10186 Sunset Blvd

The Alman Mansion sits upon a small hill with a long paved black driveway that leads to the garage surrounded by hedges and four Italian Cypress trees on either side, the address is 10186 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California. It is the summer of 1935, President Roosevelt created the Work Progress Administration on May 6th, and the second more direct set of federal programs related to the New Deal were put into motion in January. The house is owned by Samuel Alman, a producer at Paramount, the rest of the household includes his wife Frieda, the oldest daughter Ada Alman who is twenty-two, the second Miriam aged nineteen, the oldest son just turned seventeen on May sixteenth, his name is Aaron, but nobody calls him that. He is better known as Ronnie, and twins age six, Ezra and Jean Alman. During the beginning years of the Depression Mr. Alman, better known as Sam, hired an excess amount of people to work at his house, his neighbors believed he was loony hiring all of those poor people to work for him, especially since he had his own family to worry about and his children were home all the time, what if one of those "lazy lumps'' as the neighbor, Mrs. Powell, called the people of the lower class who had lost their jobs because of the Depression, was to kidnap one of the children. They suggested he might have come home one day to find Ezra and Jean, then only two months old, on the front lawn in the same state as the Lindbergh baby. Frieda Alman thought this to be a ridiculous notion since she knew all the people she let into her house, they were her friends, and their children were often at the house too.
The Almans are a very wealthy family; Samuel Alman belongs to the Hillcrest country club, and frequently holds parties at their house. California's elite are known for their extravagance, and the Almans, although generous and rather humble people, compared to their neighbors, are no exception.
"Miriam... Miriam... Miriam", Samuel Alman calls out to his daughter, "Miri!? Miriam, where are you?"
Miriam Alman comes bounding through the front door towards her father, "Yes Abba?" The Almans are a Jewish family, but the children only call their father "Abba" in private so as to not attract any unwanted attention.
"Come here, come here" Samuel waves her over, "I need you and Ronnie to go get Ezra and Jeanie from dance class, pay Madame Desmond an extra four dollars for this month, her husband just lost his job...again, then I want you to go down to Schwabs, pick up your mother's aspirin, get your brothers and sister a coca-cola, go to the Parisian florist on Sunset and ask them when the Calla Lillies are going to be delivered- Oh and while you are at Schwab's, tell anyone you see about the party on Saturday"
"OK Abba," Miriam walks around the corner and then circles back, "What car should I take?"
"Take the Chrysler."
Miriam leaves her father and runs off to find her brother.
"Ronnie... Ronnie", Miriam calls out to her brother, "Ronnie!"
Miriam walks out to the pool and finds her brother sitting on a ledge talking to the pool boys as they scoop leaves out of the pool, they are talking about the Boulder Dam:
"Did your brother really work on the Boulder Dam, Nick?" Ronnie asks one of the pool boys.
"You bet, he poured the cement too."
"Gee, that's swell."
"You're a swell, kid."
"Did he go to a lot of parties?" Ronnie's smile widens, Nick laughs at the young man,
"Loads... plenty of giggle juice and dolls!"
Ronnie laughs, his sister stands in the archway of the outdoor patio, tapping her blue and white Ghillies sandals on the terracotta tile, "Ronnie, Abba wants us to go pick up Jeanie and Ez, and then drive over to Schwabs to pick up Mama's aspirin and tell anyone we see about the party on Saturday."
"All right sister-Bye fellas," Ronnie waves to the pool boys and slips off the ledge, Miriam nudges her little brother towards the direction of the garage:
"Go pull the Chrysler out, will you?"
"Can I drive?"
"No."
"Please Midge."
"I am the oldest."
"No, ya not, Ada is," Ronnie teases, Miriam rolls her eyes.
"Oh shut up and go get the car." Ronnie opens the garage and takes the Chrysler keys off the wall.
