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24: Burlesque Acts
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-02-22 01:27:48
Bab terkait
Mi Amor 25: Lincoln Road Gossip
Thursday morning I read through the Miami Herald online, looking for any mention of Vlad Solonenko. The front-page story was that Raul Castro had been spotted with an iPod, and all factions of the Cuban community weighed in on what they suspected he was listening to. Some thought vintage Celia Cruz, while others suggested Daddy Yankee and other reggaetón stars. There was even one group favoring Frank Sinatra and his version of “My Way.”The rest of the world could be falling apart, I thought as I skipped forward, and the Miami press would still seize on any Castro-related tidbit. But no matter how I looked or searched, there was nothing about Vlad in the paper. The FBI was keeping things on the down low – just as Vlad had lived his life.Jean-Jacques came over around noon, and we went through the lineup of acts. We had a gay rapper named Baby Huey; Iona Trailer; the acrobats we’d seen the night before; and a pair of guys who did ballroom dance “with a twist,” among other acts.“Who’s
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-22Mi Amor 26: King Tut’s Tomb
Jean-Jacques was there, though. And fortunately, he’d thought to dig around and find the combination for the lock on the unit. “At least we can throw away whatever’s up there,” I said. It was a sweltering afternoon, so we decided to go into the air conditioning to wait for Agent Green.“It’s like opening King Tut’s tomb,” Jean-Jacques said when we got to the unit. “We have no idea what’s inside.”“I know. A bunch of crap.”We weren’t disappointed. We’d just started dragging out some big flats painted in carnival colors, left over from a Mardi Gras party at one of the clubs, when Agent Green showed up. “I wish you’d waited to open the unit until I got here.”“You should have said something,” I said.He stood by while Jean-Jacques and I dragged the flats down to the communal Dumpster. They were so dusty we were sneezing by the time we’d gotten rid of all of them.“Guess FBI agents don’t like to get their hands dirty,” Jean-Jacques said. “He’s cute, but he could have offered to help.”Be
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-22Mi Amor 27: Headache
I told that to Richard. “You’re giving me a headache,” he said. “I’ll have to talk to dad about this. I’ll call you back.”Jean-Jacques and I stopped at the office and told the clerk we weren’t going to renew the lease on the unit, and that we’d emptied it out. The VW wasn’t meant for transporting lots of crap, and I already had my computer equipment in the trunk. We piled the backseat with the bags we were donating, and I drove Jean-Jacques over to his place to drop them off. He said he was going to see his mother over the weekend and would deliver them to the thrift shop on his way.We’d just finished unloading the bags when my father called. “You have no knowledge of that money. You don’t know where it came from. Do you understand?”“Do I tell the FBI that Vlad gave me the lock?” I asked.“If they ask you directly. Don’t volunteer any information.”“How bad is this, Dad?”“Do you have any more secrets?”“Dad. This wasn’t a secret, it was ignorance.”“You’ve been ignorant of a lot o
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-22Mi Amor 28: Chat with Dad
Friday morning my phone rang at nine a.m. Of course it woke me; I hadn’t gotten to bed the night before until almost three, worrying and obsessing over my relationship with Javier. “Hello?” I mumbled.“I spoke with your mother last night,” my father said. “I think it’s time you and I had a chat about your future.”I sat bolt upright in bed. “Morning, Dad. Jean-Jacques and I checked our credit reports to be sure Vlad didn’t open any accounts in our name. We can’t think of anything else that might get us in trouble.”Lots of people believe that gay men have passive fathers and over-attentive mothers. There’s some theory that the lack of a strong male influence leads a guy to want that in a lover. And maybe for some guys it’s true. But in my case, there was no doubt my father was in charge.My great-grandfather was the oldest son of a minor count in rural Poland. The family lands were confiscated in the wake of World War I, so he emigrated to north Jersey, where he worked as a stable han
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-22Mi Amor 29: Big Rod
That night, back at the theater, I was nervous, and not just about the Vlad situation, the FBI situation, or whether or not I would break up with Javier. We’d nearly sold out the theater, and I hoped that the acts wouldn’t disappoint. Jean-Jacques and I hadn’t seen them all together; all we’d done was go over the order with them before the show, making sure they were all there and had all their props.Iona Trailer opened the show, dressed as Ginger Rogers, and sang “We’re in the Money,” against a video background of spinning coins and bills. Of course that made me think of Vlad, and that box of cash in the storage locker. What was he thinking of, hiding that money and not telling me? Of course, if he’d said something, I would have freaked out.I was so preoccupied with thinking about Vlad that I missed the stand-up comic’s act, and only realized when the two acrobats came on and the audience got quiet. Seeing them reminded me of Javier, and I wondered if we would ever have mind-blowin
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-22Mi Amor 30: Seeing Stars
