Chapter 2

When the limousine pulled up at the hotel, he gave Ali the room key and went over to the front desk. "I'm Bill Clifford in Suite 1400," he said. "I would like to speak to the manager on duty, please." The clerk had recognized him and very politely asked him to wait a moment. She had obviously used a buzzer because moments later an assistant manager came out from the office, met Bill and went to his desk.

Bill said, "Mr. Carson," reading his name badge, "I was married this morning. For a number of reasons I would like this fact kept confidential. Obviously, not the fact that I'm married, but rather that it just happened this morning."

Carson smiled broadly and extended his hand, "Congratulations, Mr. Clifford. We ... hear things. Did you marry Miss McGrath?" Bill nodded, and Carson beamed. "How wonderful! She's one of my favorite actresses. What has she been doing lately? I can't recall seeing her in a film in years."

Bill changed the subject. "I'm not sure what my wife will be doing with her career. Soon, we're going to be doing some extensive traveling. The reason I wanted you to know is, first, she'll need a key to the suite. Second, she'll have occasion to cash checks, sign chits, and so forth, and I don't want any embarrassment. At the same time, I don't want any publicity. This shouldn't cause the hotel any problems, should it?"

"Of course not, sir. I'll see that the desk and the cashier are notified. Is there anything we can do? We will be sending you a gift from the management up to your suite, but is there anything else?"

Bill smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Carson, but I think that will be all. However, there should be a few things arriving by mail or by messenger for Mrs. Clifford and I want to be sure there will be no delays."

Bill excused himself and went up to the suite. When he let himself in with the second key Carson had given him, he found Ali sitting on the sofa.

She brightened when he came in. "Hi! Welcome home, Mr. Clifford."

Just then the doorbell rang. It was the waiter, Charley, with yet another cart. The suite had been cleaned and the other carts removed while they were out. Charley extended his hand to Bill and said, "Congratulations, sir. I think you're the luckiest men in the world to marry Miss McGrath. Mrs. Clifford, I would like to wish you every happiness." He turned to Bill and said, "The manager has asked me to bring this up, compliments of the hotel. We're all delighted and hope you enjoy it." Bill reached for his wallet, but Charley just waved away the tip.

"Charley, before you go, we're hungry. Could you bring us two big sirloins on toast along with some french fries? In the meantime, we'll get started on the management's gift." Charley grinned, motioned thumbs-up, and let himself out.

Bill uncovered the platter on the trolley and let out a low whistle. "My, my! We're really honored guests. Ali, come and see what they brought for you to graze on," he said to Ali with a grin.

He liked the way she rose so gracefully from the sofa and came over. Her lips formed an 'O' as she saw a half-kilo of beluga caviar with all of the trimmings, along with a bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne which Bill was in the process of opening. She started to fill two plates with caviar spread on toast. When she asked him about his choice of trimmings, he replied, "Everything." By this time he had eased the cork from the bottle and poured two glasses which he brought over to the sofa.

He handed a glass to Ali and raised his own. "To us! Thank you, Ali. I'm looking forward to the year."

She smiled over the top of her glass. "Thank you, Bill, for the opportunity." They sipped the champagne and ate the caviar. Then he sat next to her on the sofa, putting his arm around her. Turning his head, he found her lips poised before his. Their kiss was soft and sweet but with passionate overtones. He noticed how soft and sweet her mouth was.

When they separated, she leaned back against the cushions and slowly shook her head. "Bill, if this was submitted as a movie script it wouldn't survive two seconds. It would be trashed as being totally unbelievable. My God! I'm actually your wife — in the eyes of the State of California, if not necessarily in the eyes of God."

Just then the doorbell rang. It was Charley with their lunch. When he had left Ali rubbed her belly and looked at Bill with feigned suspicion. "Are you trying to fatten me up?"

He picked up on her reaction and said, "Damn! I thought I had you fooled. There's an Arab sheik who's looking for a blonde addition to his harem, but he likes his women with some meat on them. You can't blame a guy for trying, can you?" he said with a grin. He looked at her fondly. "Would you do me a favor? Please put on your new dress?"

Without saying a word she went to the bedroom to change. While she was gone, he made another phone call.

Less than thirty minutes later the doorbell rang. It was the representative from a Rodeo Drive jewelry store. The man opened a small case he had with him and took out several strings of pearls. Ali watched the performance with amazement shaded by amusement. The representative took a double strand of pearls and put it around her neck as she looked at herself in a mirror. The pearls appeared too large. She shook her head and so did Bill. She tried another necklace and then a third and a fourth. Finally she tried on a two-strand necklace of matched pearls. Ali smiled and Bill nodded at the salesman. She noticed that almost no words had been spoken. She carefully took off the necklace and went back to the bedroom to change. When she returned to the sitting room, the salesman bid goodbye to Ali and Bill and left.

