Playing the Part

1. All characters are 18+

2. No characters resemble real people

3. Enjoy the fiction

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CHAPTER 10

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Serena had me call Frank. When he answered, I told him who I was. "I'm calling to invite you to see the show on Sunday. Serena wants you to see it."

"Really? She said that?" he asked.

"Yes. She also wants to have dinner with you Sunday night."

"Well, of course. I'd be glad to be there. I've got some exciting opportunities to discuss with her."

"That's the other thing, Frank," I told him. "She wants to have dinner with her father, not her manager. So it's probably best to not bring up other shows to her. Not right away, anyway."

He sighed over the phone. "Well, okay. I guess I can do that. I do want to talk to her about it soon, though."

"I understand, and I'll tell her. So we'll see you Sunday?"

"Yes. I'll be there."

"Great. I'll have your ticket at will call for you."

----

It was the third weekend of shows, and the last Sunday show, as we wouldn't have a Sunday show the final weekend. That afternoon, just before we started, I saw Serena spying from the curtain, as I'd done the first weekend.

"Is he here?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yup. He's here." She turned to me, and I saw the nervousness in her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm, well, I haven't seen him at one of my shows in years."

I was confused. "He hasn't seen your shows?"

"No, he has. But I haven't seen him there. He's always been further back, where I can't spot him. This is the first time in forever that I know where's he's sitting, where I know I can see him." She forced a smile. "It's kinda nice?" The last sounded like a question rather than a statement.

I brought her into my arms for a hug. "It is nice. That's the kind of intimacy that this small theater allows. And it's nice to know that he's here."

"I guess."

"Are you ready?" I asked, and she nodded into my shoulder. "Remember what you told me when I got nervous a couple weeks ago?"

"I said I loved you." Her voice was muffled into my costume.

"That's right. And I said I loved you too, and I still do." I tilted her chin up, so she'd look into my eyes. "We'll get through it."

She smiled then, and kissed me. "Thank you."

----

What I said buoyed her confidence enough to get her through the show. The audience approved with their usual applause. After getting out of our costumes and into our street clothes, we met Frank in the lobby. He brought her a bouquet of flowers, and hugged her tightly. "Brava, prima donna," he told her. "I'm always so proud of you."

"Thanks, Frank," Serena said.

"Honey, would it kill you to call me Dad?"

She rolled her eyes, but relented. "Okay Dad."

Frank shook my hand warmly. "Nice to see you again, Patrick. And Bravo. I loved your singing voice."

Serena grabbed my arm and pulled me close. "That's what I told him," she said to Frank.

"Thank you. And thanks for coming," I said. "Let's head to dinner, I'm starving."

We went back to the Chinese restaurant, Chang's. We found a round booth, where Serena sat between Frank and I. I gave a wave to Penny and Yen, who came over to say hi. Penny took our order, and spoke in Mandarin to Serena, who answered back.

Frank's face was just as amazed as mine when I found out. "Where did you learn Mandarin Chinese?" Serena told him the story. "It's amazing how much you've picked up without formal training," he said.

"Your daughter's pretty fantastic, Frank," I said.

Serena was blushing. "You guys, stop."

"We can't help it," I told her. "We're your fan club. So, Frank, tell me some embarrassing stories about Serena as a kid."

Serena gave me a faux-angry look, but Frank started with, "Let me tell you about Serena in ballet class."

Serena gasped in surprise, and tried in vain to cover her father's mouth. "No!"

"Yes!" I responded. "You got dirt on me from Eric. It's only fair." Serena withdrew her hands and pouted in her seat.

Frank told me, "When Serena was about 8, she wanted to go to ballet class. So her mother and I arranged for her to go. We got her the toe shoes, the leotard, everything. She went to the first class, and came home mad."

I looked at Serena. She put her face into her hands.

"Apparently," Frank continued, "she was upset with the teacher for starting at a beginner level. Serena had had other dance classes, just not ballet, so she could do things and was flexible, where the other girls were just beginners and couldn't do anything. She wanted to show off her splits to the class, and the teacher didn't let her."

"Please don't...." Serena whined quietly.

"So the second class," Frank continued, "Serena goes in and insists, adamantly, that she wants to do the splits. The teacher told her not now, but she does it anyway. Well, apparently Serena's leotard was a little tight..."

Serena slumped low in her seat. I was grinning.

"And when she did her split, it ripped, right in the crotch."

I burst out laughing, and Serena was beet red.

Frank finished the story. "So the teacher called us and told us to come back and pick her up, as she couldn't continue the class with her ripped outfit. She never went back there for another lesson."

I patted Serena on the back. "So there, now we both have a story. And since you promised not to tell mine, I promise I won't tell anyone about yours, my little sugar plum fairy." Frank and I chuckled, and Serena finally gave a small laugh at her own expense.

Over dinner, we finally got into the true reason for bringing Frank to town. "Frank, Dad," Serena started, "I'd really like to get back to being a father-daughter relationship, rather than a manager-client relationship."

He paused for a moment. "I get that I haven't been the warm father figure lately that I used to be. Maybe it was losing your mother that kinda changed things."

Serena was quiet, so I asked, "How so?"

