Martha's Vineyard
Summer, 1974
. . . That evening, [after another long day on the ocean filming a scene from JAWS], Robert and Joanna got everyone settled and went out for dinner. Afterward, they made their way through a throng of tourists in Edgartown.
“What was going on out there today?” Joanna asked. “Thought I saw Richard [Dreyfuss] doing push-ups.”
“Oh.” Robert chuckled. “He’s just trying to lose a few pounds.”
Joanna looked at him skeptically, then she spotted a movie theater. “Look what’s playing,” she said. “I haven’t seen The Sting yet.”
“What? I thought you saw all my movies as soon as they came out?”
“I used to. Before seven children.”
“But this one’s been out for six months. Won the Academy Award!”
“Will you see it with me?”
Robert offered his arm. “It would be my pleasure.”
As the movie unfolded, it seemed that Robert was nowhere to be found. Joanna had never worked out how long it took for him to appear on screen — when it is your brother you are waiting for, it can seem like a very long wait. But in the end it was worth it; once again, Robert (as Doyle Lonnegan) had stolen the show. The crowd booed as he was hustled out of the bookie joint. “At least they’re responding to you,” she laughed.
They exited the theater in the dark, and Joanna fumbled in her purse for a cigarette.
“Thought you quit?” Robert said.
“I cheat every now and then. When the kids aren’t around.”
“Then pull one out for me. I’ll join you.”
“Dammit, I forgot a light.”
“That’s okay.” Robert turned to a man exiting the theater behind them. “I say, old chap, do you have a light?”
The man pulled out a lighter and lit Robert’s cigarette, illuminating his face. He took a step back in surprise. “Why, I know you!” he said.
Robert took the lighter and held it to the man’s face. “Why, I know you, too!” he exclaimed with phony delight. “We have met. Poolside, perhaps, at the Colonial Inn?”
“Oh no,” the man said. “I can’t afford that. Perhaps at the gym in town?”
“No, no,” Robert said. “I don’t go in for exercise. Do you travel much? I have a vineyard in Sonoma.”
“Never been, never been,” the man said, thinking hard. Then he noticed Joanna giggling. He took the lighter and put it back to Robert’s face. “Of course! You were in the movie! Robert Shaw!”
Robert laughed. “Didn’t mean to pull your leg, old man. Just having some fun.”
“Not at all, you were terrific. I wish I could do what you do.”
“Don’t do it unless you have to. Anyway, thanks for the light. Have a good evening.”
They continued up the street, drawing smoke into their lungs and savoring the feeling. “I always knew you’d be famous,” Joanna said.
“Don’t be silly, that was just another supporting role. If you want to know the truth, I’ve always been jealous of you.”
“Now you’re insulting me.”
“Not at all. Teaching literature, working with articulates every day. I would enjoy that.”
“Robert, I’m stuck in a small college so I can be near my kids. That’s what mothers do. It’s not a career, it’s a dead-end.”
“Why don’t you run the English department?”
“I can’t. You need a PhD in this country. They don’t recognize my Cambridge degree over here.”
Robert stopped and looked at her. “That’s all you need? A PhD?”
“What do you mean all? That’s a lot!”
“Then I will pay for it.”
“What? You can’t do that. It costs a fortune.”
“Consider it your birthday present.”
Joanna’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly. Robert laughed.
Finally, she managed to stammer, “I don’t know how I would do it. I would have to teach every day and manage my family and work full-time on a PhD. I would have to do all of that at the same time!”
Robert turned to her. “Look, Joey, all I’m offering is to pay for your PhD. You figure out the rest.”