Chapter 16
Hollywood, California
It had been six days since Mr. Mayer had made his offer to me, and I wasn’t any closer to a decision.
We’d been so busy on the set, Mama and Papa hadn’t noticed I was quieter than usual.
Mama hadn’t even asked me how things were going with Sam on the trail to the Yuba River.
I wanted to talk to her about what I’d learned about his past, but she was so focused on filming that I didn’t want to disturb her with anything else.
And the truth was, I was still holding it close.
Sam Kendal was nothing like I had imagined when we first met, and history wasn’t always what it seemed.
I suspected Mr. Dixon knew who Sam was, and it made me wonder if he would return to San Francisco and spread rumors that I was Sam’s wife.
All it took was the authors of The Annals of San Francisco getting wind of that information, and they could record it as fact.
It didn’t mean it was true, or that it would be true.
Worse, they could record it falsely for their own gain, like Cole when he’d originally written Gold Rush!
For whatever reason, Cole had wanted to tell his side of the story and make it look a certain way.
It made me happy to know he’d used his pen for good the second time around.
I’d found a copy of the new version of Gold Rush!
from the library and was pleased to discover that it was hopeful and uplifting compared to the original, which had been dark and ugly.
Our house at Westmoreland Place felt like it was going to burst that Sunday afternoon as I entered the kitchen to help Mama with lunch.
Julia’s children were running in and out the front door and up and down the stairs, hollering like banshees.
She was trying to wrangle them, but it only added to the chaos.
My head was pounding, and I just wanted some peace and quiet.
Whether at home or at the studio, we were always surrounded by people.
At least I had a day off and had spent it on the trail with Sam, but that hadn’t been very enjoyable on the back of a pack mule.
I had loved sitting near him at the campfire, though, long into the evening, just talking about anything and everything that came to mind.
It was easy to be with him. He didn’t hide things or sugarcoat them or leave me guessing.
And he didn’t try to impress me with lavish praise or flirtation like Spencer.
But his words still impacted my heart and made my cheeks warm in a different way.
“Even though it’s costing us thousands, I respect that Grant is still giving the crew Sundays off,” Mama was saying to Grace as she filled a large pot with water.
Grace didn’t respond to Mama’s comment as she shelled peas, glancing up at my arrival with a smile. “You look tired, Ally.”
“I’m exhausted.” One of the children screamed in the foyer, and I winced. “And my head hurts.”
“I think all of us are at the end of our ropes,” Grace said with a sigh.
“I’m missing Luc so much. I’m thankful for the telephone calls and letters we’ve exchanged, but it’s not the same as being with him.
” Luc was still in Washington, DC, where they lived.
“I’m half tempted to get on the next train and go home or ask the United States Army Air Corps to send Luc out to California on a special mission.
We could think of something, couldn’t we?
” She smiled, but I could see the sadness in her eyes.
“Kathryn is missing him, too, and if Lydia wasn’t so excited about being in the movie, I think she’d miss him, as well. ”
“I’m sure she does, in her own way,” Mama said. “Lydia is such a talented young woman. Grant has told me several times that she was born to be on film. It comes so naturally to her, just as it did to Ally.”
I sat on the stool next to Grace, thankful for a little normalcy and a slower pace to visit with them.
Working at Bess’s Place made me realize how much I enjoyed cooking, and I had started to take on more responsibilities in the kitchen in 1929.
It eased my stress and gave me time to think. I also loved knowing it helped Mama.
“Would you recommend this career for her?” Grace asked me. “Lydia desperately wants to stay in California and keep acting. I don’t know if we should let her, or if we should force her to come home with us for a couple more years before she returns. Because I know she’ll be back as soon as she can.”
“She also lives in 1709?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Does she plan to stay there on her twenty-fifth birthday? Or does she have any idea yet?”
“She has ten years to choose, so I don’t think she’s given it much thought.” Grace continued to shell the peas. “She loves her family there, of course. Her other mother is my twin sister, Hope.”
I nodded, since I already knew that information.
Grace looked up at me, concern in her eyes. “What you might not know is that Lydia’s time-crossing mark is a little different than the rest of ours.”
