Michael was to perform in London at Wigmore Hall and then travel on to Paris, returning to the United States in time for Thanksgiving. Margaret asked her to visit a bookseller who was holding French editions of The Runaway Bunny and Little Fur Family for her. Margaret had also arranged for the bookseller to bind a copy of Michael’s performance script in leather as a keepsake of the long years’ labors. Margaret was certain Michael would be completely charmed by the gift.
From Ireland, Margaret traveled to Lausanne, Switzerland, to ski. The now married Infante Juan Carlos was there, as well. She was thrilled to see him again, and they dined together. Although their reunion was anything but serious, Michael and Charles Shaw, an abstract artist Margaret convinced to illustrate books, surreptitiously planted a story with a gossip columnist. It declared that Margaret had “thrown over” Juan Carlos in favor of Charles. They thought the prank quite humorous, and Margaret complimented them on an “extraordinarily extraordinary stunt.”
On her return to New York, the printer’s proof pages of Clem Hurd’s illustrations for Goodnight Moon were awaiting her. Clem’s illustrations perfectly captured Margaret’s dream and had used her own living-room-turned-bedroom as the story’s setting. Her own green walls, accents of yellow, and her big bed with its bright red spread were perfectly captured in Clem’s illustrations. So were her rocking chair, table, and black telephone. The great green room with the red balloon was her own bedroom and, like her, the little bunny in the story looked out at the moon and stars through the room’s huge window. She also recognized the arched marble fireplace Clem used in his paintings. It was one he knew well from his stay at Cobble Court.
*
The reviews of Goodnight Moon were positive, and the reviewers appreciated Margaret’s intention to create a book that was lulling and comforting—a style that evoked Gertrude Stein’s repetitions but was also layered with Margaret’s own thorough understanding of a child’s world. The New York Times praised the book’s rhythms and claimed that the pictures were a perfect complement to the drowsy phrases. However, the head librarian at the New York Public Library was still resistant to the Here and Now style of writing and saw little need for a go-to-sleep book; she refused to purchase the book for her library.
*
At the end of November, Michael collapsed at her hotel. She was rushed to a London hospital and then was ordered to rest and recuperate for a few days at the Savoy hotel. The traveling and performing had exhausted her. Margaret boxed up a traditional Thanksgiving meal and sent it to Michael at the Savoy with a promise to be waiting at the port in New York when she returned in December. She would bring along a chauffeur to carry her bags and make her peppermint tea back at home to help her relax.
Diana also would be home for Christmas and would have her new beau, Bob Wilcox, with her. She first met the fellow actor during her summer stock tour and demanded he be hired as her costar for this road show. He was an alcoholic, and soon Diana adopted his habit of drinking before the curtain rose. Her state was not lost on the critics. When Michael read a review that declared Diana to be wobbly-legged onstage and forgetful of her lines, she was furious.
Margaret tried to soothe Michael’s anger toward Diana and Bob by praising his kindness and support for Diana’s talent. Diana and Bob lived together openly at Michael’s apartment, even though she was still married to a tennis pro she had met in California. That was not considered appropriate among the highbrow set, but Diana was unperturbed by what her old friends might think. She hosted large parties and invited friends she knew from the theater instead of debutante balls.
Margaret often stepped across the hall to join in the merriment and was there one night when the legendary stripper Gypsy Rose Lee came for dinner. Gypsy wore a gorgeous flowing black fur coat with a red silk lining. Both Margaret and Diana tried to buy it from her. When their offers were turned down, they pretended to steal it, saying the only person who should own a coat like that was Michael. Margaret entertained some of the guests by walking around the apartment, pointing out places where Michael would have stood, if she had been there, and drolly imitating what she would have said. In her letter to Michael describing the evening, Margaret said she did this because everyone there missed her so, but Michael felt betrayed by Margaret’s allegiance to Diana. After two bad relationships and a wrecked movie career, Diana was now drinking herself out of any possible stage roles. Michael ordered Diana to find her own apartment right away.
When Michael returned to New York, she invited Diana, Bob, and his brother, a renowned New York surgeon, over to tea. Diana knew from the moment she walked in the apartment just what her mother had in mind. Dressed dramatically in a long white stage gown, Michael implored Bob’s brother to get Bob help for his drinking. She then berated Diana for living with an alcoholic actor—it was ruining her career and her reputation, she said. Bob jumped in, telling Michael she had no right to attack Diana or to disparage her love life. He reminded Michael that she was married when she began an affair with John Barrymore. Bob’s brother, who had been expecting a pleasant visit, sat in stunned silence as Bob and Diana stormed out of Michael’s apartment.
This was the first time Diana had firmly chosen someone else over her mother. Diana broke off all contact, and there was little Margaret or anyone else could do to cheer Michael up. Most likely, Bob had also mocked Michael for her lesbian lifestyle.
On New Year’s Eve, Margaret brought home some friends late at night to continue their celebrations. They were loud and happy, singing songs as they entered Margaret’s apartment, but the fun was cut short. Their party woke Michael, who threw a tantrum. She was feeling ill, she said, and wanted peace and quiet. She berated Margaret for her selfishness and told her friends to leave.
Michael became less tolerant of Margaret and more critical of their relationship. Margaret felt the distance between them growing. Giving up her relationship with Bill Gaston had had repercussions for Margaret. She relied more on Michael, who did not want to be the sole focus of Margaret’s neediness or her love. Michael’s resentment bred more insecurity. Occasionally, Michael promised Margaret that she loved her, once even giving her a ring as a token of her affection. Behind Margaret’s back, though, she complained that Margaret was too much of a burden. She hoped Margaret would soon find some man to marry.
Seventeen
1948
When spring comes around
And the cherries are red
I dream of your eyes
And all that they said.
In those shadows of spring
When the cherries were red
The songs were all sung
And the sweet words all said.
I remember the time
Of that wild blooming tree
I was with you
And you were with me.
We lay on the grass
And sweet nothings were said
We gazed up at the tree
Where the cherries were red.