Sean was moving down the press line, and each reporter asked what he was wearing, and what his wife was wearing, and "How do you feel?" and Sean said, "I feel great!" Most of the reporters were women in cheap evening gowns, and several held clipboards with their magazine's titles pasted on the back so that the celebrities could keep track of who they were talking to. The reporters' eyes were weirdly wired to their tongues, so that in every pause in conversation, they would scan the carpet, making sure that no big fish swam by unseen.
Even so, no two eyes could take all this in. Behind Sean stars were colliding all over. Uma Thurman hugged Dennis Quaid, who was flying high with Far from Heaven: "Congratulations! You're so great!"
Dennis Quaid, with that sharp grin: "Oh, you're great!"
Uma—"Thank you!"—walking on, and then the same words, and the same response, from star to star to star...
Near the end of the red carpet, Sean put his arm around my shoulders, gestured toward the fans, and, smiling, asked "Aren't you glad you're over here instead of over there?"
It almost seemed like he was gloating, which would have been out of character, but I said yes, to see what he was getting at.
"Do you know what the difference is?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"About two feet."
Copyright © 2004/2005 Michael Joseph Gross. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication or distribution is prohibited.