He heard it ring six times before his dad’s voice mail took over, the electronic voice that came with the phone urging him to leave a message.
Frank almost disconnected. His inner wolf whined his disappointment. But he pressed the phone to his ear harder, speaking as soon as the tone finished.
“Dad? It’s me, Frank. I was just wondering how you guys were doing.” He wiped a finger down the window. “I know I’m too early for my monthly call, but I wanted to tell you I’m in a play.” Frank huffed a laugh into the silence. “I never thought I’d say that. It’s a version of Beauty and the Beast. I wrote it, and I’m starring in it. As the beast.” He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the cool glass. “It’s being used to educate people about Galen’s syndrome. We’ve had write-ups in the paper, and maybe you saw one. The reporter at the Constitution said the story got picked up by the Associated Press. And, umm…I hope you’ll come for a visit. I haven’t seen you guys in a year now. I’ll leave tickets for you and Shirley at the box office if you’d like to come. Just call me back or show up. Love you, Dad. Bye.”
A fizzy, effervescent feeling bubbled in Frank’s chest. Maybe they’d come to the play, and if they liked it, he might go visit sometime. See Robbie and Joseph again. They must be in elementary school by now.
A sound alerted him to movement from the bedroom, and then Tom appeared, clad in his underwear, golden hair tousled and eyes half-closed. Tom yawned, stretching his arms overhead.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“No need. Nowhere to go.” Frank opened his arms, and Tom sidled up next to him to gaze out the window at the woods.
“We could go for a run. Or breakfast.” Tom nuzzled into Frank’s shoulder. “Or a breakfast run.” He nipped at Frank’s collarbone. “Or we could stay in.”
Frank wrapped his arms around Tom and gazed into the woods. “I take a morning run about now. In the woods.”
“No breakfast in the woods.” Tom shook his head. “Come on. I’ll carry your backpack for you, and we can jog through the town square to the diner.”
Frank tensed. “I’ve never run shifted in town before.”
Tom kissed his neck. “Then this is a great time to do it, acclimate people to your shifted form.”
Frank stared in Tom’s eyes for a heartbeat and then kissed him. Frank didn’t know what he was looking for in the kiss—acceptance, agreement, love…but Tom opened to him, giving him everything.
“Okay.”
Frank packed his backpack, and Tom dressed in his clothes from the night before.
“Maybe an easy jog. All my gear is at Annie’s.” Tom pulled up the collar of his shirt to sniff.
“A trot?” Frank lifted an eyebrow.
“Oh, you are so on.” Tom shouldered the backpack, and Frank shifted.
They ran down the stairs, hoping to miss Mrs. Anderson, but she opened her apartment just as Tom and Frank jumped down the porch steps.
“Thomas Allan Davidson, I evicted you from the premises.” Her voice bellowed from the hallway.
Tom turned around and ran backward. He waved at the old woman in the floral housecoat. “Just visiting, Mrs. Anderson.”
They jogged down the sidewalk, and Frank let his tongue loll, gazing up at Tom. He would have had a besotted look on his face if he’d been human, but as it was, he probably had a silly doggy smile instead.
They halted at the door to the diner. Tom, part laughing, part panting, stooped to grin into Frank’s face.
Beside them the glass door opened. Dick Majors stepped out and then backed up, banging into the door and making the bell over it ring. He called inside, “Maggie, alert animal control. There’s a wild animal out here.”
The growl rumbled up from Frank’s chest and was out of his mouth before he knew it. He whimpered and shuffled backward. He wouldn’t let his wolf control him. He could take the high road. But Dick had heard the growl and closed the door with a yell.
“It’s trying to bite me. I’m dialing the chief of police right now.”
Tom petted down Frank’s head, unafraid. He crouched in front of Frank.
Maggie, the owner of the C Street Diner, pushed Dick aside and came out. She still had her green receipt book in her hand and a pencil tucked into her steel gray bun.
“He’s not a dangerous animal. Frank doesn’t like Dick, and I don’t either. He’s just trying to make people afraid of him.” Tom stood up, glaring at Dick, who cowered behind the glass door. “Frank has a rare medical condition that allows him to look like this. But he’s more of a decent human in this form than you’ll ever be.”
