The Truth about My Success (29 page)

Lucky me
, thinks Leone, but in reality even she has to admit that she is lucky. They’ve made it to Sunday without any interference from Paloma. You can’t get luckier than that. Leone has been so busy over the last few days that a family of five could have moved into one of the guest rooms and she wouldn’t have noticed, so she is, of course, completely unaware that her missing daughter has actually come back home. As far as Leone’s concerned, God heard her prayers, and kept Paloma away. Not only that, but Arthur has been sent out of town by Jack so that he doesn’t stagger in on the interview unexpectedly. And – just in case Paloma decides to put in an appearance after all – there are four young men (also provided by Jack) who look like gardeners but wouldn’t know a hibiscus from a hosta patrolling the property.

Leone gazes out the window of the breakfast nook. It seems like only yesterday that she was worried that the show would be cancelled, or that Paloma would go so far off the rails that they’d never get her back on track, or both those things together and possibly some other disaster thrown in for good measure. Leone smiles as Jack Silk’s ivory Jaguar appears at the top of the driveway and comes to a stop behind one of the equipment vans. Jack’s bought a new handmade suit. She waves. It’s the wave of someone who believes that victory has been snatched from the jaws of defeat. Jack waves back.

While Jack Silk has been upgrading his wardrobe and Leone was moving the furniture around, Paloma has been re-entering her life. She watches every episode of the new season of
Angel in the House
with a lot more interest than she ever showed before. Even she can see that it’s better than it was. “It actually looks like you guys are having fun,” she says to Oona. Oona says, “Yeah, sometimes we do.” Which is more than Paloma can say. She watches the YouTube video of Oona telling off the photographer at least a dozen times. “You’d like my friend Tallulah,” she tells Oona. “She’s feisty just like you.” She watches things on the computer and reads a little on Oona’s Kindle, and she thinks. She wonders what the kids back at the ranch are doing. How the big dance went. If Tallulah misses her at all. If somebody else is bringing Sweetie apples from her lunch. She wishes she had Mrs Buckminster’s number so she could tell her she’s all right; she doesn’t want her to worry. And sometimes, when she knows that Leone has left the house, she wanders through the rooms, but it’s like a ghost visiting the past – not a place she wants to be any more but a place she’s left.

Right now, however, what Paloma is doing is getting ready for the interview. Her hair is blonde again and her eyes are blue, but she rejects the outfit Leone has chosen for Oona to wear.

“It’s too nicey nicey.” She holds the dress in the air with two fingers as if it may be infected. “And little girly.”

“Wear whatever you want.” Oona isn’t looking at her, but at her phone, a few feet away on an end table, that has begun to play the theme song from
Angel in the House
. “You’re the boss now.”

“I think I should just wear jeans and a T-shirt,” says Paloma. “She’s going to want to talk about you yelling at that photographer, so I figure I should look pretty down-to-earth. Not like some princess.”

“It’s Maria,” says Oona, her head bent over the screen. “Jack’s here.”

Paloma drops the dress on the bed and comes to look over Oona’s shoulder. “What else does she say?”

“Maria says they’ll be watching the show in the breakfast room. They’ve put a monitor in there for Leone, to keep her out of everybody’s hair.”

“That’s perfect!” Paloma claps her hands. “Then you can get into the kitchen from the back and surprise them. But make sure you have your phone with you. I want a picture of their faces.”

There’s a sharp knock on the door that makes them both jump. “Miss Rose? Make-up’s ready for you.”

Paloma calls, “Just a sec,” while Oona gets up and heads for the window. If Arthur can get up that way, she can get down.

“Good luck,” she whispers as she climbs onto the balcony.

Paloma crosses her fingers. “You too.”

In the breakfast nook, Jack Silk and Leone sit side by side, Maria standing behind them, all three sets of eyes on the monitor on the table.

“Oh my god,” breathes Leone as Paloma and Harriet come into view. “Look what she’s wearing.” At least the mutt’s wearing the new collar she bought her. “That’s not what I picked out for her. She looks like a mall rat.”

“She looks like a regular kid,” says Jack. “That’s what we want. The People’s Star.”

But Leone is nervous. “I can’t help it,” she says. “Practically the whole country is watching. What if she lets something slip?”

