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Franky leaned in and kissed his wife’s cheek. “Of course not, honey.”
“Don’t honey me.”
“Is the honeymoon over already?” Adelia asked.
“We’re an old married couple now,” Franky said.
“Who are you calling old?” Skylar eyed him.
Skylar and Franky had married three autumns ago as planned, and Adelia and Oliver had tied the knot five months later on a beautiful spring day in an intimate lakeside ceremony at Schultz Cottage. After all of her doubts about marriage, Adelia never once questioned whether marrying Oliver was the right decision. It was impossible to know what the future would hold, but she believed in him and their love, and committing to him was the best decision she ever made.
The awards soon got underway, and before they knew it, the category for Best Original Score was up. Adelia was thrilled that Franky had been nominated for the amazing music he had put together for her movie. An orchestra played a medley of all the nominated scores while clips from each movie showed on a screen, and Adelia reached over and gripped her friends’ hands. She could feel Franky’s hand shaking, and she gave it a squeeze.
“And the Oscar goes to … Francis Middlebury for Beyond Her Lens.”
Franky looked stunned. Skylar hugged him while the audience applauded. He kissed Skylar then leaned over and hugged Adelia, saying “Thank you” over and over in her ear.
“Congratulations!” she said.
Franky stood and headed to the stage, wearing the biggest smile on his face.
Skylar’s eyes were sparkling with tears, and Adelia felt tears of her own welling up.
“Whew! What a rush!” Franky said when he took to the microphone. “It really is heavier than it looks.” He jokingly pretended to drop the little statue, which got him gasps and laughter from the audience.
Adelia had been there when her mother received her Academy Award, but there was nothing like seeing Franky standing up there, holding that Oscar, knowing she had a hand in putting it there.
“Four years ago, I was working in a law firm, writing music in my free time, not even daring to dream that I would get to do something I love for a living,” Franky said. “But life is funny sometimes. And I would not be standing up here right now without the love and support of the people in my life. First and foremost, my best friend, the love of my life, my beautiful wife, Skylar. Thank you for putting up with my late-night writing sessions and humming the music all hours of the day.”
The audience laughed, and he proceeded to list the people he’d worked with on this project that needed to be thanked. And then he paused and nodded toward where they were sitting.
“To the incomparable Adelia Allen. You believed in my ability to write this music before I did. You let me be creative and find what worked for this amazing story you were telling. And I would not be holding this little guy tonight if not for you.”
Adelia brushed a tear from her cheek and gave him the biggest smile she could. This film was a labor of love for her. And it had exceeded all of her expectations. It had already won critical acclaim, a few Golden Globes, and it was also nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Picture, and Adelia’s nomination for Best Actress.
When the Best Director category came and went without an award, Adelia’s stomach filled with butterflies. Or maybe that was just the baby kicking. No matter what happened, she would be fine. If she didn’t win, she would always be an Academy Award Nominated Actress, and that felt like a huge accomplishment to her.
The names of the Best Actress nominations were read next, and Oliver squeezed her hand when her name was mentioned.
“And the Oscar goes to … Adelia Allen.”
Adelia sat there, frozen in place, and Oliver kissed her cheek.
“Babe, you did it!”
Her mouth fell open. She couldn’t believe it, and as she stood a little too quickly, the blood rushed from her head and made her dizzy. And then … whoosh!
“Oh, no!” Her heart raced in her chest at the sudden warm liquid running down her legs.
Oliver stood and hugged her. “You have to go give your speech, Addy.” He nudged her toward the end of the aisle.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
She leaned close to his ear, trying not to panic. “My water just broke.”
“What?” he squeaked.