Tu Es Mon Soleil - Chapter 21

When Portia and Regina finally got back to where Ellen and Betty were standing after the song ended, Portia could see that Dee was there too. Dee waved at her and smiled. Portia was sure that Dee must've told Ellen that Portia used to join her club. Portia sighed inside her heart. Ellen must want to know why Portia never told her. How was she going to answer that question?

"Portia!" Dee called her out with beaming face and opened her arms. "This is truly a delightful surprise! How are you?"

Portia let herself be hugged by her old bestfriend and her mentor. "Hello, Dee, it's been a long time," she replied warmly. "I'm good. What about you?"

Regina looked at them alternately in confusion. "You know each other?"

Portia let go of Dee and turned to Regina. "Yeah. Dee was my mentor and I learned a lot from her."

"Oh, bullshit! You know you're the best dancer that I've ever had and you already knew every single techniques to be known. I didn't teach you anything," Dee denied and laughed. "I really want to talk a lot with you, honey, but I have to say hi first to my other friends. You, stick around. Don't go home just yet. We have to talk. And oh, have you met Aaron?"

Portia slightly jolted hearing that name and her eyes gleamed in excitement. "Aaron? He's here?"

"Of course he is. I'll tell him that you're here too. He must really wants to see you," Dee said before finally backing up to greet her other guests. But before she left, she once again turned to Portia and warned her, "Don't go anywhere, young lady. I've got something to talk about with you."

After Dee left, Betty left them too, saying that she better started to look for Vance among the crowd.

"Wow, Portia, I didn't know that you were a member of Dee Black's club," Regina said, mesmerized. "Why didn't you say anything about that?"

Portia shrugged. "I just think that I really don't have to brag about it."

"Regina," Ellen said suddenly. "I think you better start to look for Kelly. It won't turn out good if you leave her alone for too long in a party like this."

Regina groaned, "You're right. What were I thinking when I said yes to take her as a date? I should've asked somebody else."

Regina turned around and walked away while still grumbling, leaving Portia and Ellen. Portia glanced at Ellen and waited for that woman to ask something about the whole dance club thingy.

But when Ellen finally spoke, the only words that came out from her mouth was, "Would you like to dance with me?"

Portia's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "With you?"

Ellen put down both glasses that she had been holding. "De Rossi, I may not know much about waltz, hip-hop, or contemporary dance, but I definitely know how to dance," she said in a grumbling manner. "Well, a bit."

Portia smiled. "If so, very well. Let's see what you got."

"You'll be absolutely astonished," Ellen mumbled while smiling and taking Portia's hand to lead her to the dance floor.

A warm feeling started to roam around Portia's arm. She always felt it whenever Ellen touched her arm, or held her hand. But she ignored that feeling and said, "Please, don't step on my foot."

Portia was a dancer. So, certainly, this was not the first time that she ever stood so close in front of another person, either it's a man or a woman. This wasn't the first time that she touched her dancing partner's arms too, for sure. But, this was the very first time that she ever stood so close with Ellen DeGeneres. This was the very first time that she had ever put her hand on Ellen's shoulder while the other was on Ellen's firm grasp. 

Portia licked her lips nervously. Her heart was thumping so hard and she couldn't muster the courage to look up to Ellen. And when Ellen's left hand reached for her waist, Portia almost forgot how to breathe. 

For god's sake, control yourself! Portia cursed herself. 

And then Ellen started to move and Portia got herself flowing with Ellen's movement easily. Oh, Ellen was certainly not a professional dancer and she wasn't trying to dance waltz, but there was something enjoyable from her light movements. Portia relaxed. She didn't think about the right technique or the right posture anymore. Ellen's hand felt warm. Her other hand that was on Portia's back also send a warm sensation all over her body. Portia felt so comfortable that she had to prevent herself from resting her chin on Ellen's shoulder.

This is really fun, Portia thought and closed her eyes. Fun, but risky. She took a deep breath. She couldn't take that risk right now. To control her thoughts that had already started to stray, she tried to open a light conversation.

"You don't wanna ask me about why I never told you that I actually know Dee?" she asked to Ellen since she was a bit curious that Ellen hasn't asked anything about it. Ellen must be curious, right?

Ellen only shrugged and spun Portia around slowly. When Portia was back in her arms, Ellen said, "Regina had asked, and you had answered. Eventhough, of course, you didn't really answer the question and that was not the real answer." Portia wanted to deny that, but Ellen interjected. "But, I think.... You've got your reasons on why you don't want to tell me the truth..... just yet."

Portia looked up to see Ellen. What Ellen had said was entirely true and Portia was surprised to find that the woman knew her that well.

"So, I'm not going to push you to tell me," Ellen continued and lowered her head a bit to look into Portia's eyes. A small smile grew on her face, "You'll tell me when you want to tell me."

Portia exhaled in relieve that Ellen didn't push her to explain everything. Well now, who would've thought that Ellen could be such an understanding human being? "Thank you," Portia muttered.

