Great Big Beautiful Life

Lawrence was tough on Gerald to prepare him for the family business. Gigi, his younger sister, was the apple of her parents’ eyes and had a comfortable life. Gerald’s frustration with his father’s expectations turned into rage and violence. When Gerald was 25, his father allowed him to manage The San Francisco Daily Dispatch. Gerald overhauled the newspaper to prove his worth, changing its motto to “Where Truth is King” (112). Inspired by his mother’s populist beliefs, he used it to expose corruption. With success, he took over other publications, including his father’s, hiring writers skilled at creating compelling headlines.

Gerald moved to New York to conquer its newspaper scene but struggled until he hired Rosalind Goodlett, a senator’s daughter who had talent and connections. Gerald entered an “arranged” marriage with Rosalind to access the senator, which provided him with the needed inroad. After acquiring additional newspapers, they returned to California, maintaining a loveless but practical marriage as business partners. They had two children, Frederick and Francine. Despite Gerald’s success, his father never accepted him and favored Frederick. In 1909, Gerald became a state senator, aiming for the presidency, but wasn’t reelected. Lawrence died in 1919 without ever acknowledging Gerald’s accomplishments. This reignited Gerald’s rage, leading him to destroy his home and act violently toward Rosalind.

Gerald abandoned his family to try his luck in Hollywood, where he met and fell in love with Nina, a lounge dancer and aspiring actress. After an affair lasting months, Gerald returned to San Francisco following his mother’s death. To cope with his grief, he went back to work, purchased Royal Pictures, and signed Nina. Gerald used his wealth to buy a lavish home for himself and Nina and became known for hosting opulent parties. However, the couple was unhappy due to Gerald’s infidelity. Soon, Nina fell ill.

Margaret says there was more to Nina’s illness than what the media reported as “a mental breakdown” (120-21), but she doesn’t give further details. She and Alice walk around the house and property, and Alice asks if Jodi is an employee, which she has been wondering since they met. Margaret doesn’t give a clear answer but explains that Jodi does all the grocery shopping and oversees all the sales of her artwork. Margaret rarely leaves the house. Alice asks why Margaret chose to tell her story now and to her. Margaret says she’s 87 and likely won’t live much longer. She’s fulfilling a promise to someone but again doesn’t elaborate.

Alice reviews her notes from another interview with Margaret. After Nina left Gerald and her health worsened, Gerald’s wife (Rosalind), his two children, his sister (Gigi), and her daughter (Ruth) moved in with him. Nina fell in love with one of her doctors and retired from acting in 1931. Everyone loved Ruth and nicknamed her “Little Princess.” Alice can sense that there’s more to the story that Margaret isn’t telling, but she’s still trying to gain Margaret’s trust and doesn’t push.

Theo is working in Atlanta and asks if Little Crescent is nearby. He doesn’t outright ask to spend time with Alice but instead waits for her to take the initiative, which she dislikes. Little Crescent is three hours from Atlanta, but she invites him to visit over the weekend. Alice is focused on her work and isn’t overly excited about the chance that Theo might visit. Her awkward encounter with Hayden still mortifies her, and she hopes he isn’t progressing more with Margaret than she is. It doesn’t help that Margaret cancels her next two sessions with Alice. Alice sees Captain Cecil at the coffee shop, who invites her to a party at the Fish Bowl that night. His presence brightens her mood, and she agrees to attend with Theo.

Alice can’t avoid Hayden, who is at the coffee shop, and awkwardly greets him. He asks why she isn’t with Margaret, and Alice reveals the cancellation, wondering if Hayden knows why. He offers no guesses, prompting Alice to accuse him of being unhelpful. Hayden says he wants to be friends, to which Alice replies that he seems robotic and strange, especially after the previous night. The conversation lightens as he asks about her plans, but Alice says she’s busy. She suggests they hang out in a month once she’s won the competition.

