The Hamlet Trap Read Online Free PDF Page B

good dancer. Gray did not dance. Peter arrived at ten and Ginnie danced even more with him. One of the actresses, Amanda White, propositioned one of the actors and they left together. Kirby got drunk and wept and declared that he had changed his mind, he did not want to go to Hollywood; he would cancel his contract. Peter and Laura danced a waltz and everyone made room for them and watched and applauded when they were done. Then Ro made a speech and introduced Eric, who handed out awards. There was an award for the most original ad-lib, for the longest pause for a forgotten line, for the cleverest save the night that Eric forgot his promptbook, for the most athletic entrance or exit… .
    The Shakespearean crowd arrived; some of the Harley people left, and after that it was impossible to tell them apart. Then it was two in the morning and Ro made a signal to the band. The leader stepped forward with an acoustic guitar; Bobby dimmed the lights and turned a spot on Ginnie. She had protested vehemently against this, but Ro had insisted and finally had agreed to make it a duet with her. Another spot found him. Ginnie’s singing voice was too soft for a performer, but there was no sound now except her voice and the plaintive guitar. She sang.
    â€œThe party’s over/it’s time to call it a day…” Ro walked to her and they finished the song together; the spots went out, leaving inky blackness for a heartbeat, then the lights came on full and everyone applauded madly and many began to weep. The party was over. The season was over.
    Laura was standing near Peter, both suddenly subdued. This was Gray’s world, she was thinking, this was what he had been looking for, hungry for, and she would never be part of it. And Peter was thinking that Ro would never let Ginnie go again. Ginnie came up to them, flushed and sweaty.
    â€œCorny, huh? Ro’s idea. I told him it was corny.”
    â€œIt was perfect,” Peter said. “The perfect way to end a party. Do you have your car?”
    â€œNo. I thought you’d be driving and no point in a parade. Now?”
    He nodded and Laura looked away, embarrassed by the sudden sexual tension that seemed to radiate from him. She watched them leave; it took a long time for them to get free of all the people who wanted a last hug, a last word with Ginnie. Gray came to her then.
    â€œRo said a small group will go to his apartment for a while. You up for that?”
    â€œDo you want to?”
    â€œYeah. I think so.”
    She nodded, but what she ached to do was go to their house with him, go to bed with him, make love for hours with him. She felt a rush of jealousy when she thought of Ginnie and Peter, and it was followed swiftly by a feeling of pity for him.
    The caterers were starting to clean up and she heard the refrain in her mind: The party’s over.

FIVE

    At the party, Ro had handed Ginnie a copy of the play—retyped by Juanita, as she had predicted. She had reread it that morning after Peter left, and it was even worse than she had remembered. When she got to Ro’s office at ten, the others were already there, and she could tell that it was going to be a stormy meeting. Eric was scowling deeper than usual. He had a permanent frown that was meaningless, but when it deepened this much, so that the lines looked incised with ink, people walked warily. William looked sad, hung over, and he was not a drinker. He looked tired, though, probably stayed as long as the continuation of the party at Ro’s house had gone on. Juanita, Ro’s secretary, had a carefully held neutral expression, and that in itself was alarming. She was slim, in her late forties, with black hair and very dark eyes; she was so intelligent that people often took whatever problem they had to her, fully expecting her to have answers, no matter if it was physics homework for the college students who worked as stage hands, or a lighting problem, or something to do with