"I hope I've learned a lot since then and that it shows," Lucy said wryly.
"Only for the better," Vida said.
"Yes," Mae said with a pleased smile. "If she'll only eat and keep up her weight. Why, she was only bones when I came. Now I'm going to leave you two girls to have lunch without me because I'm not hungry and I'm going to a nice cool movie."
"When Vida goes back to work I'm going to Figente's," Lucy said.
"What beautiful orchids," Vida remarked after Mae left.
"You'll never guess who sent them. Semy!"
"Semy!"
They laughed.
"And that reminds me," Lucy said. "I had lunch with Tessie yesterday and she was all excited about signing with Biggens to do the Cravenes play in pictures for five a week."
"But she gets more than five hundred on Broadway."
"Five thousand—she only gets two here. Besides Biggens is crazy about her—in person, as they say in the movies. She said that she may let the Allwood girl take over her part the last few weeks before closing but I'll bet she'll never quit until the last curtain because she knows Allwood is dying for a chance and has made quite a hit in her part. No matter what one thinks of Allwood personally, she didn't have to learn how to eat like a lady for the part. What I wanted to tell you was that Tessie said that Semy—Klug she calls him like plug, not Kloog—tried to get her to let him make love to her and said it was he who got Biggens interested. She nearly died laughing because she did it all herself the week Beman was in the hospital for his ulcer. Poor Semy, he didn't even get to hold Tessie's hand."
"Obviously, he should have held Beman's hand."
"Semy phoned me too, and said he was bringing Mr. Biggens backstage last night. I knew Biggens was coming because Beman told me the day before. You should have seen Semy making up to Biggens. Kowtowing and at the same time showing what a smart guy he is. And making up to me, how he'd always thought me a natural for movies. I thought all of a sudden of the word that describes him—Cocotte."
"The nail on the head. But what did Biggens want?"
"He offered me a Hollywood contract. But I don't think I'd ever be an actress, even though Biggens says they could teach me. Be-