On her way to the Fish Bowl, Alice receives a text message from her mom, just a link to a news story about California’s imminent destruction due to climate change. This is how her mom communicates with her, making her sad that their relationship isn’t better. The Fish Bowl is packed, and she sits in Hayden’s spot in the back booth and waits for Theo to arrive. Hayden is there, and he walks over to sit with her. Still upset by their failed kiss, Alice is distant and waits for her date to arrive. Theo calls to explain that his photo shoot ran long and that he hasn’t even left Atlanta. He apologizes, but Alice is disappointed that he didn’t make more of an effort to get to her. She wants to leave the restaurant, but her purse is at the table.

Holding back tears, Alice grabs her purse and ignores Hayden. He chases her to her car, forcing her to explain that her date stood her up and “changed his mind” about her, like Hayden did. Hayden apologizes, clarifying he didn’t change his mind but needed to be honest. Unlike Alice, he didn’t find Margaret through sleuthing; she read his book and contacted his agent. Alice assumes she has no chance, but Hayden suggests there’s a reason Alice brought her there. They kiss passionately. Alice invites him to her house; Hayden admits that he’s attracted to her and wants to spend time together but feels that it’s wrong while they’re competing. He wishes her goodnight and suggests that Margaret is lying to them both.

Alice researches Gerald’s niece, Ruth, and stumbles across a Vanity Fair article about her 1949 wedding to James Oller, a World War II veteran and actor. She learns that Ruth’s middle name was Nicollet, which she remembers from previous research is one of the hotel’s names before it was named the Ebner. Alice concludes that these must be family names and intends to further research the hotel.

At their next meeting, Alice asks Margaret about Nicollet. Margaret agrees to tell her, but she doesn’t want Hayden to know due to her lack of trust. Alice insists that Hayden is trustworthy but promises to keep the secret. Nicollet was Lawrence’s sister. On his deathbed, he called her name when only Gerald was present. Ruth was Nina’s daughter, not Gigi’s, and Nina was sent away for being pregnant out of wedlock. Despite their public affair, they hid the truth, never telling Ruth. Nina, terminally ill, asked Gerald to reveal the secret, but Ruth and her husband tragically died in a plane crash before he could. Margaret concludes the session, stating that her family “is the curse” (151).

Hayden leaves Alice breakfast on her doorstep with a note labeled “Friends?” She then visits a local shop that sells Margaret’s art under her fake name, “Irene Mayberry.” Alice sees a large mosaic featuring the unicursal pattern, prompting her to reflect on what she knows of Margaret’s story. The painting symbolizes Margaret’s feeling that she’s a victim of fate and her family’s choices. It’s priced in the thousands, which Alice can’t afford, but the shop owner shows her a smaller version, and when Alice sees “Nicollet” in the corner, she buys it.

Alice can’t sleep, so she goes to the ocean to clear her mind. On the way, she delivers an iced green tea to Hayden’s door with her phone number on the cup. Watching the beauty of the sunrise over the ocean, Alice reflects on why she became a journalist. During her childhood, she thought she might want to be a photographer but was drawn to writing more because she could edit her words, whereas photos were immutable. For Alice, journalism is “[n]ot just the pursuit of some clinical truth, but the need to understand a person, make sense of what’s at their very core, closest to their heart” (158), which is what she’s trying to do with Margaret’s story. She realizes that the sunrise she’s witnessing resembles the one in the mosaic she purchased.

Alice and Margaret have their next meeting on her airboat, which she uses to scavenge for art supplies. Margaret picks up the story with her father, Frederick. After Gerald left the family, Frederick and Francine, spoiled by their father’s great wealth, wasted their time and money on frivolous pursuits like gambling and buying horses and dogs. When Gerald reunited the family in Los Angeles, Frederick and Francine were in their twenties, and Gerald wanted them to make something of themselves. Frederick had no work ethic, but Francine, in an attempt to avoid marriage, worked hard running a women’s magazine. Margaret explains the difference between old money and new money to Alice. Margaret never knew what it was like to struggle. However, Cosmo came from nothing, and once he found fame and wealth, he wished for his old life back.

