The apartment consisted of ro small bedrooms, a living room with furniture that ' seen too many tenants, a kitchenette, dinette, and a bathroom. 7hey'll never confuse this place with the AM, Julia thought.
"We'll take turns at cooking,' Sally suggested. '.' Sally prepared the first meal, and it was delicious. The next night was Julia's turn.
Sally took one bite of the dish that Julia had made and said, ', I don't have a lot of life insurance. Why don't I do the cooking and you do the cleaning?' The two roommates got along well. On weekends they would go to see movies at the Glenwood 4, and shop at the Bannister Mall. They bought their clothes at the Super Flea Discount House. One night a week they went out to an inexpensive restaurant for dinner - Stephenson's Old Apple Farm or the cafe Max for Mediterranean specialties. When they could afford it, they would drop in at Charlie Charlies to hear jazz. 123 Julia enjoyed working for Peters, Eastman & Tolkin. To say that the firm was not doing well was an understatement.
Clients were scarce. Julia felt that she wasn't doing much to help build the skyline of the city, but she enjoyed being around her three bosses.
They were like a surrogate family, and each one confided his problems to Julia. She was capable and efficient, and she very quickly reorganized the office. Julia decided to do something about the lack of clients. But what? She soon had the answer. There was an item in the Kansas City Star about a luncheon for a new executive secretary organization. The chairperson was Susan Bandy. The following day, at noon-, Julia said to Al Peters, ' may be a little late coming back from lunch.' . He smiled.
"No problem, Julia.' He thought how lucky they were to have her. Julia arrived at the Plaza Inn and went to the room where the luncheon was being given. The woman seated at the table near the door said, ' I help Your '. I'm here for the Executive Women's luncheon." name?" Stanford.' The woman looked at the list in front of her.
"I'm afraid I don't see your -' Julia smiled. ''t that just like Susan? I'll have to 124 have a talk with her. I'm the executive secretary with Peters, Eastman, & Tolkin.' The woman looked uncertain.
"Well .. ''t worry about it. I'll just go in and find ,.' In the banquet room was a group of well-dressed women chatting among themselves. Julia approached one of them. ' one is Susan Bandy?"
"She's over there.' She indicated, a tall, striking looking woman in her forties. Julia went up to her. '. I'm Julia Stanford."."'m with Peters, Eastman, & Tolkin. I'm sure you've heard of them.", I ..."'re the fastest growing architectural firm in Kansas City." 41 see.1 ' don't have a lot of time to spare, but I would like to contribute whatever I can to the organization.", that's very kind of you, Miss ... '.' That was the beginning. The Executive Women's organization represented most of the top firms in Kansas City, and in no time at all, Julia was networking with them. She had lunch with one or more of the individual members at least once a week.
125 ' company is going to put up a new building in Olathe.' And Julia would immediately report back to her bosses. @ '. Hanley wants to build a summer home in Tonganoxie.' And before anyone else found out about it, Peters, Eastman & Tolkin had the jobs. Bob Eastman called Julia in one day and said, ' deserve a raise, Julia. You're doing a great job.
You're one hell of a secretary!" you do me a favort Julia asked.
"Sure." me an executive secretary. It will help my credibility." From time to time, Julia would read newspaper articles about her father, or watch him being interviewed on television. She never mentioned him to Sally or to her employers. When Julia was younger, one of her daydreams had been that, like Dorothy, she would one day be whisked away from Kansas to some beautiful, magical place. It would be a place filled with yachts and private planes and palaces. But now, with the news of her father's death, that dream was ended forever. Welli I got the Kansas part right, she thought wryly. I have nofamily left. But I do, Julia corrected herself. I have two halfbrothers and a ha#sister. They'refamily.
Should I go visi t them? Good idea? Bad idea? I wonder how we wouldfeel about one another? Her decision turned out to be a matter of life or death.
Chapter Twelve
It was the gathering of a clan of strangers. It had been years since they had seen or communicated with one another. Judge Tyler Stanford arrived in Boston by plaiie Kendall Stanford Renaud flew in from Paris.
Marc Renaud took the tram from New York. Woody Stanford and Peggy drove up from Hobe Sound. The heirs had been notilied that the funeral services would take place at King's Chapel. The street outside the church was barricaded, and there were policemen to hold back the crowd that had gathered to watch - the dignitaries arrive. The vice president of the United States was there, as well as senators and ambassadors and statesmen from as far away as Turkey and Saudi Arabia. During his lifetime, Harry Stanford had cast a large shadow, and all seven hundred seats in the chapel would be occupied. 128 '.Tyler and Woody and Kendall, with their spouses, met inside the vestry. It was an awkward meeting. They were alien to one another, and the only thing they had . common was the body of the man in the hearse outside the church. ' is my husband, Marc,' Kendall said. ' is my wife, Peggy. Peggy, my sister, Kendall, . my brother, Tyler.' There were polite exchanges of hellos. They stood there, uncomfortably studying one another, until an usher came up to the group. ' me,' he said in a hushed voice. ' services are about to begin. Would you follow me, please?' He led them to a reserved pew at the front of the chapel- They took their seats and waited, each preoccupied with his or her own thoughts. I To Tyler, it felt strange to be back in Boston. The only good memories he had of it were when his mother and Rosemary were alive. When he was eleven, Tyler had seen a print of the famous Goya painting Saturn Devouring His Son, and he had always identified it with his father. And now, Tyler, looking over at his father's coffin as it was carried into the church by the pallbearers, thought, Saturn is dead. V know your dirty little secret.' The minister stepped into the chapel's historic wineglass shaped pulpit. - 129 "'Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."' Woody was feeling exhilarated. He had taken a hit of heroin before coming to the church, and it had not worn off yet. He glanced over at his brother and sister. Tyler has put on weight. He looks like a judge. Kendall has turned into a beauty, but she seems to be under a strain. I wonder if it's because Father died? No. She hatedhim as much as Idid. He looked at his wife, seated next to him. Im sorry I didn't get to show her off to the old man. He would have died of a heart attack. The minister was speaking. "'Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."' Kendall was not listening to the service. She was thinking about the red dress. Her father had telephoned her in New York one afternoon.