The Estrella del Mar was a three-story block of a building, with only the vaguest art deco details. A chain-link fence surrounded it, and a Dumpster took up much of the small front yard. A big sign proclaimed it was under renovation by Marisco Construction.Javier was lounging against the fence when I walked up to the building. He took my hand and pulled me toward him for a hug. “I’m glad to see you.”It felt so good to be in his arms. The tension of planning the show, and worrying about my father’s summons, drained out of me. “Mmm,” I said, nuzzling his cheek. “I missed you tonight.”He pulled back. “I want to show you what I’ve been working on.” He took my hand and opened the gate into the yard, then pulled it closed and slipped the padlock. “You have to be careful, mi amor,” he said, shining a flashlight ahead of us.The front door was gone, and we walked directly into the small lobby. “Four apartments on this level,” Javier said, shining the light from room to room. “And four on t
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-22Mi Amor 31: Flying and Flirting
I got to the Miami airport with plenty of time to spare before my flight, but by the time I had made it through the serpentine security line, I had to hurry to the gate. The best Margaret had been able to do was a middle seat at the back of the plane; my fellow passengers were returning snowbirds, partying college kids celebrating the last few hours of spring break, and a sprinkling of business types on their way to early meetings in the city the next day.It was an uncomfortable couple of hours, scrunched into the narrow seat, listening to people having fun all around me. I couldn’t concentrate on the mystery novel I had brought, about a gay detective in Honolulu, and I refused to think about Javier and worry about how things were going with his parents. I had my own family issues to deal with.The man in the window seat was a Sikh, with dark skin and a red turban. “You are going back to college from spring break?” he asked me.“You’re flattering me. I graduated from college a few ye
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-22Mi Amor 32: Home Again
The drive out to Summit was quick, mostly on route 78, and soon I was motoring through the tree-lined streets of my childhood. They were just coming into leaf, and daffodils and crocuses sprouted in the manicured yards on our street. It was sunny and crisp, and I remembered how much I loved the springtime, which we get for about a week or two in Florida.I kept the key to my parents’ house on a stuffed-monkey key chain from a Kipling bag, and as I drew it from my pocket, my mother opened the front door. We gushed and hugged, and she led me inside.My mother is a brunette, though her hair is starting to streak with silver, and she refuses to dye it. Richard takes after her, while I look more like my father. I was okay with that; he was a damn handsome man, and I wouldn’t mind looking that good when I get to fifty. “Your father’s at the club,” my mother said. “He’ll be back soon. In the meantime, you and I can have a chat.”Here it comes, I thought. Good cop, bad cop. The standard paren
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-22
Bab terbaru
Mi Amor 84: A Little Situation
The morning of our wedding, Javier and I were up at first light. We went for a run together along the beach, then out to brunch, where we toasted each other with mimosas. “This is probably the last time today we’ll have time to ourselves, mi amor,” Javier said. “So I have some things I want to say to you.”I sipped my mimosa. “Yes?”“I love you, but you know that. You encourage me, you frustrate me, you make me see things differently, you force me to open up my heart and confront my emotions. I am so glad that you have come into my life.”I felt myself tearing up. “I love you too, Javier. When I was cruising along without much direction to my life, you came along with a strong hand and a warm heart. You looked beneath my surface the way few people have been able to do. Every day I want to be a better man so that I can deserve you.”We lifted our glasses again and clinked them together. “Then let’s get married,” Javier said.We drove up to the Ancient Spanish Monastery, a beautiful sma
Mi Amor 83: Medicare Fraud
A few weeks later, I was in the living room when Liana called Javier. He put the phone on speaker so I could hear. “That doctor Papi was going to in Hialeah,” she said. “He’s been arrested for Medicare fraud! The clinic closed down. Mami is so frightened the police are going to come for them.”“As long as she doesn’t expect anything from me,” Javier said. “They’ve both made it clear that they don’t want Adam and me in their lives.”“They’ll come around eventually, Javier,” she said. “Unless they die first,” he said.“Javier!”I was as surprised as Liana was. I knew that Javier was upset that his parents had shut him out, but I hadn’t realized how deep his feelings ran. They talked for a few more minutes, but he wasn’t willing to budge on his parents.If they didn’t approve of our marriage, I didn’t want their names on the invitation. So I found an invitation template that didn’t mention parents, brides or grooms. Just Adam Beller and Javier Marisco invite you to join in the celebrati
Mi Amor 82: Ancient Spanish Monastery
I woke up early on Sunday morning to find the house empty. Where was Angus? Why was everyone in my life abandoning me?Whoa. I needed to stop pitying myself and figure out what to do. A few minutes later, Angus came in, sweaty from an early morning run. I thanked him for his hospitality and said I needed to get back to Javier’s.“Take things easy,” Angus said. “Give Javier some time, and I’m sure he’ll come around.”There was little traffic on I-95 so early on Sunday morning, and I made good time back to the beach. I parked in one of the guest spaces at the Madrigal, and noted that Javier’s BMW was in its regular spot. That didn’t mean much, of course. He could have gone off on his scooter, or on foot.Or he could be upstairs.I took a couple of deep breaths. I couldn’t go on in limbo like that, not knowing how Javier felt.I rode up in the elevator and used my key to unlock the apartment door. Javier was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a mug of coffee. I could smell the fragran
Mi Amor 81: Best Man
