Secrets From the Past (22 page)

Heather Stanton, Mom’s personal publicist, had been with us that day, and she’d taken us to one of the huge sound stages where Mom was shooting only one scene, and doing some stills. An easy day for her.

The moment I saw the red light flashing, I knew we couldn’t go inside. They were filming. Once it finally stopped, Dad pushed open the heavy soundproof door, and we went into the enormous sound stage beyond.

Mom was in the centre of a group of people, and when she spotted Dad and me with Heather, she smiled at them, said her farewells. Then she came hurrying over to hug and kiss me, as she always did.

It was a well-known fact in our family that the studio heads loved Mom – she was known throughout the business as a real pro. Grandma had told me that Mom was never late, always knew her lines, and got on with it, without any fuss and bother.

Much later, when I was years older, Heather had confided that my mother wore her enormous fame with great humility, and that this was the reason she was beloved by every crew she ever worked with. And also for her warmth and friendliness.

I happen to believe that my mother’s understated manner was also due to the many years she’d been in the business. She had been a child star before becoming a megastar, and she carried her fame rather casually – she was so used to it. And she never threw her weight around.

That day, in the summer of 1986, when we’d gone to pick her up for lunch, she was forty-seven, had recently celebrated her birthday in May. She didn’t look her age, appeared much younger, her beauty and her figure still intact.

I was five, and attending kindergarten in Beverly Hills. We were living at Mom’s old house, which she had owned since her first marriage, and had kept all those years.

My mother was shooting several major movies back to back. Her health was extremely good at this time, and apparently she wanted to make the most of it, to make money whilst she could. Jessica and Cara were at boarding school in England, and I had my parents all to myself.

I could easily recall how they’d spoiled me. When Dad went off to New York, or to cover a war with Harry, Mom and I were alone in Bel Air, which I loved even more. I thought about my early years many times, growing up in Hollywood, and I had nothing but happy memories.

I’d always loved California, with its marvellous weather, palm trees, lush gardens and beautiful houses, plus its casual, relaxed lifestyle.

When we were living there in the Eighties, we went backwards and forwards across the Atlantic, from LA to Nice. Sometimes we flew to New York, stayed for a while at Fifty-Seventh Street, and continued on to Nice to spend a summer at Jardin des Fleurs.

We
were
gypsies, just as Granny said so many times. Nonetheless, we were much-loved girls, and knew it. Both Dad and Mom were smart about verbalizing their feelings about us, and we responded in kind.

Once there had been Marilyn and Grace, but both those beautiful blonde stars were dead. Marilyn had passed away in August of 1962 and Grace in September of 1982. Now there was only Mom in that league, and she was the reigning queen at that particular time. The shining blonde beauty; the superstar at the top of her game.

I let thoughts of those days drift away, and, needing to stretch my legs, I went out into the garden.

It was a beautiful day. A California day, I thought, glancing up at the perfect blue sky. I walked around the garden where, thirty years ago, Mom had planted palm trees, cultivated the flowerbeds, and flowering shrubs. It struck me again that this garden was very much like the one she had created at her house in Bel Air. I smiled to myself.

What an incredible afternoon it was. The air seemed to shimmer. The sunlight was intense. I went over to the far side of the lawn, stood looking out at the Mediterranean. Its deep blue vastness, as placid as a pond, appeared to merge into the sky, as if there was no horizon. Stretching into infinity, I thought.

Suddenly, I swung around as I heard a car coming up the drive. As if from nowhere, Raffi appeared, waving, calling my name, alerting me that we had a visitor.

I waved back, and walked towards the approaching car. I did not recognize it. Nor did I know who the driver was.

T
he moment I viewed the car up close, I knew exactly who the visitor must be.
Allen Lambert
. Jessica had mentioned that he had a passion for vintage cars, and now I was staring at an old but highly polished light blue Jaguar parked in our driveway. It had to be his.

A moment later a man alighted, lifted his hand in greeting. I waved back and walked towards him. He reached into the car, took out a bouquet of flowers and headed down the garden path.

There was a genial smile on his face; he was fair of colouring, rather nice looking, and casually dressed in an open-necked blue-checked shirt, beige slacks and a navy blazer.

As we both drew to a standstill, he thrust out his hand. ‘I’m Allen, and you must be Serena.’

