all the pictures gracing the walls. MaeAnne had been beautiful and while the beauty had faded slightly, she would still stand out in a crowd. Ronnie gasped and froze as he spotted one photo.
“You met Veronica Lake?”
MaeAnne came back toward him. “Yes. I was an extra on So Proudly We Hail with her and Claudette Colbert. Claudette was a professional and quite generous when she wished to be. Admittedly, she didn’t hang out with the extras much, but who would expect that? She had a little quirk of always wanting to be filmed from the left side. Guess she liked that half of her face.”
“What about Veronica?”
“Ah, well, she was a different story. You look like her, so I assume you work at one of the clubs that feature female impersonators.”
He nodded, not ashamed of his job.
“Oh, I’d like to go and see one of those shows. I don’t drive anymore and some days are better than others for me to get out of the house.” She pointed at the photo of her and Veronica. “Veronica could be a bit of a pain to work with, even that early in her career. Very demanding and, at times, mean. You know, they say she drank a lot and had mental issues.”
Ronnie stuck his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, I heard that. You know, Ms. Brothers, I could arrange for you to get tickets to one of the shows. I’m sure if we ask nicely, Lucius would bring you.”
“I’d like that, Ronnie. Let’s get that box. I’m sure you have more important things to do than hang around talking to an old woman like me.”
He didn’t think anything would be more interesting than sitting down and chatting with MaeAnne about her time in Hollywood during the golden age of movies. Yet he didn’t want to overstay his welcome either. He went into the bedroom and headed over to the closet.
“It’s the dark blue box.” MaeAnne gestured toward one of the boxes to the right on the shelf.
“Got it.”
Ronnie rose up on his tiptoes and yanked the box off. He caught the box in his arms and staggered slightly under the weight. “Where do you want it?”
“Would it be too much to ask you to bring it out to the living room for me?”
“No problem.”
They returned to the living room and he set it on the coffee table. MaeAnne sat on the couch and ran her hand over the box’s top. He noticed how her hand shook.
“Can I get you anything else, Ms. Brothers?”
She smiled and shook her head. “No, and please, call me MaeAnne. I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you around here since you were leaving Lucius’ apartment. He doesn’t let his dates spend the night. So you must be special to him.”
His cheeks heating, Ronnie ducked his head. “We were friends back in high school, and we just reconnected last night. I’m having some personal problems, so Lucius is letting me crash at his place.”
“A knight in shining armor,” MaeAnne murmured.
Ronnie didn’t like how pale she looked, so he looked around to find her sweater. After picking it up, he held it out to her.
“MaeAnne, would you like to go have lunch with me? I haven’t eaten yet, and I’d love to talk to you some more about your days in Hollywood. I bet you know all the good gossip from back then.”
At first he thought she was going to refuse him, but something flashed over her face, and he realized MaeAnne was lonely. It seemed obvious she didn’t get many visitors and probably didn’t have any family in the city to come make sure she was okay.
“I’d love to have lunch with such a handsome young man like yourself, but Lucius isn’t expecting you or anything, is he?” She stood and tugged on her sweater.
“No, ma’am. He’s at work and said he’d call me later, so I’m free to spend time with such an intriguing woman.” He winked, and MaeAnne laughed, slapping his arm as he offered it to her. “I’ll just leave my bag here while we’re out and I’ll pick it up later.”
He waited at the door while she gathered her purse and keys. After checking to make sure he had everything
“You met Veronica Lake?”
MaeAnne came back toward him. “Yes. I was an extra on So Proudly We Hail with her and Claudette Colbert. Claudette was a professional and quite generous when she wished to be. Admittedly, she didn’t hang out with the extras much, but who would expect that? She had a little quirk of always wanting to be filmed from the left side. Guess she liked that half of her face.”
“What about Veronica?”
“Ah, well, she was a different story. You look like her, so I assume you work at one of the clubs that feature female impersonators.”
He nodded, not ashamed of his job.
“Oh, I’d like to go and see one of those shows. I don’t drive anymore and some days are better than others for me to get out of the house.” She pointed at the photo of her and Veronica. “Veronica could be a bit of a pain to work with, even that early in her career. Very demanding and, at times, mean. You know, they say she drank a lot and had mental issues.”
Ronnie stuck his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, I heard that. You know, Ms. Brothers, I could arrange for you to get tickets to one of the shows. I’m sure if we ask nicely, Lucius would bring you.”
“I’d like that, Ronnie. Let’s get that box. I’m sure you have more important things to do than hang around talking to an old woman like me.”
He didn’t think anything would be more interesting than sitting down and chatting with MaeAnne about her time in Hollywood during the golden age of movies. Yet he didn’t want to overstay his welcome either. He went into the bedroom and headed over to the closet.
“It’s the dark blue box.” MaeAnne gestured toward one of the boxes to the right on the shelf.
“Got it.”
Ronnie rose up on his tiptoes and yanked the box off. He caught the box in his arms and staggered slightly under the weight. “Where do you want it?”
“Would it be too much to ask you to bring it out to the living room for me?”
“No problem.”
They returned to the living room and he set it on the coffee table. MaeAnne sat on the couch and ran her hand over the box’s top. He noticed how her hand shook.
“Can I get you anything else, Ms. Brothers?”
She smiled and shook her head. “No, and please, call me MaeAnne. I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you around here since you were leaving Lucius’ apartment. He doesn’t let his dates spend the night. So you must be special to him.”
His cheeks heating, Ronnie ducked his head. “We were friends back in high school, and we just reconnected last night. I’m having some personal problems, so Lucius is letting me crash at his place.”
“A knight in shining armor,” MaeAnne murmured.
Ronnie didn’t like how pale she looked, so he looked around to find her sweater. After picking it up, he held it out to her.
“MaeAnne, would you like to go have lunch with me? I haven’t eaten yet, and I’d love to talk to you some more about your days in Hollywood. I bet you know all the good gossip from back then.”
At first he thought she was going to refuse him, but something flashed over her face, and he realized MaeAnne was lonely. It seemed obvious she didn’t get many visitors and probably didn’t have any family in the city to come make sure she was okay.
“I’d love to have lunch with such a handsome young man like yourself, but Lucius isn’t expecting you or anything, is he?” She stood and tugged on her sweater.
“No, ma’am. He’s at work and said he’d call me later, so I’m free to spend time with such an intriguing woman.” He winked, and MaeAnne laughed, slapping his arm as he offered it to her. “I’ll just leave my bag here while we’re out and I’ll pick it up later.”
He waited at the door while she gathered her purse and keys. After checking to make sure he had everything
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