Preston holds it there for a ridiculously long time, turning the tiara over in his hands, looking as if he’s trying to make a decision, when really he’s probably counting down the seconds until they let him get on with it.
“Daisy,” he says. A perky-looking brunette in the front row grins and rushes over to him. “Daisy, would you wear this tiara?”
“Yes, thank you!” She practically bounces with excitement as he fits it on her head. It catches in her hair and one of the producers comes over to help him with it—that part will be cut out—and then they get a shot of Preston and Daisy hugging before she heads back to the crowd of jealous women.
Becca gives me another nervous look. Some of these women’s faces are so pinched that I think they might need to pee.
Preston considers the next tiara for an equally long time—this footage is important, because the tiara ceremony will be the center of whatever narrative they create, the moment everything builds to.
“Jo,” Preston says, and Becca’s friend with the short hair steps out of line, smiling in a controlled way, like she’s trying not to look too eager.
It takes more than twenty minutes to finish the first batch of names. As we head down the hall, Preston looks over at me, his veneer of camera-ready calm disintegrating. “Did I do okay?”
“You did great.”This is what I’m here for, I realize. Not to make sure he doesn’t get lost, but to ensure he doesn’t get too stressed. “How do you feel?”
“Good, I think. I picked a couple of the girls in that batch.”
I nod. “The producers want you to keep some of the others around, right?”
“Right,” Preston says. “Which I understand.They say some of them are perfect for me, so I need to give them a chance. Like that girl who speaks sign language. She did seem cool, I guess.”
Ah. So Becca is a producer pick. I figured she would be—and I don’t think this is going to be a secret from the team, so I probably would have found out sooner or later.
But it’s good to know that he’s not into her. It means she’ll probably be around for a few weeks, and then she’ll go home.
And be available.
I know Becca really wants this, so I shouldn’t be too excited about that, but I am.
Levi gives Preston his next round of names, and we make two more trips up and back before Becca’s on his list. We’re in the final round of girls, and the fifteen remaining without tiaras can do the math.They’re all staring at the remaining tiaras like they’re winning lottery tickets, which I guess they basically are.
Preston looks up at the women.
“Go, Preston,” Olivia says.
“Becca,” he calls.
Her face lights up, and then, like Jo, she seems to tamp down her reaction, like she’s afraid of seeming too eager. I’ve gotten that vibe from her before, so I don’t think it’s just for the camera. Becca almost seems afraid of hope, afraid of happiness. Which I guess makes sense when you had a fairytale life before and then it was ripped away from you.
I can’t imagine being married to someone and then losing them. She’s brave as hell for giving this a shot again, and not just because she’s doing it onTV.
She makes her way over to Preston and stands before him, looking up into his eyes.
“Becca,” he says. “Will you do me the honor of wearing this tiara?”
“Yes,” she says, and her face glows as he places it on her. He’s getting the hang of that now, so it’s going more smoothly each time. He wraps his arms around her waist, and they hug, and jealousy burns in me. I try not to let it show as she catches my eyes over his shoulder and grins.
I give her another thumbs up.
She made it past night one.That’s a big deal.There are ten girls standing behind her who won’t.
Preston announces the rest of the names, and when the last girl—Addison, who looked like she was going to murder someone if she wasn’t chosen—is crowned, ten women all look like they’ve lost members of their family.The cameras focus in on each of them as they say their (sometimes tearful) goodbyes to Preston, which gives me a chance to catch Becca’s eye again.
Her smile at me is so radiant, I don’t know how not to smile back. “Good job,” I mouth, and she mouths back, “Thank you.”
I clearly need to learn these words in sign language, so we can communicate in situations like this. It’s my job to make her feel comfortable, and as Levi said, I’m damn good at it.
I just need to figure out how to do it without letting anyone see how, bit by bit, it’s breaking my heart.
