Imperfectpictures

5/31/2019

Episode Thirty-Two: Charity

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Episode Thirty-Two: Charity

I had to wake up earlier than I wanted to the day of the show. We would be practicing, setting up, and running through the whole thing once before it even began that evening. It was going to be the first time in a week I would be away from Edward for any amount of time. I felt bad for leaving him, but he assured me that he had to work out properly and then go shopping for real winter clothes. He also wanted to do some looking into our snow trip some.

There were a hundred people all involved in the show somehow. We had real actors and singers who did this sort of thing regularly at the theater and then people like me who did it only when Demetri asked. Demetri was the proud MC for the night, weaving himself throughout the show that he wrote. In two hours he would have five costume changes and a half dozen musical numbers. Demetri always wanted to be a Broadway performer, and this was his chance to shine every year since he started running the theater.

Alice would be playing the guitar in a couple of parts. No one was getting her to dance. Or sing. Nor was she doing anything solo like me. She had too much work to practice that much.

There were other makeup artists helping others, but Demetri was personally doing mine and Alice's. He ordered us lunch while he was working on our hair and we gossiped like we did when we first became friends a decade and a half before over a slice. The only difference was now we were all old, we joked.

Two single roses were sent backstage, one white and one red, for Alice and I. They were from Edward with the message, “break a leg.”

“Aw, I love him so much,” Demetri gushed. “What a classy boy.”

“He's a keeper,” Alice agreed as she looked at the handwritten card. “Someone has good penmanship. Look at that.” She showed Demetri the card.

“That's Eddie’s. He likes to write his ideas out by hand a lot. All of his notebooks are insanely neat. He'd kill at bullet journals,” I replied as I slipped the card into my purse to keep.

“That would be a good Christmas gift,” Alice mused out loud. “For me to get him. Don't steal it. I'm trying to finish my Christmas shopping before December this year.”

“What are you getting me?” Demetri asked.

“None ya business is what I got for you. Mm, I did order Bell's gift that we were talking about on Thanksgiving. It may or may not get here on time.” She turned to me, “sorry.”

“I'm going to California for three weeks so, that's fine,” I said softly.

“Good thing you're having it shipped to my place,” Demetri replied. “Sunny warm LA for Christmas sounds delightful.”

“We're going to go somewhere cold, too. I don't know where though. Edward is planning it,” I told him as I sat on the couch in his office with my feet tucked underneath me. I was wrapped in a thin silky robe of Demetri’s. It was red and had Asian themed decorations on it. He definitely bought it in Chinatown for ten bucks.

“Girl, he is so romantic. I need me a rich man like that,” he continued praising him. Edward won him over by talking to him about makeup seriously on Thanksgiving.

Alice turned to him with a smirk. “You did marry a rich man. Riley comes from money.”

“Yes, but that boy she is dating is filthy fucking rich. I was googling him, as you do. Forbes had an article on him. Forbes money, bitch,” Demetri snapped his fingers, pointing at Alice. “That's what I'm talking about.”

“Ugh, that makes me so uncomfortable,” I bemoaned.

“I don't think he's going to let it go to his head,” Alice said thoughtfully. “He doesn't seem the type.”

"It's not being humble though, it's anxiety," I complained. "But, I think you're right. He's very generous and empathetic. You know, he had this thing to help him make money when he was first starting out where people could donate to him. But then he started making real money, but he still had the donation thing. So he switched it so that the money was going to different charities. And he's so thoughtful about who he picks. He does a lot of research to make sure it goes to the right people. He is so into his charity work, too. He's very proud of the things he's done. It's really nice, actually," I told them honestly.

“Yeah, I know. He asked if he could put CfA as his charity of the month. He says December is his biggest donation month,” Alice said through a mouth full of cheese. “He said he can't promise an exact amount but that he will match anything that is donated.”

“I didn't know that,” I admitted in a tiny voice. I could have cried right there. Lifting my head up and holding my eyes wide so I wouldn't mess up my makeup, I sniffled.

“I hope it wasn't a surprise or something,” she said. “He didn't say.”

"I don't know. We've not talked about it. I haven't looked at that content any either," I admitted. "All his bonus stuff, I mean. I guess I should. There is so much, though. It makes me feel weird."

“I did it,” Demetri whispered like we weren't the only ones in that room. “He has so much stuff with you on it already. He's just so nuts about you. It's cute. There is a supercut of you making him laugh with a serious face. It's so you. So fucking funny. It’s not super obvious that you’re dating, but being in the know...”

“Really?” I laughed, embarrassed. I could definitely think about some videos we made where he could farm that material from.

