Steven Keiths

EPILOGUE Nine years later Over the ensuing years, Scotty received his doctorate in music, for him it really wasn’t a very daunting task. Other than learning more about composers and playing other instruments, he could challenge most of the curricula. Truth be known, I think some of his professors were intimidated by having Scotty in their classes. For his doctorate he finished his concerto of Amorèdella mia Vite—his final dissertation, which two major orchestras have played since its publi

Chapter Twenty-five Having heard the loud voice from the head stage manager, Fair came rushing out onto the stage and asked, “Is there a problem Mr. Tucker?” “Apparently, I’m not allowed on ‘his’ stage,” Scotty said with an edge of anger in his voice. Realizing he had made a major gaffe and perhaps a career changing one at that, the head stage manager, stuttering said, “I’m, I’m, so sorry Mr. Tucker. I didn’t recognize you. I’ve, of course seen your poster, but, uh, you’re in stre

Chapter Twenty-four Scotty was kept very busy with performances that summer. I worked as much as I could to save up money for our trip. We had a great time at Shanty By the Sea for our anniversary, though celebrated late. The days and weeks seemed to sail by and before I knew it, our time to leave for Sydney, Australia arrived. The night before we were to catch our flight to Australia, Scotty was going over his detailed list of things we needed to take with us. After going over the lis

Chapter Twenty-three Frantic and confused, I didn’t know if I should or should not yell out Scotty’s name. I thought if Brad Toller had any intentions to hurt Scotty, he just might if he heard me. It was dark and that side of the building was not well lit. In addition, there were shrubbery and other plants along the wall of the building. I was walking at a rapid pace, and trying to hear or see if perhaps they were amid the bushes. Suddenly, I heard the cracking sound of a slap followed by,

Chapter Twenty-two Final exams were almost over with less than three weeks of school left, and the prom was coming up in two weeks. Life was busy. I was headed over to the music department as Scotty was helping with the rehearsals of the five-piece band that would be playing for our prom. Dan, the keyboardist of the band had broken his wrist while skate boarding and was frantic as to what to do. As he was a friend, he asked Scotty if he would fill in. Scotty declined. After all it was his p

Chapter Twenty-One Scotty nervously fidgeted, as he told my mom, his mom and dad about Michelle’s knowledge that he was gay. He was squeezing my hand so tightly; I thought for sure he was going to break some bones. “Well,” Uncle Phil said, “I do think we should forewarn your principal, Dick Bentley. Bash, do you think talking to Michelle would be wise? Would it be helpful? After all, as Scotty pointed out, she doesn’t appear to know about you.” “Uncle Phil,” I responded, “I truly think

Chapter Twenty The last things Chris did before he took his life were to clean his room, write four letters, and lay four pictures on his neatly made bed. One was of him and Bobby, arms wrapped around each other laughing. The second was of a younger smiling Chris as he, with that proud big brother look, lovingly held his sister, Elly, when she was a baby. The third was of Scotty, Bobby, Chris, and me after Bobby’s first victorious wrestling match flashing the universal ‘V’ for victory sign.

Chapter Nineteen What did he mean; Chris was in pretty bad shape? And what was Chris doing at the shelter, I questioned, as I hurriedly threw on some clothes? I ran to the Tucker’s house and the lights were off so I let myself in with my key and went to Uncle Phil and Aunt Liz’s bedroom and knocked on the door announcing myself. A sleepy-eyed Uncle Phil came to the door and had a very concerned look. “What’s the matter Bash?” He inquired. I related the brief conversation I had with Sta

Chapter Eighteen “This is pretty pathetic when the best travel song you guys can come up with is The Ants Go Marchin’,” Scotty said as we made our way back to Cleona. Of course, that only spurred us on to sing several more stanzas and louder. Scotty clasped his hands over his ears and shook his head as if saying, ‘what did I do to deserve this torture?’ Arriving home, I helped Scotty take his belongings to his room and asked if he was coming over to spend the night at my house. “Well,

Chapter Seventeen “To the right, to the right!..No, release the steering wheel!..No, don’t take your hands off of it. Let it slide through your hands back to the starting position...give it some gas...don’t floor it!..slow down a little...gentle with the brake, don’t slam it on!..Watch out for that light standard!..Turn, turn...Scott, don’t forget to use your turn signal.” Poor Uncle Phil was about ready to check himself into the nearest psychiatric hospital for agreeing to teach Scotty and m

Chapter Sixteen On the return trip home, my cute lover softly snored away in the back seat—it seemed anytime he went anywhere in a moving vehicle, he zonked out. As he traveled frequently, it was one way for him to relax and catch up on the sleep he was deprived for many an early rising. My mother, running a hand through her long dark brunette hair, turned to me with a smile. I asked her about what was making her smile. She related how proud she was of me and how maturely I had handled the in

Chapter Fifteen “Happy New Year!” We yelled when Nanna opened the door. We proceeded to get our round of hugs, then, you guessed it—off to the kitchen. I stood for a moment taking in the familiar aroma of garlic, basil, and oregano that permeated throughout the house. There was a comfort and fond memories from those pungent scents. We placed our presents for her on the crocheted tablecloth made by Nanna, and begged her to open them. “Let your Nanna give you some ting to eat and

Chapter Fourteen Scotty had a few more performances scheduled for the next week and a half so we didn’t get the opportunity see one another for any length of time except at school and our study time. However, he had nothing scheduled for that coming Saturday so plans were made to get our Christmas trees. He wouldn’t hear of us going without him, declaring it a family tradition. We all groaned. We knew we were in for a day-long excursion. Scotty was just as fussy about picking out a tree as he

Chapter Thirteen December seemed to fly by. Between Scotty’s busy schedule of playing concerts, of which I managed to see all but two, and my wrestling practices, meets, and Tae Kwon Do lessons, hectic would be putting it mildly. I even managed to put in some extra hours at my part-time job. On the weekends, Scotty and I usually were so exhausted we just cuddled with each other and fell asleep. We were looking forward to the two-week break from school and other activities. One evening

Chapter Twelve The Thanksgiving holiday over, we all got back into our regular routines. I added a job to my itinerary in order to accumulate some money for Christmas. I worked a few hours on the weekends helping in the stock room at J.C. Penny’s. Scotty was busy practicing piano as he had quite a few venues at which he would be playing during the holiday season. He also would be a featured artist at the Christmas concert for the Cincinnati Philharmonic Orchestra. What free time we could spen