Sunset Blvd. A major highway here in Los Angeles, it is about twenty-two miles long and is covered in restaurants, nightclubs, stores, and hotels. The Beverly Hills hotel and its glorious Polo Club, which frequently hosts Hollywood's top stars, inhabit the boulevard. Now with the Depression sending the country into the slums and poverty, the Golden Coast is making up for it with glamor and glitz. The Okies have been coming by the bucket load, pouring in from the Midwest, trying to find work. Samuel Alman employed four men from Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and New Mexico to work on the flora at the house, Madame Desmond, Ezra, and Jeanie's dance teacher is from France, but her husband is from Portland, Oregon. Madame's husband has picked up the habit of drinking since he lost his job at the Farmers and Merchants Bank, Sam employed him for a short time in nineteen thirty-two, but he found him offering sixteen-year-old Ada whiskey, so he sent him on his way. Madame Desmond was quite ashamed of her husband for offering alcohol to a young girl below the legal drinking age, but Samuel and Frieda assured her that it was not something to cry over. Ada would not have accepted the whiskey anyway, she prefers not to drink any alcohol, even now at age twenty-two, past the legal drinking age. Ada only sips champagne at her father's parties, the benefits Hillcrest holds, and if she plays with her mother's bridge friends.
Miriam pulls the car into the parking lot of Madame Desmond's dance school, she can see the children through the glass window, their pink tutus blurring together as they frolic through the room. Ezra Alman is the only boy in the class of five girls, but he does not mind, he wants to be like Fred Astaire when he grows up.
"Ronnie," Miriam pokes her brother, " Go inside and wait for Ezra and Jeanine."
Ronnie gets out of the car, walks over to the front door, and pulls on it, the bell jingles as the door swings open. Miriam opens her purse and pulls out the cash her father gave her to pay Madame Desmond.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight," reaching back into her coin purse she gathers sixty-seven cents into her gloved palm, Miriam places the money into the pocket of her dress and opens the car door. The bell jingles again as Miriam walks into the dance school, Ronnie is kneeling in front of Ezra and Jeanie. Jeanie is showing Ronnie how she can go on pointe in her ballet slippers, Erza tugs at his older brother's arm,
"Ronnie, look, look- look, I can do shuffle hops backwards." Ezra shows his brother his new trick and proceeds to hop backward, his shoes swinging back and forth on the wooden floor rhythmically. Madame Desmond's dance school used to be teeming with eager children learning ballet or how to tap dance, but several children had to quit so their families could afford the bare necessities and wouldn't end up living in a Hooverville or a run-down building on Skid Row. Miriam walks over to her little sister and puts her hand on her shoulder.
"Hey Jeanie, where's Madame Desmond?" Jeanie points toward the corner room, "She's in there."
Madame Desmond, almost as if she heard her name, walked out of the room, her cheetah print turban fastened to her head, which was the only unnecessary piece of clothing that she had refused to sell.
"Miriam, Aaron, dahlings, it's so good to see you two." Madame Desmond refuses to acknowledge or use nicknames, she believes that they are improper.
"Hello Madame Desmond, it's very nice to see you, my father gave me this month's payment."
"Oh yes, good good, Jean and Ezra were simply marvelous today." Jeanie and Ezra smile wide and rock back and forth on their feet,
"Simply marvelous today, huh?" Ronnie asks, mocking Madame Desmond's pronunciation. Miriam glares at him.
"Oh hush boy," Madame Desmond responds, "Miriam, let me go get my payment logs and I'll come right back." Miriam nods and Jeanie and Ezra copy her, "Yes Madame Desmond," they say simultaneously. Madame Desmond walks back into the room with her old leather payment book in her hands and a fountain pen.
"Allriight, June fifteenth, nineteen thirty-five... Alman family..."
"Here's the three dollars and sixty-seven cents," Miriam hands the money to Madame Desmond.
"Ah very good, your father has always been on time, he's the reason we don't live in the slums, I can't get half of the people here to pay their late fees."
"And here is an extra four dollars from father, for you and your husband," Miriam tucks the extra money into the spine of Madame Desmond's book.
"My lord- Oh your father is truly a fallen angel from heaven. Thank you dears," Madame Desmond hugs each one of the Alman children.
"You tell your father, thank you for me, tell him, your mother, and Ada, that I say hello."
