Complete Unknown Page 6

  I sighed. “If I hadn’t wanted to do it, I wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  “Can I really stay with you?” she said.

  I nodded. “You really can.”

  She smiled and said, “You’re like an angel. You gave me a drink that made me feel better, some food so I won’t be hungry and now you’re going to give me a place to sleep.”

  “I’m going to do more than that,” I said. “I’m going to give you some clean clothes, some more food and a bed. And then I’m going to help you get a job.”

  “It’s not that I’m not grateful, Caddy,” she said. “But why? Why are you offering me this? You don’t have to.”

  “I think I should, that’s why,” I said. “My sister and I have been very lucky and I think I should at least try to help you.”

  “I have to ask and don’t get offended, okay?” she said. “But what do you want from me?”

  “I don’t want anything from you,” I said. “I understand why you’re suspicious, but you need to trust me. If you don’t want to, that’s fine, too.”

  She eyed me. “Alright then. Let me finish my cigarette.”

  Needless to say, Herbert did not like the idea of her staying with us. He didn’t like her on sight. He said she was “white trash.” I got very angry with him over that comment. In a few days, however, they got to know each other and they became good friends.

  I am tiring now, dear Marabel. I think I’ll go take a nap and get this letter in the mail. Would you look at that? All those pages. It was going on one in the afternoon when I started and now it’s nearly three. How the time flies when you’re having fun!

  Take care and I’ll write again soon.

  With warmest regards and kindest wishes,

  Ms. C.V. Weeks

  P.S. I would rather you did not show these letters to your mother or anyone else. Please don’t. Let’s just keep this between us, okay?

  * * * * *

  August 2nd

  Dearest Marabel,

  Congratulations on your new home! I am so happy to hear about it. I am sending you a few antique picture frames that I bought years ago in San Francisco. I hope they go well with your decor, and, if not, just toss them. I would go out and purchase you something else, but these new stores are hard for me. They’re so big! I hope you understand.

  Now, where were we? I believe Carmen had just moved in with Herbert and me. Perhaps, I should give a brief description of Herbert, as he is a very important part of this story.

  Herbert McCloud was born and raised in South Texas and moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. He soon lost interest in that because what went on behind the camera was much more interesting to him. He loved directing. He loved setting up shots—the whole bit. He started in the prop department, where we met, then moved up to assistant director and eventually became a full-fledged director and a very good one at that. He knew that the story was an integral part of the movie. He was very independent-minded and a lot of fun to be around.

  He reminded me of my father. He was tall, lanky. Charismatic. He knew what to say and when. He knew when a joke was appropriate and when it was not. He was very tactful. Not conventionally handsome, but good looking nonetheless. His eyes were a bit squinty but he had full red lips. If he hadn’t been gay, I would have fallen in love with him and married him. Alas, he was and there was nothing any of us could do about it.

  When I brought Carmen home that first night, he was very upset with me. He took one look at her and pulled me into the bathroom where he demanded to know what the hell was going on.

  “She needed a place to stay,” I said.

  “Well, give her some money and get her out of here.”

  “Herbert, I can’t do that! That poor thing’s been through enough. She’s pregnant.”

  “What!”

  “She’s going to have a baby, and if you won’t let her stay, at least think of the baby.”

  “Caddy, why are you doing this?” he asked. “She looks like a tramp!”

  “You’re being overly critical! She’s sweet.”

  “She doesn’t look very sweet to me,” he said. “She looks like she’d rob us blind in the middle of the night.”

  “Shut up,” I hissed. “She can hear you.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Herbert, I’m begging you,” I pleaded. “Give her a chance. She’s been through hell.”

  “This is trouble,” he said and chewed on his bottom lip the way he always did when he was nervous. “I can see that she’s going to be nothing but trouble.”

  “Well, I can’t help that. She needs a place to stay and I won’t let her go back out there to fend for herself. And you know what I mean.”

  “Is she a prostitute?”

  “No!” I said, but I had my doubts about this.

  “She could have a disease or something.”

  “You’re being very vile and disgusting.”

  “So?” he asked.

  I opened the door. “For a few days, okay? We’ll get her back on her feet and then she’ll be gone.”

  “We’ll? We’ll get her back on her feet? No, you will do it by yourself.”

  “Fine.”

  “Come on, Caddy!”

  But I wasn’t about to be swayed. He’d have to put up with it or move out himself. I don’t know why I felt so protective of her, but I did. Maybe it was because we were both from the South. Maybe it was because under the tough exterior, I could see that she was really vulnerable. I don’t know. I just knew that she had come into my life for a reason and until something happened to change my mind, I was going to follow through with my promise to help her. Herbert be damned!

  When I went back out, I found her fast asleep on the living room sofa. She looked so pitiful. So small and tired. I felt as if God had brought her to me to take care of. I really did. She needed someone and I was that person. I wasn’t about to not do my duty. And I felt like it was my duty to take care of her. Maybe it was just being a woman and knowing what she, as a woman, had been though that made me feel so much empathy. I don’t know, but I felt it and I had to act on it.

