All the Stars in the Heavens (48 page)

Luca threw his car keys down on the kitchen table. Alda was stirring sauce on the stove, waiting for the pot of water to boil to make her husband his favorite spaghetti. Luca put his arms around his wife.

“I called the studio—they said you had to drive for supplies.”

“I feel like a traitor,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because of you.”

“What did I do?”

“Nothing, honey. It's about your boss. I didn't drive to Arizona for paint. I drove Clark and Carole to get married. It was Otto Winkler's car, so no one would recognize them.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“I didn't want you to be compromised. It'll be in the papers tonight. All over the radio by morning. They had Gable's houseman drive his Packard out there, and I turned around and came home. Can you forgive me?”

“Clark is your friend—you did him a favor.”

“But I didn't tell you about it.”

The lies, half truths, and stories that had formed a wall between Loretta and Clark had not only shut them out of each other's lives but
compromised their relationships with their family and friends. Alda and Luca were part of their world, and had accommodated their view of it since Mount Baker. Alda was still surprised how easily they manufactured alibis and stories for their friends in the movie business.

“How about this? I forgive you.”

“I'd feel better if you yelled at me.”

“I don't want to yell. I love you.”

Luca took his wife in his arms and kissed her.

Alda pulled out a chair and invited her husband to sit as she finished preparing their dinner. “The code we live by cannot be found in Hollywood.” Alda stirred the sauce on the stove. “As long as we know this, and we live our lives truthfully, we'll be all right. The minute we start to think anything that happens on the other side of this mountain is acceptable, we're over.”

“I don't want to be over. Not ever.”

“You know, all of us that work on the crews, in the offices, deliver the mail, sew the costumes, and paint the sets, we all work for our families. We take care of each other. The stars are different. Do you ever notice how strange nice, decent people act when they meet a movie star? They act like some deity came off the mountaintop to greet them. The stars are separate from us. And maybe that's why people pay to see them. They know there's something about them that they can never be.”

“Or maybe,” Luca ventured, “they make them feel something.”

“Tell me about the wedding.”

“We got to Kingman, and everything was arranged. They had a justice of the peace. There was a lawyer there with all the paperwork. By the time they were married, the press had figured it out, so some local stringers showed up. They take a couple of snaps, and pretty soon, the news is on the radio.”

“What's she like?”

“Carole Lombard? She's silly. She's a nice enough girl, and she's lots of fun, but she tries too hard with him. She tries to make him laugh all the time. It's too much. You know, when we were in Seattle, I was so happy for Clark. He told me when he met Gretchen,
he'd finally found a girl he could talk to—this one, I don't know. She doesn't take anything seriously.”

“Not even the wedding vows?”

“Giggled through the whole thing.”

“And what did Clark do?”

“He went along with it. It's as if he lets the woman lead on the dance floor, you know?”

Myrna Loy had been called to sound stage A on the MGM lot. As she turned the corner to enter, she ran into Clark Gable.

“This is all Spencer Tracy's fault,” Gable grumbled.

“Be a good sport,” Myrna chided him.

Ed Sullivan, a young reporter from the Associated Press, had set up a table for a press conference. A scrum of photographers and reporters stood behind a red rope, which was suspended in front of them mainly for looks. As Gable and Loy joined Ed Sullivan, the photographers began to snap photos.

“We're here today to crown the king and queen of Hollywood,” Ed began. “Miss Loy, we have a crown for you, and one for you, Mr. Gable. Would you like to say anything to the fans?”

“Thank you. It's a big honor.”

“I feel the same as Mr. Gable—it's a big honor, and we hope we live up to your high expectations.”

“Congratulations, Queen Myrna and King Clark!”

Gable took Myrna's arm and led her off the sound stage. “Did you ever?” Gable laughed. “Humiliating,” he said.

“Horrifying! They should've given it to someone who wants a crown, like, say, Norma Shearer.”

“Myrna, they picked you because you're down-to-earth.”

“And you?”

“I'm going to kill Spence. That's all there is to it. He started this king stuff, and he's going to end it.”

“Before you do, can we finish the picture?”

“Sure, sure.”

“I like this one. You made an honest woman out of me.”

“It's about time,” Gable joked.

“How's it going with you and your new bride?”

“We're very happy.”

“Now you have everything a man needs. A good wife, a big career, and a crown. You're the king of Hollywood. “

“The crown is made of paper, Myrna. Trust me. I get too close to a lit match, and I'm John Gilbert.”

