you want me to come?'
"He laughed out loud and said, 'I will have my assistant check on flights and call you. Her name is Diane. May I give her your telephone number?'
"'Certainly. How long should I plan on staying? I'll need to know how long to hold my mail.'
"'Why don't you plan on staying somewhere between four days and forever.'
"'Four days worked for us before.'
"'I'd personally rather concentrate on the forever part.'
"'Let's take it one day at a time. What kind of clothes should I bring?'
"'My guess is your wardrobe consists entirely of conservative, casual clothes. That will do. I don't suppose we'll be going out a lot. That should be okay with you, I assume. If you need anything else, believe it or not, we have stores in LA.'
"'I'll make my personal arrangements and wait for a call from your assistant.'"
"That call came less than an hour later. Luke's assistant had made arrangements for me to fly to LA tomorrow. Diane asked if I wanted her to have the ticket at the gate or if I wanted her to overnight it to me. I said, 'Why don't you just email it to me? I have a printer here.'
"Diane laughed and said, 'You use a computer?'
"'Yes. My daughter bought it for me and made me learn to use it so I can keep in touch with her and with my granddaughter who is in college at Pepperdine.'
"'Do you have a laptop or a desktop?'
"'Actually, I have a new laptop they bought me for my birthday. Why?'
"'Well, I would appreciate it if you would do me a favor. Please bring it with you and let Luke see you use it. He insists he is too old to be able to learn to use a computer and it drives everyone crazy because he ends up making me run back and forth all over LA to deliver him copies of things I could email to him in seconds.'
"Marianne laughed, 'I will gladly do that. I thought I would not be able to learn either, but it was surprisingly easy.'
"'Luke is surprisingly stubborn.'
"'So am I.'
"Diane was quiet for a long time. 'Mrs. Corbett, I know I am totally out of line for saying this, and Luke would strangle me if he knew I ever talked out of school, but I have to tell you I am so happy he has reconnected with you. Today when he called me, he sounded like his old self for the first time since Lisa died..... Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen, but I have missed the old bastard for the last couple of years.'
"'How long have you worked for him?'
"'Forty years.'
"'Then you remember when we met?'
"'You will recall that I wasn't there for the meeting part. I sort of came in on the crashing-and-burning afterwards. He was a mess.'
"'I see. And you're still willing to let me visit him?'
"'It's not up to me. And, besides, I understand. I think I understood what was going on with you even at the time, without ever having met you. Anyway, bring your computer and see if you can teach the old geezer some new tricks.'
"'I will do my best.'"
Marianne looked at Christa with a silly expression and held out her hands with palms up, "Go ahead and tell me I'm an old fool."
Christa had tears in her eyes when she look at her mother's eager face and shining eyes, "I should, because you probably are. But, I guess I'm a fool or a romantic or as big a nincompoop as you are, because I think you should go for it, Mom. The worst that can happen is you'll catch up and find that you don't have much in common after all. Then you'll know for sure. And, who knows, you might find that you do have a lot in common." She paused and added with a wink, "But, do me a favor. If that happens, spare me the details."
Marianne laughed and promised she would. They spent the rest of the day shopping and packing and getting ready for Marianne's trip.
In the evening Christa went into her bedroom to call Richard. They talked for a very long time and Marianne knew Christa was filling him in on Marianne's story. She didn't care. She felt unburdened and was glad to have the story out in the open; Richard was a good man who would not hold it against her - at least she hoped.
She called a few of her friends to let them know she was going out of town. They all had a million questions because the last time Marianne had gone on a vacation was years ago. She said she was going to visit Madeleine at Pepperdine. That at least forestalled too many probing questions.
1 - Reunion
The following day Christa took her mother to the airport and kissed her good bye. As the old lady disappeared down the ramp toward the boarding gates, Christa stood in the concourse alternately laughing and crying. She called Madeleine while she was driving home, just to hear her voice. After they chatted about Madeleine's classes and Christa's latest news from Atlanta, Christa ended the conversation by saying, "Honey, I just dropped your grandmother at the airport. She is on her way to visit a friend in LA. I'm not sure if she will have time, but she may call you sometime in the next few days. If she does, and if there is any way you can do it I would like you to drop whatever you are doing and make time for her."
