A Night To Remember

So far, the evening had been swell. The music hall was enraptured in gold decor. Tables were draped with fine purple silk and pristine silverware, while the food was hardly touched by its guests. Dispersed all around, the guests laughed boisterously and clinked their champagne glasses. One guest was enjoying her meal, however. More so, this woman was inhaling her food with restlessness. While wiping the bechamel from the corner of her mouth, a hand gently tapped her shoulder. 

“Margot, you okay there?” spoke another woman wearing a bright smile, sparkling hazel eyes and a dazzling fuchsia dress.

“Phew, you scared me there, babe. Yeah, I’m alright,” Margot replied, relieved that it was her girlfriend who graced her with her presence.

“Are you sure? Because to me, it looks like you’re more nervous than I am,” her girlfriend retorted with a chuckle. She kissed Margot swiftly and held her chin tenderly.

“Well, Katy, you’re getting huge…not huge, just big. That’s not what I meant. I-”

“I know what you mean. This last year has been quite overwhelming. My music has stayed in the charts for God knows how long, now I could get an award for it and we’ve been together all this time,” Katy sat down beside Margot to speak eye to eye.

“Right, so about that-”

“Makes you think, doesn’t it?” Katy pondered and interrupted her. 

“Real proud of you, babe, but there’s just…” Margot fidgeted with her left hand and scrabbled around her tangerine dress’ pocket. 

A couple of feet away, two older women shouted at Katy and withered the moment. “Morelli! Hey, Morelli!”

“There goes my plan,” she muttered to herself, hoping Katy hadn’t caught wind of her words. She played with Katy’s hand as the pair approached them. 

“Jill, Sandy, you remember my girlfriend, Margot,” she presented Margot with the shiniest beam the room would ever witness.

“Of course! You were at the meet and greet last week,” Sandy replied with a chipper tone.

“Mmm, yeah,” Margot waved bashfully with her other hand. Her girlfriend began to carry a conversation with the two women about a potential collaboration with an artist that they manage and produce for. She entered into a brief trance, attempting to empty her mind and relax her heart from the crippling anxiety that gnawed her very insides. Rocking back and forth, she almost reached a calm state until a cerulean box slid away from her pocket. 

“Darling, you seem to have dropped something,” Jill spoke to Margot in a posh accent. 

Margot giggled and then her eyes popped wide open as she rummaged her pockets desperately.

“Need me to get it for you, sweetie?” Katy suggested.

“Ooh, no, no. You’re so kind but I got it. Seriously,” she declined the chivalry as she glanced around for the location of the box. Her peripheral vision found the box at the edge of the table next to theirs. 

Should I get up from the table or would it be rude to leave? But Katy can’t see the box now, it’s not time yet, thought Margot to herself. She began to stretch out her leg to the neighboring table, suppressing her grunts. Sliding herself to the edge of her seat, she raked at the box in numerous attempts. Her high heel’s top piece got trapped between two rug fabrics, she tugged her leg frantically, letting out brief, hysterical chuckles. “Come on,” she whispered to her leg and shoe, frustrated.

When the shoe was finally released from the rug’s fierce snare, Margot sighed with relief, only to trip over herself comically and fall flat on her face in front of Katy and her colleagues. “Margot!” Katy gasps in complete shock. Margot widens her eyes and grabs the box from the floor before her partner could notice. 

“Are you okay?” the three women asked her in unison. Jill and Sandy’s comments overlapped each other while Katy helped Margot regain composure. “You don’t seem like yourself tonight,” Katy frowned at her girlfriend. 

Dusting herself off, Margot responded, “I just need a minute”. She clutched at her dress and now spoke louder for the rest of the group to hear, “If you’ll excuse me, I will go to the bathroom”. 

She retreated from the conversation, took three steps backward and scurried off to the nearest bathroom. As she marched the ostentatious hallway, Margot observed all the frames and accolades hung across the walls. This music world that her partner dwells in is unlike any world she has inhabited before. The constant press following, the endless nights in the recording studio and those fans who seem to lurk in every corner of every street they stroll. Poor Margot wondered to herself if she even belonged in such an intricate, delicate world in the first place.

Despite the questions orbiting her mind like Looney Tunes birds, she was sure of one thing, her love for Katy. 

At last, she found the doorway to the restroom. Unlike the rest of the venue, the women’s restroom donned lighter colors, eggshell white and baby blue. The mirrors were large, clean and undecorated. Margot turned on the faucet, water streaming down and she extended her hand to it.

She washed her face with a rush, and then dried it with a paper towel gingerly. She inhaled and stared herself down as to admonish her soul deep within. 

“What is up with you tonight? This…this is not how the plan was supposed to go,” Margot flailed her arms around and continued, “Weeks and weeks of practice and this is what you do to me? How dare you embarrass Katy like that? Gorgeous Katy who protects your face from the press and gives you great sex! No, not great…the best! And look at you, falling flat on your ass in front of her on her BIG night that was about to be BIGGER! You…you need to fix this and now! Because you have to remember that you are a superstar! You are intelligent, kind, graceful and charismatic and so help me, I will scour the ends of the Earth just to make sure you remind Katy how much you love her. Is that clear?!” Margot yelled at the mirror all in her lonesome.