"But, there's something that I really need to ask you right now," Ellen said, making Portia tense up again. 

"What's that?"

"Who's Aaron?"

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Portia's eyes widened a bit, then Ellen watched as the fear that flashed on her eyes in a split second disappeared. "Oh, Aaron?"

"Yes, who's Aaron?" Ellen asked again.

"He's one of Dee Black Dance Company's main dancers, and......... a very good friend of mine."

"You guys didn't try to contact each other after you left?" Ellen asked.

Portia shook her head and smiled regretfully. "They're based on Miami, Florida, and I've always been in New York ever since I left the club. I guess we're just too busy."

Ellen stared at Portia who still seemed to be thinking about her past. Ellen didn't want to ask again, but she really had to know. "Are you sure you two are just friends?" Ellen asked, forcing her voice to sounded relax and normal. "Because it sounds like you guys were more than friends."

Portia chuckled and looked at Ellen. "You're right," she confessed. Ellen could feel her stomach drop. "I used to like him. How could I not? Aaron..... is an interesting guy. He's talented, nice, and very thoughtful. Had I stayed in the club, I'm sure we'd be an official couple by now."

Too much information, Ellen groaned inside her head. Too much information I don't wanna hear. So, Portia used to like that Aaron guy. That idea had Ellen in an anxious state of mind. Does she still like him? But,.....

"But, I thought you're......"

"Yeah, I'm gay. And if I liked Aaron, can you imagine just how great he is?" Portia tilted her head a bit. 

"Hm. But, you're quite confident about your relationship with him," Ellen mumbled and scowled. "I mean, how could you be so sure that he liked you back?"

Portia fell silent, took a deep breath, and said, "He actually told me that he liked me. It was right after I resigned from the club."

........and more information I don't need to hear. So, Portia and that guy liked each other. Great. Ellen clenched her jaw and asked, "But, why did you resign yourself from the club?"

"That's......." Portia looked up and vaguely smiled at Ellen. "That's a long story. I'll tell you about it another time."

Before Ellen could say anything else, the song ended and people were clapping their hands. Portia took a step back and brought down her hands. This might sound crazy, but Ellen felt lost. Trying to bury her irrational feelings, Ellen asked, "Another drink?"

"Sure," Portia answered lightly.

But before they left the dance floor, somebody called Portia's name. A tall guy with dark hair and green eyes stopped behind Portia and smiled at her.

"When Dee told me that you're here, I almost didn't believe her. But you really are here," he said slowly. His green eyes were staring at Portia who was completely stunned. The guy smiled again. 

Dammit, he's a really good looking man. Ellen thought.

"Hello, P. Don't you wanna say hi to me?" he said again.

Portia blinked, "Aaron," she whispered, but Ellen could clearly catch it. A second later, Portia straightforwardly threw herself to the dark haired guy and connected her hands around his neck.

What the.......? 

Ellen had to try really hard to stay where she was and not pulling Portia back from that guy. Furthermore when she saw Aaron lifted both of his hands and hugged Portia back tightly.

"Aaron," Portia mumbled while smiling, still hugging the guy. "Aaron, Aaron, Aaron."

Aaron slightly chuckled. "Nice to see you, too, Portia."

Right when Ellen felt like she couldn't hold herself back anymore, Portia pulled back from the hug, still with sparkling eyes.

"So, how are you?" Aaron asked. And Ellen scowled when she saw him held Portia's hand.

Portia shook her head, as if she was trying to clear her head, but the wide smile was still tugged on her lips. "I'm grand! How are you?"

"As you can see. I'm also great," Aaron replied. And then his eyes went to Ellen who was still awkwardly standing there, refused to leave Portia alone with that guy.

As though she just remembered of Ellen's presence, Portia turned to her and said, "Oh, Ellen, this is a good friend of mine. Aaron Rogers. Aaron, this is Ellen DeGeneres," she pointed back and forth.

Ellen shook Aaron's hand firmly and muttered, "Hi."

"How do you do?" Aaron greeted formally. Then he said, "By the way, I hope you don't mind if I have a dance with Portia."

Ellen clenched her jaw. "Sure. Just make sure that you'll return her to me afterwards," she said, forcing a small smile, ignoring the sharp and warning glare that Portia threw at her.

Aaron raised his eyebrows in confusion. He looked at Portia hesitantly, then back at Ellen and said, "Alright. No problem."

Ellen turned to Portia and smiled. "I'll wait at the previous place," she said softly, turned around and walked away before Portia said anything.

Midway, she stumbled into a waiter who offered her a glass of champagne. Without a second thought, she took a glass and drank the champagne in one big gulp. She put back the champagne glass on the tray and took another glass before letting the waiter leave.

"A perfect couple, aren't they?"

Ellen turned her head to see Dee Black who had already took a position next to her. She followed Dee's eyes which were fixated on Aaron and Portia who were dancing along to the music. Every movements they made looked flawless, beautiful and graceful. Aaron Rogers was really good at dancing. Dammit, they did look perfect together.