“It was worth the five dollars alone.”

I bit my lip for a moment and sighed. “Okay, I guess I have to watch it now.”

"Unless he's asked you to, I don't think you have to," Alice replied. I nodded, deep in my own thoughts, the rest of the time we got ready. She knew how I hated to watch myself as an adult.

The event started at seven to a sold-out crowd of five hundred. Demetri began the show in a full pink ball gown. Think Glinda, the good witch from the Wizard of Oz. By the time it got to our part, he was wearing a sequined tux.

I was to dress as a traditional pink ballerina in the center of a small round spinning platform. I held my foot in the attitude position, my leg high behind me with my arms curved gracefully around me as the tinging tunes of a music box started. Demetri offered me his hand, and the real song began. A bouncy short song about being a rebel just for kicks. The lights were so bright I couldn't see a soul besides Demetri.

The dance we did was a mix of everything, ballet, and more modern. Demetri pulled my bun free for me to shake my hair loose to the beat. The best part of the performance was when Demetri pulled at my top, and it unfurled in its true black sequin glory with a wild black tulle tutu that had been hiding underneath. He spun me around the stage on my toes until grabbing me and bending me back in a flip that landed in some splits. With a great swing of his arms, he slid me across the full stage. I jumped up on my knees, then on the tips of my toes in a ballet walk across the hardwood. I pirouetted several times and made a leap back onto my spinning platform, going back into my original position as the song ended and the music box song began to play again.

There was massive applause from the crowd as the curtain dropped, and I ran off to get ready for my next part. I downed an entire bottle of water while I tried to catch my breath. My chest hurt. I was getting too old for this bullshit. I bruised my thighs when I slammed down in the splits. I might have broken my ass.

“You have been seriously holding out on me,” a message on my phone buzzed while I changed in Demetri's office. It was followed by a long series of emojis including a surprised face, mind blown, heart eyes, clapping hands, and a dancer.

“I told you I was a dancer,” I answered back quickly. “Thanks, but I’m not that good.”

“But, like... You're a legit dancer. Like you have real moves. Ballet moves.”

"You are so so so sweet and biased. I stopped dancing seriously a decade ago, and I'm rusty as fuck. I'm so sore. I might be dying right now, actually. Like legit. My chest." I sent him a gif of Sanford and Son with Redd Foxx grabbing his heart dramatically.

“lol You did great though,” he sent a series of hearts in a rainbow of shades.

The song I was singing was at the end of the show. Demetri gave a little ending monologue about the importance of music and dancing to all the young gay kids out there as I strummed along behind him with my banjo. I was wearing a sweet little black suit that he had picked for me. It was black and had a nice jacket with short tails. The pants were capris and showed off my super high red high heels that matched my long fat tie done in a nice Windsor double knot. It took me three tries to get it right. My lipstick matched perfectly.

When he finished speaking, I stepped forward to begin singing The Rainbow Connection. The first part I was alone but then Demetri joined me. And then slowly, all of the others who were in the show began to fill the stage to finish. When I glanced over, Demetri had tears streaming down his face as he continued to sing.

It took an hour or so for the theater to empty out. It took Edward thirty minutes just to make it backstage to me with a large bouquet of roses in the whole rainbow with tons of baby's breath. He had been sitting beside Riley, Rosalie, and Emmett. I flung myself at him, hugging his neck tightly as I pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“You look incredible,” he told me genuinely, holding me back to take me all in.

“Yeah, this queer groomsman’s look ticks so many boxes for me,” Rosalie informed me, giving me a hug before giving one to her sister who was standing beside me.

“Oh, I should skip the dress next wedding then?” I teased with both hands in my pocket, doing a little pose. “Demetri has such good tastes.”

“Those shoes are everything,” Riley complimented. “I bet you can't dance in those.”

“I used to be able to. But it's been a while. So, I guess we'll find out, won't we?” I giggled, feeling exhilarated from the performance.

We were the last people out of the theater. The club was a short distance from the show, and we walked the few blocks, stopping for tacos at a truck parked on the side of a street.

The club was packed, the music blasting out of the front of the building with lines of people coming out of it. We were on a list though and slipped right in. I heard someone whisper Edward’s name as we walked by. I held onto his arm proudly.

Demetri bought the first round of drinks, I bought the second, Edward the third, and Rosalie bought the fourth. And then Riley decided to get a couple of shots for everyone. I was already pretty drunk when Demetri pulled me onto the dance floor first. We got down hard to the rap song playing loudly around us. I didn’t know the name of it.

“Your boy got hit on twice while you were away,” Riley laughed, teasing Edward when I came back to the table.

