“Sometimes holidays are like that. Mine usually are. It was nice this year spending it with my kids. Usually I volunteer in a soup kitchen or something. It makes me feel better to see people less fortunate than I, I realize I'm not so bad off. Maybe you should do something like that.” She nodded. “I'm sorry, Tanya,” he said in a soft, sympathetic voice, which only made her cry more. “Should I call a plumber? I think you have a busted pipe. You've sprung a hell of a leak there.” She was crying rivers, and he made her laugh again.

“I'm sorry. I'm a mess. I've been worse since I got back to L.A. Everything was so tense, and I had to put on a good front for the kids. Here, all I've done is cry since I got back last night.”

“As long as it helps. Big problems? Or small ones?”

“Big,” she said, looking him in the eye. Her eyes looked like bottomless pools of green pain. He hated to see it.

“Anything I can do to help?” She shook her head. “I figured. Maybe time will work it out.”

“Maybe.” If Peter was telling the truth, and Alice stayed away for long enough. And if she could get home on weekends. If not, God only knew what would happen, particularly once Alice got back. She didn't trust either of them anymore, and suspected she never would again, which was no way to be married. She looked at Max miserably and decided to confide in him. She hadn't told a soul since her discovery of Peter's affair. Her only confidants before that had been Peter and Alice. And she couldn't tell her kids. “I found out the day I got back to Marin, he had an affair with my best friend.” Her agony was in her eyes, as Max winced.

“Shit. That's nasty stuff. Did you walk in on them? I hope not.”

“No. I saw it in his eyes. I suspected it on Thanksgiving, but I don't think it had happened yet. Maybe I felt it coming.”

“Women are amazing about that. They always sense it. Guys never know for shit until it bites them on the ass. Women know. I hate that about them. You can never get away with anything. And then what happened?”

“We spent three awful weeks torturing each other. She went to Europe. And he says he won't start it again when she gets back. He claims it's over.”

“Do you believe him?” Max was flattered by her confidence. She trusted him, and valued his advice.

She shook her head in answer to his question. “Not anymore. And maybe never again. I'm afraid he'll go back to her when she gets home. He thinks I'll never come back from L.A. That I've got it under my skin, which is so unfair. He won't listen no matter what I say.”

“That's an excuse, Tan. If he wanted to make it work with you, he wouldn't care if you'd been a belly dancer in a harem, or had an affair with the King of England, or Donald Trump. Bottom line, if he wants to make it work, he would tell you to get your ass home when this is over, and forget Hollywood. Maybe he wants out. Or he's scared, or feels inadequate with you. Is she young?”

“No.” Tanya shook her head. “She's six years older than I am, two years older than him.”

“Then it must be love. No one goes after a woman two years older unless it is.” Max looked impressed.

“They're a lot alike, that's why I loved them both. She screwed me over totally. I think she went after him. She's been a widow for two years. And I'm gone all the time, as he pointed out. My kids think of her as an aunt. She gets along better with one of my daughters than I do. I think she was working it, and wanted him. My leaving to do this film is the best thing that ever happened to her. Shit luck for me.” He nodded, looking sympathetic.

“What does he say?”

“That he ended it.”

“Does he say he loves her?”

“He says he doesn't know.”

“I hate guys like that,” Max said, looking annoyed. “Either he loves her or he doesn't. How the hell can he not know?”

“He says he loves me, too,” she said, blowing her nose again. “I'm not sure I even believe that anymore.” Tanya felt as though her whole life had been destroyed, and she looked it. And in fact, it had. Max felt very sorry for her. She was such a nice woman, and had talked about her husband so much, and how much she loved him. He knew it must be an awful blow for her. And a fatal blow to her marriage, too.

“I believe that he loves you, Tanya,” Max said thoughtfully, stroking his beard. He always did that when he was thinking. “I mean, what guy wouldn't? He'd have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to. And I also believe that he's confused. And probably loves you both, which is really pathetic of him, but it does happen. Men get mixed up a lot that way. That's why they have mistresses and wives.”

“Then what do they do?” she asked, feeling like a child as she listened to him.

“Depends on the guy. Some marry the mistress, some stay with the wife. He could be right about one thing, you know. You could outgrow him down here. I didn't think that would happen, and I figured you'd go scurrying back. But you never know, maybe you'll do another picture. Or maybe you'll dump his sorry ass if he dicks you around.” She smiled at what Max said.

