Daniel rolled his eyes. “You think that’s bad? When I met Tulane Highway, my drag mother, and brought her home, my mother spent half the night ignoring her, then she asked for makeup tips, and the last part of the evening she shared pictures and stories of me as a child, including one with me apparently eating watermelon and peeing at the same time. In one end and out the other.” Daniel could not believe he had actually shared that little tidbit of nostalgia with James and gulped from the glass of water at the table. “I’m lucky Tulane didn’t run screaming from the house.”
James waved his hand. “At least your mother warmed up to her. If my mother found out I was gay, she’d, I don’t know, maybe want to book me into some program to change me. That’s probably an exaggeration, but still…” He shrugged like he wasn’t quite sure. “She could tell me that it was okay as long as I didn’t act on my gay feelings, or never speak to me again for the rest of my life. I’m actually starting to wonder which would be worse.” James sat back, crossing his arms over his strong chest, prominent jaw set, a smile hinting at his lips.
He was trying to make light of it, but Daniel saw the fear in his eyes regardless and he waited, holding James’s gaze, giving him a chance to put his thoughts together.
“Growing up, there was a lot of fear in our lives. ‘Behave or you’re going to hell’ kind of fear. We heard it at church and it was just part of the way we were raised. I love them, but being gay… Do you know how many Sundays I had to sit in church while the minister railed against the evils of homosexuality?” James shook his head as if he were trying to get rid of the very idea. “Okay, that’s enough of me being a wet blanket. We should talk about something happier, like my last root canal.”
Daniel grinned as the mood lightened. “You know, if my mom was still with us, we could get her to meet your mother, and maybe they’d short-circuit each other. Though eventually mine did come to understand my life before she died.” In the end, his mother had been wonderful and had even come to see his show on a few occasions. Those were memories he held dear.
“If that could happen, I swear the nuclear blast that would be my mother’s head exploding would send the western half of the country cascading into the ocean, never to be seen again.” James smiled. “I really do love my mother a lot, always have, but it’s a whole lot easier when I’m two thousand miles away from her expectations. I don’t like playing tricks on her, but this will make her happy, and I want that.”
Daniel liked that James had a sense of humor. “I think you’re exaggerating. You have to be. Twenty bucks says your mom isn’t that bad.” Daniel was pretty sure James wasn’t going to take the bait.
“You’re on. I’ll take that bet.” James held out his hand, and Daniel shook it.
“Are we really going to do this?” Daniel asked. He was willing. The money for the week would go a long way toward helping cover the gap in income, and he could use some time out of the city. It would also be a chance to develop a whole new persona to use onstage. Maybe the uptight Christian drag character on her way to hell. Now, that would knock them dead…？
James bit his lower lip. “Yes. Let’s,” he agreed. The server came over. James ordered a beer, and Daniel a cosmo.
“Good. You make all the travel arrangements, and I’ll put together some outfits.” His mind was already running forward at a fast clip. This would probably be a lot of fun, if James didn’t suddenly look completely terrified.
“What?” Daniel asked, tilting his head slightly as James’s mouth hung open, his eyes as big as saucers. Daniel got up and patted James on the back. “Breathe, honey, don’t forget to breathe. In and out…that’s it. Always breathe.” He waited a few seconds and sat back down. “Now tell me what’s got you having heart palpitations.” He sipped his drink and pushed James’s beer nearer to him.
James drank the beer in a few huge gulps and set down the mostly empty mug. “I’m going to my sister’s great big family wedding in conservative Montana, with a drag queen,” James said as though it was just beginning to sink in.
Daniel smacked James’s hand to get his complete attention. “Oh no, buster. You are not going to this wedding with just a drag queen. You are going with the most talented and amazing drag queen within five hundred miles, and don’t you ever fucking forget it.” He raised his glass, and it took James a second, but he raised his as well. “Here’s to a wedding to remember…or maybe one we’ll wish we could forget.”