“She’s not going to let anything slip.” Jack pats her hand. “You’re worrying about nothing. She’s going to have half the nation rushing out to get rescue dogs, and the other half looking up in the
TV Guide
to see when
Angel in the House
is on. I bet when she’s done there won’t be a dry eye in the house.” He glances over his shoulder. “Don’t you think so, Maria?”

Maria, who is also demonstrating a talent for acting, says, “Yes.”

In the family living room, Paloma sits on the small sofa with Harriet beside her, and Lucinda Chance sits in the armchair to her left. They chat a little before the cameras begin to roll. Paloma introduces Lucinda to Harriet, and Lucinda introduces the crew. And when the show begins the atmosphere is relaxed and warm, as if they are two old friends and a dog hanging out on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Lucinda begins with the outburst at the food court. “What made you respond like that?” asks Lucinda. “After all, you’ve been in this business since you were no taller than this coffee table. You should be pretty used to that kind of thing by now.”

Paloma says she is used to it, but that it wasn’t about her. “I know part of the price you pay for fame is not being able to blow your nose without some guy taking a picture of you. But this time he targeted my dog.” She lays a hand on Harriet’s head. “She’s a total innocent. She’s not a celebrity. He had no right to touch her.” Right on cue, Harriet looks at the camera and wags her tail.

In the breakfast nook, Jack says, “Atta girl,” and even Leone starts to relax.

Lucinda brings up the fact that Paloma used to have a reputation as being something of a Hollywood brat.

Paloma says it’s true. She talks about how, like Lucinda said, she’s been in the business for even longer than she can remember. “It’s not a normal way of living,” says Paloma. “I’m sure you understand what I mean, but it took me a long time to figure that out. I’ve never really had any friends, or any interests even. All I’ve done is work. I’m not saying it’s a hard life. I mean, gosh, that would be a stupid thing to say. But it is weird. You don’t really know what’s what. Or even what’s real.”

Jack draws his eyebrows together. “My, my,” he says.

Leone leans forward slightly, squinting at the screen.

“So what brought about this change?” asks Lucinda. “How did you come to understand that?”

Paloma says that some things happened to her recently that made her see things differently. “First of all I got Harriet. And then I made some friends who aren’t in the business, and I did a lot of things that I never did before.”

Lucinda crosses her legs. “Like what?”

“You’re not going to believe this,” says Paloma, “but I went camping. Like, under the stars? And I sat around a campfire and sang old, hokey songs.”

“Oh, my god…” Leone’s voice is barely audible because of Lucinda’s laugh of delight.

Lucinda reaches over and touches Paloma’s arm. “Well you certainly don’t seem like a spoiled Hollywood brat now.”

“I don’t want to be that person,” says Paloma. “I’ve really been thinking about it, and I want to be a regular teenager. I want to have friends and go to school and figure out what
I
want to do with my life.”

Leone is practically on top of the monitor by now. “Oh, my god…”

Lucinda leans towards Paloma. “That almost sounds like you’re thinking of giving up your career.”

Paloma nods. “I am. At least for a while. I mean, I’ll finish this season. But then I might take a break. I’ve never had one before. I think it’s good to step away from your comfort zone now and then, don’t you?”

Lucinda says she does.

Leone clutches Jack’s arm. “That’s Paloma. That’s Paloma talking to Lucinda.”

“It can’t be,” says Jack.

Oona comes out of the kitchen, eating a cookie. “Yes it can,” she says.

It was a great show, watched by millions. In the days when people would call the station to comment on programmes, the switchboard would have been lit up like Times Square. Now, the interview went viral. It trended on Twitter and was all over Facebook. Tens of thousands of American mothers expressed the hope that their daughters would grow up to be just like Paloma Rose. Lucinda Chance said it was one of the best she’s ever done – so relaxed, so like real friends sitting around the living room talking. She kept telling Paloma how happy she was to meet her. She’s sure there will be future projects that they can work on together. They hugged and promised to keep in touch.

At last the crew packed up the equipment, and they all climbed into their trucks and cars and drove away, leaving behind several rooms in disarray and piles of dirty glasses, plates and cups.

And Jack and Leone still sitting in the breakfast nook, looking rather like people who have survived some natural disaster. Except that they aren’t wrapped in blankets and aren’t drinking coffee brought to them by rescue workers. Paloma and Oona sit down across from them. Side by side, they look like bookends.

Brave as a soldier leading the charge over the hill, Leone smiles. “So,” she says, “I guess you two must be pretty proud of yourselves.”

