“You almost ready, Mom?” Ethan yelled to her with excitement.

Tori reviewed her reflection in her bathroom mirror, puckered her lips, and blew out a long breath. “I’ll be ready in five.”

“Five minutes, or five hours?” Ethan teased.

“To be determined.” She returned the snarky attitude.

“Wow, Mom.” Ethan walked into her bathroom. “You look amazing!”

“Thanks, kiddo.”

“We can really invite Zee to come to dinner with us after his movie?”

“Yes, but Ethan, it’s been two months since we’ve seen him. He may be dating someone else. We may need to accept that. And if he is, then he shouldn’t be hanging out with us.”

“He can still hang out with me. And isn’t it time to go?”

“Let’s not get our hopes up. Okay, baby?”

“Okay, Mom,” he said with a smile that could have lit up New York City.

“That’s what I’m talking about. Stop it.”

He smiled even wider. “Okay, Mom.”

“Now you look like a cartoon character.”

“But I know Zee. He’s my buddy. He promised he’d have my back.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Maybe we could ask Zee if he wants to adopt you. You could spend every other week with him in Costa Rica, or on the beach in California.”

“Awesome!” he yelled.

“I was being facetious, Ethan.”

“Way to get a kid’s hopes up.”

Tori leaned over, wrapping him in her arms. “I love you. You’ll always, always, always have my love.”

A vibration rattled her purse. She released Ethan to answer her phone.

“Yes? Be there in five.”

“Hours,” finished Ethan.

“Very funny, young man.”

“Anita and the gang are already there. We need to hurry. Sounds like they’re starting early.”

Twenty minutes later, after Ethan had screamed at his mother to run every red light and pouted when she hadn’t, Tori rubbed her palms nervously against her sleek, black dress pants as they walked into the movie theatre.

Signs had been set out in the lobby directing them to the screening of Zee’s documentary. They followed the signs, which displayed a lotus flower rising out of a filthy pond with the title, Rise Up! Tori and Ethan wove through several hallways, until they ultimately reached the specified, closed doors. Had they already begun the showing? Tori looked at her watch. If the invitation had been correct, she and Ethan would have been fifteen minutes early.

Tori swung open the double doors to absolute darkness. It would take several minutes for their eyes to adjust. Luckily, a uniformed theatre attendant with a small flashlight ushered them to the isolated, VIP reclining stadium seating in the center of the room.

The screen flickered moments after they were seated. The first scene was staged in the refugee gardens at sunset. A familiar voice began narrating.

“This is not your normal documentary,” Annie’s sweet voice filled the room. “Nor is it the documentary of the wonderful refugees who have worked to create a nutritious haven in the center of a secluded neighborhood. It documents a journey of firsts, a journey of love, and a journey of hope. Dear friends and family, please join us on this amazing journey.”

Tori felt a flush of nervousness and excitement. The movie wasn’t about the refugees? What was happening? Journey of firsts?

Gussie sat next to Tori on the vacant seat, holding Rambo. She smiled as she touched Tori’s hand, sending a shock through her. Tori’s eyes had adjusted enough to look about the room. Everyone from the gardens was present. And were those Zee’s parents?

“Why are Zee’s parents here, Gussie?”

Gussie winked as her gentle smile turned up the corners of her mouth, bringing out the dimple in her cheek.

The anticipation rendered Tori incapable of having a complete thought. This was about her. This was about Zee. She suddenly baked from the inside out.

The movie screen flickered before the first grainy scene began. She and Zee were in a Japanese restaurant. Tori was taking a bow, then posing for pictures with her new fans.

“Turns out, Zee was telling the truth when he said Tori would be in the next big blockbuster film,” Annie narrated. “And here’s Zee,” she prefaced as the film cut over to Zee climbing up the face of the mountain in Saint George.

The audience gasped as Zee ran up the face at record speed. The camera then panned over to Tori, who sported a look of awe. “That’s amazing!” Tori’s voice echoed as he summited the mountain.

“And so we embark on a journey of firsts with Tori and Zee. As an aside, please excuse the quality of the film in a few scenes. I’m still an amateur with amateur equipment. Next, we take you to the real theatre.”

Tori cringed as she and Zee took the stage to dance and sing as cats in the Broadway musical. The audience felt comfortable enough to fill the room with genuine laughter.

“And now, dear friends,” Annie continued, “welcome to our beautiful Costa Rica.” The footage now flew the audience above the coasts of Costa Rica, settling on Meri’s beach, where a couple was found sharing an intimate kiss.

“What?” gasped Tori. “How on earth did they get that?” she questioned, realizing that the kiss belonged to her. She suddenly recalled Paxton’s skydiving excursion.

