“Stop fighting. It hurts my head,” said Alanna. “Headaches make me frown, and frowning makes my forehead get a little wrinkle in it. So stop fighting or I’m going to get really, really mad!”
“I got it zipped! Yay for food poisoning,” said Deb, hurrying back out to us. Her dress came with a small, pointed yellow hat that tied beneath her chin in a curly yellow bow. She’d forgotten she’d be wearing a mask and had applied a thick coat of blue eye shadow to her lids.
“Good Lord,” said Alanna.
“Oopsie! Forgot about this guy. So much for my hard work with the eye shadow,” said Deb, sliding the canary yellow mask into place. Hers was the only one that fastened with an elastic band like a child’s party mask. They must have known that she’d lose the kind on a stick. A small smudge of Nutella remained on her neck, somehow unnoticed when she’d applied her makeup. She looked like a happy little banana.
“Cute,” I said. The rest of the girls shook their heads in annoyed disgust.
There was a knock at the door and it swung open. Catalina Cartwright poked her head in. “It’s time,” she said. “Leave your luggage here and follow me.”
I looked around me. Alanna looked great, and I had tried hard, but the other girls looked really bad. Were they really going to let us go out looking like this? Vanessa, Klassie, and Jessica all had total bedhead. None of them were wearing makeup. They hadn’t even brushed their teeth or washed their faces. One of Jessica’s eyebrows was smooshed up giving her a look of constant surprised skepticism. Klassie had a patch of white, dried saliva on her cheek from where she’d drooled in her sleep. And then there was Deb, squeezed into the yellow dress. She was breathing in little puffs like someone in a lamaze class. Her hat had slid to the side of her head, and she’d accidentally smeared the Nutella up onto her face.
“What are you waiting for?” asked Catalina. “We’ve got a segment to shoot and a plane to catch. Let’s go.”
We followed her to the mirrored lobby where Bellamy stood waiting. He was now dressed in a tuxedo. I had to admit, he looked gorgeous. I took my place next to Klassie. We had each fastened our Deluxe brooches to our vintage gowns, probably depleting our gowns’ values by half. I held my silly little mask over my face since it was what we’d been told to do. The other girls stood in a line, each covering her face with a mask as well.
“Hello and good evening,” said Catalina, carrying on as though it was still the night before and not the middle of the day. She lowered her mask and gave the camera a sultry look. “Welcome to our masquerade ball. Emma and Klassie are safe, and just four other ladies remain in the fight for Bellamy’s heart. Bellamy, are you ready to begin?”
“Yes, Catalina. I’m ready.”
“Then by all means, please go ahead.” She stepped back, out of the way, examining her mask. It was way cooler than all of ours. ‘I’m going to keep this’ she mouthed to one of the producers. The producer nodded.
“This is not an easy decision,” said Bellamy. “In fact, it gets harder and harder at each elimination ceremony to say goodbye. I think you are all amazing women, and the more I get to know you each as individuals, the more I see something to love in each and every one of you.”
“Aww,” said Deb.
“Today’s decision is probably the hardest one yet. But I have to keep moving forward, since I really want to get married and be a dad and settle down.”
I felt a pang of sadness for him.
“So, let’s get started,” he said, reaching for the first brooch. He held it up. It looked like a sparkly pink cat. I was so glad he hadn’t given it to me. “Deb, would you accept this vintage brooch from the Deluxe vault, and continue on this journey towards love with me?”
“Yes! Of course,” she said. She stepped forward and he awkwardly tried to fasten the brooch near her armpit. She blushed over his close proximity to her boob. “Hoo hee,” she said fanning herself dramatically with her hand as the moment went on and on. When the brooch was finally pinned in place she waddled over to us beaming. By this point her face was scarlet and shimmering beneath a coat of sweat.
The next brooch was even worse. It was round and covered in scrollwork. In the middle was a blob that looked like a horse. The horse portion was covered in brown diamonds. I didn’t care how much it was worth; it was atrocious.
“Alanna Rutherford, would you accept this vintage brooch from the Deluxe vault, and continue on this journey towards love with me?” asked Bellamy. I winced when he called her by her full name. We all did. It was like, she was just so famous to him still. Vanessa’s eyes met mine and she shook her head a little.
“I will,” said Alanna. She glided over to Bellamy and kissed him on the lips.
“Wowie-zowie,” he muttered. All my prior sympathy for him evaporated.
“A horse. I love horses! It’s so pretty,” Alanna lied.
“I thought you’d like it,” said Bellamy. He pinned the brooch to her sash and then she joined us, giving each of us a fake little smile for the benefit of the audience at home.
Catalina Cartwright stepped back into the center of the room. “Just one vintage Deluxe brooch remains, but we have two wonderful women standing before us. Bellamy, have you made a decision about which girl you’d like to keep?”
Bellamy sighed. “I guess so, Catalina.”
“In that case, please go ahead.”
“Okay. Thank you Catalina,” said Bellamy. He ran his hands through his hair and loosened his tie a little. “This is really difficult,” he said. “But I know I’m making the right choice.” He picked up the final brooch. It was a huge orange butterfly. It was pretty awesome, but I still liked mine better. “Vanessa,” said Bellamy, “will you accept this vintage brooch from the Deluxe vault, and continue on this journey towards love with me?”
“Yes! Yes! I totally will,” she said, running up to him and throwing her arms around him. I heard her dress rip a little. “You scared me! Oh my God! Thank you! I thought I was going home.”
“I’m not sure how to attach this thing to all these feathers,” he said after fumbling around for a minute.