They were both nice but I had no desire to get to know either one.
On the way home I wondered what sort of girl I would be interested in now. Also, I wondered what I was going to do next week. July had been a busy month that tired me out. Now that I had the first week of August as downtime I was ready to go again.
Oxford didn’t start back up until the end of September but I was thinking of returning to Europe and doing some sightseeing. One thing though: I wouldn’t let the studio or Sharon know what I was up to!
Chapter 14
I talked to Mum and Dad at dinner about going back to England earlier than planned. They didn’t see anything wrong with it. Mary told me it was okay with her as she didn’t have any more friends paying to meet me. How soon they forget!
I thanked Mary for her input. Denny snickered but a frown shut him up. She was trying to be nice and helpful; He didn’t have to make fun of her. Eddie must have felt the same way as he kicked Denny under the table. Mum and Dad took no notice, so Denny knew he had no allies and shut up.
I pity Mary’s boyfriend when she gets older. Though she did have the right to date anyone she wanted when she was twenty. Dad corrected me with thirty. Mum and Mary said in unison, “Men”
Then Mum added, “40.”
That broke us all up, even Mary.
Dad reminded me I had a Jackson Enterprises Board meeting on Wednesday so I would have to stay in town for it.
After that, I brought up the fact that I had let a situation develop with Sharon Wallace, it was apparent that her job as my agent and publicist created some conflicts for me. As my publicist, she had free rein, and as my agent, she would make a lot of money if I took part in a movie. Thus she had already become a little pushy.
Dad asked what I was going to do about it. I told him that I was going to talk to Sharon and let her choose which job she wanted, I would support her either way, as she had been good to me. If needed I would be a silent partner in her agency to keep it going if I didn’t take any further roles.
That led to a discussion about my future in the movies. I was hot and cold about it, one day ready to take advantage of my latest successes and the next wanting to do something different. When asked what I had in mind would be different, I wasn’t sure. I wanted to finish school at Oxford as I was enjoying it, but in doing so I wouldn’t have time for movies.
Mum asked if I had heard of Pinewood Studios. I knew the name but nothing about them. She suggested I talk to Mr. Monroe about them, explain what I wanted, and see if there were any possible joint projects between the two studios.
That had never occurred to me when I thought about it that would work out really well. I decided to talk to him in the next couple of days.
After dinner, Mrs. Hernandez asked to speak to me in private. That was out of the blue and I had no idea whatsoever what she could want. I found out quickly.
“Rick, you know I still have contacts in Cuba.”
“I hadn’t thought about it, but I can see that.”
“I was contacted by a friend who is in the Cuban Defense Department. Not directly but by a mutual friend. Castro is well aware that the CIA is sponsoring an invasion to overthrow him. What I was told is that they know the CIA has provided B-26 aircraft painted in Cuban colors.”
“They will shoot them down with their Russian made Migs. What is news is that if the US Air Force joins in the Russians have more fighters and pilots there and they will support the Cubans. It will effectively put the US at war with Russia.”
“Uh oh.”
“I don’t know what you can do about it but I was specifically told to give you this information.”
“You can tell your contact that it is being passed on to some very high levels in the US government.”
“Thank you, Rick, I will.”
Being it was Sunday night I didn’t think there was much I could do, and it wasn’t that urgent. I would make a call first thing in the morning.
After I was fully awake and followed my morning routine I made a call from my bedroom to the White House. After identifying myself to the switchboard I was transferred to an aide where I gave a set of passwords that the President had provided me earlier.
After a fifteen-minute wait, the President came on the line. I passed on the message telling him that it came from the Cuban Defense Department through two cutouts.
“Thank you, Rick, now I would like you to make three other phones calls. Pass the same information onto Nixon, Kennedy, and Johnson.”
“Why do you want me to do that?”
“It is so that you will have credibility with the next President of the United States, no matter who is elected.”
“That makes sense, I’m not certain why I should have credibility but I will do it.”
Ike sounded a little frustrated when he replied.
“Rick, you have made world-wide contacts, the Cubans and the Chinese have both used you to contact the office of the President. This is mostly