Frank told Serena, "When your mother died, I felt like I had to take on more, to get more involved. We both wanted your dreams to come true, so I started working twice as hard to get you into a big city show. Then I kept working until you started getting lead roles." He put his hand on hers. "I guess I never slowed down from that effort. I kept pushing you, getting you into show after show, because I wanted you to be happy."

Serena asked him, "You did it for me? It was never about money, or power?"

"No! We have money, you know that," he quickly answered. "And I'm already the manager of a theater star." He put his arm around her. "If you want to take time away from it, that's fine with me."

"I do love being on stage. But, what if someday I decide I don't want to do it anymore?" It was an obvious question for the conversation, but I was a little surprised Serena asked it.

Frank's brow furrowed a little, but he shrugged. "Well, you're my star client, but I've got a few others. Without you, I'd have a lot more free time. Or I could look for more clients."

I decided to step in as a mediator. "So Frank, you're willing to give it a try, and be more of a father than a manager?"

He nodded. "Oh, absolutely. It might take me a bit to get back into that gear, but I'll do it for you," he said, looking at his daughter.

"Serena, can you give him a little time to try?" I asked.

"Of course," she said. Her eyes were watering a little. Frank gave her a hug, and she hugged him back.

----

Reconciling Serena and Frank was a significant achievement, but it was also a step in a larger scheme. With Frank on our side, we could use his abilities as a talent manager.

That evening, we had him visiting my house for some tea after dinner. We had told Frank that Serena had moved in with me a little while ago, and if he was irritated by his daughter's active sex life, he didn't say anything about it.

Together, Serena and I told Frank about Chuck's imminent retirement, and how Betsy Taylor was the presumptive successor. "The same Betsy who called me a month ago?" Frank asked.

"That's her," I said. "The problem is, even though she's got some talent, she's not a people person, she's far from being the mentor that Chuck is. We're worried that the theater would crumble under her direction."

"So you want me to... do what exactly?" Frank was suspicious.

Serena explained, "If she got hired for a show, she'd leave town and likely not return. And we're thinking you could pull a few strings, get her in as chorus somewhere."

Frank rubbed his temple. "I could call in a few favors, I think. Let me make some calls tomorrow."

Serena and I exhaled. It would be a relief to get Betsy away from Pendleton's theater, even if it was temporary. "That would help us a lot," I said.

Serena pointed out, "It does, but it still leaves you without a director when Chuck retires."

"Why don't you do it?" Frank asked me.

I shook my head. "I have a job. And I could never replace Chuck. I like the theater, but I'm no expert like he is."

I think Frank and I had the same realization at the same time. We both looked at Serena, who was sipping her tea. "What?" she asked.

"Serena, you could replace Chuck," I told her.

"What? No. I'm not a director."

"You know every show. You're warm and friendly. You give people encouragement and advice."

She shook her head. "But then I wouldn't be on stage."

I told her, "I've seen Chuck direct and be on stage. He's not doing it for this show, but he's done it before."

Serena stammered a bit, "I- I don't think I can." Then she quickly got up and left the room. "I'm getting more tea," she announced on her way out.

Frank and I looked at each other. "I guess she's never thought about directing before?" I asked him.

"If she has, she hasn't told me. But I agree with you, she could do it if she wanted to."

I nodded and repeated, "If she wanted to." If Serena went back to the city to resume her career, she'd never do it.

Frank changed the subject. "Patrick, what's really going on between you two?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," I said slowly, trying to gauge his expressions.

"I guess what I mean is, are you in love with Serena?"

That was the big question. But the answer was pretty obvious. "Yes. I love her. And she loves me."

He sighed. "I like you, Patrick. But I don't want to see you get hurt when she goes back to the city."

I nodded. "I know. Honestly, she didn't want to admit she was in love. She was afraid of it. But we can't help it anymore."

Frank smiled. "I'm glad she's with you, even if it's only for now. You're a respectable guy. I'm glad to know you."

I considered that high praise from the father of my lover. "Thanks, Frank. I'm glad I got to know you too."

----

Frank and Serena talked on the front porch before he left us. I let them have a few minutes together alone, while I cleaned up our tea. When Serena came back in, she had tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked, immediately concerned.

She only smiled. "Thanks for helping me today."

I pulled her into a hug. I was glad that they were happy tears.

When Serena separated from me, she told me, "I have something else. Frank said he's got another show lined up for me."

My heart dropped. "I see."

"I have to leave, a week from tomorrow."

"So we'll have next weekend, and then..." My voice trailed off. I didn't want to say it.

She nodded. "Yeah."

I kissed her. "I'll miss you."

She started to cry. "I'll miss you too."

I pulled her back into my arms, holding her tight. "Let's make the most of the time we have."

She nodded into my chest. "Okay."

I took her upstairs, and began kissing her tenderly. She let me remove her shirt and let me kiss her neck, but when I went for her bra, she stopped me. "I'm sorry. I just... I don't feel like sex tonight. Can we just sleep? I just want you to hold me."

"Of course," I answered. We undressed ourselves; I put on some gym shorts for bed. She did take off her bra and pants, but put on a long night-shirt over her panties. We curled up together in bed, me spooning behind her, my arm over her waist.

In the dark, I heard small noises and knew she was silently crying. I did the only thing I could do: I held her tight until she finally fell asleep. I regret that it took me much longer to do the same, as my brain kept thinking about next week, when she'd leave me forever.