"Yes, Madame," the children reply simultaneously, Madame Desmond walks away, waving to them as she walks back into the corner room.
"Come on Jeanie and Ez, we have to go to Schwabs to get and get Mama's prescription," Ronnie tells the twins. Ezra and Jeanie are very excited. Schwab's drugstore is full of things for small children to gawk at, and whenever they go there are almost always some of their parents' well-known friends who say hello to them.
"I'm going outside to make a phone call," Miriam opens the front door, and the bell jingles again.
Madame Desmond's dancing school has a Bell telephone booth attached to it that is owned by the city, this particular phone booth only makes calls within Los Angeles County,
Miriam steps inside the telephone booth puts the quarter in and begins to dial the house number.
"S... U...4...6...4...1", the phone rings.
"Hello, this is Frieda Alman, who am I speaking to?"
"Hello, Mama, it's Midge."
"Oh, hello, dear, are you at Madame Desmond's ?"
"Yes, I'm waiting for Ronnie, Jeanie, and Ezra, we're going to Schwabs to get your aspirin after."
"Oh good, your sister is coming home today."
Ada has been away for two months in New York taking care of Elijah and Pauline Weissman, Frieda's parents, Frieda Alman, nee Weissman, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, California, in nineteen-oh five, which is when she met Samuel, a native Angeleno.
"Well, she's been gone for so long, I'm happy she's coming home, it's quite difficult being the oldest of four."
"Why do you think the doctor prescribed me aspirin?" her mother laughs.
"Alright, Mama, I see Ronnie, Jeanie, and Ez, waiting for me by the car, Goodbye."
"Goodbye Miriam dear," Miriam hangs up the phone and steps out of the booth and begins walking back to the car.
"Midge?" Ezra looks up at his older sister.
"Yes, Ezzie?"
"Can I drive the car?" Miriam ruffles the little boy's golden curls.
"No."
The little boy sighs, and the children pile into the car, Miriam turns the key and pulls out of the parking lot. While driving up Sunset Boulevard, a large group of working-class people on strike, walk out into the middle of the street, they have signs protesting unfair pay, several cars in front honk at them, and one man yells out his window.
"That's alota signs," Jean points out, Ronnie and Miriam hum in agreement. The crowd crosses the street and the cars keep driving.
Schwab's pharmacy: the business is only three years old, it was established in 1932, and is owned by the Schwab brothers. Schwab's fill prescriptions sell ice cream sodas and have a dining counter, among other goods.
Miriam pulls the car up in front of the building, some people are standing outside by the front windows, talking and sipping on the last of their sodas.
"Ronnie, you go to the back and get Mama's prescription, and Jeanie, Ezra, and I will go to the counter." Ronnie nods and opens the car door, Ezra and Miriam do the same. Their shoes hit the pavement and Jeanie starts skipping to the door, her pink thigh-length skirt and petticoats bouncing up and down, Ezra follows after her, their Mary Janes scuffing on the pavement. Ronnie pulls the front door open and walks in, groups of writers, actors, and producers are sitting at the counter, not all well-known, but they all know Aaron Alman.
"Ronnie!"
"Aaron!"
"Hey, kid!"
Ronnie smiles and waves at them, and walks to the pharmacy counter. Miriam walks in behind Jean and Ezra, the adults at the counter's mood changes as the Alman twins walk in.
"Hey look, it's Jean Harlow and Fred Astaire!" calls Leon Schwab from behind the counter, a chorus of similar light-hearted jokes follow:
" Hey, it's Shirley Temple!"
"Look, it's Rudolph Valentino, risen from the grave!"
"Hey shut up guys, Marion Davies is here."
The youngest of the Alman children blush and curtsy, Miriam laughs at the jokes - she often received similar comments as a child - pre-Schwabs, they called her Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, and Greta Garbo. At the back pharmacy counter, Ronnie is chatting with the pharmacists.
"Hey, Ronnie, whatcha pickin 'up?"
"Frieda Alman, aspirin, for my motha."