“That’s Frank?” Maggie raised an eyebrow and pointed with her receipt book at him. Frank sat, mouth closed despite wanting to pant, attempting to appear as passive and docile as he could.
“Yeah. If you’ll let us in, Maggie, he can show you.” Tom scowled at Dick.
“Sure.” She backed inside, and Tom wrenched the door from Dick’s hand, opening it wide enough for Frank to scoot through.
A bolt of pain caught Frank on his hip, and he shied away.
“I saw that.” Tom looked murderous. He dropped the backpack and shoved Dick away from the door. “You kicked him.”
Frank hesitated. He didn’t want to leave Tom unprotected, but remaining in his wolf form and attacking Dick wouldn’t encourage people to accept him. He grabbed the backpack strap in his teeth and dashed for the men’s room, hoping his run from the scene would startle everyone and give him a few moments to change. Shifting, he yanked on a pair of pants and reemerged to more than just shouting.
“Calm down, both of you.” Maggie had her hands on her hips, while the patrons remained frozen in their seats.
Tom had Dick pinned against the counter.
“I knew you were a deviant in high school, but I didn’t think you’d stoop to sleeping with dogs, Davidson.” Dick fought to pull Tom’s hands away from his collar.
Tom hauled his fist back to punch Dick, but Frank reached out and stopped his arm. Tom let go of Dick and turned on Frank. Frank took a step back but didn’t let go of Tom.
An audible gasp went up.
“It is Frank.”
“How did he do that?”
“That’s the guy from the bookstore.”
“It’s not worth it.” Frank yanked Tom away from Dick.
Tom exhaled, visibly trying to calm himself. “You’re not a dog.”
Frank clasped Tom’s hand, reassured at the squeeze Tom gave him. “No. I’m not a dog.” Frank looked at Dick. “I’m just as human as everyone else.”
Maggie came around and retucked her pencil behind her ear. “How did you do that? Go from a wolf to a person.”
“I have Galen’s syndrome.” Frank shuffled back, aware that everyone in the diner was listening while he stood there in just a pair of jeans. He swallowed down the thread of fear that still niggled in his chest. What if they all turn on me? “My ancestor was cursed to change into a wolf, and the curse passed down through my genetics to me. I’m not a wolf. I look like one when I shift.” At Maggie’s sage nod, he offered, “We’ll have more information about my condition in the program of the play on Friday and Saturday nights. Someone from the Galen’s Syndrome Society will be there to answer questions too.”
Dick shook out his jacket. “I’ll have you arrested for assault, Davidson. And him.” He sneered at them. “He’s a freak of nature. It’s unsanitary to have him here. It’s a health code violation.”
“Now hold up there, Dick.” Maggie put her hand up. “If Frank has a medical condition, then I’m betting it falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
“What?” Dick’s face grew thunderous.
“Which means,” Maggie continued, “that I can’t have you discriminating against my customers. I allow seeing eye dogs and service animals, so by law if Frank’s medical condition has him turning into a wolf and he’s not hurting anyone…” She fixed Dick with a hard stare, “And so far today, I’ve only see
n you hurting him—then he’s welcome here.”
Dick stomped toward them. “He and that Myers woman—”
Tom shot forward. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
Maggie inserted herself between the two men. “Dick, don’t be a dick. You’ve already had your breakfast. Let these boys eat in peace.” She stared him down until Dick turned and left, muttering into his phone. Maggie pulled the pencil out of her hair.
“What can I get for you boys?”
“I think I’d like a shirt,” Frank interjected, pointing back to the men’s room.
Tom grinned. “I’ll take coffee.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Annie plunged into the backstage area. “There are three members of the town council and the mayor here. Please do a good job, everybody.”
“You mean break a leg, Sis.” Tom gave Frank’s waistcoat one more tug over his shoulder. “There. I think you’re set.”
Tom turned to Annie. “It’ll be fine. Remember they’ve approved your petition to be listed as a historic site for now. And you’ve got more resources coming.” He opened the dressing area curtain and ushered her out.
John grabbed her around the waist and landed a kiss on her cheek. “What he said. You look beautiful, honey.”
Annie squirmed away. “Did you hear from—?”
“The babysitter called, and she and Marcie just got back from the movies and are eating dinner. Now, go get ready to introduce the play.” John turned her around toward the stage entrance. Annie scrambled into the wings.
