Abide with Me (22 page)

“So you’re interested only in seducing Raymond?”

“It’s a good place to start,” Basil smiled.

“But what about that
permanent
relationship you mentioned?”

“That was a part of the seduction. From what I know about Raymond, he’s not going to sleep with me if he thinks I’m just looking for a good fuck.”

“Do you think that’s fair to Raymond?”

“Don’t cha know, Doc?”

“Know what?”

“Life ain’t fair. If it was, my mutherfuckin’ uncle would be six feet under and my mother wouldn’t be.”

Yancey didn’t have much time before Nicole would return to the room to prepare for the evening’s performance. She rushed into their hotel room, put on the safety latch, and went into the bedroom. She dropped her gym bag on the queen-sized bed nearest the telephone and dialed Ava’s number.

“Ava Parker speaking.”

“Ava! This is Yancey.” Yancey removed the light blue sweatband from her head, then released her ponytail.

“You sound out of breath, child! Is everything all right?”

“Fine. Everything is great. I just got in from the gym and wanted to talk to you before Miss Pretty gets back. You know, Ava, I don’t know if rooming with her was such a good idea.”

“Why not? How else are you going to get even with her?”

“It’s just that she’s always around. Like the bitch ain’t got nothing to do but hang with me. Most of the cast members would die for the opportunity to spend this much time with Nicole alone, but she’s
always with
me
. I can’t wait until next week when her husband comes to visit. I’m going to have a private room the last few days here in Detroit and then we’ll have a chance to talk more.” Yancey ran her fingers through her hair. She needed a shampoo and conditioning, and for once, she was thankful
Dreamgirls
had so many wig changes.

“Well, even though she’s all up in your face all the time, you seem to be working it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read the review you faxed me.”

“I’m working them fierce and it’s working everyone’s last nerve.”

“Including Miss Pretty?” Ava asked.

“That’s the problem, everyone except Nicole! This is one seasoned diva. Whenever I get great reviews, she congratulates me with that beauty pageant voice of hers. Like she’s trying to win Miss Congeniality or something. It’s just so damn fake.”

It was really beginning to wear Yancey out that Nicole was always so supportive and gracious. It didn’t bother Yancey at all that her great reviews brought cold shoulders and looks of disdain from the other cast members. She knew where they were coming from. But Nicole, who should have been threatened by Yancey’s success, was as nice as she could be. Bitch! Even when Yancey lied and told Nicole that the producers of
Chicago
were flying her back to New York to audition for the lead in the Broadway company, Nicole was deliriously happy for her. The truth was that Yancey had to pay her own way and the audition was only for the chorus. Nicole had even confided her disappointment when the same producers had turned her down because
Chicago
was a “Bob Fosse dancers’ show.” “But I can dance,” Nicole had said. It was common knowledge among some Broadway casting agents that Nicole Springer was a singer who could act, but she had limited dancing skills.

“Where is she now?” Ava asked.

“Still working out at the gym. I know she’s wondering how I can rehearse three to four hours a day, work out at the gym, and then turn
it out when the curtain rises, but she’s right there hanging in with me.”

“So I guess she’s got to work out to keep that shape,” Ava said.

“I guess so, but not to worry, gravity will take care of her.”

“I can’t wait until she has a baby,” Ava said, “then hopefully, she’ll have those childbearing hips.”

“That’s why I’m calling,” Yancey remembered. “I don’t think Miss Girl was ever going to have any children. I don’t think she can.”

“What? Why not?”

“It’s just a feeling I have. Do you know this friend of hers named Delaney?”

“Naw, never heard of her. Was she a pageant girl too?”

“I don’t know, but I think they met in New York. Nicole has never mentioned her, but Cedric, one of the gay boys in the show, told me Nicole and Delaney used to be real tight. And when Cedric brought up Delaney’s name in front of Nicole, well, you would have thought Miss Pretty had just seen a ghost.”

“Now, I wonder what’s up with that?” Ava said.

“It gets better …” Yancey paused dramatically, setting Ava up for the really juicy news. “It seems this Delaney person is funny. You know, a lesbo!”

“Girl, shut up! Naw! You’ve got to be kidding?”

“Now, tell me if I’m wrong, but I do believe there’s a story there. And I intend to find out what it is.”

“You don’t think Miss Pretty has been bumping pussies, do you?”

“I don’t know, but if she has, wouldn’t it be special if you
and
Miss Delaney showed up at our dressing room one night just before a performance?”

“Darling, just tell me when,” Ava said.

“First we have to find Miss Delaney. I’ll see what information I can get from Cedric. He loves to run his mouth when he gets a little liquor in him.”

“And I’ll look through some of my old programs and see what I can find out,” Ava said.

“You do that. I know we can find her. And Ava, guess what?”

