Shelley reappeared from the next room and said, "The snack supper is ready. I hope it's a good time for a short break. You're welcome to fill your plates and bring your food back in here, if you like."
"Excuse me, Ms. Nowack?" Imry said. "I don't remember carrying around food being part of the arrangement."
Shelley stared at him for a long moment and said, "This is a charitable donation. You do remember that, don't you? And there is a handy old phrase that 'beggars can't be choosers.' Besides, I arranged it this way so you wouldn't lose rehearsal time."
"But it was a rude way to state it," Imry said.
"And who started the rudeness?" Shelley asked.
Bill Denk, who played the butler, grinned at Shelley, saying in his old-man voice, "You go, girl," and started clapping. It was taken up by the others.
Imry rose, red-faced, and went into the next room ahead of everyone else.
"Jane," Shelley said, "we have to nibble a bit of everything to note the taste and texture and such of the food. I know we've both eaten dinner, but I'd appreciate it if you would—"
She came to a dead halt, staring at Jane's needlepoint canvas. "You've already started?"
"Of course I have," Jane said. "I planned it on the computer this afternoon. I bought Todd a grid program when he was working on those prime numbers, don't you remember?"
"While I was making out my detailed checklist to fill out on the caterers?" Shelley asked in a wounded voice. "I thought we'd be working together. Oh well, I guess that really isn't practical."
Jane told Shelley, "Ms. Bunting would like to go to the needlepoint shop with us in the morning and catch up with what we did today. Don't you think — since Ms. Bunting is so famous and actually knew Sylvia Sidney — that the teacher would take one more person?" '
Shelley turned to Gloria Bunting. "You reallyknew Sylvia Sidney?" she exclaimed, her annoyance with Jane forgotten. "I love her movies."
"She was as wonderful in real life," Ms. Bunting said. "What is that thing you're keeping your yarn in, Ms. Jeffry?"
"It's supposed to be for jewelry. But the individual pockets are great for keeping the colors from being in a jumble. We could shop for one for you tomorrow."
"That's so kind of you. We have a rental car. I could drive."
"It would be easier if I drive," Jane said. There was no way she was letting Shelley scare an old woman to death with her driving. Nor did she trust that Ms. Bunting would get them where they were going. She might be an even worse driver than Shelley.
The three of them went into the other room. Gloria Bunting took little dabs of everything, as Jane and Shelley had done. The rest piled their paper plates high. Shelley gave this caterer good marks for providing sturdy paper plates, plastic silverware that looked better than most, and delivering a few hot dishes instead of merely cold pasta salads, cold bread, and deli-type meats. The bread received her highest mark. Not only was it warm, it was already buttered with real butter (or something that tasted like real butter). It was crusty and had caraway seeds on the outside that
still tasted good. Shelley felt strongly that the spices caterers used should be fresh.
Jane and most of the cast took their food out to the big table in the other room. Shelley wanted to stay in the room with the caterers to watch how they worked. Professor Imry stayed there to eat as well, making his point that this was what he'd expected.
"The caterers will clean that table where the rest are eating, won't they?" he asked Shelley haughtily.
Before she could reply, the owner of the company said, "Mrs. Nowack, that wasn't in the contract, but for you, we'll do so."
"That's gracious, William. Thanks."
Shelley gave Imry another critical look, which he pretended to ignore, but he got red in the face again.
Shelley stayed in the serving area of the theater to watch the cleanup. These caterers were efficient. They brought along their own bags to take away the trash, and they cleaned every surface they'd used, including the floor. They asked everyone to pick up their scripts so they could clean the big table in the room where most of the cast had eaten. As Shelley stashed her critique in her briefcase and Jane rolled up her needlepoint and put it in her canvas bag, Ms. Bunting gave Jane a slip of paper.
"This is where we're staying. The telephonenumber is for our suite. Let me know if and when we can go to the needlepoint shop."
"I think they open at ten in the morning," Jane said. "The owner will probably be in by at least nine forty-five. I'll call and tell her we'd like to bring you. If you don't mind, I'll use your connection with Sylvia Sidney to impress her."
"I wouldn't mind at all. I'm so glad to have met you girls."
When they were in Jane's car, Shelley said, "I haven't been referred to as a 'girl' in ages. What a sweet woman Ms. Bunting is."
When Jane called Martha the next morning at eight-thirty, she was glad the proprietor was already at work. Jane's mention of the extra student went over well. Martha had even heard of Gloria Bunting. She'd seen her in Connecticut in the out-of-town first performance of a play that was going to New York a month later. "She played a sort of Mrs. Danvers — like role. She was wonderfully wicked."
When Jane told Martha that Ms. Bunting had been a friend of Sylvia Sidney, the woman nearly swooned. "I'd be delighted to add her. Bring her along as soon as you like. She won't even have to pay for the lessons, only the materials. I'm so thrilled about this. I can't wait to meet her in person."
Jane called Shelley first. "We're all set. I'll call
Ms. Bunting and tell her to be ready to be picked up at a quarter to ten. I'll drive. We also need to figure out where to get her one of these jewelry things for her floss."
"I'm glad you're driving. I need to call the caterers for tonight and tell them there will be four more people. Two doing scenery, another doing props, and one responsible for costumes."
Ms. Bunting was thrilled to hear from Jane. "John's gone off with cronies from the old days to play golf. They'll probably all collapse from heatstroke. I'll be in front of the hotel waiting for you just roll down a window and wave at me. I'm so glad you made these arrangements! I'd have been bored senseless and worrying about John's health if you hadn't."
Shelley made her call to the caterer. She also called several department stores that had good jewelry departments to see if any of them had one of those roll-up jewelry things with the clear pockets. She found one place that did.
"It's in that mall across from where we stayed for the mystery conference. We could take Ms. Bunting to lunch at that fabulous restaurant we discovered there, after we get her all set up."
"You like her, don't you? So do I," Jane said.
Martha at the needlepoint shop was gracious to Ms. Bunting, but had calmed,down and didn't gush too effusively — except for wanting to know which play she had been in with Sylvia Sidney.
Ms. Bunting said it was Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams in 1973. Sylvia was one of the leads. Ms. Bunting was offered only a small part, but she took it in order to get to know Sylvia. "She was almost as old then as I am now. But she had more energy than I do. You know, she was once married to the publisher Bennett Cerf, and again to an actor named Luther Adler. She only died in 1999. She was eighty-nine years old. A very durable woman."
"Indeed she was. And I've heard of both of her husbands," Martha said. "Well, I shouldn't take more of your time with this just now. I want to get you set up for class tomorrow."