"One more, Helen," someone yelled.
"Oh, no. One-shot deal. Thanks, but I"m glad it"s over with."
One by one, the cast and crew came onto the stage as they were introduced. Each name produced a person, each person voiced a declaration, and each declaration received a burst of applause.
"I"m a member of the gay community," Phil said as he walked out with Nick"s hand squeezed into his.
Nick had replaced his suit jacket and shirt with a T-shirt that pointed toward Phil. The shirt read, "I"m With Him."
"I"m a lesbian," Marty said. "Woo-hooo! Freedom!"
"There go my ratings," Mark joked.
They went down the line, each proud to be part of the evening"s events. They strutted and grinned. Nearly wrecked with nerves, Jenny held on tightly to Marty. Kim smiled, and finally, all the members of the troupe gathered behind Helen, her cane, and her dais.
By rote, Helen delivered a final speech, while her eyes searched for Cory.
"...higher levels of consciousness...raise the collective conscious..." Where are you, baby? "...travel home safely."
Before she could blink, before the audience could stand, Helen heard another voice from the auditorium.
"Helen."
There was no mistaking who owned the sound. Goose b.u.mps erupted on every inch of Helen"s body. The audience looked around, trying to find the person who spoke. Helen knew the source but not her location. Somewhere in that dark, cavernous room sat a small, fearful woman, a knight out of armor, who allowed courage to destroy her fear.
"Yes?" Helen asked while the house lights became their brightest.
"May I join you on stage?"
Helen saw all heads turn toward the woman on the end of the tenth row, left of center. Eyes that could be judging, changing their minds; eyes that could connect with Boston and change their minds as well.
"Yes," Helen said and looked to Marty. Marty gave an excited, quiet clap.
Cory made her way down the aisle while a stagehand wheeled out a set of steps.
"Cory Chamberlain," someone said.
The auditorium was quiet while Cory ascended the steps one by one. Helen heard only the slow clicking of Cory"s shoe heels as she made her way closer.
Cory looked toward the group she had once been a part of and then walked to Helen. She covered the microphone with her hand.
"The sonata was lovely. I"m proud of you."
"Thank you," Helen said weakly, and wanted to cry. How could she have hit Cory and then accept her pride? Helen didn"t deserve her. Chamberlain was a solo act. Give her the stage. It"s always been hers.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Helen managed to say. "We have a final guest. Coryell Chamberlain." Helen stepped away from the dais and retreated to the wing as Cory approached the mic. The applause subsided.
"Good evening. Behind me stand my friends. What they did tonight..."
Helen"s thoughts responded. Who did your braid tonight, baby?
"I met Helen..."
Met me, loved me, left me. I"m sorry I hit you. You"re wearing blue again. You know how I love you in blue.
"...let my hair down..."
Cory reached to the back of her head, pulled out two pins, and gracefully shook her hair free to expose a cla.s.sy new shoulder-length cut. Helen smiled. You look wonderful, baby. My incredible edible. Just kind of shake it around a little for me. Cory turned her head toward Helen.
"...and apologize." Cory extended her hand toward the wing. "Will you be with me on stage, Helen?"
Helen couldn"t move. She wanted to run to Cory, squeeze her tightly, smother her in kisses and say, "h.e.l.l, yeah, I"ll join you on stage, or in the Jacuzzi if you"ll have me." In a heartbeat I would, but, baby, someone nailed my feet to the floor.
"I deserve that," Cory said after silence answered her. She withdrew her hand. "Then I"ll say it alone. I love you, Helen."
Helen"s eyes widened. What? She said it! To the entire auditorium, Cory said it. Tears filled Helen"s eyes.
When Cory extended her hand a second time, Helen broke from her suspended animation and joined her. Applause surprised Helen, and when she came close, Cory wouldn"t allow her to stop, but instead embraced her with all the power she could conjure from her five-foot-two frame.
"You feel so good." Helen held tightly while the audience still cheered. "I"m sorry, baby."
"I need you," Cory said through the noise. "Please come home with me."
"I will." Helen tightened her hold and felt a fireball of fear subside. "You"ll be safe with me."
With Helen in flats and Cory in heels, they stood nearly eye to eye. Cory took the night a step further for everyone. She leaned into Helen"s mouth, kissed her long, and showed them all she was not afraid of their future.
Cory giggled when she pulled back. "We"re getting a standing ovation. It"s the best I"ve ever had."
"I love you. Let"s get outta here," Helen said.
"First let me play."
"What piece will you do?"
Cory smiled. "The pollen haze," she said, and Helen cringed.
Helen stepped up to the microphone. "Our final guest: Cory Chamberlain and Frederic Chopin"s Military Polonaise."
Cory played for the group that surrounded the piano. She played the majestic tune for their individual triumph and for their group. From her dais, Helen listened.
She was in love with that tiny woman on the bench. They would work on their problems, scratch each other"s eyes out, beginning tomorrow. They had a lifetime ahead of them, whether in Boston, in New York, or in the fertile farmland of Texas. Well, Helen would fight that one. However, for now, she simply basked in the glow of having her knight return from her private battle, scarred, her own dragons slain, to claim her lady. And Helen would surrender, tonight and forever.
Finished with the selection, Cory returned to the dais and walked Helen to the piano. She insisted that Helen sit on the bench next to her.
"I want to play for you."
"I"ll be in your way," Helen said.
Cory shook her head. "No. Never again," she said and began the gentle, romantic music familiar to Helen.
It was the Chopin etude, the special piece Cory had never played for anyone, until now.
About the Author.
