ROSE GOES ON
Chapter Nineteen
Hannah was only the beginning for Rose. The film received rave reviews, and
her performance was highly praised by critics and audiences alike. Before long,
she had more offers than she knew what to do with.
Over the next few years, Rose’s success and
popularity grew. She starred in a dozen more films, playing characters ranging
from the medieval to the contemporary, and achieved her greatest success in an
early science fiction film depicting a ravaged future world. Her empathy for
her characters, as well as her flexibility as an actress, served her well in
her career.
As her popularity increased, catapulting her
into stardom, Rose grew increasingly worried that someone from her old life
would notice and come looking for her, but no one did. Though she was relieved,
in a way she was also confused and a little hurt. She knew that she wasn’t the
only member of the upper class who had taken an interest in motion pictures, so
it confused her that no one recognized her. Of course, she reasoned, it was
entirely possible that her old acquaintances were so shocked at the fact that
she had become an actress that they shunned her, or they did recognize her but
didn’t know how to approach her.
She received more than a little fan mail, and
had gotten to the point that she needed someone else to read it and respond for
her. Some weeks she received a hundred or more letters, and her busy schedule
didn’t leave her time to read them all. She sent autographed pictures to people
who requested them, and saw to it that all letters were answered, but she often
only had time to answer a few of them herself, those that touched her heart the
most. She had directed the people who opened her mail to give special letters
to her, as well as any written by John, Mary, or Nadia. In addition, she had
also directed that letters received from certain members of her old crowd be
given to her, but none had ever written.
A few letters were also addressed to
Christopher, mostly from elementary girls who thought he was cute after he appeared
in a movie magazine with his mother. Christopher enjoyed the letters, but still
thought that most girls, with the exception of Clara, were strange, often
annoying creatures to be avoided. Clara was the exception because she was a
tomboy, chasing about with Christopher and Arthur instead of concentrating upon
dolls and games considered acceptable for girls. Clara’s mother often despaired
that her daughter would ever learn to be a lady, but Rose accepted the girl,
who reminded her very much of herself as a child. She had grown up, learning to
balance her adventurous side with the demands of daily life, and Clara
eventually would, too.
Despite the lack of contact from her old
society, Rose enjoyed her life. She corresponded regularly with the Calverts, who
had moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1921. She had considered going to visit them
there, but never quite seemed to find the time. They were both busy with their
separate lives, though Rose’s descriptions of her acting career made Mary ever
more interested in becoming an actress herself.
Rose eventually moved herself and Christopher
from their apartment to a large, if modest, house near the beach. It was
expensive, but Rose received high salaries for her work, and the fact that the
house cost twenty-five thousand dollars made little difference. She was one of
the most highly paid actresses in Hollywood, and she had always loved the
beach, the crashing waves and salt air. It gave her some privacy, too, away
from the fans who stopped to stare at her and ask for autographs. She liked the
attention and adulation, but at times she needed to be alone. She continued to
send Christopher to public school, in spite of her increased wealth and the
fact that people would try to get close to Christopher to get to meet her.
Private schools still reminded her strongly of her upper class background, and
she didn’t want her son growing up that way. His friends were of the middle and
working classes, and she had no desire to see him become like so many of the
boys she had known growing up.
Rose dated often, usually fellow actors, but
the relationships rarely lasted for long. Christopher frequently disliked her
boyfriends, and she simply never felt the depth of love and affection for any
of them that she thought she should feel. She nearly became engaged on one
occasion, but it didn’t feel right, and at last she broke off the relationship.
Someday, she thought, she might marry, but she wanted a husband that she could
love with her whole being, not someone who simply shared in her career and her
way of life. She would never again know a love like she had found with Jack,
and she knew it--such a love came only once in a lifetime--but she wanted more
than what many people had. She wanted a loving marriage that would last a
lifetime. Too many of her peers married for the wrong reasons, or made mistakes
that destroyed the marriages they had tried to build. Celebrity marriages were
often difficult, and Rose wanted something deep and abiding. Though she was
well into her twenties, she had yet to find it, and had no intention of
marrying until she did.
In spite of this, Rose was happy with her
life, so different from what had been planned for her when she was a girl. She
had a career that she enjoyed, a son that she loved, and the kind of free,
relaxed life that she had craved when she had been a member of the upper class.
Life had its share of difficulties, but she didn’t regret a minute of it. As
Jack had told her so long ago, she was making each day count.