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“You’ll step here,” said the PA, hustling Pandy onto the disk.
“Hello,” SondraBeth called out. She was standing in the center of the disk, waving stiffly.
“Hi,” Pandy called back. SondraBeth looked like a bride on a wedding cake, save for the fact that she was dressed in black.
“You will walk to SondraBeth,” the PA said briskly, as if she was not in the mood for any nonsense. Urging Pandy along, she said, “And then you will stop and accept the award from her.”
Pandy halted in front of SondraBeth, who pantomimed giving her the statuette.
“And then,” the PA barked, “you will turn and walk forward to the podium—” She walked a few steps ahead to demonstrate where Pandy should go. “And you will stop. And you will say…”
“I am Hellenor Wallis…,” SondraBeth said from behind her.
“I am Hellenor Wallis,” Pandy repeated.
“And all the screens will be lit up in a circle around the room—”
“There are screens?” Pandy asked nervously.
“So we can take questions.” The tech producer’s voice came through a speaker that sounded like it was right above her head.
“There will be questions?” Pandy called out to this invisible man.
“Not for your segment. All you have to do is accept the award, and say thank you on behalf of your sister.”
“That’s it? I don’t get to say a few nice words about her?” Pandy asked.
“We’re on a tight schedule,” the PA said, taking her arm once again. She walked Pandy to the other side of the platform. “The stage will be revolving. You’ll stand here, so we can broadcast you on the screens, and then when you reach the platform where you got on, you’ll get off and head backstage through the Hall of Fame, which will be closed off to the public by then. Got it?” she asked sharply.
“Hellenor?” Judy said, motioning from the platform. “There’s someone here who needs to see you.”
“Jonny,” Pandy gasped, recalling how he’d threatened to find her. By now he must know she was with SondraBeth at the awards; it was all over Instalife.
Judy smiled. “It’s Pandy’s agent.”
And there he was: Henry. Standing at the bottom of the stairs.
* * *
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Henry asked, circling around her. Pandy grimaced and automatically put her hand over her bald head.
“Excuse me, Ms.—” Henry turned to Judy.
“Judy,” Judy said. “I’m SondraBeth’s right hand.”
“Is there someplace”—Henry glared at Pandy—“that Hellenor and I can go to speak privately?”
“You can use SondraBeth’s dressing room. They need to keep her next to the stage until the show begins. It takes too long to move her,” Judy said over her shoulder as she led them back into the Hall of Fame.
This time the hall was packed. The high-pitched screeches of women who’d already had a bit too much champagne filled the room like the calls of exotic birds.
“Henry!” a voice shouted.
Pandy turned to find Suzette barreling toward them, with Meghan, Nancy, and Angie in tow. Judging from the way they were tottering on their heels, Pandy guessed they’d already had a couple of glasses of champagne. And then Suzette threw her arms around Henry as tears sprang from her eyes.
Within seconds, they were surrounded. Pandy was being pulled in all directions by her grieving friends.
“PJ Wallis’s sister!”
