DIANN

The door opened.

"Come in, Vatrice."

The beautiful young woman stepped into the hallway as the other woman closed the door.

"Oh, Casine, you have a lovely home from what I saw outside and now I see in here," Vatrice stated quietly.

"Thank you, dear," Casine replied. She motioned Vatrice into the living room where sat a third woman.

"Hello, Vatrice," the woman said as she smiled and stood to approach the new arrival.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Reah," Vatrice responded. They politely embraced as Casine stated, "what would you like, Vatrice? Anything?"

"We're having mineral water," Reah said in her trademark deep voice as she held up the brand name container after having returned to te sofa.

"That would be fine," Vatrice answered. Casine returned with another bottle and opened it for Vatrice, then handed it to her.

"Please, sit down," Casine said, sitting on the opposite side of the small circle of seats. Casine reached for her own bottle of mineral water as Vatrice drank from hers after she sat and had crossed her legs.

"It's so hot outside," she said to the other two.

"Yes, it is," Reah said, smiling in agreement. Casine nodded.

Silence.

"I guess," Reah started very slowly, still holding the bottle, "the first thing we must discuss is why are we here?"

No one spoke.

Casine quietly put her bottle down and slowly stood. Vatrice and Reah watched her cross the room to the mantlepiece. Casine picked up the shiny figurine and held it a while, then turned to the other two women.

"I guess I should have put this away," Casine said as she walked back to her original seat, still carrying the item. She sat down and leaned forward to place the item centered on the table but close enough so any of them could reach it if needed to.

"No," Vatrice said, "I think it is important we do look at it."

"Diann is the reason we are here," Reah stated.

"It's the reason we are here," Vatrice repeated. She stared at the figurine, not taking her eyes off of it.

"I was at home watching on tv when you won this," Vatrice stated. "I was so happy for you. I cried," she said with a gripping smile.

"I was in the audience," Reah added. "We hailed it as an achievement."

"Well, it was," Vatrice replied.

"It was then, I suppose," Casine said.

"I was so happy."

Vatrice spoke rather whistfully.

"You were the first black woman to win the Ann?"

"No," Casine replied.

"That was Mabel Jones," Reah commented, then took a drink from her bottle.

"Long time ago," Casine said quietly.

"First black woman to win the Ann," Vatrice stated, almost as if it was needed to be spoken to delve into present day events.

"First black person to win any of the awards," Reah stated, then added, "took them forever to give out another one."

Casine chuckled.

"Yea," she said, "the story was only one black winner at a time, like a Royal coronation. One had to be dead before the next one could receive the prize."

"It honestly seemed like they believed that," Reah said, rather condescendingly. "We can't give out another honor to a black entertainer as long as old Methuselah there is still around. Could you believe it?"

The trio were amused, then quieted again and stared once more at the figurine.

"Is there any difference between them? Between an Ann and Diann," Vatrice asked.

"No," Reah answered. "I don't believe so. They all look the same."

"Where do we stand?" Vatrice finally queried. They looked at her for clarification.

"What nominations or awards do we have?" Vatrice asked, looking to the other two.

"Just so we know the tally," Casine responded.

"of course," said Reah, then she added, "one Ann nomination, three Dianns, no wins."

"Two Ann noms, my one win here for Ann, and now my Diann nom," Casine stated.

"Two Ann noms, a Diann nom, and now another Diann nomination," Vatrice spoke, then responded very loudly, "what on Earth is with those names?"

Reah laughed.

"Yea, that's what I'd like to know," Casine added.

"Who are these people?" Vatrice spoke sharply.

Reah settled down, then spoke, "the story is, they were the first winners, named after the first winners. Ann for major female, William for major male, Andrew for minor male and the Diann for minor female."

"But there was more," Casine inquired.

Reah clarified, "Yes, they were all related."

"Keeping it in the famliy, I guess," Casine said.

"Nothing like nepotism to bestow your awards," Reah said sarcastically.

Once again, the women laughed together in amusement.

"And here we are wanting the Diann," Casine said, looking at Ann. She then glanced up to Reah, then Vatrice.

Reah cleared her throat, then stated, "by this time in my career, I don't really feel it matters."

"Supposed to be inspirational to the younger set," Vatrice said. "Aren't we always told that?"

"Haven't we always heard that, all the way back to after Mabel Jones and Edward Calverton won their statuettes," Reah responded.

"Edward Calverton. Oh, yes," Vatrice said. "My mother used to have such a crush on him."

"Dear Edward," Reah said quietly. As the eldest of the trio, she was about the only one who existed in one capacity or another hwne the earlier entertainers had been around.

"Remember Charlie Williams?" Reah asked.

"Oh, my" Vatrice replied. "All that stuff that was said about him really damaged his image."

Reah exhaled.

"A lot of it wasn't true," she said silently.

"Hardly any of it ever is," Casine replied.

Vatrice took a drink from her bottle and reached for the Ann. She hesitated, looking to Casine.

"May I?"

"By all means," Casine said.

Vatrice stretched over to snare the little statuette. She sat still and stared at it, then looked off across the floor.

"We want what they have," she said quietly.

"We want the opportunity to have what they have," Reah corrected. Vatrice looked at her and nodded.

"How many times can a blue-eyed woman win the Diann? The minor award? The secondary honor?" Vatrice whispered.

"Enough so it ends up like a secret elite club," Casine declared, "like waving a carrot in front of our face, taunting us to want it. To want what we cannot have."

Vatrice looked up, first at Catrice, then Reah.

"What about Sabila Klein?" she asked. "Didn't she win a Diann a few years back?"


"Oh, yes, Sabila Klein," Reah sat up, throwing her head back to take a drink of water, then lowered the bottle again.

"We do have to discuss these matters, don't we?" she said to Casine. Csaine smiled.

"Do you need another bottle?"

"Not yet," Reah answered, "but soon," then she continued.

"Sabila Klein was half Arabic, half Czech, half Turkish."

Vatrice smiled with amusement.

"I think she had a white great-great-grandmother who was part of the French monarchy," Reah concluded.

"That's not true, is it?" Vatrise said laughing.

"No, it is," Reah answered, very seriously, adding, "I think there was a Venusian in there as well."

"Supposed to appease all the non-whites," Casine stated.

"Make us all feel included," Reah quipped. "Non-white covers all other races, so we should feel included and as one with the blondes."

"Oh, my," Vatrice laughed, still clutching the Ann.

"Der old Sabela," Reah said quietly, staring off now as Vatrice had done, "dear Sabela."

"She was a favorite of mine," Vatrice stated.

"Just sometimes wonder what it is all for, I guess," Reah said.

"to inspire others?" Casine answered.

"I suppose," Reah stated.

Silence.

"Even if we wanted to dismiss it," Vatrice stated, "we can't now."

"No," Casine said, "I guess we can't."

"A part of me does hope Peppie gets it," Vatrice said.

Casine and Reah looked at her, but then realized she simply spoke what they all felt.

"Dreadful performance," Reah said.

"Awful," Csaine said scornfully.

"What was with that outfit?" Vatrice said very boldly.

"Who nominated her for that?"

"I think," Reah stated, "that she was a fill-in nomination."

Reah said for a moment, then added, "pretty much the same way mine is."

Casine examined her water bottle before her, that she held in her hands.

"It could be an overall honor," she stated. "They do like to give those."

"At the end of the career," Reah laughed.