The stage was empty. Peter was gone. Larsen’s face fell.
“Why’re you lookin’ like that? Don’t tell me you’ve seen or heard something.”
“Uh, like what?”
“Like anything that isn’t normal for this place. I’m not gonna go into detail. I told you there are people out there playing mind games. So if you saw something that wasn’t quite right, you’d spill, right?”
Larsen had no idea who Gabe was talking about, but he knew Peter was the real thing, and he wasn’t about to share anything that had happened. “I haven’t seen anything.”
“Good. Now, get the hell back in the trailer. You just came in here to give me a message. What are you standing here for?”
“Um … just daydreaming about being on stage someday. Thinking about the talent competition. You’re right; I need to get back to the trailer.”
Gabe sighed in frustration and gestured for Larsen to go ahead of him. “I guess it’s good to have dreams, kid. Just don’t forget that they’re meant to be broken.” On his way out, Larsen looked mournfully at the stage; discouraged that the opportunity had been lost, but hoping that Peter would reappear soon.
`*`*`*`
By the time Arielle, Larsen, and Muggins reached the Dalworths’ home at six-fifteen, Mick, Jessie, River, Jinxsy, Eve, Madeleine, and Kathryn were already assembled. Extra chairs and snack tables had been set up in the living room, and a buffet dinner had been arranged on the dining room table except for the pizza.
Larsen was eager to talk to River, but he was far too polite not to make all of the necessary greetings first. “Hi, Jinxsy. I’m really glad you were able to make it.”
“I am, too. Hey, obviously you know my mother, she’s your English teacher, but this is Madeleine, Eve’s mom and my grandmother.”
Eve smiled warmly. “Hey, Larsen. This is a great occasion. We’re all so proud of you. I just might have to ask for an autograph before the night is over.”
“I’ll sign my next English paper. How’s that?”
Eve laughed. “Fair enough. If you’ll all excuse me, I have a quick phone call to return.”
“Sure, Ms. Carrow.”
Eve smiled and walked away as Madeleine reached out to shake Larsen’s hand. “It’s such an old cliché, but I really have heard wonderful things about you. I’ve known Kathryn for many years. She’s a special lady and I’m so pleased that you have a home with her. No doubt you’re a shining star in her life.”
Larsen gulped as he thought about how much the mention of a star had pained Peter. “She’s the star in my life.”
Kathryn, upon hearing the conversation, smiled and then made a face. “You wouldn’t be trying to embarrass me now, would you, Larsen?” As she burst into laughter, Larsen realized she was kidding.
Impatiently, River walked over to join the group for a brief moment. “Hello again, everyone. Sorry to bust in here, but I need to talk to Lars. Oh, and my dad just told me the pizza guy called his cell. Our dinner should be here in just a few minutes.”
Kathryn’s eyes lit up. “I love pizza. I hope you ordered at least one pie with extra anchovies. My housemate here loves them.”
Larsen made a face and then chuckled when he realized Kathryn was teasing him again. “You just got me twice in one minute.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Being seventy-five doesn’t mean I don’t have tricks up my sleeve.”
“Good one, Ms. Winterstrom.” Eagerly, River yanked Larsen away and off into a corner of the living room. “So, I got your text. You said that you saw Peter and would explain the rest later.”
“Yeah, I did. I introduced myself and told him I wanted to help him. The poor guy has been crying for forty years.”
“That’s really sad. What else did he say?”
“He didn’t say anything. I just asked him a question, and I could hear him say yes. You know, sort of telepathically. I could hear him the same way I hear you now. I asked him if he wanted me to bring his mother to the theater.”
“Great! What did he say?”
“Gabe came in looking for his wallet, and Peter disappeared. I was so bummed. It was really embarrassing, Riv. I mean, I supposedly had come in to give Gabe a message, and I’m still there five minutes later, staring into space. I had to leave when Gabe told me to get back to the trailer.”
“Did Gabe say anything else? You know, has he seen anything?”
“I’m sure he has, Riv. But all I know is that he thinks whatever he is seeing is an illusion created by some not-so-nice people.”
“I hope my mother’s not in danger!”
