Alice in La La Land (12 page)

'Lastly Topaz,' chimed Alice and Nick. They clinked glasses as the limo turned onto a freeway. Alice settled back in her seat and took a sip of champagne. It tasted like a delicious exotic tea. 'Lovely,' she murmured. 'Thank you for inviting me.'

'Pleasure,' said Nick. 'Now, we need to prepare.' He pulled a wad of paper from under his seat. 'Alice, I don't know how much you know about the races, but this is the form guide for today. I think we better get studying. See, I need to win me some money today. How about you?'

'Yes,' she nodded. 'Ideally, I'd like to bet a very small amount and win an enormous sum. Do you think that's possible?' She thought about her father and her heart squeezed painfully in her chest.

'Anything's possible with Joe's tips,' Nick replied, chewing the end of a red pencil and spreading the form guide in his lap. 'What do you know about Mighty Jenkins, Joe? Any tips on race one?'

'I wouldn't go with Mighty Jenkins in the first. I'd go with Sirsal. Apparently he's fast in these conditions.'

'Right, thanks very much,' Nick answered, circling the details with his pencil. 'He's the favourite though, it says, so we won't win big on that. We need to back an outsider at some point.'

'Insider's tip,' said Joe. He had a large weathered face and his smile was mischievous. 'So don't go telling anyone, all right?'

Nick and Alice leaned forward, and Stephanie rolled her eyes. Joe turned to check the limo driver wasn't eavesdropping.

'Horse called Seconds to Glory in the fifth. Put it this way, I'll be backing it big style,' he murmured quietly, and tapped the side of his nose with his index finger. 'Box trifecta, quadrella, to win, you name it.'

'Twenty-five to one,' observed Nick, flipping the page to race five and reading the relevant information. He whistled. In his eagerness to make a note, he tipped champagne in his lap. 'Oh, bugger.' Alice laughed and reached into her handbag for a handkerchief.

At 12.30, they piled out of the limo, energised by the champagne. Alice gulped at the clean air. Joe murmured
something to the driver, and the four of them stood back and admired the entry to the race-track. A massive sky-blue wall in Spanish art deco-style welcomed them. The red dirt beneath them was a sharp contrast to the leafy grandeur of the tall indigenous trees and the sculpted topiary plants. The bright green lawns looked well nourished.

'So,' said Joe, giving Stephanie a quick kiss, 'I'll come find you after the second. I've organised a table for you in the turf club, so you've got a great view of the track and you can have lunch and all. But don't go ordering the hundred year-old bottle of wine just yet.' He turned to Alice. 'Nice to meet you, Alice. Don't let this man get carried away with the betting,' he warned, and handed Nick an envelope. 'All your tickets are in there, mate. I'll come and find you in a few hours.'

'Thanks, Joe, good luck,' Nick waved, and the three of them headed toward the entry of the race-track.

'Apparently, somewhere there's a bronze statue of Seabiscuit,' Nick remarked, in mock reverence. He took out their tickets from the envelope and as they approached the entry turnstiles read the signs above to figure out which entry point they should use. A short man in a suit stepped forward to offer assistance.

'Can I help you, folks?' His complexion was ruddy and his teeth shiny-white in contrast.

'Ah, yes, these are our tickets,' Nick replied.

The man looked pleased for them. 'Right this way, sir,' he announced with a flourish and opened a side gate for them. 'The turf club is at the top of those stairs down yonder, or there's a lift halfway down on your left, if you prefer. Welcome to Santa Anita races. Have a nice day.'

Alice, Nick and Stephanie made their way slowly down the entrance lobby.

'No hat today?' Alice asked Stephanie.

'God, I wear a hat for work all the time, so I thought I wouldn't be bothered to wear one on a day out.' She grinned cheekily, displaying her braces. 'I read somewhere that they're out, anyway,' she added, admiring Alice's bow.

'Right, ladies. Let's go to our table before we place our first bets,' Nick suggested. They had come as far as the lift. 'I was thinking this would be better than the stairs,' he said, looking down at the girls' high heels. He pushed the up button and the lift opened with a metallic bing. They stepped inside. The wall panels were carpeted deep green and yellow. They smiled at each other in excitement.

'I've never been to a turf club before. I mean, I've been to the races, the Melbourne Cup, but we stood in the carpark for the duration. You put the picnic lunch and champagne in the boot of your car, you know. Sitting and eating lunch with a view of the track is . . .' Alice shook her head in amazement.

