California Dreaming

Chapter 21

“Ivan, I don’t think I can just up and leave New York. My father and I have a good business here, he needs my help.” Henry told me as he sat up in bed.

I sighed, “yeah, I know. I thought there might be a slight chance that you would want to be with me.”

Henry looked at me with sad eyes, “of course I want to be with you, I think about you constantly, but I can’t uproot my life on a whim.”

I nodded, “I know, it wasn’t fair of me to put you on the spot like that.”

He said, “besides, you have your contract to think about, how would you explain me to your studio. I can’t just hide from everyone, if we are to be together, I want to be together everywhere.”

I gave him a smile, “you’re right of course, I was just thinking about myself. And of course, I want us to be free to be seen together without worrying about what others think. You know me, the impulsive one, you have always been more levelheaded.”

Henry laughed, “yes, but it has always seemed to work out for you, my big Hollywood star.”

We fell asleep in each other’s arms for the first time, I was wishing it could be an every night occurrence.

We woke up early the next morning to a repeat performance of the night before. When Henry finished dressing, he gave me a kiss and turned to the door to leave.

I reached into my pocket and said, “hey wait a second, this is for you.”

He looked at my hand as I gave him four quarters, he asked, “what’s this for?”

I smiled, “that’s the money I owe you, don’t you remember you gave the money I needed to buy my train ticket.”

He chuckled, “thanks Ivan, be sure to let me know the next time you are in New York.”

He gave me another kiss and walked out of the door. I finished getting dressed and went to meet the rest of my group. We made our promotional appearances and prepared to make our way to the theater for the premier of our movie. We walked through the gauntlet of photographers as their camera’s flash bulbs nearly blinded us. Gloria and I were of course hand in hand the entire evening. As we sat to watch the movie, she whispered, “how was your night?”

I smiled as I kissed her cheek, “it was very nice. Thank you… for everything.”

She smiled back at me as the movie started. We maintained our smiles through the afterparty and the next morning we were on our way back to Hollywood.

A couple months later, Gloria and I were again making our way to the premier of our first starring role movie. “A Murder in New York” was a hit and the studio was making a big deal about our roles in that movie. Their marketing worked, as “Roman and Jewell” was met with the same enthusiasm from the audiences. The premier was in Los Angelos but opened a week later in New York. I received a letter from Henry a short time later telling me how much he enjoyed the movie and that he wished it was him instead of Gloria in all those love scenes. I wrote back saying that I was picturing him in the movie as well, and that was why I was so believable. Our letters were becoming more frequent, and I was missing Henry more and more.

“Roman and Jewell” was a success and we quickly made a follow up movie, “Roman and Jewell Tie the Knot”. I knew what was coming next, the studio started to hint that they would like Gloria and I take our relationship to the next level. Fortunately, I was cast in a new movie, without Gloria. I was cast as Detective Louie Flagg, it was a comedy about a bumbling detective that solves a murder despite his clear incompetence. The best part was that the film was to be set in New York, and over the next couple months, I would have to spend a lot of time there. I was happy that I was able to see Henry at least once a week.

I was back at my hotel after a day of filming, Henry and I had made plans to spend the night together. Henry was having to come to my hotel as people were now starting to recognize me on the street. I gave the bell hop a nice tip and he would discreetly bring Henry up to my room through the back hall. I had finished bathing and was getting dressed when I heard a knock on my door. I looked at my watch, Henry was an hour early. My smile quickly turned to a look of surprise when I opened the door.

I stammered, “Mikhail, what are you doing here?”

He smiled, “well, it’s nice to see you too, little brother.”

I stepped back, “yes, good to see you too, please come in.”

He said, “I read in the paper that you were in town filming a movie and thought I would stop by and say hello.”

I motioned to one of the chairs, “please, have a seat.”

He nodded, “thank you, I have seen a couple of your pictures, you seem to be doing well.”

I smiled, “yes, things are going fine, I love my work. Did you like the movies?”

He said, “yes, they were very good.”

After an awkward minute of silence, I said, “you didn’t come here to tell me you like my movies, why are you here?”

He rolled his eyes, “Ivan, we are family, why would I not want to see my little brother?”

I shrugged, “well, the way I left, I just assumed that I was no longer part of the family.”

He furrowed his brow, “why would you think that?”

I chuckled, “I am sure father doesn’t want to see me again, after the way I spoke to him.”

