Chapter 12: Oscar Night

The cheerful expectation with which Melanie had looked forward to the Oscar Ceremony waned over the weekend, and by Monday morning she was an obsessive mess who fretted over every little detail of her hair, her dress, her make-up and even her shoes. The studio-employed make-up lady, the wardrobe guy and the hairdresser were rolling their eyes halfway through the process and David had an idea how she must have been back in her "little bitch" days.

He too was fretted over, but he was far less concerned knowing that no camera would focus on him. Finding a tux for him had not been too easy as there are preciously few 6'4" actors in Hollywood and even fewer of those ever get to attend the Oscar Night. He'd let his hair grow over the last months and the hairdresser had applied a faux unruly look to it. To steady his gait, he was wearing orthopedic shoes albeit made from shiny black leather. Looking at himself in the tall mirror in the entrance hall, he found nothing to complain about.

Not so Melanie. The color of his bow tie was not coordinated with her dress or something, and the wardrobe guy had to search frantically for a better fitting neck adornment. Next she had a fit seeing David's Timex wristwatch, and Josh lent him a Tag Heuer Swiss Chronometer. Then, he was already sitting in the rented limo, Melanie decided to change her shoes and somebody had to run and get the pair she wanted.

In her state, she barely spoke a word to David during the drive. Arriving at the venue, their limo had to wait until it was Melanie's turn and the way she was squirming in her seat, David realized how scared she was.

"Mel, don't worry so much. We'll just walk along that red carpet and once we're inside somebody will show us to our seats. No need to fret, really."

"Oh, really? They're not going to ask you all sorts of stupid questions."

"Jeez, ease up. You were the one who said she just wanted to have fun tonight. Is that fun?"

"I'm fucking nervous, okay? I have stage fright. Always had. Nothing like this is ever fun for me, okay?"

This was a Melanie he had not met before. The sweet girl with the friendly demeanor was gone.

"Will you get better once this show starts?" he queried with an edge to his voice.

"Not hardly. Okay, now you know this side of me. What are you going to do? Run away?"

"Wow. A bit tasteless, don't you think?"

She checked herself. "Okay, sorry. I didn't think. I told you I'm scared. Can you give me a fucking break? I need to get through this without screwing up too badly."

"Well, then let me help you! Let's talk. I can't help you if you won't talk."

"Hell, we're talking and it's not helping much, is it?"

"We're not talking. You're bitching. Mel, look at me! This is supposed to be a great date for us. We wanted this evening to be about us. We..."

"It's not about us. It's about me and about the other nominees. You are just along for the ride. For once, something is just about me. Tomorrow can be about you again, but not tonight. Can you accept that?"

"So I'm to walk along that carpet with you, keep my mouth shut and not interfere with you having a bad time? Is that it?"

"Yes, that's it. Mostly, just keep your mouth shut." The limo moved and it was their turn. "Last chance for you to cop out."

David shook his head. "I'm keeping my end of the deal."

The door was pulled open and David alighted using the doorframe for additional leverage. Now he was standing on his feet and offering his hand to Melanie. For a second he thought she'd ignore it, but now the cameras were close and she grabbed for his hand. Standing at his side, she snuggled close for a brief moment while the flashlights were going off around them.

Holding on to his arm, she pulled him along the red carpet between the throngs of reporters and photographers. David had a hard time keeping pace.

"Easy!" he hissed. "You want me to fall over my feet?"

Impatience flit briefly over her features, but she forced a smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, darling. I'm just nervous."

"So am I," David answered with a false smile in return. "Just a bit slower."

Melanie forced herself to walk slower, but now the reporters were on to the story.

"David Olsen? You are walking again!"

"Yes, more or less. I won't do fast breaks for a while, but it's getting better." The reply came to him easy enough. "I owe a lot of that recovery to Melanie's dedication and patience."

"You two are a couple then?"

He felt her stiffen at his side. "I wouldn't go that far. We're good friends and maybe more. But, hey! Enough about me! This show is about the nominees, not some tag-along."

He looked at Melanie. She blushed fiercely and pressed her lips together.

"Any comments, Mel?" a reporter shouted.

"David's right. We're helping out each other as friends."

Then they were inside and Melanie let go of his arm as if it was hot.

"Good friends? Why not roomies?" she hissed.

"God, Mel! What else could I answer? We never discussed this."

"You should have just kept your mouth shut!"

"Hey, I told them that this evening is all about you, didn't I?"

"Asshole!"

They found their seats, four rows from the front in the left block, and sat down. David was cautious and Melanie made no move to help him. This evening would be anything but fun.

It was worse. For three hours, Melanie spoke not a single word to him. She watched the proceedings, clapped dutifully for the winners and sipped on her water. David tried to do the same, but after a while his legs began to hurt not being accustomed to the seating. He fidgeted a little, trying to ease the cramping, and received the first communication from Melanie – an annoyed look. Before she could make any snide remark however, a voice from the left sounded.

