“Is there anything you can't do?”
“Yes,” he said, nodding emphatically. “Cook. Eating bores me. It seems like such a waste of time.” It explained why he was so thin, and never stopped for lunch during meetings. “I do it just to stay alive. Some people treat it like a hobby. I can't stand that. I don't have the patience to sit at a dinner table for five hours, or to cook for twice as long. Aside from that, I don't play golf, although I can. That bores me, too. And I never play bridge, although I used to. People get nasty and petty about it. If I'm going to fight with someone or insult them, I'd rather do it about something I care about, not a hand of cards.” What he said made sense and made her laugh.
“I feel that way about bridge, too. I played in college, and I haven't played since, for that reason. Do you play tennis?” she asked him for no particular reason, other than conversation, as he started another piece on the piano, which required less concentration than the first one.
“I do. I like squash better. It's faster.” He was a man of little patience who moved at top speed in all things. He was an interesting person to study, and she thought about putting someone like him in a short story sometime. She could do amazing things with a character with so many facets.
“I've played squash, but I'm not great at it. My husband plays, too. I'm better at tennis.”
“We'll play sometime,” he said, as he focused on the music for a while and she enjoyed listening to him. Eventually, she went back to the pool to lie down so she didn't disturb him. He seemed to be lost in the piece. It was another hour before he stopped playing and wandered out.
“I loved listening to you play,” she said with admiration, as he sat down in a chair near her. He looked energized and refreshed and his eyes were bright. Playing always did that to him. It was easy to see why he loved it. He was so good at it, and a real pleasure to listen to.
“Playing the piano feeds my soul,” he said simply. “I couldn't live without it.”
“I feel that way about writing,” she confided in him.
“I can tell by the way you write,” he said, looking at her. She looked comfortable and relaxed, which she wouldn't have thought possible when he invited her to spend the day at his pool. He had surprised her, and it had been a lovely, totally easy day. She felt restored. “That's why I always wanted to work with you, because I knew from reading you that you had that kind of passion and love for your work, just like I do with the piano. Most people don't have that. I knew you did from the first piece I read. It's a rare gift, for both of us.” She nodded, flattered, and didn't comment. They sat in silence for a while, and then she looked at her watch. She was surprised to see it was five o'clock. She had been there for six hours and the time had flown by.
“I should go. If you call a cab, I'll go back to the hotel,” she said, starting to gather up her things and put them back in her bag. He shook his head at the mention of the cab.
“I'll take you back.” It wasn't far, but she didn't want to bother him. He had done enough. It had been a perfect day, and her grief and guilt over not seeing Peter and the children had vanished.
“I'll be fine in a cab,” she insisted.
“I know you will. But I'm perfectly happy to drop you off.” He walked inside to get his keys and a moment later emerged, as she stood up. He walked her into the garage, which was so immaculate it looked like an operating room, and opened the door of a silver Ferrari. She got in on the passenger side, as he started the car, and a moment later they were heading back to her hotel. They rode in comfortable silence, after the relaxing afternoon they had spent together. Although they had said little, she felt as though they had made friends. She had learned new things about him that afternoon that previously she hadn't even guessed, and loved listening to him play the piano. It had been the high point of her afternoon.
The Ferrari slid under the roof covering the driveway at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and he looked at her with a smile. “It was a great day, Tanya, wasn't it?”
“I loved it,” she said honestly. “I feel like I had a vacation.” It had been the next best thing to going home, which she hadn't expected at all, and surely not with him. She had always felt tense when he was around. Today she had even slept across the pool from him, and read for hours without talking. There were few people she could do that with, other than her husband. It was an odd thought.
“So did I. You're the perfect Sunday guest, other than the snoring of course,” he teased her, and then laughed.
“Did I really snore?” She looked embarrassed, and he pretended to look mysterious.