"Why? Is something wrong with Maw Maw"
"She's okay, but she has a lot going on in her life. I want you to be there for her because she is your grandmother and she may need the reassurance that some things in her world have not gone crazy. She should be able to count on the love of the granddaughter who is named for her beloved Maman."
"Sure, Mom. I'll be there for her. Is Maw Maw sick?"
"No. She is quite well. If she calls you, don't ask any questions, however, if it is at all possible, please agree to whatever she asks you to do."
"Okay. You gonna fill me in?"
"I promise. As soon as I know what's up myself. My guess is you will find out before I do.... from the horse's mouth. I want you to fill me in on anything you learn."
"Sure, Mom. I gotta go to class. I'll talk to you soon. 'Bye."
2 - Los Angeles
Marianne had not expected to fly first class, but she was not particularly surprised that Luke arranged for her to do just that. Shortly after she checked in at the kiosk, the airline paged her to report to the gate attendant. When she checked in at the gate, she was whisked off to a VIP lounge where she waited until all the passengers had boarded the flight. A stewardess invited her to board last, and the plane took off almost immediately after she took her seat. She said little to the stewardesses or the other passengers. She was lost in her thoughts, which were a jumble of memories, fears and, even, occasional flashes of hope.
Diane had told her Luke did not plan to meet her at the airport in order to avoid attracting attention of the photographers who hung out at LAX, trolling for photos of celebrities. Marianne truly appreciated that. While she knew that an aging movie star greeting an old friend wouldn't make the front pages of the tabloids, it might at least cause people to ask questions or take pictures, particularly considering that she was evidently lot older than the women Luke typically dated. Even Lisa had been more than a dozen years younger than he was. She, who had never been at all self-conscious of her age, was very nervous about that. She feared that Luke thought of her as the youngish-looking 40 year-old he met in 1973, and not the gray-haired 70-something widow wearing bifocals and hearing aids.
When Marianne walked into the gate area at the airport in LA, there was a man holding a sign bearing her name. She walked up to him and identified herself. He led her to a waiting limo. She climbed into the back seat and enjoyed the ride from LAX to Malibu. The streets of Los Angeles, and in particular the beach highway through Malibu, looked very familiar due to the many movies and TV shows that had been filmed there. Her heart was pounding by the time the limo pulled into the driveway of a rather nondescript looking house on the beach. The driver got out and helped Marianne out of the back seat. He took her (one, small) suitcase from the trunk and asked again, "Are you sure this is all of your luggage?"
She smiled and said, "I travel light."
She felt the laughter behind her even before she heard its familiar baritone rumble. She
turned and the next thing she knew she was in his arms, and she and Luke were hugging and kissing and laughing and crying. Eventually, he composed himself enough to take her bag and tip the driver, "She does travel light. It's a habit she developed early, the better to escape the clutches of lecherous movie stars."
The driver stood there scratching his head while Luke and Marianne went into the house, still laughing.
Luke pushed her suitcase off to the side just inside the front door, and drew her out on the pool deck where he had refreshments waiting in the shade. They talked and laughed and cried for hours, babbling like teen-agers, trying to share with one another the significant experiences of the last thirty plus years almost all in one breath. He showed her pictures of his children and his grandson. She showed him pictures of Christa, her husband and Madeleine.
When they wound down a little, his housekeeper interrupted asking if they wanted supper before she knocked off for the day. Marianne looked up at her and smiled. "Oh, my, I hope you didn't wait on my account. Please go home to your family and I'll clean up the kitchen after we eat."
Luke and the housekeeper both laughed, and both of them protested that Marianne was a guest and did not need to clean up, but Marianne noticed the tears that glittered in the housekeeper's eyes. After the housekeeper retired to her apartment, Marianne said she needed to check in with Christa or she would catch hell. Luke motioned her to the phone. She shook her head, "It's too late for