Elias dipped his head to Olivia and Gloria. “It would be my honor to escort the two most beautiful women in the Catskills, no, on the entire East Coast, to dinner.”

  They murmured politely, slipped their arms through his, and went through. The rest of the party followed them, like a couple of small pops after the firework show ended.

  Rebecca Marsden’s eyebrows were drawn together, and her mouth formed a tight line.

  “Careful, dear,” Nancy chuckled. “That expression will give you wrinkles. More wrinkles, I should say.”

  “Hi, Velvet,” Randy said. “You look nice this evening.”

  Todd grabbed Randy’s hand and pumped it. “I’m Todd Thompson. I have a small role in this movie. Velvet tells me you’re the lifeguard. That must be . . . interesting.”

  “Elizabeth,” Richard said, “can I show you to your seat?”

  I turned to him with a genuine smile. “I’d be delighted.”

  * * *

  * * *

  Everything at the dinner was perfect, but I was too anxious that it be so to appreciate it.

  The food was excellent and plentiful; the drinks flowed freely. The waiters were attentive. Maybe slightly too attentive, as when Luke bent over Rebecca and gave her a long penetrating look she was happy to return. We served wine with the meal, the best we had, but Elias stuck to bourbon, and Mary-Alice spent most of the time hopping up and down fetching his drinks, because apparently he couldn’t wait long enough for a waiter to bring them.

  On the surface the conversation was lively and friendly, but there were strong undercurrents swirling around, and I realized that outside this movie shoot, most of these people wouldn’t want to have anything to do with one another.

  Matthew regaled Richard with the ups and downs (mostly downs, according to him) of being a movie producer, and Gary chomped gum between courses, while he grumbled about the difficulties of filming on location rather than in a studio. Todd dropped names to Velvet of all the stars he was friends with and all the fabulous parties he’d attended lately, and Elias interrupted to say that maybe Todd should spend more time learning his craft and less time at parties. Todd’s mouth tightened, but he pretended not to hear. Randy told anyone who’d listen about his time in Hollywood and tried to make it sound as though he’d left the acting life because it bored him rather than because he couldn’t make a go of it. Rebecca laughed at everything her dinner companions had to say, but the tightness of her grip on her fork or glass told me she was not having a particularly good time. She barely touched her food, but Luke was constantly topping up her wineglass.

  Olivia, by contrast, was having a great time. She was back in her element. She told everyone about her new life at Haggerman’s, which, according to her, was nothing but one long glorious vacation. I could have told them about the time the septic tank between cabins nine and ten overflowed, or when I’d stepped between two waiters fighting over tips and got a punch in the face for my trouble, or when a husband had arrived unexpectedly from the city to find Luke in his wife’s bedroom, or . . . But no one was interested in what went on behind the scenes (or in the case of Luke and Mr. and Mrs. Berkwowitz, in full view of the entire hotel) at a Catskills resort. Like the movies, they wanted to see the glamour of it and to know nothing about the hard work that made it all happen.

  Gloria and Elias chatted about mutual friends and laughed together about the old days when they’d been married. Rebecca gnawed on lettuce leaves and celery sticks and drank so much water as well as wine, she had to keep excusing herself. Olivia and Nancy discovered they knew quite a few of the same people, and they exchanged their news.

  I’d been introduced to two other actors. Glenn was young and handsome, although not as handsome as Todd, and he played the best buddy of Reginald, our hero. Roger was an older man who would portray Reginald’s father. I couldn’t help but notice that he was older than Gloria, who was supposed to be his mother. He was seated next to me, went through our wine at a rapid rate, and told me he’d appear only twice in the movie, both scenes to be filmed at Haggerman’s. In one he’d try to talk Todd’s character out of joining the army, and later he’d threaten to disinherit Reginald if he marries that “unsuitable” woman. They fight, while Gloria attempts to intervene. Reginald is pushed off the dock and into the lake, and he then storms off to a quick marriage and war. After making sure I knew about all the other movies he’d been in, Roger leered down the front of my dress and said, “Will Mr. Grady be joining us later?”