John met Tom’s gaze. “Lighting and sound ready. I’d tell you we fixed and tested everything after the fiasco Wednesday night, but I don’t want to jinx the show.” John gave him a broad wink.
“Thanks, John.” Tom waited until his brother-in-law left and then spun back to Frank.
“Break a leg.” Tom kissed him then, flat on the mouth, pouring all his hopes and dreams into the kiss.
When they broke apart, Frank stepped back and closed his eyes. The hair sprouted on his face and chest, pelting down his arms and fluffing out the loose folds of his clothing. When he opened them, his snout opened in a doggy grin, sharp canine teeth exposed. He’d stopped at the half change, neither man nor wolf, a beast.
“Wait, my phone.” Frank tried to reach for it in his pocket, but his claws snagged on the material. He froze, afraid he’d rip the fabric.
“I’ll get it. I can keep it for you during the play.” Tom fished it out of Frank’s pocket and crammed it in his own. He heard the beast’s cue as he untangled Frank’s claws from his costume.
“Time to go.” He gave Frank a little shove onto the stage. Tom peeked out as Frank strode forward on his clawed feet until he made his way to center stage. He grabbed Campbell’s arm and pulled it back from the potted topiary rose bush.
“Dare you, sir? Is this the way you repay hospitality?” Frank’s strained, alien voice sent goose bumps down Tom’s spine, and he watched the audience shift in their seats.
“I heard the council offered you a choice position.” John’s whisper startled Tom.
He glanced back at the action onstage. “Yeah.” Tom swallowed, unable to take his eyes off Frank. “I haven’t decided whether to accept or not.”
John said nothing.
Tom tiptoed out of the backstage area to the sit at the base of the risers beside the audience. He winced at Emma’s stutter over the wicked sister’s protestation and silently cheered at Gabriella’s coquettish flirtation with Frank. Their sensuous tango blazed on the stage, leaving Gabriella breathless and Frank panting but the audience enthralled.
As the final scene neared, Tom held his breath, crossing his fingers. After the disastrous dress rehearsal, this was the only scene that worried him. It sold the play. The beast’s pronouncement of love.
Then to Tom’s horror, Gabriella moved, changing the blocking until she faced the opposite to her mark in rehearsals. He would kill her with his bare hands as soon as this was over.
Frank followed Gabriella until Tom could see Frank’s face, see the expressions flit across the half-human features. Frank’s gaze locked on Tom, his eyes softening. And the words he spoke weren’t the ones they’d rehearsed for the last month and a half.
“I thought loving someone, being in love was complicated.” And then Frank stepped away from Gabriella, advancing toward Tom. There was no mistaking that Frank meant these words for him alone. “But you made it simple to love you, to give you everything you asked. I would make any sacrifice, walk any path, so long as you walked beside me.”
Tom’s breath caught at the raw declaration. Frank’s expressive eyes bored into Tom, impressing on him their meaning and their truth. So much so, that Tom was surprised when Frank circled back to Gabriella and went back on script.
“And so Beauty, I have but one question. Would you have the handsome prince from your dreams as husband or me as your plaything, to tease?”
Onstage Frank’s face turned to Gabriella, but his eyes stayed with Tom. The question, to accept the beast or the man but not both, was the heart of the play. And Tom realized, the question at the heart of his and Frank’s own small romance. Accept Frank as he was, cursed but more than a man? Deny both the man and the beast by choosing between them. Tom’s throat closed with a dry click. He couldn’t. He loved the man and the beast. He loved Frank in whatever form he chose. He loved Frank. You, Tom mouthed as Gabriella said the words. I choose you, man or beast. I will have no other as husband and as lover.
Frank paused, drawing the moment out. “Then you must have both, my lady.”
Tom stood transfixed with the rest of the audience. Not a soul twitched in their seats. Complete silence reigned, and the audience as one leaned forward to see what would happen next.
Frank stood, bathed in the single spotlight overhead, the rest of the stage dark save for Gabriella. Frank’s arms reached wide as he closed his eyes. Then he hunched forward as if in pain. The dark red mane of hair receded first, disappearing from his skin and leaving the expanse of his muscular back bare. He bowed backward then, pretending anguish as his ankles shortened, his heel dropped, with only the bunching of his calves remaining. He stared in horror at his hands that moved from clawed paws to fingers. And at last, Frank’s face transformed. His elongated snout and sharp teeth receded, flattening into the familiar face Tom loved. At last he fell to his knees, man-shaped again and gasping for breath. Gabriella flew to him, wrapping him in her arms.
