Anything Could Happen (4 page)

“Oh yes,” she said and shepherded him to the table full of food, and yes, right there in the middle of the table, a red velvet cake in the shape of an armadillo, covered in gray icing! She leaned in, cut off a leg, placed it on a plate, and handed it to him.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Want a drink?” she asked. “I hear the punch is deadly.”

“It better not be” came a familiar voice.

They turned to find Guy standing over them. “We still have a set to tear down today. I knew I should have made people wait to party, but all those drag queens insisted.”

“Oh, it won’t be all that bad,” said “Shelby.”

“You want some help?” Austin asked.

“You don’t have to do that,” Guy answered.

“No, really. I don’t mind. It’s not like I’ve never done it before.”

“I guess that’s true,” Guy said with a grin. “If you really don’t mind, we’d love the help.”

“It’s the least I can do, what with the free ticket and all.”

“I told you, Austin. It was no bother at all. I wanted you here.”

Austin felt his heart jump.
Gosh, the man is sweet.

“And besides,” Guy said. “The seats have all been paid for. I just organized this. Peter bought the tickets, and he wouldn’t want there to be an empty seat.”

“Peter?”

“Peter Wagner. He’s one of the patrons for the Pegasus, and a more stately homo you’ll never ever meet. He wanted to make sure a bunch of queens got to see the final performance.”

Peter Wagner. As in “The Wagner Stage”? I wonder if that’s the same Peter Uncle Bodie was talking about?

“You stick around the Pegasus long enough and you’re sure to meet him. They named the second stage after him. The least we could do with all the money he’s given to us. You know, I think he’s a friend of your uncle. Peter owns our building.”

Bingo
, thought Austin. He had to be the same Peter Uncle Bodie had been talking about.
Are they lovers?
he wondered.

So those who were willing, after a drink or two, hit the stage and began to strike the set. It was the part of the whole experience that always made Austin feel sad. The end.

Stage sets were the foundation intrinsic to helping him and his fellow actors bring forth their characters. It seemed almost a crime to tear them down. But it had to be done or the cycle could not continue. The old had to make way for the new. Arabian tents or rundown apartments made way for cornfields or a mad scientist’s laboratory. Yellow brick roads or the Mississippi River bank for dark forests, ships’ decks, and castle keeps. All to help actors bring to life whole new casts of characters.

Bittersweet was what it was.

Luckily, in this case, he had no emotional ties to Truvy’s beauty shop, except for what one performance had given him, powerful as it had been. For once, he could see the set as it was, simple sheets of plywood and two-by-fours, garage sale furniture, and fixtures that didn’t really work.

He shared these thoughts as he worked with hammer and crowbar by Guy’s side.

“I know what you mean,” said Guy. “But the worst part for me is the family lost.”

“Lost?” asked Austin. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“Something very powerful happens with a good play where the actors really connect with their characters and each other and the script. I’ve seen romances bloom, affairs begin, marriages torn apart. I was involved with a production of
Rocky Horror
where the straight man who was playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter had a wild, kinky fling with the actor who played Rocky. They’d be banging away backstage or in the dressing room—and this ‘straight’ guy got so lost in it all that he not only had a homosexual affair, but he didn’t realize that everybody knew what was going on.” Guy laughed. “How could we not know? You could smell it in the air.”

“Damn,” muttered Austin.

“I mean, acting can be all so
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
. How could Brad Pitt
not
have cheated on Jennifer with Angelina Jolie, making a movie like that?”

Austin didn’t know how to answer.

“So all of this powerful family happens, and then? Bam! It’s over, and the family that a good script and a good play forged is torn apart, and the actors are scattered to the seven winds as they take new parts and get involved in new shows. I hate cast parties.” He waved his hammer over his shoulder in the general direction of the activities in the other room, where some people still carried on. “Too many tears.”

“I-I never thought about it,” said Austin. “Buckman is a pretty small town. My graduating class was thirty-six people. You’re pretty much in all the same plays together. Even in community theater, it’s all the same people. How do you do it?”