"These seats are horrible, aren't they?"

The voice belonged to Sonya Dasgupta, a young Indian actress nominated for Best Supporting Actress as well. She had played a young woman who had to overcome poliomyelitis, herself having been a victim of the disease in her youth. David smiled wryly.

"I'm a bit too tall for them. Hi! I'm David Olsen and this is of course Melanie Renault."

"Oh, hello. Of course I know you. I saw Heart of Glass twice and it gave me shivers," Sonya offered in slightly accentuated English. "I think you will win tonight."

Melanie nodded and smiled sweetly. "David and I saw you in The Journey. We were so impressed with the story and with your performance."

"Thank you. It is honor to be nominated along with you. And you, David? What do you do?"

"I'm a student at USC. Melanie helped me to overcome a spinal injury. Now I have to pay for it by sitting through this show," he said lightly, not wanting to say anything to piss Melanie off even further.

"Oh, you were palsied?"

"More or less, but Melanie insisted that I could overcome it. So, here I am, feeling all the pain in my legs. Lucky, huh?"

"Yes, in cases like ours, feeling pain is good," Sonya laughed. She looked at Melanie. "That was a good thing to do, Miss Renault."

For a moment, Melanie was staring at David before she answered. "Being with David has been rewarding in itself." She swallowed. "He is too kind anyway. It was I who put him into the wheelchair. I owed him all the help I could give."

"An interesting story. Oh, this is exciting! Forgive me for being talkative. I cannot believe being here. It was my first real film."

To David's surprise, Melanie laughed easily. "Believe me, Heart of Glass was my first real film too. I'd rather forget about the crappy movies I did before."

"I did not see them," Sonya admitted. "We have few foreign films in India, and the ones we see are often edited to leave out offending scenes."

David could not help himself. "That's why you didn't see hers. Mel's earlier movies consisted of offending scenes only, but that's why guys watched them. I mean, most often she got eaten by the zombie before half of the flick was over, but at least she always looked very edible."

"You ass!" Melanie protested, but there was no venom in her voice anymore and she hit him playfully. "Can you imagine being with a guy who measures the quality of a movie by the number of semi-nude scenes?"

Sonya giggled. "Oh, we have movies like that, with girls bathing with very little clothing. They are very popular."

"Will you try to work here?" Melanie wanted to know.

Sonya shrugged. "It is exposure to be here. Who knows what opportunities may open up? And you?"

"I'm undecided about my future in the business. I don't even have an agent right now. Right now I want to finish college. I'll have a small role in a French movie produced by my grandmother next summer. It will only involve two weeks of shooting. It'll give us a chance to see France and visit some places from my childhood."

Her look at David now bordered on imploring. With an inward sigh, he took her hand and pressed it. 'Thank you. Sorry!' she mouthed and leaned against his shoulder. Sonya gave them a smile.

"You must be more than good friends," she giggled. Mel and David looked at her. "I arrived before you and I heard what you said to the reporters."

"I was a royal bitch tonight," Melanie admitted. "I have terrible stage fright and I've been fretting for days. David couldn't take it anymore and we were fighting in the car."

"Stage fright? Really? You grew up as an actress."

"Not my choice. My mother forced me into it. I always hated being in front of a camera. My mother even made me take performing arts as major in college. Thank God that's over."

Sonya nodded to this. "Then you should do something else. Me, I love acting, I love the attention. I would say I'm extroverted."

"No shit," David had to grin.

Melanie smiled as well. "You are a breath of fresh air, Sonya. I wish you luck and happiness. And you're right. I will do something else. Being in this business really brings out the worst in me."

She snuggled even closer now until David put his arm around her shoulder.

"Please, forgive me!" she whispered urgently, barely audible over a musical number being played. "You were right. I'm not in this business to stay. Who cares if I say something wrong? Who cares if you say something wrong?"

"And who's to say what is right or wrong?" he whispered back. "She's nice, isn't she?"

Melanie nodded against his chest. "She should win tonight."

The musical number was now coming to an end and Melanie sat upright.

"Gotta make a good impression," she whispered, but David could feel her tension rise again.

Henry Delgado, the last year's winner of the Best Supporting Actor award bounded up onto the stage. He announced the nominees.

"The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are – Liz Burton for Twice a Day!"

A brief clip was shown of Liz Burton and a mobile camera team a few seats to the left were focusing on her. She smiled nervously.

"Sonya Dasgupta for The Journey!"

Sonya smiled happily into the camera while a clip of her walking on crutches was shown.

"Melanie Renault for Heart of Glass!"

Mel nodded into the camera with a brave smile while squeezing David's hand. On the screen the break-up scene with her boyfriend showed.

"Linda MacGovern, for Cowboys Don't Sing!"

Linda was a Country and Western singer with huge fake breasts and a fake smile. She displayed both amply while the clip with her in a smoke-filled bar was shown.