creating a frustrating breakfast service for Judith. Normally, she prepared three basic items and offered appropriate side dishes. But the menu requirements for the
Hollywood people were vast and varied. Angela La
Belle desired coconut milk, kiwi fruit, and yogurt. Dirk
Farrar requested a sirloin steak, very rare, with raw eggplant and tomato slices. Ellie Linn ordered kippers on
toast and Crenshaw melon. Ben Carmody preferred an
omelette with red, green, and yellow peppers topped
with Muenster cheese. An apparently restored Bruno
Zepf downed a great many pills, which may or may not
have been vitamins, shared the strong coffee with
Winifred, and ate half a grapefruit and a slice of dry
whole-wheat toast. Chips Madigan asked for cornflakes.
Dade Costello never showed. The moody screenwriter had gone for a walk, said Ellie Linn. He wasn’t
hungry. Nobody seemed curious about his defection.
The omnipresent cell phones were in use again, especially by Bruno, Winifred, and Ben. Somehow they
all seemed capable of talking to whoever was on the
other end of the line and to members of the party at the
table. Between rustling up the various breakfast items
and making what seemed like a hundred trips in and
out of the dining room, Judith caught snatches of conversation. Most of it dealt with the logistics of the premiere and how to deal with the media. It struck Judith
that the only topic of conversation the group shared
was the movie business. Maybe it was the only thing
that really mattered to them. She tuned her guests out
and got on with the task of running Hillside Manor.
As soon as she finished clearing up the kitchen, Judith called Renie. “Give me the details,” she requested.
“Who’s marrying whom?”
An elaborate sigh went out over the phone line.
“I’m not sure I’ve got all this straight myself. Tom’s fiancee is the daughter of a local Native American tribal
chief. Her name’s Heather Twobucks, which is symbolic, since that’s about all the money Tom has managed to save over the years. But at least she’s got a
job—she’s the attorney for the tribe.”
“That sounds very good,” Judith put in.
“She’s also one of seven kids and does most of her
work pro bono,” Renie said. “As for Anne, the man of
her dreams is in medical school. You know what that
means. Anne will have to get a real job instead of making jewelry out of volcanic lava and selling it at street
fairs.”
“Mmm—yes, she probably will,” Judith agreed.
“What’s the future doctor’s name?”
“Odo Mann,” Renie replied. “She’ll become Anne
Mann. Personally, I wouldn’t like that.”
“Mmm,” Judith repeated. “And Tony?”
Renie let out another big sigh. “Tony’s beloved just
returned from Tangiers, where she was Doing Good.
She works for a Catholic charity and makes just about
