Chapter 16 #2
Spencer stood at the door, dressed in a nice suit with his hair combed into a pompadour. Even though we spent every day together, it still made my heart skip a beat to see him standing on my front porch unexpected.
He grinned, his eyes shining. “Hello, Ally. Your mother said I had an open invitation. I hope I’m not intruding. Gee, it smells amazing. Is that roast beef?”
“Of course you’re not intruding. I’m happy you came.” I opened the door wider and put out my hand for his hat.
“Have you made a decision?” he asked, handing me his fedora.
I let out a breath. He’d asked me the same question every day since we’d met with Mr. Mayer.
“No, and you need to be quiet,” I whispered.
“What decision?” Vicky asked, standing in the doorway leading into the dining room.
I turned quickly, sharing a glance with Spencer before meeting her questioning eyes. “Nothing—at least, nothing important. Is there a spot for Spencer?”
Vicky nodded. “Of course. We always have room for one more. You can sit by me, Spencer.”
I had been sitting next to Vicky, which meant that I would have to move. I wouldn’t mention that to him, but I saw the triumph in Vicky’s eyes when she motioned for him to enter the dining room.
There were fifteen people already seated around the large table, and one more wouldn’t make that big of a difference, but somehow the house felt fuller with Spencer there.
Vicky showed him to his seat as everyone welcomed him with warm greetings.
He beamed as he answered questions from the children and thanked Mama for the invitation, apologizing for being late and forcing everyone to make a fuss. He seemed a little overwhelmed by the attention but was handling it better this time.
Grace was sitting on the other side of Spencer, and she motioned for me to take her spot as Papa jumped up and grabbed an extra chair and Julia went to the kitchen to get another place setting. Things were moved and readjusted like a well-timed orchestra, no one missing a step.
I sat next to Spencer, and he offered me a smile, though there was apprehension in his eyes.
“You’re doing just fine,” I told him. “No one bites.”
“Are you sure? That little one over there looks scary.” He pointed to Julia’s youngest child, Grettel, whose big blue eyes and dimples were the cutest thing I’d ever seen.
I laughed and shook my head as her cheeks turned pink from the attention. She seemed just as smitten with Spencer as everyone else.
“Do you have everyone’s names memorized?” Julia asked as she sat next to her husband, Peter. “There will be a test.”
Spencer’s face went blank, and he looked panicked, but everyone laughed. I touched his hand. “She’s only teasing.”
Vicky’s gaze lingered on my hand, and I slipped it back onto my lap. The last thing we needed was another scene like the one in the park.
“Let’s say grace,” Papa said as he reached for Mama’s hand on his one side and Grettel’s on his other.
Spencer had eaten with us once before, but he still seemed surprised as he awkwardly looked between me and Vicky. I offered my hand as Vicky offered hers.
He took them both, bowing his head.
His hand was warm and strong as it held mine, and I wondered what Vicky was thinking. I had tried talking to her about what had happened at the park, but she refused to discuss it.
When Papa finished, Spencer gently squeezed my hand before letting go. Had he squeezed Vicky’s?
The meal was lively and filled with laughter.
There were many compliments about the food, and Mama beamed when she said I had done more of the cooking.
Besides the roast beef, there were mashed potatoes, peas, a green salad, fresh bread that I had baked, and spiced apples.
For dessert, Julia had brought cinnamon cake with cream cheese frosting.
So different from the quiet meal of beans Sam and I had shared the night before in 1849, yet somehow no less enjoyable.
The realization caught me off guard.
It was strange to find myself thinking about Sam more often lately.
“Well,” Papa said as he set his napkin down at the end of the meal, capturing my attention. “I don’t know why it’s taken Ally this long to find her love of cooking, but I, for one, am thankful.”
There were more compliments, and my cheeks warmed. Spencer had praised the food all throughout the meal, and he grinned at me now.
The women rose to start clearing the plates, and I joined them, but Mama said, “You and Spencer should go on a walk or get out of the house for a while. You’ve been itching for some peace and quiet. Now’s the time to get it.”
Vicky must have heard, because she heatedly pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen and didn’t look back.
“Do you want to go on a walk?” I asked Spencer.
