Marilyn's Ghost

by Lorena Franco

  MONTHS LATER

  While Pam filmed the romantic comedy, the now married Mr Richard Simons, proudly sporting a wedding ring, had spoken to her about, Pam knew that she was nominated to the Oscar as best young actress for Story of Two Souls. Marilyn smiled sadly and Pam imitated her.

  “I don’t want to get your hopes up, Pam, but you know as well as I do that they will give it to you. That Oscar will be yours,” the diva told her.

  “No, No… I don’t want you to go, Marilyn…”

  “Because you love me so much, right?” the ghost said, amused.

  “And it seems like yesterday you seemed a nosy nuisance…”

  “Yes, my dear. It seems like yesterday,” Marilyn said with nostalgia. “Come on, go to Adam’s apartment and tell him. He’ll be mad with joy.”

  “I’m going now.”

  Pam took a taxi to Adam’s apartment. She had a copy of the keys, so she gave herself the luxury of letting herself in quietly without warning him. But perhaps she shouldn’t have. Maybe she should have warned him. Or not. Perhaps it was better like this, to not live with her eyes closed, to not continue living a lie. She crossed the living room, calling Adam, but got no response. There was no trace of the handsome actor. She entered the bedroom, looked to the terrace, where jacuzzi had always been very tempting for the couple. But Pam’s eyes opened wide as saucers when she discovered that she had shared this space with the person with whom Adam was at that moment. “Adam!” Pam exclaimed, opening the terrace door and not able to hide her stupor at discovering the two lovers.

  Adam separated from his masculine companion, with whom he had been playing torrid games before Pam had interrupted.

  “Pam, I can explain everything,” he said, surprised.

  “Hi, I’m Pam.” The young actress introduced herself to the surprise of Adam and his companion.

  “My name is John.” The naked young man in the jacuzzi, almost as strong and attractive as Adam, introduced himself.

  “A pleasure John,” Pam answered naturally. “Adam, really, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I admit this has been a shock, but it would have hurt more had I found you with another woman.”

  “Pam… I really do love you, but…”

  “As a friend. I know.”

  If Paul Newman had still been with Adam he would not have allowed him to cheat on Pam. He would not have allowed him to live a lie. However, Samantha Moore was an agent who, on the contrary to Richard, had no morals. Knowing that Adam was homosexual, she still made him go after Pam. She knew it would be an easy task given the actor’s great physical attractiveness and innocence of the actress she had known in the past. And she knew this would be a great seam for her actor and the film he had starred in next to Pam.

  Pam smiled, but she could not stop her eyes from filling with tears. Adam got out of the jacuzzi, wrapped a towel around himself to not be in his birthday suit, and hugged the actress. Young John remained inside the jacuzzi shaking due to be uncomfortable situation he was in. Being the secret lover he had also lived a lie, it had not been easy for him.

  “Pam, I’m going to ask you a favor even if I don’t know if I’m in a position to do so. Would you still pretend you’re my girlfriend?”

  Pam laughed. It was unthinkable what Adam was asking her. And at that moment she understood everything. He was always so attentive so polite so perfect. The perfect man did not exist, she had been blind for so long.

  “I’m going to do you the favor of not saying that you are homosexual, although it is something you shouldn’t hide. But don’t count on me to continue your Hollywood lie. With time, we might be friends. Maybe, but I’m not going to be anyone’s lie, just so you can have the lifestyle you always dreamed of. I wish you luck, Adam.”

  Pam threw her set of keys to Adam’s apartment on the bed and with her head held high, she left through the door to never come back again. Adam smiled. At least Pam had integrity and principles, something he had lost long ago. His ghost would be very disappointed in him.

  As she came out of Adams apartment with tears in eyes, the press spread rumors of a possible breakup between the famous actor couple, although Pam tried to put her sunglasses on quickly to hide it. What hurt most was the lie, the trick the actor had played on her. She felt used and she finally understood the ‘dark’ Hollywood world that Marilyn and Richard had warned her about long ago. When she got home, Marilyn was waiting for her as always sat under the willow tree, tired of being sat on the sofa for so long, watching Will Smith movies.

  “What happened?” The ghost asked, who with only one look, already knew that something happened to her sweet.

  “I entered Adam’s apartment, and…”

  “You found him with another woman,” Marilyn asked tentatively.

  “With another man.”

  “That can’t be! Really? That Paul didn’t tell me anything,” the diva let slip.

  “Paul?”

  “Paul?” Marilyn repeated, meaning to smack Paul Newman’s bottom when she saw him in the paradise Saint Peter had promised them, even though he would welcome her with a glass of Dom Perignon and a smile. What Marilyn’s ghost did not know, was that the poor Paul Newman had not known anything about his actor’s sexual tendencies.

  “The lie hurts, Marilyn.”

  “I know, dear. But remember that Hollywood is a constant lie. This is just one of the many lies you will face.”

  “So?”

  “I’m afraid you have to stop being so naive, without loosing your…”

  “Essence,” Pam interrupted. “I know, I know.”

  “Cheer up, Pam. There are hundreds of men out there that are much better than Adam.”

  “I can only think of Richard and…”

  “He is a married man. Strangely married, let me say. “

  “Strangely, why?”

  “Because he got married just like that, so suddenly. I don’t know, it’s crazy. And it says something that the woman was married four times, although one practically doesn’t count because it was only for a weekend,” the ghost laughed.

  “Well, it could have been love at first sight.”

  “Love? Time will tell, Pam, time will tell.”