"For ya motha," repeats the clerk, he fingers through paper bags filled with prescriptions.
"Alman... Alman... Alman...ALman...ah here we go," the clerk pulls out a bag and hands it to Aaron.
"Here Ronnie, for ya motha."
"Thank you."
Miriam is sitting at the counter with Ezra and Jeanie, talking to Allan Scott.
"Come on Miriam, your father could get you apart in any movie."
"That's the point, Allan, I don't want to be someone because my Daddy is a big producer at Paramount."
"Just let me write a script for ya, you'd be great."
"No, Allan, I'll get there by myself."
"Oh come on Miriam, I helped write Roberta, I worked on Top Hat, which they just finished filming this month by the way, and I wrote this new Ginger Rogers vehicle." Miriam sighs.
"How about this Allan, when I get to be someone in pictures, I'll call you and you can write me a script." Allan smiles sheepishly, "Alright Miriam, Goodbye now."
"Goodbye, Allan."
Jeanie and Ezra's eyes veer over to Miriam.
"So, are ya going to be a movie star?" Ezra asks copying his father's tone.
"Are you going to be a dancer?" Miriam asks, mocking Ezra.
"Sure he is," Jeanie answers, "and I'm going to be a movie star too."
Ronnie sits down next to his siblings, takes Miriam's bag, and places the aspirin inside. The neighboring customers' conversation fills the room.
"Did you hear they are going to pass a law to send Filipinos back to their country?"
"Good, that's where they should have stayed."
"I applied for that secretarial job. My interview is on Monday."
"Gee, I hope you get it."
"Did you see that workers strike this morning?"
"Ya, I saw Harry Kelly there, he almost got run over by some Chevy."
"My sister is still in Oklahoma, she has to wear masks now, so they won't inhale the dust."
"Hmmm, terrible."
"Have you seen that new Shirley temple picture?"
"No, have you?"
"I was thinking of taking the children later."
"I've got a screen test at Paramount on Tuesday. Boy, am I nervous." The children turn their heads to look at the blonde woman sitting across the room who mentioned Paramount.
"There's going to be a new Marx brother's picture... Raspberries I think it's called."
"That should be good."
The children peek out of the corner of their eyes looking at whoever was talking, the voices overlap, everyone trying to be seen. The Alman children are pulled away from their eavesdropping as someone raps their knuckles on the counter in front of them.
"Hiya kids." It's Leon Schwab.
"Hello, Leon."
"Can you tell your mother that we ran out of her cigarettes?"
"Oh, I hate cigarettes, they smell awful and aren't good for you," Ezra wrinkles his nose at the thought of the smell, "I don't want Mama to go anywhere." Leon Schwab laughs.
"Who told you that, kid?"
"I read it in a magazine."
"Well, when they start recalling cigarettes, I'll let you know Ezra."
Miriam suddenly remembers that their father's instructions did not include sitting at Schwab's all day, she hops off the stole and grabs Ronnie and Jeanie's forearms.
"Come on Ezra, we have to go to the florist," Ezra slips off the stole and takes hold of Jeanie's hand, a chorus of goodbyes ring in the children's ears as they walk out the door and into the Chrysler parked outside.
When the children arrive at home, Frieda Alman is sitting in the foyer waiting for them.
" Hi, Mama!" Ezra and Jeanie run to hug their mother.
Miriam and Ronnie standstill, with monotone expressions on their faces, Frieda raises an eyebrow at her two middle children.
"What's wrong?"
"There was a man." Ronnie swallows and looks to see that Ezra and Jeanie are out of the room, "A man was beating up on the Cantor outside of Greenblatt's." Their Mother's brow furrows.
"Did they see?" Frieda asks referring to Ezra and Jeanie.
"Jeanie saw the cantor, but not what they were doing to him," Ronnie answers, rubbing his thumb nervously into his palm. Miriam walks away and into the next room, where her father and younger siblings are sitting on the sofa. After walking through the doorway, someone suddenly jumps onto her back, causing her to fall over.
"Hey!"
"Hi!" Ada Alman laughs at her little sister's annoyance.
