Chapter 42

His first reading in a while was standing room only at the indie bookstore in Orange County. Some of his favorite ladies were among the crowd, including Melly and Jenny. Even Sam showed up. He felt the first inkling of celebrity in the press of the crowd, and the press of the press for that matter. It seemed the embarrassing scene Tom had made at the screening had attracted a great deal of notoriety, almost always with a by the way, this Harry guy can act. What that had to do with writing novels, Harry couldn’t say, chocking it up to the weird thing called celebrity.

Harry and Peg shared Jenny that night at the Hacienda before he and Jenny headed north to complete his book tour. Meanwhile Peg shopped for houses, Melly assisting by driving her around.

The morning after Harry’s standing room only reading at City Lights in San Francisco, which actually got moved to the bar next door because of the crowd, Peg called.

“I found our home!” she exclaimed.

“Already?” Harry asked.

“No rewards for taste or individuality ... It’s essentially a McMansion truth be told, but that’s actually it’s advantage, out of taste and past it’s time. A decent neighborhood, middle and upper middle class, not snobsville. Decent schools.”

“Safety?”

“It’s not gated, but it’s like on a cul de sac so if we build a fortress around it or something...”

“Pool?”

“Part of the McMansion problem: no yard. But there’s a community pool for the housing project.”

“That’s not such a bad thing.”

“I agree. Except for the no nude swimming part.”

“Except that.”

“I don’t even want to show it to you, because it’s pretty ugly, more mundane I guess ... No ugly. Seven bedrooms, Harry.”

“That’s...”

“Hopefully enough and at a yard sale price so to speak. My own money can take a significant chunk out of the mortgage.”

“How’s it built?”

“Pretty solid I’d say. I asked a neighbor and he had no complaints except having at least a quarter of the houses not sold. I guess when they skimped on aesthetics, they made up for it in quality.”

“If you want...”

“No pride in ownership Harry, that’s the problem. You invite the hoi polloi over, they’ll be sticking their noses up at you. But prestige costs money, and to tell you the truth I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

“In other words, fuck them,” Harry chuckled.

“It may diminish your cool factor.”

“Whatever that means. You remember when we looked at our wedding bands?”

“And I found this gorgeous ring?”

“About the embarrassment of wearing a quarter carat diamond ring.”

“I don’t know if it’s the same thing, Harry. A lack of taste compared to a lack of quantity? Gauche compared to destitute?”

“What does Melly think?”

“She thinks it’s hilarious.”

Harry chuckled. “Location?”

“Depends on where you shoot doesn’t it, but it’s just off 5. I figure, to beat the invevitable crawl to wherever you are, you rent an apartment or something, or stay at the Hacienda if it’s around Hollywood.”

“Makes sense.”

“So?”

“You don’t want to look around some more?”

“All I’m seeing are multi-million dollar homes for what we want, gated communities with lots of bedrooms. This one’s less than a million.”

“So barely affordable or not affordable at all.”

“You get that series than who knows, you might be one of the very few who can afford that shit.”

“Fucking LA. If you think it will work.”

“I think it’s by far the best of choices, which are none otherwise.”

“You sure we need all those bedrooms?”

“Three minimum, but really four. Kid’s room and office. And there will always be someone with us. Five is for expansion because I just know we’ll need it.”

“Nothing with four bedrooms? Maybe three with an unfinished basement we could finish?”

“Not a fan of McMansions than?”

“No, but it doesn’t sound like we need to jump into it.”

“I suppose not. Okay, I’ll look some more.”

“Thanks. But if you think it’s the best choice...”

“I’ll give it one more shot.”

“Thanks.”

“I guess seven bedrooms so cheap hooked me.”

“And it could be where we live.”

“Yeah. Okay. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

By Seattle, Peg had a new solution.

“Sondra owns an LA mansion,” Peg told Harry. “Or I guess her family does, but she has mostly stayed in it.”

“And?” Harry asked.

“And she wants us to live there.”

“Her family?”

“A fucking army could live there,” Peg laughed. “Or at least a militia.”

“She’s doing a lot for us.” Harry referred to Sondra essentially shopping his series around, and with her connections, getting significant meetings. With Pat and Linda’s company taking care of his films, his trying to sell his projects seemed to have ended, and if asked, Pat and Linda would agree that was a good thing.

“Well, I showed her my choices, and the seven room McMansion decided her to offer up her place.”

“Very clever of you.”

“Thanks,” Peg laughed.

“But...”

“I know.”

“Will she...?”

“Demand some kind of exclusivity?”

“Only you get that choice, Peg. I’ll talk to her.”

“Just ... I don’t know ... never mind.”

“Just what?”

“I was going to say be diplomatic, but fuck that. If she demands sex as a price...”

“That’s okay. I like being with her.”

“Me too.”

“But you’re the only one I’d be with all the time.”

“Back at you, big guy.”

“If that means losing the progress she’s made for us, both financially and finding a studio...”

“Yeah. It does kind of suck though.”

“Yeah. Hopefully she’s as understanding as she says she is.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey,” Sondra answered her phone.

“Peg told me about your generous offer,” Harry informed the heiress.

“It’s not like the place gets much use anyway,” Sondra said. “I should have just offered it, but ... optics.”

“That your interest in the project is in just buying me.”

“Or Peg. Rumor has it I’m a butch dyke.”

“Let me be blunt, Sondra. How true is it?”

“You mean me being a dyke?”

“Obviously you’re not.”

Sondra sighed. “There’s no taming a tomcat.”

“The question is how tame do you want me?”

“There’s a bed in the mansion,” Sondra explained. “My brothers call it the Hollywood bed. It’s huge. Supposedly it was my uncle who had it built, considers himself another Hugh Hefner, the eternal bachelor until his stroke. I pretty much took over for him, at least in the sense of looking after our television promotion. But my father would visit him sometimes, and I’m pretty sure he made use of that bed. My brothers actually told me it was some kind of rite, an uncle sponsored orgy. I think, despite my interests in the work, that’s why I got chosen for it, because I wouldn’t be seduced by that part of Hollywood.

“But what if I wanted to be? What if I wanted my own orgy? I mean obviously I’d have to be the host because no one would invite me as a guest.”

“Sondra...”

“I’m well aware of my looks, Harry. I went to a boarding school in Switzerland where I was always the ugly duckling among swans, like genetic experiments where money brought you generations of hot mothers. Skiing became my obsession, my distraction, the advantage of being in Switzerland. It also brought me horny lesbian skiers and the occasional drunken fuck from a man after a few too many hot totties.

“But it never brought me what my folks had, and their folks before them, a man I could love or, most importantly, trust. I get my looks honestly. But I knew some hot guy wished for a bag over my head when he’d seduce me and make a grab for my money. I knew it was mercenary from the get go.

“And maybe that’s you, too, but, to be honest, it doesn’t feel that way.”

“Because it’s not,” Harry proclaimed.

“I feel appreciated by you.”

“Because you are.”

“But I want my orgy, Harry. Maybe you could make that happen.”

“You know Peg doesn’t sleep with other men, only one since we married. She likes sharing women with me as you know.”

“A bed full of hot women wouldn’t be the worst choice, but ... have you ever shared a bed with a man?”

“No.”

“I mean as a threesome.”

“No I haven’t. And to be honest it doesn’t appeal to me all that much. I mean, if one of the women in my life wants to be double fucked, we usually bring out the strap-on. Is that what you want?”