Sitting on the table was a lovely white-wrapped package. Bill held it out to her and said, "A very small remembrance of your wedding day."

She opened it and found the necklace lying in a beautiful jewelers' presentation case. For the first time, she saw that the clasp was diamond studded. She looked at him puzzled, "They don't gift-wrap props. What's going on? I thought you were looking for something to go with my dress?"

"I was. I found it. Happy wedding," he said with a smile.

"This is real, isn't it? These aren't fake. In fact, they are not even cultured pearls, are they?" she asked skeptically.

He nodded, "They're real. I guess they're worth a couple of bucks."

She just shook her head in amazement. "And they're really for me?"

"You're the only wife I have at the moment, so I suppose so. But do you like them, now that you've decided they're real?" Instead of answering, Ali went to Bill, put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He could feel a wetness on his cheek and held her away for a moment. Tears were streaming from her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What did I do this time?"

Her head was up straight and she shook it slowly from side to side. "Bill, you can't possibly understand. For so long I've been scrimping and saving ... and fighting. It seemed like everyone with any power has been against me. All I can say is, thank you! I love the necklace. It's absolutely beautiful. But why are you doing this? You never laid eyes on me until this morning."

"That's not true," he said. "I've laid eyes on you countless times ... in your movies. I think I have every one you ever appeared in on tape, even the bit parts. Unfortunately, the tapes are a bit worn from overuse. But you've never laid eyes on me. Ali, thank you for going through with this. For me, this is really something of a personal dream. I know a great deal about you. When I met you this morning, I quickly confirmed my impression that you really are what you always appeared to be on the screen. This project is working out far better than I ever expected. I have one question, though: You made pretty big money in a number of your films. What happened to it?"

She grimaced. "I guess a big chunk went for my parents. They were seriously injured in an automobile accident and subsequently died. Their final care was very expensive. And, of course, the other guy didn't have any insurance or assets. Most of the rest went into my legal battles against the studio and some individuals over the blacklisting that has kept me from working. They've been very vindictive. Not only did they keep me out of films, they really stopped me from getting any kind of job ... even after I received my MBA. I guess that's the principal reason I decided to get a law degree. This way I can represent myself without having to pay someone else while I continue the fight."

She cocked her head and looked at him. "What now?" she asked.

He smiled and said, "Look, I know you have classes tomorrow morning, and tonight may be a late night. Why don't you take a nap, and I'll take care of a few things?" She nodded and returned to the bedroom while Bill left the suite.

It was several hours later when Ali felt a hand on her shoulder. She was in the bed sleeping under the bedspread. Her eyes opened and she saw Bill sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Hi! Are you ready to rejoin the ranks of the living? You were sleeping so soundly I almost didn't wake you. How do you feel?" he asked.

She stretched like a big cat. He noticed how beautiful she looked even at the moment of awakening. "Yum! I feel wonderful. Bill, I can't remember sleeping so soundly. I don't know if it was the events of the day — this has been the most unbelievable day of my life — or if it's finally getting out from under all my money worries. Money has been a constant worry for years. Anyway, I feel great. What time is it and what are we doing?"

He smiled warmly. "I hope I didn't wreck it. It's six-thirty already. We have a reservation at eight. Can you be ready or should I change the time of our reservation? We are dining at Maxim's with the Sills."

"I'll be ready for my wedding dinner," she said. Then she looked slightly embarrassed. "Would you mind waiting outside while I get ready? I know we're married, and I'm not really very modest, but would you mind?"

He smiled and said he had already taken a shower while she was sleeping and didn't mind at all. He went out to the sitting room as she got out of bed.

Forty minutes later she emerged from the bedroom and stood like a model. "How do I look?" she asked.

Bill glanced up from a book he was reading and then did a double-take. "My God! Ali, you're magnificent!" Her golden hair was beautifully arranged as it had been after the styling. The dress looked as lovely on her as he had hoped it would, and the pearls were beautiful. He got out of his chair, went to her, took her in his arms and warmly kissed her. He could feel her lips move under his and felt her tongue dart out. Again, Bill heard bells and this time could feel a two-way flow of electricity between them.

When the kiss ended and he stepped away, he heard her murmur, "Wow!" Then she smiled at him and said, "It's a good thing I didn't put on my lipstick yet. And if you kiss me like that again, my knees will be too weak to stand up to do it!" She looked in the mirror and very expertly put on some lipstick and turned to face him. "I'm all set!" Then her face fell slightly. "I hope it's not too cool tonight. I just realized I have this beautiful dress but nothing to wear over it. I don't think it would look too cool to enter the restaurant wearing your jacket."