“I won't tell. I'll turn you over next time. They say that works.” She laughed, and didn't really care if she had, which was even more amazing. In a single afternoon, she had gotten comfortable with him. It was going to make working with him a lot nicer from now on, having seen this side of him. “Do you want to have dinner tonight?” he asked her casually. It was a spur-of-the-moment thought. “I was going to grab some Chinese takeout. We could eat it there, or I could bring it back to the hotel. We both have to eat, and it's not as dreary, having dinner with a friend. Any interest?” It sounded good to her. She'd been planning to order room service while working at her computer. Chinese takeout sounded like more fun.
“Sure. That would be nice. Why don't you bring it here?”
“Perfect. Seven-thirty? I have some calls to make, and I swim laps every night.” He seemed to keep active and was very athletic. It explained how he stayed so trim and fit.
“Sounds fine to me,” Tanya said easily.
“What do you like to eat?” he asked politely.
“Spring rolls, sweet and sour anything, beef, shrimp, whatever you like.”
“I'll get an assortment of stuff,” he promised. She thanked him, got out, and he sped off with a wave in the sleek silver car.
Tanya went in and showered, and checked her messages. There was a call from Jean Amber about the script. When Tanya called her back, she was out. She called Peter and the girls then. They had just come in from a baseball game. They were Giants fans, and had season tickets. They were all in a good mood, and no one seemed too upset that she hadn't come home. She was both relieved and saddened by it all at once.
“How was the game?” she asked with interest.
“Great! We won, in case you didn't watch it on TV,” Peter told her, sounding jubilant.
“I didn't. I went to Douglas Wayne's house for the day.”
“How was that?” Peter sounded surprised.
“Fine. Surprisingly easy. Good for work relations, I hope. He was very nice. We hardly said ten words to each other all day.” She didn't tell him no one else was there. She was about to, but Molly got on the phone.
“Hi, Mom, great game. We missed you. We took Alice, to thank her for all the dinners she cooked for us. And Jason came home for the game.”
“I thought he was busy,” Tanya said, feeling left out suddenly. “I called him Thursday, and he said he had a hot date.”
“She canceled, so he drove up to go to the game.” It occurred to Tanya that he hadn't called her when the date got canceled. He went home to Ross instead to go to a baseball game. They'd all been there together, with Alice, and she was alone in L.A. “He drove back after the game. He'll be back in Santa Barbara tonight.” It was still a weird feeling to know that her whole family had gone to a baseball game and had fun without her. She felt like a kid who didn't get invited to a birthday party. But she was working in L.A. It wasn't their fault, it was hers, and she could hardly expect them to stay home in her honor.
She talked to Megan after that, and she sounded fine. Alice got on the phone and said they were all doing well and they missed her, and so did she, and to get her ass home next weekend so they could gossip. Tanya laughed talking to her, and then talked to Peter again briefly. They were about to order pizza, standard Sunday-night fare. “I miss you,” she reminded him, and he told her he missed her, too. She realized when she hung up that she hadn't mentione
d she was having dinner with Douglas. There was nothing meaningful about it, she just liked telling Peter what she was doing, so he felt part of it. But she told herself it was so insignificant that she forgot.
She just had time to take a bath and change before Douglas showed up with their dinner. She put on clean jeans and another T-shirt, and when she opened the door to the bungalow to him, she was in bare feet. She stepped aside, and he walked in.
“I know this bungalow. I stayed here once, when they were redoing my house. I like it,” he said, looking around.
“It's very comfortable,” she said easily. “It'll be fun when the kids come down.” She took out plates in the kitchen, and they helped themselves from the five cartons he'd brought. He had gotten everything she liked, including something with lobster, and shrimp fried rice. They sat at her dining table, and made their way through the easy meal. “Thank you. That was perfect. You have definitely spoiled me today.”
“I have to take care of my star writer.” He smiled at her. “We can't have you getting homesick and pining away here, or running back to Marin.” He was teasing her, but she didn't mind. “I thought I'd show you that we have Chinese takeout here, too.” And then he remembered the fortune cookies and handed one to her. He groaned when he saw his. “Did you put this in here when I wasn't looking?” She shook her head, and he handed it to her to read.
