“Let’s go, Ms. Ray, this way.” The lanky kid is pinwheeling his arm like he can make my paralyzed feet move with the motion alone.
Psychologically, it must work because I start heading in that direction.
“We’ll talk more about it as soon as we’re done,” Dawson hollers as he’s led the opposite way.
Talk?Yeah, because all Dawson Cain has to do is open that mouth of his to get what he wants.
You want to do a docuseries, do you? Okay.
You want fresh-baked cookies because you clumsily toppled into a litter box? Sure thing!
You want to make Brinley think you’re willing to miss the Emmys but you don’t really want to miss them at all? We’ve got you covered, big boy, because you're more important than anyone else!
I follow two women dressed in black down the hall despite the fact that my insides are imploding. Theonecard I was holding onto is gone. Or perhaps I never held it to begin with.
I shuffle one foot in front of the other until I’m standing on one side of the stage. I never knew anger could hurt this much. I want to scream at the top of my lungs. I want to rush onto the stage in a rage and…and punch something repeatedly until this feeling goes away.
Two blondes in sparkling gowns stand at the mic. Buffy’s the one in hot pink. I recognize the other gal; her name is Agnes something…
I force myself to suck in a deep breath and hold it, the way I did in the hallway with Dawson before I knew he was a giant liar.
He could have at least told me he already knew.
I release that breath slowly, trying very hard to talk myself away from the spiral that could suck me into the abyss and shred every ounce of sanity I possess. I can’t come off looking like the crazy woman I am right now. I just can’t.
Maybe it’s not such a big deal.
Maybe I’m blowing things out of proportion.
I’m not sure I agree with those thoughts, but they do make me feel calmer, so I go with them. Another deep breath. In, out. And another. In, out.
Already, the fire within me is dwindling.
“So what do you think about Time Warp’s new celebrity twist?” Agnus asks.
The crowd reacts with enthusiastic whistles and whoops.
“Maybe what I really should have asked…” Agnus adds, “is what do you think about thecontestants?”
Half a dozen women lift cat calls from the crowd. “I love you, Dawson,” one belts.
Buffy brings her lips to the mic. “Ha, yeah, honey. I love him too.”
Oh, shut up, Buffy…
The crowd cheers loudly.
“And I hate to remind all you ladies out there, but…” Buffy pulls a cringe face. “He was mine first.”
My barely recovering body goes rigid once again, jaw clenching, hands fisting. Buffy is the annoying fly that sneaks into your party and irritates all the guests. I’d give anything for a flyswatter.
Agnes leans in next. “Yeah, but you’re not on planet Lunordian anymore, Dorothy. It looks like Dawson’s heart belongs to someone else.”
I can’t resist a silent fist pump.Thank you, Agnes.
This gets a reaction from the crowd too. Entertained oohs and ahs.
“I’d fight you over it,” Buffy says, “but we’ve got an introduction to make. As many of you know, Dawson Cain headed an influential docuseries calledUpside Clown, which takes a bold look into those so-called class clowns, and the societal perception that can either make or break them.”
