Kathryn dropped the program onto her lap and put her hands on either side of her head. “This is real? I’m not an old woman having delusions?”
“No, not at all.”
“When you died, Martha, I was going to quit my job. Losing my best friend and neighbor was too much for me. If I hadn’t stayed on at the high school, I never would have met Larsen, and none of this would ever be. Peter might have stayed trapped forever. I think I’m going to lose you both all over again, only this time, I’ll get to say good-bye. You are going to leave this time, aren’t you? You must go to heaven with that beautiful white flower in your hair.”
Martha Joy smiled. “Reggie is here. He came with Larsen’s mother. While she speaks to him, I will go make peace with my husband. When Larsen is done speaking with his mother, he will take you to Peter. You will see your son again just as you’re seeing me.”
“Oh!”
“This is truly our final good-bye, Kathryn. But we shall be reunited someday. But not for many years. I love you, my friend. You are the kindest woman I’ve ever known.”
Kathryn put her hand on top of Martha Joy’s. “I love you, my dearest friend.”
Martha Joy smiled as she faded away.
`*`*`*`
Larsen rushed down from the stage and into the arms of his mother. “Mom, I never thought in a million years you’d come. Not ever. How come you’re here? And why do you look so different?”
Raylene put her arm through Larsen’s and led him a few feet away. “Let’s talk over here for a minute. I know that your boss lady is going to announce the winners in a few minutes, and no doubt your friends are all wondering what in hell your crazy mother is doing here, but just let me say a few words. We’ll talk much longer at another time. That okay by you, son?”
As much as Larsen wanted to talk with his mother, he was frightened that Peter would leave. Looking up on the stage, he saw Peter smiling to let him know it was okay.
Feeling more secure, Larsen turned back to Raylene. “You really seem different, Mom.”
“It’s called sobriety, Larsen. I’ve been pretty much drinking my way through life since your daddy, Nathaniel, died, and it’s no wonder you don’t hardly recognize the sober me.”
“I uh …”
“Hell, I don’t blame you for not knowing what to say to me. But for once, I know what to say to you, starting with ‘I’m sorry.’ First, I’m here because that very brave lady you live with paid me a visit one Sunday. She figured out why I was so angry. Yup. She put the pieces together. Right to my face she told me she was pretty sure your daddy had been gay and that I was taking my anger out on you. Then she begged me to come here and see you. I kicked her out of my house, I’m sorry to say, but her words stayed with me. Tonight, I stood in the back the whole time. Left during the intermission. Didn’t want you to see me and get nervous before your performance. My goodness, boy, where the hell did you learn how to sing like that? Maybe you could all along, and I just couldn’t hear you. I couldn’t hear much of anything, could I?”
“No, not really, Mom.”
“Larsen, I knew your daddy was gay back when I fell in love with him sitting in a jazz club. But he wasn’t like you. No, he wasn’t able to come out. He kept trying to conform to society, and I thought I was just the woman to help him do that. Oh, yeah. I thought my love would turn him straight. And he did like women well enough, and we had some happy years. But he liked men more. I was still crazy in love with him when he died of AIDS; I was angry at myself for being such a fool and for living in denial all those years. And then, knowing that the son he gave me was gay, too, well, that drove Raylene Davis right to the bottle. And damned if that whiskey didn’t turn me into one mean woman. I’m so sorry, Larsen. And just so you know, Reggie and I have both quit playin’ with the devil in the bottle.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention, we have our winners.”
Larsen looked at Arielle, then back at his mother. “That’s great, Mom. I’m so happy. I’ll see you one day really soon, and we’ll talk about everything, okay?”
“You don’t hate me, son?”
Larsen gave his mother a hug as Arielle watched from the stage. “Not even close. I’ve got to get back to my seat now. I really do.”
`*`*`*`
As soon as Arielle announced the winners, the joyous performers and their families posed for pictures, while people began leaving their seats.
“Larsen, if it’s okay with you. I’d like to wait here a bit.” Kathryn spoke softly. “I think we have some very important things to discuss. I still can’t believe this is all real. My Peter has been lost in this theater for forty years, and you have found him. You have given him freedom, and he has given you his voice.”
“It’s really hard to believe. Wait, how did you know all that?”
“Martha Joy told me. She sat in your seat while you were singing.”
“You know Martha Joy?”
“Sure I do. She’s the best friend I lost, the one who lived next door. I’ve got a photo of her in the house. We’re standing next to each other at the beach with our arms around one another.”
Larsen recalled the photo in his head. “Oh, right. I just never put the two together. I can’t even picture the faces in that photo.”
Kathryn laughed. “No wonder. We were wearing these crazy sun hats her husband had bought for us.”