“I have a better idea.” He smiled at me, then winked at Mama. “I’ll have her back in a couple of hours.”
He took my hand and led me out of the house, several children trailing after us.
“Can we have a ride in your Rolls-Royce?” Sebastian asked. He was Julia’s oldest boy and was fascinated by automobiles.
“Another time, kiddo,” Spencer said as he ruffled Seb’s hair. “I want to take your Aunt Ally on a spin.”
Seb’s shoulders slumped, and he kicked a piece of sod, but he didn’t fuss.
“I’d ask you where you’re taking me,” I said as Spencer opened the door, “but I don’t think you’d tell me, even if I did.”
“I like surprises. What’s wrong with that?”
“What if I don’t like them?”
“Don’t you?”
I had to think about that for a second. “As long as they’re good surprises.”
“This one is a good one. I’m taking you to my favorite place in all of Hollywood.”
“Is it quiet?”
“Practically soundproof.”
“Good. I’ve had a headache all day.”
He pulled away from the curb and headed north, tossing me one of his charming smiles.
I let out a long sigh as wind blew through the window, and I decided to lean into the unknown.
Twenty minutes later, I realized where he was taking me—and I smiled.
The Hollywoodland Sign.
“Have you come up here before?” Spencer asked as he stopped the car on the hill behind the sign.
“No. It never occurred to me to come up here.”
“You’ll love it.”
He led the way down a steep incline, and more than once, I had to reach out to him for help.
But it was worth it.
The sign had been built a few years before to advertise a new development called Hollywoodland, but it had quickly become iconic and so much more than an advertisement.
The hill was sandy and full of scrub brush, but the sky was clear, and the sun was bright, offering a breathtaking view of Los Angeles.
To the left were green hills, and farther out was downtown Los Angeles with Richfield Tower and Los Angeles City Hall, both beautiful skyscrapers.
To our right was the new Hollywood Lake, created by Mulholland Dam and the reservoir not long after the sign was erected.
“I can see the Hollywood Bowl,” I said, pointing it out as we moved around one of the white Os to stand in front of it. The letters were over forty feet tall and towered above us.
Spencer took a seat in the grass and patted the spot next to him, leaning up against the O. “This is the best place to think in all of Hollywood. I bring all my troubles up here.”
I sat next to him, which wasn’t easy in my skirt, and smiled. “I hope that doesn’t mean I’m trouble.”
He grinned and shook his head, and then his face became serious. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, Ally Bennett. You and your family. They’re great people.”
I returned his smile, knowing he was being sincere.
We sat for a moment in silence, looking at the vista, and then Spencer said, “My mother sent another letter.”
I glanced at him, surprised that he brought it up without preamble. “Was it a good letter?”
“She and Aunt Sherry will be here in two weeks to meet you.” He studied me as he said, “They think we’re serious, Ally. Serious enough to come out here.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I said the only thing that came to mind. “We must be doing a good job acting, then.”
“Everyone thinks we’re serious. Did you see the latest Film Daily?”
“I don’t read those magazines if I can help it.”
“There was an article in there about the situation at the park with Vicky. The young woman managed to take a picture and sold it to the magazine, offering an exclusive story. Thankfully, she didn’t really understand what was happening, but she said things looked serious.”
“I don’t really understand what’s happening with Vicky, either.”
“She’s jealous.”
I looked away. No one liked to admit they were jealous or accept that someone was jealous of them. “She has no need to be.”
“She has every need to be.” He touched my chin, his hand gentle, as he turned my head to face him. “You’re beautiful, talented, and . . .” His gaze slipped down to my lips. “Very kissable.”
I shook my head and pulled my chin out of his grasp.
“Why not?” he asked. “I like you, and I think you like me. At least, I hope you like me.”
“Of course I like you.” I played with a pleat on my skirt, unable to meet his gaze. “We need to stay professional, Spencer.”
“Our professional agreement is to date, Ally. And usually dating involves kissing.” He touched my cheek.
I put my hand on his, suddenly realizing why I didn’t want him to be so affectionate with me.
All I could think about was the other man who had quickly become an important part of my life. I hadn’t given my heart to Sam or made any promises, but when I imagined what he would think of me sitting here with Spencer, alone, I didn’t like how I felt.
