Colors (27 page)

Before she can finish, the phone rings again.

“I’ll get it,” I say, rushing to the kitchen phone.

“This is Neil,” I say into the receiver. “The
Examiner
? I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it….”

Aunt Jenny comes to the doorway separating the kitchen from her studio, a grin on her face.

“I pretty much said all I have to say at the rally,” I continue into the phone.

I pause, listening.

“I really don’t want to comment… I don’t care what rumors you heard about Miriam, Obadiah, or Brother Gramm…. Look, I’m not confirming anything. You need to talk to Miriam. That’s all I have to say.” I hang up.

“What was that all about?” Aunt Jenny asks. She steps toward me. That
Aunt Jenny
concern in her whole body.

“A reporter for the
Examiner
,” I answer. “He wanted to ask me some questions.”

“You must have really wowed ’em at the rally tonight.”

“Just the opposite,” I reply.

Aunt Jenny drops the tape she had in her hand and rushes to me.

“Spill it. Why would a reporter want to talk to you?”

I gently take her arm and lead her to the table.

“Sit down. This may call for some of your famous
homemade
cookies.”

There was comfort in our family joke. I open the cupboard, get out the Chips Ahoy package and put it on the table. After pouring two glasses of milk, I sit down.

“It’s been quite a night for me,” I begin. “But before I can fill you in on tonight, I have to jump back nine years.”

Suddenly, I am nine years old again, and telling Aunt Jenny now is as hard as it would have been if I had been able to tell her all those years ago. Harder. After all, she’s my mom. Performance three turns into a real agony.

Aunt Jenny sits, her hands squeezing mine. Hot tears drip down my cheeks. They are tears of anger… anger for a man who had not only taken my innocence but the innocence of countless others. And anger for years lost. Aunt Jenny’s eyes are flooded with tears too.

I persevere with my story.

“Oh, Neil.” Aunt Jenny takes my face in her hands. “You’ve carried this around with you for all these years. I wish you could have told me. I would have helped you deal with it all and put that miscreant in jail.” There is a flood of righteous anger in her voice.

She pulls me to her and kisses my forehead, then sits back, a look of total helplessness on her face.

“You did help me deal with it,” I say, my hand brushing across her cheek, wiping her tears. “You took me away from that monster. You gave me a safe, secure home. And you gave me more love than I could ever deserve…. Mom.”

“Oh, baby.” She pulls me closer to her. “You deserve more love than I could ever give you. I’m so, so sorry.”

“You gave me all the love I’ve ever needed. At least the kind a mother can give. And now I have the other kind too.” Then I tell her about going to Zane’s house.

She pulls me into a bear hug, a crushing one. “Oh, baby, I couldn’t be happier for you. I know what I said to you on the way to the craft show. But that was before Kris came back into my life. I know now love is the most important thing in this life. Family love and the love you share with a special someone. And I don’t give a rat’s ass who the special someone is. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

“Look,” I say, reluctantly pulling away from this safe and warm cocoon she has made for me. “I won’t lie and tell you I’m all cured now because of what I did to that bastard tonight. But I’m alive and I’m ready to face whatever is thrown at me now.”

“We’ve got to do something about him,” she says. “We’ll press charges.”

“Oh, that reporter will take care of him. When his story breaks, Miriam will see Gramm Peters is put away for a long, long time. I saw that in her eyes earlier tonight when I exposed the creep.”

I open the bag of cookies.

“Tonight, I learned two things. No problem is so big it can’t be faced down, and problems are easier to face when you have people who care about you. I’m lucky: I have Zane, and I have the best little cookie baker in Cawton County.”

Grinning, I pull a cookie from the bag and hand it to Aunt Jenny.

Text Messaging: Neil, Zane, and Cara

Zane:
so, is it everything we thought it would be?

Cara:
yeah, hunky, inquiring minds want to know

Neil:
i’ve only been here at mtm for a week. give me time

Zane:
no problems with scott?

Neil:
nope. in fact, mr. hanna wants to pay for therapy for me

Cara:
wow!!! marshall hanna hates teenagers. the way he feels i can’t believe he funds mtm

Zane:
TODAY’S YOUTH ARE GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET!!! he says, in his best marshall hanna voice

Neil:
hey, don’t knock the man… he’s a friend of miriam railston’s, and he thought what i did was courageous—those were his words

Cara:
well, la ti da… looks like hunky has a stage door johnny

Zane:
good for u, neil… u gonna take him up on his offer?

