Fables for adults, perhaps. Stories that might conjure images. Stories of fun and thought. What are we but stories, part figment, part fragment of imaginations.
Richard Everett Upton
This story and others can be found in a printed and fully illustrated book at my web site: https://www.richardeverettupton.com
MY AFTERNOON WITH GARBO
Richard Everett Upton
Copyright 2012 Richard Everett Upton
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It was 1955, maybe 1956, in October about three o'clock in the afternoon. It was one of those warm pleasant sunny days October is known for. The last vestiges of summer were hanging on for a few more days. On Second Avenue between fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth Streets on the West side of the avenue was the shop of a watch maker. It was a little shop in a brick building. In that time most of the buildings along the avenue were three story shop buildings with apartments above them. It was the same with Third and First Avenues. The huge buildings there now were a thing of the future.
I loved looking in the watchmaker’s window. He always had some splendid clocks and old watches to sell. Some I am sure belonged to customers who had died or hadn’t picked up the watch or clock and now the piece was for sale. There were many wonderful pieces to buy, and I looked, I couldn’t buy, but would have any number of the old watches. It was craftsmanship. Anyway, on this particular afternoon I stopped at the shop to look and drool. I was on my way to a meeting on 66th Street and had time to walk. It was a lovely day, warm clear and dry with a crispness of a fresh picked apple from an orchard.
As I was admiring a Patek Philippe wrist watch in gold, round with distinct numbers on a white face. I like watches to be explicit; round face, numerals, not Roman, and a sweeping second hand. I don’t care about the date, or what time it is in the Far East. I want a very plain watch, even in a cheap watch. Of course this was far from a cheap watch, it was a Patek. There were some lovely clocks too, probably nineteenth century. One had a ceramic base, decorated with fabulous creatures of nature. In an arch of the piece stood the clock it was French in the style of Louis XV, Rococo.
As I looked intently at the contents of the window I felt a presence looking in the window with me. I glanced sideways and saw a woman dressed plainly in a brown coat and a beret. She was wearing walking shoes and sun glasses. I was agape. It was she, standing at my side looking, as I was, at the merchandise in the window. I didn’t know what to do, so I just stood there looking intently as she seemed to be looking. She said to me, ‘Which watch do you like?’ And I answered gulpingly, ‘that Patek Philippe wrist watch’. ‘That is a handsome watch, and you should have it’. ‘Yes I should, but I haven’t got the money for it’. ‘Yes’, she said ‘isn’t that the way, it always is; money’. We both grew silent and continued to look in the store window. After a moment or two she said ‘Would you like to walk with me for a bit? I am going to Fifty-ninth Street and Third Avenue. I said ‘I am going to Sixty-Sixth Street and Lexington for a meeting’. ‘Well then, let’s walk together as far as we can, we can talk’. ‘OK,’ I was beginning to feel more at ease,
We turned and headed North on Second Avenue. She had a good stride and it was hard to keep up. She noticed my struggle and turned to me and asked, ‘Am I walking too fast?’ I said, ‘Not really, it is clumsy, I have this bunch of things I am taking to the meeting’. ‘Let’s slow down, I am used to walking fast, that way people don’t look too hard to see who it is’. I was not about to say anything at all about who she was. So far as I was concerned we were two people walking up Second Avenue having a walking conversation. She was aware I knew who she was, and that was that. So far as talking about it; it was not going to happen.
We turned West ON 57th Street and continued down the block, past the school where I graduated from the Eighth grade. ‘I went to this school but then it was a Victorian building, this building is quite new’. Ah yes, I remember it well, this building is a monstrosity. What kind of Architecture is that, it looks Communist, poor Communist at that’? ‘I guess it is the new look, pretty ugly’. By this time we had almost reached Third Avenue and Fifty-Seventh Street. On the opposite corner was a Schraffts. ‘Would you like some coffee?’ I had some time. ‘Yes, I’d love some’. ‘How about your meeting?’ ‘I can miss it. It is just a bunch of egos who can’t make up their minds. I hate meetings. All people do is talk. They are afraid of having an opinion or settling anything for fear of being wrong, and who knows what that is’. ‘You are right, God the meetings I have had’. We entered Schraffts. The hostess looked at us and recognized who was in her presence, and with aplomb sat us at a corner table where we could see out, and not be bothered. She sat down on the banquette and took off her gloves. She had no jewelry on, just a watch. She took off her sunglasses and her hat and ran her fingers through her hair, and became comfortable in her surroundings.
The waitress, prompted by the hostess was very pleasant. She asked if we wanted menus, and she looked at me inquisitively, and we both nodded no. We ordered Hot Chocolate. As we waited she asked me what I did. I told her I was working in my father’s design firm as a sort of catch all. And did I like my job? It didn’t matter, actually I was an Actor newly returned from Hollywood. ‘Did you make a lot of movies?’ she asked. ‘Not many’ I told her. I was brought to Hollywood by Universal after making a movie in North Carolina, ‘Tap Roots’ starring Susan Hayward, Van Heflin and other notables. I truly was not an Actor, but I rode horses beautifully and that is what they saw in me. Otherwise I was a pretty ‘tennis anyone’ type’.
There was a plethora of new ‘pretty’ boys post war 1946. The field was full. I couldn’t have cared less about it all. ‘I knew I was not the stuff of stardom. I did love California so I stayed. I did make some movies, thanks to some casting directors. But these were totally insignificant parts, mostly background. It was fun. In between I worked a lot of jobs’.
‘I know what you mean by that. My life began in Sweden; I acted as a lark, on stage. I too was ‘found’ and that was an interesting time. Through one device or another I too went to Hollywood. I felt I was a freak. All of a sudden I was some exotic creature, mysterious beyond belief. They had these men; I swear they stayed up at night creating one awful idea after another to sell me. Oh they did it to every other man woman and animal that caught the public eye. We were packaged like merchandise and sold to millions as something we never could be in our wildest imaginations. I said, ‘leave me alone’ and the press and the studio made that up to be ‘I vant to be alone’, can you imagine that?’ This, of course, was the silent era, so all the emotion you could have was your face and what it felt. All the action was reaction, you had to be clever to show the audience what you felt, so many times when I was supposed to be sad and emotional, I was laughing my head off. No one could hear it, so why not. I did love the work, and the attention. God what attention. We were a rare breed. It was during prohibition, so anything went’.
‘Then MGM told the world I spoke. Thank God I had a husky voice. I never changed the look on my face, but I spoke.’
We were toying with our hot chocolate. We were in a day dream for a moment. ‘Have you ever been in love?’ I answered, ‘Oh yes, many times’. She laughed, ‘So have I. It was so easy to fall in love in California; I think it is the weather, not that California weather is always so perfect, but there is something to it that makes love’. ‘Do you miss it very much?’ ‘Oh no, I haven’t been there in a long time. You know, too much sun makes your skin like leather. No I like it where I am. I get invitations to travel, and they are fun. When you get to a certain position in the world, you get to be a novelty of society, you know. Trips on yachts and country homes are a constant I go sometimes when the party wou
ld be amusing. If you reach that place in society where you are lionized you become a commodity’. ‘Are you saying the only reason you are invited someplace is because of who you are?’ ‘Basically yes, you are asked, in essence, to come and be looked at, and amuse. It doesn’t matter that you have intelligence, or taste, you become a piece of art to be stared at by the company’.
‘Are you in love now?’ I blushed, ‘Yes, with a very nice young man.’ She laughed heartily. ‘Isn’t it wonderful to love?’ ‘I have had lovers, both men and women. There is such difference in the way you love a man from a woman. They both