Star (23 page)

“Is this a formal proposal?” She looked thrilled and he rolled over and got up on one knee as he smiled at her.

“Now it is. Will you?”

“Hell, yes!” She gave a whoop of joy and threw her arms around his neck, almost overturning the boat as she did.

“Wait a minute! Don’t drown us for chrissake! This is not supposed to be a tragic story.”

“It won’t be, my love. I promise you that. It’s going to have a very happy ending.” And he was sure of it too as he kissed her again, and they finally started the boat and went back to shore, to tell her family. But as they docked he felt a little foolish. It was difficult sharing your most private moments with an entire family. There was nothing private about living with the Barclays.

They found her father in the living room, talking to Washington. But he turned to them with a smile as he put down the phone. Spencer knew from the look on his face that he suspected something. Elizabeth looked as though she had swallowed an entire flock of canaries.

“Yes, Elizabeth?” He smiled at them both. She already knew he was crazy about Spencer.

She didn’t wait for her fiancé to speak. She wanted to tell him first. “Spencer just asked me to marry him.” She beamed and turned to her future husband as though for confirmation.

“I should have done it a lot sooner than this, sir. May we have your blessing?”

Harrison Barclay got quickly to his feet and shook Spencer’s hand, looking benevolently on both of them, and particularly his own daughter. “You’ve had that for a long time. I wish you both much happiness.” He hugged
her then and looked at them both seriously,. “When were you planning to do it?”

“I’m afraid we haven’t gotten that far yet. We’ll have to talk it over.”

“If I had my way, I’d like to see Elizabeth finish school, but I suppose two years is too much to ask of you young lovebirds. How about one? You could be married, say … in June, and Elizabeth could transfer to Columbia for her last year, that is if you’re planning to stay in New York.”

“As far as I know we are. June sounds fine.” Spencer looked pleased and Elizabeth looked mildly disappointed.

“Why do I have to stay in school?” she whined, almost like a child, but her father answered her firmly.

“Because you’re too smart not to, and Vassar is a great school. June is only ten months from now. We’ll give you an engagement party in the fall and announce it formally, and you’ll be busy after that, planning the wedding with your mother.” And as though on cue, his wife walked into the room, smiling brightly. “Priscilla, we have great news for you.” He looked from his daughter to Spencer as she waited. “The children just got engaged.”

“Oh darling …” Priscilla Barclay was quick to embrace her daughter, and then she kissed her future son-in-law, as he stood there feeling as though he’d been swept up by a wave and carried out to sea. In a matter of minutes he’d gotten engaged, and was getting married in June. But it was what he had wanted.

They all chattered excitedly and announced it to the others over lunch. Ian was delighted, and Sarah was ecstatic. And Spencer had called his parents. And it was agreed that the engagement party would be in San Francisco, the day after Thanksgiving. Spencer assured them that he’d ask his parents to fly out. And Elizabeth announced that she wanted to be married in Grace Cathedral.
She was still annoyed that she had to spend another year away at school, but Spencer mollified her by reminding her that she could come to New York every weekend.

It was an exhausting day for him, and when he went to bed that night, and waited for her, he felt overwhelmed by his own emotions. He hardly had the strength to make love to her, and he almost fell asleep in her arms, he had to force himself to stay awake long enough to remind her to get back to her own room, and the next thing he knew it was morning.

Elizabeth drove back to the city with him, and took him to the airport. She said she had some shopping to do, and wanted to spend a few days in the city. But he still felt as though he was in a daze when he kissed her goodbye, and got on the plane. He sat and watched San Francisco shrink beneath him as he headed toward New York, as it finally dawned on him. He was actually going to marry Elizabeth Barclay.

Predictably, Spencer’s parents were pleased with the news. In truth, they were both ecstatic, and they promised to go to San Francisco over Thanksgiving for his engagement. By the time Spencer had left, plans for the party were well under way, and it sounded as though the Barclays were going to invite at least five hundred people.

“She must be a lovely girl, darling,” his mother said. “When are we going to meet her?” She was a little hurt that they had never met before, but Spencer promised to introduce them when Elizabeth got back from San Francisco.

And the next weeks seemed to fly by. It seemed only moments later when he was picking Elizabeth up at Idlewild, and he drove her to Poughkeepsie. He had bought the ring at Tiffany’s. It was all he could afford, but it was a handsome diamond set with sapphires on either side, and she squealed with delight when she saw it. The stones weren’t large but they were very good and the ring was pretty.

“Spencer, it’s exactly what I wanted!” He slipped it on her finger in the car, and they decided to go back to his apartment for a few hours, before going up to Vassar. Elizabeth giggled as they lay in his bed, and she flashed her ring at him. She suddenly seemed very young and very happy. “God, I missed you so much. The rest of the summer was awful.”

“It was lonely here too.” And he felt better now that he saw her. He had actually had second thoughts, and had spent several nights in absolute terror, wondering what he had done, and why, but one of his closest friends had assured him it was normal. And now that he saw her again, he knew he had done the right thing. They made love for hours, and he was lonely for her all the way back from Poughkeepsie the next morning. She was going to come to New York the following weekend, and meet his parents.

And when she met them, they loved her. She was exactly the kind of girl his father had hoped he would find, and he was extremely impressed by her connections. She talked blithely about people they only read about, and even his mother was impressed by how well dressed she was, how intelligent, how ladylike. It was a match they both applauded. His father had already bragged to everyone that Spencer was marrying Justice Barclay’s daughter.

