Page 8 of In a Far-Off Land
“Then wise up. This isn’t the place for you.”
“Says you.” She snatched the cigarette and put it between her lips. The tip glowed bright between them. “Listen. I have a chance with Roy. A big chance.” She swallowed hard.
Even in the dim light, Oscar could see Max’s jaw clench. “Sure. For a price.”
So that was it.Caramba,theseamericanos. No marriage, no commitment. Where was this girl’s father? Max would stop her if he were any kind of man.
“For a picture,” she said firmly. “A big part, like you always sayI need.Start out at the top, Mina. Bit parts are the beginning of the end.” She mimicked Max’s deep voice pretty neatly.
“Don’t fall for that old trick, Mina. You’re better than that.”
She threw the cigarette on the ground between them. “I know what I’m doing.”
He looked at the glowing ember and shook his head slowly. “You don’t. I’ve seen—”
“Oh, you’ve seen it all. You know it all.” Her voice rose and she fluttered a long white hand. “You and your rules. You don’t even follow them. Why should I?”
That seemed to stop him in his tracks. Oscar almost leaned right out of his secluded hiding place. He’d never seen Max at a loss for words.
Max rubbed his hand over his face, and in the dim light, his eyes looked like those of a man twice his age. “Mina, if this is about that night—”
“I don’t want to talk about that,” she snapped.
Max ground the smoldering cigarette out with the toe of his expensive-looking shoe.
The girl turned away from him. Oscar could see her face, but Max couldn’t. She looked like she was fighting back tears, blinking her eyes fast.
A prick of conscience surprised him. She didn’t want to do this—whatever it was, though he figured he knew. Couldn’t Max see she was practically begging him to stop her? If it was something to do with Lester, she was sure to regret it.
She took a deep breath and turned back to him. “I came here to get the part, and that’s what I’m going to do.” Her voice was sure now.
Oscar hadn’t been raised to let women fall prey to wolves—andneither had Max. He wanted to step out of the shadows and tell her about the women who paraded in and out of Lester’s bedroom—women with no shame. She didn’t want to be one of them, he’d tell her. But why would she listen to him—a Mexican man she didn’t even know—when she wouldn’t listen to Max? Besides, she wasn’t his responsibility. She wasn’t even one of his people.
“You give him what he wants, and he’ll give you what you want?” Max’s voice was like the grind of stone on stone.
She swallowed and eyed the door to the ballroom where a tinny phonograph player screeched. Splashes and laughter came from the pool. “That’s how it works.”
Max shook his head, his face in the shadows. “Sure. That’s how it works.” His voice was heavy. He turned away from her. “Don’t come crying to me when it goes to the dogs, Mina.”
Max walked slowly into the house, opening the door to a burst of noise and slamming it behind him. The record player stopped, and for a moment, it was almost quiet. The moonlight played over the girl’s face. She looked sad and young and scared. “Don’t worry, I won’t,” she said in a small voice, as if Max were still there.
Oscar had the feeling he’d just watched something go terribly wrong.
MINA
I cracked open one eye. Sunlight sliced like a sharp blade, and I squeezed it closed again. My body was leaden. My head felt like a fence post taking a pounding. What happened last night?
Think, Mina. The party. Max. Max walking out on me...
I moved my hand, as heavy as stone. I was on a bed—I knew that at least. A breeze chilled my clammy skin and I shivered. Why wasn’t I wearing my dress?
Roy Lester.
My breath stopped. Oh my stars, don’t remember. But it was too late.
Max left me on the patio... and I went back to Roy and Louella. Marion snored softly in the corner of the divan, her mouth open to show perfect tiny teeth. The Chinese butler brought a tray of drinks and bent close to Hearst, who whispered in his ear, then handed around the gin and tonics—mostly gin, so I barely took a sip.
Lester pulled me to him. “She’s too much,” he said, his hands sliding over my bare back and down to my waist.
