Chapter 4: She's unforgettable ... but he keeps moving on...

After their last encounter at the studio, John Wayne kept tabs on Diana from a distance through her boss, and occasionally through Ward. About once a month, Wayne would have a nice bottle of wine delivered to her at her office. He hoped she would think her boss was sending them to her. But Ward told him after one of his visits that she asked Ward to tell him she was enjoying the wine and to thank him. He should've known she would figure it out—he always seemed to forget just how smart she was...

He forgot that again when he had her boss' friend sneak him into the nightclub one night a couple months later. He wanted to see her from a distance and listen to her sing. It had to be fate he chose that particular night ... She was wearing the black halter dress he'd bought for her and she looked almost exactly as she did the night she wore it for him. Her hair, her make-up ... except this time she had on a few pieces of sparkling jewelry.

His knees nearly buckled again when he saw her. He sat down heavily on the seat at the table in the darkened corner that the nightclub owner led him to. He pulled out his cigarettes and slowly sipped on whiskey and smoked as he watched her perform.

She had just started her first set when he arrived. He watched and listened as she sang all different types of music; old standards, soft contemporary numbers, songs from musicals and even a sultry jazz tune. Her voice had more of a range than he first thought. Part of the tune was in a lower register, and as she sang it, she sounded as sexy as she looked. She had really started to come out of the shell she'd been keeping herself in since she had been with him. He heard a couple young men at a table in front of him talking about her.

One of the men growled, and said quietly, "Goddamn, she's a hot little thing! And I've got something that's burnin' yearnin' to be inside of you, gorgeous!"

The other man snickered quietly and added, "No kiddin'! And look at her face and the way she moves! I'll bet that's what she looks like when she's on top of a man ... damn I'd like to get me some of that!"

Wayne took a deep drag on his cigarette, and then exhaled slowly as he leaned toward the young men, just close enough so they could see who he was. He said in a quiet, menacing voice, "You fellows are talking about someone very special to me. And if you utter one more goddamn comment like that about her, then I'm going to smash your teeth down your throat and have you thrown out of here. You got that?"

The young men's eyes widened when they saw him. They stared at him, blinking nervously, while he issued his warning. Then they both mumbled, "Yes, sir, Mr. Wayne." Then one of them continued, "We're real sorry, but we couldn't help it. See ... we're on leave right now and we haven't been around many women for a while and she's just the most gorgeous thing we've seen since we got into town this morning!"

Wayne asked, "You men are on leave? From where?"

The same one replied, "San Diego, sir. Our ship just docked yesterday from a three-month cruise. And well, we've seen San Diego before, so we'd thought we'd come up to L.A. for a few days and catch some different sights."

Wayne commented, "Navy men, eh? Well ... I guess I can forgive you for ardently admiring a beautiful woman after being away from them for a while. But you two need to remember that all women are somebody's wife, mother, daughter, sister or niece ... And how would you feel if you heard some man say something like what you said about your own sister?"

"Gee, Mr. Wayne ... we never thought about it that way before. I guess we were being very disrespectful of her ... and you. We'll try to keep that in mind from now on. Thank you, sir, for the advice, and your understanding."

Wayne said quietly, "Sure thing, son. Now ... if you men will keep quiet about me being here, I'll pick up your bar tab. Is that a deal?"

"You bet! We won't say a word! Thanks a lot!" they both said as they laughed quietly at their good fortune.

In between sets, the owner of the club came to Wayne's table to check on him. "I'm good Vinny, but I'll be paying for these two young men's drinks. By the way, do the musicians and singer ever take special requests?"

Vinny replied, "We've had occasional special requests if it's a song that the band and the singer know." Wayne asked Vinny to see if the band knew a special song that he wanted to hear Diana sing. Vinny came back a few minutes later. "Yes, Mr. Wayne, the musicians know that song and they'll notify Diana that it's been requested when she comes back out for her next set."

When she came out, he saw the piano player telling her about the request. As soon as she heard which song it was, she immediately started scanning the darkened club like she was looking for someone. She knews it was him, but he hoped she'd sing it any way ... She looked at the piano player and nodded her head in agreement. So the piano started with the opening notes of "Unforgettable" and the band joined in when Diana started singing.