“We’ll get to the bottom of it. I’m so on it.”
Chapter 21
“And we’ve got three minutes until show time!”
Larsen looked around at everyone, whose eyes were all on the TV. “You’re making me nervous, Mrs. D. I feel like I have to perform live in three minutes.”
Arielle laughed. “You mean in two minutes and forty-five seconds.”
Mick put his arm around his wife. “I have it on great authority that your Othello rocks. Nothing to be nervous about.”
“Well, honey, he is going to be performing live at the talent competition in one month and two days.”
“Ha ha. Dude, welcome to the family. My parents only mess with people they love.” River pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and snapped a photo of Larsen. “I love the look on your face. I’m calling this one ‘Stupefied.’ ”
Jessie laughed. “Sounds like something I used to call you, numbnuts. Only it didn’t have that many syllables in it.”
Kathryn pointed to the screen. “Look; here it is!”
Everyone watched as the promo trailer opened up with a velvet-voiced announcer explaining that the Desert Theater in Mystekal, California, was undergoing a complete renovation. The announcer introduced Arielle as the project manager, and there was a shot of her giving a tour of the lobby and then going through the main entrance doors to the theater. After a brief explanation of how the show would focus on the vintage restoration from start until the grand opening and talent competition, the scene switched to Larsen, fully in character, standing on the stage.
As the group watched the close-up footage of Larsen reciting his monologue, Arielle was the first to gasp in horror. Behind Larsen stood a young woman in a flimsy white gown, putting her hands to each side of her head and letting out a blood-curdling scream.
“What the hell! Who is that?” Arielle turned to scan the stunned faces in her living room. “Does anyone know what’s going on?”
Jinxsy, Jessie, Larsen, and River exchanged looks, but everyone was at a loss. On the TV, the woman behind Larsen finished screaming and faded into nothingness as the promo ended.
Arielle almost jumped when her cell phone rang. She turned to Mick. “It’s Lisa. Maybe she knows something. I’m going to take this in the kitchen. She hurried out of the room.
Everyone expressed shock over what they had just seen, then focused on Arielle when she returned a minute later. “Okay, people, that was my friend who produced and edited this trailer. She has no clue what the screaming woman was doing there. All Lisa knows is that woman wasn’t there on Saturday night when she finished the promo. She’s freaking the eff out, and she’s on the warpath right now to find out what happened. You’re all welcome to hang out here to see what she turns up. Larsen, I’m so sorry, sweetie. I hope you know I had nothing to do with this.”
“Oh, Mrs. D, I know you didn’t. Believe me, that never entered my brain.”
“Good. Well, there’s got to be a good explanation for this nonsense, and I sure as hell am going to figure out who’s behind it.”
`*`*`*`
Forty-five minutes later, everyone in the Dalworths’ living room was still trying to make sense of what had happened. Arielle, desperate to hear back from Lisa, clutched the phone, unaware that she was looking at it every few seconds.
“Watching the phone doesn’t make it ring, honey.”
; “I know, Mick. I’m a complete wreck. I don’t have a clue what that insanity was. I just wish Lisa would call with some answers.”
A loud knock at the door rattled Arielle so much that the phone flew out of her hands and into Mick’s. Everyone else was startled as well. “Riv, you want to see who that is?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure, Dad.”
River opened the front door to find a forty-something African American woman scowling at him. “So you must be—”
“Mom!” Panicked, Larsen stood up and ran over to Raylene as River moved out of his way. “What are you doing here? Seriously?”
Raylene scanned the room. “Well now, looks like you got a damn party going on here.”
“Do you want to sit down, Mom? Here, you can have my seat. Right over here.”
As Larsen motioned to show his mother where to sit, she took a swipe at his hand and pushed it away. “I’m here to take a stand, and that’s what I’m gonna do. What fool sits down to take a stand?”
River watched nervously as he saw beads of sweat form on Larsen’s forehead. In an instant, he understood why Larsen had said his mother was worse than Jax could ever be.
“Really, what are you doing here? Let’s go outside and talk.”
“Oh, hellllllll no!”
“Please, Mom. I won’t leave this time no matter what you have to say, okay?”