Neil:
well, it’s free and it can’t hurt

Cara:
now, ur talking… take everything free you can get


Zane:
speaking of FREE….

Cara:
ok, z, that’s enuff

Zane:
u’re too, too modest, chita

Cara:
it’s not settled yet… don’t jinx it

Neil:
care to fill me in, fellow thespians?

Zane:
bernadette here has been offered a real live professional contract

Neil:
what? cara!! speak, girl!

Zane:
tell neilie about it, ethel

Cara:
well, i auditioned for the second lead in the national company of free bird in bimini… they want me to go on tour. and i get my equity card!!

Zane:
isn’t that fabulous, darling? our little girl joins the union. and, ta da, she is a star!!

Neil:
well, i’m impressed

Cara:
thanks, hunky… but z hasn’t told you his news yet

Neil:
spill it, zane

Zane:
the cawton county drammer club is doing fiddler this year… rumor has it they picked it for me

Neil:
you know they did

Zane:
great news, huh? and wat about mtm… any roles for the hunk?

Neil:
maybe… rent has some good roles

Cara:
holy cow!! rent?

Neil:
oh. nother thing. face I didn’t expect around here.

Zane:
who? hunter foster? constantine?

Neil:
not on staff. regular frosh

Zane:
u’re killing me

Cara:
come clean

Neil:
satine’s here. in all her glory

Zane:
OMG! things are looking up for all 3 of us

Neil:
i can see the colors of those spotlights already!

R
USSELL
J. S
ANDERS
is a lifelong devotee of the theater. He’s a singer, actor, and director, winning awards for his acting roles and shows he has directed. As a teacher, he has taught theater arts to hundreds of students, plus he’s also taught literature and writing to thousands of others.

Russell has also traveled the world, visiting Indonesia, Japan, India, Canada, the Caribbean, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Florence, and Venice—and almost all the US states. His friends think he’s crazy, but wherever he goes, he seeks out Mexican restaurants. The Mexican food in Tokyo was great, he says; in Rome, not so good. Texans cut their teeth on barbecue and Mexican food. Russell’s love for enchiladas led him on a quest to try them wherever he can find them, and he has found them in some very out-of-the-way places. And good or bad, he’s delighted to sample his favorite food.

Most importantly, Russell is an out-and-proud gay man, living in Houston with his husband, a recent marriage but a relationship that has lasted almost twenty years. He hopes that his novels inspire confidence and instill pride in his young gay fans, and he also hopes others learn from his work, as well.

Website: russelljsanders.weebly.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/russell.sanders.14

Ethan Harker is the son of The Prophet, the stern, demanding leader of a small Southwestern polygamous community. Ethan has been groomed to one day take his place as the leader of this isolated cult.

But things happen that compel Ethan to flee his stifling community and find his way in the world beyond it. Totally out of his depth, he is sheltered by a remarkable group of people from a loving and accepting church. From them, he learns what family truly means and begins to construct a life free from the restrictions he’s grown up with. Little by little he dismisses the assumptions he was taught about the “evil” people in the outside world.

Amid all this, Ethan realizes something about himself when he meets rapper Kyan, a boy his age. Although he’s been brought up to fear and hate members of Kyan’s race, he can’t help falling in love with Kyan. Fueled by a new understanding and new friends, Ethan gains the strength and courage to conquer the confusing world he has been thrust into.

www.harmonyinkpress.com

Graduating senior, theater lighting wunderkind, and closeted gay, Nick Fortunati volunteers with The Streetwise Players in the dark corners of The Laughton, a creepy old movie palace decorated in Grand Guignol style. But his father wishes Nick would use his intellect and his scholarship to become a biotech engineer and earn a prosperous living for his future family. Nick loves his dad and wants to please him, but he dreams of a career in theater. And he wants a male lover. Unfortunately, his homophobic father won’t approve of either.

When Nick’s at his loneliest, out of the corners of the theater and into his life comes trouble-laden Steve Stripling, a man with little memory of his past other than his name. Meanwhile, Nick’s introduced to the dashing Wash Vitek and is torn between the two men. His situation is further complicated because he doesn’t know if Wash is gay.

Nick resolves to solve the mystery surrounding Steve and help the young man recover his memories, even though by doing so, he risks losing the first love he’s ever found.

www.harmonyinkpress.com

www.harmonyinkpress.com