“Where is Martha Joy?”
“She’s off to find Reggie and make her peace with him so she can leave this world. I know exactly how he’s going to feel when he sees her: pretty darn surprised.”
“I guess I won’t get to say good-bye, but that’s all right. I think I already did. Kathryn, are you ready to see Peter?”
“What a question, Larsen. How do I even begin to answer that? But, yes, I’m so ready.”
“You know, he stayed here all of those years because he was waiting for Ernie to come back. I had to tell him that Ernie turned into a very different person and wasn’t coming back. He didn’t want to hear it at first. He kept saying that he waited forty years and would wait forever.”
“My poor child.” Kathryn collected her thoughts before continuing. “I wish I had known he was here. I wish he had come to see me.”
“I think he was trapped inside for all of the years that the theater was closed.”
“Oh my. Where do we go to see him, Larsen?”
“I’m going to take you to the trailer. On the far side of it, without any doors, away from the theater, you’ll be able to have privacy. Are you okay to stand up?”
“If I had legs of lead, they’d walk me to see my son.” Kathryn stood up and smiled. “Take me to Peter.”
`*`*`*`
With Larsen by her side, Kathryn looked into the night sky. Everything was so still. The bursting colors, the up-tempo medley of sounds and voices, and the stunning discoveries and revelations of the theater now seemed like a distant dream.
Kathryn didn’t need to ask Larsen if Peter would be there. She knew that he already was. When Peter materialized in front of her, she felt exhilaration unmatched by even the sound of his voice singing. “Peter! My boy!”
Peter looked tearfully at his mother. He could see the passage of forty years on her face and her body. To her, he looked exactly the same, but her heart could feel the elapsed time that her eyes could not see.
“I never thought I would see you again, Peter. It pains my heart to know that for all these years you were suffering in an abandoned theater, waiting for Ernie to come back to you.”
Peter frowned ever so slightly, but he did not speak.
“Larsen told you about Ernie. Everything he said is true. That boy died at the hands of his father the same day you did. He grew up to be a monster, just like his father. His father may not have destroyed his physical body, Peter, but he killed Ernie’s soul. I was probably the only person in this town who didn’t hate him because I knew what had happened.”
Peter spoke out loud. “
I’m very tired, Mom.”
“Of course you are. That’s why you have to go to your rest.”
Peter smiled. “I told Larsen you’d say that.”
Kathryn put her hand to her mouth and began to cry. “Oh my. You’re just the same. It’s like we’ve turned back the clock. You know me so well. Still. You may be leaving us, but you have left your love and your beautiful voice here on earth.”
“Let him come here.”
Kathryn looked saddened. “I’ve told you, Peter. It’s impossible to bring Ernie here.”
“No, Dad. Let him come forward.”
Larsen swallowed a lump in his throat as he realized what Peter was saying. He remembered the woman who was crying because she wanted to see her granddaughter perform. He had just assumed that she was married to the man behind her, who was also crying. Only she wasn’t. They were complete strangers. Turning, Larsen saw the same older man in the distance. He had long gray hair, a closely shaved beard, and wore baggy clothing. There was only one person he could be.
Following Larsen’s gaze, Kathryn gasped, looking first at Larsen, then at Peter. “Is that Nicholas? Is that your father?”
Peter nodded.
“Is he going to the light with you?”
Peter smiled. “Not unless you kill him first. He’s alive, Mom. Just like you.”
Larsen laughed and looked at Peter. “As my friend River would say, ‘Good one.’ ”
Kathryn stared at her long-lost husband as he slowly walked toward her. She wanted to run to him, but she was afraid Peter would disappear. She turned again to make sure Peter was still there.
“Go to him, Mom. Hurry. I won’t leave yet.”
As her magical night pushed on, Kathryn held out her arms and ran to Nicholas. Seeing her joy, he ran to her. Larsen and Peter watched as Kathryn and Nicholas became lost in their embrace and in their love that time had not diminished.
Finally, Kathryn pulled away and looked up at him. “My goodness, Nick. I never would have known you, but I recognize you now. How did you know to come here?”
Nicholas stroked her hair before speaking. “I read in the newspaper that the new Desert Theater was being dedicated to our Peter. I wanted to be here and to see you again.”
“Where have you been all of these years?”
“Everywhere and nowhere. I never married again. I’ve been a lonely nomad who never let anyone get too close. I couldn’t bear any more loss. I never forgave myself for not protecting you and Peter.”
“You have to forgive yourself, my darling. Willard Carrow was the monster, not you.”
Nicholas looked sorrowfully at the woman he had never stopped loving. “You may forgive me, but wherever Peter is, he hasn’t.”
