Anything Could Happen (28 page)

But then the party went late, and they were all pretty drunk when they went to bed. He got up to the surprise of Guy making breakfast, so he thought it might be mentioned then. But over eggs and bacon and even grits—Grams had addicted him to them instantly—the only topic of conversation was the gorgeous day and should they hit the local Sunfresh for groceries.

Finally, Austin could stand it no more. “Who’s James Smith?”

A look of confusion came over Guy’s face. Then a slow-dawning understanding. “Ah….”

“Jennifer happened to mention you finished
Dolly Parton Play
,” he said, forcing himself to be light.

“I, ah… I’ve been waiting to tell you,” Guy replied.

Austin put his fork down. “Why, baby?” he asked, confused. It was true. It was true.

“It’s just….”

“
Who’s
James Smith?” This was all so confusing.

Guy leaned on the table, pushing his mostly finished plate aside. “He’s Perseus. I changed my mind. I decided a couple days ago that I wanted the gay character to have the most common name there was. I googled it. Found out the most common first and last names in the United States. I thought it was important that he be as ‘normal’ as possible, even though he’s gay and….” He stopped. Looked away.

“Even though what?” Austin pressed.

Guy sighed. “I’ll go get it,” he said. He rose and left the room and was back a few minutes later with his laptop. “Are you done with that?” he asked, pointing to Austin’s empty plate. “Did you want any more?”

Austin shook his head and picked up his plate and took it to the sink. Guy, meanwhile, had opened his computer and was booting it up. By the time Austin had cleared the table—Guy told him he was done eating as well—the play was up on the screen. Austin looked at Guy, and he motioned for Austin to sit.

“Now before you read this, I-I want you to know it’s not the final draft.”

“Has Jennifer read it?”
Please say no. Please
.

Guy nodded, and for some reason, Austin felt a sharp pang in his heart.

“She’s an expert, you know? I just wanted to make sure it was good.”

And you didn’t think my opinion would matter?
“She liked it, didn’t she?”

Guy nodded again. “Yes,” he said quietly. “She thinks it’s good enough for In-Progress Night.”

In-Progress Night?
He knew he should know what that was.

“Once a year, the Pegasus does a couple of weekends where we publicly read new plays, works in progress. To get the reaction from an audience.” Guy sat down next to him, his face in that weird, unreadable mode again.

What was it about that? Why did he hide his feelings?

“I can take stuff out,” he said, his mask slipping, eyes going wide.

What was this about? Was that worry on his face? Did he look nervous? “You won’t want to take anything out if Jennifer likes it the way it is.”

“
No
. If there is
any
thing you don’t like, I’ll take it out.”

“Why would there be something I don’t like….” Then he heard an echo. What had Guy said, so long ago?

Just remember that it’s dangerous being friends with a writer. You never know when something you say will end up in his next work
.

Austin got a weird, foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“I love you, Austin.”

Austin nodded, and began to read.

A
T
FIRST
,
Austin was stunned. From the opening words, he was drawn in. The dialogue grabbed him immediately, flowing naturally and believably despite the odd nature of the setting.

Five men and women wake up in a steel room with no idea how they got there or where they are. There is only one door, and that turns out to lead to a bathroom. There is no door out of the room. There aren’t even any apparent vents, yet they are getting air, no light fixtures, but they can see. Food appears through the only opening in the wall. Five beds and five small tables and chairs are the only furnishings. Bit by bit, their memories come back. They are terrified. Alliances are formed and broken. The gay character, James Smith, reveals his sexuality and is threatened by one character and befriended by others. A woman constantly talks to him and it is revealed her husband recently left her for another man and she hopes James can help her discover why.

Isla: That’s how you knew you were gay? You had sex with your best friend?

James: Well.
(beat)
Sorta.

Isla: Sorta? How did you “sorta” have sex? Did you guys c… (starts to say “cum” but can’t bring herself to say the word.) Did you guys have orgasms or not?

James: Well, one of us did.

Isla: Which one? You or him?

James: You’re pretty fuckin’ nosy, you know that?

