Chapter 7 - Marilyn & Bobby
Claire snuck through Marilyn’s neighbor’s backyard and around the side up to Marilyn’s gate once again. She used the neighbor’s patio chair to help her climb Marilyn’s wall. “I’m too fat to play 007,” she whispered to herself. She dropped from the wall with a thud and snuck off to eavesdrop once again. She stayed as far to the side as she could, ducking behind the parked car and dashing into the side yard and around to the back. She was more cautious this time, pausing at every window making sure no one saw her. She finally reached the back window where she could see what was happening in the living room.
Two very dapper looking men were sitting on the living room couch and Marilyn was sitting on a chair. Claire could see a beautiful white Maltese lying on the floor next to Marilyn. Claire figured this must be Maf Honey, the dog Frank Sinatra had given Marilyn years before. Marilyn looked very intense, but Claire could not see the men’s faces because they had their backs to her. Eunice walked in with a tray of what looked like tea and snacks.
“Forget it, Eunice, they don’t deserve our hospitality, just take it away,” Marilyn had her movie star persona again, but this time it had an edge as if she were very angry.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, Marilyn,” the taller of the two men said as he stood up and waved for the other man to do the same. “You’ve been through this.”
“Oh, I’ve been through it” Marilyn interrupted. “I’ve been through it with his brother,” she said, pointing to the shorter of the two men. “And now I’ve been through it with him.” Marilyn turned to address the shorter man. “I am not something you can just use, pass around, and discard at your convenience, Mr. Attorney General,” Marilyn said, waving her index finger around. “Oh my god,” Claire thought, “this is Bobby Kennedy.”
“Marilyn, there’s not need to raise your voice,” the man replied in an unmistakable voice that could only be described as a Kennedy dialect. “Just calm down and be quiet, sweetheart.”
“I will not be quiet!” Marilyn shouted. “In fact, I’m going to do just the opposite, Bobby”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bobby turned to intercept Marilyn as she moved toward a table in the corner of the room. Claire could see his profile now. It was indeed Bobby Kennedy. “What are you doing?” Bobby asked her.
“What I should have done a long time ago,” was her short, sharp reply. “You see this?” Marilyn asked, holding up a small book that she took out of the drawer in the table. It was a red checked diary with a small padlock attached. “This is my diary,” Marilyn said, holding the fiery book in the air. Both men were now at her side, along with Maf who was now poised to strike at them if they came one step closer to his owner.
Claire thought the other man must be Peter Lawford, Bobby’s brother-in-law, who reportedly often arranged liaisons between the Kennedy brothers and their paramours. Both men had shocked expressions on their faces. “Guess what I’m going to do with it?” Marilyn smirked as she waved the apple red book in their faces. “I’m going to tell all. That’s right, everything I know. It’s all here. I’ve been keeping a record and I’m going to share it with the world.” A tear streamed down Marilyn’s cheek and she quickly wiped it away, still clutching the book.
“Like hell you are.” Bobby said as he lurched toward her, grabbing her by the arm. The two struggled for what seemed like quite a few minutes to Claire. Maf was barking and biting at Bobby’s pant cuff. In the end, Bobby came out with the book and a slight smirk on his face.
“There’s no need to be angry, my dear, these things just happen sometimes,” Bobby said, taking a step back and smoothing his hair. Marilyn was furious. Claire wondered why she didn’t call for help from Eunice, Pat or the handyman in the kitchen. Both men started heading for the door as Bobby shooed Maf off his leg. The dog ran to his mistress’ side, still barking.
“Go ahead and leave,” Marilyn said with a scoff. “Do you think I’m stupid or something? That’s not my only diary. And besides, it’s all here in my head. I don’t need a journal to tell all that I know. I’ve got it all right here,” she said, pointing to her head. Even angry and disheveled she was beautiful, Claire thought.
Another tear streamed down Marilyn’s face while Bobby’s expression turned to one of sympathy and he crossed back to Marilyn’s side. He wiped the tear gently from her cheek and said, “Come on, Marilyn, let’s be civil about this. Come to the dinner party tonight for old times’ sake. We’ll have a good time just like we used to, you’ll see.” Bobby rubbed her arm, warmly.
The other man jumped in, “Besides, it’s not wise not make threats on the Attorney General of the United States,” Peter warned.
“Christ, Pete,” Bobby rolled his eyes and shook his head.
Upon hearing Peter’s warning, Marilyn jerked her arm out of Bobby’s hand. “What’s he going to do about, huh?” she said to Peter, and then turned to Bobby who was crossing back over toward his brother-in-law. “What are you going to do, Bobby? Send me to my room? You just wait, you’ll be sorry. You and your brother will both be sorry.” Marilyn managed a smirk of her own. “Now, GET OUT!” She reached for a vase on the table next to her in a violent motion, but the two men were already halfway out the door. She placed the vase back to its normal position on the table and looked down at Maf.
“Did those bad men scare you, Honey, did they? Don’t you worry, you’ll never have to see them again, baby. Never.” The men slammed the door and Marilyn pulled Maf up to her mouth and made kissing noises as he licked her face, just as Claire had done with Chekov. Marilyn then put the dog on the floor and pat him on the head.
Marilyn walked over to the couch and took a seat next to the telephone. She picked it up and dialed. “Hello Sarah, may I speak to Dr. Greenson, please?” The sweetness had returned to her voice and there was a pause before she said, “thank you.” Another brief pause preambled her plea: “Dr. Greenson, something dreadful has happened; can you please come over?” Her final words before she hung up were once again, “thank you.”