"And out here." "Well?" "It's something, all right." "I'll give you that much." "The rent is almost nothing, the beach down there, it's no good for swimming, so the property is a turkey for residential use." " Expensive grounds to keep up." " But Laguna's coming up, Lucy." "It's not just summer trippers here anymore." "It's year-round residents." "I know. I been doing a little checking up myself." "But, kid, are you really sure you can swing this?" "You just opened a second place in Beverly, not to mention who you plucked to run the joint." "What you see in that dicey..." "The luncheonette idea was Ida's from the start." "It was her idea to expand on the pastry business, it was her idea to bring in the movie crowd... I know, I heard it." "Save it for the jury." "But look at this place, Lucy." "Tell me you don't see something." "Thirty dollars a week and 1 % of the profits." "You and Ike can take the upper part of the house." "Light, heat, water, food, all furnished." "Oh, shut up, will you, for God's sake?" "Shut up?" "is that a yes?" "Listen, baby, it's halfway between LA and San Diego, right on the main line, and Ike's still got his trucks." "It's the first honest-to-God chance we've had to get started again, in a legal way, since..." "Well, you know." "You want me bawling on your shoulder?" "Good. lt's settled." "But we're not doing chicken." "We're not?" "What do you mean?" "You think these loafs come all the way out to the ocean just to eat chicken?" "Not if I know folks." "No, what they want is a shore dinner." "Fish, lobster, crab." "So that's what we give 'em." "And that's where we make the dough, because fish is cheap." "But we also give 'em a little variety." "So we offer steak, right from our very own built-in charcoal broiler." "Oh!" "Well, that all sounds grand, but... do you know anything about steaks?" "Or fish?" "I'll learn!" "You seeing lda in Beverly today?" " l am." " Good." "Tell her she's got competition." "Mildred, I tell you, we're in." "In the first place, I got a lunch trade that's almost like the Brown Derby." "People that don't want planked whitefish, special hamburgers, they want the little sandwiches I got, and the fruit salads." "You..." "You just gotta hear the comments." "Then after that, I got a college trade, all these young, refined kids on their way home from Westwood." "Then I got my tea trade with the ladies, plus a dinner trade." "I even got a late crowd!" "From noon until midnight, I got business." "And the take-out trade from those people?" "It's enough to take your breath away." "So we did all right this week?" "I'll show you how good!" " l need the flour bags..." " lt used to be the old fire department, but I had my eye on it from the day we opened." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hurry up!" "Hurry up!" "This is not recreation here." "It's amazing, Wally." "Between Glendale, Laguna about to open, and Beverly on a roll, it's the pies that keep it all afloat." "I never would have known." "Well, you got a quality outfit." "Which brings me back to my point." "You think I should incorporate." "Well, let's put it this way." "With..." "With all you got juggling, I'd say that old woman in Long Beach ought to have you pretty worried by now." "Remind me again about the old woman." "Well, she's the one that's crossing against the lights who your driver, he barely grazes, so she's not hurt a bit." "But when she hears you got three restaurants... we're in the soup, big time." "Sigrid!" "Pardon me a second, Wally." "Sigrid, I need you to set up that call with the zoning regulators about the annex." "We've got to get those plans cleared." "I just spoke with them, Mrs Pierce, and they say it's all right, just as long as no external advertising." "Oh." "Fine." "Thank you." "Would you let the contractor know?" " Yes, Mrs Pierce." " Mrs Jaeckel, I'm sorry." "We'll have to go over those books tomorrow." "Oh, yes, Mrs Pierce." "Sigrid, huh?" "Oh, hands to yourself, Wally." "You were saying?" "Well, it works the other way around, too." "After those five people get ptomaine poisoning from the fish they had at your new joint, or say they did." "Look, you incorporate, your personal property is safe." "From anyone." "Okay." "You sold me." "Insurance, too." "Call