Elizabeth came to New York almost every weekend after that, and in November, they all flew out to California together. The Barclays gave a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner for the family, making the newcomers feel welcome. The two sets of elders enjoyed each other’s company, and the two mothers got along extremely well. It was clearly a match that had been meant to happen. Ian and Sarah had flown out for Thanksgiving and the engagement party too, although Gregory was too busy in
Washington, and Elizabeth was only mildly disappointed. She and Greg weren’t really close. He seemed to lead his own life, divorced from most family events and vacations.

And by then, everyone knew that Greg was involved in a messy divorce.

The party the next day was spectacular. There were four hundred guests for cocktails and a buffet supper, and the Barclay home was filled with San Francisco’s most important socialites, even the mayor came, and there was dancing late into the night. Spencer thought Elizabeth had never looked lovelier, in a black velvet gown, and he held her close as they danced, and he beamed at her.

“Happy, my love?”

“Never more so.” She loved introducing him to her friends. He was so incredibly handsome. All the girls she knew envied her, and he chatted with them, and Elizabeth knew they were all wildly envious of her.

The young people went for a drive the next day, and stopped for lunch in Sausalito. It was Saturday, and everyone was in a good mood, although tired after the late night the night before. They were all going out for dinner later that evening, and maybe a little dancing afterward, while their parents went to the Bohemian Club for a quiet evening. And on Monday they would all be leaving again, the young people and the elder Hills to New York, and Justice and Mrs. Barclay back to Washington. They only had two more days and nights, and they wanted to enjoy them.

“Hell of a party last night, wasn’t it?” Ian asked his future brother-in-law, as they stood looking at the bay from Sausalito.

“It was fabulous.” Spencer still felt as though he were dreaming. It all seemed so unreal to him, the people, the place. And for a moment, he thought again of visiting his
friends in the Alexander Valley. But once again, there was no time. This was truly a whirlwind visit.

“Wait until you see the wedding Mother puts on.” Sarah was going to be Elizabeth’s matron of honor.

They all went back to the house to rest for a while late that afternoon, and they were in high spirits when they went out that evening. Sarah was wearing a spectacular pink satin dress, and Elizabeth was wearing a dark blue chiffon cocktail dress she had bought at I. Magnin. She said it set off her engagement ring, and Spencer smiled as he kissed her.

Their dinner that night was excellent, and afterward they went up to the Top of the Mark for drinks, to admire the view, and Spencer looked out into the sparkling night and squeezed Elizabeth’s hand. It was a beautiful sight and she was a beautiful girl, and he loved her. They stayed there until eleven o’clock, and when they left, Ian said he had heard about a terrific little place to go dancing. It was fairly close by and they even had a floor show. The group declared in unison that it was a great idea, and they piled back into the car and went to the address Ian gave them. It looked like a cozy little nightclub, and although it was crowded when they arrived, with a hefty tip from Spencer, the maitre d’ gave them a table. There was a small band playing “Some Enchanted Evening” and Spencer led Elizabeth out on the floor to dance, holding her close to him. He loved feeling her next to him, and when they sat down again he took her hand as the room darkened, and a girl came out with a microphone in her hand. She was wearing a pale blue satin dress and her blond hair almost concealed her face, as the spotlight found her and grew. Spencer caught his breath and stared at her. As she began to sing, he felt as though he was going to faint as a vise clutched his heart. It was Crystal.

She was even more beautiful than he remembered her,
and he could barely think as he listened to her sing. She looked ten years older than she had before, and the body molded into the blue satin dress showed him curves he had never suspected. But it wasn’t her body he was staring at, it was the face that had haunted him, the eyes he remembered so clearly, the color of an August sky. And her voice tore through his soul, with a sadness and pain that he felt viscerally as he listened to her. He could hardly breathe as he stared, not noticing Elizabeth watching him. He wanted the moment never to end, but eventually she disappeared and the lights came up, as the band began playing music they could dance to again. But Spencer couldn’t speak to any of them. All he wanted was to reach out and touch Crystal. And when Elizabeth looked at him she saw that his face was pale. He had pulled his hand away long since, without realizing it, as he looked raptly at Crystal.

“Do you know that girl?” She was frowning at him, disturbed by the way he had watched the girl who’d been singing. And she had watched the girl carefully, but there had been no sign of recognition. She hadn’t been able to see across the lights, and she didn’t know that Spencer was there as she sang about a lost love and a broken life with heartrending conviction.

“No … no … I … she was very good, wasn’t she?” He took a long swig of Scotch, as Ian chatted with Sarah.

“She’s very pretty, if that’s what you mean.” Elizabeth looked annoyed and wondered if he was drunk, but she didn’t think he was. But whatever had come over him, he had been mesmerized, and now he looked stricken. He asked her to dance again, but he was strangely quiet afterward, and a short time later they left. It was one-thirty, and when Ian said he was tired, they all agreed it was time to leave.

Spencer made idle conversation with them in the car, but Elizabeth sensed that he was distracted. She waited until they got to the house before she asked him again, looking deep into his eyes, “Spencer, the singer at the restaurant Ian took us to … did you know her?”

“No.” He spoke quietly, he knew he had to lie. It wouldn’t make sense to her, it didn’t even make sense to him. It never had. But the feeling was still there. Even more so. “She just looked like someone I used to know.”

“You never look at me like that.” It was the first time she had been really angry at him, and he didn’t know what to say to her.

“Don’t be silly.” He tried to brush it off, and he kissed her good night. But she didn’t come to his room that night, which was just as well. He stood for almost an hour, staring out at the bay, and thinking of Crystal. She was so much more beautiful than he had remembered her, and there was something crying out in her. It had only been a song, he knew, and yet he sensed what was behind it, the anguish and the pain, and the loneliness … he could still hear it now … along with the thunder and lightning. He smiled to himself, imagining angels’ voices, and violins and harps. It was crazy and he knew it. But as he closed his eyes that night, all he could see was Crystal.