Chapter 7

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With only two weeks until the opening ceremony of the clinic fundraiser, affectionately known as Drag Week, Brian was spending the majority of his time playing referee. Since the lovely 'ladies' had come to town, Brian broke up six cat fights, four fist fights, solved two episodes of missing make-up and several incidents of 'misplaced' custom-made sequined dresses. Oh, and personally replaced a pair of size 14 satin royal blue pumps that 'accidentally' ended up in a toilet. Brian had never witnessed so much pettiness and cattiness in his whole life. But he felt responsible for the success of the fundraiser, so every day he made himself available to the ladies. Brian made sure their accommodations at the hotel were satisfactory. The dressing rooms at the theater were all outfitted with mini refrigerators for the bottled water of choice and each makeup table sported a bouquet of fresh flowers. Brian was exhausted.

"Hey," Justin said as he kissed Brian's cheek then sat next to him in a plush theater chair.

"Hey," Brian whispered back then raised his arm to wrap around Justin.

"What are they doing?" Justin indicated the stage. All the queens were on the stage dressed in their finest. The choreographer was having one hell of a time trying to keep the ladies in line and on key.

"Rehearsing the grand finale. Reminds me of a bunch of hogs fighting under a blanket. I have never seen so much ass squeezed into such tight dresses."

"Brian, that's horrible and no paraphrasing 'Steel Magnolias'. I love that movie."

"Well, it's true. Look at them, Justin. No self respecting man would be caught dead parading around in a dress."

"I'm a self respecting man and I paraded around in a dress. Won an award for it too."

"That's different."

"How?"

"Because you're beautiful and you made a gorgeous Marilyn and I got to fuck you all night long." Justin couldn't help but laugh.

"You big silly Smoosh."

"Yeah, but I'm your Smoosh."

"Yes, you are. Do you think they're going to be ready on time?"

"I hope so. We have a lot riding on this. Hunter said many of the local businessmen have already made very large contributions and a few have decided to become permanent backers. The theater and bowling alley are not for profit businesses but that doesn't mean we can't make money. We have to have something to pay all the wages. I..."

"You can't do it all, I know, Bri. You shouldn't have to."

"I'm not, I swear. But a large portion of Babylon's profits are still funneled into the clinic. I have some good people working for me there. They all deserve a raise."

"And if the clinic has other backers you get to use Babylon money for Babylon. Brian, why haven't you said anything to me? One or two of my paintings could pay the clinic expenses for six months or more."

"Sunshine, I..."

"You're a stubborn bastard, Kinney. You still feel the need to take care of me and the rest of the world, don't you?" Brian tried to hide his face but Justin cupped Brian's chin to look directly into the hazel eyes. "I love you so much. But we're partners and partners help each other. No one said you had to do this all by yourself. It stops here, Bri. I want you to promise me that when it comes to making investments or charitable contributions, we do it together."

Justin kissed Brian's lips then pulled Brian into a hug.

"I promise, Sunshine. We do it together." Brian sealed his pact with another kiss. Just then one of the performers threw a hissy fit and stormed off the stage. "Damn, I'm beginning to hate drag queens. Justin, I have to go. Can we meet at the diner later?"

"Sure. Go make nice nice with the drag queen."

"I'm always nice," Brian snarked then he sprinted backstage to go make nice.

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"Hunter, I need to talk to you," Michael said into the phone.

Hunter sighed. "Sure, Michael, where and when?"

"Come to the house after dinner."

"I'll be there," Hunter said before he hung up. He dreaded the confrontation that was sure to come. He sincerely hoped that Ben would be there as he was always the voice of reason, and was usually able to keep Michael's queen-outs under some sort of control.

A few hours later he rang the bell at Ben and Michael's.

"Come in," Michael said brusquely as he opened the door.

"How are you?" Hunter asked as he walked in, trying to keep the conversation light. "How's Ben?"

"Ben's teaching a night course."

Hunter felt a sinking feeling. "I meant his health."