me tomorrow." "Will do." "Adios, boss." "Hello?" "Mrs Hannen?" "is..." "is everything all right?" "Oh!" "No!" "No!" "Oh!" "Oh, Mrs Hannen, you poor, poor dear!" "He was fine one minute, and the next... lt was all so sudden." " ls there anything at all we can do?" " No, thank you, dear." "Well, do give him our very best." " Of course." " Yes." "And thank you so much for calling, Mrs Hannen." "Thank you." "Goodbye." "What is it?" "Veda?" "Mr Hannen." "He had a haemorrhage." "Walking home from his studio." "And somehow the ambulance doctor made a mess of it, had him lifted by the shoulders or something, so it's much worse than it might have been." "Mrs Hannen was just in hysterics about it." "Well, of course she was." " We must go there at once." " No." "He's already at the hospital, packed in ice..." "They gave him some kind of gas to inhale." "It's just hell." "Oh, Veda." "I'm so sorry." "What am I supposed to do now... without that damned he-bear to knock me around?" "Moire." "We always thought it was pronounced "Moi-ray"" "until we heard the priest say it." "Miss Hicks, the astrologist, brought it over with her chart, like she did with your name." "You were in Santa Barbara that day." "What day?" "Veda?" "Dear, I know you were very fond of him, and he was a fine man, but...but these things happen, after all, and..." "No, Mother. lt wasn't that I was fond of him." "Not that I didn't love the shaggy brute." "To me he'll always be the one-and-only, and..." "Never mind." "But he taught me music." "Well, there are other teachers." "Yes, there's about 700 fakes and advertisers in Los Angeles alone, and I don't know one from another." " Besides..." " Can't you make inquiries?" "No." "There is one man, just one, that Hannen had some respect for." "He's a conductor." "His name is Treviso." "Carlo Treviso." "He conducts a lot of operas and things out at the Hollywood Bowl and on the radio." "I don't know if he takes piano pupils or not, but he might know of somebody." "Do you want me to call him up?" "Veda?" "Poor Charl." "I first know Charl, was in 1922." "We make tour of Italy together, just after Mussolini come in." "I play Respighi program with orchestra," "Charl play Tchaikovsky concerto." "Ah, the Hannen tone, so bright, so subtle." "You come?" "So, how many years you with Charl?" "Uh, four years." "Over four." "Any recital?" "Performance?" "No, no." "She's extremely gifted." "So, I hear you play." "Now?" "Yes, now." "Of course." "Here." "How could you?" "Dio mio." "Veda?" "Darling!" "My goodness, Veda." "Open the door." "It was inexcusable how he behaved." "Why won't you talk to me?" "What's the matter?" "It's nothing." "Well!" "My goodness!" "You don't have to scare everybody to death." "Mother, if you say "my goodness" one more time, I shall scream." "I shall simply scream!" "Veda, darling..." "He's only one instructor." "You can kill it, you can kill it right now." "You can drive a knife through its heart... and it'll be dead." " You can forget you ever tried to play piano." " Well, my good..." "Well, for heaven's sake." "The piano is not the..." "not the only thing on earth." "You could..." "You could write music." "Oh, you damned, ridiculous..." "Are you trying to drive me insane?" "Yes, I could write music." "I could write any goddamn piece of music you please!" "A waltz, a motet, a cornet solo, with variation!" "You name it, I can write it." "But not one note of it would be worth the match it would take to burn it." "You think I'm hot stuff, don't you?" "You, lying there every day, dreaming about rainbows." "Well, I'm not." "I'm just a Glendale wunderkind." "And there is one like me in every Glendale on earth!" "Every one-horse conservatory, every tank town university, every park band!" "We can read anything, play anything, arrange anything." "But we're no damned good." "Punks." "Just like you." "God, now I know where l get it from." "Isn't it funny?" "You start off a wunderkind and you end up..." "just a goddamn punk." "Well, if that's the case, it... certainly does seem peculiar that he... wouldn't have known it." "Mr Hannen, I mean." "And told you so." "Instead of spending all that..." "You think..." "You think he didn't know it?" "And didn't tell me?" "He told me every time he saw