"What are you doing, sweetheart?" he asked as he kissed the top of her head and sat in a chair next to her at the kitchen island.
"Math homework", she looked up and smiled at him.
"Need any help?", he asked lightly and upon seeing the incredulous look on her face he added ,feigning indignation, "I can help with homework; I have won Tonys."
" Yes,dad, and that's why if I ever need to choreograph a dance or direct a play you will be the first person I'll ask for help," she said and got back to her work, but the feeling that a pair of eyes were fixated upon her made it difficult to concentrate. After a while, she just gave up.
" What?", she asked looking up, a mild hint of frustration in her voice.
" Nothing,it's just that you are a splitting image of your mother," he said .And she really was; she had his eyes but everything else, her nose, her hair, her cheeks, her smile was pure Ivy.
She smiled at the statement and then asked quietly, " Are you nervous for tonight?"
"No; it's the same as any other year," he said hoping that he appeared calm but knowing that he fooled no one. Another trait Katie had inherited from her mother: reading people.
" Do you have a speech?"she asked.
"No but don't worry I'll ask Julia to write one for me when we get there. She is the writer, after all, "he joked.
" Just remember to thank me. I am the most important one," she chuckled and then looking at the clock on the wall added, "You should get going, otherwise you will be late".
" Your mother isn't ready yet. You are going to be okay tonight by yourself, right?"
" Yes, yes I know. I'll just finish my homework and watch the ceremony."
"Nice try. You are going to finish your homework and go straight to bed. Tomorrow is a school day."
" But how am I going to find out if you guys won ?" she protested.
" We will tell you tomorrow, " he smiled and kissed her head again.
Just at that moment, Ivy finally emerged , ready to go.
" Mommy , you look like a princess," Katie said but the extra enthusiasm in her voice revealed her true intentions.
" You are not staying up to watch the ceremony, "she said and all three of them laughed.
" Can we at least take a picture together?", ah disappointed Katie asked.
Derek had already grabbed the camera and Ivy hugged Katie tightly, both of them beaming. This might actually be his new favorite picture.
" We need to go, face the circus", he said looking at his watch.
Ivy gave her daughter a goodbye kiss and taking Derek's hand said, "Remember to be in bed by will be back before midnight."
"Yes ,mom. Good luck!", Katie shouted as they closed the door.
" She is not going to go to bed on time, is she?", Ivy laughed once she and Derek were outside.
" Not a chance," he beamed as they made their way to the car waiting to take them to the ceremony.
"You look gorgeous," he kissed her hand and then added, " You know we can just forget about the Tonys and get a hotel room somewhere."
Ivy laughed as he helped her get in the limousine.
As the car navigated through the New York traffic, his thoughts couldn't help but wander back to ten years ago. It had been a very different, very emotional evening. It had been difficult, knowing that he had destroyed everything, knowing that there was no one else to blame. But in hindsight, he was glad it happened; that night had marked the beginning of his new life; his life with Ivy, with little Katie, who was not so little anymore. Needless to say, it had taken a lot of effort for him to change,but in many ways it had been much easier than he anticipated .The bottom line was that he knew how lucky he was to be given another chance with the woman he loved and he wouldn't do anything to endanger their relationship. His professional life , though, had been a different story. Through his actions, he had shown enormous disrespect not only for his career but also for theater which did not sit well with the Broadway community. To make matters worse, the press had done their best to keep the story alive as long as possible. The great director brought down by his own arrogance and hubris. It read like a Shakespearean tragedy. He had thought about quitting many times. It's not like he needed the money; they could live quite comfortably just on his savings. Of course, it had never been about the money and fortunately the people around
him knew that. If there is one good thing about hitting rock bottom, it is that you finally learn who your real friends are. In the last ten years he had realized that in spite of his often hurtful behavior, he was still surrounded by people who knew him,who truly cared about him. Eileen, Tom, Julia, Veronica and most importantly Ivy, had all rallied around him. So, with their encouragement, he had slowly but surely gotten back into the game. In a way, his downfall had been liberating; he no longer had a reputation to protect so he could do anything he wanted. As a result, his work was better,more innovative, more interesting. Despite their best efforts, the critics couldn't dismiss him for too long without losing credibility, so in ten years, he had done 4 Broadway shows, gotten 6 Tony nominations and won 4 of them. He basically owned the best choreography category, best direction- not so much. He could lie and say that it didn't bother him but those close to him knew that it did. For him, direction was the big one and he wanted it.
Of course,massive changes has also occurred in his personal life. Despite their efforts to be discreet, his relationship with Ivy proved to be tabloid fodder. He realized that it made a great story; Broadway's Princess and its Wayward Son; it was the stuff of legends but it was also his life. The press had labeled them Broadway's "it-romance" .It would have been flattering if only he wasn't certain that the papers were building his relationship up, only so they could sell more copies if it collapsed. Fortunately for him and much to the chagrin of the media, they had been together ten years and counting. Like in any relationship, it had not always been smooth sailing but they had gotten through it because despite what the gossip columnists said, they did indeed love each other.
He was awakened from his reverie when the car came to a sudden halt.
" Are you ready?" the driver asked and they nodded.
A few seconds later they were standing on the red carpet, blinded by thousands of tiny flashes going off at the same time, deafened by the screaming flock of vultures all hunting for a better angle, a more valuable picture. Somehow, after doing at least half a dozen impromptu interviews, they managed to make their way to the theater where they found Julia, Michael, Sam,Tom .The only person who hadn't yet joined their merry group was Eileen who was still desperately trying to make her way through the red carpet. For them, this project had been a reunion of sorts-the original Bombshell team together again. Once she arrived , the producer turned to all of them, "I want to wish you all good luck and to tell you that if anyone of you does anything to embarrass this production, I'll personally strangle you."