"If you came around more often, you'd know."

"Michael…"

"Don't Michael me. Sit down and listen."

"I thought you wanted to talk," Hunter said, but he sat down anyway.

"I'll talk. You listen." Hunter sighed and nodded. "What the fuck are you doing with that old queen?"

Hunter remained silent for a moment thinking that Michael was going to continue. When he didn't, Hunter replied, "Danny's taking part in the fundraiser, and I kind of like him. He's funny."

Michael snorted. "What has he told you about me?"

"We don't really talk about you."

The stunned look on Michael's face spoke volumes. "Then what the fuck do you talk about?"

"He tells me about his life, and we discuss things about the fundraiser. He's quite interested in the clinic … and me."

"Has … has he told you that he's from Pittsburgh?"

"Yeah, that's kind of how we got to know each other. He knows your mother," Hunter said choosing his words carefully. He had no intention of telling Michael that he knew Danny was Michael's father. Michael would have to be ready for it, and probably reveal it himself, before they could ever discuss the matter without all hell breaking loose.

"And that's all he said?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay," Michael said thoughtfully. Maybe that would be the end of it after the fundraiser. Danny would perform and then go back to his life somewhere else.

"Want a soda?" Michael asked.

"Beer would be better."

"Yeah, I could use one too."

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Debbie had just made a late dinner for her and Lacy. She shouted up the stairs to get Lacy to come down.

"I'm not hungry, Deb," Lacy called back. She had successfully avoided talking to Debbie about her father for a couple of days. She didn't want to get into it again with the redhead.

"Get down here and eat. You need food. You're too skinny."

Lacy slowly made her way down the stairs. She had debated saying she wasn't feeling well, but that would only have caused Debbie to come upstairs to see what was wrong with her. She knew she was going to have to explain to the persistent Debbie, and it looked like now was the time.

Debbie loaded Lacy's place with pasta and gave her a piece of garlic bread. They ate in silence for a while.

"Where's Carl tonight?" Lacy asked.

"Out with a couple of his buddies from the police force."

"You let him?"

Debbie laughed. "Like I could stop him."

"You love him, don't you?"

Debbie's face took on a radiant look. "He's a good man, and he loves me, and … I love him right back. Who'd ever think that I would be saying those words?" Debbie chuckled to herself.

"You spent a lot of years alone?"

"Me and Michael, and occasionally Vic, my brother."

"I wish I could have met Vic."

"You would have liked him. He was a good man too."

Lacy nodded and ate some more of her pasta. So far so good.

"So, who was this man that called you Lucinda?"

Lacy felt her face go red and her heartbeat speed up. She drew in a breath and said, "He's my father."

"Your father! Your fucking father?!"

Lacy nodded. "He saw that picture in the newspaper and came looking for me."

"Then what the fuck did you run away for?" Debbie wanted to know.

"It's a long story," Lacy said slowly.

"I have lots of pasta and ice cream for dessert."

Lacy knew she wouldn't get off so easily. "When I was fifteen, I started sort of dating this kid from down the street, Peter Hodgkiss. He was kind of cute and pretty popular. I was sort of thin and geeky, but for some reason he seemed to like me. We were in the same class at school and everyone knew we were going steady."

"That sounds like typical teenage life," Debbie observed.

Lacy made a face. "It was for a while. Eventually he started pushing for things to go farther than kissing and petting. I told him I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be a virgin when I got married."

"How did he react to that?"

"He seemed okay with it for awhile, but one night he stole a bottle of vodka from his parents' liquor cabinet and we got pretty drunk. He tried to take my clothes off, but I kept pushing him away. Even drunk I knew I didn't want to do that with him." Lacy's eyes filled with tears and she swiped at them with the back of her hand.

"Time for ice cream," Debbie said getting up and going to the freezer. That gave Lacy some time to regain her self-control.

Once they each had ice cream in front of them, Debbie indicated that Lacy should continue.