me!" "My tunes stunk, my playing stunk, everything I did stunk!" "But me, he liked." "Because he saw how I felt about it." "Christ, that was something!" "After living with you all my life!" "So we went on with it." "And maybe, just maybe, Old Man Maturity might help out later." "Like hell he will!" "No." "No, in this racket you've either got it or you don't, and will you wipe that stupid look off your face and stop acting as if it was somebody's fault?" "Well, it certainly would seem after all that work, your dedication..." "Don't you understand anything?" "They don't pay off on work." "They pay off on talent!" "And I'm just no good!" "I'm no goddamn good, and there's nothing you can do about it!" "Oh, Bert, she was devastated." "I've never seen her so crushed." "She can still barely look me in the eye." "Gotta be rough." "After all the time she put in on that thing." "Boy, oh boy." "I just wish there was something I could do." "She'll snap out of it." "Veda's no patsy." "I do believe there's something inside her, I do." "I don't care what anybody says." "Veda!" "Veda!" "I'm sorry, Bert." "Can..." "Can I?" "Sure." "Go ahead." "Honestly, Veda." "You're perfectly capable of going on with your music, whether the great masters like it or not." "Battles aren't won by quitting, after all." "And you are talented." "Whether it's concert piano or not, you certainly have talent." "And looks!" "Huh!" "My goodness!" "Well, you've always had a lovely figure." "Or, you could still enter one of the local schools, like Marlborough, and prepare for college." "I'm a little old for rolling a hoop, Mother." "Well, at least call some friends and have a little party." "No?" "Gloria Sedgewick, or Kitty?" "You could..." "You could have it at Laguna, if you didn't want to do it here." "I can tell Lucy to set up a room with a special table." "And there's an orchestra we can get, and you can dance, or... do whatever you want." "No, Mother." "I don't want an orchestra." "Thanks, just the same." "She doesn't want to see them people." "What people?" "Them Pasadena people." "What do you mean?" "Why not?" "After she's been Mr Hannen's candy kid?" "The one that was going to New York and play the piano so they'd all be hollering for her?" "You think she wants to see them people now and just be Veda?" "Well, why not?" "They're her friends." "They're who she should be seeing." "I can't just sit by and allow her to cut herself off" " from the people that..." " Why?" "Why can't you leave her alone?" "Hello?" "Elaine!" "He didn't!" "No!" "May I offer you a cigar or a cigarette?" "It looks wonderful." "It really does." "Lucy, the flowers, they're beautiful." "We're running a high-class dump, baby." "For some reason I don't understand, a guy with an Old-Fashioned on the table likes to listen to the bumblebees." "And how's lke?" "He's on call, day and night." "All he needed was a chance." "Next week he's getting a new truck." "Streamlined." "Oh, Lucy!" ""Service with a gardenia."" "He's thinking about having it lettered on the side." "Oh, we're living again, that's all." "I'm so glad." "And Archie's working out?" "Best steak man in town, bar none." "Any bum can cook fish and make money on it, but with steaks... you can't go wrong with Archie." "Mr Chris never knew what he had." "Not until we snatched him up." "Hi, Archie." " So nice to see you again." " Thank you." " So nice to see you." " Wonderful." "Denver, originally." "Well, 18 years back, if you want to be precise." "And my wife, Fort Worth." "Forth Worth, originally." "But San Diego ever since." "Yep, San Diego." "And we like it just fine." "Well, we surely hope you'll stop by again, next time you're headed our way." " Oh, we sure will." " Thank you." "Hello, ma'am." "Welcome to Mildred's." "May I offer you a cigar or cigarette?" "Okay, smarty, suppose you tell us what's hot." "Yeah, I didn't get all gussied up for nothing." "I say we hit Ciro's or the Troc." "I say we let the gals decide." "Well, shake a leg, whatever you do." "Thanks, puss." "Here you go, gentlemen." " Mother!" " Veda, darling." "I'm so pleased you came." "And with all your friends." "Ace job, Mother, really." "And that ocean view - quite a stunner." "Thank you, dear." "Oh. ls this new?" "You know, you really ought to