JOHN AND ROSE
Chapter Nine
August 21, 1926
Rose stepped into the train, looking back
once at the busy station around her. Christopher was already on the train,
having found a seat for them and saved it.
She sighed, clutching her purse more tightly
as she made her way down the aisle to the seat where her son waited. She had
finished her picture two days earlier, wrapping up several months of what she
thought to be unsatisfactory work, though the director had been very pleased
with her performance. But not so pleased that he offered her another role.
Rose settled into her seat beside
Christopher, smiling at him for a moment before gazing out the window. A part
of her wished that she had signed a contract with one of the studios, instead
of moving from picture to picture as she saw fit. She would undoubtedly now
have steadier work if she had, but another part of her did not regret the wide
variety of pictures she had made at all. Her career as an actress was beginning
to fade, there was no doubt about it, though she could probably work for many
years more if she was willing to take supporting roles instead of starring
ones.
She looked at the passing landscape as the
train moved away from the station and headed east, her eyes sweeping over the
summer-browned fields and hills. The truth was, she didn’t know what she
wanted. She enjoyed acting, whether in a starring role or a supporting one, but
there was more to life than her career. She thought she’d done a reasonably
good job raising her son–he was a good kid, except for the normal adolescent
high-jinks. But none of the silly things he’d done had been particularly
harmful, run-ins with cactus excepted. Rose couldn’t help but smile at the
thought of that incident. It had been most embarrassing for the boy, and he had
not repeated it, but his mother couldn’t help but see the humor in it.
What did she want to do? she wondered. She
had been thinking about trying her hand at directing, but it could be hard to
break into that aspect of the business, even for a movie star. Still, just
because something was hard didn’t mean she wouldn’t try it. After all, she’d
left the world she’d grown up in behind, raised a child alone, and become a
well-known actress, none of which had been easy, but all of which had been
worth it.
Rose settled back in her seat, watching with
amusement as Christopher tried to get the attention of a girl sitting across
the aisle from them, without great success. She didn’t have to make any
decisions right away, she thought. For the next couple of weeks, at least, they
would be visiting with the Calverts in Cedar Rapids. She didn’t have to make
any decisions until she returned home.
*****
"Aunt Rose!"
Rose looked up from where she had been
gathering her belongings to see Mary and Nadia rushing toward her. It was Mary
who had shouted to her.
She smiled. Mary prided herself on being
grown-up, on being thought of as an adult, but her enthusiasm when greeting her
aunt was unmistakable. In spite of Mary’s certainty that she was an adult, the
child in her still came out on occasion.
"Mary! Nadia!" Rose set her bags
down and walked over to the girls, hugging them both. "I see your father
let you out of the house today," she commented to Mary.
"Yeah, well..." Mary looked a
little sheepish. "He’s around here somewhere."
As if in response to Mary’s words, John
walked up, looking sternly at his daughter. "Mary, didn’t I tell you to
stay close?"
"Yeah, but...Dad! Aunt Rose is
here!"
John shook his head. He couldn’t be too upset
with daughter, knowing how she idolized Rose. And certainly, running to greet a
family member wasn’t misbehavior.
Overlooking Mary’s indiscretion, he nodded to
Rose. "Welcome, ‘cousin’."
"It’s good to see you, John." Rose
picked up her bags again and looked around for Christopher.
Christopher joined them a moment later,
moping. He had finally gotten the attention of the girl on the train, only to
see her leave the previous afternoon. Rose, knowing how young adolescent
relationships worked, doubted that he’d mope for too long. Something else would
catch his attention, and he’d forget about her.
"Hey, cactus boy," Mary greeted
him, smirking.
"Don’t call me cactus boy," he
retorted, glaring at her.
"Mary." John spoke up. "Don’t
pick on him. You’ve done some foolish things yourself."
"Yeah," Mary mumbled, "but
I’ve never fallen in a cactus."
"No," Nadia reminded her. "You
just ran away from home."
"Girls," John warned, seeing that
an argument was about to start. "That’s enough. Don’t make your aunt sorry
that she came here."
"It’s all right," Rose told him,
laying a hand on his arm. "I’m glad to be here. It’s been so long since
I’ve been away from Los Angeles, and it’s beautiful here."
"Right now it is," Mary told her.
"But you haven’t seen it in winter. Snow gets boring after
Christmas."
"There was snow in New York," Rose
reminded her. "You didn’t mind it then."
"Not as much as here. And New York was
fun. Nothing ever happens in Cedar Rapids."
Nadia opened her mouth to make a cutting
comment, but John quelled her with a look. He, too, was glad to have Rose come
to visit, and didn’t want her to change her mind and get on the next train
west.
"Why don’t we go back to the
house?" he suggested. "Once you get settled, we can take a tour of
the town–and, yes, Mary, you can come," he added, seeing his daughter’s
hopeful look.
Mary grinned, picking up one of Rose’s
suitcases and heading toward the car. "Let’s go, then! I can’t wait to
introduce Aunt Rose to my friends. A real movie star! They are going to be so
jealous!"
John just shook his head and escorted the
rest of the group to his waiting car.