Chapter 67

Gennie slunk deeper in the cushy upholstered chair at the dressing table in her room. She yawned, trying to wake herself up. She had a big day ahead of her and she needed to be more alert; it was after two o’clock already and she couldn’t spend all of her time sleeping, even though she certainly wanted to.

 Ava the makeup artist returned from the bathroom bearing a big glass of water for Gen and a small one for her makeup brushes. “So where do we want to start?”

 “I need to do something about the circles under my eyes,” she sniffed. “And can we do something to make my nose a little less red?”

 Ava smiled. “Naturally I planned to take care of that.  No, I was thinking more about color. Did you have anything special in mind?”

 Gen sighed. She really hadn’t thought about it much once she decided someone was going to take care of her makeup for her. She looked over to the bed where her dress was carefully laid out. After a few moments of admiring her new frock, she turned her attention back to Ava. “I don’t have anything special in mind. Use your creativity. You see my dress…make me look good in it- even though I feel like crap right now.”

 “I’ll have you looking every bit as radiant as you should tonight. You’d be surprised how many people come to these things sick- especially when they’re in January, like this. My advice to you… don’t touch anything! And if you do, wash your hands right away!” she chuckled.

 “Thanks, I’ll try to remember that. I’ve got so much to remember though. How to get out of the limo in that dress… how to smile so that I don’t look like a complete goon… where to stand… how to walk…. It’s all too much to remember!”

 “Oh, don’t panic, it’s just nerves. You’ll be fine. You’ll look and feel like a princess tonight, I promise,” she smiled as she dabbed her skin with a peculiar shade of green foundation. She noticed Gen eyeing her warily. “Don’t worry, this is just to tone down the redness. You’re not going to look green. My goal here is to make you not look sick, remember?”

 “Right,” Gen replied, still uncertain. “I’ll trust you on that one.”

 Just then, John appeared in the doorway, smiling. “Darlin’ I don’t know that green is the look for you,” he teased. To which Ava just rolled her eyes. He took a few steps closer and kissed Gen on the top of her head in a quiet effort to make her feel a little better. He knew she would rather be sleeping right now. “Um, Gen, Stacey’s on the phone. Can you take a break for a minute to talk to her?”

 Gen looked to Ava for permission, she didn’t feel it was for her to decide if there was time for a break or not. Ava nodded her head. “I can work on your eyes while you talk.”

 John handed Gen the phone and left the room to attend to a few things of his own. After all, this was a big night for him too.

 Carefully holding the phone to her ear so as not to disturb her fragile hairstyle, Gen greeted her best friend with her customary, but somewhat lackluster under the circumstances, salutation. “Hey Stace. What’s up?”

 “I just wanted to tell you we watched the show last night! That was just way too cool! The kids were thrilled and it’s all anyone in the office is talking about today.”

 “Yeah,” Gen smiled feebly. “It was kinda neat, wasn’t it? It was fun going back to those days. It seems so long ago now.”

 “I know! How strange that must’ve been for you… you know, considering your current situation.”

 “It was.  It was like I was watching someone else at times.”

 “They made it pretty obvious that you had the hots for him though.”

 “I swear to God that was all in the editing. I was so not obvious that it was silly. In fact, I sorta expected it to be the other way round. Most of the embarrassing moments and comments they got on film were his, you know. But of course, MTV took the easy way out and made me the patsy in their stupid love story,” she commented with a roll of the eyes.

 “Oh, I don’t think it came out like a love story at all,” she laughed. “In fact, you just seemed like a smitten fan, that’s all. Remember, that is what they wanted to start with. But either way, you win, you know.  I mean, who’s answering your phone for you while he’s paying someone to get you all dolled up for tonight?”

 “This is true,” Gen smiled, feeling ever so slightly better at the mention of her extreme good fortune in life.

“So are you excited? Your first public appearance together! You’d better make it on TV. I’m dying to see this new dress you got.”

 Gennie laughed. “I’ll give it a shot, but I’m not making any promises. And no, I’m not excited, really. I’m nervous. I’ve never been to an awards presentation that didn’t bore me to sleep. And feeling the way I do right now, it won’t be easy to keep me awake anyway.”

 Stace just chuckled at her friend’s blasé attitude. “Honey, the only awards program you’ve attended was the Regional Broadcasting Awards. This is hardly the same. You might actually see someone slightly more interesting than Casey Kasem or Paul Harvey. Besides, they’re nominated! That’s gotta be exciting!”

“Yeah, that part’s cool. I think that’s part of why I’m so nervous. I mean, what if they don’t win? Then all this hoo-ha was for nothing.”

 “Getting dressed up? You love doing that!”

 “I know. But I actually had someone here to do my hair, my nails, and now my makeup. That’s just so… I dunno… weird.”

 “But it sounds like fun!”

 “Oh, it is. But it’s just such an ordeal. Not to mention all I went through with the dress. If they don’t win, that means I could’ve had the blue dress all along.”

“Blue? But you love purple!”