  CHAPTER 16

  LIFE IS SHORT…

  SMILE TO THOSE WHO CRY,

  IGNORE THOSE WHO CRITICIZE YOU

  AND BE HAPPY WITH THOSE THAT MATTER

  (Marilyn Monroe)

  A FEW HOURS BEFORE THE OSCAR’S CEREMONY 2015

  Pam and Marilyn were excited in the hours of the run-up to the Oscar’s Ceremony. Finally the moment had arrived. Pam walked down the red carpet, oozing elegance and youth.

  They had not slept all night, celebrating all that was to come with a marathon of classic movies, popcorn and ice-cream. Pam was calm, not believing that she would be the winner of the sought after statue and as such, thought that Marilyn would continue by her side. She made the most of every moment with her protégé and gave her a few final pieces of advice that she knew she would follow. Pam had been a brilliant student, a special person that would carry on in the world that Marilyn would finally have to leave. One thing consoled her, for many years there would continue to be a person that really knew Norma Jean Baker. She knew that Pam would always have a special place in her heart for her, that she had loved her and not for being Marilyn, not for having shine in Hollywood, not for having sung happy birthday to John F. Kennedy all those years ago. She had loved her for simply being herself.

  “Darling, you have to go in an hour. They will dress you, do your makeup, do your hair, and you will shine. You’ll be a star,” Marilyn said, looking sad.

  “Marilyn, are you saying goodbye?”

  “Know for sure that I will see you shine, Pam. That from wherever I am going, I will continue to protect and guide you. I don’t know how, but I will find way.”

  “No, Marilyn. I won’t win that Oscar. I won’t win and you’ll still be with me,” Pam cried, who was still unlucky in love so far.
>
  After she had discovered Adam’s lie, Pam had focused on her work. Not wanting to get stuck in romantic comedies, she had chosen an independent movie about a very different theme and for which she continued to receive deserved praise. She kept working, going to elegant parties and getting to know people. Very interesting and distinguished people. But there was no man that could powerfully grab her attention. Richard was happily married and although he continued to look at her with a certain fondness, it was a chapter of Pam’s sentimental life that belonged to the past. It was for her own good. She dreamt of a love like the one Marilyn and her grandfather had, and she would wait. She would wait for the right moment and the right man. She did not mind waiting. She had faith and she knew that she would get there without cheating, with total honesty. She would watch out and see from afar the people that got close to her for their own interest, just as Marilyn had warned her. It was not that she wanted to become someone bitter and untrusting, simply she was more cautious than before.

  “You will win that Oscar, Pam,” Marilyn continued. “It’s the dream of every actress. It’s your dream and you will accomplish it in a few hours. And I will leave with a smile on my face, knowing that dreams sometimes come true.”

  “No, no, no,” Pam sobbed.

  “Darling, your eyes will go puffy if you cry so much and you will look awful,” Marilyn laughed. “You will be able to live without me. And when you need me, sit under the willow tree and think about every moment and every conversation. Think about everything we have lived together over the past two years. Knowing you has been one of the nicest things that has happened to me, during my life and my death.”

  Pam stared at her emotionally, accepting the cruel reality. She could not keep her ghost. She could not be selfish even though she thought she still needed her, Marilyn had to fly free and far from this world that had kept her prisoner even when she was alive. Someday, her soul too would fly faraway from here and then, Marilyn would be waiting for her with a glass of Dom Perignon somewhere with her eternal smile.

  “Norma Jean Baker, be sure that someone on earth will remember you for who you really were, for your beauty and inimitable essence. Who knew you and loved you, who will always love you,” Pam said with her hands on her heart. “Thank you infinitely for everything, you blonde bombshell. I’m going to miss you a lot.”

  “And I you, Pam, sweetie,” Marilyn murmured, tears in her eyes.

  “It was, is and will be a pleasure to have met you.”

  Pam moved away from Marilyn, knowing it would be the last time she would see her ghost sat under her favorite weeping willow. And still, she would always look for her in every corner, she would always feel her presence even though she would not be able to see her, even though she would already have returned to another dimension.

  AFTER THE OSCAR CEREMONY 2015

  Marilyn was right. She always knew Pam would win that Oscar as best young actress. What Pam did not know is that before leaving, she had listened to her speech from the shadows, discreetly, watching her proudly, as she always had been of her sweet.

  As soon as she walked through the door in the early hours of the morning, Pam kicked off her heels. In the darkness of the night, she walked barefoot to the weeping willow and placed the tiny statue on the grass, right where she used to sit with her ghost. Pam sat next to the Oscar and looked up to the sky.

  “Blonde bombshell,” she sighed. “You’re up there, shining in the night sky like you did here. But it’s going to be strange living without you.”

  At that exact moment, a shooting star greeted her with a dazzling light. She supposed her favorite “blonde bombshell” had sent her a sign to let her know she was okay.

  Pam closed her eyes and made a wish. When she opened them, she smiled sweetly just like Marilyn had taught her. Without ever loosing her essence, remembering that often dreams do come true.

  OTHER TITLES BY LORENA FRANCO

  Your Review and Word-of-Mouth Recommendations Will Make a Difference

  Reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations are crucial for any author to succeed. If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review, even if it is only a line or two, and tell your friends about it. It will help the author bring you new books and allow others to also enjoy the book.

  Your support is greatly appreciated!

  Are You Looking For Other Great Reads?

  Your Books, Your Language

  Babelcube Books helps readers find great reads. It plays matchmaker, bringing you and your next book together.

  Our collection is powered by books produced at Babelcube, a marketplace that brings independent book authors and translators together and distributes their books in multiple languages globally. The books you will find have been translated so that you can discover terrific reads in your language.

  We are proud to bring you the world’s books.

  If you want to learn more about our books, browse our catalog and join our newsletter to learn about our latest releases, visit us at our website:

  www.babelcubebooks.com