  Herbert came in behind me and hissed, “One week, then she’s out.”

  “Fine,” I said.

  Over the next few days, we got her situated in the small guest room, which had originally been Herbert’s office. He took out the desk and his other things and put them in the garage. He did most of his work at the studio, so there was really no need for him to have an office in our home, too. She had a bed with some nice linens and a dresser and the room looked nice. When I first told her that this is where she was going to be staying, her eyes lit up.

  “I can have it all to myself?” she asked.

  “Well, of course.”

  “Really?” she squealed and plopped on the bed. “My own bed and everything?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  She grinned from ear to ear. “I’ve never had my own bed before. Always had to share one with my sisters. And then the hotel beds were… Well, they sure weren’t this nice, I can tell you that.”

  I ignored her comment about the hotel and said, “I know what you mean,” I said and sat down beside her. “I had to share a bed with Andrea for a long time before we got our own.”

  “Oh, wow, I didn’t know that,” she said as if I’d revealed some big secret for some reason. She could never get it in her head that we had been quite poor at one time. “When are you gonna let me meet her?”

  “I’ll invite her over for dinner one night,” I said.

  “Really?” she asked.

  “Yes, really!”

  She grinned like a small child who’s just gotten what they always wanted for their birthday. “You think she’d like me?”

  “Oh, of course she would. Andrea likes just about everyone.”

  Which was, of course, a lie. Andrea could be a supreme bitch. She didn’t like many people and she didn’t mind letting
them know she didn’t, either. Being a movie star hadn’t helped her become any nicer.

  Carmen got up and went to the closet, which was stuffed with all of my old clothes, the ones that weren’t in style anymore.

  “Wow,” she breathed. “These are nice.”

  “They’re okay,” I said.

  “Okay?” she said and took out a blue dress. “This is the prettiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

  I smiled sadly at her. It was one of the ugliest dresses I owned and I had no idea why I had bought it in the first place. She just didn’t know about things like fashion and that was what was so sweet about her. She had no clue about anything.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty,” I said.

  “Can I try it on?”

  “Sure, if you want to, you can have it. You can have anything in that closet.”

  She eyed me suspiciously. “Why? Are these your rejects or something?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, Carmen, of course, they are. If it’s a problem for you, we can get you some new ones.” She was sometimes too much. It was baffling that she didn’t want charity but she didn’t want castoffs, either.

  “Today?”

  “No, I have to go into work. We’ll go Saturday.”

  “And in the meanwhile can I wear this?” she asked, eyeing the blue dress.

  “Well, you can. You’re not planning on going out, are you?”

  She considered, then began to take off her shirt and jeans. “I might. I’d like to get my hair done. I have an audition tomorrow.”

  “Well, you can wear anything in my closet for your audition and I’ll give you some money to get your hair done. Who knows? You might get lucky.”

  “I doubt it,” she said and pulled the dress over her head.

  I didn’t say anything but watched as she wiggled into the dress. It fit her like a glove. For an instant, I saw what she could become—a big movie star. She had the looks, but, more importantly, she had the presence. There was just something about her that demanded attention. She made that dress look like a million bucks, to say the least. The ugly frock was suddenly transformed into a beautiful blue dress. How did she pull that off? I looked away from her quickly.

  “Is there a bus stop around here? To get to the hairdressers?” she asked and zipped the dress up.

  “No, take Herbert’s car,” I said and looked back at her. “You can drive, can’t you?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I can drive.”

  Just then Herbert walked in. “Hello, girls, what are you doing?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “Carmen might borrow your car later.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “What for?”

  “I need to get my hair done,” she said sweetly.

  He eyed her. “You certainly do.”

  “Herbert!” I hissed and hit him on the arm.

  “It was a joke!” he said and turned to leave. “You ready?”

  “Yeah,” I said and stood. “We’ll be home later, Carmen.”

  She nodded.

  We left to go to work. We always drove together, as we worked at the same studio. I called Herbert later in the day to say I was going to be late and I’d catch a ride with someone home or I’d call a taxi. When I got home, I found him laughing in the kitchen with Carmen. They were cooking something at the stove. They both looked over at me and smiled. I noticed that they were looking quite chummy. For an instant, I felt a twinge of jealousy, but then let it slide. I realized that Herbert had let his guard down around Carmen and now they were friends. It actually warmed my heart.

  “Hey, woman!” Herbert called and stirred something in a pot.

  “I thought we were going out tonight,” I said.

  “I didn’t think so,” he said.

  Carmen smiled at me, then at him. She said, “That really smells good.”

  “Here, taste,” he said and held a spoon to her lips.

  “Oh, yummy!” she squealed.

  “Here, try it, Caddy,” Herbert said and held up the spoon.

  I walked over and tasted the spaghetti sauce. “Too much sugar.”

  He eyed me. “Well, you need a little sugar to sweeten you up.”