‘I am, and it’s lovely to meet you finally. I’m sorry I’ve not been around. When you came to see Jessica last week I was in Nice.’

He smiled again, his blue eyes sparkling. ‘How is Jessica? I just got back from London at lunchtime, and I thought I’d pop up for a little visit.’

‘She’s fine, but I’m afraid she’s not here at the moment. She went to the auction house for a while.’

‘Oh dear, how silly of me not to think of phoning her there. Quite frankly, it never occurred to me she’d be at work.’

I noticed the flash of disappointment in his eyes, the way his expression changed, and I said, ‘Come on, let’s go to the terrace and wait for her. She won’t be long.’

‘Well, all right, if you’re sure she won’t mind …’ His voice trailed off, and he now seemed somewhat hesitant about hanging around.

‘Of course she won’t. Anyway, she’s probably on her way back already. Adeline was going to pick her up, once she’d finished shopping. I’ll give Jess a call on her cell phone, find out when she’ll be back.’

‘Good idea,’ he said, his face instantly brightening.

We went up the steps to the terrace. I said, ‘Sit down, Allen, make yourself at home. I’ll go and grab my phone.’

He nodded, offered me a warm smile. I already had the feeling that Allen Lambert liked my sister a lot, and that there was much more to this relationship than I’d realized. I was pleased as I hurried off. Once I was in the dining room I searched for my phone, and soon found it under a pile of photographs. I dialled Jessica’s number and she answered immediately.

‘Hi, it’s me,’ I said. ‘Where are you, Jess?’

‘Almost home. Why?’

‘Allen Lambert arrived here a few minutes ago. Apparently he just got back from London, and he decided to pop up and see you. At least that was the way he put it.’

‘Oh God,’ she muttered, and I heard her long sigh echoing down the phone.

‘What’s the matter? Don’t you want to see him?’

‘I do and I don’t.’

‘Now you’re the ditherer, like I was about Zac.’

‘I know.’

‘I like him, Jess. I’ve only spent a few minutes with him, but he’s so nice, very genial, and he’s got an open, honest face. Actually, he’s quite … dishy,’ I finished, meaning this and thinking: so much for Cara and
her
opinion.

‘Yes, I agree, but I feel awkward when I’m with him at the moment,’ Jess explained.

‘In what sense? I’m not following you.’ I was surprised by her comment. Jessica was normally at ease with everyone.

‘I haven’t told him about inheriting osteoporosis from Mom, that I’m taking medication. But I think I should be honest with him, don’t you?’

‘I do, yes. You should tell him if you plan to continue seeing him.’

‘I’d like to … but he might not want to see me,’ she murmured, suddenly sounding doubtful and a little sad.

I knew exactly where she was going with this, and I said firmly, ‘You must explain it, Jessica, and take your chances with him. If he feels he can’t cope, then he’ll obviously back off, move on. And good riddance to him. You don’t need a wimp, do you?’

She burst out laughing. ‘Oh Pidge, there’s nobody like you! And you’re right, a wimp of a man is no good to any woman.’

‘Listen to me. I don’t think Allen will be put off. He doesn’t seem the type to me,’ I asserted. ‘Besides which, osteoporosis is so treatable today, with all the new drugs available. I’m not trying to make light of it, I know it’s worrying. But you must remember that Mom developed the condition nearly forty years ago, when she got pregnant with you and Cara. Things were a bit different then.’

‘I know. Okay, I’ll tell him. I’ll be home soon.’

Allen was standing near the balustrade on the terrace, staring out at the Mediterranean, and he swung around as I walked onto the terrace.

‘It’s a magnificent view from up here,’ he said. ‘Just tremendous. And what a beautiful sight the bay is today – so inviting, with all the sailboats bobbing around out there. I’m sorry Jessica is a bit restricted by the cast on her leg. It would have been nice to go sailing this weekend.’

‘Oh, so you like puttering around on boats as much as she does, do you?’ I asked, studying him with growing interest.

‘I do indeed. I’ve been a sailor since I was a kid, following in my father’s footsteps when I was growing up here. He kept a boat in the port and I inherited his love of the sea.’ Allen laughed and added, ‘I tend to be a bit of a workaholic, Serena, and it’s been important for me to have another interest, one that gets me away from my desk.’

‘I know what you mean. Anyway, I just spoke to Jess on her cell, and she and Adeline will be here in a few minutes.’