“That’s more than can be said for you and Jack,” says Paloma.

Leone’s nails click against the top of the table. “There’s no need for that attitude, darling. We did what we did for your own good.” She raises her glass. “And look how well it turned out! You’re a complete success!”

Neither Paloma nor Oona smiles back.

Jack puts a hand on Leone’s arm. “I think what your mother means,” he cuts in, “is that you should be proud of yourselves. Both of you. You’ve done a fantastic job. Absolutely fantastic.” He turns his big-bucks smile on Paloma. “And you, sweetheart, you were incredible. Success? My guess is you can write your own ticket from now on. I mean, my god! You had Lucinda Chance eating out of your hand. Which, let me tell you, is not an everyday occurrence.”

Oona makes that face Leone knows so well – the one where she sucks in her bottom lip and pulls her eyebrows together. Leone silently sighs.
Here we go…

“But Paloma’s success has nothing to do with you and Leone,” says Oona. “Anything either of us has done, we’ve done in spite of you. All you did was lie and manipulate.”

Jack’s smile doesn’t lose so much as a penny. “But, as Leone said, it was with the best intentions, sweetheart. It was for Paloma’s own good.” He spreads his hands, as if holding an offering; his shrug is sad. Why is he always so misunderstood? “And it didn’t exactly do you any harm, did it? You’ve had quite a large portion of success yourself. You’re definitely a lot better off now than you were when I first saw you. You can’t deny that.”

“But that wasn’t your
good intention
, either.” Oona doesn’t misunderstand Jack Silk at all. “The Devil may make you a great guitar player, but it isn’t because he likes music. You didn’t do any of this to help Paloma or me. The only ones you two were helping were yourselves.” She leans slightly forward, her eyes on Jack. “I heard you talking about Paloma. You didn’t even care if she got home safely or not.”

But this is not a topic Leone and Jack want to discuss.

“This is all very fascinating, of course,” says Leone, “but I think I’ve had enough of the pleasantries. I think we should get down to business.” She refills her glass from the shaker beside her on the table. “Just what is it you plan to do now, Paloma? Sell your story to the tabloids?”

Paloma shakes her head. “Not unless I have to. What we plan to do, me and Oona, is get back into our own lives.”

Oona nods. “As long as you and Jack cooperate, we won’t say a word.”

Leone glances over at Jack. “Cooperate how?”

“You mean besides pay Oona every cent you promised?” A smile lights up Paloma’s face the way a klieg lights up a set. “I’m firing you, Jack and Arthur, I’m filing for legal emancipation, and I’m selling the house. I don’t care where you and Dad go,” she says to Leone, “just as long as it’s nowhere near me. I don’t want to have anything to do with any of you.”

Jack straightens his tie. “And what if we won’t cooperate?”

“Then we go public with the whole sordid story,” says Oona. “We’re pretty sure Lucinda Chance would be really interested in it.”

Jack straightens the cuffs of his jacket, considering the future. Which at the moment appears as rosy as a lump of coal. “You know, girls, it’s been a very long day,” he says, soothing as oil. “Things may seem pretty black and white to you right now, but there’s a lot to think about. Why don’t we all get a good night’s sleep and continue this discussion tomorrow? Things are bound to look different in the morning.”

“There’s nothing to continue,” says Oona. “That’s the agreement.”

“I’ve already talked to a lawyer.” Now the spotlight of Paloma’s smile falls on Jack. “The deal isn’t negotiable. Take it or leave it.”

The four people in the breakfast nook have been so involved in their conversation that none of them are aware that Arthur has come home until he suddenly calls out, “Hey, what’s the good word?” from the doorway.

They all turn, but no one speaks.

The smile is frozen on Arthur’s face, but his eyes move from Paloma to Oona and back again. It takes him a few seconds to register what he’s seeing. And then he says to Jack. “How are you doing that, Silk? Is it mirrors?”

“If only,” says Jack.

It’s
a small, simple wedding held in the backyard of the newlyweds’ new home, but it’s a happy occasion nonetheless. Among the guests are most of Maria’s family, Paloma, Mrs Figueroa, and Mrs Mackinpaw. Paloma and Oona have hung lights, balloons and brightly coloured paper birds from the trees. One of Maria’s nephews is in charge of the music. Harriet is wearing a silver bow.