“Of course I see it!” I cared, obviously. But I also knew I could still win Best Actress. Celia and Ruby would be competing for Best Supporting. “I don’t know what to tell you, Ruby. We were all right about Celia. She’s talented and gorgeous and charming, and when you've been bested, sometimes it’s good to recognize it and move on.” Ruby looked at me as if I had slapped her. I had nothing else to say, and she was blocking my way out of the room. So I put the drink to my mouth and downed it in two gulps. “This is not the Evelyn I know and respect,” Ruby said. “Oh, Ruby, put a lid on it.” She finished her drink. “People have been saying all sorts of things about the two of you, and I didn’t believe it. But now... . I don’t know.” “People have been saying all sorts of things like what?” “You know.” “I assure you, I haven’t the faintest.” “Why do you make things so difficult?” “Ruby, you’ve pulled me into a laundry room against my will, and you're barking at me about things I can’t control. I’m not the difficult one.” “She’s a lesbian, Evelyn.” Until that point, the sounds of the party going on around us had been muted but still distinct. But the minute Ruby said what she said, the minute I heard the word lesbian, my blood started beating so fast that my pulse was all I could hear. I was not paying attention to what was flying out of Ruby’s mouth. I could only catch certain words, like girl and dyke and twisted. The skin on my chest felt hot. My ears burned. I did my best to calm myself. And when I did, when I focused on Ruby’s words, I finally heard the other piece of what she was trying to tell me. “You should probably get a better handle on your husband, by the way. He’s in Ari’s bedroom getting a blow job from some harpy from MGM.”