He nodded, suddenly looking much more cheerful. ‘How’s your photographic book coming along?’ he asked, and sounded genuinely interested.

‘Very well. Zac and I are excited about it. Dad did a lot of work on the dummy before he died, and that’s made our job much easier. Zac’s in Nice, but he’ll be back soon, too. Hopefully we can all have tea together.’

I went and sat down under the umbrella and placed my cell phone on the table.

Joining me, Allen said, ‘I was so sorry about Jessica’s accident, and that she had to cancel the Easter lunch. I was very much looking forward to meeting you and Zac. She’s told me a lot about the two of you.’

I grinned at him. ‘I do hope she left out the bad bits!’

‘Of course she did.’ He leaned back in the chair, and stared off into the distance for a moment. ‘How’s Cara?’

‘Fine. She’s another workaholic, and I expect she’s up at the greenhouses at the moment. Or seeing clients. But she’ll probably be back for tea. It’s a bit of a ritual here on Fridays, with the weekend about to start.’

He leaned across the table, and pinned his deep blue eyes on me. ‘I have the distinct feeling Cara doesn’t like me.’

‘I’m sure you’re wrong,’ I answered swiftly, immediately hoping to dispel the impression he had. I wanted this rather nice man, who was interested in Jessica, to feel welcome in our family.

I added, ‘Cara’s much more reserved than Jessica. Even though they are twins, they have different personalities. And she’s been somewhat sad since Jules was killed.’ I made a small grimace. ‘You do know her fiancé was killed in a skiing accident, don’t you?’

‘Jessica told me. I was sorry to hear about it. What a tragic thing to happen.’

‘I think you’re just picking up on Cara’s sadness in general, and that curious reserve of hers. She’s much less outgoing than Jess, you know,’ I continued, feeling the need to explain further.

‘I’m glad I brought it up. You’ve made me feel better,’ Allen said, glancing towards the French doors leading into the peach sitting room. ‘I think Jessica’s arrived,’ he announced, suddenly happy. He rose. ‘Should I go and greet her? Bring her out to the terrace? I’ve been a bit hesitant about trying to help her, Serena, she’s so terribly independent.’

‘I know, but go ahead, go and get her!’ I instructed, sounding a bit bossy.

Allen was smiling broadly as he walked through the peach sitting room, obviously anxious to see my sister. I liked him, and I felt he wasn’t the type of man to be deterred by anything, least of all an illness that could be properly treated today. There was something very genuine about him.

As they came out onto the terrace, I thought how good they looked together. Allen was tall, like Jess, and well built, and he seemed to be protective of her. They had similar interests, from what she had confided earlier. They both loved movies, the theatre, music and opera. And he himself had just told me how much he enjoyed boats and sailing, just as she did.

Fingers crossed, I thought, and went to greet my sister. As I stared at her I realized there was a look of real happiness in her dark eyes. I had a feeling that everything would be all right between these two. She deserved a guy like this Englishman.

‘I’m glad you finally met Serena,’ Jessica murmured to Allen as she lowered herself into a chair, and then a look of surprise crossed her face as he presented the bouquet. He murmured, ‘These are for you, darling.’

‘You spoil me,’ she said, still smiling at him as she smelled the flowers. ‘Thank you so much.’

When I noticed the gilded smile, the joyous expression on her face, I knew with absolute certainty that she was deeply involved with this man, even if she didn’t know it herself. Or perhaps she didn’t want to admit it. I might have to enlighten her.

I decided to leave the two of them alone for a few minutes. ‘I’m going to help Adeline with the tea. I won’t be long,’ I announced.

Jessica said, ‘Would you please ask Adeline to give you the bottle of pills we picked up at the pharmacy earlier? I need to take one with my tea.’

‘Yes, of course,’ I answered, understanding exactly what she was doing: alerting him she wasn’t well.

Turning to Allen, Jessica went on. ‘I haven’t had a chance to tell you this before, but I’ve been having some bone density scans, and other tests – because of my two recent falls and my broken ankle. You see, my mother had a rare form of osteoporosis, which I’ve apparently inherited, just as my doctor thought.’

If Allen was surprised or perturbed to hear this, he didn’t show it. ‘I’m sorry, Jessica. Fortunately, today doctors can work miracles with all the new medications now available.’