The Making of…
Chapter 58
Raise Your Glass
The wrap party was being held in a massive warehouse in Wellington, and when we arrived, it was already full of people – most of whom I didn’t even recognise, but I knew they must have had some part to play in the making of the films.
“Viggo! Kira! Over here!” I heard Orlando yell over the music that was blaring loudly and it took me a moment to locate him amidst the heaving mass of bodies. He motioned for us to follow him and we weaved through the crowd until we reached a large stage set up at the far end of the warehouse. “Peter wants the entire main cast up on the stage for speeches!” He shouted.
“Speeches?” I cried, “Nobody mentioned speeches!”
“Come on!” Viggo laughed, lightly shoving me up the steps onto the stage. I went and left my guitar at the back beside Billy’s and then went to join the crowd of people already on the stage. Pretty much everyone was already here – even people who I hadn’t seen for months, like Liv, Cate and Hugo. I smiled and chatted with everyone as we stood in a large group; Viggo and I kept our arms around each others waists – I wanted to maintain contact with him for as long as possible, because tomorrow it would be abruptly cut off. Elijah came around with an armful of drinks and tossed us a beer each, just as I heard that awful high-pitched screeching sound a microphone makes blare out of the surrounding speakers. I cringed away from the sound and then turned to see Peter sheepishly apologising into the microphone as the lights dimmed and a spotlight hit him on stage.
“Ugh, sorry about that guys.” He grinned, tousling his mad hair. I almost laughed as I realised that he was still wearing his trademark shorts and polo shirt. “I’m sure you all know why you’re here – because I wanted to personally say thank you to every single person who’s contributed in some way to this film, no matter how small.” A loud cheer went up from the crowd as he said that and carried on with his speech, and before long, he had passed the microphone over to Elijah. One by one, each cast member stepped up and delivered a short speech and all too soon the microphone was thrust in my face. I blushed as the audience cheered and I nervously stepped into the spotlight.
“Wow… Um, hi.” I smiled, “I guess I just want to say thank you to everyone in this room who helped make these films a possibility – especially Pete, who at some point a few years ago thought it would be a great idea to try and bring Tolkien’s masterpieces to life… And it was a great idea; it was a bloody brilliant one.” I laughed and ran one hand through my hair, “And he picked the most amazingly beautiful country to film it in-” The crowd cheered again when I said that, “So, thanks for bringing us here, and thanks for introducing me to all these amazing people.” I blushed, turning to smile at the group standing behind me. “Because that was bloody brilliant too.” The crowd laughed as I sighed and finished up. “Thanks everyone, it’s been great.” I grinned, feeling myself tearing up as Viggo appeared at my side and planted a kiss on my lips, resulting in several wolf-whistles. He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me to his side as he made his speech, and then we stepped back as he handed the microphone to Orlando. I felt a tear slide down my cheek and Vig gently wiped it away, kissing the top of my head and holding me close.
“I love you.” He whispered.
“I love you too.” I murmured softly, looking up to watch as the last few people made their speeches and the microphone was returned to Peter.
“Right guys, all I have left to say is, thanks for being a part of this, and enjoy the rest of the night, you deserve it.” He smiled as the crowd cheered loudly and the music started up again. I smiled as we climbed down off the stage and went to find somewhere to sit along the edge of the room, but it wasn’t long before Viggo pulled me up to dance. Unlike the first time, I had no objections to dancing with him tonight. I wanted to be as close to him as possible until the moment we were separated tomorrow – which was probably why we spent most of the song kissing instead of dancing.