'Brilliant, isn't it?' Nick agreed, and the lift doors opened on the top floor. They stepped out and walked across the red carpet towards the track. Tiered tables were set for lunch with crisp white tablecloths and sparkly wine glasses. The maitre d', who looked as though he could have been around when the race-track was in its infancy, led them to their table with a surprisingly nimble gait.

'Here you are, folks,' he gestured, showing them to a table on the second tier which had an incredible view of the track. The sky was azure and cloudless, and the red shades of the dirt on the race-track were a reminder to
Alice that they were out of Hollywood and somewhere real. She felt like a gleeful escapee.

'Thank you,' said Nick, taking a seat furthest from the edge. Alice sat down next to him and Stephanie sat opposite.

'How fab!' Stephanie exclaimed, picking up her menu. 'Oh yum, shrimp cocktail.'

'Right, ladies,' said Nick looking at his watch. 'It's not long 'til the first, so excuse me if I go and put a bet on Sirsal. Would you like me to place one for you?'

'Five dollars to win,' Alice answered, opening her handbag and retrieving a five-dollar note from her wallet. Her fingers brushed his as she handed him the money and she felt a tingly frisson. 'I'm on a tight budget here, so hopefully he'll win, 'eh?' she added, avoiding Nick's eyes in case he'd felt it too.

'I'll wait til the second,' said Stephanie, still in raptures over the menu.

Alice looked up and straight into Nick's eyes. 'Thanks,' she said, and looked down at her menu. Her cheeks felt flushed and a tight feeling in her chest made it momentarily difficult to breathe.

'Something to drink, ladies?' asked a much younger waiter who appeared just as Nick had left. He was wearing a bowtie.

'Should we get a soft drink or something? My head's still swimming from the champagne,' Alice suggested. Stephanie nodded in agreement.

'Three Cokes, please.'

'And the wine list,' added Stephanie quickly.

They both laughed and looked out at the track. 'Are you
in town long?' Alice asked, toying with her fork. She kept her tone breezy. She didn't want to sound like a nosy parker.

'A few days only,' Stephanie replied. 'We've both got to get back to work.' She sighed. 'Let's not think about that right now.'

'Yes, good idea. Let's put an embargo on the topic of work or the lack thereof,' she concluded, as their drinks arrived in wide-lipped glasses brimming with ice. 'Wow, that was quick. Cheers.' Alice took a big gulp and leaned back in her chair to admire the view.

They sat in companionable silence. The women at the table next to them wore a dizzying array of hats and were shrieking with excitement. Alice and Stephanie gazed out at the San Gabriel Mountains in wordless appreciation.

'Right. That's done in plenty of time for the first race,' said Nick, re-appearing and settling comfortably in his seat. He handed Alice her ticket, and spread his three proprietorially on the table in front of him.

'Don't think he's a mad gambler,' Stephanie observed.

'I only bet what I know I can afford to lose,' Nick countered, affecting a pious tone and moving his tickets to one side. 'Right, what's for lunch? I'm starving.'

Horses thundered round the track and the red dust flew. Nick clutched his tickets and urged Sirsal on. Alice got caught up in the moment and jumped to her feet. Sirsal was a close runner in second place but then he seemed to lose ground. At the last crucial moment, he surged forward to win. Nick and Alice cheered wildly, even though their winnings would amount to little more than thirty bucks.

'There's my betting fund taken care of for the rest of
the day,' Alice beamed at Nick. They sat down again and she picked up her bread-roll. 'Gosh, what a great feeling to back a winner!' she exclaimed as she buttered it. 'I'm not used to winning at the moment, let me tell you,' she sighed, and took a hungry bite. The roll was fluffy and still warm from the oven.

'You? Not winning? Unlikely,' Nick responded, handing over her winning ticket as if to prove his point.

'Believe me, I'm pretty unlucky at the moment. In fact, I was nearly arrested last Saturday for doing the dumbest thing because I was . . . never mind,' she concluded, suddenly embarrassed at how that had sounded. She smiled at them both. 'To turning luck around,' she offered, clinking her Coke glass against Nick's.

'Sure, I don't doubt it for a second,' Nick replied. 'Didn't realise you were a near fugitive though. Very interesting.' He raised his eyebrows and grinned. 'Let's place another bet.'

