“Hello,” I said as I slid into the car. “Sweet ride.”
“Hello to you, too, and Gloria appreciates your compliment.”
“Gloria?”
He stroked the dashboard fondly.
“Oh, I see. Hi, Gloria. Where are you and Eliot taking me?”
Eliot began driving. “We’re going to a spot close to the ocean, where we will dine and talk.”
I had expected a club or a bar, but this sounded better. “Awesome.”
He sniffed. “You smell nice. Is that the new Jean Paul Gaultier?”
“Yes. I rubbed it on my neck from a magazine.”
He laughed, maybe thinking I was joking. He drove us away from Norwalk with the radio set to an old Motown station. It seemed fitting for him to enjoy such music. I noticed his clothes were less formal than last time, but his elegant blue shirt still complemented his shoulders and lean chest.
“Tell me something about yourself,” he said, lowering the volume.
“What would you like to know?”
“Something that will surprise me. It’s hard to be surprised these days.”
Well, let’s see. The only way I managed to score Agatha as an agent was by swearing not to tell anyone I was gay, and the closest I’ve come to a sexual encounter in the last six months was that blowjob at Pickles.
“My father’s a minister,” I ended up saying. “Back in Kentucky, he’s sort of a big deal if you’re into that sort of thing.”
“That is indeed surprising. You used to go to church a lot?”
“Oh yeah, all the time.”
“Do you still go?”
“I haven’t been since I left home. I had my fill.”
“And what does your mother do?”
“She organizes things for the church like fundraisers and boycotts of books with boobies. I’m not sure if she’s still doing that, though.”
“Am I to assume you and your parents aren’t talking on the phone each day?”
“I haven’t spoken to them in almost three years. They were very vocal about my decision to move to LA.” Though maybe I shouldn’t have told them I was gay during the same conversation.
Eliot glanced at me. “Three years is a long time. Do you have other family members?”
“I’m an only child. I used to be close to my grandmother, but she passed away a few years ago.”
“Was she also of the religious sort?”
“Nanna Ruth? Hell no! I only started thinking of acting because of all the movies she let me watch. She was my audience when I made my plays and tried out costumes. She even signedme up for a library in a different town so my dad wouldn’t know I was borrowing unholy literature.”
Eliot smiled. “I’m sure I would have liked Nanna Ruth.”
“Yeah, she was great.” I sometimes feared what would have happened if she hadn’t broadened my horizons and allowed me to be myself. “So, what about you? Where are you from to be talking all fancy?”
“Do I talk fancy?”