“I direct.” Guy gave him a weak smile and attacked the next section of the set. “It lets me stand back a little bit, anyway. It’s like being a teacher at recess. The kids—the actors—they get to play. I watch over them. If everything goes according to plan, they get lots of credit. Of course, if anything goes wrong, it’s all my fault. But at least I stop falling in love with my costars.” He laughed uncomfortably.

“But what I really love is writing. I get to create the world the actors step into. I give them their words instead of memorizing someone else’s reality. I create the identity the actors take on.”

“You
sound
like a writer.” Austin felt himself get lost in Guy’s words. It was potent stuff the man was talking about. “Are you writing something now?”

Guy lowered his hammer and seemed to become lost in thought. He nodded once. “I am.” He squatted, getting ready to tackle the base of a flat that formed a wall of the beauty shop.

“What’s it called?” Austin asked, caught up even more.

“Right now, I’m still not sure.” Guy turned to him. There was a long pause. Finally: “Maybe I should call it
Dolly Parton Play
.” He laughed and gave Austin another of those winks. It was an affectation that kept drawing Austin’s attention to the man’s beautiful eyes. In fact, there wasn’t anything about Guy that wasn’t attractive. It made Austin wonder about the baggy clothes. Was he trying to hide something? Could someone that good-looking be as uncomfortable with his body as Austin was with his?

Guy looked at him, pressed his lips together, furrowed his brows. “I don’t like to talk about it.”

“Uh, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Austin said.

“I… I…. It’s a natural question,” Guy said. “People ask me all the time. But I always tell them I don’t want to jinx it.”

“Sure. I understand,” Austin replied quickly. “Don’t worry about it. How about those Royals, huh?”

Guy smiled. “It’s about a group of people who get thrown together under very mysterious circumstances, and how they come to deal with the situation and each other.” His brown eyes grew wide. His smile drifted away and then returned. “Wow. I’ve never told a soul. And with you, it just slipped right out. I hardly know you, and there it is, right out in the open.”

“Thank you,” Austin said, feeling honored. He told Guy as well. “Maybe it’s because you don’t know me. And I’m not a part of your world.”

“Not yet,” said Guy. “Hang around the theater long enough and someone will hand you a broom. Here you are with a hammer already.”

Austin grinned. How about that?

Then Guy seemed to grow thoughtful again. “No, it’s not because I don’t know you. Something else….”

“What?” asked Austin, wanting to know those thoughts more than he would have expected. What was going on behind those pretty eyes?

“Nothing.” Guy shook his head. “Never mind.” Guy looked back at him. “Just remember, it’s dangerous being friends with a writer. You never know when something you say will end up in his next work.”

Austin laughed. “I hardly think I’m interesting enough to be put in one of your plays.”

And just like that, Austin saw the shutters to the windows of Guy’s thoughts close.
Clack!

Guy got down on his hands and knees and raised his hammer once more. It made his ass stick out in Austin’s direction, and he couldn’t help but stare. It was round and looked very muscular. Nothing to be uncomfortable about there.

“Say,” Guy said. “After this, you want to have one more piece of cake or something and then cut out of here?”

“Huh?” Austin said, turning his gaze back to where it should be: Guy’s face.

“We could go to The Male Box.”

“The Mail Box?” Austin asked.

“It’s a gay bar. They’ve got a show on Sunday evening and drinks are only two dollars.”

“I’m not old enough, remember?” Then Austin laughed when he caught the pun for the bar’s name. The Male Box. Male. Box. He blushed at the implication. But hell, it was a gay bar. And how would that be? Going to a
gay
bar. He felt his heart racing and his stomach clenching at the same time over the idea.

“Okay, then—what if I call a few friends and we have a little get-together at my place? Say eight o’clock? After dinner? You won’t have to worry about drinking and driving. I’m right upstairs.”

“Just drinking and walking down three flights of stairs.” Austin chuckled.

“I’ll even escort you. Make sure you get down okay.”

Austin smiled. It would be nice. He found he liked Guy a lot, and it would be enjoyable seeing him some more. He hadn’t wanted the play to end, and now he didn’t want his time with Guy to end either.

Be careful
, his inner wisdom warned.
Remember the real reason you came to Kansas City.

Todd. He was looking for Todd. He needed to remember that.