consult me first on a purchase like that." "Mother, I just knew you wouldn't object." "And I was so desperate for something new." "Isn't it too divine?" "Please, Mother, please can I keep it?" "All right." "Just this once." "Oh, you wonderful dear!" "You're such a treasure." "Oh!" "You must meet Elaine." "Elaine!" "Mother, Elaine." "Elaine, Mother." " Lovely to meet you, Elaine." " Likewise." "Real nice place you've got." " Thank you." " Elaine lives in Beverly." "Oh." "And what do you do, Elaine?" " Actress." " Oh." "What pictures have you acted in?" " Just character parts." " l see." " Let's get outta here." " Yeah, you said it." "Anyone decide where it is we're going?" "Details, details." " Well, Mother, we're off." " Have a wonderful time." "Ladies." "Lovely to meet you, Elaine!" "Yeah." "You, too!" "I know it's none of my business..." "What?" "I just think you ought to know what's been going on." "What?" "With Veda?" "I'd say it's been about half a dozen times now." "And always with that same awful girl." "And not just here. lda's, too, and other places." "But with men, Mildred... all sorts of men." " Oh, Lucy." " Hold on tight!" "They're just young." "Not too young." "The night is young!" "Good night." "Oh, Veda." "Shh!" "Oh, say, don't be bashful!" "Come on, Veda." "Just one!" " No!" " Why won't you even... I told you, not in this condition!" "Stop it." "Stop it!" " Don't be such a pill!" " Ugh!" "Look at you, you can barely stand." "You're going to wake" " the entire street!" " Come on." "You really are a dolt, Sammy." " Veda!" " Shh!" "Good night!" "Hello?" "Hello, Mother." "You're having a lovely day, I see." "I feel like hell." "Mmm." "Were you out late again?" "I suppose I was." "Well." "You know, I was talking to Mrs Gessler not long ago and she said..." "you and your friends have been..." "Mrs Gessler?" "She said... ..you've been in the restaurant quite a lot, with your friends." "That's all." "I don't really see how that's any business of hers." "She's concerned about you." "She..." "She loves you like her own daughter." "And she, and I... we...we only want what's best for you." "Mother, it was you who said I shouldn't lie around moping all day, wasn't it?" "And just because nosy Mrs Gessler has something to..." "There's no use getting on to that subject." "The point is, there's nothing to be alarmed about." "Nothing at all." "There's not?" "Of course not." "Mm." "The fact of the matter is, I may go into pictures." "And Elaine, she may be a bum." "There's no use being silly about it." "I grant, at once, she's nothing but a tramp." "But she knows directors." "Lots of them." "All of them." "And you have to know directors to get a test." "Pictures?" "You never said anything about pictures before." " lt's just an idea." " Well, I think it's wonderful." "I think it's a wonderful idea." "Oh, Veda, with...with your looks and your talent..." "Darling, if there's anything I can do, anything at all..." "There's nothing for you to do, Mother." "Thanks just the same." "Well, you let me know if there is." "Pictures." "That's marvellous news!" "Oh!" "A Mrs Lenhardt is here to see you." "Who?" "Mrs Lenhardt." "That's the one that called yesterday." "Like John Lenhardt, the director?" "I don't know any Lenhardt." "Thank you, Mrs Kramer, and check with Beverly and Laguna before making the order." "Yes, Mrs Pierce." "I hear Barbara Stanwyck was in Beverly last week, sipping coffee." "Go on!" "Mrs Pierce." "I've been looking forward so much to meeting you." "I'm Mrs Lenhardt, Mrs John Lenhardt, and I'm sure we're gonna work out our little problem splendidly." "Now why do I feel certain we have met before?" "Possibly in one of my restaurants?" "Doubtful." "We just so rarely go." "Well, I do have a branch in Beverly." "Perhaps you dropped in" " for a cup of chocolate." " Ha!" "No doubt that's it." "Can I offer you anything, Mrs Lenhardt?" "No, thank you, ever so." "Well, as I'm sure you've guessed, I've come to discuss our children, Mrs Pierce." "Our babies." "Our babies?" "Well, your little Veta, of course, and my Sammy." "Sammy Forrester, I should say." "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I haven't any idea what you're talking about." "You mean..." "Veta hasn't told you anything?" "About