CELLULAR BREAKDOWN

Skipper is playing tennis when he hears his cellular phone ringing. "Hi, honey," Margaret says. "Just wondering what you're doing." "I'm in the middle of a tennis game," Skipper says. "Wanna come over after? I'd love to cook you dinner over

"Uh, I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I mean, I don't know what I'm doing yet. I told some other people I would go over to their house for dinner." "So we'll go together."

Skipper lowers his voice. "I don't think I can do that. It's kind of business, you know what I mean?" "My little mogul," Margaret says.

Robert Morriskin finally arrives by seaplane. Stanford is a little pissed he didn't come the day before, so he sends the chauffeur in the old Ford station wagon to pick him up instead of the Mercedes.

Mr. Marvelous returns from the beach. Sabrina called. He calls her back immediately but gets her machine.

"IS IT ELLE?"

Monday evening. Carrie, Mr. Big, and Mr. Marvelous are on their way to a cocktail party. Mr. Marvelous drives his big Mercedes slowly up Mecox Lane, past the horse farms. The sun is beginning to go down, and the grass has a particular green calmness. There's a little hill, and when the car comes over the top, there's a woman awkwardly rollerblading. She's wearing a tight white T-shirt and tiny black shorts. She has long dark hair tied up in a ponytail, but it's her legs that get you.

"I'm in love," Mr. Marvelous says. When she turns off down a side road, he drives the car straight on, but then stops and puts his hands on top of the steering wheel. "I'm going back."

Carrie tries to give Mr. Big a look, but he ignores her. He is laughing, going along with it all.

Mr. Marvelous speeds up the road after the girl. "Look at her. She doesn't even know how to rollerblade. She's going to get hurt." They pass the girl, and Mr. Big says, "Is it Elle? She looks like Elle."

Carrie's sitting in the back seat, smoking a cigarette. "Too young for Elle," she says.

Mr. Big rolls down his window and says, "Hi."

The girl comes up to the car. "Hi," she says smiling, then looks confused. "Do I know you?"

"I don't know," says Mr. Marvelous, leaning across the seat. "I'm Mr. Marvelous."

"I'm Audrey," says the girl. She looks at Mr. Big. "You look like someone I know."

Mr. Marvelous hops out of the car. "Do you know how to stop? You've got to know how to stop. Rollerblading can be dangerous."

The girl is laughing. "Here's what you do," Mr. Marvelous says, demonstrating by squatting down with one foot in front of him and sticking his arms straight out.

"Thank you," the girl says. She begins to skate away. "Are you a model?" Mr. Marvelous says.

"No," she says, over her shoulder. "No, I'm a student."

Mr. Marvelous gets back in the car. "She had a ring on her finger. What's her husband doing letting her go rollerblading by herself? I would have asked her to marry me. She was that beautiful. Did you see her? What was her name? Audrey. Her name was Audrey. Kind of old-fashioned, huh?"

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 904