  He was always such a smartass. I couldn’t help but smile. But, he was a good smartass and his comment set me at ease, as it did Carmen.

  Carmen asked, “How was work?”

  I shrugged. “It was work, okay I guess.”

  She nodded, then glanced over at Herbert. I could tell something was up. I asked her, “Did you get your hair done?”

  She held out a string of her hair and shook her head. “No, you know, I didn’t. Had a little morning sickness.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah.” She looked at the wall and kept her eyes there.

  I didn’t know what to say. Then Herbert said, “You know that script you wrote? Nervous Tension?”

  I nodded. Even though it wasn’t finished yet, it was some of my best work. My sister, Andrea, loved it and wanted to play the lead but I knew she’d never do it. My script was a bit edgier and she always played the good girl roles, which was what she was known for.

  He leaned against the stove and pointed the spoon at me. “I was thinking… I was thinking about directing it.”

  “Really?!” I exclaimed, so excited. I was so excited because I’d begged him to do it, but he said he had too much on his plate as it was.

  “And I was thinking…” he said slowly. “That Carmen would be good in it.”

  I stared at her. She was still looking at the wall. I was a little puzzled. What were they getting at?

  “We went over a few lines after I got home.”

  “I found it in your room” she said quietly. “But I wasn’t snooping or anything.”

  I noticed that she’d also found a pair of my best Capri pants and one of my best cashmere sweaters, too. But I didn’t mind, not really. Again, she looked like a movie star. I said, “Oh?”

  “Well, it was just lying out, you know, and I got curious.”

  I knew for a fact that it hadn’t been lying out. It had been in a box at the bottom of my closet, along with the novels and other things I’d written. But I didn’t say anything.

  “So, I was thinking if you tweak it a little,” Herbert was saying. “And have the main character be from the South then we could probably slide her in.”

  She smiled broadly. “It’s a great role.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said. “But the script really isn’t finished.”

  “You mean you’re still babying it?” he asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “No, I’m not.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “It’s just that,” I said and took a breath, hoping I didn’t sound like a bitch. “The thing is, the script’s technically the property of the studio, since that’s what they’re paying me to do. They might not want to cast her. She’s a complete unknown. She’s not even under contact or anything.”

  “Yeah, but you and I aren’t complete unknowns and if we go in with her, they might let us do it.”

  I sighed. “Maybe. But she’s going to be showing soon. Maybe we should wait until after the baby is born.”

  “We don’t have to wait,” she said and went over to the table and sat down. “I’m going to get rid of it.”

  My mouth fell open and I stared at Herbert. He looked away.

  “Oh, come on,” she said. “Don’t look so shocked. Girls do this all the time out here and they’d do it everywhere else if they could.”

  “But why?” I asked, distraught. “Why would you do that?”

  “Listen,” she said and lit a cigarette. “I ain’t got no job and no hope of ever getting one if I got a kid hanging on my hip.”

  “Well, you could have it and then give it up for adoption.”

  “I could, yes, I could. But I got a feeling if I ever saw it, I wouldn’t be able to do that,” she said. “And it takes nine long
months to get it, too. I don’t have that much time.”

  “But, but—”

  “But nothing,” she said, smoking. “I’ve made up my mind and don’t try putting any of that moral bullshit on me. I’m having a hard enough time with it already.”

  I stared at Herbert. He held up his hands.

  “It wasn’t my idea,” he said. “Don’t put this on me. I tried to talk her out of it. She won’t listen. I think it’s a bad idea myself.”

  I turned back to her. “Carmen, you can do what you like, but remember this is something that you’re going to regret,” I told her.

  She became angry. “Who are you to tell me anything? You ain’t got this problem, see? I do. And I have to take care of it the only way I know how.”

  I glared at her.

  “It just ain’t gonna work, me and a kid, you understand? No studio would touch me if I got a kid. If I go back home, I’ll be an outcast. I’ll be worse off than I would be here. Either way I go, I’m screwed. I’d love to have this kid and play mommy, but the kid ain’t got no daddy and I ain’t got a hope of ever gettin’ one. I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is.”

  We glared at one another for a long minute or two, not speaking. I couldn’t believe her. I couldn’t believe she was going to do that. I was shocked and appalled. “Well, you can do it without me because I will have no part of this,” I said and turned on my heel and left the room.

  She jumped up and came after me, grabbing my arm. “Listen,” she said. “I just can’t have this kid. I just can’t.”

  “Yes, you can,” I said. “Why can’t you have it and give it up for adoption? There are homes for women like you that will help you with all that. Think of the baby, Carmen!”

  “But what about my career?” she asked.

  “It will wait for a little while,” I said. “Listen, just have the baby, okay? It will take the studio months to set up the picture, if they even agree to do it. In that time, you can grow that baby, then birth it, then give it to a couple who can’t have one. In the meanwhile, after it’s all said and done, we can try to get this movie made. No one has to know. This can be between us.”