  Before I could answer, Olivia said, “My daughter is a widow. A war widow. Her husband served in the US Army and never returned from Europe.”

  A hush settled over the table. Gloria gave me a soft, kind smile. A flash of pain crossed Matthew’s face, and I assumed he was remembering his own wartime losses. Nancy said, “Such a tragedy,” and Elias lifted his glass.

  “A toast. To Mr. Grady and all our heroes,” Elias said.

  Richard, seated on my other side, touched my arm lightly.

  I smiled stiffly. Ron Grady had been no hero. He hadn’t died charging German fortifications or trying to save a wounded comrade. He’d been in a bar brawl with a fellow GI and struck his head when he went down.

  When I’d heard the news that he wouldn’t be coming home, I’d not gone into mourning. I’d celebrated.

  I picked up my nearly full glass of wine and lifted it. “Thank you,” I said.

  Everyone drank. I put down my glass, untouched.

  Gloria sucked on her half-finished cigarette and then ground it out in her dessert plate. Luke immediately appeared to whip it away, and I surreptitiously slid the ashtray closer to her.

  “That was absolutely delicious. Olivia, do send my compliments to your chef,” Gloria said. “Now, I believe someone said something about dancing?”

  “Our house orchestra is playing tonight,” I said. “Judy Rae has come up from New York to sing with them.”

  “Judy Rae!” Nancy said. “I adore her. Didn’t you direct her in a grand musical a few years ago, Elias?”

  The director nodded. “Not for long, I’m sorry to say. She had to go. She’s a great singer, but her acting skills are barely above the level of Rebecca’s, without the youth and the looks.”

  Rebecca glared at him. Nancy chuckled.

  Gloria said, “Elias, that was uncalled for.”

  “What?” he said, “I said she was a great singer. And she is. I’m looking forward to the show.”

  “Shortly before midnight we’ll be serving a dessert buffet,” I added quickly.

  Roger patted his stomach. “Can’t wait.”

  “Do I have to dance?” Rebecca said to Elias.

  “Yes,” he said. “And if you don’t wipe that look off your face you’re fired.”

  She grunted and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her bag. Luke, who, like any good Catskills waiter, could be in two places at once, hurried to light it. She gave him a radiant smile.

  “We want Catskills buzz around this picture,” Elias said. “And that means we want Catskills people talking about nothing else when they’re here, and when they head back to their boring, mundane lives in the five boroughs we want them to tell all their friends about it. Richard, your dad’s taking care of that over at Kennelwood.”

  “He talks about nothing else,” Richard said.

  “We’re having dinner at the Concord tomorrow,” Elias continued. “Command performance. You got that, Todd, Rebecca?”

  “I never mind going to the Concord,” Todd said. “Velvet, would you like to come with me?”

  Velvet gasped. Rebecca mumbled something that sounded like “yeah,” through a cloud of smoke.

  “Glenn? Roger?”

  “We get the point, Elias,” Roger said.

  “I’ll be there,” Nancy said.

  “As will I. If I must,” Gloria said.

  “Goes without saying,” Elias said. “You two never have to be told twice what to do.”

  “This is the first I’ve heard of dinner at the Concord,” Matthew said. “Who’s paying for it?”

  “The picture, of course,” Elias replied.

  “You mean the studio?”

  “Take it out of the publicity budget.”

  “The budget’s stretched as it is.”

  “It’ll be worth it. Like tonight.”

  “Tonight? I thought you were paying for tonight.” Matthew’s Louisiana accent got stronger the more agitated he became.

  “I am. Out of the publicity budget.”

  “Elias,” Matthew said, “this isn’t—”

  “Business talk is so tedious.” Gloria dabbed her lips with her napkin. “Take it outside, gentlemen.”

  “Rebecca, Todd,” Elias said. “I want to see you dancing with the old geezers and the awkward kids here with their parents. Those people go to movies.”

  “Do I have to?” Rebecca moaned. “I’m tired. It was a long drive up from the city.”

