Page 105 - tender-is-the-night

Nicole and Mary urged him ironically to seize the oppor-
tunity; they teased him, both faintly annoyed at not having
been asked for a sitting. But Dick closed the subject with a
somewhat tart discussion of actors: ‘The strongest guard is
placed at the gateway to nothing,’ he said. ‘Maybe because
the condition of emptiness is too shameful to be divulged.’
In the taxi with Dick and Collis Clay—they were drop-
ping Collis, and Dick was taking Rosemary to a tea from
which Nicole and the Norths had resigned in order to do the
things Abe had left undone till the last—in the taxi Rose-
mary reproached him.
‘I thought if the test turned out to be good I could take it
to California with me. And then maybe if they liked it you’d
come out and be my leading man in a picture.’
He was overwhelmed. ‘It was a darn sweet thought, but
I’d rather look at YOU. You were about the nicest sight I
ever looked at.’
‘That’s a great picture,’ said Collis. ‘I’ve seen it four times.
I know one boy at New Haven who’s seen it a dozen times—
he went all the way to Hartford to see it one time. And when
I brought Rosemary up to New Haven he was so shy he
wouldn’t meet her. Can you beat that? This little girl knocks
them cold.’
Dick and Rosemary looked at each other, wanting to be
alone, but Collis failed to understand.
‘I’ll drop you where you’re going,’ he suggested. ‘I’m stay-
ing at the Lutetia.’
‘We’ll drop you,’ said Dick.
‘It’ll be easier for me to drop you. No trouble at all.’

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