"Jeez Ada, you messed up my hair!" Miriam shouts at her sister and begins brushing her brown hair back with a comb.
"Oh hush, I'm sure your mane is intact," Ada offers Miriam her hand and pulls her up. Ada has always teased Miriam about her hair and how much time she spends grooming herself, Ada never cared as much as Miriam and sometimes forgot to put her curls in before she went to bed. Miriam never forgets and often does Ada's hair, so she won't have a lion for a sister. All of the children rush over to hug their oldest sibling, they ask her how their grandparents are, and if Ada brought them anything. Samuel and Frieda sit next to each other smiling and watch as the younger children berate Ada with questions.
"All right, All right, all of you leave your sister alone, I need help decorating for the party tomorrow, who wants to help?" Miriam and the twins eagerly raise their hands, Ronnie and Ada are less amused.
"Come on, Ronnie, help your old man."
"What about Ada?"
"She just got here." Samuel pulls his oldest son's arm and pushes him towards the rest of his children as they make their way into the ballroom.
The next day the Alman family busily run around preparing for the number of people expected at their house by six o'clock.
"Mama!" Miriam shouts to her mother, "Mama, where is my blue silk dress?"
"It's in my closet!"
Ezra and Jeanie have been put to bed by the time the guests arrive, six-year-olds are not expected to be in attendance at evening parties. The Alman's ballroom has high ceilings and marble floors, the guests fill the room with glittery gowns and black and white tuxes. Top hats don the men's heads and small white flowers grace the women's hair, the Electrola's volume is turned up all the way to drown out any real-life stress. Laughter and conversation almost drown out the sound of music playing.
"All right! All right! All right!" Samuel Alman shouts from the small stage as he takes the record off the 1930 Victor Radio-Electrola, model RE-57. "All right! What's next?" several guests shout out song suggestions.
"Puttin 'on the Ritz!"
"Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams!"
"No, Stompin' at the Savoy!"
"Smoke gets in your eyes!" Ada and Miriam clap their hands together excitedly, they love that song. The guests erupt in a fit of giggles, champagne, flutes, tip and spill a little, Samuel Alman holds his hand up to silent the crowd.
"Play it for them, Sam!" Frieda shouts to her husband. Samuel smiles and places the record on the turntable. As the song begins to play, Samuel jumps off the stage and grabs Frieda's hand, pulling her onto the dance floor. The three oldest Alman children smile at their parents, slow dancing among the other guests. Ronnie stands up, over dramatically bows to his older sisters, and asks them to dance with him. The party-goers leisurely twirl between each other as the song progresses and the night goes on.
The morning after the party, most of the Almans are sleeping in, except Frieda. Frieda Alman goes to services at Temple Beth El every Sunday without fail. She hugs and kisses each of her family members goodbye before she leaves.
"Goodbye, Mama," Ezra and Jeanie hug their mother.
"Goodbye, Mama," Ronnie kisses her on the cheek.
"Goodbye, Mama," Miriam leans her tired head against her mother's shoulder.
"Goodbye, Mama," Ada hugs her mother from behind.
"Zay gezunt, mayns zis lebn," Samuel kisses his wife goodbye. Frieda opens the front door and walks outside, waving goodbye to her family one last time.
At 12:24 in the afternoon, Ada, Miriam, and Ronnie are watching Ezra and Jeanie while they swim in the pool, Samuel is inside talking to his mother on the phone.
"Samuel!!" a voice screams. The children turn their heads toward the driveway.
"Samuel!!" the voice screams louder and the children can hear someone running up the driveway.
"Abba?" Ada calls to her father nervously, "Abba!" Ada shouts as the voice screams for Samuel again. The footsteps get louder and the top of someone's head can be seen at the beginning of the driveway. Ronnie stands up and peers over the stairs that lead down to the garage.
"Why it's Denny," Ronnie announces. Cauldon "Denny" Powell is the son of the Almans' neighbors, the Powells. Denny is the same age as Ada, they grew up together. Denny runs up the stairs, practically tripping over every step.
