With daylight streaming into his face, Harry awoke this morning. Not in a figurative way, but literally.
His hotel location had very thin curtains and his head felt as if it was empty and was being banged on by a drummer with a wine bottle.
Harry groaned and rolled over on his back. He immediately regretted doing this as his head pounded, he was thirsty, and his stomach felt like it had been put through a washing machine.
As he lay there, he made two observations:
He was only wearing his underwear, and there probably had been another person in bed next to him.
The memories of the night started to come back to him. He remembered the night of the Oscars, the face of Harvey, how Greg had suddenly disappeared, and having one more drink than he intended.
Harry put his palm to his forehead as he looked around the room. The air was filled with the fragrance of champagne, and next to him was a red dress—a striking red dress.
"Did we really...? Oh my God! Did we...?"
The answer was all around him.
The faint scent of perfume still lingered in the air, and there were lipstick stains on the pillow. He could see a piece of folded paper sitting on a bedside table.
Harry,Thanks for the memorable night.A bit messy, but I liked it. You seemed to like it too.See you soon ❤️❤️
"Christ."
He didn't know if he should laugh, scream, or jump out the window.Cate Blanchett. Married, Oscar-nominated Cate Blanchett.And him — the idiot who apparently let himself be carried away into her car last night.
After looking at his call logs on his phone, he saw that he had a total of 27 missed calls. There were numerous calls from Lisa, Toni, Greg, and James plus there were several calls from unknown numbers.
"Oh man," he whispered under his breath to himself. "I'm done for."
He began dragging himself towards the shower. He stood under the hot water until he could see clearly again and finally put on fresh clothes. He left for Berkeley Hills.
When he arrived, the pounding in his head had diminished from "execution" to "interrogation".
Sparky was the first person he saw. The Golden Retriever jumped off the couch and ran over to him barking in excitement.
"You are the only one who is excited to see me," he said softly as he went down to scratch Sparky behind the ears.
Meanwhile, Lisa was pacing back and forth in the living room like a mother who's been waiting up for their rebellious son.
James was on the phone. His voice was running tight. "No comment means no comment. He didn't break up a marriage, regardless of what your editor says. Look, I'll call you back."
Maria worked in the kitchen banging pots and pans together as if to prepare lunch while pretending she didn't hear anything.
Lisa spun around to face him.
"You're here! Where've you been? Calling since seven this morning!"
Harry didn't say anything.
He let the hurricane storm pass.
"You disappeared after the Oscars. You didn't answer your phone! You didn't respond to any of your phone numbers; Greg; Toni??! Harry, can you even comprehend how much chaos you've created?"
Harry exhaled. "I stayed at a hotel."
Lisa shot him a nasty glare. "I know that."
That left him completely speechless.
"…You do?"
She raised a magazine up to his face — the kinds with loud typefaces and obnoxious headlines.
Entertainment Weekly; InTouch Weekly; and People all seemed to have chosen the same shade of scandal.
He took the magazine from her fingers.
And in that moment he knew.
On the Oscar after-party's street corner, a massive image showcased Harry (a.k.a. "the world's sexiest man") leaping into the backseat of Cate Blanchett's automobile. Harry appeared youthful and intoxicated.
The accompanying headline was emblazoned in gigantic tragic letters, which could be translated as:
"Hollywood's Most Eligible Bachelor Takes Off with Married Starlet Cate Blanchett – Is There A Scandal Brewing?"
Harry blanched for three seconds looking at the cover.
He quickly turned to page two.
The subsequent article featured Gangs of New York scoring big on awards night.
He laughed to himself and thought, "At least I took the top spot over Harvey."
After making that statement on himself, James hung up the phone, fluffed his hair up as he had stated, "I'm trying to do damage control right now, but your reputation is already…" at that point James started unconsciously showing Harry the signs that he was not doing well.
Harry curiously asked, "What do you mean…"
James responded by coughing, "Some are saying you're…" he pointed to the air in general with his fingers, "A 'wife hunter'."
Harry choked and struggled with all his willpower to come up with a rational argument. "What? That's ridiculous."
Lisa pressed her finger into the space between their bodies creating a barrier while keeping her eyes on Harry, "Get away from me."
Harry laughed aloud. "I promise you that I do!"
Lisa rolled her eyes in exasperation, nearly injuring herself by doing so.
He tossed the magazine down on the table. "Don't worry. This won't be the worst thing that's ever happened to an American-based actor/actress; Hollywood deals with this stuff all the time—like every week—so relax!"
Lisa threw her hands up in the air frustratedly. "That's not the problem!"
"It sort of is a problem," Harry replied calmly. "This won't hurt or help my career; if anything, this will be about all anyone will remember and, therefore, overshadow the loss of Memento from last night."
"Um, that's… a great piece of advice, none of that was helpful at all," James said while looking very confused.
"Let's focus on more important issues, like beginning work on the film Blind Man's Gambit," Harry added.
As Lisa left the room; walking into the kitchen and muttering about him being an idiot under her breath, James pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "The filming schedule begins next week. We're counting on you—please refrain from having any scandals until next week for our sanity!"
Harry grinned. "No promises," he replied.
As he stretched his body, relieving the last of his tension, Harry called out, "Maria!"
"Yes, sir," Maria replied. She poked her head through the door.
"Please make me a hangover cure and put it into my room for me!" Harry responded.