Mikhail nodded, “you sure surprised him with that outburst, but he did go with mother to see your last movie.”

I said, “really? And what did he think?”

He shrugged, “I don’t think he hated it, he really didn’t say much. You know father, that is about the most praise you can expect from him.”

I laughed, “yes, I suppose that’s true. What about mother, how is she?”

He smiled, “she loved it and is very proud of you. She is doing well, I told her I was coming here, she would very much like to see you.”

I asked, “what about father, does he want to see me?”

He asked, “do you want to see him?”

I paused to think about Mikhail’s question.

He said, “Ivan, would you like to come to my home tomorrow night for dinner?”

I was a little stunned, I stammered, “well, I’m not sure what time I will be done filming, but I guess…”

Mikhail held his hand up, “Ivan, your family would love to see you, please consider my invitation.”

I nodded as he turned to leave, “I will Mikhail, thank you.”

Henry arrived a short time later, I told him about my talk with Mikhail.

Henry smiled, “that is wonderful Ivan, it has been so long since you have seen your family. You must be so excited.”

I shrugged, “I haven’t decided if I am going yet.”

Henry gave me a stern look, “Ivan Romanov, you must go see your family, there is nothing for you to think about.”

I slumped my shoulders like a schoolboy who had just been scolded, “yes, I know, you are right.”

He pulled me close and said, “good, now that that is settled, come here and kiss me.”

Of course, we did more than kiss, we made love, then Henry spent the night, this had become our custom on my trips to New York.

The next day, our workday actually ended a little early. We needed to wait for a few other actors that were late getting into town. I got to my room and changed clothes, I knew Henry was right, I needed to go see my family. The more I thought about it, I did want to see mother, I wasn’t sure if the same was true with father. I stepped out the front door of the hotel and the doorman hailed a taxi for me. I gave the driver the address, he turned to me as he took the paper.

His eyes went wide, “hey, you’re Van Roman, my wife and I just saw your last picture. She’s a huge fan, she keeps reading the paper to see if you and Gloria Jewell are getting married.”

I smiled, “thank you, I am glad you enjoyed the movie.”

He said, “yes sir Mr. Roman, we sure did. Can I ask you, is Miss Jewell as pretty in person as she is on the screen.”

I nodded, “yes sir, she is very pretty and very nice too.”

He chuckled as we drove down the street, “I knew she would be, you two do make a handsome couple.”

Again, I smiled, “thank you, I will be sure and pass along your compliment when I get back to Hollywood.”

He asked, “is she not in New York with you?”

I shook my head, “no, we are not working together on this project.”

He nodded, “sorry, I don’t mean to sound so nosey.”

I gave him my best smile, “that’s fine sir, it’s always nice to meet a fan.”

He pulled up to the address that my brother had given me, I paid my fair and gave him an autograph for his wife. The building was in a little better neighborhood than the one we had grown up in. Mikhail opened the door, “I’m glad you decided come, please come in and make yourself at home.”

We shook hands as I stepped in, He said, “you remember my wife, Margaret.” He took my coat and hung it up.

I nodded as she gave me a hug, she said, “it is so nice to see you again Ivan.”

I smiled at her, “yes, nice to see you too Margaret.”

Mikhail pointed to the group of kids standing behind Margaret, and said, “Ivan, these are your 5 nieces and nephews, Mikey, Maggie, Paula, Phillip and Robbie. Children, this is your Uncle Ivan, oh, I’m sorry should I say Van?”

I shook my head, “no, Ivan is fine, I just use Van for work. Wow, you have 5 kids? They are very beautiful, you must be so proud.”

Margaret smiled, “yes we are, thank you.”

I looked around and said, “and you have a very nice place too, are you still working at the shipyard?”

Mikhail said, “yes, I just became supervisor last year, we are busier than ever, the government has got us booked for at least the next few years. Now that Hitler has invaded Poland they are preparing for the worst.”

I asked, “and what about the rest of the family?”

We sat at the table, and he started, “Alina is married and is expecting her second child in a few months, Alexei is working at the shipyard and has just entered an engineering apprentice program, Nikoli has joined the army, he is stationed in England right now. Anna is married too, her husband also works at the shipyard, Sasha is in school to become a teacher, Diana just started working at the clothing factory after mother quit. Mila and Natalya are still in school.”

I smiled, “so mother isn’t working any longer?”

Mikhail said, “no, she was able to quit when Sasha left for school.”

