AllFreeNovel
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“Have you talked to them yet?” I ask rather than weigh in on the are-we-or-aren’t-we conversation she spearheaded. It’s too loaded. There are a lot of variables.
“I texted my dad to tell him to have fun and tell Mom I love her. I asked her if she was worried and he said yes, but he assured her that I was a big girl and everything would turn out fine. I hope he’s right about everything turning out fine.” She presses her lips together as if turning over how much more to share. Finally, she says, “I mentioned I was staying here. He said they felt better that you were around so that I wouldn’t be alone.”
Basically what my Mom had hinted at. Allie was home and upset and she needed a friend. All eyes are on me. Evidently I am a golden retriever.
“It’s bigger than I realized,” I admit. “The media attention on you.”
Her eyebrows jump.
“Did you do it?”
“Are you asking if I stole the Oscar from Millie?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to know if I showed up at her party, at her house where I’ve never been before, and snatched an Academy Award off her shelf? Haven’t you heard the news? Seen the photos? I’m carrying it under a coat on the way to the valet at Millie’s house. It was Nina in the den with the Oscar!”
I could do without the smart-ass comments.
“It doesn’t matter what happened,” she continues, somber, “only how it’s being perceived. In Hollywood you’re guilty until proven innocent, and if you’re proven innocent later the damage to your reputation is already done. There’s a reason the saying ‘You’ll never work in this town again’ exists.”
I’m beginning to think that my mom was right. Maybe Allie didn’t do it.
“Friendly,” I say, looping back to our earlier conversation. It seems safer than this one. “Surely we can manage that.”
She smiles around a bite of a fry, and I have to remind myself not to be towed in by her. Ignoring the swell of my chest at earning a smile, I step away from our snack and snap the lid back onto my cup. “I’d better head upstairs and start working. Check your schedule and let me know about painting, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll just check my busy schedule.” Some of the shadows have receded from her eyes. It makes me feel good to have chased them away for the time being.
No, we’re not who we used to be, but that’s not necessarily bad news.
