That Blue Gibson

CH 48

Liz stood just off stage in a dark hallway as the presenting actor continued on, chatting up the young woman that had escorted them back and leaving Liz to fend for herself. She looked down at the award and envelope in her hands, quickly removing the playing card from the envelope and slipping it into her dress before someone snatched it from her. She looked up and down the hall, trying to determine where she was supposed to go when she felt a hand on the small of her back.

"Hey," Dave said quietly as she turned to look up at him.

A relieved smile spread across her face and she moved to put her arms around him but changed her mind at the last second. "Goddamnit, Dave!" she laughed and shoved his shoulder a little with her free hand. "You didn't tell me you were gonna be here!"

"Yeah, I did the...," Dave pointed over his shoulder to the stage, "Did you not see Taylor and me do the thing?"

"No!" Liz shook her head in confusion, trying to figure out how she had missed it, "Oh, Josie and I went on a little adventure... You still didn't tell me you were going to be here. Oh, I have a gig," she tried to mock him, but her smile gave her away.

Dave laughed and checked the hallway before leaning down to kiss her, "Congratulations"

"Ugh. Feels more like a punishment, honestly," she looked down at the award in her hand and had the sudden urge to fling it down the hallway. "But thank you. Can we get out of here?"

"Yeah, the green room is that way," he pointed to their left and Liz set off in that direction.

She made it several feet before realizing Dave wasn't with her and stopped, "Are you...?"

"Yeah, just...," he cleared his throat and hurried to her side, "just admiring your dress."

She slipped her hand into his and leaned into his side as they walked. "Did I ever tell you that I hate surprises?" she smiled as he opened the green room door for her.

Dave was about to make some sarcastic comment, but Mark stood just inside the door with a panicked look on his face. He took Liz's award and envelope the moment he saw her and grabbed her free arm, "You have a press call right now."

"Oh, but..." Liz worriedly looked back at Dave, but Mark continued to drag her away.

"Bring him!" he hissed, "We don't have time!"

*

Liz once again found herself standing alone on stage, holding an award and facing a crowd of people, this time the press, but she felt much more at ease knowing that Dave was just off stage. She answered several questions before Mark announced that she would take only two more.

"What do you think Abigail Adams would say about this award?" a woman called from the back.

"She would probably think this entire process is asinine and self-congratulatory, then return to building our country's foundation without asking for anything in return... while raising five children, keeping a home, running a farm and wearing a corset."

They clamored to ask another question and Liz caught Mark shaking his head out of the corner of her eye. Her attitude was a PR nightmare sometimes.

"And how do you feel about this award? It's no secret that you don't subscribe to the traditional Hollywood mold," another woman asked.

"I think it's very nice to be recognized for doing hard work," she said simply. Truthfully, she didn't care what the industry thought of her work as she wasn't doing it for them. She smiled politely and stepped away from the microphone, but a man in the front row yelled a question that she couldn't resist answering.