Page 5 of Curtain Call
As the train pulls into South Station, Riley gives himself a once-over. He tosses the book he barely opened, Air Pods, and the small cosmetic bag back into his duffle. He stands and waits for Jax to pass by before exiting his row.
“Hey, Jax?” Riley calls out before Jax turns the corner to exit the train.
“Babe?”
“How do I look?” Riley asks while wiping his palms against the dark denim of his jeans that replaced the ripped ones, he started out this trip wearing.
“And we’re going with black Converse?” Jax purses their lips while shaking his head no.
Looking down at his shoes, “OK, Miranda Priestly, I can take the hint,” Riley put his hands up in defense and mumbled, “What? They’re comfortable.”
“If Billy Porter has taught us anything, it’s that women’s shoes are not supposed to be comfortable.”
Riley pulled his suitcase from the top luggage compartment, unzipped it, and grabbed his black boots while stuffing his Converse tennis shoes into their place.
“Better?”
“Almost,” Jax steps forward and slips the scarf from around their neck and tosses it around Riley’s before giving him a bigger hug than before. “There, now you have a friend with you to help you through this,” they whisper in Riley’s ear.
“I can’t take this,” Riley rubs the soft fabric with the palms of his hands.
“An early Christmas gift for you. Reach out if you need someone to talk to or if you need me to come to your rescue.”
“I might just take you up on it.”
“Perfect.”
With that, Jax pirouettes and exits stage right. They step off the train and onto the platform wheeling their leopard suitcase behind them. Yep, extra. Riley wouldn’t have Jax any other way.
Riley waits a few minutes. He is excited to see his old friends, visit with his family, and just be in his hometown for a while. But he isn’t sure of the homecoming he will get from Mac and Colin. Mostly Colin. Why didn’t he just be honest about the whole eating thing? It wasn’t that big of an ordeal. He had it under control. Did he need to ruin a friendship over it? He could have denied it. He did deny it. The guilt placed a wedge between them.
OK, let’s do this. Stage face on.Riley exits stage right.
Mac was the first one Riley sees as he comes up the escalator and into the central part of the station. Her hair swept behind her as she ran toward him. She is scooping him into a bigger hug than the one Jax gave but it feels just as comforting.
“Oh my God, it’s been so long,” she pushes back to get a better look at him. “You look great.”
It’s only been a year since he left for tour, and she was in NYC for the weekend before he left to pick up some fancy tile for her business when they met for lunch. She needed the tile for a rush order and took the train in to pick it up to save a few days on the shipping.
“Mackenzie, I’ve missed you,” he examines her up and down. “Umm, hello Louis,” he reaches out and holds up her purse that’s hanging off her forearm.
“You aren’t the only one with taste, bitch,” she flips his Kelly-green scarf with the back of her hand. “Obsessing over this color on your ginger self.”
She puts one arm around his waist and turns him around while whispering in his ear, “There’s someone I’d like for you to meet.”
Riley’s stomach instantly knots. His stage smile replaced the genuine one. Just as Riley turns, Colin is walking toward them. His dark wavy hair has been freshly cut; his brown skin looks paler than usual since it’s winter and he hasn’t been out in the sun. Colin’s eyes are the color of honey and when he goes in for the hug, Riley can smell him. He smells like a combination of laundry detergent and freshly cut grass, two of Riley’s favorite scents, and he wonders what kind of witchery this is. Riley allows himself, for a second, to lean into the moment.
Colin squeezes Riley a little too tightly as if overcompensating for the awkwardness.When Riley squeezes back he feels the muscle underneath Colin’s coat. He’s been working out. He looks good. He feels good. Riley thinks back to a time when he could have lived in these arms forever.
“Hey, catfish,” Riley whispers the nickname into Colin’s ear but it’s thick on his tongue.
Riley isn’t sure how much more he can take. It took years for him to finally stop thinking of a future with Colin. Now, in this one hug, this one silly nickname he gave Colin in 5th grade, all those past feelings are coming back up.
So is his breakfast.
Scene 3
Setting: South Station
