by Scott Damon
After a long pause, Calvin said, “Jason, I care about you too. In fact, I love you.”
Jason was surprised Calvin used those words. He gulped, and said, “Cal, I love you, too.” They stopped and looked each other in the eye.
“But, that’s not the way boyfriends, or partners, or whatever we were…or are…treat each other. Your body belongs to me. I’ve accepted some of the oiling and stuff as necessary for the play, but man! Outside of the play, I don’t want anyone else touching you.”
Jason was flattered by Calvin’s possessiveness and jealousy, realizing why it bothered him so much. “Yes, I understand now. My body is yours. And your body is mine.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Nobody is after me the way they’re interested in you.”
“I’ve seen the way guys look at you sometimes, Cal. Don’t be so sure.”
“Well, in any case, if we’re a couple, we have to act like it.”
“Yes, yes, I know. Once again, I’m so sorry. I can’t undo it, although I wish I could.”
Calvin put his hand on Jason’s shoulder. “We’ll put it behind us. I don’t know that I’ll be able to forget it right away, but we can try to move beyond it.”
Jason was still curious. “Can I ask you something? After ignoring all my messages and begging you to meet, why did you agree to meet me this time?”
Calvin replied, “It was three reasons. One was Derek – who can resist your brother? Also, I couldn’t stand to be without you any longer. I’ve missed you like crazy. And you said something in the message Derek delivered that you hadn’t said before.”
“I did? What was it?”
“You said you wouldn’t do it again. The other times, you apologized over and over, but you never said that. Maybe it’s a small thing, but the message changed this time.”
“No, it’s not a small thing. I thought it was obvious, but I should have said it all along. I definitely won’t do it again. There’s no way I want to lose you again.”
“Good. I’m not real sure why you let it happen to begin with, but I’m glad it’s the last time.”
“I guess I got carried away being the center of attention. It’s never been so easy talking to people and being relaxed in all kinds of social situations. In the past few months, I’ve felt comfortable in places I never would have before.”
“Maybe it was your own doubts holding you back. I’ve never known you to have a problem, but I haven’t known you long.”
“Being with you has always been different. I’ve always been able to talk to you about anything.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Me too, with you.”
“Most importantly, you’re my boyfriend. So I will act like it. I hope though that if anything else comes up between us you agree to talk about it. I can’t live with the kind of silence you put me through this past week.”
“I didn’t know how to deal with it either. I’ll try to talk about what’s on my mind next time.”
“I hope so. We’ll never resolve anything if we don’t talk things through.”
“You’re probably right. And we don’t want to wear out your brother.”
They stopped and kissed for a few moments, walked around the park for a short time, and headed back holding hands. The town had its conservative elements, but that night they wanted to own their relationship and be proud of it. When they got back to Jason’s house, they played a couple board games with Derek before Calvin headed home for a good night’s sleep prior to opening night.
Chapter 21 – Opening Night
With so much of the school involved with the play in some capacity, Rich Langley proposed to Principal Adams they declare the entire week “Jungle Week” at Whitman High School and allow students to wear their costumes all day long. Adams responded this might distract too much and he was reluctant. They compromised on a single spirit day, with “Jungle Day” on Friday.
Adams’ fears were not unfounded, as many students and staff were not involved in the play in any way, so the costumes were new to them. Jason and others drew lots of attention from them and from people who happened to visit the school. On the other hand, it created an air of excitement for the first performance and people snatched up all remaining tickets for added performances.
Not much of an academic nature was accomplished during the day unless teachers piggybacked on the theme and play. English classes read and discussed Tarzan adventures. Math classes estimated proceeds from ticket sales. Business classes evaluated the marketing campaign. In gym classes, students climbed and swung on ropes and tried to perform the simplest of stunts from the play. Enthusiasm was peaking throughout the school.
Jason was able to eat dinner with his family that night for the first time in a long time. They agreed to eat early in order to be together, because he had to get to school to get made up and prepare for the performance.
As dinner was ending, Jason got several calls from Wayne, which he didn’t answer. Wayne stopped calling and texted the boy:
Good luck, tonight, Tarak. I bought tickets to every show. You’ll do great,
I’m sure. Break a leg
Jason texted back a simple “Thx”, dreading the thought of running into him that night.