“â€A good friend will be good news today.” She read it aloud and looked at him with a smile. “That's nice. It sounds about right.”
“I always want them to be more exciting, but they never are. What's yours?” Douglas asked with an amused look.
She read it and raised an eyebrow as she did.
“What does it say?”
“ â€A job well done is its own reward. Not too exciting, either. I like yours better.”
“Me too.” And then he smiled at her again. “Maybe you'll win an Oscar for the script.” He hoped she would. And Best Picture for him. It was his goal. It always was.
“That's not what it says,” she pointed out to him, and cleaned up the mess from their dinner.
“Next time we should write our own.”
He helped her throw the empty cartons away, and a few minutes later he left. She thanked him for dinner, and he told her he'd had a great day. So had she. His fortune cookie was right. A good friend had been the good news of the day. For the first time since she'd met him, she felt like he could be. And what an interesting friend he was.
Chapter 8
Tanya went home to Ross for the next two weekends, and she loved being with Peter and the kids. She had lunch with Alice one Saturday, and they chatted and gossiped about the people Tanya had met. Alice was as titillated by it as the girls.
“I'm surprised you even bother to come home anymore,” Alice teased her. “It's mighty dull around here compared to all that.”
“Don't be stupid,” Tanya growled at her. “I'd much rather be here with Peter and the kids. It's all fantasyland down there. Nothing is real.”
“Sounds real enough to me,” Alice said with open admiration. She was happy for her friend that her career was going so well, and she was having this experience, and she assured her that her children were doing fine. She calmed all of Tanya's fears that they would never forgive her. Alice said that even Megan spoke of her with pride, which came as a surprise to her mother.
“She hardly talks to me anymore. She's been mad since last summer.” Tanya was relieved by what Alice had just said. She was around the girls a lot more than Tanya was these days, and seemed to know their state of mind better, so Tanya trusted what she said.
“She's not as mad as she wants you to think. She's just punishing you for a while. Don't pay any attention to her, she'll back off.” Tanya was pleased to hear it and mentioned it to Peter when she went home. He agreed.
“She's just putting you through hoops. She's been fine around here,” he reassured her, and when Megan came home a little while later, Tanya smiled at her as though everything were fine between them. She asked Megan something inane about school, and Megan glared at her as though she had offended her again. She was even angrier when her mother suggested they start doing her college applications together. Megan said she wanted to do them with Alice, which was a slap in Tanya's face, which really hurt her. It was an indisputable rejection. “I'd like to at least look at them with you,” her mother said gently, and Megan flatly refused to. “Maybe next time I come home,” Tanya said hopefully, and Megan shrugged in answer.
“Whatever,” she said and stomped upstairs, as Tanya's heart ached, and she tried not to let it upset her. At least Molly wanted to do hers with her mother, and had already shown Tanya several essays.
“I guess I haven't finished my hoops course yet,” she said to Peter with a rueful look and he grinned.
The first weekend in October Tanya came home, as did Jason from UCSB, and they all went to the World Series. It was between the Giants and the Red Sox, and the games were terrific. The Giants were winning when she flew back to L.A. with Jason. She sent him back to Santa Barbara in her limo, which he thought was embarrassing but cool. The whole family truly enjoyed spending their time together.
And the second weekend in October, Peter and the girls flew to L.A. and stayed at the bungalow with her. The girls loved it, and Jason came down on Saturday for the day. He stayed until after dinner.
Tanya and the girls went shopping on Melrose, and they all had lunch at Fred Segal's. She took them to some funny little shops she'd found, and they had a ball, while Peter and Jason lay around the pool, and Jason admired the women. They had dinner at Spago and ran into Jean Amber, whom the twins thought was gorgeous. She had given Tanya a big hug and made a fuss over Megan and Molly, and she flirted with Jason. He was blushing when she walked away. They were all overwhelmed at meeting her.
