The Wedding (3 page)

Don't you think he could break away for one night? Blaire asked skeptically, and the tone of her voice grated on Allegra like fingernails on a blackboard.

Why don't you just let it go, Mom? I'm sure he'll do his best, and if he can, he'll join us.

Maybe you should ask someone else. There's no reason for you to go alone, that's not much fun for you. It always annoyed Blaire that he left Allegra in the lurch whenever he had other plans, or too much work, or wasn't in the mood. He always did what suited him. She was always a good sport about it, and Blaire didn't see why she should be.

I'll enjoy it either way, Allegra said comfortably. I just want to be there to see you and Daddy get the awards, she said proudly.

Don't say that, Blaire said superstitiously, you'll jinx us. But there was very little that could jinx either Blaire Scott or Simon Steinberg. They had each won a Golden Globe Award several times before, and it was both prestigious and exciting, and in recent years, it often foretold how the Academy Awards would go in April. It was a night that meant a lot in Hollywood, and the Steinbergs were all excited about it.

You'll win it, Mom, I know you will. You always do. The Golden Globe was unusual because it was awarded for television as well as for movies, so it was an award which both Steinbergs could win, and had. It made Allegra very proud of her parents.

Never mind the flattery. Her mother smiled, proud of her daughter too. Allegra was a terrific girl, and she and Blaire shared a special bond, which had always kept them close together. What about Friday night? Can you come to dinner?

I'll have to let you know tomorrow, if that's all right. She wanted to discuss Brandon's plans with him, and see what he wanted to do about San Francisco. If he stayed, then she wanted him to join them for dinner at her parents', but she thought it might be easier to negotiate all at once, so she put the conversation off till morning, and they chatted for a few minutes about Scott and Sam, and her father. Blaire explained after that that she was introducing a new character on the show, and the idea had been very well received by the network. At fifty-four, she was still beautiful, and full of exciting new ideas. She loved what she did, and she had had another show before this one on the same network. And for the past nine years, she had had incredible success with her current show, called Buddies. But the ratings had wavered a little that year, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind how much the Golden Globes would help them. This time, Blaire really wanted to win it.

Blaire Scott had Allegra's long, lean looks, and a model's body, and her hair had been naturally red, but it had long since faded to a warm strawberry-blond that actually needed very little help from the bottle. She had had her eyes done once, and her neck tightened a few years before, but she had never had her face lifted. She was the envy of all her friends, and watching her age so gracefully gave Allegra a lot of hope for the future. The secret is not doing too much, she always said matter-of-factly to her daughters about plastic surgery. But Allegra always swore she'd never do it. She thought it was a waste of time to try and tackle nature. Wait a few years, you'll feel differently, Blaire said wisely. She'd said the same thing, but finally at forty-three, in the public eye more than she'd planned, she'd done the eyes, and then the neck at fifty. And as a result, she looked barely more than forty-five now. It ruins everything when people know how old you are, she teased Allegra at times, but she had no real desire to conceal her age, just to remain attractive to Simon. At sixty, he was still the handsome man he had always been. If anything he looked better now, she said, than he did when they were married.

You lie, he always grinned winningly when she said that. Allegra loved being with them. They were kind, intelligent, happy people, and they made everyone around them feel good.

I want a man like him, she had said once to Dr. Green, and then feared that Dr. Green would get all caught up in Freud, but surprisingly, she hadn't.

I'd say that's a pretty good decision, from what you've told me of your parents' marriage. Do you think you could attract a man like him? Dr. Green had asked her bluntly.

Sure, Allegra said easily, but they both knew she didn't mean it.

Allegra promised to call her mother about dinner on Friday night as soon as she knew her plans, and after that she thought about calling Nicole, and then decided against it. Joanie probably wouldn't like it. So instead, eating a half-eaten yogurt from the fridge, Allegra called Carmen. She sounded completely hysterical, as she always did, whenever a fresh story hit the tabloids. But even she had to agree that this one was silly. They claimed that she had attended an orgy in Las Vegas with her plastic surgeon. Supposedly he had given her a whole new face, new nose, new chin, breast implants, and liposuction.

How could I have done all that? she asked, aghast, still surprisingly naive, and always shocked to realize to what extent people were willing to lie about her. Like all celebrities, people claimed they'd gone to school with her, were best friends with her, had taken trips with her, and of course the number of men claiming to have slept with her were legion. Recently, even two women had made that claim, and Carmen had been reduced to tears over that too. It just seemed incredibly unfair to her that people were so willing to make up stories about her.

