Page 96 of First Impressions of You

“You learned Portuguese so you could talk to my parents? You’re learning a new language for me?”

“Sunshine, for you I’d learn a thousand languages.”

I don’t think there’s any space left for more happiness in my heart, but when Olivia’s name is called to receive the Golden Quill Rising Star Award, I know that I’m wrong because my heart doubles in size, and a new, profound feeling of happiness and pride takes all the space inside.

As she walks to the stage after looking at us for confirmation that she didn’t mishear, that it really was her name that was called out, a beaming smile spreads across my face. I relish in the blissful wave of elation that sweeps through me, as I realize that I’ve never been this happy before.

Winter leans toward me, his lips a breath away from my ears. “Happy?” he asks before kissing my temple.

I nod, unable to speak without opening the floodgate to my tears of joy.

“Good,” he says. Then he says, “Eu te amo,” and I’m powerless to stop the emotions from spilling out of me.

“Eu te amo mais,” I whisper.

“Impossible.”

Epilogue

Two years later

“Winter, over here.”

“Luiza, on your left.”

“Give us a kiss.”

The photographers shout orders relentlessly as Winter and I walk down the red carpet at the premiere of his movie. His directorial debut.

Burden was finally produced a year ago, after Winter rewrote the script, laying his soul bare on the pages. If the script was good before, it became a masterpiece after he realized he couldn’t keep holding back if he wanted it to succeed, and that he needed to be the one to direct it.

The story is filled with the complexities of feeling used by someone who was supposed to love you. Of hating a person you also love. Of grieving someone after they’re dead, even if you spent a long time wishing they were gone. It’s raw and beautiful.

I might be biased, but I’m not the only who thinks so. The movie has been nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

And Winter already won the Golden Quill Awards for Best Screenplay last week.

After we make our way down the red carpet, stopping every few inches for pictures, we arrive at the reporters, who quickly start shoving microphones in front of us.

“Winter, BuzzFeed here.”

“Sarah Moore for ET.”

“I’ll get to everyone,” Winter assures them. “Let’s just do one at a time. You can go first.” He points to the BuzzFeed reporter.

We make our way down the line of reporters, answering most of their questions, dodging a few others. When we finally get to the last one, I recognize the logo of the young woman’s mic from a Brazilian portal.

“Winter, Luiza, thank you for talking to us. So, you are one of Hollywood’s hottest young couples right now. And when you announced you were directing your first feature film, we all thought Luiza would be in the cast for sure. Was that ever considered? Why was she not cast?”

Winter looks at me, silently asking if I want to take this question.

“We did think about it,” I say. “But this movie means so much to him, and he did such a beautiful job with the script, that we just wanted everything to be all about the story. We didn’t want to take attention from it and make it about a “couple’s project” when this is such an important movie for him.”

“But can we expect any collaboration in the future?”

“Definitely,” Winter answers before I can.

“And Luiza, now that you’ve been confirmed in Movieland’s first direct-to-streaming series, can we expect to see more of you on the screen than the stage?”

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