Chapter 73: A Moment of Ease

With the release of the second trailer for "Home Alone," the number of interested viewers grew rapidly. It wasn’t just children clamoring to see the film—even many adults found it immensely entertaining. The little boy in the movie was simply too adorable, threatening to melt the hearts of audiences everywhere. Then there were the two hapless, comical burglars—what a pair of unlucky fools they were.

Such lighthearted family comedies were a rarity; nowadays, it was either Westerns or anti-war films, tedious fare that hardly needed any further commentary. But this movie seemed genuinely delightful, perfect for family viewing, and best of all, children appeared to love it.

Call Americans hypocritical if you must, but their social life revolved around the family. If you released a family-friendly film during the Christmas holidays, Americans would inevitably show up at the box office—such outings were simply a part of their lives.

Opening on more than a thousand screens across the United States was the kind of treatment reserved for blockbusters. The holiday season was always tight for screens, and if not for the heavy investment in advertising, theater chains wouldn’t have been so accommodating. Of course, if box office results proved disappointing, they would pull the film without a second thought—no one would spare your feelings.

Even European theater operators weren’t holding back; they had no intention of waiting until after Christmas to screen the film. After the previous success, they were happy to try their luck again—who knew, lightning might strike twice.

In a way, this was a near-simultaneous global release, a novel innovation for the time. But what about other languages? In those days, it simply wasn’t feasible—dubbing wasn’t so easily accomplished. If you truly wanted a simultaneous international release, you’d need to maintain a whole troupe of voice actors, hardly a practical idea, as overseas box office returns might not justify the expense.

Asia alone could drive a person mad: not just Mandarin, but Cantonese and Japanese would be required—enough to make anyone despair. As for dubbing foreign films into Japanese, don’t expect lip-syncing to work. If you wanted to convey the original dialogue faithfully, you’d have to resort to voiceover, for Japanese expression was simply too elaborate. Don’t believe it? Try watching a blockbuster in Japanese; it’s enough to make anyone despondent.

Today, William White was dressed quite formally, because he had a date. Elizabeth, wanting to make amends, had already invited him out twice. This time, there was no excuse to decline; the busiest period had passed, and it was time to relax a little.

William White was thoroughly weary of modern suits, feeling as if he were donning armor rather than clothes. No matter how you looked at it, that was exactly what they resembled.

Elizabeth’s attire was much the same. William White found himself pondering how one would even remove such an outfit. He was hardly familiar with the formal dress of this era—without help, he doubted he could manage it alone.

“Is there something wrong with my dress?” Elizabeth asked, puzzled by his constant scrutiny.

“I was just thinking about how—er—how familiar this style looks. The design is really wonderful,” William White blurted, nearly speaking the truth, but catching himself just in time.

Elizabeth, for her part, was quite interested in this young man. She’d been playfully teasing him for a while now, and victory seemed finally within reach.

William White understood one thing well: letting a woman take the initiative made for much higher odds of success than simply pestering her himself.

Granted, his current status hardly demanded such tactics. Any star, he supposed, would be hard-pressed to turn down his invitation.

But using power and influence to get his way wasn’t what William White wanted. He might have benefited from the rules, but he disliked transactional encounters.

Yes, perhaps he was being fussy, but let people say what they would.

Winning a woman’s pursuit required some skill. If you were merely aloof, your chances were slim. You had to display your talent and charm, and let her sense that you liked her—that was the prelude to further developments.

In truth, in this era, such subtleties were mostly unnecessary. Agreeing to have dinner together was already a tacit plan to share breakfast as well—unless, of course, you bungled the evening, in which case you’d only have yourself to blame.

Certain hints, of course, were still essential: for instance, the dinner menu. If the desire was strong, sea urchin and oysters were must-haves. If you dined too modestly, you might as well resign yourself to a purely platonic night.

On this point, the legendary Joe had been rather unlucky—being a vegetarian, he had ruined many a date for himself. Only after he became famous did people understand, but by then the women in question were already mothers.

William White thought this anecdote would make a fine scene for his next film—a lighthearted jab at Joe, perhaps.

“Ha, William, you still prefer wine from your own vineyard?” the beautiful woman teased, smiling seductively.

“Alas, you have no idea. This year’s grape harvest was bountiful, but with the economy in a slump, even tripling the size of my cellars isn’t enough for storage.” William White could only smile ruefully. He had become something of a celebrity himself, and many restaurants had to accommodate his whims.

“Yes, things really are quite grim these days.”

The topic of the economy weighed heavy, so the conversation quickly shifted. To his surprise, the lady’s greatest interest was in his husky.

That dog was something of a celebrity in Hollywood as well, notorious for his penchant for performing indecorous acts on beautiful women’s legs. It was a mystery how he’d matured so quickly—it seemed far too soon for that!

Throughout the evening, William White played the innocent ingenue, which reminded the lady of his awkwardness during auditions, making her blush and causing him to swallow hard.

By the time she was thoroughly exhausted from his attentions, she could only laugh wryly to herself. She’d thought she was the older, more experienced partner, but barely halfway through, she was utterly routed.

It seemed that not only were beautiful women good at pretending, but those handsome young men were not as guileless as they appeared.

Well, “guileless” was certainly not the right word.

Innocent?

She realized she was the innocent one. That little rascal had so many tricks up his sleeve—he was a walking textbook.

For William White, this was nothing out of the ordinary—just a rather enjoyable friendly match. The outcome was excellent, and if the need arose, they could always arrange a rematch.

The next day at school, William White looked positively invigorated. Clearly, staying cooped up at home wasn’t the answer. Releasing some tension was essential; without a healthy metabolism, he might very well have grown up crooked.

As November arrived, all the silver futures contracts in the American market had been settled, and prices had long since soared past twenty dollars—leaving a trail of chaos in their wake.

“Uncle Fook, London won’t wait either. Notify everyone to liquidate—all positions must be closed by January tenth.” After several days of consideration, William White decided not to chase the very last cent.

“Yes, sir, I’ll arrange it immediately. What about the funds?” Uncle Fook was greatly relieved—he’d been frightened by the dizzying rise in prices, and was glad that his young master knew when to quit.

“Let’s move everything back to Switzerland. Open more accounts, and don’t keep it all in one bank.”

The profits from London were his ace in the hole. He had no intention of returning to America, and Uncle Sam’s global tax net could do nothing to him. The money hadn’t originated in the States, and with current technology, no one would ever be able to trace its ownership.