 “Yeah, but this dress in blue was amazing! I mean I still love it in purple, but it’s not what I’d have picked, y’know. When he saw that they could do it in purple, he insisted that I do that. ‘C’mon Gen, it’ll be lucky. I wanna win something at some point in my life, y’know.’ So I got it in purple. Now he’d damn well better win!”

 Stacey could tell Gen was feeling horrible right now. Between the sniffs, the yawns and the occasional coughs, it was pretty obvious that she was in the middle of a winter cold even if she wasn’t under an unusual eight inches of snow like they were Tulsa. It almost made her smile to think that even though they had the gorgeous mild winter weather in southern California, they were just as susceptible to the creeping crud as everyone in places where winter really meant something. “Well, Gen, I guess I should let you get back to your beauty ritual, and I’ll get back to work. Just wanted to wish you luck tonight. And have fun!”

 “Thanks, Stace. I will. Bye.”

 “Tsk, tsk,” Ava clicked her tongue at Gennie. “I think that purple dress is beautiful. Blue would’ve looked too over the top. This isn’t the Oscars, you know. Besides, that piece of jewelry will look perfect with it. Is that on loan from Tiffany’s?”

 “No,” Gen sniffed, “It’s mine. It’s a sentimental thing, so I suppose you’re right, purple is the best choice. I really do want them to win tonight.” She fiddled with the childproof lid of a prescription bottle. “These stupid antibiotics,” she groaned.  “I can’t tell that they’re doing a damn thing, but I take ‘em anyway,” she said as she popped one in her mouth along with another hit of cold medicine and took a big swallow of water.

 “Just sit back and relax, Ok? Enjoy the pampering and you’ll feel great this evening, I promise!” And with that, Ava diligently set back to work.

 Thirty minutes later, she stepped back and admired her artwork. “All done now,” she smiled as she handed Gen a mirror for closer inspection. “You look magnificent!”

 “Oh!” Gen exclaimed as she looked into the mirror and found someone new and not at all sick staring back at her. “It’s great! Thank you.”

 “Now, I’ve just put a light touch on your lips. I assume you’re eating first?”

 “Uh huh”

 She reached over and grabbed the deep ruby color that she’d intended Gennie to wear this evening. “Here you go. Take this along to touch up after lunch, dinner, whatever,” she smiled commenting on the absurdly early time schedule that one must follow for events broadcast live from the west coast. “The liner and stain should stay for the most part, this is just to finish up the look.” She took a deep breath and sighed. “So, would you like me to help you into your dress? I’ll make sure that you don’t get any smudges on that gorgeous purple silk.”

 “Uh, sure. Thanks, Ava.”

 In just a few magical moments, Gennie was transformed into a radiant princess. It amazed her how just upon seeing her dazzling reflection in the mirror, she suddenly felt much better. Gen slipped on her shoes as Ava said her goodbyes and was off. After one last astonishing look in the mirror she made her way downstairs to where she was sure he was impatiently waiting for her. They were supposed to meet at Robby’s very soon for a quick bite to eat before heading to the auditorium for their five thirty appearance on the carpet.

 Even though it was only three thirty and the sun was barely even getting low in the sky, John felt that his promising evening had begun. Gen was even more beautiful than he could’ve dreamed her to be right now. And what was better, she didn’t look at all like the ailing woman he desperately had to convince to get out of bed this morning to keep up with her beauty appointments. He was glad that he didn’t let her back out of going like she so very much tried to do earlier today.

 “You look beautiful, so elegant,” he smiled as he stood to take her hand. She was almost too pretty to touch. “How do you feel?”

 “A lot better now, thanks. I just hope this cold medicine lasts.”

 “Me too. Are you ready to go? We’ve gotta be at Rob’s in a few minutes actually.”

 “Yeah, just a sec…” She grabbed a handful of tissues and stuffed them into her handbag with the lipstick. “Just in case,” she grinned. She’d always wondered what women carried in these fancy little nothings of bags. Now she knew… they were loaded to the gills with Kleenex and a tube of lipstick; the bare necessities for a frivolous night on the town.

 Dinner at Robby’s consisted mostly of pizza and salad. “Hell, I’ve been doing this for years now and still I feel stupid making dinner at three in the afternoon. Pizza is good anytime,” he said in his defense.  “Besides, there’s no sense in taking yourself too seriously, you know. Pizza on paper plates keeps ya normal. There’s nothing like it with a good bottle of beer.”

 After they all had their fill, they piled into the limo for what Gen considered to be a long, nerve-wracking drive to the awards program. It had been several months since she’d had to face any cameras and the thought of it had her stomach tied up in knots. She knew they wouldn’t be looking at her per se, but her presence would definitely be noticed- especially now that the MTV show had just aired a few nights ago. If anyone recognized her, they’d know immediately who she was. The prospect of such instant familiarity with the unknown public was extremely daunting to her. She wondered how the three of them faced it everyday of their lives.