It's the price of success, Allegra always reminded her gently, finding it difficult to believe that she was only six years older than Carmen. The young star seemed so naive in so many ways, so unaware of the evil lurking everywhere, and surprised by the extent of the exploitation. She still wanted to believe that everyone was her friend, and no one wanted to hurt her. Except at two A.M., when she easily believed that half of Los Angeles was at her back door and about to break in and rape her. Allegra had hired a live-in housekeeper for her finally, and told Carmen to leave a light on outside her bedroom. She was afraid of the dark, and she was always scared to death of what she couldn't see just beyond her bedroom.

Listen. Allegra reassured her again about the article in Chatter. You're not old enough to have had all that work done.

Do you suppose anyone else will figure that out? All I did was have a mole removed on my forehead, she said miserably, blowing her nose again, thinking of all the things her grandmother had said when she called from Portland. She said that Carmen had shamed them all, and that God would never forgive her.

Of course they'll figure it out. Did you read the next page?

No, why? Carmen asked, stretching her perfect figure out on the couch, as she held the phone and talked to Allegra.

On the next page it probably says that a woman gave birth to identical quintuplets on Mars. And two pages after that a woman gave birth to a monkey on a UFO. If they believe that crap, then who cares if they say you had a face-lift at twenty-three? To hell with them, Carmen. You've got to toughen up a little bit, or they'll drive you crazy.

They are, she said forlornly. They talked for an hour, and finally Allegra hung up and went to take a shower, and by the time she got out and was drying her hair, Brandon pulled into the driveway.

She was at the door in a terry-cloth robe as he came up the walk, her hair was hanging down her back, wet, and her face was scrubbed clean of makeup. In some ways she was even more beautiful than when she was all done up, and he liked it when she looked natural and clean and sexy.

Wow! he said, and then kissed her hello, as he followed her inside and she locked the door behind them. It was ten o'clock at night, and he looked exhausted as he dropped his briefcase in the front hall and put his arms around her. This was definitely worth working late for, he said, kissing her, and slipping a hand inside the terry-cloth robe. She was naked beneath it.

Are you hungry? she asked him between kisses.

Starved, he answered, referring to her, not dinner.

What would you like? she asked, laughing at him, as she entwined her legs around his playfully, and took off his jacket.

Breast, I think ' or maybe leg' . he said hoarsely, and then kissed her again, and a minute later they were sitting on her bed, as he unbuttoned his shirt and looked at her with eyes filled with desire. He looked tired, after his long day, but his spirits didn't seem to be dampened. He didn't even want to talk to her, he just wanted to devour her body.

She helped him take off his shirt, and he slipped out of his pants, and a few minutes later they were both naked, lying on her bed, and making love in the soft lights she had left on. He was totally enraptured with her, and an hour later they both lay spent and pleased, and as she started to drift off to sleep, she felt him get up, and it woke her.

Where are you going? she asked, rolling over and opening an eye to look at him in all his long, tall, blond splendor. They were well matched, and their looks were so similar that sometimes people thought they were brother and sister.

It's late, he said apologetically, slowly gathering up his clothes from the floor of her bedroom.

Are you going home? She looked surprised, as she sat up and stared at him. He seemed embarrassed when she asked him the question. They hadn't even talked to each other. All they'd done was make love, and fall asleep. And she didn't want him to leave her.

I thought ' I have to go in really early tomorrow, and I didn't want to wake you. He looked awkward, but anxious to leave. He did that often.

What difference does it make if you have to get up early? So do I. She seemed hurt by his defection. You have clean shirts here. I have to be up early too. It's nice when we sleep together. It was nice, and she knew he liked it, but she knew that he also liked going home to his own apartment. He liked his own space, his own things; he had told her several times over the past two years that he liked waking up in his own bed, and yet they seldom made love at his place. He always seemed to come here, to her house, but at least half the time he liked going back to his own apartment. In an odd way, it sometimes made her feel used, and discarded, and it was a particularly lonely feeling after he was gone and she was alone in her own house. For some odd reason, she had told her therapist, it made her feel abandoned. But she didn't like being put in the position of begging him, and she didn't want to push him now if he didn't want to stay. She was just very disappointed. I'd like it if you stayed, Brandon, she said quietly, but she didn't say anything more as he finally went to shower, and then came back to bed. To Brandon it seemed easier to stay the night than argue.

And as they lay together that night, Allegra smiled at him. There may have been some things to work out in their relationship, like his divorce and his preference for sleeping alone, but there was no doubt in her mind that she loved him.

Thanks for staying here, she said softly, as she lay in his arms, and he gently touched her cheek, and then kissed her. And a moment later, he was snoring.