“I don’t think I can take any more news. What?”

“My new agent called and said some people in L.A. saw me on the
Rosie
show. They want me to come out there for pilot season!”

“That’s great! Who are these people? And when are you going?”

Before Yancey could answer, she heard a knock at the door.

“Yancey?” Nicole called out. “The safety latch is on.”

“She’s back. I got to go,” Yancey whispered into the phone. “Hold on, Nicole. Here I come, darling.”

“I caught Raymond checking me out real serious last night,” Basil said.

“How did that make you feel?”

“Damn good. It means I’m getting to him. It won’t be long now,” Basil said confidently. On their second outing at the gym, they had spent about a half hour going in and out of the steam room before slipping nude into the whirlpool, barely sharing a word. Every time Basil asked Raymond if everything was all right, he said yes. When Basil asked him if he was having a good time, Raymond said, “I am.” The doctor listened intently to these details, nodding from time to time.

“When I took off my jock—the black nylon number I wear when I want attention, you remember that one, right—Raymond’s eyes were glued to my every move, like he was in some type of trance. Yeah, all I have to do now is reel him in,” Basil said.

“And what are you going to do when you
get
him?” the doctor asked.

“I’m going to sex him down so hard he’ll forget about what’s-his-name in Seattle.”

“So you think that will help you solve some of your issues?”

“I don’t have any issues, Doc. I just come here because I get to say what the fuck I want and don’t have to worry about what you think. I can thank Raymond for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that Raymond was the one who suggested I go to therapy? And this is cool. I get to say whatever is on my mind.”

“We haven’t talked about your father and uncle recently.”

“Don’t need to,” Basil said firmly.

“Are you ever going to tell your father what happened?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because he didn’t do it. It wasn’t his fault.”

“I think you’re avoiding something that has caused you great pain.”

“But that’s over. The past is the past. And my mofo uncle now knows I know. Just the thought of me bustin’ him has him scared as shit.”

“But you’ve never confronted your uncle. How does he know you remember what he did so clearly, and have you thought any more about writing him a letter?”

“I don’t need to confront him or write him some stupid-ass letter. The last time I saw him, when his ass was almost dying in the hospital, I looked at him like I could just as soon kill him as look at him. Trust me, he knew what my eyes were saying. He didn’t use a lot of words when he did what he did, and I don’t need words either,” Basil said passionately.

“When was the last time you talked to your father?”

“A couple of days ago. I call him at least once a week, at least I try to. But we never talk that long,” Basil said. There was a quiet sadness in his voice. It was deep, but softer than usual.

“How does that make you feel?”

“What?”

“The length of your conversations. Would you like them to be longer?”

“No need. I find out whassup … tell him what’s going on with me and bam, we’re through. I tell him I love him and he tells me he loves me and we say, talk to you later.”

“And do you love your father?”

“What kinda fool-ass question is that? Of course, I love my pops. He’s all I got.”

“And you’re certain he has no idea what happened?”

“No, and I’m going to leave it that way. And you know what, Doc? Today you don’t have to tell me time is up, ’cause I’m out of here. I got shit to do,” Basil said as he leaped from the chair and headed for the door in a move reminiscent of his football playing days.

The doctor didn’t even have a chance to nod before Basil was gone.

It was early Monday evening and Raymond and Jared had just finished a workout and swim at the hotel gym. Raymond had finished his brief routine first and was waiting for Jared in the empty steam room. The locker room was quiet with only an attendant trying to look busy folding towels.

“So I’ve got a little problem I need your advice on,” Jared said as he walked into the ivory-tiled steam room wrapped in a towel.

“What kinda problems you got?” Raymond asked as Jared sat on the bench right above Raymond. He wanted to tell Jared he didn’t
know
problems. The steam room had always been a place where Raymond and Jared talked over their problems. When the two of them had lived in Atlanta, they met at the gym four times a week before work, and even though they didn’t talk a lot while hitting the weights, they always ended up sharing their joys and solving problems in the steam room. It was as though the heat loosened their defenses, as well as their muscles.

“You know, I still haven’t hired an executive assistant and it’s running me ragged. I mean if it wasn’t for my workouts, a great friend, and a wonderful wife, I’d be running stark raving mad,” Jared said.

“You haven’t found anyone who fits the bill?”

“Actually I’ve found two, and I don’t know which one to hire,” Jared said as he pulled his left knee up almost to his chin.

“Tell me about them,” Raymond said in his lawyerly voice.

“The first one is a sister named Connie Gamble. She’s actually been with the company about five years. She completed her M.B.A. at Fordham while working full-time. Really seems to have herself on the ball. Confident without being pushy. Not married, not dating seriously, so the long hours won’t bother her. Went to undergrad at FAMU and majored in engineering. And I really think we would work well together,” Jared said.