“Oh, God, I’ve been avoiding that for years.”
“You’ll love it, believe me. And that’s enough for three or four days. I’ll do some research. What are you doing for dinner tonight? Not Elaine’s, I hope.”
“Why not Elaine’s? He might see a movie star, or something. Anyway, Dino is bringing Ben, who’s just home from school for Christmas.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about what to do with him. After all, Arrington will be here, too, and she, at least, is accustomed to acting as a parent.”
“Don’t say ‘parent,’ ” he said. “Hearing it gives me the willies. I’ll be his host.”
“You’ll survive,” she said, then hung up.
Stone finished his sandwich, frequently checking his watch. Arrington’s Gulfstream III was due into Teterboro at noon, or so, and he had hired a driver and sent his car to meet them. So, he reckoned, they should be here about… the upstairs doorbell rang… now. He took a deep breath, got into his jacket, and ran up the stairs to the front hall. One more deep breath, a big smile slapped on his face, and he opened the door.
A handsome young man stood there, wearing a tweed jacket and a necktie and holding a briefcase, the driver behind him with two more cases. What the hell?
“Uncle Stone?” the young man said.
“Peter? I wouldn’t have recognized you! Come in! Is your mother still in the car?”
Peter stepped in and shucked off his overcoat. “No, sir,” he said.
“Just put the cases on the elevator,” Stone said to the driver. “Then put the car in the garage, and you’re done.” He pressed a fifty into the man’s hand and closed the door.
“Now,” he said to Peter. “What did you just say?”
Peter handed him a sealed envelope, the back of which was emblazoned with the words “Calder Hall.”
“Come in, come in,” Stone said to the boy. “Have a seat while I read this.” He took a chair himself and tore open the envelope. Stone, I’m sorry to tell you this at the last minute, but I had a bad day yesterday, and my doctor has put me into the hospital, where they’re running some tests. I hope this is not a recurrence of the cancer, but I’ll know soon. In the meantime, take good care of our boy, and remember, don’t tell him anything. I’ll be in touch.
Fondly,
Arrington
“I think mostly she’s just tired, Uncle Stone,” Peter said. “She said she’d call tomorrow.”
Stone stuffed the envelope back into his pocket. “Well, I guess it’s just you and me, then, Peter. And by the way, just call me Stone, okay? I’m not your uncle anyway.”
Peter managed a smile. “All right, Stone.”
“How old are you now?”
“Fifteen,” Peter said.
“My God, I somehow thought you were twelve.” He handed the boy the photograph of him.
“I was twelve when this was taken,” he said.
“When did you turn fifteen?”
“Nearly a year ago. I’ll be sixteen next month.”
“Sixteen!” My God, he thought. Has it been that long?
“Yes, sir.”
“And don’t call me sir, either. Let’s just be friends. How tall are you?”
“Five feet eleven and a half inches, si-Stone.”
“That’s tall for fifteen-er, sixteen-isn’t it?”
“I think so. The doctor told me I’ll be well over six feet.”
“I expect you will. And your voice has already changed; you’re a baritone.”
“It happens, I guess. I sounded pretty funny for a while there.”
“I expect you did. Did your mother tell you I have a friend who’s a policeman, Dino Bacchetti?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Dino has a son who’s… about your age, and we’re having dinner with them tonight.”
“At Elaine’s?”
“Your mother told you about Elaine’s?”
“She told me a lot about it. She said it was her favorite place in New York.”
“Is this your first visit to New York?”
“Yes, it is. My folks always left me at home when they came here.”
“I think you’re going to like it,” Stone said. “Come on, let’s go find your room.”
They got onto the elevator, rode up two floors, and entered the smallest guest room, adjacent to Stone’s master suite. He hadn’t wanted the boy to feel lost in one of the bigger rooms.
“Have you had lunch?”
“Yes, they fed me on the airplane,” he replied.
“What do you think of your mother’s new Gulfstream?”
“Wow!” Peter said.
“Exactly. Now, I have to go to a meeting with the new head of Centurion Studios in a few minutes. Why don’t you get unpacked and watch some TV?”
“You’re seeing Mr. Goldman? Stone, I’d like very much to meet him. May I come with you? I’m a film student.”
Stone was taken aback, but what the hell? Goldman couldn’t object to meeting the son of Vance Calder, his studio’s greatest star. “Of course, Peter. I’ll be glad to have you come along. Go ahead and get settled, then come down to my office, on the bottom floor. We’re due at Centurion’s New York office in forty-five minutes.”
“I’ll be down in fifteen,” Peter said, unsnapping a suitcase and starting to hang up jackets and suits.
Stone went back to his office, shaking his head. What a shock! The kid was nearly a man in both appearance and manner!
4
Stone and Peter arrived at Centurion’s Fifth Avenue offices on time. Peter was carrying a slim leather envelope-style briefcase, and Stone wondered what was in it. They were asked to wait for a moment while Leo Goldman finished a conference call to the coast.
“You’re a film student?” Stone asked Peter. “In high school?”
“We have only one film class at school, so perhaps I should have said, ‘student of film.’ ”
“I see. What part of film most interests you?”
“I want to direct,” Peter replied.
Of course, Stone thought. Everybody wants to direct. “Good,” he said.
“Mr. Goldman will see you now,” the secretary said, just as Mike Freeman walked in.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, shaking hands with Stone.
“We had a short wait anyway,” Stone replied. “Mike, this is Peter, Arrington’s son.”
“Of course,” Mike said, shaking the boy’s hand. “I heard a lot about you from your mother on a flight across the country in her new airplane.”
“Yes, she told me you helped her find and buy it,” Peter said.
They walked into a large square room, which was decorated with abstract paintings. Leo Goldman, Jr., rose from his chair and pumped everybody’s hand. He was short, stocky, and balding, and he waved an unlit cigar when he talked.
“And this is my friend Peter,” Stone said. For some reason, he didn’t mention Peter’s last name. He wasn’t sure why.
“Good to see you, Stone, Mike. And Peter, I’m very glad to know you.”
Peter nodded and managed a shy smile.
“Peter is a student of film,” Stone said, “and he wanted to meet you.”