Instead of responding to Larsen, Raylene turned toward the others in the room. “I’ll tell y’all what I’m doing here. I’m a hard-working woman enjoying my night off, and I turn on the TV to watch a romance movie and relax. At commercial time, I almost got up from the couch to pour me another drink when what do I see but the damn Desert Theater on the screen.” Raylene looked at Arielle. “And I see you, the woman who hired him. You weren’t cursed with a homo son, so you go hire mine to do your gay work.”
Arielle wanted to respond, but no words came out. Kathryn stood up. “I won’t tolerate this! You stop this instant.”
Narrowing her eyes, Raylene shifted her focus. “I’ll get to you in a moment, old white lady playing mama to my boy. You just wait your turn.”
Watching Larsen plead with his eyes, Kathryn reluctantly resumed her seat, barely able to contain her anger. Madeleine, who was sitting next to her, put a comforting hand on top of Kathryn’s.
“All these years knowing my boy was a queer have been hard enough on me. I’ve been ashamed and embarrassed. No man wanted to stay in the damn home with a gay in the next room. I only brought them home to try and give my boy some manly role models, but that sure as hellllll didn’t work. Least I finally got a man to stay. Next thing I know my son doesn’t want to live with me anymore. If that weren’t enough of a punch in the gut, what the hellllll does he do next but publicly humiliate me by making a spectacle of himself on the TV. And the announcer man says he’s gonna be up on stage again, in January, in front of a packed house next time. Well, I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let that happen.” Her eyes black with anger, Raylene went face to face with Larsen. “That there embarrassment on the TV is all I’m gonna take!”
Trying desperately not to fall apart in front of everyone, Larsen panicked as he attempted to explain. “We don’t know what happened, Mom. Mrs. D’s friend who produces the show is doing everything she can to find out. That screaming woman wasn’t supposed to be a part of the promo. I’m so sorry you’re embarrassed. I am, too. We all are.”
“Tell me you’re joking! That screaming banshee is the only one with any damn sense. No wonder she covered her ears and screamed. She didn’t want to hear a gay boy read Shakespeare any more than any sane person wants to see one play Romeo. Or Superman. Batman. Then again, a lot of them superheroes wear tights, so you really don’t know anymore. All y’all are infiltrating the planet.”
Madeleine’s calm touch could not keep Kathryn in her seat. She got up and walked over to Raylene. “I understand how it feels to take a stand. Now, you watch real good, because this old lady is going to show you how it’s done.” Kathryn turned to look at Larsen, whose eyes had welled with tears. “Please sit down in my seat. I need to talk to your mother. And know that I’m very sorry it’s come to this.”
Larsen nodded and took a seat next to Madeleine, who immediately put a comforting arm around him.
Kathryn now stood face to face with Raylene. “This March sixth will mark forty years, Mrs. Davis, forty years since my fifteen-year-old son, Peter Nicholas Winterstrom, was murdered by a madman.”
Everyone, including Raylene, looked shocked at hearing Kathryn’s words. “My son, just like yours, loved the theater. God had gifted him with so much talent. He was a brilliant actor and had a voice that stopped people in their tracks. That’s right. Nobody could hear my Peter sing and continue about his or her business. His voice was powerful and mesmerizing. But it wasn’t just his talent that most people loved; it was his exuberance and his love for life.
“It’s tough as hell even in these times for young men and women who are homosexual. They can’t change just because some people are uncomfortable with their sexuality. If the world suddenly flip-flopped and being heterosexual was deemed wrong, could you change, Mrs. Davis? Could you make yourself be attracted to women because society wanted you to be?”
“That’s the damn stupidest thing anyone has ever said to me. Ain’t no secret that Raylene Davis likes herself some—”
“Mom!”
“Oh, hush up, Larsen. Ain’t nobody in this room doesn’t know what the helllll I mean.”
Kathryn was relentless. “You can articulate any nonsense you want, Mrs. Davis. My train has been coming down the track for a long time, and you’re not going to derail me. Now, you listen!”
Raylene, surprised by the rise in Kathryn’s voice, stepped back. “You ain’t got nothing to say to me.”