What in the world did that mean?
Spencer sighed and lowered his hand. “Fine,” he said, resigned but not irritated. “I’d still like you to meet Mother and Aunt Sherry. They’re coming all this way for that purpose.”
“Of course I’ll meet them. But I hate for them to think this is real.”
“I’m having a hard time remembering it’s not.” He smiled and shook his head. “What are you doing to me, Ally Bennett? Do you know, I haven’t gone out with any other women since I started dating you?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Is that a record?”
“Actually, yes. I’ve never just dated one woman at a time—and I’m not even really dating you.”
“You haven’t had a lot of free time on your hands.”
“That might be true.” He pulled up a leg and wrapped his arm around his knee as he looked out at Los Angeles. “But I always seemed to make time before.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Spencer, you are a funny guy.”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t begin to figure you out.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. You’re the one who likes to be so mysterious.”
“I’m a private man, not mysterious. They’re two different things.”
I leaned back into the sign, so many heavy things on my heart.
“Why won’t you take L. B.’s offer?” he asked. “You’d be making almost as much money as me.”
“If I left Bennett Studios, Papa would have to fold.”
“So? He could start working for MGM, and he’d have enough money to survive and then some. He’d be fine.”
“Haven’t you ever had a dream, Spencer? Something you wanted so much, you would be willing to give up almost everything else for it?
That’s Bennett Studios to my parents. It’s their life’s work.
They’ve given everything to it, and I couldn’t be the reason they closed. I think it would destroy Papa. Truly.”
“You can’t turn down the offer. It would be foolish. And, knowing L. B., he won’t accept any other answer without consequences.”
“Why would I want to work for a man like that?”
“Because if you go along with him, he can make your wildest dreams come true.”
What were my wildest dreams? It had been so long since I’d even thought about them. Did I really want to be in movies for the rest of my life? If Papa hadn’t been a filmmaker, I would probably have never gone into the business.
That thought made me pause.
I’d always done whatever was expected of me, even teaching with Father in 1849. Although that was something I truly loved. I could see myself continuing to teach in whatever path I chose in November, but did I want to act for the rest of my life?
“How did you even end up in the movies?” I asked, not wanting to think too deeply about the choice in front of me. “Was it your dream to come to Hollywood and become a movie star?”
“All my life.”
“I remember your first movie. You seemed to come out of nowhere, and then you were an instant sensation.”
“It helps that I’m so good-looking.” He lifted his eyebrows at me.
“Too handsome for your own good, if you ask me,” I teased back.
“Some of us aren’t as talented as you, Miss Bennett.” He became serious and picked a piece of grass. “If I had to rely on my talent alone, I wouldn’t have made it out of Chicago.”
“How did you make it out?”
He stood and offered his hand. “Come on. I promised your mother that I’d get you home early. We have a long week—”
“Why do you do that?” I stood and faced him. “Why do you change the subject?”
Spencer studied me for a moment, his face somber and devoid of emotion. “Because if I told you the truth—” He shook his head. “I don’t think you’d like what I had to say.”
“Try me.”
He touched the tip of my chin. “You can’t even handle a speakeasy or a gambling ship. You wouldn’t like to hear what I had to do to get a start in Hollywood. Or what I have to do to stay here.”
“I’m not a child, Spencer.”
“No, but you’re as innocent as they come in Hollywood. Just like the ocean, under the glimmering surface lies a whole world you don’t understand. And the deeper you dive, the more dangerous it gets. So I keep you up at the surface, where you’re safe.”
I pulled back, more confused than ever. “I don’t understand you.”
He frowned. “You know what’s ironic? For the first time in my life, I want someone—you—to understand me.
” He took my hand and tilted his head toward the vehicle.
“Come on, I’ll take you home. Someday, I might let you try to figure me out, but only after I’ve given up on trying to win you over.
Once you know the real me, I don’t think I’d have a chance. ”
I usually prided myself on being perceptive and intelligent, but when I was with Spencer, I felt uncertain and na?ve.
His life was a well-constructed facade, and for that reason, he felt far more dangerous than Sam ever had.