Friday morning, July 19, 2013
I fell asleep earlier than I wanted to, so I didn't know if Yvonne was doing the same with me. When I woke up the next morning, I didn't dare to open my eyes – both in fear of not seeing her there, and in fear of how to talk to her if she was there. However, I heard footsteps nearby, which told me she'd stayed the night but was ready to go.
I should have been the gentleman and said a goodbye, at least, but I was too nervous. It was easy to be gusty near a hot celebrity when they're letting you take her, yet the aftermath seemed too tricky to handle.
Before I cursed myself too much for not having guts, I felt a pair of cool lips on my cheek. Yvonne was sneaking out while she thought I was sleeping – but she still had the decency and appreciation to kiss me goodbye. Even if she thought I wouldn't know about it.
So half good, half bad morning after. At least I had enough of the good to cling to. I'd carry that with me in my long wait for.....
Fuck.
It wasn't a last look at Yvonne Strahovski that made me spring out of bed, but the prospect of being late in line for the afternoon's biggest panel. Marvel was holding a screening of their new Avengers based TV pilot "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" -- and although it was hours from now, it still might be too late for a good place in line.
I got myself dressed, left the Hilton, went over to the convention and saw way too many people camped out in line already. Nevertheless, I dared to hope I was just on the borderline of fitting into the way too small Ballroom 20.
Hours later, the dare didn't pay off.
I was reduced to going online and looking up live blogs to see what I was missing. Of course few people in that crowd were going to hate the pilot, or hate hearing from the likes of Joss Whedon. This told me little I couldn't have figured out – except that Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill was in the pilot too and would likely be a recurring guest in between "How I Met Your Mother"'s final season. But it would been nice to see them prove me right in person.
I guessed this was my comeuppance for getting so lucky last night. Figured it would happen, but it didn't have to take up my whole day. With no chance of getting into the night's big panels – including a Spider-Man 2 one that wouldn't even have Emma Stone there – I quit while I was behind by a manageable figure.
All I did was walk around the convention, check the exhibits, and have some leftover regret over the end with Yvonne. While that was only a little asterisk on the hottest night of my life, it wasn't like I'd get a chance to improve on it. With her or anyone like her.
I carried that feeling with me as I left the convention building. Apparently to an astounding degree. Because I could have sworn someone that looked like Cobie Smulders was hanging around there too.
So I was imagining a celeb associated with Marvel now. Then again, I thought I imagined Yvonne at first, or at least thought she was a costumed fan. This Cobie lookalike wasn't dressed up as Maria Hill, or even as Robin Sparkles. Then what....
Oh God. Did I just see a real life celebrity and mistake her for a fan again? Tonight, of all nights? When I answered my own question, I had to go into a laughing fit.
When I remembered Cobie Smulders was there to hear my fit, I made myself sound human again. But just in case I hadn't embarrassed myself enough, I asked, "You are Cobie Smulders, right?""
"The guy who gave me my Comic Con badge thought so," she replied. It was more of a joke than an answer, yet it sounded enough like her, so it was close enough.
"Good. I mean, this isn't the first time I saw a celebrity here and thought she was in a costume. Now I know it's a trend," I explained, without adding the other details.
"It's my first time here, so I don't know where all the costume shops are yet," Cobie retorted.
"Oh right, that's right," I exclaimed, remembering this was the first year "How I Met Your Mother" was at Comic Con – and the last – and she hadn't been on any Marvel panels yet. Not off screen, anyway. Still, another first timer here like me – at least in one regard.
Shaking that off, I revealed, "I tried to see your big screen Comic Con debut today. I didn't quite make it. Spent hours in line and everything."
Cobie took a second to decode that, then looked apologetic. "Ouch. Sorry, man," she said.
"My fault for sleeping, I guess," I commented, again brushing aside the exact circumstances. "Now I know what not to do tonight before your next panel," I added, throwing away my plans to go to the Hunger Games panel tomorrow – I pretty much had to now. But the Mother panel was my second choice for the afternoon, so no harm done.
"No sleep, good advice. I can do that before my two panels tomorrow and get away with it, right? You probably know more about what works here than me," Cobie stated. It took me a while to realize she was talking about being on the Captain America panel too, which made me feel even more like a time waster. Still, I had to correct something before I stopped.
"Actually, this is my first time here too," I said, adding the "here" to the first time since there was no need for innuendo. Not with another celebrity, and not with one married with a four-year-old kid. Karma had punished me enough today.
Nevertheless, I continued, "I'm no expert on how this place works yet. Maybe oversleeping will work better for you. They can afford to wait for you in a ballroom," I tried to say in a non-bitter way. To erase that, I added, "But from what I hear, I missed out on some pretty big stuff. I'm glad you were part of it. And part of the stuff after that. Eventually."
"Thanks. Eventually," Cobie replied with a smile.