I, Rhoda by Valerie Harper

Author:Valerie Harper
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books

chapter

NINE

As excited as I was to be living alone out in gorgeous Malibu, I kept waiting for a plague of loneliness to strike. It never did. As I had hoped, I found it liberating to be on my own.

During the last years of my marriage to Dick, our house had become quite busy and full of activity. Leah’s children spent a lot of time at our house, sometimes their entire summer vacations. Penny and her husband, Zvi, visited with their four wonderful kids, Daphna, Michael, Danit, and Sharon, who to this day call me Aunt Val. Since we had the means and the space, they were always welcome. I loved taking them around Los Angeles—I went to Disneyland more times than Minnie Mouse. While my nephews, nieces, and friends were only temporary visitors, Dick’s parents had moved in on a permanent basis. Although my absolutely perfect housekeeper, Audrey Harris, was always on hand, it seemed I was constantly rushing between home and set, worrying about whether there was enough food in the fridge, trying to remember who needed to be shuttled where or who was expecting to spend the evening with me.

In Malibu, for the first time in ages, I was free to do with my time exactly as I wished. Weird. With Rhoda over, I could finally relax. I loved sleeping as late as I pleased, buying only the food I wanted, staring out at the ocean from my balcony with no lines to learn. I’d worked hard from a very young age to find success, and now I actually had the time to relax and enjoy myself.

In addition to my new bachelorette pad, I thought it was time for a new car. I no longer needed my large white Cadillac Seville, which I called Blanca—a family car that could accommodate Dick, his parents, and Leah’s children when they were in town. So supportive pals Norma Donaldson and Charlotte Brown, accompanied me to Beverly Hills Mercedes and encouraged me to buy a cream SL convertible with a brown soft top—a sporty little car for my new single lifestyle. I named her Crème Caramel. Delicious!

Charlotte, Norma, Arlene, and other friends often came out to Malibu. I hosted small but raucous dance parties to the tunes of Rod Stewart and Donna Summer and celebrated this new phase in my life. Soon I discovered that Helena Kallianiotes, a raven-haired Greek-American actress who had been in the classic Jack Nicholson film Five Easy Pieces, had organized a Monday-night private event for actors and their pals at the Reseda roller rink, calling it “Skataway.” Disco roller-skating with flashing lights and mirrored prom-ball was the epitome of cool at the time, so Charlotte and I bought skates and had great fun at the immensely popular event. Helena went so far as to have white customized roller club jackets made for people who regularly came to the rink. My Skataway name was “Valve Job.”

The place was always filled with famous and familiar faces. I remember one evening when Jon Voight turned up.

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