My mouth dropped open. He was kicking me to the curb? Where would I go, at nine o’clock on a Saturday night? To a hotel?I hadn’t wanted to tell Javier because I knew he had his own money problems, but I’d been running through my savings at an alarming rate as I sustained both of us until money began to flow in from Wynwood Columns. I had credit on my plastic, but very little in the way of ready cash.I called Jean-Jacques, but went right to voice mail. He was probably out on the town somewhere, or maybe cuddled up with that new boyfriend of his. I ran through my list of old friends. Most of them had moved on, or were likely to be out partying on a Saturday night. Then I remembered Angus Green.He picked up the phone after one ring. “Hey, Adam, long time no see. How’s everything?”The kindness in his voice broke something open inside me, and I began to cry, telling him how stressful the last months had been, about my botched attempt to talk to Javier’s parents, his anger with me.“Com
Mi Amor 80: Mi Hijito
“I have something I would like to show you about Javier, if you would allow me,” I said, when she and I were in the living room with Javier’s father. They didn’t seem to know how to say no, so I hooked everything up, chatting nervously in a mix of English and Spanish, until I had a picture of Javier as a little boy up on the screen.“Ay, mi hijito,” his mother said.I launched into my story. Javier as a boy, cleaning up at construction sites, playing baseball, graduating from high school with honors. His parents were smiling and happy, adding in their own comments to each other.The last pictures were of Javier and me together—dancing at a party on South Beach, walking barefoot on the beach during one of Javier’s summer visits to New Jersey, us posed together in front of the Wynwood Columns sign.I left that last picture up on the screen. “Javier loves you very much, and I know he misses having you in his life right now. Wynwood Columns is his biggest success so far, and it would be s
Mi Amor 79: Presentation
I pulled up in front of a thrift store run by an Episcopal church, only open two days a week for a few hours at a time. Jean-Jacques made a beeline for the jewelry counter, where the sweet old lady who looked like a gerbil, with white hair and pink skin, seemed to know him well.I browsed the rest of the store, coming up with a couple of items for Jean-Jacques to consider: a pair of commemorative coins issued by Masonic chapters; a belt buckle with an airline slogan from the 1960s; a wooden box covered with colorful labels that had once held Cuban cigars. Jean-Jacques nodded approvingly and bought all of it.We worked together all afternoon, driving from store to store, and by the end of the day he had a decent haul. I researched and wrote descriptions of the items as he photographed them. Around six, I texted Javier that I was with Jean-Jacques, and we slumped in his living room over a bottle of wine, a box of crackers, and a log of goat cheese.“I’ve been thinking about how you appr
Mi Amor 78: Just Because It's Legal
We fell into bed together and slept until mid-morning Sunday, when I got up, fixed us omelets and bacon, and we hashed over the details of the night before. Javier had a half-dozen solid prospects for the condos, and he’d impressed a number of local real estate agents. The buzz at the party had been superb, and it looked like we were going to be a great addition to the Wynwood scene.I waited until a few days had passed, and Javier had contracts on two more of the condos, before I brought up the question of setting the wedding date again.“I don’t know, mi amor,” he said. “Maybe it’s not such a good idea right now. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right for us.”I opened my mouth to argue. What had happened to “I’d marry you today if I could?” But I already knew what the problem was. His parents. Until they came around to the idea of their precious boy married to another man, my wedding plans were on hold.Over the next few days, I thought about the issue. It wasn’t about the
Mi Amor 77: Party Boy
The next morning I met Leslie at Wynwood Columns. That day’s T-shirt read Be kind to animals or I’ll kill you, and her pinky fingernails were painted in tiger stripes.“The walls look amazing,” I said, after we’d kissed hello. Then I held the ladder for her as she began to hang a couple of her complicated mobiles.Javier came through while we were working, showing off the retail space to a rep from a national drugstore chain. “This is Adam Beller, who’s handling all my marketing and public relations,” Javier said when he introduced me.I noticed that he didn’t say “partner.” But we hadn’t formalized any business arrangement between us so I wasn’t a partner in Marisco Enterprises. I didn’t even have a salary or a job title.There was no time to stress over it, though. Before I could blink it was the Saturday night of the grand opening. We rented one of those big searchlights and set it up across the street. We hired a valet company to handle the parking, a jazz trio for background musi
Mi Amor 76: Sour Taste
I woke with a sour taste in my mouth. What if Wynwood Columns was a big flop, and its failure destroyed Javier’s business, because he’d bet everything he had on it? That could leave us both out of work. And because Javier had mortgaged the condo at the Madrigal, we could be homeless as well. And of course the wedding would be off. We couldn’t afford a party if we couldn’t put a roof over our heads or food on the table.We had only a week to go before the grand opening of Wynwood Columns, and Javier spent all his time on the mainland, leaving behind the beach, while I was at the office most of the time, handling dozens of small details from chasing down attorneys and leases to sourcing party favors. It was doubly hard because everything had to be done on the cheap, and I called in every favor I was owed, relying on every emotion from guilt to greed to get what I needed.Late one afternoon I was all alone in the office, and I started to worry. What if this physical distance was just a m
