“No,” Judith said. “I thought she’d pitch a fit.”
Renie got up from her kneeling position. “What
time do they leave for the premiere?”
“Five,” Judith replied, heading for the kitchen.
“That doesn’t give them much time to dress,” Renie
pointed out.
“They’re dressing at the hotel with the others,” Judith said, putting a mixture of salmon pate into the
food processor. “The movie theater is just a minute’s
walk from the Cascadia, but they’ll still show up in
limos, so I suppose they’ll drive around the block a
couple of times first.”
“It’ll be a mob scene,” Renie remarked, cutting up
scallions. Her gaze traveled to the American artists’
calendar she’d given Judith for Christmas. “Say, how
much have you learned about twentieth-century
painters from that? I hoped it would be a teaching
tool.”
“I’ve learned there are a lot of them I don’t like,” Judith replied. “I must admit, though, September taught
me something. I didn’t realize that John Singer Sargent
painted anything but portraits.”
Renie went over to the wall and flipped back a page.
“Ah—
plants in terra-cotta pots. Done with daubs and blobs.
Very different from
vegetables. “How many are coming for the midnight
supper?”
“The current guest list,” Judith said, “plus a few others connected with the film.”
“Not the entire Hollywood crew?”
Judith shook her head as she went to the pantry to
get a jar of mayonnaise. “This bunch will mingle with
the others at the costume ball in the hotel.”
“I hope they don’t stay late,” Renie called after her
cousin. “You know how Bill likes to make an early
evening of it.”
“He’ll have to tough it out tonight,” Judith said,
holding the jar of mayo and glancing out the back-door
window. “I really appreciate—” She stopped. “There’s
Dade Costello. He just came out of the toolshed.”
The screenwriter shambled along the walk, indifferent to the rain that had begun to fall again. Judith
opened the door for him.
“Hi,” she said. “Were you visiting my mother?”
“Mrs. Grover?” Dade nodded. “Interesting woman.”
“She is?” Judith bit her tongue. “I mean,
her interesting.”
“Yes.” Dade proceeded down the hall, through the
