The Last Don - Mario Puzo [66]
“He was almost as beautiful as you,” Claudia said. She generously admired beauty in others.
Athena seemed not to have heard. It was a habit she had when somebody mentioned her beauty.
“Is he a better actor though?” Athena said teasingly.
“Oh no, you’re a really great actor,” Claudia said. And then to provoke Athena into revealing more of herself, she added, “But he’s a lot happier person than you.”
“Really?” Athena said. “That may be. But someday he will be a hell of a lot unhappier than I ever will be.”
“Yeah,” Claudia said. “The cocaine and booze will get him. He’s not going to age well. But he’s intelligent, maybe he’ll adapt.”
“I don’t ever want to become what he’s going to be,” Athena said. “And I won’t.”
“You’re my hero,” Claudia said. “But you’re not going to beat the aging process. I know you don’t drink and booze or even fool around much but your secrets will get you.”
Athena laughed. “My secrets will be my salvation,” she said. “My secrets are so banal they’re not even worth telling. We movie stars need our mystery.”
Every Saturday morning when they were not working, they went shopping together on Rodeo Drive. Claudia was always amazed at how Athena could disguise herself so that she would not be recognized by fans or the clerks in the stores. She wore a black wig and loose clothes to disguise her figure. She changed her makeup so her jaw seemed to be thicker, her lips fuller, but most interesting of all, it seemed as if she could rearrange the features on her face. She also wore contact lenses that changed her brilliant green eyes to a demure hazel. Her voice became a soft Southern drawl.
When Athena bought something, she put it on one of Claudia’s charge cards and then reimbursed her with a check when they had their late lunch. It was wonderful to relax in a restaurant as complete nobodies; as Claudia joked, no one ever recognized a screenwriter.
Twice a month Claudia spent the entire weekend at Athena’s Malibu beach house for swimming and tennis. Claudia had let Athena read the second draft of Messalina, and Athena had asked for the lead role. As if she were not a top star and Claudia should not be begging her.
So when Claudia arrived in Malibu to persuade Athena to go back to work on the picture, she felt some hope for success. After all, Athena would not only ruin her own career but damage Claudia’s.
The first thing that shook Claudia’s confidence was the tight security around Athena’s house, in addition to the usual guards at the Malibu Colony gates.
Two men with Pacific Ocean Security Company uniforms were at the gate of the house itself. Two additional guards patrolled the huge garden inside. When the little South American housekeeper led her to the Ocean Room, she could see two more guards on the beach outside. All the guards had batons and holstered guns.
Athena greeted Claudia with a tight hug. “I’ll miss you,” she said. “In a week I’ll be gone.”
“Why are you being so crazy?” Claudia said. “You’re going to let some jerk of a macho man ruin your whole life. And mine. I can’t believe you’re so chicken. Listen, I’ll stay with you tonight and tomorrow we’ll get gun permits and start training. In a couple of days we’ll be sharpshooters.”
Athena laughed and gave her another hug. “Your Mafia blood is coming out,” she said. Claudia had told her about the Clericuzio and her father.
They made drinks and sat in the stuffed chairs that gave them a view of the ocean that was like looking at some deep blue-green portrait of water.
“You can’t change my mind and I’m not chickenshit,” Athena said. “Now, I’ll tell you the secret you wanted to know and you can tell the Studio and then maybe you’ll both understand.”
Then she told Claudia the whole story of her marriage.