Trifecta: Independence Day, part 1

[frogs_of_war]

Corsages are a pain, but some stories are cute. One young man came in to get flowers and candy for his second place girl after spending lots of time and money on a girl who cheated on him the next day. He had already asked this second girl before he came in, but he wanted to ask again correctly. Then they were going out for the day to talk about logistics. That's probably a good idea. The girl having some decision in when she gets picked up and were they eat sounds smart.

And the night before Homecoming, a cute little boy showed up. He looked twelve, but had to be older. He confessed to not knowing what he was doing. I tried to set him at ease. I remember his name because he said it was spelled like a nearby town, but I didn't know how to spell that either. But he was so little and cute that we took extra special care on this corsage. When his mother came in she was just as nervous as he had been. She said he was a special. We told her we'd spotted that. This was his first date ever and when he asked the girl he didn't realize Homecoming was such a big deal. His mother had hoped the girl would let him down gently, because he was so sensitive, and was very much surprised she said yes. I hope he had a great time.

Title: Trifecta

Chapter: Independence Day, part one

Status: WIP

Genre: Romance, Triple Slash, businessmen, jobs, friends, working

Length: 1.4 k

Summary: Damien makes a decision
 

Masterlist

Damien gave his lips a final touch up. He was ready for curtain call with minutes to spare. Tara attached her eyelashes. “Have you given any thought to my suggestion?”

Damien blew out a breath. “I… I’m not sure.”

“You shouldn’t be working your youth away. Not like me. I have no youth left.”

Damien sat carefully. Act one dresses weren’t as easily crushed as third act ones, but he didn’t want any obvious wrinkles on stage. “You aren’t that old.”

Tara laughed. “I am, you’re just wearing your rose tinted glasses. Your fella will be my age when you’re his. You must like them old.”

“Maybe I do.” Kenneth would be just as sexy with gray hair.

“But that doesn’t answer my question? Are you going to take the fourth off?”

Damien didn’t want to think about it. “I still have a week to decide.”

“You don’t. Your understudies need the chance to do an entire play in front of an audience. A chance to fail. Before you’re gone for a whole week.”

Kenneth and Ty’s vacation. They had it planned well before he entered their lives.

“You do plan on going with them?”

Damien sighed. “Kenneth booked me tickets months ago.”

“Good for him. So you’ll get the sun and surf while the rest of us swelter.”

“Yeah.” Damien had only been to the coast a hand full of times and never to any nice beaches where the water was warm.

“You do want to go?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t want them going without him.

“Be more enthusiastic, will you? It’s not like you’re giving up your job or anything.”

“I’m not? Jaron is just going to let me take back my roles when I return?”

“Of course he will. The audience really likes you.”

“But if they come to see me, then how will they feel if I’m not here?”

“They come to see me. You’re just pretty accompaniment.”

“So anyone can just step into my roles?” That was a stupid question. Of course they could.

Tara raised an eyebrow. She was the witch that raised Rapunzel now, even without the wig and dress.

Damien got up. He didn’t even have a scene until the second act. He was ready early. Back when he was the only ingénue, he’d played the mother too. It shouldn’t be this hard to share.

“No one’s Rapunzel will ever be just like yours. Martin’s parts were all much less innocent. Same scenes, same lines, different actors. That’s good. We don’t want everyone to be the same. Drew is never going to pull innocent or brilliant, but he can snark will the best of them. He and I play off each other well. Different than you and I do, but not better or worse.”

“So Drew will get my roles?”

“When you aren’t here. But this isn’t Broadway. This is just a fun evening’s entertainment. Jaron doesn’t fire anyone. He just gives minor roles.”

“So I’ll be stuck being a stepsister.”

Tara set down her makeup brush. “Are you telling me you’ve never wanted to have those lines?” Tara shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this.”

She got up and opened the door. “Jaron, get your skinny ass in here.”

“I don’t need—”

“Yes you do. Jaron darling, Damien is considering working Independence Day.”

Jaron frowned. “I was going to give it to Drew. Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. He’s not in all the acts, which will be good for him. He needs the practice for your vacation.”

Damien bit his lip. “You know about my vacation?”

“Ty won’t stop talking about it.”

