Chapter 144 Winners and Losers
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the booming voice of the announcer said, “please welcome last year’s winner for Best Supporting Actor, Lyle Fox, and last year’s winner for Best Supporting Actress, Julia Green.”
The crowd clapped, and Andrea focused on breathing.
This was it. Her award category was next. And Case wasn’t there. He hadn’t made it in time. She wanted to swear under her breath, but she let it go. The cameras would be on her soon, whether she won or lost. She needed to keep a smile on her face.
“The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are….” Lyle Fox read as he and Julia Green took turns reading the nominees.
“Sarah Lockton for Set Them Free.”
Everyone clapped, and a clip of the movie played over their heads. Sarah looked defiant as she faced off against the tiger wranglers and said, “You’ll let these tigers go—or you’ll have to answer to me!” Again, everyone clapped, and now the image above the two stars on stage was a live picture of Sarah looking so gracious for their applause.
“Holly Burlington for Work on Love,” Lyle said.
Again, a clip played, followed by a live shot of the actress, whose gracious face was a lot more believable than Sarah’s.
“Andrea Sparks for Shadows of Silence,” Julia read off the teleprompter.
Daniel tapped her with his elbow, as if she might not realize that was her. Andrea smiled, not caring at the moment, and watched the clip of her on set with Stella Croy, crying as she told her pretend mother, “I know you don’t love him, but you’ve got to give Daddy a chance!”
The room erupted in applause, and true tears sprung to Andrea’s eyes as she looked around at all of the people cheering for her. Never in her life had she felt so satisfied with the career she’d chosen or so appreciated by others who knew just how difficult this job truly was. A sense of peace washed over her. Whether she won or not, she knew these people, her peers, recognized her talent, and for that, she was truly grateful.
The two stars on stage read a couple of more names, and Andrea clapped for the other two women, no longer caring who won.
“And… the winner is…” Lyle began. Despite her indifference, Andrea felt her stomach lurch into her throat. This was it. The moment she’d been waiting for. It would all be over in a few seconds. “Andrea Sparks for Shadows of Silence!”
Andrea could hardly believe her ears! She leapt out of her seat as dozens of hands reached out to pat her. A huge smile erupted onto her face as she stepped around Daniel without even seeing him. But when she felt strong arms surrounding her in the aisle, she realized instantly it wasn’t the stand-in who’d embraced her. She’d know those arms, that scent, anywhere.
“Congratulations, baby,” Case whispered.
“You’re here!” she exclaimed, and those within earshot laughed. Andrea kissed him quickly, and he gave her an encouraging push toward the stage. Andrea managed to get her entire gown out into the aisle and then hurried toward the steps, remembering to use the hands of the men stationed there to help her up the stairs so she didn’t trip—that would be embarrassing.
As she walked toward the podium, her eyes flickered over the crowd. There were so many people watching! She saw Sarah—and she wasn’t happy. Her half-sister wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding her disappointment. Andrea couldn’t let that bother her, though.
She realized once she got to the podium she’d completely forgotten to take her speech out of her purse—which was back in her seat. She took the statue from Julia, who kissed her cheek. Lyle did the same, and she found herself in front of a microphone without her notes.
It was okay, though. Andrea knew exactly what she’d planned to say because it had all come from her heart. “Wow,” she said, setting the statue on the podium. “These are heavier than they look.” That got a chuckle out of everyone. “First of all, I want to thank the academy. This is such a huge honor. I didn’t expect to win, and now that I’m here, I’m even more thankful to be a part of this collective family, this eclectic, sometimes eccentric, often unique, wonderful acting family.
“I want to thank my mother and my stepfather for their support, as well as my grandfather, Jack, and my sister Leslie. I want to thank my biggest cheerleaders—Kelsey, Taylor, and Nakita. I want to thank Stella Croy who was amazing in this movie!” Everyone cheered at that, so she paused. Then, Andrea rattled off several more cast and crew members from the movie she was nominated for. “I have to thank my sweet friend Stephon who is always there for me when I need him. I also want to congratulate all of the other actresses who were nominated for this award. I was in some wonderful company, and I am so impressed with each of them. Finally, I want to thank someone I know will always have my back, who went to great lengths to get here just in the nick of time, and I don’t just mean into this theater tonight but into my life. Case Meyer, thank you for everything. I love you—this is for you!” She lifted the award in his direction.
She could see he had tears in his eyes as he smiled at her, and when the crowd started clapping, so did he, mouthing that he loved her, too. Wiping away her own tears, Andrea turned to go backstage where she’d be photographed and interviewed for quite some time, but she didn’t care. She was on cloud nine. Nothing could ruin this moment—not even Sarah’s bad attitude. Nothing.
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