“Is that clear?” her chest heaved from all the agitation her speech caused her. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go back,” she sighed and drew a tranquil breath, exiting the bathroom with her spirits soothed. Margot sauntered back to the main hall. 

One room away, however, her ears caught the sound of muffled voices. They were in a heated argument. Her curiosity was piqued, so she tiptoed closer to the door to listen closely to the conversation.

“For the last time, Henderson, no one here packed an AK-47. It’s old school, boring and doesn’t fit my plan. At all!” the first voice spoke vehemently.

Is that what I think it is? Margot thought to herself. Oh my God, she mouthed along with a silent scream. With a frightful air, she pressed her ear to the door. The argument continued.

“But Giuseppe-” Henderson pleaded.

“Giuseppe, niente, cervello piccolo. Listen, you doof and you listen well. The plan goes like this: during the second intermission, we press the button on this control and explode the devices we wired on the back half of the roof. After we do that, you will cue Manon to drop the ropes so the buckets of gasoline fall on dear old Reagan. That’s when I’ll come from behind the group of ushers and drop the matchstick on him that will already be lit while you lift the plexiglass pane with the other rope. My dear nitwit, once the man engulfs in flames and the guests are gasping for air we will witness the history of music’s ninth symphony,” Giuseppe spoke with passionate fervor.

“But where will we exit?” Henderson chimed in.

“Where will we exit?” Giuseppe mocked him in a squeaky voice. “The backstage door, Henderson. That’s where. Now, any other stupid questions before our cue?”

“Yeah, so the-” Henderson cuts off his own question as he is distraught by an outer disturbance. As Margot panicked in agitated fashion, she stomped her feet a bit too rough on the ground. By the time the two men opened the door, she had fled the scene. 

Running in heels was not in Margot’s itinerary but if she could prevent the night from plummeting into a cantankerous catastrophe, the act of running no longer seemed like a burden but a priority. 

Back at the event, the crowd was lively as ever as another winner just took home an award for an album Margot most likely did not tune into. She scanned the room for Katy but her girlfriend was not at their table. At two o’clock, Margot detected her at another table with one of her co-producers, perhaps churning out the same, worn out question she’s been asking to her team for months since the nominations announcement (Will she win?). 

She ran after the nominee and grabbed her wrist. “Hey, you’re back! Do you feel better? I was asking Chris here and my category might come up next!” Katy expressed her bubbly excitement. 

“I did feel better until I got out to the bathroom and on the way back, I overheard two scary guys talking about blowing up this place and oh my God, who is presenting your category?” Margot replied in a jittery tone.

“Sawyer Reagan, I think. Why? Whoa, wait, what are you talking about?” Katy’s bubbly tone simmered down.

“Oh, no. Honey, look at me,” Margot brought her girlfriend to a closer range of eye level. “There are two evil crooks out there with some vendetta against Reagan, I don’t have all the details but what I do know is that they want him gone. Him and everyone else in here. We need to get out of here,” she warned Katy with deep gravitas.

“Hold on, why are you telling me this right when my category’s up?” she inquired Margot suspiciously.

“The coincidence is awful, I know, but we have to move,” she pulled her partner’s hand but she did not follow her lead.

“I don’t believe this,” Katy exhaled forcefully and face palmed.

“You don’t? Okay. I’ll prove it, if that’s what it takes,” Margot uttered with the brazen confidence she had mustered from her mirror talk. She scurried to the stage like a squirrel and rushed to Sawyer Reagan, the next presenter who the two miscreants are targeting. “Psst!” she whispered for his attention. He paid no mind as he relished in the crowd’s appraisal.

 “Psst, psst, psst!!” she whispered frustratingly at Reagan. He turned to face her after a couple of attempts, with a face expressing a blend of apathy and arrogance. “Kid, you’re not supposed to be here,” he stated the obvious. 

“I’m not a fan but I appreciate the advice. Can I borrow your mic for a moment?” she retorted with sass.

“No, you may not,” he pouted like a child.

“Well, you can take that back considering what I’m about to say concerns your safety,” she persuaded and raised her eyebrows at him.

“Hey, why didn’t you say so? Here you go!” Reagan tossed the microphone like a hot potato to her. 

“Excuse me, may I have your…is this on?” she tapped the mic, causing the speaker’s feedback to shriek. “Sounds good, alright. Now, may I have your attention? Congrats to all the nominees and winners, you guys are a talented bunch. Listen, if you want to keep making music, and well, live, I urge you all to evacuate the building immediately. There are two very bad men, Giuseppe and Henderson, planning to destroy everyone in this room,” she warned the room gloomfully and continued, “Especially you, Reagan,” she pointed at him, which caused the man to hyperventilate. 