what?" "Well, I see." "Well, in that case, I'll try and begin at the beginning." "Please." "Well, they met...it seems only yesterday, actually it was a few months ago now, at my house." "My husband, of course, is a director, and he was considering Veta for a part." "And, as he so often does with these kids, when we have a little party going on, he asked her over." "Veta and her little friend Elaine, another lovely child who my husband's..." "Yes, I've met Elaine." "Well." "Veta met Sam and...it was simply love at first sight." "It must have been, because that boy of mine is so..." "He's so smitten, so serious." "You don't mean to tell me they're engaged?" "No." "No, I wouldn't say they were engaged." "In fact, I know for certain that my Sammy had nothing of the sort in mind." "But..." "Veta..." "Veta has somehow got the idea that..." "Well, I understand it, of course." "Any girl wants to get married." "But I want to assure you, Mrs Pierce, that Sammy had no such intention." "So I'm sure you'll quite agree with me that... any talk of marriage would be most undesirable." "And why, precisely?" "Because they're nothing but children, of course." "And from entirely different worlds." "What different worlds?" "Well, different communities, let's say." "They have different backgrounds, different ideals, different friends." "Sam, for one, has always been accustomed to a great deal..." "And you think Veda hasn't?" "I'm not exactly on relief, Mrs Forrest..." "Mrs Lenhardt." "Then let me make myself perfectly clear." "If Sammy gets married, he will be completely on his own." "And I doubt either one of them would be terribly accustomed to that reality." "Well..." "Why should Veda feel this way about it, and your boy not?" "I'm not a mind reader, Mrs Pierce." "But let me tell you one thing." "If you, or that girl, or anybody, employ any more tricks," " trying to blackmail my boy..." " Blackmail?" "You may as well understand here and now, Mrs Pierce, that I shall prevent this marriage." "I shall prevent it in any way that I can, and by legal means, if necessary." "Arline, there's a spill under six." "A spill?" "You were saying?" "I'm saying, if there are any more threats, any more officers at my door, any more of these tricks she's been playing, I shall not only have her arrested, I shall have her prosecuted for blackmail." "I shall not hesitate for one moment, for l have quite reached the limit of my patience!" "D'you get that, Arline?" "I..." "I was looking for the spill." "What did she say?" "She said Veda was trying to blackmail her boy into marrying her and if she kept it up she'd have the law on her." "You remember that, Arline, in case I need you." "Well!" "Veda?" "Where are you?" "Mother!" "You startled me!" "Well, I'm sorry, darling." "Um..." "Veda, something's happened, I... I have to talk to you." "Well, at least let me take off my hat." "Personally, I find pictures a bore." "Don't you?" "Especially Nelson Eddy pictures." "Although I suppose it's not entirely his fault." "Veda, a Mrs Lenhardt was in to see me today." "A Mrs John Lenhardt." "Really?" "She says you're engaged to marry her son... or have some idea about marrying him, or something." "She's quite talkative." "Veda... darling... what was she talking about?" "Why haven't I heard anything about any of this?" "Well... I think it's a bit of a stretch, saying that it was my idea that Sammy and I get married." "Well, after the big rush they gave me, with Pa breaking his neck to get me a screen test and..." "Ma having me over morning, noon and night and... sonny boy phoning me and writing me, saying if I didn't marry him he'd end his young life." "So, personally I think it was more of an ambush." "Certainly I said nothing about it, or even thought about it, until it seemed advisable." "What do you mean, advisable?" "Well, Mother, he was certainly very sweet, or seemed so at any rate, and they were all so encouraging and... I certainly was most indiscreet." "But then, after the big whoop-de-do, their entire attitude changed." "And here I am, holding the bag." "One might just say I was a bit of a sap." "Oh, Veda." "I only wish you felt..." "Holding the bag?" "What do you..." "What do you mean?" "Oh, God." "You don't mean to tell me..." "Y-You're