be dire consquences to ajourn to that's for sure my dear boy" said Maxwell
"Hopefully, you'll find who's reponsible for this hinderence" said Tommy.
"Therefore, I had to pay the sly bugger, honestly this is just grand Thomas, we only have a few days before we start filming, this is turning into a catastrophe!" Maxwell said stroking his forehead with his index finger and thumb in frustration.
Tommy retrieves the casting sheet from his desk, reciting the character description profile "QR is Blaine's right man, responsible for inventing all sorts of gadgets to apprehend his enemies and just makes him look cool as well" as Maxwell is still engrossed in his frustration.
"Thomas, I find it most fascinating that even though your country of origin is America, I would never have guessed in a million years that you were not born here, my jove if you have a native accent, my dear boy," Maxwell said.
Tommy beamed, filled with British pride, and said, "I've been living in London since I was eighteen, Maxwell."
"It's amazing how one's accent can change if they spend enough time in their adoptive country; you've assimilated into British culture, and I'm proud to call you my fellow Englishman," Maxwell added, smiling.
"I thought you'd never ask!" Tommy replies as he takes a seat. "I could definitely use one."
"Yes, a cup of Earl Grey shall get me out of this slump," Maxwell says, smiling, as he presses the intercom button to summon Samuel. "Samuel, I shall be having my break a little earlier than usual, bring up my afternoon tea, make enough for four please. I have company right now"
Reacting quickly and punctually responding immediately "Sir, yes. "I'll bring some refreshments right away," Samuel responded.
"Thomas, I find it most fascinating that even though your country of origin is America, I would never have guessed in a million years that you were not born here, my jove if you have a native accent, my dear boy," Maxwell said.
Tommy beamed, filled with British pride, and said, "I've been living in London since I was eighteen, Maxwell."
"It's amazing how one's accent can change if they spend enough time in their adoptive country; you've assimilated into British culture, and I'm proud to call you my fellow Englishman," Maxwell added, smiling.
"On to other matters You will continue your physical regime with Mr. Hunter and while we are on this subject I would like to discuss..." added Maxwell
Cutting Maxwell's sentance Tommy says "But Maxwell.. me and..."
"Before you jump to any predetermined conclusions, I've decided I will not interfere with your and Ms. Edwards acquaintanceship providing you keep things professional during work hours and well, whatever happens outside work hours is you and Ms. Edwards business," said Maxwell, who was more than reasonable in accommodating his star's personal needs, thus breaking his unwritten personal protocol and giving Tommy a priviledge that no other previous Blaine actor before has had.
Tommy felt relieved and appreciated Maxwell's compromise, and after shaking hands to end the dispute, Maxwell continued the conversation about the situation for the role of QR.
"I know someone who would be ideal for the role; he's a career inventor, a real-life QR!" exclaimed Tommy.
"Don't stand there waiting for Christmas, old boy, make the phone call before the cucumber sandwiches arrive!" Maxwell exclaimed impatiently.
Tommy pulls into his pocket for his phone and makes the call...
End of Chapter 11