Bungalow 2 (40 page)

“I'm so proud of you … Congratulations …” She beamed at him.

“You did it …I didn't …” he kept insisting, as she shook her head and smiled.

“No.
You
did it … you made this movie. You talked me into it. You're brilliant … now you're going to win an Oscar,” she predicted. She was convinced of it. They would just have to come back from Florence for the Oscars in April. Phillip looked ecstatic and completely overwhelmed.

At the end of the evening, all the reporters crowded around him. He was interviewed, photographed, manhandled, and congratulated, as Tanya walked beside him, slightly in the background, looking proud.

They finally got back to the hotel and walked the children to their suite. They were proud of him, too. Jason was carrying Isabelle, who had fallen asleep, and Rupert looked like he was sleepwalking as they got him into his room, undressed him, and put him to bed. Tanya did the same for Isabelle, and then all of her children hugged Phillip again.

“Congratulations,” they said in unison, and then kissed their mother goodnight, and a few minutes later Tanya and Phillip went back to their bungalow, where she poured him a last glass of champagne, and he collapsed on the couch.

“I never thought this would happen, you know. I thought they were crazy when we were nominated, and I never expected to win anything tonight.” He loosened his tie and took off his shoes as he grinned at her. She sat down next to him and kissed him and reminded him that “they” hadn't done it, “
he
” had.

“This is your victory, sweetheart. Savor it, enjoy the night. You should be very proud of yourself. I sure am.”

“I'm proud of you,” he said quietly, “for the movie you turned this into, and the extraordinary woman you are.”

They sat talking quietly for half an hour, reminiscing about the evening, and then they brushed their teeth, undressed, and went to bed.

He made love to her that night, and she forgot she'd ever been in the bed before. Everything was new now. The past had vanished, they had been born again as new people with new lives.

They woke up in the morning, and she ordered him breakfast. The room service waiter looked familiar, but he didn't say anything to her. She didn't acknowledge she had ever been there before. Bungalow 2 was no longer her home or her room. She was no longer the same person she had been when she first stayed there during
Mantra
or even the second time while she dated Douglas and wrote
Gone.
Her days with Gordon were behind her. He had gone on to a lifetime of other movies, and all the stars he was going to sleep with every time he was in a picture. And Peter was with Alice. They had all gone on to other lives, and so had she now. It was time.

Bungalow 2 was just a hotel room to her now, not a home. Other people would stay there. Happy things and sad ones would happen to them, and disappointments would crush them, just as Gordon had done. And dreams would come true for them, just as they had for her and Phillip.

They were checking out of the hotel at noon and met the children in the lobby. All but Jason were flying back to San Francisco, and in two days they were going to Florence. A whole new life had begun.

Phillip stood next to her, smiling at her proudly, grateful for all she'd done for him. She smiled at him, and then turned back to the front desk to hand over her key to Bungalow 2. She looked at it for an instant, and then handed it to the manager.

“We're checking out of Bungalow 2,” she told him. She had been there too often, and for too long. She didn't mourn it or regret it. She took Phillip's hand as they shepherded their children out of the lobby, kissed Jason goodbye, and got into the waiting limousine. Jason would be joining them in Florence for spring vacation. The others would be with them. And somewhere in the world they would make their home, wherever that would turn out to be. But for now and forever, as she smiled at Phillip, sitting in the car beside her, she knew she would never see Bungalow 2 again.

It had served its purpose in her life, and been home to her for longer than she'd expected. She no longer needed it. Her home was with Phillip and their children now, wherever they wound up, in England, Italy, or back in Marin one day. Neither of them was quite sure what the map of their life would look like, or where it would lead them. But wherever it would be, they knew it would be the right place as long as they were together. As familiar landmarks slipped away, a bright new world awaited all of them. And as they drove away, like a blessing, the California winter sun shone down on them. For Tanya and Phillip, it was only the beginning of the story, not the end.

a cognizant original v5 release october 15 2010

BUNGALOW 2

A Delacorte Press Book / July 2007

Published by Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2007 by Danielle Steel

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Steel, Danielle.
Bungalow 2 / Danielle Steel

p. cm.

eISBN: 978-0-307-56636-2

I. Title

PS3569.T33828 B86 2007 2006047404

813/.54 22

v3.0

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