not...?" "Veda?" "I didn't want to believe it myself." "Oh!" "But how do you know?" "How can you be sure?" "It's true, it's only been a couple of months, but, so far, it seems to be the only explanation." "Oh!" "Oh, Veda!" "Oh, my baby." "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" "Mother, I was afraid." "Of me?" "Of Mother?" "No, of course not." "But of making you suffer." "Just knowing you'd be disappointed." "I can't bear it." "I can't bear seeing you unhappy with me." "Shh." "But what did she mean about officers - officers at her door?" "You mean police?" "I don't know. I suppose police." "Well, that is funny." "What is?" "Well, from what I've been learning about little Sammy, it seems that any girl from central casting could have sent officers to his door." "Apparently he has very democratic tastes." "Oh, my darling." "My poor darling." "We'll see to it they do what's right and proper." "First thing tomorrow, I'm calling Wally Burgan." "Mother, I absolutely agree." "But, I meant to tell you - l hope it's all right - l've already spoken to Wally." "You..." "What?" "Please don't worry, Mother." "He's coming here tomorrow and he'll be able to explain everything." "You've spoken with Wally Burgan?" "Well, I tell you, I did a little inquiring myself." "The situation's about what I figured." "He comes into his dough on his 21st birthday." "How much exactly I don't know, but well up in to six figures." "And when he dies, whoever he's married to, she gets her fair share of the goods." "And that's what this is all about. lt's got nothing to do with their being too young or whatever else that mother's been dishing out." "It's nothing but the do-re-mi." "The old army game." "And that's why they're so hot to settle." "Wally, we're not interested in whether he inherits, or how much he inherits." "And a settlement simply ignores the fact that a situation has been created." "It's a terrible situation for Veda!" "Now the only thing that boy can do, the only proper thing, is to marry her. I'll have him arrested, if it's the only way." "Well, arresting him might not be so easy." "Aren't there laws?" "Go ahead and tell her." "Well, as it turns out, I took Veda over to the sheriff's office just the other week to swear out a warrant for Sam." "Nothing big, just a little morals charge." "That same afternoon, a couple of boys went over to serve it." "Well, it turns out he skipped town." "And so far we haven't been able..." "That's what she meant by officers!" "You said you had no idea what she meant..." "All I said, Mother, was that I didn't know at the time that any officers had actually been sent." "The very idea..." "The very idea of legal steps being taken without my knowing anything at all, whatsoever, is simply..." "Now hold your horses just one minute there, Mildred!" "Of course I've been willing to talk to you, but when I got a client says she wants to keep things to herself..." "Mother, it's about time you got it through your head that after all, I, and not you, am the main figure in this little situation as you call it." "I'm not proud of it. I readily admit it's my own fault, and that I've been very foolish." "But when I act on that assumption to try and protect you from unhappiness, it does seem that you could give me some credit for..." " decent motives..." " Young lady." "..instead of flying off the handle in this idiotic way!" "You have kept me entirely in the dark on this matter, and I refuse to take any more!" "Wally, I am terribly sorry." "You were discussing a settlement?" "Well, they're up against a morals charge, and you're 1 7 years old, so that's all a jury needs to know." "So we're gonna meet at six o'clock to settle on a number." "If that's the way you wanna go, I suggest you be there, too." "That is not the way we want to go!" "They'll not be allowed to simply buy her off!" "Not in her condition." "I want that boy arrested." "Look, Mildred, I understand your point of view." "But I've got to consider... I've made my decision, Mother." "Thanks just the same." "I'll see you there at 6:00." "Thank you for stopping by." "Over my dead body are you meeting with them." "I'm phoning the sheriff's office this instant." "And if that doesn't work, I'll hire a private detective." "You'll