“I'll introduce you to Ned Bright the next time you come down, after we start the film,” Tanya promised. Shortly after, another hot star walked in, and all three kids stared in disbelief. They went back to the hotel afterward, and had a drink at the bar, Cokes for the kids since they were minors, and several more stars walked in. Tanya didn't know them, but the kids recognized them. By the time the girls got back to the bungalow, they couldn't believe all the stars they'd seen. They were both squealing with excitement. Jason had just gone back to school in his mother's limo again.
“Wow, Mom, this is so cool!” Molly said with wide eyes, and for the first time in ages, Megan hugged her and was smiling, too.
“Thanks, Mom, for bringing us down here,” Megan said generously. Alice was right. All was nearly forgiven. The weekend in L.A. had clinched it. They missed having her at home, but they had to admit, this was a lot of fun. They could hardly wait to do it again, and meet Ned Bright and the other stars.
The one who seemed less enthralled with it was Peter, who looked somewhat daunted when the girls disappeared into their room, giggling, and he and Tanya went to bed in theirs. He looked tired. It had been a long day, and he'd had a long week. They had settled a tough case.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” she asked, rubbing his back when they got into bed.
“Just tired.” The day hadn't been as much fun for him as it had been for his daughters, and he had hardly seen Tanya all day. She'd been busy shopping with the girls. And all the stars they'd seen didn't mean anything to him. He didn't know who most of them were, they were mostly actors and actresses who were cult figures to kids, not adults, although even he knew who Jean Amber was, and admitted readily that she was gorgeous. And she seemed to be crazy about Tanya. She acted like they were best friends. But only because they were working on a picture together now. It would all be forgotten in six months. Tanya had no illusions about that.
Peter looked at her as they lay in bed together, and Tanya was upset to see him look sad. “How are you ever going to come back to Ross after all this, Tan? We can't compete with your life here.”
“You don't have to,” she said quietly.
“You win the contest hands down. This means nothing to me. It's just exciting to do the work. I don't give a damn about the life.”
“You think that now,” he said, looking at her. “You've only been here for six weeks. Wait till you've been here for a while. Look at how you're living. You have your own limo, you live at the Beverly Hills Hotel in your own bungalow, stars crawl all over you. This is heady stuff, Tan. It's addictive. Ross is going to look like Kansas to you in another six months.” He looked seriously worried.
“Kansas is what I want,” she said firmly. “I want us. I love our life. I couldn't live here on a bet. It would drive me nuts.”
“I don't know, Cinderella. When the coach turns into a pumpkin again, it could be tough.”
“I'm turning in my glass slippers the day we finish the film, and I'm coming home. And that's it. This was a one-time deal, not a way of life. I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world.”
“Tell me that in seven months. I hope you still feel that way then.” It upset her that he was thinking about it, and she was still sad after they made love. There was something subdued about him, as though he felt defeated, and unable to compete with her new life. His fear was exactly what Douglas had said, that her life in L.A. would be addictive and she would never want to go back. Alice had said it too the last time Tanya was in Ross. What were they all talking about? Didn't they get it? She wanted to go home when it was over, not stay here. That seemed like a very bad trade to her. But Peter acted as though he didn't believe her. He still looked unhappy, and he was quiet the next morning when they went to the Ivy for brunch.
The girls looked happy on the terrace, particularly when Leonardo Di Caprio sat at the next table and smiled at them. And Peter warmed up a little after they ate. Tanya sat close to him, held his hand, hugged him, and kissed him every chance she got. She couldn't get enough of him. She missed him so much when she was in L.A. But he didn't seem to believe that she preferred her old life. All she could do was prove it to him, when the movie ended and she went back. It annoyed her that everyone was so convinced she'd want to stay. She knew better than that, even if they didn't. And the only one she cared about thinking that was Peter. She didn't want him worrying about her falling in love with her so-called new life. It wasn't a new life in her mind, it was just a visit, a sabbatical she was taking in L.A., for the sake of her career. She had no other interest in it.
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