“I see we both dressed for the occasion,” Natasha said. “Thank you for not wearing black.”
Celia chuckled. “I considered red, but I didn’t want to upstage you.”
Natasha laughed out loud. “You’re a refreshing change from today’s somber faces. Even William couldn’t bring himself to be witty.”
“I talked with him earlier. Is he staying?”
“He’d better not. He doesn’t need to see this. He’s seen enough.”
“Are you sure?” Celia didn’t want to overstep, but William had looked so unhappy. “I mean, do you think he’ll regret it? He’s...well, he’s family.”
Natasha’s head snapped up. “That’s exactly why I told him to go home. Does he know you know?”
“No,” Celia replied. “I assumed you didn’t want me to tell him.”
“Thank you again. Maybe down the road, if you think it will help him.”
“I understand.”
“So tell me something good. Have you and Keith finally broken your silly rules?”
Now Celia laughed out loud. “Oh God no! He’s a friend, and that is all I need. I think some self-imposed celibacy is better for me after the Bart fiasco.”
“You just have to do a better job of weeding out the crazy ones. Keith seems sane. I bet he’s more than capable.” Natasha winked.
“Of that, I have no doubt,” Celia smirked. “But I won’t be finding out.”
“Too bad.”
Celia reached across the table and covered Natasha’s hand with her own. “So what do you need? What can I do right now?”
“You’re doing it. You’re my friend. You’re in here dressed to the nines, letting me have a laugh. And you’re not begging me to fall on my sword.”
“Yes, I talked to Andrew earlier.”
Natasha folded her arms and scowled. “So what did he do to try to convince you to do? Seduce the governor?”
“No.” Celia chuckled. “He did ask me to get part of the story out. Try to pull at the heartstrings of the public. I said no.”
“As you should have.”
“But,” Celia leaned forward. “I could say yes. There’s still time. It might help.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. No one reads my story until after I’m gone. You write it, they read it, and it’s done. No reporters trying to get a comment or quote, trying to get another piece of me, or bleeding hearts using me as a cause.”
Celia squeezed Celia’s hand. For just a few seconds, she saw emotion in the actress’s eyes, an emotion she hadn’t seen in their interviews. It looked like Natasha might cry. Instead, she chuckled, and the emotion was gone.
“So, aren’t you going to ask me about my last meal?”
Celia laughed and shook her head. “Don’t tell me it’s kale and avocado toast!”
“Absolutely not!” Natasha made a face. “I’m having lasagna and an Italian cheesecake.”
“Oh wow! Talk about carbs!”
“Yes, I avoided pasta for most of my career. But I heard about this amazing little place called Verelli’s...”
“Ha! Marlene’s place! You won’t be disappointed. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me.”
“She may not know. I think a guard or Andrew makes the arrangements. I didn’t ask how it would work.” Natasha smiled. “And I’m not sure providing the last meal for a murderer would make the best advertising.”
“You’d be surprised,” Celia said.
“I want to thank you again for everything. I have no doubt it will be a great story, told the way I hoped it would be.”
“I’m the one who should thank you for trusting me with it.”
Once again, there was a flicker of emotion. Then she chuckled. “It’s almost time for Keith to knock for the last time.”
“True. I have to say, meeting him was a lifesaver I didn’t know I’d need. He’s practically my bodyguard.”
“So you’re saying he’s Kevin Costner to your Whitney Houston?” Natasha teased.
“Well, I won’t be singing if that’s what you mean.”
There was a knock at the door.
“I hate to interrupt, ladies, but time is almost up.” Keith stuck his head inside the door.
Celia and Natasha looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Kevin looked at each of them, shook his head, and closed the door.
Both women stood, and Natasha began walking toward Celia. “See that camera? The person watching this is about to freak out.”
“Why” Celia began. But she understood when the actress embraced her. She returned the hug.
“No physical contact! Step back!” A frantic voice sounded through the speaker.
“So predictable.” Natasha chuckled.
Keith walked in and cleared his throat. Celia walked toward the door, and he opened it for her.
“I’ll be there, Natasha. On the front row.”
“I know,” Natasha said, sitting back in her chair.
“You okay?” Keith asked as they walked away from the room.
“I actually think I am. I know what’s going to happen in a few hours. But she seems okay. And I kept my promise.”
“What promise?”
“One thing that was very clear in my contract,” Celia said. “Not a word of the interviews or the article could be leaked or published until after Natasha’s execution.”
“Seems strange, but that’s her call.”
“Exactly. As recently as this morning, her attorney was begging me to put out part of her story to generate sympathy and maybe get an intervention at the last minute.”
Keith sighed. He looked away.
“What?”
“I mean, I know you wanted to abide by her wishes. But do you think maybe the guy has a point?”
Celia closed her eyes. “Not you too.”
“Look, it’s none of my business. I’m just saying I can see why he thought it was a good idea. You did what you thought was right, what Natasha wanted.”
“I did. It was the right thing to do.”
“Okay then. I have to get back to work. Don’t hang around here all afternoon. Believe it or not, there’s a great café just