Jason’s family had tickets to this first performance, so they got ready, as well, and headed out long after he left. Most of the actors’ families attended the first show. As they got ready, actors disagreed about whether having their parents in the audience made them more comfortable or more nervous. Jason knew he would be nervous regardless. He was happy for their support. Calvin helped calm him down by joking with him. Both boys were glad their relationship appeared to be back on track.
* * *
The play went off with only a few small problems. One actor missed his cue and there was a slight delay coming onstage. Another actor accidentally kicked a prop that was supposed to be a heavy boulder and was obviously much lighter when it rolled, causing a smattering of laughter.
As the performance ended, there were smiles all around. The audience raved about it. Most of the actors, Langley, and his assistants went to the lobby to hear how things went and greet anyone who was interested in sharing their thoughts. The only negative comments they heard were from people who had expected it to be a musical version, so they missed the musical numbers, but they still enjoyed this interpretation.
Langley had placed a couple friends in the audience to gauge specific reactions to scenes and parts of the script, with the intention of making adjustments if small tweaks were suggested. The audience reacted best to the high action scenes, including the fights and when Tarak was being tortured for information. People also appreciated the romantic scenes with Victoria. There wasn’t anything that needed wholesale revision, but Langley considered they might extend some of those select scenes to please the audience even more without overdoing it. Any ideas for changes would be saved for the following week’s performances.
* * *
Jason received a rousing ovation at the end of the show. Most of the cast did, but as the star, his lasted a long time. Some audience members stood for it, but not all. Jason beamed from the stage and took many bows and a couple extra curtain calls.
In the lobby, people surrounded him. He was still in his loincloth, but wore flip flops to be safe. It took a while for his family to approach close enough to congratulate him. When they did, he was thrilled they enjoyed the play and recognized all the hard work that went into it. They didn’t stick around long, with so many other people attempting to talk to him.
Wayne found him and gave him an awkward hug and handshake. Jason smiled, thanked him for coming, and quickly turned to others who gathered all around him.
There was considerable repetition in the praise he heard. People said he made a great Tarak, his acting was outstanding, and this was the best production they had ever seen at the school. Many said they came after seeing posters of him and they were not disappointed. Many people – men and women, young and old –
wanted pictures taken with him and he obliged.
The comments were all so positive, he wasn’t tired of the repetition yet, although he didn’t have different answers each time somebody repeated a compliment. He was trying hard to not let it go to his head and attempted to share the success.
Jason was relieved when Calvin inched his way to his side and gave him a big hug. They stood together afterwards and faced the crowd as a couple until it petered out a half hour later.
Calvin turned to Jason, still pumped from the play, and said, “Tarak, I thought you did a marvelous job tonight.”
“You too. It was a night I’ll never forget.”
“Jason, I’m sorry I put you through everything this past week. I just didn’t know how to handle all the emotions I was feeling.”
“It’s fine, Cal. I deserved it. I’m glad we’re back together though.”
“Me too, obviously. You really were great tonight.”
“Thanks. We have many more shows to go, but this was special. This was way more fun than I expected.”
Langley overheard this last comment as he walked over to the boys. “I’m glad to hear that. If you’re not having fun, then we’ve lost sight of the main goal. And I’m so thrilled to see you two getting along again.”
Calvin put his arm around Jason’s shoulders, smiling at Langley. “We are too, Mr. Langley. Thanks for your support.”
Jason added, “Yeah, we’re thrilled. Thanks.” He smiled at Langley.
As the crowd dwindled, the actors made their way backstage to change to go home. Jason and Calvin were among the last to leave, because so many people wanted to talk to Jason. The boys held hands or had their arms around each other’s shoulders much of the time.
Langley had arranged with some parents to host a cast party after Saturday night’s performance, but nothing formal was scheduled on opening night. Jason and Calvin changed into their street clothes and headed back to Jason’s house, where his family had prepared a small celebration. After the extensive commotion following the play at the school, they were all glad to be involved in something quieter.
After the small party, Calvin and Jason talked to Derek for a few more minutes. Jason told him, “Derek, you helped us so much yesterday, we want to take you on a camping trip with us.”
Derek’s eyes lit up, “Cool! That would be great.”
Calvin cautioned, “We can’t do it for a few weeks until the play is over, but as soon as we find a weekend with good weather after that, we want to do it.”
“Sounds fantastic. Thanks, guys.”
Calvin and Jason left Derek and savored a long kiss in the hallway before Calvin had to head home. It was the weekend, their debut performance went at least as well as they expected, and they were at peace with each other.
END