do nothing of the kind!" "Stop that!" "You listen to me, young lady!" "I am still your mother, whether you like it or not!" "Mother!" "If you call the sheriff's office, they're only going to bring him back!" "And if they bring him back, he's only going to want to marry me, which isn't quite what I had in mind!" "You see, he's quite crazy about me." "He's even rather sweet at times, in a Buster Brown sort of way." "But as for matrimony, I beg to be excused." "I'd much rather have the money." "You..." "Now I know what that woman meant when she..." "You really are just trying to shake her down... shake the whole family down, for money!" "Are you even pregnant?" "Really, Mother." "At this stage, it's rather more a matter of opinion." "Oh!" "Oh, God." "Veda, how could you?" "If you had loved this boy..." "But to pretend you loved him, to lead him on, to get money out of him!" "How could you?" "Merely following in my mother's footsteps." "What?" "Stop being so tiresome!" "Do I have to spell it out for you?" "There's the date of your wedding, and there's the date of my birth." "Figure it out for yourself." "I suppose it runs in families." "Why do you think I married your father?" "I rather imagine he married you." "If you mean why you got yourself knocked up... well, I suppose you did it for the same reason I did." "For the money." " What money?" " Mother... in another minute I'm going to be getting annoyed." "Of course he has no money now!" "But at the time, he was quite rich." "And your father, he ran a garage." "But why, Veda?" "Haven't I given you everything you've ever wanted?" "If there was...something you needed, couldn't you have come to me first instead of resorting to this?" "To blackmail?" "You want to know why?" "I'll tell you why." "With enough money, I can get away from you." "You..." "And your pie wagons, and chickens... and everything that smells of grease!" "I can get away from Glendale... and its dollar days... and furniture factories and... women that wear uniforms and men that wear smocks!" "From every rotten, stinking thing that even reminds me of this place." "Or you." "I see." "Well, it's a good thing I found out about your little scheme when I did." "Because had you gone through with it, or even tried to... you'd have been out of here a lot sooner than you might have expected." "You don't make those decisions anymore." "There's nothing you can say about what I do or when I do it!" "Then get out!" "Now!" "This is unacceptable!" "Unacceptable?" "Coming from you!" "I have no idea what you're talking about." "Oh, jeepers, let's see!" "Father, Monty, Wally." "You take what you need!" "That's it." "That's it." "You get your things out of this house this instant or you'll find them in the middle of Pierce drive when you come back!" "Mother, you needn't be so overdramatic." "I said now!" "You witch!" "You shrew!" "You hideous cow!" "I am never coming back to this hovel as long as I live!" "Oh!" "..this place in a thousand years is too soon!" "Veda." "Where do you think you're going?" "Veda!" "Well, the Victor Hugo, that's news." "That's what she said." "Having the toniest restaurant downtown wasn't enough, apparently." "They need one here in Laguna now, too." "And where, exactly?" "A mile down, she said." "Near the Texaco." "Funny lda called you." "Wanted to be sure and give me the good news." "The Victor Hugo, that's competition, all right." "Hmm." "I guess we must be doing something right." "Yeah." "We should charge a commission." "Don't worry, baby." "The shine'll wear off that place real fast." " You watch." " Oh, I'm not worried about that." "No?" "No." "No word?" "Not in months." "What about Bert?" "Does he see her?" "He says she's living in Hollywood." "Somewhere on Franklin." "That's all." "Look, baby... maybe it'll do her some good, fending for herself for a while." "Kids learn fast - it ain't all it's cracked up to be." "No." "It certainly isn't." "And coming up next, my little chickadees, right here on the Buzz Winston Family Hour, is the swellest of talents to grace the waves this season, a sweet little gal with a voice like an angel." "You're not gonna believe the notes this local girl can hit!" "The Way You Look Tonight)" " Great job tonight." " Thanks." " Hello?" " Mildred?" "Bert?" "Oh, Bert. I'm