Olivia's Curtain Call by Lyn Gardner Page A

that nobody ever saw, except perhaps when she was acting. Alicia once said that it was this emotional hinterland that made her so mesmerising on stage.
    Jack just wished he knew what was going on in her head. He was worried that she was secretly distraught at her failure to get Juliet, but she clammed up like an oyster when he tried to probe further. He thought maybe a woman – a mother – would be better able to reach Olivia.
    He was intensely worried that Olivia’s reluctance to confide in him was because she had picked up on his ambivalent feelings about her auditioning for Juliet. Of course he wanted her to do whatever would make her happy. He just hadn’t bargained for Olivia turning into an actress like her mother. But if that was the direction in which she wanted to go, he knew that he would have to set her free.
    For the moment, though, he was thrilled that she had rekindled her enthusiasm for the high-wire, and he was certain that a summer of gigs all over Europe together would do the rest. Who knew, maybe after her failure to secure Juliet, she would forget this acting business altogether.

Chapter Thirteen
    Olivia and Eel came down the zip wire together and landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom.
    “That was such fun!” said Eel breathlessly.
    “Until you squashed me,” said Olivia, rubbing her bruised hip.
    “Excuse me, I think it was
you
who squashed
me
,” said Eel indignantly. “If you’d landed any harder you’d have broken my leg and been responsible for tragically cutting short the career of the most gifted ballerina the world has ever known.”
    Olivia snorted and started tickling Eel until her little sister cried for mercy.
    It was turning into an idyllic fourteenth birthday party. It was the first really warm day of the year, and Alicia had suggested that theyhave Olivia’s birthday tea by the river at the back of the Swan. Jack and Pablo had fixed up the zip wire while everyone lazed on picnic rugs and stuffed themselves with sandwiches and crisps. And there was still the birthday cake and presents to come.
    Georgia and Katie beckoned Olivia and Eel over to them. “We need you both,” shouted Katie.
    “It’s research,” said Georgia as Olivia and Eel flopped on to the rug, positioning themselves where they could watch Tom and Aeysha waiting to come down the zip wire. “You have to help us. We need you to tell us what it’s really like to be sisters.”
    “It’s awful, really,” said Eel with exaggerated mournfulness. “You don’t know what I have to put up with. Livy’s moody. Pig-headed. She thinks all my best ideas are complete rubbish, and she just doesn’t get ballet at all. She always makes me eat all the prawn cocktail-flavoured crisps in the multi-pack even though I don’t like them much either. How cruel is that? She’s the heavy cross I have to bear.”
    Olivia swiped her affectionately. “Shut it, you scheming little big-headed show-off. Mylife was perfect before you were born and ruined everything.”
    “Come on, be serious,” said Katie. “Being sisters is not the same as being friends, is it?”
    “Of course not,” said Olivia. “I much prefer spending time with you two and Aeysha. I like you much more than I like Eel, who is often a complete toad but…” She looked enquiringly at Georgia. “Georgie, I know she’s only a baby, but how do you feel about Rosie, your half-sister?”
    “I love her,” said Georgia simply. “I loved her the moment I saw her. I’d never seen anything so small and perfect. I took her little hand and she curled this tiny little finger round my finger, and from that moment I was lost.”
    “Exactly,” said Olivia. “But I bet sometimes when you stay at your dad’s you find her crying irritating, and I bet you sometimes feel jealous of all the attention she gets?”
    Georgia nodded. “Yes, it’s as if the world revolves around Rosie. Sometimes I want to say to my dad, ‘I’m here too. Don’t forget