Read Online A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kate Alcott
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shop where stars like Clark Gable were cut and manicured every day into replicas of authenticity for the film. Wasn’t this real? What was she mulling all this over for anyway? Maybe there was some barrier—something ordinary people put up between themselves and celebrities that didn’t
allow
the celebrities to be real.
It was such a bright, sunny day; the light was hurting her eyes. There was a harsh quality to L.A. sun on a winter afternoon. People said you ceased to notice it after a while, but it still bothered her.Maybe it was time to get a pair of sunglasses. She could imagine what her friends would say at home: the middle of winter and you need sunglasses? Only a few weeks ago, she was laughing at the idea herself—too stagey, she had proclaimed to Rose. But it didn’t seem that way anymore.
Carole, in high spirits, was bubbling over with things to do in the wake of Clark’s news.
“First we’ve got to get this divorce
done
,” she said the next day. “
Then
—we’re buying a ranch.” She was pacing back and forth across the Bel-Air living room, barely able to contain herself. “I’m looking for just the right place. I think Encino; Clark will like that, and it will be perfect. Julie, oh, there’s so much to
do
. Horses. Horses—do you know anything about horses, dear? You know, riding, equipment.…” She waved her hand vaguely. “Clark loves horses, and I’m going to be the best damn rider you’ve ever seen, in about a month. I’m buying matching saddles, found some good riding pants—no fancy jodhpurs, no fancy
anything
. Rocking chairs. I want two, one for him and one for me, and we’ll put them on the front porch and watch the world go by!” She laughed and did a quick pirouette, almost stepping on a cat that was darting through.
“What front porch?” Julie asked.
“The one that will come with the house that comes with the ranch that we’re going to buy,” Carole said calmly.
“When is the divorce final?” Julie asked, smiling.
“Don’t have the date yet. You’ll be among the very first to know. Now, will you find out for me where we buy those horses? Brown ones.”
“How many?”
“Forty or fifty, I suppose.”
“Will do,” Julie said.
Andy let out a deep, amused chortle when she told him about Carole’s plans Saturday night as they drove to the Mankiewicz home. “She’s a crazy one, the best kind of crazy,” he said. “I won’t be surprised if she does it all.”
The sun was setting as they pulled up in front of 1105 Tower Road, their destination in Beverly Hills. The fading light briefly kissed the terra-cotta roof tiles on the Spanish-style home, turning them a glowing red. It was not a dramatic house—no splendid arches or rolling driveway. The one touch of glamour that Julie noted was the oval entrance of dark stone, flanked by elaborately carved torches.
Julie fingered the shimmering blue silk of her borrowed blouse, hoping she was dressed properly. This was her first Hollywood party, and nothing in the closet of an Indiana girl who’d gone to Smith College seemed quite up to such an event. So she wore Rose’s blouse, a serviceable serge skirt that had sat through many lectures on European history, and the good pearl earrings her parents had given her for graduation.
“Eye shadow,” Rose had said, squinting at her critically, wielding a makeup brush. “For you, blue, not green. And brighter lipstick.”
“I don’t want to look like Doris.”
“Don’t worry. Like this. Now look at yourself.”
Julie stared at her reflection for a long moment. Maybe she was pretty, a little. Her eyes, with the help of the blue shadow, looked larger than usual, and she actually had a rather nicely shaped nose. Whether it was enough to keep her from fading into invisibility at a Hollywood party was the question.
“You have beautiful copper-colored hair,” Rose had said admiringly. “And that blouse is perfect with it.”
Andy opened the car door with
allow
the celebrities to be real.
It was such a bright, sunny day; the light was hurting her eyes. There was a harsh quality to L.A. sun on a winter afternoon. People said you ceased to notice it after a while, but it still bothered her.Maybe it was time to get a pair of sunglasses. She could imagine what her friends would say at home: the middle of winter and you need sunglasses? Only a few weeks ago, she was laughing at the idea herself—too stagey, she had proclaimed to Rose. But it didn’t seem that way anymore.
Carole, in high spirits, was bubbling over with things to do in the wake of Clark’s news.
“First we’ve got to get this divorce
done
,” she said the next day. “
Then
—we’re buying a ranch.” She was pacing back and forth across the Bel-Air living room, barely able to contain herself. “I’m looking for just the right place. I think Encino; Clark will like that, and it will be perfect. Julie, oh, there’s so much to
do
. Horses. Horses—do you know anything about horses, dear? You know, riding, equipment.…” She waved her hand vaguely. “Clark loves horses, and I’m going to be the best damn rider you’ve ever seen, in about a month. I’m buying matching saddles, found some good riding pants—no fancy jodhpurs, no fancy
anything
. Rocking chairs. I want two, one for him and one for me, and we’ll put them on the front porch and watch the world go by!” She laughed and did a quick pirouette, almost stepping on a cat that was darting through.
“What front porch?” Julie asked.
“The one that will come with the house that comes with the ranch that we’re going to buy,” Carole said calmly.
“When is the divorce final?” Julie asked, smiling.
“Don’t have the date yet. You’ll be among the very first to know. Now, will you find out for me where we buy those horses? Brown ones.”
“How many?”
“Forty or fifty, I suppose.”
“Will do,” Julie said.
Andy let out a deep, amused chortle when she told him about Carole’s plans Saturday night as they drove to the Mankiewicz home. “She’s a crazy one, the best kind of crazy,” he said. “I won’t be surprised if she does it all.”
The sun was setting as they pulled up in front of 1105 Tower Road, their destination in Beverly Hills. The fading light briefly kissed the terra-cotta roof tiles on the Spanish-style home, turning them a glowing red. It was not a dramatic house—no splendid arches or rolling driveway. The one touch of glamour that Julie noted was the oval entrance of dark stone, flanked by elaborately carved torches.
Julie fingered the shimmering blue silk of her borrowed blouse, hoping she was dressed properly. This was her first Hollywood party, and nothing in the closet of an Indiana girl who’d gone to Smith College seemed quite up to such an event. So she wore Rose’s blouse, a serviceable serge skirt that had sat through many lectures on European history, and the good pearl earrings her parents had given her for graduation.
“Eye shadow,” Rose had said, squinting at her critically, wielding a makeup brush. “For you, blue, not green. And brighter lipstick.”
“I don’t want to look like Doris.”
“Don’t worry. Like this. Now look at yourself.”
Julie stared at her reflection for a long moment. Maybe she was pretty, a little. Her eyes, with the help of the blue shadow, looked larger than usual, and she actually had a rather nicely shaped nose. Whether it was enough to keep her from fading into invisibility at a Hollywood party was the question.
“You have beautiful copper-colored hair,” Rose had said admiringly. “And that blouse is perfect with it.”
Andy opened the car door with
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