"Of course," Ellen mumbled, her eyes were still following Portia who was moving as light as a butterfly in the morning. And then Aaron Rogers spun Portia around several times and when she pulled Portia back to his embrace, Portia looked up to him and laughed.

Suddenly, Ellen felt something on her chest tensed up.

"Aaron and Portia were my golden couple," Dee continued proudly. "They have the same amount of skill, perfect techniques, and a huge passion for dancing. And the most important thing of all, is that they like each other."

Ellen stared at Dee with furrowed eyebrows. Misinterpreting Ellen's expression, Dee said, "Oh, yes, that's very important. I've once seen a dancing couple who perfectly matched each other in terms of physics, skills, and techniques, but they hate each other. And that was what destroyed the whole performance. It was a dreadful disaster."

Ellen sipped her champagne and got her eyes back on Portia who was still gazing on Aaron with sparkly eyes.

Dee leaned her body towards Ellen and whispered, "I always felt like they both look more than just friends. What do you think?"

Ellen chose not to give out any comment and just finished her champagne.

Not offended at all of Ellen's silence, Dee sighed and said, "How I wish that Portia didn't leave my club. It'd be, like, super perfect if Portia could pair up with Aaron in this show. Well, of course my female main dancer for this show is also very talented and match Aaron, but there's literally nobody compares to Portia. Really, though. If only I could see Portia dance in this show, even for just once, I'd be....."

Suddenly Dee stopped her flood of words and fell silent. Ellen turned to her and asked, "What's the matter?"

Dee blinked once, turned to Ellen and smiled broadly. "Ellen, I think I just got a brilliant idea," she said with beaming face. "Oh, Ellen, I need to go now and take care of some things."

Before Ellen could say anything, the old woman had already marched away in long and hurry strides. Ellen shook her head in confusion, then again, paid attention to Portia who was still enjoying her dance with Aaron. 

Suddenly Ellen felt somebody snaking their arm on Ellen's waist and heard a familiar voice, "Hello, Cousin, what are you doing standing here looking like a broken-hearted woman?"

Ellen turned and smiled to her younger cousin who smiled back at her. Kelly DeGeneres was a pretty petite girl, with long dark brown hair, and hazelnut eyes. Ellen looked to her right and her left, before asking, "Where's Regina? She was looking for you."

Kelly shook her right hand indifferently. "Oh, she found me earlier. And then she was snatched away from me by an old woman who insists Regina to dance with her. Poor Regina, she could never flee without being harsh."

Ellen laughed. 

"I guess your date is also currently snatched away from you?" Kelly asked.

As an answer, Ellen motioned her chin towards Portia's figure on the dance floor. Kelly looked at the direction and nodded. "So, that's Portia de Rossi? Dark blue dress, blonde hair, and a smile as bright as the sun that lights up the entire planet?"

"The only one," Ellen nodded.

Kelly turned back to Ellen and said, "Since we're both currently alone, I think we should step on the dance floor together. What do you say?"

Ellen smiled and shrugged. "I say, let's do it, Cousin," she mumbled and put her empty champagne glass on the nearest table.

"I know Regina likes that girl," Kelly said out of the blue when they have finally joined the other couples on the dance floor.

"Who?" Ellen asked, playing dumb despite knowing exactly who Kelly was talking about.

"Portia de Rossi."

"Yeah?"

Kelly nodded. "It's not an elaborate puzzle to solve after all. And as you can see, Regina doesn't really try to hide her feelings," she added. "And, well, juding by the way you look at that girl earlier, I would gladly assume that you're........ attracted to her, and you don't really like seeing her dancing with that hot guy over there."

"He's not hot," Ellen blurted out and directly regretted it.

"Said my gay cousin," Kelly mocked playfully and giggled. "Is Portia gay?"

"Hm," Ellen only mumbled.

"Well, damn, lucky you!" she exclaimed. "So, you do like her?"

"Kelly, I think your imagination is playing a wild game in your head."

"Does Regina know that you like Portia too?"

"........."

"Does Portia know that both of you guys like her?"

"........."

"I think she knows full-well that Regina likes her, but she has no idea that you like her too."

"........."

"Well, amirite or amirite?"

"Kelly?"

"Yes?"

"No wonder you still haven't got a boyfriend up till now. You talk too much."

Kelly glowered at Ellen. "Ellen DeGeneres, for your information, there are so many guys that's chasing me and......."

Ellen laughed again while Kelly started to ramble about all the guys that she thought was head over heels for her in her class. At least right now Ellen had succeeded to change the lane of conversation from Portia de Rossi. Ellen looked through above Kelly's head, towards Portia who was..... Wait, what was she doing? Why was she hugging Rogers? And why did she have to smile that way to him?

While Kelly was rambling on and on about her love life, it took everything in Ellen not to march towards that particular couple and forcefully pulled Portia from Rogers.