"I tried to push him off me, but he was stronger than me. He managed to get his penis part way inside. It hurt like hell. I got really scared. I thought he was ripping me open. He did have a big dick. I managed to get my knee in between us and push him off." Lacy stopped and took a couple of deep breaths.

"What did you do?"

"I ran home wanting to tell my parents that Peter had hurt me. They were fighting, and didn't even notice that anything was wrong. It was a few days before I could talk to either one of them. My mother just brushed it off and said that obviously nothing had really happened since I appeared to be fine. My father never really let me explain. When I mentioned Peter's name, he started in on what a fine boy Peter was."

"So what happened with Peter?"

"He called and of course, I saw him at school. I avoided him as much as I could. He did eventually apologize and said it was because of the liquor. He promised he would never do that again. He wanted me to take him back."

"Did you?"

"Kind of. My father wanted us to be together. The Hodgkiss family was pretty prominent in the community, so it was a prestige thing with my father."

"Did Peter try something like that again?"

"Yeah, once more and I managed to fight him off again. Gave him a fucking black eye," Lacy said proudly.

"Good girl!"

Lacy smiled as she wiped away another tear. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I've never told anyone."

"Maybe it's time you did. Your parents were still too busy?" Debbie asked knowingly.

Lacy nodded. "I decided I couldn't stay with them any longer. If they weren't going to listen or help me, I might as well be on my own. I ran away the next day, and I've never looked back."

"You had a rough time, young lady, but you've made something of yourself. When you go to PIFA, everyone who knows you is going to be bursting with pride."

Lacy smiled and then her face fell. "Even if I'm accepted, I don't know how I can swing it financially."

"Carl and I will help, and I'm sure Brian and Just…"

"No, I can't take money from you or them. You've already done so much for me."

"We don't mind."

"No, I won't do it, and I probably won't get in anyway."

"Don't say that. You will get in, and you're going to go," Debbie said standing up.

"Oh Debbie," Lacy said tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why couldn't my parents have cared half as much as you do?"

"Maybe that's why your father is here. Maybe he does care."

Lacy sobbed on Debbie's shoulder.

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"Danny? It is Danny, isn't it?" Carl extended his hand out toward Danny.

Even though Danny was staying at the Plaza, he enjoyed the chicken fingers they served at the Liberty Bowling Alley snack counter. Danny was enjoying his time off from Divina while indulging in his secret passion. Carl had come in with a bunch of his buddies from the police force. Danny hesitated but shook Carl's hand.

"Yes, Danny Devore. You're Carl Horvath, Debbie's husband."

"Guilty as charged. Would you care to join us?" Carl indicated the guys who were currently choosing a lane.

"No, thank you, I really need to get my beauty sleep. But I wouldn't mind a game or two after the fundraiser is over with. I haven't bowled a real game in a long time."

"I'm looking forward to it." Carl began to turn to rejoin his friends.

"Carl, thank you for being so civil. You're a real gentleman; Debbie deserves that. I care about her and her son."

"I can see that and I do my best to take care of her. She's brought me so much love and happiness. I love her deeply and our whole crazy family. We'll see each other again when everything calms down."

"Have a good night, Carl."

"Good night, Danny."

Carl joined his buddies. Danny packed up his snack then went back to the Plaza.

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"Mmm, that was great," Justin purred as he rolled off Brian then snuggled into Brian's chest.

"Amazing, Sunshine!" Brian cooed back into his blond's hair.

"Bri, did you fix the drag queen's problem this afternoon?"

"If it were up to me, they'd all get 'fixed'. But in answer to your question, I schmoozed and flattered and sucked up to the sweet dear. All is right in the world again. At least until the next one queens out. Justin, promise me you'll smack me upside the head if I ever get like they do. On second thought you just might like that too much. You're already too bossy as it is."

Justin snuggled closer, his satisfied smile grew wider.

"You know, Sunshine, I do believe you are enjoying watching me being led around by the balls by a bunch of old drag queens. Aren't you? Justin? Justin?"

Justin didn't answer; he let his giggles do the answering for him.