Moving Up

With A Career Going From Strength To Strength, The Only Way Is Up For Actor Jack Goldsmith!

*Some images are NSFW*
Summer, Year 4
“And remember,” Jack said, smiling into the camera. “Always, and I do mean always, try and find a reason to smile. Thanks for watching!”
Leaning over, he switched the camera off. With a heavy sigh, he sat back on the edge of the bed. He’d been doing these positivity videos for over a year now and they seemed to be helping people a lot. With summer almost over, a lot of people could start feeling bleak as the colder weather came forward, so it was a great time to share some more positivity. It was easy while he felt positive; his relationship with Marcella had been going strong for 6 months.

He got a strange phone call later that day, while he was at the Royal Willow but the caller never identified themselves.
“The number six?” He mused aloud. Dale raised an eyebrow and Jack laughed. “Just a phone call.”
Jack returned to running through his lines with Rebecca. The two were starring in a pirate adventure series soon and Jack knew Rebecca wasn’t that great with sword fights; they’d never been her strong point. Naturally, she wanted to work on the romance scenes and reluctantly, he agreed.
Rebecca had a frustrating habit of doing that and he irritated himself further by not resisting as well as he felt he should.

After finishing at the rehearsals, Jack agreed to meet up with Marcella at the Tudor Tavern. He smiled as he checked his appearance one last time; they were meeting at 6pm. His thoughts went back to the strange phone call he’d received earlier that day. He’d been wanting to ask Marcella to move in with him and this could be the opportunity.

“This place is so beautiful,” Marcella sighed contentedly.
“Just like the company,” Jack winked. “Listen, I wanted to ask you something.”
Marcella blushed. “go on,” she whispered.
“Marcella, we’ve been seeing each other for six months now and it’s working well. What did you think about moving in with me?”
Her eyes sparkled. “Oh Jack, that would be wonderful!”

Marcella couldn’t have been happier. She adored Jack and she knew what he was normally like for commitment, so for him to ask her to move in was a very big and positive step for their relationship.

They celebrated all night back at Jack’s apartment. Marcella could hardly believe her luck. Afterwards, Marcella gazed at Jack’s sleeping form and wondered when she’d got lucky enough to meet a man like him.

The following morning, Jack arrived on set, tired but happy. He still couldn’t quite believe that he’d asked Marcella to live with him. A larger part of him couldn’t believe he meant it.
He was working on a period drama with Rebecca as well as the pirate series and today was another filming day for the drama. They were wrapping up this season and Jack found Rebecca’s acting stilted and infuriating. The director seemed to agree and during their final scene, Rebecca fluffed her lines yet again. Even through Jack’s sleep deprived brain, he still couldn’t believe Rebecca was this bad at acting and yet still got cast for major roles. The unfairness bothered him from time to time.
At long last, the director called it a day and the crew began to shut everything down. Jack had had enough.
“What is the matter with you?” He asked, frustrated. He ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. “You were all over the place, Becca.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s the matter.” Rebecca frowned. “You don’t have to be such a bastard, Jack. You took forever in makeup this morning. Had a bad night?” she mocked.
Jack smirked. “Quite the opposite, since you ask. Marcella’s moving into my flat.”
Rebecca’s face fell as Jack turned on his heels and left the set. He’d never asked her to move in with him. Come to think of it, no man had ever asked her to live with them. She counted back the months that she’d know about Jack and Marcella and realised it had only been about six months. She’d dated David Torrez for longer than that and he’d never asked her to live with him.
Of course, she had been cheating on him at the time.

Jack had mentioned to his close friends, fellow actors Daniel and Dale, about Marcella joining The Actors Company. They thought it was great and, even though Rebecca tried to push her out, Marcella joined the group on a rehearsal at the Royal Willow a couple of weeks later. Dale and Jack were going over a fight scene between the two of them for the pirate series and Marcella volunteered to help Daniel with his lines for the action film he was appearing in. Rebecca decided to rehearse alone.
A few fans of the company turned up to see them rehearse and Jack soon found himself swamped with fans. He gladly took a break and posed for photos and signed autographs. Much to Rebecca’s frustration as she peeked through a gap in the theatre doors.

Finally, the day had arrived for the shooting of the pirate epic that Jack had been looking forward to. He arrived early on set and changed quickly. As he head out to the set, he collapsed with laughter.
“Dan? Is that you?” he laughed.
“I’m afraid so.” Daniel shook his head. “Honestly, these things get worse. I know they do.”
“Maybe we’re a bit past it for the best parts now,” Jack commented drily and Daniel scowled.
Grinning at his best friend, Jack waved and set off to find the director for the new series. It never hurt to chat them up a bit and he was delighted to spot a woman sitting in the directors chair. Unable to completely help himself, he shot her a winning smile and chatted flirtatiously with her until they were ready to film.

Always a fan of the behind-the-scenes work in this business, Jack marvelled at the special effects used as he poised, ready to start. He was enjoying himself immensely with this project and the filming was going very well.

The filming was certainly varied. From arguing with Rebecca’s well-spoken character, to a romance scene with another male colleague, he put every acting ability to the test and triumphed. His scenes went very well, in spite of verbal hiccups with Rebecca.

The final scenes for the day were a little morbid; Jack’s character’s untimely death. As he lay on the deck on the ship for the final scene, he caught himself again thinking about Marcella. This sort of thing didn’t normally happen and it surprised him a lot. Was he actually falling in love with her?

After filming was done, he caught the next flight back to the city. He and Marcella were meeting in the district for a curry and to discuss the final plans for her moving in with him the following day. Jack was excited; this was new ground for him and he was looking forward to the challenges ahead.

The following morning, the couple sat at the breakfast bar. Marcella had stayed the night but this morning, she was looking a little upset.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked. “You look like you’re going to cry! You’re not regretting this, are you?”
“No, I’m not. I’m not regretting this Jack. It’s just…”
“What? Marcella, what is it darling? We can sort it out, can’t we?”

“Jack, do you remember the night you asked me to move in?” Marcella began.
Jack nodded and grinned. “I do. I took you for dinner at the Tudor Tavern and we came back here and made love all night.”
“Right.” Marcella stood up and started to pace. “Well, I think something went wrong, Jack.”
Jack stood up and took her gently by the shoulders. “Marcella, what could possibly have gone wrong?” He laughed lightly. “It’s all going right!”
“I’m pregnant.”
Jack snatched his hands back and stared. “What?”
Marcella licked her lips. “I’m pregnant. I don’t know how else to say it.”
Jack blinked at her, his brain unable to comprehend what she was saying.

“Okay. I wasn’t expecting that.” Jack pulled her into a hug and he felt her relax against him. “We’ll be okay. We’ll work it out.”
Outwardly, Jack sounded confident and sure. On the inside, he was numb.