“I'd still go home. I have no reason to stay here.”

“You could have a hell of a career in movies, if you wanted to. You did a great job with this screenplay. You're going to get a lot of offers after this picture is released. You'll have your pick if you want.”

“I don't. I like the life I had.”

“Then fight for it. Keep a leash on him. Go home. Kick his ass. Don't put up with any shit. And make him pay for what he just did. That's what my wives did to me when I got out of line.”

“And what did you do?” Tanya asked with interest.

“I divorced them as fast as I could. But my mistresses were always younger and cuter and a lot more fun.” They both laughed at his response. “In your case, if this guy has any brains, he'll hang on to you. If that's what you want, I hope he does. Has he ever done this before?” She shook her head. She did believe that. “Good. Then he's a virgin. He may never do it again. It could have been a one-time mistake. A slip. Just keep an eye on this woman, and don't believe a word either of them says. Trust your instincts, you'll never go wrong.”

“That's how I figured it out. I knew it the minute I saw them.”

“Good girl. Hang in. It may turn out okay. I'm sorry you had such a rough time.” She shrugged.

“Yeah. Me too. Thank you for listening.” As she said it, the dog barked and they both laughed again.

“He agrees with everything I say. He's a very smart dog.”

“And you're a very smart man, and a good friend,” she said as she leaned over and kissed his cheek, and Douglas walked by again.

“What are you two getting so cozy about?” He looked intrigued.

“She just proposed to me,” Max explained. “I told her she'd have to buy me. Six cows and a herd of goats, and a new Bentley. We were just concluding the negotiations. She's giving me a tough time about the goats. The Bentley was easy.” Douglas grinned, and Tanya laughed. She felt better after talking to Max.

“It looked pretty good to me this morning. What do you think?” Douglas asked him, and Max said he was pleased. The romance between Jean and Ned was working well for them. It had improved her performance immeasurably. It was a common thing. A lot of actors and actresses got involved during the shooting of a film. Kind of like shipboard romance. And when they docked, it was over. A few stuck, but most didn't. The cast was betting that this one wouldn't. Jean had a reputation for changing men like her shoes. And she had a lot of shoes. So did Ned. They were cut from the same cloth.

Douglas turned to Tanya then. “Do you want to grab something to eat tonight after we finish shooting? I want to talk to you about some changes in the script.” Tanya was tired, but she didn't think she should turn him down. Meetings with Douglas were command performances, even if they came in the guise of dinner.

“Sure, if I can look like this.” She didn't have the energy to go back to the hotel and change.

“You look fine,” he said, seeming not to notice. “We can go out for sushi or Chinese. I won't take long. I know you've been sick.” He had no reason to doubt it, she was very pale and had lost a lot of weight. She had no intention of telling him the truth.

They finished around eight o'clock that night. Douglas drove her to his favorite sushi bar, and she had her limo follow. He said he was going out afterward. Tanya was exhausted by the time they sat down to eat.

The changes he wanted to talk to her about were minimal. She was surprised he had wanted to do it over dinner. He said he wanted to catch up.

“So how was Christmas? Great with your kids?” he asked as they divided up the sushi and put it on their plates. He liked all the same ones she did.

“Yes, great,” she said, trying to convince herself, and forget what the vacation had really been like. “It was actually nice to come back to work today.” He watched her eyes as she said it, and saw something there.

“Why is it that I get the feeling there's trouble on the home front and you're lying to me? Tell me to mind my own business, if I'm too far off base.” She didn't want to confide in him, but she didn't have the energy to lie either. Maybe it didn't make any difference anymore.

“I'm not lying. I just don't want to talk about it,” she admitted to him. “To be honest, the holidays sucked.”

“That's too bad,” he said softly. “I was hoping I was wrong.” She wasn't sure if she believed him. He was such an advocate of her buying into the whole L.A. scene. But when he saw the devastation in her eyes, he felt sorry for her. “Serious stuff?”

“Maybe. Time will tell,” she said cryptically, and he nodded.

“I'm sorry, Tanya. I know how much your home life means to you. I assume it was a problem with your husband, not the kids.”