Really, Portia had to stop hugging Rogers every one or two minutes. And for the sake of the heaven, she also better stop smiling that way to everybody.

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"Portia, are you zoning out?"

Portia jolted and diverted her eyes from Ellen DeGeneres who was dancing with a beautiful brown-haired girl and looked back to Aaron. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"I was just saying that we should see each other often since I'll be staying in NY for the next one month, during our show here."

"Oh, I see," Portia mumbled and smiled widely. "Yeah, that'd be awesome."

"So, will you be free around lunch time tomorrow? Maybe we could grab something together."

"Oh." Remembering that her free time right now was totally depending on Ellen DeGeneres's generosity, Portia practically looked again to Ellen who threw her head back, laughing at something that the pretty girl said. 

Portia was stunned. That was the very first time that she had ever witnessed Ellen DeGeneres laughed. Real laugh. And Portia got herself wondering about what that girl had said that could make Ellen laugh like that.

"Portia?"

Portia blinked and got her attention back to Aaron. "Urh, tomorrow? Yeah, yeah, sure," she said.

"Great," Aaron said and smiled happily. His green eyes softened when he looked down to Portia, "I really am glad to see you again, Portia. I missed you."

Portia returned the smile. "Me too, Aaron. Me too," she mumbled, then tiptoed to embrace Aaron on a quick hug.

Right at that moment, the picture of Ellen throwing her head back laughing like a little child dawned on her. 

And all at once, Portia got herself wishing that she could see that laugh by herself. 

And all at once, Portia got herself wishing that she was the one to make Ellen laugh that way.

Tu Es Mon Soleil - Chapter 20

"Where? Where did I put it?" Portia mumbled while fumbling for something inside her bag with furrowed eyebrows. Not finding what she was looking for, she desperately spilled everything inside her bag on the table. It wasn't there. Her pills weren't there. 

Portia turned around, bit her lip and hurriedly walked into the bathroom. She opened the medicines cabinet there, checking the rows of small plastic tubes, but the pills that she was looking for wasn't there. She slammed the small cabinet's door and stared at her reflection on the mirror. Where are those goddamn pills? She needed those pills. She needed....

Suddenly, her apartment's intercom bell rang. Portia walked towards the door and pushed the intercom's button. "Yes?"

"It's me."

Portia absent-mindedly smiled hearing Ellen's voice on her intercom. She pushed another button to open the main gate, and turned around to look for her purse. Alright, she would continue looking for her pills after she got back home from the party. She hoped she wouldn't need any of those tonight. She hoped she would make it till the end of the party.

Right after she grabbed her purse and her coat, her door's bell rang. She took a deep breath, swung the door open, and smiled widely to Ellen DeGeneres who stood in front of her. "You're very on time," Portia commented.

Ellen smiled back. She stared at Portia with raised eyebrows, then her eyes went down to see the dark blue dress that Portia was wearing. 

"And you're...... stunning," Ellen complimented.

Ignoring her loud-thumping heart and hoping that her cheeks didn't turn boiling red, Portia tried to give a casual small smile and said, "Of course. I told you I'm not going to embarrass you, Ed."

"I had no doubt, Porsche," Ellen said and smiled widely. 

Portia laughed. "Porsche?" she said. "Seriously, that's what you came up with? A car?" 

"An expensive one, at least," Ellen defended herself, but then laughed along with Portia.

"Okay, I'll take that." 

They both were still grinning at each other when Ellen finally offered Portia her arms. "Shall we?"

Portia undoubtedly intertwined her arm with Ellen's and once again, trying to ignore the strange warmth that she suddenly felt when her arm touched Ellen's.

"So, are you okay?" Ellen asked Portia once they were already inside the backseat of a shiny black rented limousine. Ellen rented the limo because it would be impossible for her to drive her Porsche with a bandaged hand.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, you didn't look really good yesterday night at the Ramses," Ellen said.

Portia recalled Ellen's comment on her pale face and her lost of weight. "Mm. I'm perfectly fine."

"Really? You really are perfectly fine?"

"Really." Portia turned to look at Ellen. Seeing that the woman didn't buy a word, Portia smiled and added, "I'm just a bit tired. That's it."

"How many hours did you sleep last night?"

Portia groaned. "Why do you seem to be so obsessed about my sleep hours?" she asked back, hoping to change the subject.

"Don't even try to change the topic like you did yesterday," Ellen interjected quickly. "How many hours?"

"2 or 3 hours," Portia looked away. "But, I'm used to it."

Ellen fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Have you tried consulting to a doctor?"

Portia looked back to Ellen with furrowed brows. She hated hearing the word 'doctor'. "What for?" she spat, not intending to be that harsh.

"You've been suffering from insomnia for..... how long? 3 months?" Ellen said calmly. "You know that it's not normal and you should go to see a doctor."

"That's not necessary," Portia stated firmly. "I mean, I can handle it. I told you I'm used to it. You don't need to worry about me. This is not a big deal." She saw Ellen opened her mouth to deny that, so she raised her right hand and said, "We're not going to talk about this anymore."