Seeing her body lean into Zee’s on the big screen, she once again felt Zee’s lips against hers, causing her body to melt into her seat. Good thing the room was dark, and no one could witness her reaction. Tori started to be optimistic about Zee’s availability.

“But the most telling moment,” Annie’s voice choked back tears, “was at the union of a friend and cousin.”

In the clip, Tori walked down the sandy aisle, gazing at Zee. The camera view then panned over to Zee who issued Tori an endearing wink. The cameraman missed Tori’s trip, thank goodness.

“And we finish with my favorite scenes of all.” Annie chuckled as the background transformed from sea to forest.

In the move clip, a couple is filmed standing with their backs to the camera at the end of a long metal walkway. “I don’t think I’m going to do this.” Tori heard her own voice echo through the theatre.

The camera did a closeup of Tori’s back as Zee placed his hand to her lower back and gave her a firm push. And then she dropped. Zee turned around to face the camera and smiled.

The audience fell silent, except for sparse laughter. Their refugee friends did not appear to be thrill seekers or jokesters, like Zee.

The film moved back to the beach where Tori is seen tumbling through the aqua waters as Zee and Ethan catch a wave. The audience’s laughter continued through the next scene, where Zee is sitting at the base of the mountain as Tori climbs with effort, and says, “Is it normal, after rock climbing, to not have feeling in your arms or legs?”

The lights in the theatre turned up slightly as Annie stepped in front of the screen with her microphone in hand. She held up a hand to the audience, asking them to be patient by allowing her to finish her laugh.

“This is a mere sampling of the grand life of firsts that we have come together tonight to wish upon this extraordinary couple.”

A photograph then popped up on the movie screen where Zee and Tori share a passionate kiss. “What these two have is real.” Annie winked at Tori.

“Hey, why don’t they have me jumping off the edge, and swinging on the Tarzan swing?” Ethan spoke up, ignoring the photo on the screen. “That day was wicked!”

Annie continued, “The title of the real upcoming documentary is Rise Up! And we have a special gift for each of you tonight,” Annie said, motioning to the doors where attendants were filing in with fresh leis draped over their arms. “These are lotus leis. They represent how each of you have risen above the filth and grime of your circumstances.”

Tori breathed in the sweet floral scent of the lotus flower as a lei was placed around her neck.

Annie looked at Tori. “You, Tori, have come up from the mire just as anyone else in this room has, so this is for you,” Annie said, raising her fist in the air. “We have a power inside each one of us. A power that aches for moral transcendence. A power that lies in wait to demonstrate to all nations and peoples that we are capable of conquering the most daunting challenges. Rise up! It is time to release your inner power. As the waves of the sea swell and billow across the ocean, as the lotus flower emerges from the mire, go too, and show this world what lies within!”

The crowd erupted into loud applause as Annie finished her speech.

Ethan stood up. “What I want to know is, where is…” he scanned the auditorium, “Zee!”

Out of her peripheral vision, Tori noticed a figure walking down the aisle toward the front of the theatre. She turned her head, meeting her eyes with his. He gave her a smile and wink that calmed her anxiety with a feverish flash. He grabbed the microphone from Annie. “I need to add one thing to this, and that is—”

“I love you!” Tori jumped up out of her seat and started walking toward him.

“I know,” he smiled, waving his hands at the control window.

The photograph of them kissing was suddenly replaced with a high-quality film clip of Tori and Anita. Anita leans into Tori and asks, “You love him?”

Tori responds, “Yes, I love him.”

The video clip continued to run on a constant loop, over and over, of Tori admitting her love for Zee every few seconds.

During Tori’s fast-walk to Zee, her body shook as she surveyed all the assembled friends and family in the audience, many of whom were shedding tears of joy. She took in a deep breath when she came within sniffing distance of Zee. She held his peppery scent in her mouth and lungs, willing the moment to last forever.

When Tori was close enough for him to hear her speak quietly she said, “How did you know I would come? I wasn’t even sure if you were still single.”

“I’m in love with you, Tori. I wasn’t going to let you go that easily. Not after I found this clip,” he said, pointing to the theatre screen. “And I happen to have very reliable sources.” He smiled at Gussie and Ethan.

“You’re not going to let me go?” she questioned with hope. “That’s why you came?”

“I came here to call you a big fat liar.” Zee took her hands in his. “And to ask you to please be my wife, Tori. Will you lie to me, and with me,” he said with a wink, “for the rest of our days? My heart is floating in the air to you, please catch it.”

Tori grabbed the front of his shirt. “Catch this,” she said, pulling him down for their first kiss as his future bride.