I said, “that is good, she works too hard. I assume father is still at the shipyard?”

He nodded, “yes, he is now a department head, he oversees the final inspection of the ships before we send them out.”

I smiled, “I am so happy everyone is doing well.” Before we continued our talk, there was a knock at the door. I stood as Mikhail went to answer it.

Mother was the first to walk in, she saw me and rushed to give me hug. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she said, “Ivan, you look so grown up, I hardly recognize you.”

I had to wipe a tear from my eye too, “hello mother, you look well, you haven’t aged a bit.”

She pushed my shoulder, “oh, don’t lie to your mother, I look like an old woman.”

I laughed, “not at all mother.”

I saw my father step in, mother gave Mikhail and Margaret a hug, then went to hug her grandchildren.

I turned to father and said, “it’s good to see you father.”

We shook hands, “Ivan, you look well.” It felt as though you could cut the tension with a knife. Mikhail finally broke the silence.

“So, Ivan, tell us about your next movie.” Mother turned to me with a smile, Father took off his coat and sat down, not changing his expression. I told them about the movie and that I would be in New York for a few more weeks. Mother and Mikhail were asking lots of questions.

Father cleared his throat, “if your brother hadn’t stopped by to see you, would you have come to visit us?”

I sighed, I knew we would have to have this talk, I said, “I’m sorry father, but I wasn’t sure you would want to see me.”

He looked at me, “you are my son, why wouldn’t I want to see you?”

I took a deep breath, “I knew you didn’t approve of my career choice and the way I left, I just assumed when you heard about what I did, you wouldn’t want to see me again.”

He shook his head, “you could have stayed in New York and acted in some plays, you didn’t have to go all the way to California to do that. Yes, I thought it was a foolish dream, but you seem to be good at it. I would have come to accept it.”

He surprised me with his comment, “but father, I figured when George Hampton told you what I did…”

Father scuffed, “George Hampton is blow hard, I don’t listen to a word he says. He always comes to work with some crazy story, he’s a worse gossip than any old women I know.”

I asked, “so he didn’t tell you that his son saw me the day I left?”

Father shook his head, “no, whenever he starts in on one of tales, I just ignore him and walk away. Why what did you do?”

I chuckled to myself, “it was nothing father, I was just a dumb 16-year-old. It’s not important.”

He said, “I will admit, I was upset with the way you talked to me that night, but I was also proud that you were becoming a man and that you would stand up to me. That’s not why I am so upset with you now.”

I asked, “why are you upset with now, if it’s because I haven’t come to see you sooner, I am sorry.”

He shook his head, “well, maybe a little about that, you should respect your mother more, she worries so.”

I was trying to understand why he was upset, I asked, “then what is it father.”

He glared at me, “the name.”

I asked, “the name? The name of what?”

He stood up, “your name, why did you change your name? Why were you not proud of your name? Ivan Romanov is a good name, you didn’t need to change it.”

I said, “it is a good name, and I am very proud of it, Van Roman is only a stage name, that is what the studio wanted me to use. Ivan is still my legal name, and I will never change that. The studio want’s its actors to have names that can appeal to all people, I never meant any disrespect for our family name.”

Mother interrupted, “I told you Peter, all actors use stage names. Ivan is proud of his family.”

Mikhail added, “that’s right father, Ivan even asked my children to call him Uncle Ivan.”

I said, “yes father, whenever I am here, I will go by Ivan.” The tension seemed to ease as we finished our discussion.

We all moved to the dining room table and had a very pleasant evening, I had forgotten how good home cooking was. I was glad that I listened to Henry and that Mikhail had taken the first step to invite me to his home. My family still had no idea I was queer, I guess I would have to cross that bridge another time. Right now, I was just happy to spend some time with them.

When the evening was over, mother gave me a big hug and I promised I would let them know whenever I was in town. Father surprised me when I went to shake his hand as we were leaving, he pushed it away and pulled me in for a hug. I couldn’t remember the last time my father hugged me.

Henry came to my hotel room the next night, I told him everything that happened. He gave me an “I told you so” look as we crawled into bed. I finished filming my movie and it was another success, the studio quickly decided to make a couple more films with the bumbling Louie Flagg. I was spending more time in New York and more time with Henry. I was also having a weekly family dinner and was able to see the rest of my siblings. I enjoyed getting reacquainted with them and being an uncle to all my nieces and nephews. Life was good.

 

To be continued…