“Anything, Dani.”
“Split the record collection up for the boys. We’ll go through them. I’ll help you choose who gets what.”
“Of course, Dani.”
“Who is going to be here tonight to watch the Emmys? I don’t know how I’m going to feel in a couple of hours. I’m already pretty weak.”
“You don’t have to entertain anyone, it’s just Mom, Dad, Josh, and Amanda. Alicia and Mark and Mirabel.”
“Okay. Well, I wasn’t planning on doing a song and dance. Don’t make a big deal out of it if we lose, okay? Just serve cake or something so people don’t feel uncomfortable. I don’t care that much about the Emmy,” she says.
“You must care a little.”
“Maybe for Lars and Eli, but stuff like that doesn’t matter when you’re dying. The only thing that matters is how the people you love are feeling.”
“Okay, Dani,” I say quietly.
Later, when my mom and Alicia are at the house, they’rewhirling dervishes in the kitchen, preparing platters and drinks while Dani watches them from her chair in the doorway.
“Alicia,” she says. “Put some booze in my feeding tube.”
“I heard that, Dani,” I say from the other side of the kitchen.
She shrugs. Alicia walks over and hands Dani a shot of tequila. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” my mother says.
“Thank you,” Dani says to Alicia.
“I’ll always have your back,” Alicia says, and then she lets out the most painful-sounding exhalation, then buckles over and starts crying hysterically. I’ve never seen Alicia like this. Dani moves her chair closer to Alicia as my mom hurries to Alicia’s side.
Dani starts getting emotional, but she’s trying to play it cool. I can’t imagine how hard it is to see everyone breaking down around her.
I go to Alicia and take her in my arms. “Dani’s always been the strong one,” Alicia whispers.
“I know,” I say.
“I’m not dead yet. Jesus Christ, will you guys hold the crying until they’re wheeling my corpse outta here?”
“Danielle!” my mother scolds, but Alicia and I are laughing now through our tears.
Later, we’re all sitting around the TV—the boys, my parents, Amanda, Josh, Mirabel, Alicia, and Mark. Everyone is sort of positioned around Dani’s chair, sitting on the floor or leaning against the couch.
Dani looks up at me. “It’s the next award. Get the cake ready.”
The lead actress ofYours and Minewas nominated for Best Actress in a Drama, but she didn’t win. Dani’s show is also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series and this would be the award Dani would accept as the showrunner. Tonight, Lars and Eli are there in her place.
“Here we go,” Mirabel says.
Jason Bateman and Steve Carell are presenting the Emmy and when Dani heard this news, she was so happy. They’re two of her favorite actors. They come out and tell a joke, then announce the nominees. Dani has moved her chair right up close to the TV. When the camera cuts to Lars and Eli, she touches the screen, as if she’s telling them she loves them.
“And the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series goes toYours and Mine,Danielle Brolin, Eli Abrahms, and Gina Edwards,” Jason Bateman says with a huge smile.
The room erupts. Dani is still just staring at the TV. “You did it, Mom,” Noah yells.
I go to Dani’s side. She looks up at me and smiles. “Cake and champagne,” she says. “Quiet everyone!” she says to everyone else.
We watch the TV as Eli, Gina, and Lars approach the podium. Eli and Gina move aside so Lars can take the microphone. “If Dani could be here, she would say how grateful she is. But since we’re here in her place, we get to say how grateful we are for her. This was her vision, her dream, her hard work, her boundless talent, her undeniable vivacity, her zeal, and her passion. She’s a rare and precious gem and we’re all lucky to have her in our lives. Like in her other speeches, Dani would stand here and attempt to thank every single person who worked on the show in any capacity and it wouldn’t take long before the music would be rising and they would be shooing her off the stage. If Dani is any part of your life, you know you’ve been touched by a great, compassionate, and one-of-a-kind person who has more integrity than anyone I know. Love you, D, you deserve ten of these!” He holds the Emmy up, smiles, and then starts to cry as he walks off the stage.
There’s a standing ovation from the audience and Dani is stillwatching the TV, sitting one foot away from it and just taking itin.