“Three minutes to curtain.” The stage manager looked Tara over. “Need wardrobe?”

Tara waved her away. “I’ve got this. Jaron, talk some sense into the boy.”

“Damien, if you want days off you only need to ask. You have understudies now.”

The piranhas.

“I’m ok.”

“Ty doesn’t seem to think so.”

“He mentioned it?” Ty would have some explaining to do when Damien got home.

“No.” Jaron frowned. “But I’ve known him for years. I thought it would get better once you quit the coffee shop. With Kenneth working days, how many evenings to you get together?”

No enough. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You aren’t. Come by my office. Stella, give us his three minute warning.”

The stage manager nodded.

“Damien.”

Damien followed. This was like going to the principal’s office. Jaron lifted a stack of programs off a chair. “Sit down.”

He set the stack on top of the folders on his chair and leaned against his desk. “You’re a good person and at acting. You have great rapport with the audience. You stay and talk to them. Great customer service skills.”

But, there had to be a but.

“But,” there it was, “there’s more to acting than standing on stage and spouting lines.”

Damien was being fired. He should have kept his mouth shut.

“You haven’t yet realized that the villains are the best roles.”

“What?”

“Imagine Tara as Snow White’s mother. Can’t, can you? Some people can only play certain roles. But you aren’t like that. Sure Deedee is as innocent as they come, but smart. She’s a great lead. But how would she be as a stepsister? Could you make that work?”

Damien bit his lip. He was going to lose his title roles.

Jaron smiled. “I know you can. I gave you six months to get your sea legs, but I’m going to expect more out of you soon.”

More?

“I want you to think about it for a month or so and when you get back from vacation I want to see your version of a stepsister. Is she sharp and witty? Make barbed comments that take a moment to sting? Sly? Or going the other way, try to out Innocent Cinderella? Make her look mean and cruel when she defends herself? I want to see you stepsister.”

Jaron dug though the papers on his desk. “Here it is. Toads and Diamonds. I’ll need two ingénue for this. You could pull off the sweet one easily enough, but the selfish one? Could you make her a lovable villain? Make people believe that even with snakes and toads coming out of her mouth she will live happier than her diamond dropping sister?”

The papers were more notes than lines. The play hadn’t been written yet.

“Look through it, but leave it here. We can go over it once Drew has enough nights under his belt to play a lead. He needs to build up confidence.”

Confidence? “He’s got confidence.”

Jaron laughed. “You may have noticed that the biggest braggarts have the softest centers.

Damien nodded.

The stage manager poked her head in. “In three.”

“Thanks,” said Jaron. “Damien, it’s time for the next step. Think about how Deedee would be different evil, and how she’d be the same. And enjoy next Thursday off. You deserve it.”

Damien nodded. He almost hoped Drew bombed. But he wouldn’t be here to see him win the night either.

Damien hurried to the wing. The wardrobe assistant was ready with the unwieldy wig. When the stage went dark, he carried his brush and mirror on stage and fastened the “hair” rope to his waist. The lights came on to Rapunzel brushing the end of her very long hair.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.”

Damien walked across the stage and through a coil of rope into the left wing. Tara entered holding it and they played out their scene without tripping on the rope littering the stage. Emma wasn’t so lucky, but her version of this prince was a bit of a klutz.

This was a Rapunzel that ending with twins—baby dolls, with pink or blue ribbons on their christening gowns and bonnets—but not the version that ended in a wasteland. How would Rapunzel survive, let alone care for two infants without out help and ready food?

At the end, Damien bowed the first time with the twins then alone. He got roses. Pink tonight. The patrons were friendly, but didn’t stay too long. Damien cleaned his makeup off and changed. Ty welcomed him with open arms.

“I love you.”

Ty grinned. “Good.”

Damien dragged him to the car. “I’m thinking of taking Wednesdays off. Maybe Thursdays too.”

Ty bit his lip. “If that’s what you want.”

“Or maybe Sundays so we all have one day off together.”

“That will make Kenneth happy.”

“And you?”

“Why the sudden change?”

“A different perspective.” A better one. He could do more with less stage time, both developing Deedee and with his men.

The adrenalin was still running strong. Hopefully Kenneth was still awake.