 Anxiously, she remembered how to step from the car, ladylike, in her strapless dress. She remembered how to put one foot in front of the other and walk gracefully along the red carpet without tripping. She even remembered how to smile subtly without looking like she was smiling for the camera that was obviously not aiming for her. She had her role down perfectly, she thought- be elegantly inconspicuous in the background. With poise, she made each stop along the carpet with him. As each reporter on the way shouted queries and snapped photos, she stepped back and dropped her head discreetly, while Johnny smiled and answered their questions. She tried her best to stay out of view, but it wasn’t always easy as John kept a death grip on her hand; she wondered if they could tell how nervous he really was.

 Everything went incredibly well until their last stop. It was MTV and when they finished with the guys, they wanted to talk to her!

 “Gennie, are you having fun here tonight?” the young correspondent asked.

 It was a simple enough question, but her stomach crept up toward her throat as she went into a mini panic. She noticed that John sensed her trepidation and pulled her closer, putting his arm around her waist. “Um, yeah,” she responded calmly as if she’d been fielding questions all evening. “This is really interesting for me.” She wanted to add, ‘And please stop talking to me!’ but thought the better of it.

 “Did you have fun watching your show the other night? Reliving memories?”

 She nodded apprehensively. She didn’t know quite what to say about that. It didn’t seem quite right to come out and say, ‘Well, I was sick in bed when I watched and couldn’t pay too much attention because I was too busy praying that I didn’t puke!’  Diplomatically, she decided on, “Sure! We watched at home, so it was cool.” Another shock wave hit her as she realized that until now, people couldn’t even be sure she and John were dating, much less living together.

 “So you’ve kinda come full circle now, haven’t you? You’ve been on the road with them, and now here you are- a date for the music awards! Any last words?”

 She smiled and let her mouth charge ahead of her mind, which at the moment was still stuck, like a skipping record, on the last question he asked. “It’s been a great ride so far. Now we just need to go home with that award and I’ll be happy.” She smiled at John and hoped to God that no more questions came her way.

 “Ok, thanks guys! And good luck!” the correspondent chirped just before the bright camera light mercifully flicked off and set them free.

 “Oh Johnny, I’m so sorry. I sounded like an idiot. I wish they didn’t talk to me!” she expressed to him contritely once they were inside.

 “Are you kidding? You did great!” he beamed.  “I’m really proud of you, Gen. You handled it like a pro!”

 “But I said too much. I shoulda kept my mouth shut.”

 He shook his head. “Nah, you were fine. You would’ve looked stupid if you’d clammed up when they asked you a question. Now, c’mon, let’s go find our seats.”

 For two and a half hours they sat patiently waiting for their category to come up. Although it wasn’t as much of a snooze as the Regional Broadcasting Awards, it could get pretty dull in between performances. And even some of those were near unbearable for her. She never really realized how much she disliked a lot of popular music until she was forced to sit there for three minutes and listen to it being blasted at her over the pathetic sound system that was obviously set up for optimal quality over the airwaves and not for the listening pleasure of those seated in the auditorium. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who felt this way, because it was during those performances that the audience visibly thinned and the restrooms became crowded.

 Finally, near the end of the evening, when she thought she couldn’t handle one more poorly written, inane quip by a presenter, the nominees for best album were announced. Gen held her breath and closed her eyes in hopeful anticipation as John’s hand tensely grasped hers.

 “And the winner is…”

 When she thought about it later, she couldn’t even remember the names being read off. All she could recall was that in a matter of seconds, he let go of her hand and exclaimed jubilantly into her ear, “See, I told you that dress was lucky!” By the time she opened her eyes and gathered her faculties, three guys were shuffling across the row of seats making their way to the aisle. She could also barely recollect the acceptance speech. She did remember that Mike was the only one who was organized with something to say. John and Robby just sort of ad-libbed their way through a thank you of names she barely knew. It was all over in less than a minute before they were whisked off the stage. 

 It was during the next commercial break that a well-dressed young lady leaned into their row. “They won’t be coming back out here now. I’ve been asked to come get you. If you’d like to follow me, I’ll take you to them.”

 Gen followed Robby’s girlfriend’s lead, grabbed her things, and followed the young woman to the pressroom back stage. When they got there, they were unceremoniously dumped off without being told what to do or where to stand, so they milled around and found a spot where other non-famous, but fashionably attired people stood waiting for their winners to have their moment in the spotlight.

 When Mike, John and Robby concluded their question and answer session, John made his way to Gen’s side and squeezed her tightly. “Thanks for being my lucky charm tonight,” he grinned.

 “I’m so proud of you! Congratulations!” she cried, somewhat belatedly.

 “Thank you, darlin’,” he responded with a kiss. “Listen, do you still feel all right? Cause we’ve been asked to drop by one of the parties, y’know. And I’d kinda like to do that, if it’s ok with you. We won’t stay long. It’s more of an obligatory kinda thing, really.”

 “No, that’s fine. I feel great actually! I’d love to go!” She was amazed by the healing qualities of winning. At the moment, she felt as good as new, if truth be told.

 “Good,” he grinned as he pulled her closer. “Then we definitely won’t be staying long. I have more of a private party in mind. Y’know… candles… bathtub… a big shiny award by the fire.” 

Gennie smiled confidently. It was good to be her at the moment.

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