Isla: I am? Sorry. I don’t mean to be.

Austin froze.
What the crap?
He trembled, his stomach fluttered. He continued to read.

James: (long beat) Him.

Isla: Him?

James: Orgasm. He came. And then he ran out.

Isla: Oh. Wow. He ran out? That really sucks.

James: Well, I did anyway. Sucked him. His cock. And he came and then he ran off.

Isla:
(long beat)
I’m sorry.

James:
(shrugs his shoulders)

Isla: And that’s how you knew you were gay? I would think after something like that—well, sucking—ah, you know—I’d think you’d never want to do it again.

James: Oh no. That part was awesome. Isla. My God. I never felt so fucking alive in my whole life. It was about the most
(beat)
edifying, illuminating moment of my fucking life! I never felt so right.

Isla: You got this from sucking a….
(she still can’t say “cock”)

James:
(laughs)
You can’t even say it. Cock. The word is “cock.”
(he puts great emphasis on the word)
His cock was perfect.

Austin’s stomach was cramping. He stopped, closed his eyes.
This isn’t happening. It’s not. Guy wouldn’t do this.

He opened his eyes, the words on the screen going in and out of focus. He squinted, concentrated. Continued….

James: I’d seen him naked before. Fuck. When we were little, my mom would make us take baths together before we went to bed. We’d stand up and shake them at each other.
(he stands and demonstrates—clothed)
But we never
did
anything. Never jerked off or played with each other. I hear straight guys do that. Jerk off together when they’re teenagers or something. College maybe? Anyway, we didn’t. Not until one dark and stormy night. The power went off and we were lying there on the hide-a-bed together….
(beat—takes a deep breath)
We started talking about sex. That’s what guys do, you know? And suddenly I knew I wanted him. I reached right over and put my hand on his dick, and he was as hard as steel. Then he put his hand on mine. We were only wearing our underwear, you know? And we took our dicks out and started playing with each other. Never said a word. I was trying so hard not to cum. I
wanted him to get off first. Then before I
even knew what I was doing, I did it. I
sucked his cock and he came and I
swallowed it all and I was afraid I would hate it but no, I loved it.
(beat)
And when he finished…

Isla: He ran out on you.

James: He ran out on me.

Isla:
(very long beat)
And that made you know you were gay? I still don’t get it. If that happened to me, I would never want to….

James: You don’t want to now, do you? Suck cock? I bet you don’t suck your husband’s.

Isla: My
ex
-husband!

James: You didn’t, did you?

Isla: And that’s why he “fucking” left me?

James:
(beat)
No, Isla. He left you because he’s gay. He left you because he tried to be straight with you and he couldn’t do it anymore. He had that affair and he knew that he needed to be with another man. A good blowjob does not a gay man make.

Isla: Oh! And you know this because you were married?

James:
(shakes head)
No. I know this because I fucked his girlfriend and hated it….

Austin leapt to his feet. He was shaking. Horrified. “My God,” he shouted. “Guy!” Tears sprang to his eyes. “My God!”

Guy jumped up as well. “Austin. I can take it out. I told you—”

“How could you? Guy! That was my life!
Private
. That happened to me. To Todd. To Joan. But I shared it with you. I trusted you. You can’t just rip that out of my heart and their hearts and put it up on a stage for people to see!”

Guy held up his hands. “I’ll take it out!”

“But. You. Put. It. In!”

“Baby… I’ll take it out. It was just….”

“Did
Jennifer
like it?” Austin cried out.

Guy paused, looked away. Looked back. “She thinks it’s one of the most powerful scenes in the play.”

“Does she
crapping
know it happened to
me
?”

“God, no, Austin. I would never—”

“But you
would
put it in your play.” The tears began then. Rolling down his face like if he didn’t figure out how to stop then, they might never stop. “Guy….”

“I’ll take it out,” Guy said, and he was crying now.

“
Fuck you
, Guy,” Austin shouted.

Guy flinched. Took a step back.

“Fuck you!”

Austin fled the apartment.

