But I see that I am once again speaking of myself when I’d intended to reflect on Elizabeth. This conflation is perhaps inevitable, since our careers now seem to have been so intertwined. And yet I feel it is necessary to explain more thoroughly the events of Elizabeth’s life. For the months immediately following my Independence Day party were surely trying for her as well. She was not cast in a new picture through the remainder of the summer and fall, and in October I began to hear open speculation that her contract would not be renewed. Her embarrassing behavior at my party had been noted by the studio, and there were whispers that she was drinking more heavily. I was certain that she was aware of the rumors about her contract, and I imagine she was deeply anxious about the outcome. Indeed, considering the uncertainty of my own contract status, it might have been helpful for us to discuss our situations.
But we did not discuss our contracts, or anything else, for this would have required us to speak to each other. And that we did not do for several months. It is hard to say whether this silence was the result of my pride, for the image of Elizabeth in Ashley Tyler’s arms was still fresh; or of Elizabeth’s desire not to see me. But the fact remains that Elizabeth and I didn’t see one another through the summer and fall of 1921.
In the meantime, the rest of my life went on. I resumed going to parties and studio events, although I was starting to find the other partygoers, with their constant talk of roles and contracts, to be a little tiresome. I also made two pictures during those months, including one in the fall with Nora and Ashley Tyler. Although I’d worried about how Tyler and I would behave with each other, his professionalism diffused any possible awkwardness. I cannot deny that it caused me a certain discomfort to be around the director, particularly since I knew that he was still spending time with Elizabeth. But he never mentioned that night at my mansion. He simply proceeded with directing the film and treated me as he always had, and for this distance, this propriety, I was grateful. Besides, by the middle of the film I was no longer so occupied by visions of Elizabeth and Tyler. Other things were happening that turned my thoughts in an altogether different direction.
Inevitably—months later—I did run into Elizabeth, at a Thanksgiving party at Evelyn Marsh’s mansion. We nodded politely from across the room but did not approach each other. This happened again at Perennial’s holiday party early in December, and then again a week later at Buck Snyder’s ranch. At this last party, however, Elizabeth gathered the nerve to cross the room and speak to me.
“You’ve been quite the social butterfly lately,” she said. She was wearing cowboy boots, a denim skirt, a red bandana, and a cowboy hat, in keeping with the Western theme.
“It’s unavoidable,” I said noncommittally. “It’s the height of the party season.”
“I suppose. To tell you the truth, I’m about ready for it to be over. These things aren’t all that fun if you’re not drinking.” She held up her glass, which was filled with a dark brown liquid, and I noticed that there was no redness in her eyes, no sour smell of liquor on her breath.
“Well,” I said, raising my own gin and tonic, “sometimes they’re no fun even if you are.”
She smiled a chastened, self-conscious smile, and took in my cowboy hat and fringed leather vest. “You look good as a cowboy, Jun.”
We stayed there together for a few more minutes, speaking of the holidays and Snyder’s ranch and the amusing sight of the studio executives dressed up in Western garb. We did not discuss anything substantive, and steered clear of mentioning Ashley Tyler. But it was a thawing, a beginning, and as my driver took me home, I felt more peaceful than I had in several months.
I will never know what might have become of Elizabeth and me. I would like to think that, given time, we could have gotten beyond the impasse of that summer and fall. I would like to think that we could have moved to a new understanding—that even if our romance wasn’t meant to continue, we could have remained close colleagues, even friends.
I have every reason to believe that such an end was possible. For in the weeks after Snyder’s party, Elizabeth changed. It was clear she was attempting to get her life in order—either to improve her chances of securing another contract, or simply for the sake of her health. I even heard from several people that her drinking had stopped—largely due to the help of Tyler, who stayed with her during the hardest hours and kept the suppliers away.
After avoiding me for altogether for several months, she telephoned me twice. The first time was early in January, to wish me a happy new year and to congratulate me on my just-released film. Again we stayed away from any difficult subjects, but we had a pleasant conversation about the weight we’d both put on from all the
