The Winner Stands Alone
He goes back to the hotel and takes a shower. He asks the receptionist to wake him at four, that way he should be rested enough to recover the necessary clarity of mind not to go doing any more such foolish things. He had very nearly ruined his whole plan.
He phones the concierge and reserves a table on the hotel terrace for when he wakes up; he'd like to drink some tea there undisturbed. Then he lies down, staring up at the ceiling and waiting for sleep to come.
What does it matter where diamonds are from, as long as they shine?
In this world, only love deserves absolutely everything. Nothing else makes sense.
As he has many times before in his life, Igor feels a sense of total freedom. The confusion in his head is slowly disappearing and lucidity is returning.
He had placed his fate in Jesus' hands, and Jesus had decided that he should continue with his mission.
He falls asleep without any feeling of guilt whatsoever.
1:55 P.M.
Gabriela decides to walk very slowly to the place where she is to pick up the boat. She needs to put her thoughts in order, she needs to calm down. She is at a point where not only her most secret dreams might become reality, but also her worst nightmares.
Her phone rings. It's a text message from her agent.
CONGRATULATIONS. ACCEPT WHATEVER THEY OFFER. XXX
She watches the crowds of people who seem to be wandering aimlessly up and down the Boulevard. She, on the other hand, has a goal! She isn't just another of the opportunists who come to Cannes and don't know quite where to start. She has a solid CV, some respectable professional baggage, she's never tried to get ahead in life merely by using her physical attributes, and she has real talent! That's why she's been chosen to meet this famous director, without any help from anyone, without having to dress in a provocative manner, without even having time to rehearse her role. He would, of course, take all these things into consideration.
She stops for a snack--she hasn't eaten anything all day--and as soon as she takes her first sip of coffee, her thoughts seem to come back down to earth.
Why had she been chosen?
What exactly would her role in the film be?
And what if, when Gibson saw the video of the audition, he decided she wasn't the person he was looking for?
"Calm down."
She has nothing to lose, she tells herself, but another voice insists:
"This is your one and only chance."
There's no such thing as a "one and only chance"; life always gives you another chance, but the voice says again:
"Maybe, but how long before another chance comes along?
You know how old you are, don't you?"
Of course she does. She's twenty-five, in a world in which actresses, even the most committed, etc. etc.
She doesn't need to go over all that again. She pays for the sandwich and the coffee and makes her way over to the quay, this time trying to control her optimism, telling herself not to refer to other people as "opportunists," mentally reciting the rules of positive thinking that she can remember, anything to avoid dwelling on that all too imminent meeting.
"If you believe in victory, then victory will believe in you."
"Risk everything in the name of chance and keep well away from everything that offers you a world of comfort."
"Talent is a universal gift, but it takes a lot of courage to use it. Don't be afraid to be the best."
It isn't enough to focus on what great teachers have said, she needs help from the heavens. She starts to pray, as she always does when she's anxious. She feels the need to make a promise and decides that, if she does get the role, she will walk all the way from Cannes to the Vatican. If the film gets made. If it's a worldwide success.
No, it would be enough just to get a part in a film with Gibson because that would attract the attention of other directors and producers. Then she will make the promised pilgrimage.
She reaches the appointed place, looks at the sea and again at the message she received from her agent; if her agent already knows about it, that must mean the director is serious. But what did "accept whatever they offer" mean? That she should sleep with the director or with the starring actor?