Ellen gave up and didn't say anything. Portia exhaled and looked outside the window, but she could feel that Ellen's glare was piercing a hole through her skull. Finally she turned around and stared straight to Ellen's eyes. "What?" she asked directly.

Ellen pulled something out of her white tuxedo's pocket and asked, "Are these yours?"

Portia looked at the small thing on Ellen's hand and gasped.

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Ellen shook the small plastic tube that Andy had found earlier in her apartment and heard the girl sharply gasped. Judging from the girl's reaction, Ellen was convinced that the pills were hers. 

"Where did you find it?" Portia asked after she regained her composure.

"You left it in my apartment," Ellen answered and handed the small tube on her hand to Portia. She slightly frowned when she noticed that the girl's hand was shaking while taking the tube. "So," Ellen said with such tone that she forced to be as normal as possible, "what pills are those?" Of course she knew what the pills were, but she wanted to hear it directly from Portia.

Portia cleared her throat. "Vitamins," she answered shortly without looking at Ellen. "Just vitamins."

"Vitamins?" Ellen repeated while carefully observing the slightly shaking girl next to her. She stopped to think for a while, then said, "Andy said, those were pills for a cardiovascular disease."

Did Portia's face just turn dead white? She couldn't tell. It's hard to know for sure since they were in the car and the lighting was poor. 

"Andy said so?" Portia asked slowly. She cleared her throat again. "What did he say?"

"That's all he said," Ellen replied. "So?"

"These are vitamins...... for heart," Portia said quickly and put the small tube inside her purse. "The doctor recommended it for me, because as a dancer, I need to look after my heart condition."

"Is there any problem with your heart that the doctor told you to consume these vitamins?" Ellen asked again.

"Nothing serious."

"Are you sure?"

Portia turned and Ellen could see a thin smile on the girl's lips. And then she looked back to the road and mumbled, "Are we close? I hope we're not late."

It was obvious that Portia didn't want to talk about that problem anymore and that she was clearly changing the subject, so Ellen decided not to press the girl. "We don't have to be perfectly on time. It's a party after all," she said and offered a soothing smile.

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40 minutes later, they finally arrived at the building where the party was held. After they gave their coats to the awaiting waiter and mentioned their names, they both stepped into the enormous hall that was filled with people who all wore glamorous suits and dresses. People's attention were drawn to the stage, where a stunning lady in her 50s was giving the welcoming speech for the guests.

Ellen touched Portia's elbow who was admiring the architecture of the building's hall to get her attention. Portia turned and followed Ellen's eyes to the graceful lady on the stage. Ellen leaned over to Portia and whispered, "That's Dee Black."

Portia nid-nodded her head.

"You want some drink?" Ellen asked, still whispering.

Portia nodded again.

"Come on, then," Ellen reached for Portia's hand and led the way to the drinks table. "Fruit punch?"

"Contains alcohol?" Portia asked hesitatingly.

"Probably a bit."

"It's okay if only a bit, I guess," Portia chuckled. 

Ellen smiled and handed a glass of punch she took from the table to Portia, and received a glass of champagne from a waiter who was roaming around the room, offering champagne and wine.

They sipped their own drinks while listening to the closure of the speech. "Once again, thank you so much for your presence here, I really appreciate it. Please enjoy the foods and drinks, and please..... take your partner for a dance."

The guests clapped their hands and Dee Black descended from the stage. The band started to play the song to accompany the couples who wanted to dance.

"El, I didn't expect to see you here."

Ellen turned to the familiar sound and smiled at her mother that somehow already stood beside her. "Hey, Mom. Where's Vance?"

"He's chatting with his friends right there," Betty said while pointing to her right side. "Just let him mingle around."

"Hello, Betty," Portia said hi.

Betty's face lit up when she saw Portia. "Oh, hello, Portia. You're here too, apparently." Her eyes went to observe Portia from head to toe. "You look very beautiful!"

Portia blushed a bit. "Urh, thank you, Betty. You look stunning as well."

Ellen's mom shook her hand and smiled widely. "By the way, have you two met Regina?" she asked while looking around the room, searching for her 'other daughter'.

"Not yet," Ellen said. "She's already here, too?"

"Yes. She came with Kelly."

Ellen lifted her eyebrows and smiled in amusement. "She took Kelly here?"

Her mom chuckled. "Kelly knew that we're going to attend this party and she practically begging -- if not insisting -- Regina to take her too."

Portia turned to Ellen and asked, "Who's Kelly?"

"Kelly is my cousin. I really have no idea what made Regina agree to take her here as her date. Well, perhaps Kelly's just really ambitious on being a dancer despite the lack of talents. However, Kelly isn't the type of girl you can take to these kind of formal events."

"Why so?"

Ellen smiled broadly. "Because Kelly --although she's actually a sweet and smart girl-- is one of those girls who....... got no control over her tongue."

Portia stared at Ellen confusedly. 