  “Tired?” Elias said. “If you’re getting too old to give me what I expect, I can find another pretty young thing fast enough.”

  Rebecca pouted prettily. “I’ll dance.”

  “Glad to hear it. You’ll dance tonight, and tomorrow I want you spending all day studying your lines for the big scene with Todd. Meet with me tonight when we get back to Kennelwood, and we can go over what I want from your scenes.”

  The pout died, and Rebecca’s eyes narrowed, but she forced out a smile. “Okay.”

  Gloria stood in a river of white silk, and the men leapt to their feet. “I’m going dancing. Olivia, I expect to see you tripping the light fantastic.”

  “I might,” my mother said.

  “Then we are all in for a treat,” Gloria said.

  I caught Mary-Alice’s eye, and she flushed and dipped her head. Someone had better be paying for this dinner.

  Chapter 5

  A large round table had been reserved in the center of the ballroom at the edge of the dance floor. Word that the movie people would be coming in had gotten around, and the room was packed. The house orchestra was playing “Dancing in the Dark,” and the dance floor was full of couples engaging in a gentle foxtrot when the doors flew open and my group entered. Dancers stopped dancing, everyone turned, guests stood up to see better, excited whispers grew. Elias Theropodous walked through the room, Olivia on one arm, Gloria on the other, the very picture of Hollywood elegance and glamour. Todd escorted both Velvet and Rebecca. Nancy, Glenn, and Roger followed them, and Mary-Alice and the rest tagged along behind, unrecognized and forgotten. Richard and Randy brought up the rear, while I hurried ahead to show Elias to their table.

  Mary-Alice spotted the bar and broke off, heading straight for it. Matthew and Gary joined her, while Elias made a great fuss of settling Olivia and Gloria in their seats. Todd asked Velvet for a dance.

  “No,” Elias said.

  “What do you mean, no?” Todd said.

  “You’ll dance the first dance with Rebecca.”

  “What if I don’t want to?”

  “I don’t care what you want, sonny. Dance with Rebecca.”

  “I’m as keen as you are,” Rebecca muttered.

  She smiled brightly and held out her right hand. Todd bowed deeply over it, took it in his, and they walked onto the dance floor. Everyone stood back in awe to watch the new arrivals take the floor. Rebecca threw back her head and laughed delightedly at something Todd said. He gazed at her adoringly. Yup, actors the both of them.

  The orchestra swung into Gershwin’s “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” and Todd and Rebecca stepped into the music. They weren’t exceptional dancers, but they knew what they were doing and clearly they’d danced together before. Probably at “publicity” events like this one. Elias and Gloria were next to take the floor, and gradually the other guests fell into step alongside them.

  “Work,” I whispered to Randy.

  “What?”

  “You work here, remember? Mrs. Levenson from cabin eight needs a partner. Her husband sprained his ankle at tennis yesterday.”

  “I was hoping to dance with Velvet.”

  “Mrs. Levenson.” I jerked my head at Velvet, telling her to also find a partner among the guests. She made a face at me but left the center table.

  Along with the two professional dancers we have on staff, some of the younger waiters and the girls who mind the children during the day or lead sports activities are expected to attend the dances. Not to dance with one another or their friends but to provide partners for those guests who either don’t have a partner of their own or want a turn around the floor with a lively young person.

  Olivia rarely, as in never, dances with the guests. The old injury to her leg isn’t obvious: I can pretend not to notice if she grimaces with sudden pain on standing up quickly, or has to stop in the path to give her leg a rest. On the dance floor, if her bad leg falters, a nonprofessional dancer might not even realize, but she would, and Olivia never gives anything but her best. She hesitated when Matthew leaned over her and spoke quietly to her, but eventually she gave him her hand. A fresh twitter of excitement passed through the room. More than a few guests came to Haggerman’s rather than one of the better known resorts in hopes of getting a glimpse of Olivia.