"Ada!" he yells her name upon noticing that she is standing there by the pool. All of the shouting draws Samuel outside.
"What? What? What's the matter?" Ada stares at her father and points at Denny.
"Denny, he was screaming for you." Samuel's eyes cloud with worry. Denny Powell struggles to catch his breath. "Samuel- oh- there's been an accident- the- the-Frieda." Denny coughs and begins to speak again.
"My father, he was dropping off the new prayer books at the temple and he-there was a gunshot and he called my mother and I ran here as fast as could," Denny runs his hands through his hair anxiously. His eyes begin to water and starts coughing again. The children are statues, plagued by fear. Samuel runs frantically over to the pool, walks in ignoring that his clothes are getting wet, he grabs Ezra and Jeanie, and holds them around his waist.
"Get in the car!" he yells to his older children and begins running towards the garage. Ada, Miriam, and Ronnie snap out of their trance and run after their father.
"Abba!"
"Denny, how long ago did your father call?" Ronnie asks while hurrying after his family.
"Ten minutes, I think, god, it took me at least two to run over and my mother had to find me first I-" Aaron Alman, who is always smiling, his face is ridden with panic as he leaves Denny standing on the patio. The Alman children throw themselves into the back of the 1931 Vauxhall Cadet VY Saloon, Jeanie and Ezra are sitting in the back, tightly holding each other's hands. Ronnie and Miriam sit in the back with them as Ada practically falls into the front seat backward. Samuel Alman backs the car out and speeds down the driveway out into the street, the car is silent except for the screeching noises the brakes make as Samuel drives. They make it to the temple twenty minutes later, the ambulance sirens wail as policemen walk into the building, several shocked bystanders are crowded around. Samuel pulls the car over and without hesitating, he bolts from the car and into the building. The children run after their father, but three officers grab a hold of them before they get very far.
"Hey! Hey! Who you got in there?" one of the officers asks Ada. She begins to cry and the rest of her siblings follow suit.
"My mother," she sniffles.
"Did your father just run in there?"
"Ya." The officers are silent as they begin to realize who the man is that ran into the building with complete disregard for any of the people who were keeping the outsiders at bay. Ada bends down to pick up Ezra and Miriam grabs Jeanie, they both continue to cry into their sister's shoulders.
"What happened?" Ronnie asks, rubbing his thumb nervously into his palm.
"We just got here about a minute ago, several people called in about repeated gunshots heard at Temple Beth El, so we sped over here, I think the guy is dead"
"What guy?" Ronnie asks.
"The guy that was shooting, kid." The officer looks at Ronnie, "I think he is dead, I haven't heard any gunshots since my guys went in there, so he must be dead"
"Has anyone died?"Miriam asks apprehensively. The officer clenches his jaw.
"Ya, an old lady, and one man was just rushed to the hospital, but we're still gathering the others."
Paramedics start wheeling people out of the temple, jogging to the ambulances, and a small group of Sunday school children are led out by the Rabbi. Ada passes Jeanie to Ronnie and rushes over to him.
"Rabbi, Rabbi, have you seen my parents?"
"Oh Ada," the Rabbi grips her hands, "I saw your father run in, he's-he is with your mother now."
"What about my mother?" The Rabbi's head falls and a tear slips from his eyes, "He shot her, but she didn't die, I couldn't see her, she was sitting in a pew, she put the children into a broom closet when the man walked in with the gun," The Rabbi's voice shakes as he speaks to Ada. Samuel walks out of the temple shouting, Frieda is on a gurney with her hand stretched out towards him.
"Where are my children!?" a policeman grabs a hold of his shoulder.
"Sir," he points at Miriam and Ronnie, "Are those your children?" Samuel gasps and runs over to them.
"Abba, Abba," Jeanie and Ezra forget that they aren't at home and call their father "Abba", stretching their arms out to reach for him. Samuel grabs a hold of them and wraps his arms around them tightly.
"Where's Ada?" he asks, worried, and frantically looks around for her. Ada shoves through the people and hugs her father.
"Mama," she weeps into his chest.