Bill just smiled. "I think we'll manage," he said. Going over to the closet he brought out a beautiful full-length mink coat. "I think this will handle the chill, don't you? Why don't you see if it fits?" he asked as he held it for her. Ali slipped it on and it fit as perfectly as he had known it would.

She wrapped it around herself and nuzzled her cheek in the soft fur. "Yum! This is beautiful, Bill, and I'll be very careful with it. When does it have to go back?" she asked, thinking that, like so many things in Hollywood, it was rented. When she opened it up to look at the lining, she saw her monogram — her new monogram, AMC — sewn into the lining in thread only slightly different in color from the lining itself. She looked at Bill accusingly. "This isn't rented, is it?"

He shook his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Ali. I took a chance you would like the fur and the color. But it can go back tomorrow if you don't like it."

"Bill Clifford, you are terrible! Like it? I love it!" Her face fell, and he could see tears forming again in her eyes. "Is this another wedding present?" she asked. Again he nodded. "Bill, I feel awful. I didn't get you anything! It's worse than that as I think about it. You know everything about me and I don't know anything about you. I guess all I know is you are a widower, you are very attractive, you have three grown children and a lot of money."

Then she smiled. Again, he thought it was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. He decided he loved her smile. She continued, "On the other hand, I know a lot of girls who measure a man's attractiveness solely by the size of his bank account. I guess I'm not so bad off, after all." Ali smiled warmly and added, "I forgot something: You're also incredibly generous. And I think you're impulsive, too."

"There's something else you forgot," Bill said. "I love your smile. It literally lights up the room like sunshine. I guess I want to do things that cause you to smile. Ali, your smile just now made the coat cheap at twice the price. Can you accept that?" She nodded slowly. "Great! Now that you're all set, shall we go?" She took his arm and they left the suite.

When the doorman at Maxim's opened the limousine door, Ali gracefully stepped out and smiled at him. He saluted and said, "Welcome back to Maxim's, Miss McGrath. It's been a long time ... much too long. I'm delighted to see you again."

"Thank you so much for remembering me, Henry. It has been a long time."

They were ushered to their table by the maître d'hôtel. It was a table for four; Jeff and Jennifer Sills had not yet arrived. Several minutes later when the maître d' showed the Sills to the table, Bill rose and held out his hand. "I'm Bill Clifford, and I assume you're Jeff Sills. I'm very glad to meet you. I should have warned you, perhaps, but this is my wife, Ali. We were married this morning."

Jeff's jaw dropped. "Married? My God!"

Jen squealed and hugged Ali. Then she stood back and said, "Ali, you look marvelous. You haven't looked this good in years." She grinned and continued, "Clearly, married life — at least the first eight hours or so — agrees with you."

The couple sat down and the waiter brought the champagne Bill had ordered along with a huge container of beluga caviar. Bill offered a toast. "To us. Jeff and Jen, congratulations on your anniversary. Many happy returns of the day. Ali, thank you," he finished simply."

The dinner was a great success. Finally, as they were having coffee and cognac and everyone was feeling very mellow, Ali looked at Jeff and Jen and asked, "How's your down-payment fund coming? How much do you have and how much are you trying to save?"

Jen answered for the couple. "We're losing is what's happening. Ali, in the last twelve months Jeff and I have added nearly eighteen thousand to our savings. And you know what? I think the down-payment we need has increased by more than twenty! We have nearly fifty thousand, but we figure we need almost one hundred to be able to afford the payments, closing costs, insurance, taxes, and that sort of thing. Thank you so much for the dinner. I guess we were both feeling pretty low this morning. We're running as fast as we can, but we seem to be going backwards."

Ali smiled and said, "Kids, the dinner is on Bill. It's his gift to you and to me. But I haven't given you a gift in all the time I've known you. I just show up like a stray cat in desperate need of food and a kind word. I know there have been times when you and Jeff were scrimping, but you always welcomed me and shared whatever you had." Ali smiled softly. "It's not really my style to just take and never give back. So finally I have a gift for you." She took a check out of her purse that she had written earlier and gave it to Jen.

The girl looked at it, and then looked stunned. "Ali, this is a joke! Please say it's a joke," she exclaimed.

Jeff looked over her shoulder at the check. "Jen, it's not a joke. I happen to know it's good." He took it from Jen and gave it back to Ali. "Ali, you know we can't possibly accept this. We appreciate what you're trying to do, and we'll accept a check for one hundred dollars very gratefully, but one hundred thousand? It's out of the question!"

"Why is it out of the question?" Ali asked quietly. "Jeff, what's my balance at the bank?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know how many checks you've written, but I guess it's around four-fifty," he replied.