Frank lifted his face, his brow dotted with real sweat, not from pain but from the concentration required to control the change. His hand shook as it cupped her face.
“My Beauty, as wise as she is beautiful.”
Gabriella pressed a kiss to his hand. “My Beast, as handsome as he is fierce.”
Frank hugged her and the stage went black.
For a moment, silence hung, and the bottom dropped out of Tom’s stomach. Oh God. Frank had just told him he loved him. Onstage in front of an audience.
The house lights went up, and the audience erupted in thundering applause. Whistles, cheers, and clapping echoed across the small performance area so loud Tom could feel it in the soles of his feet.
The players came out for their curtain calls, the invisible servants all at once and then Emma and Danny as Beauty’s siblings. Campbell bowed elaborately during his solo stage call. Gabriella, resplendent and with the grace of royalty, came forward to renewed clapping and curtsied so low her knee nearly touched the floor. Once she’d finished, she and all the players turned and clapped as Frank walked out barefoot onstage, wearing the brocaded waistcoat that hung just a little loose on him, and gave a simple bow. Tom put his fingers to his lips and blew a sharp whistle over the wild applause. Around him, the audience rose to their feet as the players joined hands and bowed again. And then they clapped and motioned to Tom who took his bow on the sidelines to them.
That ebullient feeling, the one Tom had never quite found in New York, filled him as the ro
ar of the audience rang in his ears. This was where he belonged, what he was meant to do. He watched Frank laugh at something Gabriella said. And Frank was the man he wanted to be with, if Frank would have him.
THE APPLAUSE DIED down enough that Frank and his castmates darted backstage.
“You did great, Frank.” Gabriella gave him a smooch on the cheek.
“Good show.” John beamed. “Everyone, get out of your costumes and head out to mingle with the crowd. We’ve got food and drink. You all deserve all the accolades for the great job you did tonight.”
Frank took a deep breath, trying to remain calm on the outside. His inner wolf pranced inside his head, leaping in puppylike happiness. The other players all congratulated him as they passed.
“Congrats, Frank.”
“Great show.”
“Amazing job.”
“Can’t wait to do it again tomorrow,” Emma squealed, darting into the dressing area she shared with Gabriella.
Frank stalked to the men’s area and peeled off the ornate costume made for him by Annie’s friend Hattie. He hung it with care and waved as Danny and Campbell both finished up and left him alone. He wanted to just sit back here in the quiet and absorb the play’s completion, but he could hear Annie beginning her speech onstage. She deserved her moment in the spotlight, and he’d hate himself if he missed it. Frank yanked on his street clothes and followed the others back out.
TOM CLAPPED AS Annie walked onstage. The audience took up the applause as well, making his sister blush.
“Thank you so much for coming to our first performance at The Little Dorrit Bookshop. We plan to have many more plays, concerts, and maybe a poetry slam or two in the coming year.” Annie waved at Sadie Evans, the English teacher at the high school who had whistled at the word poetry.
“Tonight’s performance was special in several ways. As you’ll note in your programs, our leading man for tonight’s play lives with a rare condition called Galen’s syndrome. The Greek physician Galen first treated lycanthropy, and the syndrome was named after him. Curses such as lycanthropy are much more insidious than viruses or bacterial infection as they attach themselves to DNA and present as a mutation, inflicting harm on generations to come. Although curse breakers have been working on lycanthropy since ancient times, it is one of the most stubborn and unbreakable curses in our society today. Individuals cursed with this genetic line face stigma from society, the media, and even their own families. As with so many frightening unknowns in our world, education can beat back prejudice. I hope you’ll read over the information in the program, and the next time you hear about someone with a genetic curse, you will think about our own Frank Braden and realize he’s one of us. We also have a representative from the Atlanta chapter of the Galen’s Syndrome Society here tonight, Ms. Melissa Andrews, who has a bright red button on her jacket.” At this, Ms. Andrews stood up and showed everyone her button. A few chuckles echoed through the crowd.
Wolf Around the Corner Page 18