Chapter 47

The next morning I was up at the normal time and ran with Dick Wyman. He asked me how things had been going. I gave him a small update as we circled the high school track. He told me he didn’t understand how one person could get involved in so many things.

My morning was prosaic, to say the least. I stopped at the bank, the dry cleaners and the library. From there I went to the mall to pick up some new golf shirts as mine were getting tight. I went home and polished my boots and shoes. The housekeeper that stopped once a week didn’t seem to have the same standards as I had been taught so I spent some time cleaning the apartment.

At lunchtime, I went over to Larry’s Chili Dog. Larry’s is an outdoor stand with picnic tables to sit at. As far as I was concerned they had the best Chili Dogs west of the Mississippi. Those at Crosley Field in Cincinnati were the best east of the Mississippi.

I read a book on economics and how the stock market works. I had picked it up at the library. I had a feeling that I would have to know about such things someday.

Later on, I took a nap because I had no idea how late Monroe’s party would last. I also ate dinner before I went. I drove over to Sandwiches by Connal’s in Pasadena for a quick meal.

I returned to my apartment to shower and shave. I wore my normal outfit of dark grey slacks, a yellow golf shirt, and a dark blue blazer. After dithering between my boots and shoes I went with the boots. They seemed more natural to me these days, certainly more comfortable.

I arrived at the party at seven-thirty, a half-hour fashionably late. Actually, Nina had suggested this as most people would arrive about then. She was at the door greeting guests with her father. I actually got the air kiss on the cheek from her. Wow, were we fancy tonight. I cheated though as I was pulling away I licked her ear.

In turn, she slugged me in the gut. Ain’t love grand! Well anyway, it was a little bit of fun. No one else noticed.

I went to one of the bar setups to order a Coke. After that, I snacked on appetizers for a while. The bacon-wrapped shrimp, or as the waiter informed me, Angels on Horseback, were wonderful.

I finally found a corner to stand in and watch the crowd. I was joined by a young man who introduced himself in a strong Australian accent as Jack McLeod. He was here on business and knew some people who knew some people so he got an invite. Well, at least he came with people who had an invite. He seemed like a good guy.

He was in the cattle business and was looking for bulls to improve his herd. He told me he couldn’t wait to get home, this was okay but he preferred the outdoors. We stood in the corner for the longest time and talked about the various guests. Naturally, we didn’t know many of them but we made up stories about them anyway.

Jack told me about his farm in Australia and invited me down under someday. He made it seem really nice. It would be fun to take a bath in a tub set out in a field next to a windmill. Talk about a different world.

One of the people we talked about was a guy every bit as big as John Wayne and really good looking. Someone had pointed him out to Jack; he was a high powered advertising man from Madison Avenue, by the name of Don Drason or something like that. He sure liked his booze and women.

I wondered if DF would need an agency like that. If so I think I would ask Mum to handle it. For some reason, I think she could hold her own with that crew. With his recent sobriety, I wouldn’t want to place Dad in that situation.

Standing there I didn’t notice a young lady who came up to me.

“Ricky, I am so glad to see you.”

It was the beautiful Annette. We did the air kiss thing. What’s wrong with a real kiss? At that point, Jack McLeod excused himself and walked away. Just as I was getting ready to have a good talk with Annette another old acquaintance showed up. Paul Anka was there. I barely had time to introduce him to Annette and they were in another world.

Jack came back as they wandered away, “Puppy love if I’ve ever seen it.”

Our corner was getting busy as now I was tapped on the shoulder by Anna Romanov. This time Jack made no attempt to leave so I introduced them.

Anna told me that she was starting a design house. She would recommend products and even carry her own brand names. Her first product was going to be a special line commissioned with DF Designs. She was interested in co-sponsoring my TV special and being in our catalogs. I told her I would have to talk to my partner Mark Downing and arrange a meeting to discuss terms.

She thought that was how we should proceed. About that time John Wayne showed up and twirled her away.