Khloe stepped into the aisle and ran for the door. Behind her, she could hear everyone laughing. As soon as she was in the foyer, she went directly to Jane and slapped her hard across the face. "This is your entire fault!" she shouted. You let me sit in the wrong place! You embarra.s.sed me on purpose! Everything that happened is your fault!""f.u.c.k that noise," Jane shouted. "I am sick and tired of you bullying me and forcing me to take the blame for your faults. I have always given you sound advice, but you never take it. That is on you!"
People were looking at them, but Jane didn"t care. She had reached the end of her rope.
Khloe quickly yelled, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
One of the guards picked up his radio and said, "Code White. We have a Code White in the foyer. I need extra security. I need someone to call the Mobile Mental Health Crisis Unit. If this escalates, we may use restraints until they arrive."
"I"m not crazy," Khloe shouted. "I am angry. There is a difference. You can call off the men in the white coats. I am not going to Funny Farm!"
The guard looked at Khloe and said, "Ma"am, if you are in a safe place, you will have to show us by sitting down and calming down. When the Mobile Mental Health Crisis Unit arrives, that will be your opportunity to prove your sanity."
***
William waited for Kylie to take her seat before he continued on with the show. "Well," he laughed, "at the Oscars, we never fail to bring something new every year. Now that that"s over let"s continue on with our regularly scheduled program…. And the winner for Best Supporting Actress goes to – drum roll please - Kylie Finch!"
The crowd went crazy as Kylie walked up to the front. As a newcomer, she was very popular. Now, after the hullabaloo that they"d just witnessed, they loved her now more than ever. To Kylie, walking up to the podium and receiving the award felt more like a dream than something that was actually happening.
Kylie opened a piece of paper, spread it open, and began to read: "I would like to thank the cast and crew of The Tea Maiden. This is yours as much as it is mine. Anything that we accomplished, we accomplished together. I would like to thank my family, friends, and the Oscars for recognizing me. This night will always stand out as a highlight in my life. Lastly, I would like to thank my fans. Without you, I would be nothing. I wish that I could smash this statue into a billion pieces and share a piece with each and every one of you."
As she stepped down from the stage, the endless applause was deafening.
When Kylie arrived back to Garbo Place, she rushed into Ethan"s arms shouting, "I won! I can"t believe it – I actually won!"
There were tears of joy running down her face. Ethan wiped the tears off of her face and said, "I was watching the whole thing on TV. I couldn"t believe the stunt Khloe tried to pull. It was pretty funny, though, when the whole thing blew up in her face!"
"So," he wondered, thinking about her career, "what"s next?"
"I want you next," she replied, intentionally misunderstanding him. "I want you now!"
"Sounds good," Ethan laughed, "If you want it here and now, here and now it shall be. Take off your clothes and lie down on the floor."
"It"s not going to be that way," Kylie explained as she began to reach for the zipper on the back of her dress. "I want to be on top for once."
Before either of them was even ten percent undressed, though, the doorbell rang.
Ethan looked at Kylie and said, "There aren"t many times that we are alone in the house, so why don"t we just ignore it."
Kylie nodded but, a moment later, the bell rang two more times. "Whoever is at the door," Kylie concluded, "they are awfully persistent. They must have seen our cars parked out front…"
The doorbell rang three more times, and on the last chime, they could hear Tom Thomas yelling through the door: "Please answer the door. I know that you are here. I wouldn"t be bothering you if it wasn"t important…"
"I"m coming!" Ethan yelled. "Hold your horses."
As soon as Ethan opened the door, Tom tried to push his way in. Ethan, being much bigger and stronger than Tom was, pushed him back easily. "You"re not coming in," Ethan laughed. "Don"t beat around the bush. Just tell me what"s going on."
"Because of what Khloe did," he replied, "Dora is in trouble, and I don"t know how to help her…"
Ethan smirked and asked what that had to do with him.
"On the way home," Tom explained, "our car was attacked. Dora was injured. She was taken to the hospital, but she says that you are the only person she will allow to treat her. She has had bad experiences in the past, so she is very paranoid about doctors. Will you come?"
Suddenly Kylie appeared. She wrapped her arm around Ethan"s waist and said, "If you need to go in and help Dora, I understand. But only do it if you want to. You know how manipulative she can be. This could all just be a ruse."
Ethan looked at Kylie and then back to Tom. He said, "Kylie and I were in the middle of something when you arrived. Once we are done, I will come to check on Dora. If her injuries are life-threatening, but her paranoia keeps her from accepting treatment at the hospital, then that is her choice. If she dies, she will go out on her own terms. It wouldn"t be my fault."
Kylie gave Ethan a quick squeeze and said, "If Dora needs your help, you should go to her. If she died while we were "taking care of business, I would feel terribly guilty. I know that you don"t want to split up, so why don"t I come with you? For a long time, I"ve wondered about your work at the hospital…"
Ethan nodded his head and praised Kylie for her quick thinking.