'Nearly arrested, eh?' he asked, as they climbed the stairs.

'Oh, dear. Why did I admit to that?' groaned Alice. 'I promise you I'm not a bad person. I just made a really dumb decision recently, and it's only since I got to this town that I realised just how dumb it was.'

'What does that have to do with the criminal element to your personality?'

'Oh, it's really not that interesting,' Alice answered, shyly.

'Well, it sounds like it's done and dusted, isn't it now, so what are you going to do about it? Hard to know now, but I'm sure you'll realise soon enough.'

'What, nearly ending up in a downtown cell?'

'No, the bad decision, you eejut,' he replied.

'Yes, well, unfortunately I don't believe in fate. I'm more of a the-universe-is-a-ball-of-random-events-type of girl. Sadly though, it's not a belief-set that keeps you warm at night.' She considered the declaration for a moment. 'I do try to be nice to others on the way to auditions though, so maybe I am a bit more . . . spiritual, after all.'

'What nice things do you do, Alice?' he asked, stopping to smile at her.

'Oh, you know, pick up other people's litter and fill their parking meters. Stuff like that.'

Nick laughed. 'And after your audition?'

Alice considered the question. 'If I get on a shortlist, I'll keep up the good behaviour until the casting decision is made, at which point I revert to being an arsehole whether I get the job or not. It can get exhausting being nice all the time.'

They had arrived at the betting window and Alice reached in her handbag for her winning ticket.

'So, let's just bet on our boy Joe's horse for the second. If we gather up this litter around the place, maybe Lastly Topaz will win the race.'

'Good idea,' nodded Alice, stooping to pick up a losing ticket someone had discarded. 'I'm not sure if the lucky acting god is the same as the horse god, but we'll try,' she added.

Nick leaned forward to speak to the betting agent and made his series of transactions. He stepped away from the betting window and handed Alice her winnings which were thirty-one dollars less the ten she bet on Lastly Topaz to win. She rifled through her handbag, wishing an extra thousand dollars would appear so that she could bet the lot.

'Alice? Is something wrong?'

'Huh?'

'Just . . . you looked so sad for a moment,' he observed.

'Did I? My Dad's ill,' she admitted. 'I need to land a bloody job, I need to . . .'

'I'm so sorry. What's wrong with him?'

'Prostate cancer. He needs to have his prostate removed.' Uttering the word 'cancer' had a chilling effect. Alice felt the shock of it resonate in her system. All of a sudden, she felt very tired, and guilty for being out at a race-track with a handsome stranger, betting money when she should be saving every penny she possibly could.

'Why don't you fly back and see him?'

'Because I owe them money. A long story, but a theatre production I was involved in went tits-up and my parents, who very unwisely invested heavily in it, are now bearing the brunt. So my priority is to figure out the quickest way to get it back to them so my dad can have the best surgeon money can buy. I've gotta knuckle down and do a whole lot of scarily bad audition pieces in the meantime.'

They made their way back to their table. 'It doesn't seem you like what you do. Am I right?' Nick asked.

'Why would you say that? All actors are whingers, you know,' she laughed. 'It's my job,' she concluded firmly. But it did occur to her that there was truth in his observation. Lately, even when she'd been awarded a job, it hadn't turned out to be the magical experience she'd expected.

Alice batted the feeling away. Acting was the dream she'd had since she was a girl of twelve and it made her
feel that several rungs were being pulled from under her feet if this very central part of her personality was to be removed. Who would she be without that dream? She felt as though she'd lifted a very large rock and peered underneath it. Creepy-crawlies scattered fearfully in the glare.

'There he is!' shouted Stephanie. Alice felt her heart racing in anticipation. All the competing horses were now assembled in their starting bays. The silence was pervasive. Alice looked down at her ticket. Lastly Topaz was horse number five and his odds were ten to one.

At last the horses were off. Their horse had pulled out in about eighth place. 'Early days yet,' mumbled Nick to himself. The horses' hooves thundered on the dry track and a dust cloud billowed around them. The loudspeaker commentary informed them that Lastly Topaz was running in fifth place, and the favourite, Salamander, was at the head of the pack.

'Come on, Topaz, you little bewdy!' Alice yelled, reverting to her Wollongong roots in a fit of urging. She clutched her ticket tight and kept her eyes focused on the track.