Betty slapped her daughter's arm playfully, then looked at Portia. "Kelly is a very loud person. She blurts out everything from inside her mind without considering it or thinking about other people's feelings. She also likes to debate about anything, with anyone, anytime, and anywhere. Maybe that's the side effect of being too smart. It's just, sometimes people don't really like girls that are 'too smart', if you know what I mean." Betty explained and looked over Portia's shoulder before saying, "Oh, that's Regina."

Ellen's eyes followed her mom's and she saw Regina was walking toward them with a big smile. Well, actually that big smile was only addressed to Portia.

"Hey, El. This is a nice surprise. You usually don't attend events like this," Regina said after she approached the 3 of them. She looked at Portia and added, "Ellen was always bored whenever she's forced to attend one."

"That's why I'm taking de Rossi tonight," Ellen said flatly. "So she can accompany me and I won't be bored."

"But I hope that you won't mind if I borrow her for a while," Regina said. And before Ellen got the chance to answer, Regina averted her eyes to look upon Portia and said, "You look amazing tonight. So, would you like to dance with me?"

Portia smiled and was about to accept Regina's offer when she remembered that she had to accompany Ellen. She looked at Ellen hesitantly. "You don't mind, do you?" she asked softly.

The girl's hesitance made Ellen happy somehow. At least she didn't say yes to Regina right away and left Ellen to stand alone like an idiot. 

"Ellen doesn't mind," Regina answered, although she wasn't the one who's asked. 

"Mom said you're here with Kelly. Where's your date?" Ellen asked sharply.

"Kelly is.... Oh, I don't know, the last time I saw her, she was trying to introduce herself to some male dancers around the corner," Regina answered indifferently.

"So, while Kelly's busy preying, Portia can dance with me. Come on, Portia."

Ellen scowled when he saw Regina took Portia's hand.

Portia laughed, but then she looked back at Ellen and the questioning eyes were still there.

Ellen stared at the girl, then she exhaled slowly. She took the glass of punch from Portia's hand and said, "Go. I'll wait for you right here."

A bright smile emerged from Portia's face and her eyes gleamed in excitement. "Thanks. I'll be back soon, Ed," she said before she let Regina dragged her away to the dance floor. 

Ellen smiled amusedly when she caught a glimpse of "Ed? Did you just call her 'Ed'?" from Regina. 

"Ellen, are you giving a chance to your friend?" her mom asked.

"She better know that this is for the very last time I give her that," Ellen muttered before she even comprehended what she had just said. She fixed her eyes on Portia who was happily dancing with Regina. Who would've thought that a modern dancer like Regina would know some Waltz moves?

"Judging from the way she smiles, I think she likes Regina, too."

Ellen's head spun way too quickly that she almost felt dizzy. "Portia smiles that way to everybody."

"Ah, you're right," Betty muttered, fully ignoring her daughter's annoyed tone or her surly face. "She smiles to everybody the very same way. But, wait. Hm... not really. That's not entirely true. I've seen her staring at somebody in a totally different way."

"What do you mean, Mom?"

Her mom smiled at Ellen and patted Ellen's cheek softly. "Don't put a frightening face like that. You know...."

"Betty! Ellen! I'm so glad that you made it here tonight."

Ellen and her mom simultaneously looked at Dee Black who was approaching them with two widely opened arms.

"Oh, Dee. Of course I wouldn't miss your party for the world," Betty replied while embracing her friend in a big hug. "Your parties never let people down."

"Ellen, Ellen, Ellen." Dee Black turned to Ellen who managed to smile just in time. "So glad to see you again. You came here only with your mom?"

Before Ellen could answer, her mom interjected, "Of course not. I don't think she would ever want to take her mom as a date to these kind of parties. Her brother is still mingling around and Regina had just kidnapped Ellen's date. So, here we are." Betty chuckled.

Ellen had to try really hard not to scowl at her mom. 

Dee laughed. "Ah, Regina is here too?"

"Yeah, there she is," Ellen said and pointed to Regina who was still dancing with Portia. "Can you see her?"

Dee lengthen her neck a bit and squinted her eyes, focusing her eyes on the person that Ellen had just pointed. And then smiled, "Yes, yes, I can see her. And she's -- oh... Oh!"

"What? What is it?" Ellen asked when she saw Dee's eyes widened and fixated on Regina's direction.

"Oh my dear god, isn't the girl who's dancing with her is Portia de Rossi?" 

Ellen was quite shocked. "You know her?"

"Of course I do," Dee said sternly. She turned to look at Ellen and Betty alternately, as though she couldn't comprehend how could they didn't know who Portia de Rossi really was. And then her eyes went back to Portia. 

"She's the best dancer that had ever joined my dancing club and she's one of the top 5 contemporary dancers in the world at the moment. And I am deeply, deeply disappointed and heart broken when she suddenly resigned herself from my club last year."

