U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [522]
hands rest for a moment on her shoulders. "There's another thing I want you to let sink into your heart . . . not your intel igence . . . your heart. . . . Don't answer me now. Talk it over with your charming companion. A little later, when we have this picture done I want you to marry me. I am free. Years ago in another world I had a wife as men have wives but we agreed to misunderstand and went our ways. Now I shal be too busy. You have no conception of the intense detailed work involved. When I am directing a picture I can think of nothing else, but when the creative labor is over,. in three months' time perhaps, I want you to marry me. . . . Don't reply now." They didn't say anything as he sat beside her on the way home to Santa Monica driving slowly through the thick white clammy morning mist. When the car drove up to her door she leaned over and tapped him on the
-413-cheek. "Sam," she said, "you've given me the loveliest evening." Agnes was al of a twitter about where she'd been so late. She was walking around in her dressinggown and had the lights on al over the house. "I had a vague brood-ing feeling after you'd left, Margie. So I cal ed up Madame Esther to ask her what she thought. She had a message for me from Frank. You know she said last time he was trying to break through unfortunate influences."
"Oh, Agnes, what did it say?""It said success is in your grasp, be firm. Oh, Margie, you've just got to marry him.
. . . That's what Frank's been trying to tel us.""Jiminy crickets," said Margo, fal ing on her bed when she got upstairs, "I'm al in. Be a darling and hang up my clothes for me, Agnes."
Margo was too excited to sleep. The room was too light. She kept seeing the light red through her eyelids. She must get her sleep. She'd look a sight if she didn't get her sleep. She cal ed to Agnes to bring her an aspirin. Agnes propped her up in bed with one hand and gave
her the glass of water to wash the aspirin down with the other; it was like when she'd been a little girl and Agnes used to give her medicine when she was sick. Then suddenly she was dreaming that she was just finishing the Everybody's Doing It number and the pink cave of faces was roaring with applause and she ran off into the wings where Frank Mandevil e was waiting for her in his black cloak with his arms stretched wide open, and she ran into his arms and the cloak closed about her and she was down with the cloak choking her and he was on top of her claw-ing at her dress and past his shoulder she could see Tony laughing, Tony al in white with a white beret and a diamond shoulder she could see Tony laughing, Tony al in white with a white beret and a diamond golfclub on his stock jumping up and down and clapping. It must have been her yel ing that brought Agnes. No, Agnes was tel ing her something. She sat up in bed shuddering. Agnes was al in a fluster. "Oh, it's
-414-dreadful. Tony's down there. He insists on seeing you, Margie. He's been reading in the papers. You know it's al over the papers about how you are starring with Rodney Cathcart in Mr. Margolies' next picture. Tony's wild. He says he's your husband and he ought to attend to your business for you. He says he's got a legal right."
"The little rat," said Margo. "Bring him up here. . . . What time is it?" She jumped out of bed and ran to the dressingtable to fix her face. When she heard them com-ing up the stairs she pul ed on her pink lace bedjacket and jumped back into bed. She was very sleepy when Tony came in the room. "What's the trouble, Tony?" she said.
"I'm starving and here you are making three thousand a week. . . . Yesterday Max and I had no money for
dinner. We are going to be put out of our apartment. By rights everything you make is mine. . . . I've been too soft . . . I've let myself be cheated." Margo yawned. "We're not in Cuba, dearie." She sat up in bed. "Look here, Tony, let's part friends. The con-tract isn't signed yet. Suppose when it is we fix you up a little so that you and your friend can go and start