"Come on, Come on," he ushers his children toward the car, "Come on, Mama is going to be fine but we need to go to the hospital." The children pile into the car again, quietly sobbing, as Samuel speeds to the hospital. They arrive four minutes later at Cedars of Lebanon hospital, the women at the front desk take one look at Samuel, the traces of blood-stained on his clothes, and they send him to talk to a surgeon on the seventh floor. The Alman children become surrounded by nurses as soon as their father leaves the room.
"Oh, you poor babies."
"Sit down, sit down, please."
The children sit in the waiting room for three hours, Samuel comes and goes every once in a while trying to talk to a doctor.
At 4:31 pm, a doctor walked into the waiting room looking for Samuel. "Mr. Alman, may I speak to you for a minute?" Samuel stands and walks away with the doctor. Ada, Miriam, and Ronnie sit up to observe their father, Ezra, and Jeanie are asleep.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Miriam asks Ada.
"I don't know, I just don't know."
Samuel puts his hands over his face and rubs his eyes, the doctor points towards the children, Samuel nods and walks back over to where they are sitting.
"Papa, what did he say?" Ronnie asks eagerly
"Children, " Samuel takes a deep breath, "The doctor can't help Mama, they fixed her wound, but-but she lost too much blood and she isn't going to be with us for very long." Ada's face falls, Miriam puts her head in her hands, Ronnie cries, and Ezra and Jeanie begin to bawl their eyes out. Samuel picks up the twins and leads the rest of his children up to the sixth floor. Frieda opens her eyes when they walk into her room.
"Hello," she whispers. Samuel smiles weakly and Ada sits at her mother's bedside.
"Mama"
"Do not cry," Frieda instructs her family, "I don't want to see you upset." The children say goodbye to their mother and Samuel holds her hand.
Frieda Alman's funeral started the next day, several people attend and express their condolences. Every person in California that ever knew Frieda is in the room, Samuel's work colleagues pat him on the back as they pass by. The Rabbi performs the ceremony, and Samuel reads the eulogy, Frieda Alman is buried in Beth Olam Jewish Cemetery. The Almans sit shiva for seven days after the burial, by the fourth day, Frieda's parents arrive from New York. Ada, Miriam, and Jeanie cry the most, Ezra and Ronnie are stone statues that show no emotion. The children are very glad that it's summer, so they don't have to go to school, Samuel still goes to work, but he mostly stays home and consoles his children.
About a month later, Samuel brings the children to Paramount with him and they sit in his office, while he talks to the studio head. When Samuel comes out of his meeting, he gathers the children and they go home.
"Go upstairs and pack a bag," Samuel instructs his three oldest children, "And help Ezra and Jeanie pack theirs."
"Where are we going?" Miriam asks.
"Away for a little while." The children don't question it and are rather happy to be getting out of the house. After Miriam finishes packing her things, she walks down the stairs to the living room, the doors to the patio are open. "Who's smoking?" she asks out loud. Miriam walks outside and finds Ezra, sitting on the floor with a cigarette in his hands.
"Why are you doing that?"
"Why not?" Ezra replies, "My mother isn't here anymore, why shouldn't I smoke?" Miriam looks down at him with annoyance, he has developed an attitude since Frieda's passing.
"Put it out." Ezra throws the cigarette in the pool, Miriam rolls her eyes.
Thirty minutes later Samuel packs the children, and their things into the car, and drives away from the house and out of the city. The Almans spend a month on a ranch north of Los Angeles, that is near the ocean. For the first time in over a month, Ronnie smiles like he used to, Jeanie begins to act like her bubbly self, Miriam starts to care about her looks again, Ezra dances with his twin sister, and is beginning to drop his attitude. Samuel and Ada make jokes again, and the family slowly patches their wounds. One night, at sunset in August, Samuel is sitting in the porch swing looking out at the ocean, when the children appear next to him, they lean on his shoulders, and the twins lay their heads on his knees.
"Abba?" Miriam whispers.
"Yes?"
"Do you think Mama is watching us?" Samuel smiles and squeezes her hand.
"Always."