Tu Es Mon Soleil - Chapter 19

"FINALLY!! My kung pao is heeerreeee!" Andy cheered happily when he had his favorite food brought to him. He looked up to the skinny lady with dark hair who brought the food. "Thanks, Mrs. Li. Just so you know, your kung pao is definitely the best one in the entire Chinatown."

Mrs. Li, a woman in her 30s, the owner of the Eastern Sea restaurant in Chinatown, who received Andy's compliment, patted Andy's shoulder. "Save it, young man, and eat," she said and laughed. She turned to Ellen and asked, "You can eat with only one hand?"

Ellen broke her attention from her phone and smiled. "I can move my hand a bit now, Mrs. Li. No need to worry."

"And once it's totally healed, we can start rearranging all of your concerts schedule," Andy said after Mrs. Li left them. "Maybe around February or March?"

"We're going to talk about that after my hand is totally healed," Ellen responded flatly and got back to staring at her phone with furrowed brows. "No need to rush."

Andy raised his eyebrows. "If I wasn't mistaken, it was you who couldn't wait to get back to work. What happened? Getting used to live a lazy life?"

"Not lazy....." Ellen denied reluctantly. "Just trying to enjoy the last days of my holiday."

"Very well," Andy scowled. "Just feed your manager here to the lions a.k.a YOUR CLIENTS."

Ellen chuckled. "Isn't Andy Lassner able to solve every problems in this world?"

"Of course I am. There's absolutely nothing I can't handle," Andy stated firmly. "But I need some papers that I left in your apartment. Can we stop by after lunch?"

"Sure."

"Are we gonna see Portia there?" Andy asked expectantly.

"Nope," Ellen said. "She has a lunch date with her mom."

"Ah, shame," Andy sighed. "Well then, please send my regards when you see her. No, no need. I'll call her myself later. Maybe I'll ask her to go for a dinner date with me tonight."

"No way," Ellen cut him off quickly. Too quick.

"Why not?"

"Because we're going to attend Dee's party."

"Dee Black Dance Company?"

"Uh-huh."

Andy raised his eyebrows again. "Oh? Didn't you say you're not gonna attend that party?" 

"I changed my mind." Ellen glanced at her phone. "Hmm... Now that I think about it... I don't know her apartment number. I need to ask her," she said and grabbed her phone.

Andy blinked, and then slowly, a smile grew on his face. "Ellen, are you trying to find a reason to call Portia?"

"What?" Ellen stopped playing with her phone. "Of course not. That's ridiculous."

Andy chuckled. "No? But just so you know, you really don't need a reason to call your girl."

"She's not my girl," Ellen groaned. 

"No, she's not. But you want her to be your girl."

Ellen ignored Andy. "I couldn't hear you," she said flatly and got back to her phone. She pressed some buttons and placed her phone on her ear.

Seconds later, the voice that Ellen wanted to hear emerged. "Yes, Ed?"

"Excuse me?" 

"Gosh, sorry. What's up?" Portia sounded embarrassed.

Ellen smiled, amused. "No, no, no. What did you call me?"

For a couple seconds, there was no answer. 

Then, "Ed." Portia finally said. Sounded even more embarrassed than before. 

Ellen's smile got bigger. "I like that."

Silence again. 

"You..... You do?" Portia hesitated. 

"Yeah, I do." 

"Okay...." Portia said and Ellen could almost sense the girl smiling on the other side. 

"So, what's up?" Portia asked again.

"Nothing. It's just.... I just remembered you haven't told me your apartment number."

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Portia sighed softly and put the latest edition of Vogue magazine on her right side. There were just a couple seats that were occupied along the white aisle. An old man sat alone at the end of the aisle, then a man and a woman, and then there was Portia and her mom.

Portia turned to see her mom who sat next to her. 

"You know, Mom, I could come here alone. You really don't need to go here with me."

Her mom lifted her face from the O Magazine that she was reading and smiled. "I wanted to go with you, honey." She stretched her hand and held Portia's. "Everything's gonna be okay. Don't worry."

Portia forced a smile, because even though she doubted her mom's words, she knew her mom wanted to see her smile. "Yeah... Yeah, of course. Everything's gonna be okay," she mumbled. Then she changed the subject, "So, where are we going to have our lunch after this? Or do you need to go back to work?"

Her mom shook her head. "Nope. I'm not going back to my office today. So, we can have lunch together. Oh, it's up to you, honey. Any idea?"

Portia thought for a while, then smiled a little. "What about Italians' food? I know a nice Italian restaurant in Upper West Side. Moratti's. Ever heard of it?"

"No. Have you ever been there?"

"Yes. With Ellen."

"Oh, your hand-broken-friend?" her mom giggled.

"Her hand isn't broken, Moomm."

"I know, I know. How's she doing?"

"She's good. Her hand's almost healed."

"That's good news." Her mom said and looked down again to read the O magazine on her lap, but a second later, her gaze went back to Portia. 

"Anyway, does she know?"

"Know..... what?" Portia asked. But then she understood what her mom meant. She looked away and said, "No..... No. She doesn't know. I don't think there's a reason to tell her."