Bobbi Marolt was born in Pennsylvania and upon graduation from high school enlisted in the United States Army, where she specialized in telecommunications. After an honorable discharge and two and a half years in Texas, she ambled into Connecticut "to go to school." That stunt landed her between New York and Connecticut for the next several years, jammed into quality a.s.surance positions in various types of manufacturing. After a brief move to Las Vegas, she again resides in New England. Her interests include films, theater, and cla.s.sical music.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books.
Speed Demons by Gun Brooke. When NASCAR star Evangeline Marshall returns to the race track after a close brush with death, will famous photographer Blythe Pierce doc.u.ment her triumph and reciprocate her love-or will they succ.u.mb to their respective demons and fail? (978-1-60282-678-6) Summoning Shadows: A Rosso Lussuria Vampire Novel by Winter Pennington. The Rosso Lussuria vampires face enemies both old and new and to prevail they must call on even more strange alliances, unite as a clan, and draw on every weapon within their reach-but with a clan of vampires, that"s easier said than done. (978-1-60282-679-3) Sometime Yesterday by Yvonne Heidt. When Natalie Chambers learns her Victorian house is haunted by a pair of lovers and a Dark Man, can she and her lover Van Easton solve the mystery that will set the ghosts free and banish the evil presence in the house? Or will they have to run to survive as well? (978-1-60282-680-9) Into the Flames by Mel Bossa. In order to save one of his patients, psychiatrist Dr. Jamie Scarborough will have to confront his own monsters-including those he unknowingly helped create. (978-1-60282-681-6) Coming Attractions: Author"s Edition by Bobbi Marolt. For Helen Townsend, chasing turns to caring, and caring turns to loving, but will love take five steps back and turn to leaving? (978-1-60282-732-5) OMGqueer edited by Radclyffe and Katherine E. Lynch, PhD. Through stories imagined and told by youth across America, this anthology provides a snapshot of queerness at the dawn of the new millennium. (978-1-60282-682-3) Oath of Honor by Radclyffe. A First Responders novel. First do no harm...First Physician of the United States Wes Masters discovers that being the president"s doctor demands more than brains and personal sacrifice-especially when politics is the order of the day. (978-1-60282-671-7) A Question of Ghosts by Cate Culpepper. Becca Healy hopes Dr. Joanne Call can help her learn if her mother really committed suicide-but she"s not sure she can handle her mother"s ghost, a decades-old mystery, and l.u.s.ting after the difficult Dr. Call without some serious chocolate consumption. (978-1-60282-672-4) The Night Off by Meghan O"Brien. When Emily Parker pays for a taboo role-playing fantasy encounter from the Xtreme Encounters escort agency, she expects to surrender control-but never imagines losing her heart to dangerous butch Nat Swayne. (978-1-60282-673-1) Sara by Greg Herren. A mysterious and beautiful new student at Southern Heights High School stirs things up when students start dying. (978-1-60282-674-8) Fontana by Joshua Martino. Fame, obsession, and vengeance collide in a novel that asks: What if America"s greatest hero was gay? (978-1-60282-675-5) Lemon Reef by Robin Silverman. What would you risk for the memory of your first love? When Jenna Ross learns her high school love Del Soto died on Lemon Reef, she refuses to accept the medical examiner"s report of a death from natural causes and risks everything to find the truth. (978-1-60282-676-2) The Dirty Diner: Gay Erotica on the Menu, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler. Gay erotica set in restaurants, featuring food, s.e.x, and men-could you really ask for anything more? (978-1-60282-677-9) Sweat: Gay Jock Erotica by Todd Gregory. Sizzling tales of smoking hot s.e.x with the athletic studs everyone fantasizes about. (978-1-60282-669-4) The Marrying Kind by Ken O"Neill. Just when successful wedding planner Adam More decides to protest inequality by quitting the business and boycotting marriage entirely, his only sibling announces her engagement. (978-1-60282-670-0) Missing by P.J. Trebelhorn. FBI agent Olivia Andrews knows exactly what she wants out of life, but then she"s forced to rethink everything when she meets fellow agent Sophie Kane while investigating a child abduction. (978-1-60282-668-7) Touch Me Gently by D. Jackson Leigh. Secrets have always meant heartbreak and banishment to Salem Lacey-until she meets the beautiful and mysterious Knox Bolander and learns some secrets are necessary. (978-1-60282-667-0) Slingshot by Ca.r.s.en Taite. Bounty hunter Luca Bennett takes on a seemingly simple job for defense attorney Ronnie Moreno, but the job quickly turns complicated and dangerous, as does her attraction to the elusive Ronnie Moreno. (978-1-60282-666-3) Dark Wings Descending by Lesley Davis. What if the demons you face in life are real? Chicago detective Rafe Douglas is about to find out. (978-1-60282-660-1) sunfall by Nell Stark and Trinity Tam. The final installment of the everafter series. Valentine Darrow and Alexa Newland work to rebuild their relationship even as they find themselves at the heart of the struggle that will determine a new world order for vampires and wereshifters. (978-1-60282-661-8) Mission of Desire by Terri Richards. Nicole Kennedy finds herself in Africa at the center of an international conspiracy and is rescued by the beautiful but arrogant government agent Kira Anthony-but can Nicole trust Kira, or is she blinded by desire? (978-1-60282-662-5).
Boys of Summer, edited by Steve Berman. Stories of young love and adventure, when the sky"s ceiling is a bright blue marvel, when another boy"s laughter at the beach can distract from dull summer jobs. (978-1-60282-663-2).
The Locket and the Flintlock by Rebecca S. Buck. When Regency gentlewoman Lucia Foxe is robbed on the highway, will the masked outlaw who stole Lucia"s precious locket also claim her heart? (978-1- 60282-664-9).
Calendar Boys by Logan Zachary. A man a month will keep you excited year-round. (978-1-60282-665-6).
By the Author.
Between the Lines.
Loving Liz.