“He’s been…” He glanced at Colin. “What do you call it when Josh gets into a tizzy?”
“Het up?”
“That’s it! He’s beenhet up!”
“Oh, lord god,” Joshua moaned.
“Well, I don’t blame him,” Colin said with a quick shrug. “Having a New York producer want to do your play is pretty heady stuff.”
“Be right back,” David told them, then dashed up the stairs to Nate’s office.
Joshua took a seat and peered at the food. “Looks good.”
“David’s a good cook,” Colin observed, then at a glance from Joshua, he leaned closer to his husband. “Not as good asyou, of course.”
“You’d damned wellbettersay that,” Joshua said with a quick grin.
“Or I won’t eat for a month?”
“Ifever!”
Colin laughed and reached to stroke Joshua’s cheek just as David returned to the dining room, pushing Nate ahead of himself. “Now sit down and eat,” he grumbled.
“I hear you’re throwing a hissy,” Colin said, placing several slices of roast onto his plate.
“Yeah, I’m a little…” Nate hesitated.
“Het up?” Colin offered with a grin.
“I suppose,” Nate told him. He shot a furtive glance at his husband. “I know I’m not handling things very well.”
“Well,” Colin pronounced, “as my husband has told me more than once: ‘No situation on earth will be improved by you going berserk.’”
Nate nodded toward Joshua, who was filling his plate. “Your husband is a wise and learned fellow.”
Joshua placed a hand over his heart and bowed in appreciation while Colin laughed.
“That heis,” Colin told Nate. “So take his advice and relax a bit. Jesus, man! The play won’t get better because you’re freaking out.”
“It’s not the play,” Nate told him around a mouthful of roast. “It’s setting up the production.”
“What’s the problem, Nate?” Joshua asked him.
“Oh god,” Nate moaned. He shoved his plate forward and bowed his head.
“Nate,” David said, pointing at Nate’s plate. “Eat!”
“You can eat and talk simultaneously,” Colin told him. “I’ve seen you do it.” He pushed Nate’s food back in front of him.
Nate heaved a huge sigh. “The producer and I are kind of hassling over my contract.”
“What does he want?” Colin asked. “If it IS a ‘he’.”
“It’s a ‘she’,” Nate told him. “The contract states the amount of royalties that I’ll be paid, the limit of the producer's control over the play, and how often they’ll need me there on set for consultation during the rehearsal period.”
“That all seems reasonable,” Joshua told him.
“Until we start to discuss it,” Nate replied. “It can get complicated.”
