Leading Lady

EPILOGUE

Lucille stood on the balcony of her house looking out intently into the courtyard. She was dressed in the long red gown Stanley had made for her to wear to the premier for To Love Again. Her black hair was elegantly tied back in a low bun and her ears were adorned with diamond earrings. The premier was in an hour and all Lucille wanted to do was lay in her bed and shut the rest of the world out. She felt defeated and empty. The last thing she wanted was to put on the façade of an excited and happy woman.

As she turned away from the balcony and went into the house, Lucille thought about the private investigator she hired days ago to fill her in on the lives of the people she loved. Sarah was having a successful run with her play and was living with her parents, who seemed to have started supporting her dreams of acting. One night, Lucille went and saw Sarah's play, disguising herself as much as possible with a scarf and sunglasses and was impressed by Sarah's work. On the final night of the play, Lucille made sure to send Sarah a large beautiful arrangement of sunflowers.

"Oh, they're lovely! Who are they from?" asked one of the actresses in the play. Sarah pulled the little card out from the arrangement and read it:

"Congratulations, may all your future projects be as beautiful and successful as this one was."

"Hmm, I'm not sure, there's no name," Sarah answered, feeling touched by the anonymous gesture. She turned to her fellow actress and smiled.

"Ooh, must be a fan!" cooed the actress, "Or a secret admirer!"

Sarah laughed, "Must be, who knows? Whoever it is must know me well. Sunflowers are my favorite."

Grabbing her red clutch, Lucille started towards the front door of the mansion. She stepped out into the cool night where the driver the studio had sent to take her to the premier was waiting for her.

Lucille's mind then drifted to the update on her father, where the investigator told her Harrison followed the same schedule every day. He left the building early in the morning and would spend the entire day driving his cab around town, keeping himself busy with work before returning home late at night. Every time he saw him, Harrison seemed sad, his old and tired body dragging along.

Lucille took a deep breath in the backseat of the car, trying to fight back her tears upon remembering the investigator's words. All she wanted was to hug her father and take care of him. As the car moved along the city, Lucille looked out the window and thought of Cliff. He was still with Ella and, much to her pleasure, was told that although he seemed pretty content with her, there was something about Cliff's demeanor that told the investigator he wasn't truly happy. Whenever Ella turned from him a sudden change of mood would wash over Cliff's face that was obvious not to notice.

The car pulled up to the outside of the theater where hundreds of people were lined on either side of the red carpet. The flashes of the cameras were blinding and the shouting of the fans and paparazzies increased the moment Lucille's car came to a stop.

Oh, Cliff, this could have been ours, Lucille thought sadly, taking a moment before getting out of the car. When she was finally ready, Lucille slapped on the brightest and happiest smile she could muster and let the driver open the car's door for her. She stepped out to loud cheers and flashing cameras. Lucille waved to everyone and no one would be able to guess the level of misery and loneliness she felt inside her heart.

As Lucille posed for photographs on the red carpet, she caught a glimpse of Stanley arriving. Their eyes met for a moment and just as Lucille started to wave, Stanley briskly averted his eyes to avoid her and continued walking. Reminding herself to not drop her smile, Lucille turned back to the cameras and continued posing, feeling as though she were dying inside.