so..." "I'm so glad you called." "No, I was... I was going through the hall closet the other night, and I... found some things of Veda's that I thought she might want." " Of Veda's?" " Mm-hm." "Just some..." "some winter clothes." "Sure, sure." "I didn't..." "I didn't know if you had any plans to be seeing her, but... if you did..." "No." "I thought, perhaps..." "No, I haven't seen her in quite some time, in fact." "Could you call her?" "Bert?" "Well, sure... I know she'll want her winter coat." "Her piano." "Mildred, listen." "Of course I can call her." "I know you see her, Bert." "I know you talk." "It's just, I..." "I can't stand it." "I just... I have to know what's going on with my baby." "Listen to me." "There's something I gotta show you." "What?" "The whole reason I was calling..." "What are you..." "Can I come over there?" "What, you..." "you mean now?" "Bert..." "Take a look." "But... I don't understand." "Singing?" "That's what it says." "Soprano!" ""Hank Somerville program conducted by Carlo Treviso?"" "That's the..." "That's the one who threw her out on her ear!" "I remember." "How long has this been going on?" "Couldn't prove it by me, but the way I get it, Veda's been on the air a lot already." "On the little afternoon programs nobody pays attention to." "That's how she got this chance with a big national hook-up." " l'm reeling." " Well... it just goes to show - the kid had the stuff all along." "To get a spot like that with a big jazz band, and nobody giving her any help but herself?" " She does look lovely." " She sure does." "She'll be going out live, nationwide, from the NBC studio in Hollywood." "How did you find out?" "She called you?" "She called me up, and told me the good news!" "And she'll call you up, too." "Of course she will." "Oh, no." "She won't call me." "Sure she will." "Look, I know how you feel, but this is the kid's first big chance." "And it's a chance, all right. lf these torch singers have the right hot licks on their first night out, they can hit the big time overnight." "Oh, don't be like that." "Why don't we listen in together?" "Make a night of it." "What do you say, Mildred?" "I still haven't seen your place at Laguna." "Oh, I suppose you're right." "Thanks, Bert." "You come out to Laguna, and we'll make a night of it." "That's what I like to hear." "So what's all this?" "Veda's singing on the radio?" "That's it, all right." "Turns out she's been making quite a splash on the local channels." "One of the girls said she heard Veda was on the radio but I didn't pay it any mind." "Though I can't say I'm surprised." "You must be bursting!" " l certainly wish her well." " That's charitable." "Come on, I set you up outside." "All right, fellas, just put it in the corner where l told you, over there." "Careful, careful!" "That was some dinner, Mildred." "Perfect steak." "You hear that, Lucy?" "You got a fan." "Any more of him where he came from?" "You saw the dinner trade." "I'm afraid I did." " ls it already time?" " Any minute now." "And coming up next on RCA radio..." " l hear she's got quite a style, your little girl." " Oh, you bet!" "If hot licks are what it takes, this kid's got 'em." "Hear, hear." "Ahoy!" "Ahoy!" "Land ho!" "Thar she blows!" "Ahoy!" "is this it?" "is that the program?" "Oh, sure. lt always starts like that." "The Hank Somerville Music Hour, sponsored by Snack-o-Ham, the snacking' ham that smacks of goodness." "I'm Hank Somerville, and tonight our guest is Los Angeles's own Veda Pierce!" "Now is that your real name, Miss Pierce?" " Yes, it is." " l want to know, is your voice unduly piercing?" "No, but my scream is." "As you'll find out, if you make any more such remarks." "She put that one across, all right!" "And what will you be singing tonight, Miss Pierce?" "The Bell Song, from Delibes' Lakme." " The..." " Oh, my!" "Which?" " He's down, boys!" " What do we do?" "Quick!" "Grab the smelling salts!" " Say, what's the big idea?" " What's it about?" "It's a big, operatic aria." "The idea is, it's a little over the kaydets' heads." " Shh!" " Oh, now I get it." "Oh, don't worry." "She'll knock it over all right." "Oh, hey, hey, hey!" "Will you get a load of that?" "Holy smokes!" "Mildred?" "The Way You Look Tonight)"