Page 122 of Blue Gold
All you need to do is go out there and walk.
“You call this hair and makeup? This is a Renieri show, for God’s sake, not a circus. Fix this now!”
Just do what you’ve done a dozen times now, and be done with it.
“Where are my shimmery eyeshadows?”
Once the show is over, I’ll go home and tell Daniel about Claudia.
“Oh, Maria, what is this mess? Someone come and pluck this one’s eyebrows. They look like caterpillars!”
But what if it’s too late for that, and she’s already told other people?
“Bello, where is your belt?”
And what if he freaks out and leaves me?
“Bello?”
I would rather die than let that happen—
“Elliot!”
Snapped back to the present, I saw Vito was standing right before me, an irritated look on his face.
“D-did you say something?”
“I said a lot of things,” he grunted while wrapping a belt around my waist. “But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is you—” He tied it up. “—being fabulous.”
The reassurance in his eyes gave me a bit of confidence, and I managed to smile, grateful for his support.
“You’re going to be a star out there, okay?”
I nodded. “Oui.”
“That’s my boy.” With one last pat on the cheek, Vito let me go and moved to stand in the center of the chaos. Clapping his hands, he got everyone’s attention. “In two minutes, you are going to walk out there, and on the runway, I want you to remember one thing and one thing only,” he said, all eyes on him. “That this is Renieri you’re walking for, darlings, and anything less than marvelous is unacceptable.”
While the crew and cast cheered in response, I looked around in search of Claudia. Spotting her at the other side of the room, busy giving directions, I took in a short intake of air. This show was as important to her as it was to me, so there was no reason to worry. She would do her best tonight, and so would I. Daniel wasn’t here, and therefore, I shouldn’t worry about him, not now, not when it was my time to get out there.
Thinking that helped just a bit, but that was all I needed—a small push. My name was called, and I walked to the front, with Vito fixing my outfit until the last second.
“Elliot, be ready,” Claudia said as I stood still, my heart beating fast as I waited for her signal. “And it’s a go.”
“Wow them, bello,” Vito said right before I stepped out there.
One short breath, and that was it—the lights went back on, and with them, I began walking. My nerves wavered with each step, until they were replaced with the familiar adrenaline of being at the center of it all. I moved with confidence and elegance. One, two, three, I took long strides, every step well calculated as I strolled down the runway like I was born for it. Keeping my head high and my shoulders straight, I approached the end of the course, where I’d make a small stop to show off the clothes. It was the crème de la crème of every catwalk, where a model turns into a star in the sky. But right before I reached the so-called heavens, I glanced down at the front row, only to be struck by a meteor.
Daniel?
My body froze.
Why is he here?
Why didn’t he listen?
Why did he—
Daniel
