“I’m going to need you to step back.”
I put on my brightest smile. “We have to talk to Odetta Olson. It’s very important.”
She was unfazed. “I can’t let you through. Please give Ms. Olson some space.”
“Trust me,” I said between gritted teeth. “Shewantsto talk to us.”
“Please step back,” the security woman said. “Now.”
A voice came through her earpiece and she listened while keeping a firm eye on us. That’s when Odetta Olson spotted us, or, more accurately, she saw Lou.
The two locked eyes, something unspoken passing between them.
“We’re here to deliver something,” Lou said to the security woman, her gaze not leaving Odetta’s.
Lou slipped the diamond necklace out of her tote bag and handed it to the woman, who barely flinched at the display of so many diamonds.
“Will you please pass this to Ms. Olson?” Lou said.
Her polite tone betrayed nothing, but her hands were shaking. Constance and I held our breath. Wherever Lou was going with this, we had no choice but to follow along.
“Please let her know it’s a gift from Dorian Fisher,” Lou continued.
Odetta wasn’t missing a beat of this. The security woman seemed confused. It can’t have been every day someone handed her amultimillion-dollar necklace out of a battered tote bag.
Constance was wound so tight I thought she might snap. She swallowed hard before speaking.
“And please let Ms. Olson know Mr. Fisher expressly required she wear this necklace in memory of last night. It’s an incredible piece of jewelry to commemorate the moment they shared.”
There would be many times, from this day onward, when I would deeply admire the girls. I would recognize their talent, their strengths, their skills. I would learn from them and be grateful for the option to lean on them, too. But never have I been so in awe of them as I was in that moment.
We would let Odetta Olson go to the ceremony. She could grasp the spotlight one last time, but with the heaviest of anchors around her neck.
I forced a smile. “And please let Ms. Olson know we’ll be waiting for her right here when she returns. We hope she enjoys the ceremony, and we can’t wait to discuss it with her.”
The security woman nodded and walked over to Odetta Olson. We stood still, drinking in the moment our message, and the necklace, made its way to her.
A minute later, we were whisked away to Odetta’s suite. We didn’t watch any of it. We didn’t see her win, listen to her speech, or admire the stunning piece of Clapard jewelry around her neck.
The most important part was still to come.
Dis-Moi ToutPodcast
DM1:We’re still processing it now, but we can say that the final night of Cannes was without surprise.
DM2:Don’t Be Sad!won the Palme d’Or. Odetta Olson and Fiona Pills smiled for the cameras, both looking absolutely gorgeous, even though they stood far apart all night. Those two aren’t going to become besties any time soon.
DM1:It was a beautiful ceremony. Odetta’s speech was very moving.
DM2:I love that she dedicated the Palme to the young woman she used to be, dreaming of breaking into this industry.
DM1:And in a bizarre twist—one of many bizarre twists of this festival—Odetta Olson wore the Clapard necklace that, allegedly, went missing days ago.
DM2:It’s incredible. Clapard released a statement claiming that the rumors were unfounded. This piece was always intheir possession, and they had intended for Odetta Olson to wear it at the ceremony.
DM1:I don’t know if I believe that. Rumors come fromsomewhere.
DM2:We’ll probably never know for sure.
