Andrea Donovan Pt. 10 - Conclusion

I also believe that John Lish then either stole the Master Reels for Belle of Autumn himself or had them stolen by someone he trusted, Gordo had a lot of enemies so either case would certainly have been plausible but most likely, I believe, it was Lish himself that took them because he was here in the States then." Stewart said, closing his eyes in remembrance again.

"That's the part that I don't understand is HOW do the movie reels tie to anything? What's their connection to all of this?" I asked.

"The Master Reels were most likely stolen because Mindy would have known that the only thing which would send Gordo into a panic more than losing control of his wife would be losing the movie which he had based all of his own self importance upon. I honestly don't think that Gordo ever truly believed that Mindy had been lost at sea, Gordo had too many paid eyes and ears working for him and he wasn't a stupid man. What he absolutely wanted to avoid at all costs was a negative scandal in the News papers so the best thing he could ever have done - and did do, was let Mildred Mayfield rest in peace. For him to have said that she was still alive, after all the world press coverage surrounding her loss at sea, would have made him look like a buffoon. His main priority at this point was focused on finding the missing reels. I am absolutely certain that he never connected the theft of the Master Reels to Mindy. As I said earlier, Gordo had many enemies and any one of them could have been responsible for the theft, in his mind.

"Why didn't the studio just make new Master Reels then?" Andrea asked.

Because by this point Wilson & Holbrook was discouraged with the lost time and revenue associated with Belle of Autumn and the studio wasn't about to spend the additional money needed to have another set of Master Reels created for Belle of Autumn - they were expensive to create and time consuming. Gordo had to find the ones that were stolen if he ever wanted the movie to reach theatres, and he went to the literal ends of the earth looking for them. He searched in vain to the last day of his life and spent an entire fortune trying to locate them." Stewart said, taking another drink of water.

"...Mister Hanes - off the record of course, what I'm hearing you say is that the girl who grew-up as Mindy Vaughn was later to become known to the world as Mildred Mayfield and that she and her lover faked her own disappearance and then stole the Master Reels for Belle of Autumn in an effort to divert the wrath and influence of her former husband, Felix Gordon. Hypothetically speaking, why would John and Mindy keep the Master Reels if it was in fact they that stole them, why not just throw them away?" I asked, genuinely interested in knowing the answer.

"Bargaining chips, in case Gordo eventually figured out that John and Mindy were the ones that had actually stolen the reels. ...Lish was a very talented make-up artist and I'm sure the two used hair dyes and other means to which they disguised themselves after Mindy's disappearance and the theft of the Master Reels but even so, the reels might prove valuable to them if things had gone wrong with their plan" Stewart answered quietly without looking at me.

...This made perfect sense, the movie reels had been buried under concrete within a safe but they could still have been produced by John Light and Mindy Vaughn in an emergency.

There was a long silence that followed for a few minutes with none of us speaking.

"... (sigh) ...It was a long time ago and there's no one left that remembers any of this now. Maybe I'm the biggest fool of them all - I've been searching for Mindy even longer than Gordo did" Stewart snorted in irony.

Andrea and I said nothing.

Stewart slowly stood now and walked toward the doorway with his cane, he gently removed the Texaco calendar from the wall.

"May I have this?" he asked quietly.

"You certainly may, Mister Hanes, we have more if you'd like to have two or three." Andrea said gently.

"No, one is fine, thank you. ...I used to get anonymous hand written Birthday and Christmas cards every year that simply said 'I love you, Stew.' There was never any return address on any of them but they were always Post marked from Arizona, I'd get them regardless of where I lived ...but a few years ago they stopped coming." Stewart said looking at the calendar with genuine adoration on his face.

Andrea and I remained silent.

"...Now I know she really was alive, now I know it was her that sent them. ...I just pray to God that she eventually found love and happiness in life" Stewart said quietly as he slowly started out the doorway.

"...Mister Hanes, I would like to suggest that you get a room here in town for the night and I highly recommend that you stop at a new place in Casa Grande called Archie's Burger Palace, you're a man that appreciates artwork and you'll love the photo plaques they have there. Many local folks from around here are featured in those plaques. Please stop and - LOOK - at them carefully" I said peering deeply into the man's eyes.

"...I will do just that, young man, and thank you" Stewart said.

"May I keep your number Mister Hanes?" Andrea asked as she took Stewart's arm and walked him to his car.

"Yes, please do, and call me Stewart, Andrea" he replied.

...

"My God, it's after nine o clock now, Tim. Pippi and Wolfie are going to so pissed at us when we get home" Andrea said as she held my arm and we walked through the darkness toward home from the Texaco.

"Uh" I mumbled with exhaustion.

"I thought a lot about my mother and Dad tonight as Stewart told us his story, Tim. You're thinking about Lovey right now aren't you?" Andrea asked.

"...Andrea, I always knew that Ricky and I were fortunate to have her but I never knew how fortunate until tonight" I said with fatigue suddenly washing over me.

"I liked that gentleman we met this evening, Tim" Andrea replied.

"I know you did and so did I, Andrea" I answered.

"I'm going to run all this past Vic, if Mary Lane knows her mother was Mildred Mayfield then she might want to meet Stewart" Andrea said.

"I already knew that's what you're going to do, Wife" I replied.

"We need to get you cleaned up and in bed now. You and Ricky did a wonderful job on the stables and coral today, Husband" Andrea said.

"Anything for you, Love" I sighed.

"You still haven't trimmed my hair yet though, Husband" Andrea said defiantly.

"You need to make an appointment, Andrea Millhouse" I said patiently.

"My name isn't Andrea Millhouse, Tim" Andrea said as we neared the stables.

____________ Epilogue _____________

I never saw the man named Stewart Hanes again. Without any conscious knowledge on his part, the man had in fact changed me and for the better I believe. After listening to his story and learning of his life, Stewart Hanes was a man that I admired and respected deeply and I sincerely believe that I am a little less quick to stand in judgment of others simply by their appearance or demeanor now. I am eternally grateful for the brief time I was privileged to sit down with this man and I think of him often. Whether or not Mary Lane and the man ever sat down for a talk, I don't know, but I am in hope that this was the case and I believed in my heart that this event eventually did occur. Somehow I also knew in my heart that the spirit of the gentle woman, known to the world as Mildred Mayfield, was now at peace.

During the months that followed the arrival of Pippi Longstocking into our lives I began to have a deeper and more meaningful relationship with my wife. I didn't always agree with Andrea and there were also times when I found her to be extremely frustrating. Yet the more effort that I put into accepting her, the more I also began to fall in love and appreciate my wife exactly the way she was. Andrea was an extremely deep and complicated person to begin with, but as my mother would often say "Oh, but the world does love a good mystery."

Apparently this was the case, at least for me.