“You’re a screenwriter?” she asked a moment later.
He laughed lightly. “I am.”
“Like, a working one?”
The laugh turned into a lazy smile and he nodded. “On contract with MGM.”
“Lucky you,” she blurted. “MGM won’t hire me right now.” She clamped a hand across her mouth, instantly regretting her words.
“I know they won’t. I know none of the studios will. I’m very sorry this has happened to you.”
“I’m not what they say I am. I am not a communist. I’m not even sure what a communist does or wants.”
“I’ve no doubt you’re not. There are a lot of people on the blacklist that are or have been communists but I know there are just as many—more, actually—who aren’t. And have never been. Again, I feel badly for you. You were just in a big movie, too, weren’t you? With Carson Edwards? Your debut, I believe.”
“Yes. I don’t suppose you saw it.”
“No. But I read the reviews. The critics liked you. And the audiences.”
“For the most part. And now everyone despises me. There was another movie in the works for me with an even bigger role and then this happened.”
“To you and Edwards both, yes?”
“Yes. And some other people he knows.”
“And the two of you are…”
“Are what?”
“A couple? My sister-in-law thought she saw Carson Edwards drive up and go inside the Gilberts’ house a few days ago and then leave the next morning. I told her it probably wasn’t him. I’m guessing now it was. I owe June an apology and five bucks.”
“We’re sort of a couple,” Melanie said. “We’re not exactly…It’s not love—it’s…I don’t know what it is. He’s a good friend, the only friend I have right now. He’s paying my rent for this house. I could never afford it on my own. He and my agent thought it would be a good idea for me to get out of Hollywood for a while.”
“I see. You’ll be here until the Gilberts get back, then?”
“God, no!” she exclaimed, instantly appalled by the assumption. “They’ll be gone for two years!”
“Of course. That was thoughtless of me. Forgive me.”
“I’m sorry I yelled, but I can’t live this way for two years. Shut up like this? No, no, no. I’d go nuts.”
He laughed lightly, but she could tell he wasn’t laughing at her predicament but the words she had used. She’d pretty much said if she had to live the shut-up life he was living, it would drive her crazy. Her face instantly warmed.
“Wait! That’s not what I meant! I wasn’t suggesting that you—”
He held up a hand, still smiling. “It’s all right. Don’t worry about it. I’ve surely been called worse.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“I know you didn’t. Please. Don’t give it another thought.”
He came across as such a genuinely nice man. Kind. Wise.
“You don’t seem crazy at all,” she said, thinking aloud.
He laughed again. “I’m glad to hear that.”
She was about to say how nice it was to talk with someone again when June Blankenship came to the patio door. Melanie couldinstantly see that June cared for her brother-in-law, was protective of him. It was also clear by the expression on June’s face that she’d heard every word that had passed between Melanie and Elwood.