H
E
WAS
raging inside as he ran down the stairs, two at a time.
Uncle Bodie
, he would scream.
You won’t believe it! He is taking my most personal life and making it a play. Things I trusted him with! That fucker. My life, Uncle Bodie! How could he?

But as he reached the door, he heard a sound that made the hair on his arms stand up. There was a wailing from inside the apartment, a high keening that now drew the hair up on the back of Austin’s neck.

He opened the apartment door and ran inside and found his uncle on the couch.

At first he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. The man was crying. No, not crying. The word didn’t come close to what the man was doing. He was practically shrieking, rocking back and forth and holding what looked like a fox-fur stole.

And then Austin saw what it was.

It was the limp body of Lucille.

Uncle Bodie began heaving, ratcheting up huge deep breaths, and then began to wail once more. Austin was frozen.
No
, he thought.
It can’t be. Please, God. Please. If You are real. Not Lucille.

Uncle Bodie fell back, and Lucille’s limp body almost fell out of his lap and onto the floor. Somehow Austin was there in an instant, catching her and throwing himself next to his uncle.

“No!” Uncle Bodie bawled. “No. She
can’t
be.” He looked at Austin, eyes wide and red, face soaked with tears. “Austin. Austin, please.
Do something!
Do something.” He looked down in his lap. Picked up the lifeless body, Lucille’s head falling to the side, held her up to his nephew, the desperation palatable. “Breathe on her or push on her chest or something. Austin. Do something.”

“Oh, Uncle Bodie,” he said, and the tears, tears that had halted when he heard his uncle crying through the apartment door, were back. He wanted to hold them back, be strong for the man in his arms, but he couldn’t. “There’s nothing I can do.”

Uncle Bodie began to shake, he closed his eyes, pulled his little dog to his chest, then opened his eyes again. “Where were you? You always come down for breakfast. Where were you?”

Austin trembled.
I was reading a play. I was acting like a big crapping baby and getting all pissed off at my lover. I was getting all bent out of shape because he used my story in his play. That’s where I was. When I should have been here.
“I am so sorry, Uncle Bodie.”

His uncle collapsed into his arms, shaking his head, holding his Lucille close, sobbing against his shoulder.

A long time later, when the crying had subsided, Uncle Bodie slowly sat up. “Austin,” he whispered. “Would you go down to the basement? Get one of those plastic tubs? There are a few down there, almost empty. Bring one of them up, please?”

“Are you sure you want me to leave you?”

“I’m sure. Please. Go.”

Austin untangled himself and got up. “Do you need me to do something?”

“Get the tub, son,” Uncle Bodie said, rocking his Lucille slowly in his lap, not taking his eyes off of her.

Austin nodded and quickly left the apartment, out into the courtyard and down into the basement. He pulled out his cell phone and called Guy.

“Austin?” came the answer on one ring.

“Come down right away. Uncle Bodie needs you.”

“Bodie?”

“Lucille is dead.”

“Oh my God. I’m coming right now.”

“Thank you, Guy.”

“It’s no problem. I’m on my way.”

“Thank you.”

“And Austin?”

“Yes, Guy?”

“I am so sorry.”

“No. I’m the one who is sorry. I’m really sorry,” he said. Because it didn’t matter. Not in the scheme of things. Uncle Bodie mattered. That was what was real. The rest? Why, it was just a play.

He found a tub easily, several in fact, combined their contents so that one was empty, and then brought it back to the apartment as quickly as he could. Guy was there, sitting with his uncle. When Austin entered the room, his uncle gently handed Lucille over to Guy. Uncle Bodie got up, nearly fell, then held out a hand to let them know he was okay. He left the room and came back a few minutes later with a lap quilt. It looked like one Grams had made.

“Bring that here, son,” Uncle Bodie said quietly and folded the blanket and draped it in the tub. He then had Guy place Lucille in as well. He started to fold the blanket inside and then stopped. He reached under the coffee table and brought out one of Lucille’s toys, a shredded rabbit, and placed it inside with his beloved dog. “Goodnight, sweet Lucille, my tiny lady. Rest now, and sweet dreams.” He placed the rest of the blanket over her.