“Nicholas Peter Winterstrom, Would you like to bet on that?”
“I’ll wager my last dollar, Kathryn Rose Marley Winterstrom. And just exactly how will we prove who is right or wrong?”
Kathryn looped her arm through his and walked ahead, watching her ex-husband’s face as he recognized their son, still fifteen years old, standing ahead of them.
“I’m hallucinating, Kathryn.”
“No, you’re not. That’s our Peter.”
Nicholas stared incredulously at his son.
Larsen looked at Peter, then at Kathryn and Nicholas. “I’m going to join the Dalworths and everyone else in the lobby. I’m not needed here anymore. Peter, I just want you to know that I will take care of this precious gift that you’ve given me and live my life in a way that I hope will make you proud. And I’ll never, ever stop looking out for your mom the way she’s looked after me. And your dad, too. If he sticks around. I’ve never been in a situation like this, so I’ve got no idea how to say good-bye.”
Peter motioned for Larsen to come forward. As Larsen stood there, Peter put his arms gently around him. “The same way you say good-bye to any friend. With a hug. Thank you for being my friend, Larsen.”
Moved to tears, Larsen hurried away and left the family to exchange their final words.
`*`*`*`
In the lobby, Arielle stood with Mick holding her close. “That long-haired man is Kathryn’s husband? You know, there was something about him that was just different. I just felt this kind of boiling-over emotion in him.”
River laughed. “Yeah. Sure, Mom. Easy for you to say now.”
Arielle made a face. “You are completely incorrigible.”
Eve wiped away the tears from her eyes. “I will never forget watching Tommy go to the light.”
Jinxsy put her arm around Eve’s waist. “Neither will I. It was so beautiful and sad. But I hated it. I wanted to get to know him so much better.”
Madeleine gently touched Larsen’s arm. “Did you watch Peter go to the light, honey?”
“No, it wasn’t my place. Peter needed me for a lot of things, but not to say his final good-byes to his parents. If Kathryn had been alone, I probably would have stayed. But not with Peter’s dad there. It just wouldn’t have felt right to watch them, you know what I mean?”
“Not really, dude. That would have been amazing. My eyeballs would have been bulging like this.” River opened his eyes as wide as he could, making a failed attempt for his eyeballs to bulge.
“You’re full of it, numbnuts. Even you would have had the class to walk away.”
River suddenly became serious. “Yeah. You might say that’s what happened tonight.”
“Oh, Riv, sweetie. Your dad and I feel terrible about that.”
“I really cared about Gina. A lot. But her jealousy was way worse than I thought. And that’s not like a flu that goes away.”
Arielle looked up at Mick. “Our son is wise beyond his years.”
River looked downcast. “Yeah, well, sometimes you don’t have as much fun being wise, but I guess you might not have as many regrets, either.” River paused. “Hey, people, I think we should wait outside for the Winterstroms so they know where to find us.”
Larsen nodded in agreement. “Yeah, as much as Kathryn would have liked a long good-bye, Peter had very little left in him. I’m sure he’s gone by now.”
Arielle smiled brightly. “Okay then, Gabe and the guys are still cleaning the place, and he’s going to lock up everything, so let’s step outside and wait.”
Larsen hurried to the door and held it open for everyone as they stepped out onto the newly paved desert street. “This night air feels so good. Hey, I think I hear the Winterstroms.”
Everyone turned to see Kathryn and Nicholas rounding the corner. His arm was around her, and she was sobbing, as she clung tightly to the man she thought was long gone. “He’s gone. Our Peter has gone to his eternal rest. It was the most heartbreaking and exquisitely beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And now that I’ve seen it, I will never fear death.”
Eve and Jinxsy nodded sympathetically.
“Oh, dear, I forgot that you two had the same experience. Someday, when I am able to comprehend everything that happened here today, maybe we can compare notes.”
River smiled. “You know, Kathryn, I’m thinking you probably could hold the Guinness Book of World Records for the person who had the most phenomenal surprises in one day and lived to tell about it.”
“I think you’re right, River.”
As the group began walking, Larsen stopped in his tracks. “Kathryn, look! Peter knew all along. He must have. He did exactly what he told you he was going to do all those years ago.”
Kathryn looked confused. “What’s that, Larsen?”
Larsen pointed upward as everyone looked into the sky to see a sparkling star brighter than all the others, including the North Star.
Kathryn was jubilant. “Nicholas, look! Just like Peter said. Remember? One day he was going to be the brightest star in the sky so I could always find him. And there he is, taking center stage in the galaxy, my glorious desert star.”
THE END
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Desert Star Page 31