They all smiled and went to take their seats. The show was about to begin.
He hated award ceremonies. He hated having to pretend to enjoy performances while his stomach was in knots. He hated being nervous and this was sure to be a nerve-racking night.
Inspired by the success of Bombshell, Tom and Julia had decided against moving to Hollywood. It had taken them almost 5 years to write Gatsby, their dream musical; they had wanted it to be perfect. For some reason or another, Tom had given up on directing, so they approached Derek for help. Then came the always unpredictable casting process. Michael Swift had been selected to play Gatsby and Ivy had been picked to play Tom Buchanan's mistress, Myrtle. The rest of the roles had been filled by newcomers.
The musical had developed under the watchful eye of producer-extraordinaire Eileen Rand and he had to admit, it had been a whirlwind process. They had done a workshop, and then out-of-town tryouts just a couple of months later. It had taken a lot of effort and sacrifice for all of them but the final product was definitely something they deserved to be proud of; Gatsby had received rave reviews and he hoped that the Tonys were just as kind.
The opening number was over; it was time for the real show to start. The first few categories were for technical achievements and performances in plays, so the nerves hadn't really kicked in yet. However, as the presentation of the award for featured actress in a musical drew closer, he could feel Ivy's grip on his hand tighten.
"You have nothing to worry about; you have it in the bag," he whispered, partly in an effort to save his hand but mostly because there really was no way she wouldn't win. Not only was she Broadway royalty, having won 3 Lead Actress Tonys, she had also given an outstanding performance as Myrtle. The announcer was now onstage; the moment of truth was here.
"The nominees for best performance of a feature actress are:
Laura Osnes, Cinderella
Kelli O'Hara, South Pacific
Lea Michelle, Funny Girl
Ivy Lynn, Gatsby"
" And the American Theater Wing's Tony goes to Ivy Lynn, Gatsby"
Ivy ,who was seated between him and Tom, looked completely flabbergasted. She kissed him and hugged a beaming Tom and an ecstatic Sam before getting up to accept her award and deliver her speech:
" Wow, wow. I really wasn't expecting this. First, i have to say to all of the brilliant actresses nominated in this category, your work is inspirational. Ah, I would also like to thank my great friends Tom and Julia, for allowing me to be a part of such an exceptional production, and the great Eileen Rand for always believing in this show. To Derek for terrifying all of us into giving our very best performances and also for the last ten years; I love you. Finally, I want to dedicate this great honor to Katie, who has given me the most rewarding role - that of a mother. Thank you so much."
They applauded and Derek was fairly sure there were tears in his eyes. Ivy went backstage to do the usual interviews and take pictures. She got back just in time to see Tom and Julia accept for Score.
Two hours into the ceremony and the awards had piled up for Gatsby. Michael won for best Actor and dedicated his award to Julia in a moving speech. Derek got choreography yet again and Julia finally received that coveted Best Book prize. Everything was going according to plan, for now at least. Some of the biggest awards were yet to be announced. Direction was up next.
" Here are the nominees for best direction of a musical..."
He zoned out completely .He had lost the award three times and each time it stung more than the previous, so he decided that pretending not to care was the best approach. In fact, He had almost convinced himself he didn't care when he felt Ivy's arms wrapped around him and Tom's hand on his shoulder.
He was completely shocked and his facial expression betrayed that. He gave Ivy a lingering kiss and walked to the stage.
"I truly did not expect this. I,aah,I don't known what to say. I want to thank Eileen, who is not only a tremendous producer but also an extraordinary friend;the talented Tom and Julia for creating such an exceptional piece of art, and the entire cast for giving brilliant performances day in day out. I would like to dedicate this award to the two most important people in my life. To my wife- the extraordinary Ivy Lynn- for putting up with me day after day and for always standing by me. You inspire me to be a better person every day and I would not be standing here without you. Despite everything,tricking you into marrying me would always be my greatest achievement. And to my greatest source of joy- my beautiful daughter Katie. Thank you so much."
The room erupted in applause. He was still backstage, swamped by photographers and journalists, when they lost best actress.
When they won best musical, Eileen gathered the entire team on the stage; the stars had finally aligned for them all.
Once the ceremony was over, they spent at least an hour taking pictures and talking to reporters. He must have answered the same questions twenty times before he could slip away and rejoin the rest of the creative team.
" Let's go back to my office and open a bottle of champagne to celebrate," suggested an ecstatic Eileen.
" Absolutely, " said Michael and Julia almost in unison, Tom and Sam nodding their heads in approval.
" Sounds like fun," said Ivy looking at her watch, " but we need to get home; we promised Katie we would be back early."
They said their goodbyes, exchanged hugs and agreed to meet up for a celebratory dinner tomorrow.
When they got home, Ivy and Derek found their sleeping daughter sprawled on the couch, a TV remote in her hand. Derek shook his head and wordlessly carried her to bed , while Ivy added to their growing collection of awards and found a bottle of champagne.
" You are waking her up tomorrow, " he said when he rejoined her, taking a flute of champagne.
" She was just really excited," she said, smiling.
" Let's dance," he suggested and before she had time to protest, he had taken her arms and they were swaying slowly.
" You know this is our anniversary of sorts," Ivy spoke up after a while.
" Ten years," he said wistfully," I love you".
" I love you too," she said as they continued to dance in their living room. There they stood, a window separating them from the mesmerizing New York skyline; there, in their own little world - Mr. And Mrs. Smith.