  Olivia had danced since she was a little girl. Olivia had danced on Broadway stages and Hollywood sets. Olivia Peters had partnered with Fred Astaire. Matthew Oswald . . . hadn’t. He was clumsy and awkward, but neither her smile nor her leg failed her, and she led him through the steps while appearing to be following his lead.

  Mary-Alice put a glass of bourbon at Elias’s place and then went to stand against the wall. Glenn, Roger, and Gary found themselves seats in a dark corner and settled in for an evening of serious drinking. Gary took his gum out of his mouth and stuck it under the table. My stomach rolled over. I hate it when they do that.

  After two lively dance tunes, the bandleader stepped up to the microphone. “And now, without further ado, let’s give a big Haggerman’s Catskills Resort welcome to Miss Judy Rae!”

  The lady herself, olive-skinned, dark-eyed, dressed all in white with a large white flower arranged in her thick black hair crossed the stage, gave the bandleader a light hug, and the band began to play.

  I went back to work, which in the evening consists mostly of keeping an eye on everything.

  Olivia danced the next dance with Matthew, and then they left the floor. Olivia took her seat next to Gloria while Matthew headed for the bar. Rebecca and Todd didn’t dance together again, and Todd monopolized Velvet more than I (or Randy, judging by the look on his face) liked. A few of the braver male guests cautiously approached Rebecca, and she graciously accepted every one. Elias partnered Gloria a few times and then had a couple of turns with Rebecca. He held the younger woman closer than he had his ex-wife, and his hand might have wandered lower than it should, but Rebecca didn’t react.

  Judy Rae finished her latest song and stood quietly at the microphone. When she had the attention of the audience, she said, “Thank you so much everyone for coming tonight. I was particularly excited, as I’m sure you all were, to see some of my dearest Hollywood friends in the audience. It’s been far too long. Elias Theropodous, Academy Award–winning director.” She stepped back and clapped her hands. Elias stood up, grinning broadly. He bowed to Judy and then waved to the audience, accompanied by a round of thunderous applause. Next he bowed to Gloria, who limply lifted her arm and sort of wiggled her fingers. The diamonds on her bracelet flashed in the light of the chandelier above the center table.

  Elias sat down, and Judy said, “For our next number, the band and I would love to give you . . .”

  “You once told me you never dance, but dare I hope you’ll make an exception tonight?” I turned to see Richard Kennelwood smiling at me. He carried a cocktail in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. “Or, if not, have a drink with me. I think this is what you were having earlier.” He handed me the cocktail, and I accepted it.

  “Thanks. I will have a drink, and I will dance. This seems like the night for it.”

  “Your mother’s a marvel. She made Matthew look like he knew what he was doing out there. I don’t think even he realized who was in control.”

  “That’s what women do in life, isn’t it? Make men look good.”

  He smiled at me. “Some women manage to make themselves look good.”

  “I hope you’re not talking about me. Man or woman, the role of a hotelier is to make it all look perfectly effortless.”

  He laughed. “You got that right, Elizabeth. Although my father would disagree with you. As he so often did . . . does . . . with me.”

  Richard and I stood together and sipped our drinks and looked out over the ballroom. The big chandeliers threw light onto diamonds, rhinestones, and sequins; the air was full of perfume and tobacco smoke; laughter, the tinkle of glassware, and conversation mixed with the beautiful music.

  The song ended, and before the next tune began, I saw Luke put his tray on a side table, check his tie was straight, and boldly cross the floor to stop next to Elias and Rebecca. I sucked in a breath. The staff are not supposed to interrupt dances in progress. Elias glared at the younger man, but Rebecca turned to the waiter with a smile and held out her arms. Elias stalked back to his table and dropped into the chair next to Gloria. She said something to him. He snapped at her and grabbed the fresh drink in front of him. Judy Rae was on her break and had taken the empty chair between Gloria and Olivia for a chat. The table was piled high with empty glasses and full ashtrays.

  I took a couple of turns around the dance floor with Richard. I was, unlike my mother, no dancer, and Richard wasn’t much better, but I enjoyed myself, and I believe he did too. Which is all that counts, really.