"What's my balance been running for the last year or so? Let's face it: it was a cause for celebration if it hit triple digits," she said. Jeff nodded slowly. "Okay, then. I give you one hundred thousand. That leaves me with about three-fifty. Jen said it all: You're losing ground. I'm just trying to get you over the hump. With this money coupled with your savings you can get into the house you want. Maybe you can even get some furniture. I've heard it's dangerous to have only a bed. First, you can't go out much because you're so financially strapped. Second, when the only furniture is the bed, it becomes the playpen and all kinds of very expensive things can happen. You can think of it as protecting my investment. You've just admitted I have the money. What you may not know is I also have a very generous husband, so I don't think I'm going to be spending much of my own money for the next twelve months. I'm asking you as a personal favor to me to take it. Please!"

Jen looked at Jeff and asked, "Is what Ali just said true?" Jeff nodded and said it was. Looking at Ali, tears came to her eyes. She got out of her seat and went to Ali, took the older girl in her arms, and started to cry. "Ali, thank you. There aren't words ... there can't be words to express the gratitude we feel. This morning we were despondent. We were losing our fight to get our house. Tonight, it's suddenly there. I don't know what to say, except thank you."

Ali smiled. Bill noticed it was the smile that he had begun to think of as her sunshine smile. "Now that it's all settled, then, do you have a house in mind?"

Jeff and Jen nodded in unison. Jen said, "We sure do. There's a place in the Valley we've been looking at. It's a new development, but the developers are really good. They've been building for several years, but they do it slowly — just a few units at a time. That's been our big worry: We really love the place, but they're nearly built out. We were scared to death that the lots would be all gone before we got the money." She smiled. "They're really nice people. We've been over there so much, we're on a first-name basis with most of them. They'll collapse when I call them tomorrow and tell them we're all set."

Jeff picked up. "Ali, we will register a second mortgage on the property in the name of Allison McGrath Clifford. Will the going rate for second-mortgage money be okay?"

Ali glared at him. "No, it will not be okay. I'll compromise with you: We'll call it a deferred second for fifty thousand. Interest is waived until the first is paid. It then takes interest at the first-mortgage rate and runs for the same term as the first, but beginning when the first is paid. Otherwise, it's a gift. Period."

Jeff looked at Jen and smiled sheepishly. "Jen, it's a tough deal, but it's the best I can negotiate. Is it okay with you?"

Jennifer was a small dark-haired girl with beautiful features and lovely green eyes. Right now her eyes were tearing as she slowly shook her head. "Ali, what you're saying is your hundred is for the down-payment. Our fifty is for closing, furniture, and getting-in expenses. Is that right?"

Ali nodded vigorously.

Jen smiled and said, "It's a deal. Thank you." She turned to Jeff and said, "Do we have to drive home tonight? I think I'd rather just float. We could float home and admire the lights of the city. I feel I'm up about three thousand feet on a cloud as it is. Honey, do you want to come with me?" she asked with a warm smile.

"I'm with you already! Folks, would you excuse us? I'm just a poor banker. We're not used to excitement like this and I don't know how much of it I can take. Besides, I see a look in my wife's eyes I want to take advantage of. Since you're newlyweds, you probably understand."

The Sills left arm-in-arm. As they left, they even appeared to be floating.

Bill looked at Ali and said, "Thank you. That was the nicest wedding present you could possibly have given me. Isn't it fun making others happy? Ali, particularly when it's you, it gives me joy. In fact, you have a sunshine smile that appears when you're joyous. It absolutely lights up the place. I love to see it and feel a sense of gratitude when I do. Now are you ready to go back to the hotel?" She nodded and they left the restaurant.

When they got back to the hotel, Ali went into the bedroom while Bill remained in the sitting room. When he went in, she was already in bed with the covers up to her chin. Going into the bathroom, he got ready for bed. After putting on a pair of pajama bottoms, he went back to the bedroom. When he slid between the covers he saw that Ali was completely nude. She looked at him questioningly as he slid under the covers beside her.

"Remember what I said? We sleep together literally, but not figuratively. But would you give me a kiss?" he asked.

Again he saw the sunshine smile as she rolled on top of him and crushed his lips under her own. He could feel her tongue working as he gently caressed her back with his fingertips. Her skin was like warm satin to his touch. Finally, she broke the kiss and rested on his chest. As she did, he could feel her now-erect nipples. "Are you sure?" she asked softly.

"I'm sure," he replied softly. With a very quiet sigh she rolled off him.

"May I sleep close to you?" she asked. "I would appreciate it if you would let me. I've felt so lonely for so long." He put his arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her towards him. Resting her head on his broad shoulder, Ali's hair spilled like a golden fan over him. She lay back and pulled his arm around her shoulders, then cupped his right hand on her breast and put her hand on top of it. He turned off the light with his left hand and in moments they were asleep.