Welcome To The Media (Dylmas AU)

41. Until We Meet Again

Thomas's pov

*one year later*

I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, playing with the hem of my suit jacket. There were eyes all over the room following my every move and my hands were beginning to sweat. The woman sitting to my right gave me a sympathetic but reassuring smile, and I smiled politely back, despite the butterflies in my stomach.

"Calm down," Jack ordered from his seat next to me. I glanced over and there was no sympathy in his gaze, only vague annoyance. "You've done this a million times before. Just go up there and read the speech I gave you."

"It's been eight months since I've been to anything like this," I argued softly, albeit with less vigor.

"And whose fault is that?" Jack snapped back, as if leaving my acting career was even a choice I had to make; it was simply something that had to be done, something I could not avoid for my own well-being. I had explained that to him a dozen times at least already. He still wasn't happy with my choice, even two-thirds of a year later.

"Mine," I conceded, still in a calm, patient voice. "I never blamed anyone but myself."

Jack shook his head at me, a frustrated glint in his eye, then turned his old, bearded face away. At that exact moment, the music resonating softly throughout the large ballroom began to finally die down. The soft hum of chatter began to quiet simultaneously, and my eyes moved from the back of Jack's head to the older gentleman now stepping out onto the stage.

When the room had fallen silent, the man began to speak. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues and peers. It is my great honor to welcome all of you to S&R's fifteenth annual charity event, in honor of those who are making the greatest impact on our planet. My name is Joyce Stevens, and I have the great honor in representing S&R in today's celebration..."

And on and on he went. As he spoke, my fingers fumbled for the paper in my coat pocket. Half listening to Mr. Stevens speak and half trying to remember how to breathe again, I only gave back my full attention about ten minutes later when Jack turned back to wink at me.

My eyes flew up to the stage, and I looked up just in time to catch Mr. Stevens glance at our table. "It is at this time every year that a select coordinating committee gathers together to nominate and select this year's most charitable and giving citizens," he announced. "Selection of this caliber is of the highest achievement, and I am honored to simply stand before and introduce each of our chosen candidates." A round of applause split through the room.

There was a pause, and then Mr. Stevens looked over at our table more definitively, looked over at me. "Our first category, and usually the most difficult decision, is deciding which person on this planet, among 7 billion people, put the most time, money, and heart into an array of charitable causes. At the beginning of this year, the choice may have been difficult. The obvious choice was not necessarily the choice we all thought it would be heading into this year."

The man looked over at me again. "Thomas Brodie-Sangster demonstrated the exact traits our coordinating committee was searching for. In the past eight months alone, Mr. Brodie-Sangster has raised over 15 million dollars to the development of his own charity, The Elijah Fund, to raise awareness for child abuse. He has made countless donations to cancer research, specifically for lung cancer, and has become a notable public figure for his response in defense to young men and women facing the after-effects of rape. This man has not rested in his fight against the injustices of public society, and has even pledged 3.7 million of his own money to Mental Health United, designed to help struggling people battling mental illnesses."

There was another round of applause and I was slightly embarrassed, felt slightly out of place. Jack looked back at me and smirked again.

"This year," Stevens continued when the clapping died down, "I am honored to present Thomas Brodie-Sangster as S&R's Rising Philanthropist of the Year."