Taking a moment to inhale deeply, Kathryn steeled herself to continue. “Maybe you missed what I first said about my son being murdered by a madman. That’s right, he had a boyfriend who he loved dearly. They were meant to be together. But this boy had a very evil father who hated homosexuality even more than you do. When his many attempts to separate the boys failed, he devised a plan to not only kill my son, but also to kill his own. Can you imagine that? People with a lot of money can do most anything they want. It was nothing back then to fake an accident, especially when you’ve got the police department on your payroll.
“They said Peter died when a metal crate in a warehouse fell and crushed his skull … I hope he died right away … I hope he didn’t suffer the way I have all of these years. Deep in my heart, I knew it wasn’t an accident, but there was nothing I could do to prove it. The grief was so unbearable that my husband disappeared after a couple of years.”
“Probably because he was gay like your son.”
Kathryn’s eyes flared with rage. “You hush, woman!”
“I’m just telling you the truth. We don’t know each other, but you can’t tell me that in forty years you haven’t considered that was the reason.”
A long, silent pause ensued. Kathryn looked within herself, while everyone else looked at her, and at each other.
“That’s quite an offensive thing to suggest, Mrs. Davis. But when you have nearly forty years to wonder about something, you do look at it from every possible angle. And I did. But no, I did not conclude that my husband was gay.” Kathryn’s angry voice softened. “You’ve got a wonderful son in Larsen. He’s bright, talented, polite, funny, ambitious, loving, and so much more. And you’re ashamed of him because he is openly gay and proud of the man he is. Do you have any idea how lucky you are, how blessed you are, to have this wonderful young man alive and well here in this room with you? He has dreams, wonderful dreams. And I know he’s going to fulfill them, with or without you. I hope you decide to be a part of his life. It gets real lonely without your only child. Believe me, I know. You should be his biggest cheerleader.”
Raylene looked into Kathryn’s eyes. “I’m sorry you lost your boy. Guess that kind of
explains why you want mine. But I’m sorry; you won’t find me waving any damn pom-poms in the air. I’m outta this mess.” Turning to Larsen, her voice cracking, Raylene uttered the unthinkable. “You’re dead to me, son. Now I’m gonna go home and have me a damn drink.”
`*`*`*`
Everyone was still as Raylene let herself out the door. When the sound of her car driving off was heard, Larsen let the tears fall silently down his face. He looked at River and knew by the devastation on his face that he was heartbroken for him. He knew all of the people in the room felt the same way.
He stood up as Kathryn walked toward him, then burst into tears and buried his head on her shoulder.
Kathryn held him for a long minute while he cried. “Come on, son, sit down.”
Arielle jumped up and grabbed a box of tissues and handed them to Madeleine to pass to Kathryn. Everyone in the room was dazed. Even Muggins got off his bed and came over to Larsen, rubbing the side of his head against Larsen’s leg.
Larsen looked at Arielle. “I guess what I said about my life turning around was just a bit premature.”
“Oh, no, honey. Your life is going to be magnificent. I’m not going to pretend that what just happened wasn’t devastating and horrible, but I’m never going to believe that your mother meant what she said. Your life has turned around, and you’ve brought so much into all of our lives. We’re all better for knowing you.”
Kathryn handed Larsen a tissue, which he squeezed in his hand, but he didn’t bother wiping his tears. Glancing around the room, he spoke aloud to no one in particular. “She’s so evil. She’s so filled with hate. I’ve never done anything to embarrass her except be me. I can’t change who I am.”
Kathryn took his hand in hers. “No, you cannot change who you are. Your mother is not evil. She’s fighting her own demons. Like Arielle said, I want to believe that she’ll conquer them. Those were very ugly words she spoke, though. Nobody here will dispute that.”
As Eve’s own memories came rushing back, she began to tear up. “I agree with Kathryn. Your mom has deep-rooted issues, but she wasn’t born evil, not like my father. He was the cruelest, meanest man I ever knew.” Her pained voice grew louder. “If you want to know what being born evil really means, look up Ernest Carrow in the dictionary of life. I’m sorry; I don’t mean to diminish your pain. How selfish of me. It just triggered—”
Desert Star Page 19