Page 10 of Curtain Call
Colin: great, see ya then.
Riley walks over, folds his feet under himself on the oversized slipcover side chair made for two, grabs the popcorn, and begins threading it while smiling ear to ear. He’s not sure what he’s going to do with the DIY garland, but he needs to keep himself busy.
“Want to talk about it?” Lynda asks as she walks in reaching for a handful of popcorn.
“Is it ok that I just feel my feelings without talking about them?”
Riley hasn’t been this happy in a long time and he is just enjoying this moment with his family and chatting with his old friend. He doesn’t want to hear parental advice on the mistakes he’s making or how he shouldn’t feel something again for Colin. They are just friends and Riley knows that it can never be more. It took him lots of therapy and several years of separation to come to this realization.
“I worry about you. That’s all. It’s my job,” the creases on her forehead are more pronounced now.
Lynda knows that Riley was in love with Colin in high school and it was more than just a simple boy crush. She also knows that one night during a sleepover, they shared a bed and did more than sleep. Lynda didn’t get all the details, nor did she want them, but she knows the hormones of two teen boys. She also knows that Riley was heartbroken when Colin didn’t follow him to NYC.
“Well stop worrying or I’m going to have to buy you a round of Botox for Christmas,” he says while pulling the skin on his face back with wide eyes and a smile from ear to ear.
“You joke but wait until you have kids.”
“Let’s start with a boyfriend before we talk about grandkids.”
“Fair enough.”
Lynda walks over and gives Riley a kiss on the forehead before heading back into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Riley knows there is a lot of truth behind her worrying. He really should harness his feelings more but there is just something about Colin that draws Riley in. Maybe it has something to do with the witchcraft cologne he wears. Riley smiles at the thought of Colin at home in his kitchen stirring a batch of cologne in a cauldron made from grass shavings and laundry detergent.
“Dinner will be ready soon, go wash up,” she called over her shoulder.
Riley put the string of popcorn back in the bowl and headed toward his childhood bedroom where the décor hasn’t changed since he left. A star with his name hangs on the door like it was his personal dressing room. Musical posters fill the walls along with framed Playbills from shows his parents took him to.
In the corner of his room sits his twin bed.Thebed. The bed that holds so many memories of the past. Riley sits on the edge, rubs his hand across the quilt, and remembers all of the times Colin held him to fall asleep. They wrapped themselves under the quilt while Riley waited for Colin to make the first move. It never happened. Riley learned to be OK with playing the role of little spoon whenever Colin felt like being the big spoon. It was the bed where Riley learned to mask his true feelings no matter how bad the desire became, or how deep the wounds felt.
Scene 5
Settings: Home of The Coopers
Rockport, Massachusetts
Concord Museum
Concord, Massachusetts
Colin
Pulling onto Redcoat Lane, Colin remembers a younger Riley riding his bike alongside him down the hill on roads that were wide enough for horses and carriages but not current-day vehicles. They would wind themselves to the Concord River where they would camp out for the day. Talking about the future, their family drama, and just being kids without much responsibility other than getting good grades and staying out of trouble. Colin misses those simple days of not worrying about the little theater. His theater.
Pulling up to the small white Cape Cod-style home with blue shutters and a red front door, Riley is sitting on the front steps. The weather is in the fifty-degree range and Riley is layered in a dark gray Henley under a multi-toned gray flannel. His hair is styled slightly differently. Messy but styled. Colin wonders if he is as cuddly as he looks.
Waving, as Colin pulls into the driveway, Riley steps off the porch to greet him.
“Mom wants you to come in for breakfast.”
“That’s sweet of her, but I already ate.”
“You know Lynda isn’t going to take no for an answer,” he says with one brow raised, a smile, and a tilt of the head. “Besides it’s her award-winning fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and coffee.”
“You had me at coffee,” Colin looks down at his watch to check the time before following Riley into the house and kicking off his shoes in the foyer.
