LOOSE - a Bill Hader Novel

II

Emerald couldn't process what had just happened until she was backstage, sipping Perrier through a straw and being poked at with yet another makeup brush. She had just played a show, as musical guest on Saturday Night Fucking Live, and it went... well. Like, really well. Like, standing ovation well.

A knock sounded at the door. "Come in!" Emerald called.

Her father, a bouquet of flowers in hand, emerged from the hallway. Emerald lit up inside - She didn't think he would make it in time.

"Dad!"

She jumped up out of the chair, wrapping her arms around her father. His sweater was soft against her cheek, and she didn't realize just how much she missed him until he enveloped her in an embrace.

"I didn't think you would come." She gleamed up at him.

"Me neither!" he laughed. "The plane took off an hour late, thanks to a storm coming into Denver, and baggage claim took forever... But I made it in time to see your performance. You killed it, baby."

Emerald laughed, tears forming in her eyes. She was just so glad to have her dad there with her.

"Good to see you, Tony!" her makeup artist, Michelle, waved over. "I'll give you two a minute."

He smiled politely as Michelle left the room. "Nice to see you as well."

When the door shut behind her, he whispered, "Who the hell was she again?"

Emerald laughed, slipping back into her makeup chair as her father plopped on the leather couch behind it. She began to fix her hair, pulling it out of the ponytail and brushing it into her signature messy waves.

"Michelle, my makeup artist. You've met her like a million times."

"Eh, you know how I am with names. And faces."

Tony put the flowers down on the coffee table in front of him, picking up a snack sized bag of Doritos and ripping the bag open.

"So, after talking about nothing but performing on SNL since I was eleven, I finally did it." she laughed.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. Your mother would be, too." he said through a mouthful of Cool Ranch.

Emerald swallowed back her grief, inhaling and exhaling. She forced on a smile, and just barely nodded.

When her mother got sick for the second time, it was like life sped up. Every day, Emerald tried to show her mom how well she was doing, how much her career was taking off, to make her proud.

But it was immensely difficult, dealing with the rough parts of quickly gained fame, traveling the world, while trying to simultaneously memorize everything about her favorite person, just in case.

"Are you coming to the after party?" Emerald asked her father, changing the subject.

"Um," Tony sighed. "I think I'd better get back to my hotel. I'm pretty beat, from the flight and all."

Tony stood, leaving the Doritos bag on the coffee table. Emerald tried to hide her disappointment.

She swallowed. "So that's it?"

"What do you mean? I saw your show, and I'll see you for lunch tomorrow before my flight out."

She nodded. Typically, when a family member dies, the remaining relatives get closer to lean on and support each other. After her mother's death, it was the opposite. A couple months of casseroles and cards and flowers from distant relatives, then radio silence. The only immediate family Emerald had was her father, and it seemed he drifted further away from her every day. As if the mere sight of her reminded him of his late wife, and it was too painful to bear.