The media portrayed Frederick as jealous, and Margaret agrees. He envied everything and everyone, including Francine, who prospered as the new owner of Hearth & Home Journal, while he gave no effort to his position at Royal Pictures. In 1935, Doris Bernhardt, one of only two female directors Royal ever hired, demanded a new contract. Frederick agreed that it was wrong that she was paid less just because she was a woman. He offered to lobby if she did her next movie with Royal. Doris refused and said she was cutting ties with Royal. Devastated because he saw this as his chance at finally finding success at something, Frederick fell in love with Doris.

Margaret explains that her parents loved each other, but their relationship was complicated. They began as best friends but later divorced. Then, they reconnected again and spoke every day until Doris died. Frederick was a bad husband because “[h]e didn’t love himself” (171), Margaret asserts. She becomes emotional when speaking about her parents because she knows that if the book is published, people won’t understand the complexities of their relationship and will focus only on the scandalous details. Alice suggests that they stop for the day, but Margaret wants to continue, and Alice can see that telling her story, though emotional, is helping Margaret release long pent-up grief and emotion.

Later, while she’s reviewing her notes, Hayden asks to meet for dinner. They meet at a diner in Savannah and agree not to speak of Margaret. He inherited an obsession for healthy eating from his mother, so he has been giving his croissants to Margaret. At the mention of her name, Alice jokes that he must “put a quarter in the M-word jar” (178), and Hayden produces a pile of quarters. Alice uses one for the jukebox and plays “Say You Will (Be Mine)” by Cosmo Sinclair. Alice can sense that they’re flirting now and leans into whatever is happening between them.

Alice and Hayden enjoy a romantic stroll through Savannah, walking hand in hand. They share what they want for the future. Hayden says he wants children, but it’s hard to consider bringing them into a world with many unknowns. He kisses her hand, she returns the gesture, and he pulls her into an embrace. Even though they don’t kiss, it’s an intimate and passionate moment. Hayden says they must stop, even though neither wants the moment to end. They separate, and he walks her to her car. The next morning, Alice goes to the beach and sends pictures to her mom and sister. Her dad is still in their family group text, and she misses talking to him, knowing he would appreciate the beauty of the ocean most. He once told her that he experienced awe only when he saw the sun rise over the sea and at his daughters’ birth.

Alice reviews Margaret’s recording, which tells the rest of her parents’ story. Doris was with MGM, but Frederick continued to pursue her, sending her flowers and meeting her a few times a week for a walk. He proposed marriage before even kissing her. “Bernie,” Doris’s nickname, became pregnant with Margaret before their marriage. Three years after Margaret was born, they had Laura. Margaret and Laura were quite different; Margaret was a fussy, demanding baby, while Laura was pleasant. Bernie loved being a mother but missed directing. After Bernie returned to work when Margaret was five, Bernie and Frederick began to have problems.

Listening to Margaret’s recording of her family history makes Alice wish she had a recording of her father. She texts him, saying “[t]hank you,” just to feel close to him. Hayden asks to see her that night.

After another diner dinner, Alice and Hayden walk on the beach. He gets spooked when he sees a snake slither by and insists on carrying Alice the rest of the way. Sitting near the water, they share how they moved from home to big cities to work. Hayden loves New York but sometimes misses small-town rural life. His last serious relationship was with a coworker and ended badly when both were up for the same promotion and Hayden got the job. Alice asks if he’s lonely. He says he misses being close to someone, like he’s experiencing with her now. They snuggle together, and Hayden touches Alice all over her body. She wants more, but he reminds her they can’t cross the line. He says they can be together after the job is finished. He asks to see her the following night, but Alice plans to visit her mom. She invites him to come with her, and he accepts.