“Different how?”
“It’s much darker, as if she has two marks, one on top of the other.”
Frowning, I set down the pea shell. “What does that mean?”
“We don’t know. We think it’s because her two mothers are identical sisters, but we’re not sure.
That’s part of the reason I’m leery about letting her stay here.
We don’t know how much time we have left with her.
Part of me wants to be selfish and tell her to spend whatever time she has left with us.
The other part of me wants her to stay and act, if that’s what she wants, because who knows how much time she’ll have to do that. ”
“And Kathryn?” I asked. “Where is her other path?”
“She’s in London in 1879. Her father there is a surgeon, and she has a good life.
I’m very thankful she has parents there who love her, even if her life is a little stiff and proper.
” She let her shoulders droop. “But I still need to know what to do with Lydia. Do you like acting, Ally? Will you continue if you stay here after your birthday?”
Mama glanced up at the question, waiting for my response. I wanted to tell her about Mr. Mayer’s offer, but I wasn’t sure how she would react. It made me nervous because the longer I kept the information from her, the higher the chance she might learn about it from someone else.
I could still answer Grace’s question. “Yes.” I nodded. “I do love it, and I hope to keep going as long as it makes sense.”
“Perhaps,” Mama said as Julia’s children pounded on the floors above our heads, “someday, you’ll get married and want to leave it all behind to have a family of your own.”
I glanced at the ceiling, then gave her a look. “Perhaps. I don’t think I’ll have six children, though.”
Mama and Grace smiled, and then Mama came to the table and placed her hand on Grace’s shoulder.
“I’m sure your other mother, Maggie, has already told you this, but no matter what Lydia decides or what God has planned for her, it will work out.
It doesn’t mean it will be easy or that it won’t be painful, but it does mean that God will faithfully walk the road with her and with you.
I can’t imagine all the wonderful things she’ll do with her unique life. ”
“I take comfort in that truth.” Grace patted Mama’s hand. “God has been faithful to walk beside me, as well.”
Mama looked up at me, her eyes soft and tender.
“And the same goes for you, Ally. No matter what you face, the choices you must make, or the hardships you must endure, know that God loves you and will be with you through it all. It might not always feel that way, but that’s why He gave us His Word, so that even when our feelings fail us, His promises never do. ”
I nodded, thankful I had Mama and Grace and others who had walked this time-crossing journey before me and alongside me.
“How are things going in 1849?” Mama asked.
I was happy to finally tell her about my trip to the goldfield. “They’re good. We left the Sacramento River and are now on mules making our way to the South Yuba River.”
“And how is Sam?” Grace asked, concern wedging between her brows.
“I learned the truth about his past,” I replied.
“Oh?” Mama crossed her arms.
“Bess is the one who killed her husband, and Sam took the blame for it.” I quickly explained to them what had happened, and by the time I was done, both had the same look of sadness on their faces.
“Why do some people have to suffer so much?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Ally.” Mama sighed. “Some questions are harder than others, and that’s one of the toughest of them all. If there was an easy answer, humanity wouldn’t wrestle with that one, would they?”
“The Bible tells us that suffering produces endurance,” Grace said, “and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope never puts us to shame. We were made to be resilient, and when we’ve come through whatever trouble we’re in, we’re stronger, wiser, and better than when we started—but only if we allow ourselves to grow. Therein lies the difference.”
“Two people could endure the same thing,” Mama agreed, “but their attitude and outlook on it, and the purpose behind it, will determine who they are at the end.”
I wasn’t sure what kind of man Sam had been before everything happened, but he was good and kind and sacrificial now. Had his trials and sufferings produced that in him?
“Sam loved Bess very much.” I took another pea pod. “And love gives us the power to overcome a lot.”
“Was he still in love with Bess when you met them?” Grace asked.
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “He told me they had become family, but I think any romantic love he had for her was in the past.”
I didn’t tell them what Sam had said about true love. Or how it had made me feel.
The entire family was seated, waiting for Papa to say the mealtime blessing when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” I said as I rose from the table to answer the door.