You and Me

Four.

The show was thrilling and entertaining watch. It was an entirely different experience seeing it happen right in front of me compared to watching it on tv. The four of us applauding the winners helped me forget that I was nominated. For the time being.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Robin Williams." The announcer's voice echoed in the amphitheater as Robin walked onto the stage. He began explaining the different roles and women nominated for the next category. I nervously smiled at Jennifer.
"And here are the nominees for best performance by an actress in a supporting role." Robin announced into the microphone. The screen changed to all the nominees. I held hands with both Tom and Jennifer. A cameraman appeared in front of me. Another man appeared next to him. He leaned in closer to me to tell me when Robin announces my name, they will have the camera on me during the scene then the camera will just be on me. I nodded my head to acknowledge I understood. I messed with my hair the way the hairdresser informed me to. "Sarah Rose, The Boss." Robin's voice said. I inhaled a deep breath. I watched the scene they chose for my highlight. I remember the scene vividly due to the difficulty of filming it. I was bruised and bloody. Crying as I hysterically begged Tom's character to find who tried to kill me. The giant screen transitioned to just me. I waved and smiled as the crowd cheered and applaud. The cameras returned to Robin on stage.  "And the Oscar goes to..." I closed my eyes, holding in another deep breath and squeezed their hands. "...Sarah Rose, The Boss." I buried my face into my hands. Tom pulled my body up by my hands into a huge embrace. He whispered into my ear.

"I knew you could do it." His words already made me start to tear up. I turned to hug Jennifer as she started to tear up too. The walk to the stage was a blur. Mostly because I was already crying my eyes out. I shook Robin's hand as he handed me the heavy award. The lighting only allowed for me to see the front row which I was thankful for because I couldn't bare to see all the other amazing actors and actresses looking up at me. Once I composed myself to speak, my hands were shaking as much as my voice.

"Oh, wow. Thank you. Thank you so much to the Academy. The outstanding director, Kathryn, for taking a chance on me for this role. It challenged every ounce of my being and I'm so honored that you saw something in me. Tommy, thank you for taking me under your wing. Guiding me. I couldn't have imagined acting beside anyone else." The audience applaud as the cameras switched to Tom blowing me a kiss. "To the other nominees, you all have been such an inspiration to me. It has been a life changing experience to now know such wonderful women as my friends. Everyone else in the cast and crew. My agent, my producer, my makeup artist, Mykie. Spending hours, everyday, covering all my tattoos. Where are you, Mykie?" I shielded my eyes with my hand to look around. A 'woo' from the balcony seating had me point to the direction. "Hi Mykie!" I waved as everyone laughed. I let out a sigh as I admired the award in my hands. "To my dad.." My voice became more shaky. "..thank you for always believing in me and always being there for me. Thank you to my friends and my mailman." The crowd laughed as I took a few seconds to breathe. I held up the award. "Thank you!" The crowd cheered. I wiped away as many tears as I could while walking with Robin to the side of the stage.

Once I made it back to the front row, Jennifer hugged me again tightly. A makeup artist was available backstage, just like Mykie said, so she touched up my smudged makeup. I felt a hand pat my bare back. I released the hug from Jennifer to see Tom and Charlotte waiting for a hug.

"Tommy. Don't cry. I just got my makeup fixed!" I teased. Tom shook his head while taking me into his arms.
"I noticed him wiping a tear from his eye during your speech." Charlotte whispered, poking fun at her boyfriend. "Congratulations, my darling." She took me into her arms after Tom and I broke apart our hug. When I finally sat down in my seat, Jennifer and I stared and pet the shiny replica of the award that they had me sit with during the remaining of the show. An announcer informed everyone of a commercial break.

"Are you two going to the after party?" Tom asked us. We glanced at each other smiling from ear to ear.
"Duh!" We said together, laughing uncontrollably.
"We're going to head back to the hotel. I know you two will have fun regardless." Tom shook his head.
"At least do one shot with me!" I begged. Tom shook his head again.
"No, no, no. Jennifer will have to take it for me."
"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jen!" I watched their exchange laughing.
"Every time."  Tom chuckled. Jennifer crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Now you have to take a shot. You pissed her off!" I chimed in. Tom rubbed his forehead.
"You two are too much to handle." He murmured. Jennifer and I laughed again. A tap on my shoulder had me turn around to see the same breathtaking blue eyes. Chris scooted closer to whisper into my ear. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.
"So, are you ready to 'party it up with Cap' now?" I dropped my jaw in both humiliation and shock. I nodded my head rapidly, resulting in his exploding laughter. Now knowing Chris was seated behind me the whole time, and that he saw that stupid tweet, gave me butterflies. The announcer warned us of the show returning. I smiled back at Chris.

***

I applaud and cheered with everyone as Anne Hathaway and James Franco thanked everyone for watching the 83rd Academy Awards. Tom stood from his seat and motioned me to join him. We hugged each other right away. I thanked Tom again for being the best onscreen husband. He laughed as I hugged Charlotte. They each said their goodbyes to Jennifer. I couldn't help but glance at Chris behind her. His eyes met with mine with a smirk curling his lips. I waved to Tom and Charlotte as they walked in the other direction. Jennifer instructed me to follow her.

"Did you have fun?" Chris asked. We began to slowly shuffle through the crowd toward the exit. I held onto Jennifer's arm in front of me. I nodded my head.
"Yeah. This was..amazing." I sighed. I took in one more final look around the amphitheater taking in the moment. I looked back to Chris, still smiling at me. "Are you going to the after party?" He shrugged his shoulders.
"It depends if someone wants me there." His sly reply almost made me lose my balance. I grabbed Jennifer's arm tighter, practically digging my nails into her skin.
"I'm pretty sure she does. I'm losing circulation to my arm over here!" Jennifer blurted. We all laughed at Jennifer's grimacing face. I loosened my grip just as we made it to the end of the seats. Chris placed his hand on the back of my arm and leaned in to my ear.

"I'll see you later then?" He whispered. Even his whispering gave me goosebumps.
"Definitely, Cap." I whispered back. He gave me one last smile and a wink before disappearing into the crowd. I had to stay behind for a few more interviews so Jennifer decided to leave and meet me at the party. Rebecca, Mykie and Brittany eventually caught up with me during my final interview. I thanked the interviewer and embraced them right away. I could feel my eyes filling with tears again. "I can't stop crying!" I wiped tears from my eyes with the three of them around me. Mykie carefully fixed the makeup.
"I'm so proud of you, sugar. You're the first award winning actress I've managed!" Her voice was shaky, causing me to cry more. I smiled at each one of my girls.
"Thank you for being here for me, guys."
"You got it, sugar."
"Now let's go have fun!" Mykie squealed. She held up her arms in the air, grabbed my hand and made our way to the after party.