"You're just mad I'm getting hit on more than you," he joked right back. Demetri laughed, kissing his husband, who looked a little sour. Usually, straight guys were easier targets. Edward was unphased.

“I'm not surprised. He's sexy as fuck.” I winked at him. I downed my drink in one go and pulled him onto the dance floor with me.

Dancing this time was a lot more fun than the last time we had gone to a club together. We were both laughing, our hands all over each other as we ground to the music. The floor was so packed we were pushed close together. It was so hot inside even though it was only twenty outside.

Edward danced with Alice and me with me in the center. Alice wasn't as good a dancer, but she was a lot of fun when she loosened up. We sang the songs that were playing loudly to each other, bouncing drunkenly to the beat. Then Rosalie and Emmett joined the gang. It reminded me of going clubbing in my early twenties.

I was elated. It was the only way to describe it. My face hurt from smiling as much as I was. It was two in the morning when we dragged ourselves from the still bustling club. We were all still too wound up and drunk to go home, so we found a twenty-four-hour diner. It was empty inside, but they were doing a swift delivery business.

We stayed there for two hours talking and laughing over fries, coffee, pie, and cake. Rose and Emmett were the first to give in and then Riley and Demetri convinced Alice to come back to their place to sleep. She would go to the theater and pick up all our things the next day to take home. We had left a ton of shit locked up in Demetri's office.

“Shall we go back to the hotel?” Edward asked, sweetly smiling at me from across the booth when we were all alone finally. He reached forward and took my hand, smoothing his thumb over my knuckles.

“Do you want to take that ferry ride I was telling you about?” I asked. “It'll be sunrise soon.”

His smile grew so wide. “I would love to.”

We sat on the deck on the ferry, alone in our little area. Edward hugged my waist to keep us both warm as we watched the sunrise behind the Statue of liberty and Manhattan. I didn't have my camera, so we settled for taking pictures with our phones. He looked so handsome with the golden light behind him. When he smiled at me, it made my heart melt.
It was already dark when we woke up that Sunday. We considered it a lost day to sleep and hangovers, ordering a giant cheese plate from room service to have with one of our bottles of wine. We watched Netflix, taking turns picking what to watch. We watched Blade Runner first since he had never seen it before. Next, I chose the first episode of a murder documentary that had just been released that I had been wanting to see. When Edward picked the next episode, I was surprised.

He frowned at me, “I hate it, but I need to know what happens next.”

We watched all four parts. Edward ranted about it for an hour afterward about the flawed justice system, violence against women, and state of mental health care. It made me giggle. Not at what he said. I agreed with him on most everything he said, but he was so young and fiery about the things he was passionate about. He was so intense. If anyone could change the world, it would be him.

“Well, you know there are charities for all those things,” I reminded him.

"It's not enough, though."

“You've already given more than the average person does in a lifetime. Don't stop now, of course,” I smiled at him sweetly.
“Money is one thing but look at how much time you've put in. Rosalie was telling me at the show that you helped Alice more than anyone with CfA and that you've given thousands of hours to help her. She said you put your career on hold to help Alice get started and that you gave her a lot of the money she needed.”

“Aiden did that. And she got most of the money she needed from her dad when he died,” I explained.

“You were married. That was your money, too.”

“Not really,” I shook my head. “I did help her get it started. Worked in the office. Me and Rose were her first leaders. It's taken years to get it to this point. I'm glad Alice is so business smart because she's just grown this thing to crazy heights. I don't do as much as I used to, obviously though.”

“Alice told me you did five big trips just this year and that you've done over thirty-day trips. Sometimes doing three or four a week.” Well, they had chatted, didn't they? It made me feel a little self-conscious.

"To be fair, one trip was overnight, and another was two nights. I did do the long two weeks one this year. We went to Mexico. They needed translators. And, most of those day trips are only two hours long. It's not entirely out of the goodness of my heart, I do get paid something," I reminded him.

“Twelve a bloody hour,” he replied. “Is that even minimum wage here?”

It was kind of annoying that he had so many facts to pull out of his ass. “No. It’s fifteen, I think.”

“I thought not.”

"But, I do get pictures which I can make money off of," I explained to him. "Nothing I've done will compare to the money you can give. I can see you in twenty years donating the kind of money that eradicates diseases. Or builds schools. Maybe make your own nonprofit to focus on whatever you care about."

“Now that's a goal to work for.” He smiled at me as he stroked my hair. “I'm glad I know someone who has experience starting a successful charity.”

“I'm sure Alice would be happy to help,” I teased. He smiled and kissed me before we fell back asleep for the night.

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Next: Episode 33