He watched her face as she sang. Yes, little girl ... pretend you're singing to me again... She let every ounce of her emotions show on her face. She looked toward and gestured at different areas of the room, like she wasn't sure if he was there, but she was going to cover the room ... just in case. During the instrumental break in the song, she continued to look around the darkened hall like she somehow might be able to spot him.

Was it fate or did she somehow know he was there? She sang the entire last three lines of the song looking and gesturing directly toward where he was sitting in the dark. She had such a look of love and longing on her face; her eyes welled with tears and there was a slight catch in her voice on the last word.

As the last notes died and the music ended, she dropped her head and backed away from the microphone to wipe away a few tears that she couldn't stop. There was a moment of stunned silence when music died, and then the room erupted into thunderous applause, whistles and shouts of "bravo!" Diana lifted her head; tears still shimmered in her eyes and she smiled sadly as she took a couple bows. She went back to the microphone and said a couple "thank you's." When the room quieted, she said, "That was for ... the man of my dreams," as she glanced toward where he was again.

She never saw him, but somehow she knew he was there. Who else would've requested that song? She picked the darkest area of the room figuring that would be where he'd hide himself. She sang the last lines like she could see his face looking at her when she sang it to him before.

She continued with the rest of her sets, still occasionally glancing toward that darkest corner whenever she would sing a love song. She wasn't sure if he was still there or not. But she thought she caught glimpses of a dark figure that never moved but was steadily smoking cigarettes—like he would be. She wanted him to know how she still felt...

When "Unforgettable" ended, Wayne stood up with everyone else around him and clapped as loudly as he could while tears swam in his eyes. When she said it was "for the man of her dreams" as she looked directly toward him, he realized she knew he was there.

The young Navy men looked at him and one of them said quietly, "She obviously sang that to you. We can see why she's so special to you. Is she going to be your next wife?"

He glanced at the young men. "I wanted her to be ... but she said no."

The young men looked flabbergasted and one of them said, "But she looked right at you and it was all over her face that she loves you! Why would she turn YOU down? Is she crazy?"

Wayne said quietly as he stared at her, "I guess it just goes to prove that, as in movies, even in real life there's not always a happy ending to some great love stories. The leading man doesn't always get the girl. But what she and I have is special ... we'll always love each other ... and she is ... unforgettable."

He continued to watch her through her second set, noticing that every time she sang a love song, she would be looking mostly in his direction. Their magical connection had tipped her off as soon as she had been told that "Unforgettable" had been requested.

He didn't stay until the end. He knew it would be harder for her if she actually saw him, so he left before the end of her last set. He asked the Navy men to do him a favor and they readily agreed, asking for his autograph and thanking him again for buying their drinks. He made them memorize a brief message to deliver to Diana at the end of the night. And he made them promise that if they told any of the story to their friends or family that they leave Diana's name out of it.

He stood to leave and then stared at her for several long moments. She looked his way as she was ending another song. He froze—his heart breaking again at the expression on her face and the words she was singing to him... Yes, little girl ... I think of you in the moonlight, too ... And we'll always have "Clair de Lune..."

"I'll find you in the morning sun And when the night is new, I'll be looking at the moon, But I'll be seeing ... you!"

It took every ounce of his strength to walk out of that nightclub. He couldn't get anywhere near her ... He wouldn't be able to control himself ... He was starting to feel deeply for Pilar again, and he couldn't do anything else to risk hurting her. He was already conflicted enough ... wondering how he'd fallen in love with two women at the same time? But now that the choice had been made as to which one he was going to marry, he wasn't about to risk throwing that away because he loved and wanted Diana as well.

He drove back to the hotel, telling himself the whole way that he'd done the right thing. She'd be OK ... eventually, she'd said. She just needed more time ... she's loved him all her life ... and now she knew he loved her, but they couldn't be together ... Of course she'd need time to get over that. And she was younger than him ... she had more time ... she'd find happiness with someone worthy of her ... when she was ready. He just hoped he'd never have to see her with that someone...

A tall, dark figure stood in that same corner she'd been singing to. They didn't move when she looked that way as she sang the last lines of the song. But when the song ended, the figure turned and left through a nearby dark exit hallway. She knew it was him ... He purposely didn't stay because he knew it would be hard for her to actually see his face instead of just in her dreams ... Her heart felt heavy. Luckily, her last few songs were upbeat melodies; they helped to take her mind off of him ... almost.