Her mom shrugged. "Well, I just thought, since you spend most of your time with her, you might've let her know."

"No. She doesn't know," Portia mumbled once again. 

"Are you going to tell her?"

Portia's phone rang loudly. Saved by the bell, Portia thought. She quickly pulled out her phone from her purse. Her heart beat twice as faster when she saw the name on the screen. 

Portia smiled a bit and inhaled deeply before picking up, made sure that her voice would sound stable.

"Yes, Ed?"

Shoot! Why did I call her that? Portia regretted that as soon as the word flew out from her mouth.

"Excuse me?" 

Portia shut her eyes in embarrassment.

"Gosh, sorry. What's up?" She asked, hoping that Ellen would let it go.

"No, no, no. What did you call me?" Ellen asked, sounding amused at Portia's embarrassment. 

Dammit. Portia cursed herself again.

For a couple seconds, she mulled over whether or not to repeat it. But finally, she gave up. Ellen would chase her until she got the answer anyway if she didn't tell her now. 

"Ed." Portia finally said. Sounded even more embarrassed than before. 

There was a split second of torturing silence for Portia, then, "I like that."

Portia almost couldn't believe what she just heard. She thought Ellen would get offended.

"You..... You do?" 

"Yeah, I do." 

Portia smiled and bit her under lip.

"Okay...." She finally said, still grinning.

"So, what's up?" Portia asked again.

"Nothing. It's just.... I just remembered you haven't told me your apartment number," Ellen said.

"Huh?"

"Your apartment number. I told you I'm going to pick you up tonight, but I forgot to ask you your apartment number. I only know your address and that your apartment is on the second floor," she explained.

"2-A. My apartment number is 2-A," Portia answered. "But, as soon as you get to my place, you just need to call me and I'll go outside."

"We'll see."

Portia didn't understand, but didn't ask.

"So.... what are you up to?"

Portia bit her lip, anxious this time. She glanced at her mom who was still reading the magz. "I'm..... with my mom."

"Lunch?"

"Mm... yeah. You?"

"I'm having lunch, too, with Andy. He said hi to you," Ellen said. She stood silent for a second and suddenly said, "No, I'm not gonna let you talk to her. I already said your hi to her, right? So, shut up."

Portia blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Sorry. I was talking to Andy," Ellen said quickly.

Portia smiled again. "Say hi to him."

Ellen grumbled inaudibly.

"Where are you guys having lunch?" Portia asked.

"Chinatown."

"Sounds fun."

"I'll take you here sometime," she said. "According to Andy, Mrs. Li's kung pao is the best in the whole Chinatown."

Portia laughed. "Yeah? I'll just believe him then."

Suddenly Portia heard her name being called. "Portia de Rossi? Dr. Schultz wants to see you right now."

Portia nodded.

"Oh, Ed, I need to go now," Portia said, smiling again. She somehow felt happy just by saying that name. "Mm... See you tonight?"

"Okay. See you tonight."

Portia locked her phone and stood up from her seat, followed by her mom. They entered one of the rooms along the white aisle, and said hi to a familiar young doctor.

Dr. Harold Schultz, one of the best cardiologists in that hospital, smiled and said hi to them. "So, Portia, how are you? Is there any significant progress or change I need to know?"

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"I'll go get the papers," Ellen said to Andy after they got into her apartment. "If you need a drink, look for it in the refrigerator."

Ellen walked into her room while Andy walked towards the kitchen. After she found the papers that Andy needed, she walked out of her room, to the living room.

"Hey, Ellen," Andy called out from the kitchen. Ellen was a bit confused hearing Andy's serious tone.

"Yeah?" Ellen shouted from the living room.

Not long after, Andy emerged from the kitchen, bringing a small plastic tube. He frowned, staring at Ellen suspiciously.

"What?" Ellen asked again.

"Is there anything that you didn't tell me?" Andy asked. His voice still sounded deeply serious. And worried.

"What do you mean?" Ellen stared at him, didn't understand.

Andy held up the plastic tube in front of Ellen's nose. "These pills. Are these yours?"

Ellen shook her head. "No. Where did you find it?"

"On the kitchen's bar," Andy muttered slowly.

"Maybe it's de Rossi's," Ellen guessed.

"Portia's?" Andy mumbled, more to himself.

"Yeah, maybe she left it when she came here earlier this morning," Ellen shrugged.

Andy hesitated. "But these pills....."

"Why? You know those pills?"

Andy nodded. "My aunt, Edith -- she's my mom's little sister -- she also takes these pills. I'm 100% sure these are the same pills because she always asks me to buy it for her."

Ellen didn't say anything, waiting for Andy to continue his explanation.

And then Andy looked at Ellen and asked, "Does she have cardiovascular disease?"

Ellen was shocked. She knew what it was, but the only thing that came out from her mouth was, "Huh?"

"Heart disease," Andy said again. 

"Does Portia suffer from any heart disease?"