“What the hell iswrongwith us?”
Joshua barked out a short laugh, then shook his head and leaned against Colin’s arm. “You, me, David…” He hesitated, then met Colin’s eyes. “Not so much Nate, but the three of us? We all had rough starts. Trauma in our childhood. We need structure to feel safe. And…” He stopped and shrugged. “One pillar of our foundation has suddenly gone missing.” He pressed his face to Colin’s shoulder. “We’reallon tilt.”
“Who would have thought that irritating little fuck could create such a vacuum.”
“I couldn’t do it, Colin. Be separated from you for that long.”
He laughed and kissed Joshua’s hair. “Hell, I couldn’t do it either, Josh! I couldn’t—and what’s more, Iwouldn’t! I would never accept a job or an assignment that forced us to be separated for two months. Or separated atall,far as that goes.”
“I hope you don’t get sick of my weird-ass behavior.”
Colin stood up, drawing Joshua with him. “You manage to annoy me maybe once a month,” he said. “Whereas I tend to be annoying all day,everyday. Now, get it together. David will be here in five minutes, and I don’t want him thinking that we’re having issues.” He pulled Joshua close and kissed him, then cocked one eyebrow and grinned. “Honestly though, Josh? You reallyareweird.”
Joshua nodded and linked his arm with Colin’s. “Yeah, don’t I know it. I am the reason ‘Physician, heal thyself’ exists.”
* * *
Nate satin the front row of the Westside Theatre, listening as several actors and one nervous actress read various passages from his script. They were auditioning for Ross Tanner in the hopes of securing a part in Nate’s play, and Nate leaned forward, listening intently as each person read. He focused on their voice, listening for tone, pitch, enunciation, believability, timing, and consistency, qualities fundamental to any stage actor.
“Ross!” He called out, and the director turned to face him. “Have him read that last paragraph again, please,” Nate requested. “I want to hear it from the back of the room.
Nate’s play was a three-act drama revolving around the main character, Blair Edwards. Edwards was a gay man in his mid-thirties who had lived his entire life as a rich, spoiled dilettante. Indifferent to the feelings of others, he took no responsibility for the harm he did through his immature and irresponsible behavior. He tore through relationships with family, friends, and lovers, wasting them as carelessly as he wasted his seemingly endless wealth.
But in the autumn of that year, he left a party where he had been drinking heavily and was involved in a devastating automobile accident. Thankfully, no one else was hurt, but Blair suffered traumatic injuries to the thoracic region of his spine, which resulted in paraplegia.
At first, he wallowed in self-pity, making everyone around him miserable, seeing no future for himself, and projecting his self-loathing even onto those who tried their best to love and support him. But eventually, he began to see how his own arrogance and pride had led him to this moment. He found friendship with a young physical therapist who taught him strategies to help him cope with his disability, and their relationship soon blossomed into love.
It was the story of a man who had faced a terrible personal tragedy and transcended his devastating circumstances to reach levels of wisdom, maturity, and love he had never imagined possible.
Nate was proud of the script, believing it was the best writing he had ever done. He was proud enough that he wasn’t willing to leave the casting in the hands of Ross Tanner. He strolled to the rear of the theater and then called: “Go ahead!” The young actor read the passage again, and after listening, Nate twirled his index finger in the air. “Again!”
As the actor repeated the passage, Nate saw Ross Tanner’s face contort in irritation, and he smiled inwardly. The actor auditioning for the part had spoken his lines perfectly. Nate’s only reason for requesting a second reading was to send a message to the director. He wanted Tanner to know who was running this production, at least as far as his script and his actors were concerned. Now Tanner knew. He didn’t like it; that much was plain. But he got it.
He’s smarter than he looks,Nate thought. He returned to the front of the theater and climbed the stairs to the stage, smiling at the young actor. “Brilliant!” Nate told him. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Kory Holder, Mr. Reeves.”
“You did a great job, Kory. I’m impressed. Heard you clear as a bell in the back. Good enunciation and good pacing. And best of all, I believed every word you said.” He turned to Ross Tanner and jerked his thumb toward the young actor. “He’s good. Put him on the list for Blair.”
“Nate,” Tanner snapped, unable to hide his annoyance. “Shouldn’t we discuss this with Ursula?”
“Why? I have the authority to cast anyone I please.” He leaned toward his director. “It’s in my contract, Ross. I made damned sure of it.” He nodded toward Kory Holder. “Put him on the list.”
“Nate, are you sure you don’t want to—”
“Ross, this isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been teaching Media Studies at UVA for four years. I’ve taught Voice for Theatre for the past two years. Two of my productions have taken the top prize at the Virginia Film Festival. And before that, I spent ten years in Hollywood working for one of the best producersinthat flakey town.” He took a step back and stared up at the director, his eyes throwing sapphire sparks. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Maybeyou’dlike to handle auditions then!” Tanner snapped.
“Fine by me,” Nate said. “I handle auditions all the time.” He snatched the script from Tanner’s hand and turned to the actors still waiting to do readings. “Who’s next?” He did not turn as Tanner strode from the stage.Partnership, my ass!Nate thought.Ihavea partner!
* * *
At dinner,David talked nonstop about his upcoming weekend in Manhattan. “God, I can’t wait to see him! It is absolutelygrimat my house without him there. I fuckinghateit!”
“I couldn’t do it, David,” Joshua told him.
David arched his brows and lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. “It’s off Broadway, Josh,” he said, his voice weary. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for him. I couldn’t very well object.”
