Emily wasn't sure whether there was to be a rose ceremony elimination that night, given that Ford and Cooper were still eliminated, or if she had to eliminate somebody else just because that's what happened at cocktail parties and rose ceremonies. She decided to go up to Chris's cabin and ask.
This time there were hens on the path. Why are there always some kinds of birds around, she wondered. Is this a remake of a Hitchcock movie? The hens were pecking at feed in the lawn, and clucking.
After a few steps she could make out what they were saying. "RickiRickiRickiRicki," clucked one of them. Another stopped pecking and looked at Emily. "GuiltyGuiltyGuiltyGuilty," it said. Emily frowned. "BadmotherBadmotherBadmother," said another. She walked a little farther. "GolddiggerGolddiggerGolddigger," it scolded.
"Hey!" protested Emily. "Who are you to talk? I don't see you building any nests or sitting on any eggs."
"BWOK!" they squawked in unison, and flapped awkwardly away.
"Old hens," Emily said under her breath.
When she arrived at Chris's cabin, she found him rehearsing. This time he was throwing out his arm in a dramatic fashion as he gestured toward the last rose. He was also going back and forth between holding the glass in his right hand and tapping the butter knife against it with his left, versus holding the glass in his left hand and tapping the butter knife against it with his right. "Which looks gauche and which looks adroit?" he asked, as Emily entered the living room. Mary Ann, who had followed Emily so noiselessly up the path that Emily hadn't realized she was there, giggled. Emily looked puzzled. "Why, I think you look quite handsome either way," said Emily with a big smile. Chris relaxed, and invited her to sit.
Chris thought the cocktail party could simply be a party. He agreed with Emily that the departure of Ford and Cooper meant Tanner could become one of the suitors, and no additional eliminations were needed at that point. "Just get to know the guys," said Chris. "This is the Best. Lineup. Ever." He smiled as he walked her to the door.
"Just a party," Emily said nervously to Mary Ann as they made their way back down the path. "I'll need lots of cue cards." Mary Ann nodded.
When she got to her house, Emily realized she was hungry and headed for the bowl of white raisins. At first she couldn't spot the bowl. Then she saw it on the kitchen counter, empty. Russell Crow was sitting on the kitchen window sill.
"Did you eat the white raisins?" Emily asked him.
"I most certainly did not!" replied Russell, in a wrongly-accused huff.
"Do you know who did?"
"I might," said Russell mysteriously, "but now that you've accused me, I'll say nothing further." He turned and flapped out the open window.
Emily opened the cupboard door. Now, she would swear, a second box was missing. Still, there were several boxes remaining, and she opened one and poured the contents into the bowl. After she ate two hands full, she felt calmer and more at peace. She went into the bathroom and applied makeup and fixed her hair. She selected a low-cut emerald green dress and slipped on a pair LowButtons. She hoped she would see Tanner at some point in the evening. These glass slippers were tough on her feet and he was the only one who could give her some relief.
As she reached the house she could tell the party had already started. The men were laughing loudly and telling rude jokes. As she opened the door the punchline of the last joke was being shouted out: "Fifty dollars!?!" and the men whose backs were to the door roared in appreciation. Emily pretended she hadn't heard a thing.
Gilles offered her a glass of wine, took her by the elbow, and escorted her out to the verandah. Mary Ann followed with her cue cards. "Are you warm enough?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you, I'm just fine." Emily smiled up at him.
"I'm freezing back here," Mary Ann called, and Gilles turned, surprised to find her there. He offered his suit jacket to her.
"Merci beaucoup," Mary Ann said.
"De rein," he replied.
"Vous tres charmant, Gilles," Mary Ann said.
"Hey!" protested Emily. "Speak American!"
Gilles and Mary Ann held their gazes and smiles longer than Emily thought necessary, but finally Gilles turned back to her and they walked to the rattan couch on the verandah. Just as they sat, Ames appeared and asked if he could steal Emily. Gilles gave him a half-smile, Emily gave him a little nod, and she rose to follow Ames.
"This is an interesting part of the country," Ames said appreciatively.
"Oh? How so?" asked Emily.
"Well, for example, I found that Charleston was one of the few cities in the original thirteen colonies to provide religious tolerance, although that didn't apply to Catholics. It was one of the first places to permit Jews to practice their faith without restriction."
"Well, bless your heart," Emily enthused. "Aren't you just the Wikipedia of the house!" She covered her yawn with a little cough and looked around for Mary Ann, who was nowhere to be seen. She was relieved to see Tanner approaching, instead.
Ames relinquished Emily to Tanner, who led her to a pair of deck chairs. Wordlessly, Tanner removed her LowButtons and began massaging her feet. Just as she was about to drift off, she heard children singing. She sat up with a start, knocking over Tanner's glass of wine. The glass shattered on the verandah deck. "It's shard-o-nay now," he smiled.
Two dozen children appeared on the verandah, singing "It's a Small World After All," and wearing the sweaters knitted by the birds and the Metrognomes. Each child thanked Emily profusely, as though she had knitted the sweaters herself. Then, responding to a signal from somewhere, they broke into "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music," bowed before Emily, and trotted out.
"... auf Wiedersehen, goodbye..." she heard their voices floating faintly over the night. She wished she could join them.
Tanner looked at her. Several producers looked at her. "What?" she demanded in a sleepy voice.
Tanner lifted her out of the chair and carried her back to her house. She couldn't believe his strength.
"Tomorrow," he said.
"Tomorrow," she responded.
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