“Really? That’s great, Fran.”
“Yes. So I accepted.”
“Already?”
They only announced the nominees the prior week.
“Yes. It’s not the kind of thing you say, ‘Oh, let me get back to you in a few.’ It would be one thing if we were still shooting, but in post I have more flexibility. Like last year, I fly out on the Wednesday, stay for three nights, and fly back on Sunday.”
“Okay,” I say, returning to the contact sheets. “Just remember to share it in our calendar.”
But he lingers by the wall of glass, staring out into the courtyard. Leelou is circling at his feet, brushing up against his jeans. He bends to stroke her back.
“I want you to come with me, Cile. Parisa can stay with the kids. Or we could fly your parents out.”
And then it clicks, the reason for his tentative approach, for the coffee.
“Is she going to be there?”
“Who?”
I stare at him. He knows exactly who I mean.
“I don’t know, Cile. Maybe.”
“Is she going to be there, Fran?”
“Probably, yes.”
It sits there between us, large and ominous. Élodie. Our albatross.
I do not give him a response right away. I’m aware that this is part of the arrangement, us being a team. Me showing up as the supportive wife at his big events. Him showing up for mine. And this time there was no concussion as an excuse. I would go. But for days I simmer.
“I am absolutely dreading this,” I confide in Anouk. We are in the produce aisle of the Whole Foods on Montana.
“Why? It will be a fun night.”
“The attention, the anxiety, I need a dress…”
“She’s going to be there, isn’t she? Élodie?”
She reads me so well. “She’s presenting an award.”
“With him?”
“No. Different awards, but still.”
“When last did you see her?”
“Since I’ve known? Never.”
She stops then. The weight of it, I assume, written on my face. “It’s a public outing with lots of people, Cecilia. You don’t have to engage with her more than a quick ‘salut.’”
“What if I crumble? What if I completely fall apart?”
“Why would that happen? He’s going to be with you, right? His brilliant artist wife. The mother of his two children. The fortysomething woman who is ridiculously sexy, and is completely together.…”
“Not always.”
