Trying not to let her shoulders sag with disappointment, she straightened and tilted her chin.
Ruby stepped onto the red carpet for her turn with the photographers, who began to call out her name.
“Miss Raines! This way, turn right. Miss Raines, over here!”
The attention was startling, and her first thought was, How do they know my name? Recovering quickly, she smiled and twirled in her dress, looking coquettishly over her shoulder with a hand on her hip—a move that David had just taught her.
Following Audrey’s lead, Ruby posed and focused on cool thoughts—like skinny-dipping in the swimming hole back home or braving the chilly Pacific waters at Venice Beach in Los Angeles.
Even though Ruby’s scene was cut, Joseph got her on the invitation list. He’d insisted she go to New York, saying it was good exposure. Ruby glanced around at all the stars and fans that lined the street. She’d seen premieres on newsreels in theaters before the main film, but this event was more exciting than she could have imagined. Surprisingly, people were calling her name. Then she remembered the fan magazines that Joseph had mentioned.
As exhilarating as it all was, Ruby looked around, still harboring hope that Niccolò might appear. A lump formed in her throat. At the very least, Ruby yearned to catch glimpses of Niccolò in the film.
Just ahead, Ruby saw Joseph waiting for her. She wasn’t his only client here today.
“Perfect timing, Ruby. Right behind Miss Hepburn.” Joseph winked and offered her his arm. Her agent’s sandy, sun-streaked hair made him appear even more youthful than his thirty years. Though he was young, Joseph had great knowledge of the industry. His mother and father had performed in Vaudeville and on radio, and one uncle was a screenwriter.
“Glad you came out for this,” Joseph said. “Your career is about to explode. Ready to start auditions again?”
“Sure.” Recalling what David had mentioned, she asked, “Who’s Charlie? I heard I’m being considered for a part with someone named Charlie.”
Joseph chuckled and named one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. “If you get the part, you can’t take off again like you did. I’m going to need a commitment from you.”
“You know why I had to take time off,” Ruby said pointedly.
“And did you work out your problem?”
Ruby wanted to scream. “Mariangela is not a problem to be solved.”
“Shh, not here.” Joseph took her arm and pulled her aside from the crowd. “I’m going to forget you said that,” he whispered. “You’re too young to have had…that experience.”
“I’m eighteen now.”
Joseph drew a hand over his face. “Don’t broadcast this issue to anyone, especially not the press.”
Ruby loved Mariangela with all her heart. Why should she keep her hidden as if she’d done something wrong? After all, she had been married. “I love this child so much. She was premature, you know, and almost died.”
Joseph heaved a sigh. “Okay, I get it. But I’m warning you, keep this quiet.”
“I’m still going to need time between shoots to go home to Texas.” Ruby planned to keep a small apartment in Hollywood to minimize her contact with Vivienne, who’d moved to another apartment.
Joseph sighed. “I’ll try, but I don’t control the filming schedule.”
“I can’t be gone too long at a stretch.”
Ruby recalled the day she had left for New York. Leaving Mariangela with Patricia had been gut-wrenching. Though Patricia and Michael had repeatedly assured her, she’d been worried about everything, from how often her baby would eat to where she would now sleep. Ruby wanted Mariangela to stay in the bedroom with Patricia and Michael, so they’d hear her if she cried. At some point, they would move Mariangela into the nursery, but Ruby was anxious about her being lonely or left to cry if no one heard her.
Feeling anxious, Ruby turned to Joseph. “Did Niccolò from Italy ever contact you? I told you all about him.”
“You’ve asked me this before,” Joseph said quietly. “He never did, Ruby. And for the record, I’m genuinely sorry about what you went through. I want you to know that.”
“Thanks.” Ruby drew a full breath, and her dress felt even tighter. “If he contacted you, you’d tell me, right?”
“Of course, I would. But you must move on, Ruby. This business moves fast, and I don’t want to see you left behind.”
Joseph accompanied her into the theater, and they took their seats. When the lights went down, Ruby was alert, watching every frame to see if she could catch a glimpse of Niccolò.
“There,” she cried out, pointing at the screen. People around her laughed, and Joseph sat up to pay attention. Ruby leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and warming her silver half-heart pendant in her palm.
On the screen, Ruby and Niccolò were seated at a table in front of a café. When Audrey and Gregory drove through the tables on a Vespa, Ruby leapt up in surprise, and Niccolò took her in his arms to protect her. The expression on his face was one of sweet adoration.
While others laughed at the scene, Ruby choked back a sob. Joseph quickly passed a monogrammed handkerchief to her. Dabbing her eyes, she continued watching the film, picking out Niccolò in different crowd scenes. Watching him was so painful, and yet, she loved reliving every moment. She remembered their conversations and how he’d held her and kissed her.
In the final scene, Niccolò played the part of a news reporter in the press crowd behind Gregory Peck and Eddie Albert while Audrey performed Princess Ann’s heart-rending farewell. Niccolò was so handsome and convincing that Ruby could hardly control her flow of tears. It didn’t seem possible that she might never see Niccolò again except on film.
At least she had that.
After the premiere was over, Ruby walked out with Joseph, though she still scanned the crowd for Niccolò. At the party after the film, when she saw other cast and crew members she knew, she asked them if they’d seen Niccolò. But no one had seen him since the final wrap party.
Niccolò had truly vanished. And Ruby feared the worst.
* * *
The next morning, Ruby reported for a photo-shoot at an advertising agency on Madison Avenue, where Joseph had arranged an endorsement for a lipstick. Ravishing Red was a new color planned for holiday parties, so Ruby wore a red dress that showed off her new décolletage. As she posed for the photos, thoughts of Niccolò still filled her mind.
The wardrobe, hair, and makeup stylists made her look much older than her years. Her father would certainly disapprove. His hurtful words still rang in her ears, though she hardly cared anymore. She had to provide for her child.
The next month, Ruby’s star shot through the heavens, just as Joseph had predicted. Roman Holiday was a huge success, bringing in millions at the box office. When Diary of a Pioneer Woman, the film that Ruby had starred in, came out the next week, publicists emphasized that Ruby had been in Roman Holiday as an extra, creating more press for the new movie. Ruby moved into a fully furnished studio apartment in Hollywood, where she could be available for auditions and seemingly endless interviews with the press.