The guests shifted their heads all around the room, muttering in confusion about Margot’s warning. Katy seemed the most displeased of all, squinting her eyes at Margot and shaking her head. Please trust me, she mouthed to Katy. “Just…please don’t ignore my warning. Gather the security team, exit the facilities to celebrate this night safely, please,” she pleaded and on that last word, Katy stormed off to the exit.

“Katy, wait!” she shouted at her and shoved the microphone back to the presenter. Margot chased after her with her heart barely containing itself.

“That was awkward, back to the show,” Reagan commented nonchalantly. 

To pick up her speed, Margot rolled up the rims of her dress messily, holding back what could be an incessant waterfall of tears to flow down her cheeks. The venue was a grand, luxurious labyrinth, the easiest excuse to lose oneself or isolate from worldly noise. 

After eight laps around the halls, Margot found Katy sitting alone in a marble staircase, cheeks flushed red from crying. Even at her most vulnerable, Katy’s beauty radiated brighter than everyone else. “What?” she sniffled and wiped her eyes. What have I done? Margot thought.

“Could I sit here?” she quietly asked Katy.

“Sure.”

“Can I talk or do you just want to sit here quietly?” Margot lightly nudged her.

“How about I talk first?”

“Okay,” she gestured for Katy to speak.

“Margot, you have been acting so weird and not one word as to why. I brought you here to share this with you but it seems like you don’t really want to…be here,” she expressed her frustration.

“Oh, I didn’t mean for you to think that. I’m pretty new at all this, it scares me but even with that, I want to be wherever you are,” she held Katy’s face and wiped the tears away with her thumbs. They embrace in a fiery kiss and quickly pull away.

“So what’s the story with the two guys?” she interrogated with an eyebrow raise.

“That is…unfortunately real. I wish it were a fabricated lie of mine but it is true and we need to stop it,” Margot said earnestly. She abruptly stood up and reached her hand out to Katy. “Okay, sounds crazy but what do you need me to do?” she asked as she took Margot’s hand.

“Just turn on the fire alarm and I’ll take care of the rest,” Margot instructed as they returned to the music hall.

Bursting the doors open, the couple drew attention to themselves. The public looked more unbothered than flabbergasted, as most of them were consumed by their own vanity than any drop of logic. “There it is! The bucket!” Margot exclaimed and lifted her chin in the stage’s direction.

“A bucket? What’s a bucket have to do with any of this?” Katy gritted her teeth.

“It contains some gasoline and they want to dump it on Reagan to burn him alive or…something,” Margot explained to her girlfriend. 

“Oh…OH, OH! Then go take his mic again, I’ll take care of the alarm and get everyone out,” she pushed Margot to rush back to the stage.

“Wow, what did I do to deserve this?” Margot swooned, eyes sparkling with lavender haze.

“Not now, leave the romanticism for later, go, go!” she urged her impatiently.

Practically leaping to the stage, Margot did not hesitate from asking permission and snatched the microphone from Reagan once again. “Attention, guests. Please evacuate the premises immediately. If you need any help getting escorted out, listen to Ms. Morelli and she will gladly assist you,” she commanded the crowd. 

“You again,” Reagan hissed at her. 

“Yeah, me again, now will you please move before-”

“Ugh, the rat,” a familiar Italian growl was heard on the right end of the stage. Giuseppe, Margot recognized the voice. As if invading her mind, Giuseppe launched himself center stage and out of the shadows to tackle Reagan. 

Scared to death, he ran down the stairs and yelled his guts out to alert the public to leave.

 In a surprising turn of events, Margot tackled him first to save the presenter from the 6 foot 5 boxer-built man. She adjusted her fists in a fighting stance to face Giuseppe. She jabbed his stomach and dodged his left hook by sliding beneath him. From his pocket, she took a rope and tied it around his neck.

“Katy! NOW!” 

On cue, Katy flipped the fire alarm switch while she escorted the last three dozens of guests out of the venue. At the stage, Margot created enough pressure on the crook’s neck that she let him go at the first sign of unconsciousness. She then rolled him over to tie the criminal’s hands and legs. Cowering from a stage curtain, Henderson gripped the curtain silk and hesitated to approach his boss. 

Now pouring indoor rain, Margot and Katy were drenched in roof water and relieved all the tension was over. At last, though the moment was entirely inopportune, Margot mustered the courage to open the cerulean box revealing an 18-carat cut princess diamond and bend down on one knee. “I know I haven’t expressed myself well these past few weeks but all I wanted was to say the perfect thing to the perfect girl like how I lie in the warmth of your gaze and you lie in mine. But tonight has made me realize that words don’t always speak the language of love in the way you want it to. Tonight proves that to take on the world, we can do it together, for all time. With that in mind, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” Katy exclaimed, bursting into tears as she leapt into Margot’s arms to embrace in a passionate kiss. 

Through all the chaos and mistakes, for Margot and Katy, this was a night to remember.