But it’s not like I’m going to
sleep
with Guy
. “Sure,” he said. “Sounds like fun.”

“Then it’s a date,” Guy said.

A date. Oh God.

A date?

“I’
M
A
little nervous about this,” Austin said as he and Uncle Bodie climbed the stairs to the third floor. He had a hand on his uncle’s elbow, just in case. The older man got around pretty darn well for someone who was eighty, but why take a chance?

“Nervous? Why?” Then, before Austin could answer, “Is it because Guy is so sexy?”

“Uncle Bodie!”

“Well? He is.” Uncle Bodie raised and lowered his thick eyebrows suggestively.

“I—uh—ah—well….”

Uncle Bodie stopped. “Oh. It’s because of your friend Todd? Are you worried it’s bad for you to find another man besides Todd attractive?”

Austin shrugged.

“How chivalrous.” Uncle Bodie smiled, then patted Austin’s shoulder. “Attraction does not a cheater make, Austin. And besides, you and Todd are not lovers.” He started up the stairs again. “You can’t cheat.”

Austin shook his head. “God, Uncle Bodie, it’s not so much that. It’s just the pure fact….” He stopped and after a step, so did his uncle.

“What?”

“I don’t even know if Todd’s gay,” Austin cried.

Uncle Bodie tilted his head, looked at Austin questioningly.

“Uncle Bodie. You and Guy are the first gay people I’ve ever met. Two frigging days ago it was only me, and now—” Austin snapped his fingers. “—I know gay people. Real gay people. I’m standing in front of and talking to men who have slept with other men. Suddenly, it’s all real. It’s not just that TV show
The New Normal
. Or
Will and Grace
. It’s not just Internet porn.” He blushed. “I find my heart starts racing. I can’t believe it’s not just me anymore.”

“Oh, Austin.” Uncle Bodie gripped Austin’s shoulder. “It was never
just
you. But I get it.” He sighed. “My boy, enjoy this time. It’s going to go by in a flash. In one year, these days will seem like a century away. All of this will be old. You’ll be ‘girl friending’ it with the best of us.”

“I-I will?” It seemed impossible.

“Then again, I hope you don’t become jaded. So many gay men turn cynical and bitter so fast. But I look at you and I think that won’t be your fate. You’ll find your Todd, or not, and I think you will keep your enthusiasm. Seems to be a part of who you are.”

Austin had no idea what to say. It felt like he was entering an undiscovered country, and he had no idea what lay ahead.

“You have no idea what lies ahead. Embrace it. All of it. The nervousness too. This, in many ways—even with the very real possibilities of pain and heartbreak—will be the best year of your life.”

“A
RE
all these guys gay?” Austin asked his uncle. He looked around the room and saw about twenty men, not counting himself and his uncle.

“I do not know,” Uncle Bodie replied. “But I think that would be a good guess.”

Austin found his heart was racing, sweat was trickling down his sides. There were men of every size and shape, although most looked to be thirty or under. In one corner, two men sat close together, heads tilted against each other. Would they kiss?

Pound! Pound! went Austin’s heart.

Over there on the couch were three men. Two sat and a third lounged back against them, head in one’s lap. God.

Next to the couch was a man in a recliner; another man stood beside him, feeding him a bit of something red off a fork. He then dipped another forkful from his plate and ate it himself. Same fork. And look: it was the bleeding armadill’er cake.

Suddenly it truly was real.
I really am standing in a room full of men who have slept with other men.

Some of the men were dressed casually, some had on fun and silly outfits, and one was wearing a dress with a blue wig and his goatee painted to match. Crazy.

“Here you go, Austin, Bodie.”

It was Guy. He’d returned from the kitchen with a glass of wine for Uncle Bodie and the Double-Wide I.P.A. beer Austin had liked so much a couple of nights earlier. “Oh! Thanks, Guy.”

“I picked it up special,” Guy said, and then stood close enough to Austin that their shoulders touched. They were both leaning back against a bookcase. He was wearing a big, baggy white sweater with columns of zigzagging cables.
Why wear such baggy clothes?
Yet somehow it worked. Did everything about Guy “work”?