Modern Screen (Jan-Dec 1960)

"Yes," Rock said, "often when I'm alone." "And have you talked to it, the way I used to?" she asked. "Yes, sometimes," he said. "And even begun to sing to it after a while, you were so happy with what it did for you?" "Once in a while," Rock said. For a little while after that, neither of them spoke. And then Rock asked, "Does your father still have his boat, Linda?" She turned quickly, and returned her gaze to the water once more. "He is dead," she said. "—When I was thirteen, both my mother and my father were killed in an automobile accident. I was in the same automobile. A truck hit us and the car turned into flames. I lived. But they died — " "I'm sorry," Rock started to say. Linda brought her hand to her forehead, as if to rub away the memory. "It was the end of many things for me that day," Linda said. "The end of being a daughter, a little girl, the end of Marta Victoria Moya Burges— that's my real name, Marta . . . The end of many things . . . And the end of the sea." "You didn't go back to the boat?" "I didn't want to," Linda said. "For so many years, I never wanted to know a boat again, or the sea. So many things happened to me in those years. I changed. I became from the shy little girl into the actress. I went from the secluded home in Buenos Aires, first to Mexico, then to Hollywood. I became Linda Cristal. I became married in those years, twice, and divorced twice. I became a woman . . . My childhood, the sea, it was all far behind me suddenly. I pushed it as far away as I could. And I thought I was doing a good job of pushing it. I thought I really wanted to forget it all . . . And then — " "But now I'll die . . "What happened, Linda?" Rock asked. "It was three years ago," Linda said, slowly. "... I was in Mexico, on location, near Cuernavaca, working on my first American picture. It was just before the picture started. The night before. I was nervous, so nervous. I couldn't sleep. And that night, in the middle of the night, I got up from my bed and I got into my car and I began to drive fast, up a road. I didn't know that the road was so bad, that they were fixing it. Suddenly the tires of my car hit some sand. The car skidded and rolled over. As it did, I remembered the other accident. I lived then, I thought to myself in those seconds, as the car rolled over, but now I'll die. . . . "A little while later, the doctor came in. 'My eyes,' I asked him, 'why are they covered — will I be able to see again?' He told me yes. It was other parts of my face there was trouble with, that were broken, he said. I needed an operation. I would be all right. But before the operation, for some reason, he said, my eyes would have to be covered. "I didn't believe what he said. I was in terrible pain, especially about the area of my nose. But all the time I was thinking of my eyes. And I was thinking. 'Why did I not go back once more to the sea, to look at it once more, so that I could remember, really remember what it was like that I had loved so much. I began to dream about it. Its color — in the morning, the light blue, mixing with the dampness; in the afternoon, when it was sunny, the deep blue; at night, the lovely blackness of it with the little bits of white spray playing over the blackness.' "And I would beg God to let me see it once more — my sea." She stopped and turned to look at Rock again. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away some of the tears that had come to her eyes. "And it all turned out okay," he said. "Here you are, Linda — looking at the sea. And everything's all right again." She said nothing, but began to sob. "And everything's all right ag ain," Rock repeated. "Yes," Linda tried to say. Her body began to shake. "You're cold," Rock said. "The night air — it's cold — " He put his arm around her, and drew her close to him. "It's all right, it's all right, Linda," he whispered. . . . "They've been seeing a lot of each other," someone from the cruise has said. "And we like to think that maybe this is it for Rock. "As far as Linda's concerned, we know that she's grown deeply attached to him. "As for Rock — well, who knows. He's very close -mouthed about his true feelings for Linda. At times, when he's with her, or when her name comes up in a conversation, he glows . . . Then, other times, he shows absolutely nothing. In fact, you have a hunch, watching him, these times, that he's running scared again, that he is still trying to escape from any romantic involvment, that he is telling himself, firmly, 'Never again . . . Not me! No more love. No more marriage. Not for me. No sir!' "Still, he's seeing Linda now . . . more often than he's seen any other girl in the past two years. "And those of us who know them both like to think — "Well, you know what we like to think! . . ." END Rock stars in Day Of The Gun, for U-I and Linda's in The Alamo, United Artists. Yesterday Jim brought me roses I thought I was a good wife and mother . . . but I almost made a fatal mistake. When the children were small I was often too busy to fuss over my husband when he left for work or returned . . . and too busy to take the right care of myself. When the children started to school and began to criticize my looks, I woke up to the fact that I was doing an injustice both to myself and my family. I talked to a friendly neighbor. How did she manage to look so fresh and attractive? "I'll tell you my secret," she laughed. "No matter how tired or rushed I am, I always give myself a one-minute lather-massage morning and night with Cuticura Soap." I decided to try Cuticura Soap. In just a few days my skin began to bloom. This inspired me to take better care of my hair and figure. Most importantly, I stopped taking my patient, uncomplaining husband for granted. You know, he must have appreciated the change because yesterday Jim brought me roses. {Advertise! i When blemishes occur, get the full treatment. Along with superemollient Cuticura Soap get soothing Cuticura Ointment to overcome dryness and relieve pimples and blackheads . . . cooling Cuticura Medicated Liquid to keep blemished skin antiseptically clean, curb oiliness, dry up pimples fast. In soap and toiletry sections everywhere. Canada also.