Loretta slipped into the nursery at Sunset House and tucked the blanket around Judy. Moonlight shimmered through the trees. Loretta kissed her daughter and went outside.

Hiking up her skirt, she sat and lowered her legs into the pool. The cool water sent a chill through her. The cold moonlight made her shiver.

Judy was beginning to ask questions about her daddy, and there was a sadness in the four-year-old when fathers showed up at school and carried their children home on their shoulders. Now that Gable had married Lombard, Judy wouldn't have those ordinary moments with her birth father.

Loretta remembered filming
The Primrose Ring
, almost every detail of it. Going forward, Judy would remember everything that happened to her, and she would believe everything Loretta told her. Loretta still could not come to terms with how to tell her about her father. Worse than that, she didn't know how to tell the child that she was her real mother; inevitably, the questions would lead back to the identity of her father.

Carole issued a statement that said she wanted ten children with Gable, and that their ranch in Encino could grow with as many rooms as she could fill. Loretta felt as if the message was directed at her—Judy, just one child, wouldn't matter as much as a baseball team of them.

Loretta decided to stop pining for Gable. She knew it would take work, but discipline and focus were her best attributes. It was time for Loretta to get serious about creating a home with a proper husband for her daughter. No more dinner dates set up by the studio; no
more favors to moguls or photo opportunities with available young male stars to promote movies. She would find a way to give Judy a father—but this time, it had to be a man who would stay.

Darryl Zanuck loved a historical epic. He had a crazy idea to put the Young sisters and Georgiana in a movie together, playing sisters. Zanuck remembered that Loretta enjoyed working with Don Ameche, so he cast him as the lead in
The Alexander Graham Bell Story
.

Polly and Sally had decided that this movie would be the end of their movie careers. They'd never had much interest in acting, and now that they were young mothers, their ambition lay elsewhere. For Loretta, the Bell story would be a farewell too; she wanted to leave Darryl Zanuck for good. She was burning up the last weeks of her contract so she could leave Twentieth Century-Fox, a free agent again.

Loretta stepped into her gown as the costumer fastened the buttons up the back.

“Stay still, Miss Young,” the costumer warned.

“I swear Mr. Zanuck chose this time period just so I'd be tortured with buttons and bustles.”

The costumer shrugged. “He likes historical accuracy.”

Myron Selznick pushed the door open. “Loretta, I got someone here for you to meet.”

“I have to get Miss Young to the set,” the costumer groused.

“This will take a second,” Myron promised.

“Keep buttoning,” Loretta joked. “The buttons buy you time.”

Tom Lewis appeared in the doorway. He had a thick head of hair and a big smile. He also towered over Loretta, who hadn't put on her shoes. “Hi, I'm Tom Lewis from New York.”

“I'm Loretta Young.”

“I know. I'm here because I have a part for you.”

“What sort of part?” Loretta was intrigued.

“On the radio. We're going to do a show for the Motion Picture Relief Fund. Jack Benny and Judy Garland did the last one, and we'd love to have you on our next show.”

“Yes, I'll do it.”

“Tom, I'm taking you everywhere I go from now on.” Myron turned to Loretta. “What gives? You haven't said yes that quickly in all the time we've been working together.”

Loretta smiled at Tom. “That's because he's the one asking.”

Tom Lewis laughed. “I'll get you the script.”

“You do that.” Loretta slipped into her shoes.

Myron waited until Tom Lewis was out of earshot. “He's Catholic.”

“He's also tall,” Loretta observed.

“And he's very very single. Now, which of those attributes is the most important to you?”

“The height,” Loretta joked. “I like to wear a heel instead of date one.”

“I'll make the deal,” Myron promised.

“Please don't call it a deal. I'm a romantic, remember?”

Tom Lewis had a different energy from the men Loretta had met since Judy was born. He was a businessman, there was none of the Hollywood spit shine on him. She didn't feel manipulated by his charm, but energized by it. It was a brief introduction, but Loretta had seen all she needed to see, and was intrigued to find out more. Perhaps it was time to stop looking for a fellow actor, or anyone in her line of work, to get serious about. Maybe it was time for a more traditional fellow, a man who could be the head of a household, a good father and mate. Loretta craved stability and security in a man, and she had yet to find it. Perhaps that man had just walked through her door, just as everything was changing in her life for the better.