The Barnstable Chronicles: The Prodigy - 3. Hope, Loss, and Tears

“Okay, folks! You’re in for a real treat now! He’s the only American to win both the Tchaikowsky and the Van Cliburn Competitions—and now that I think about it, he’s the only man in the world to win those and Sexiest Man Alive! Please welcome David Chase!”

Parker was standing in the wings and watching the backstage monitor as David rounded the corner and walked onto the set. Twitch had some excellent dance music playing for his entrance, and David danced his way over to Ellen with a huge smile. “That’s the David I know and love,” Parker quietly whispered to himself.

“Welcome, David Chase!”

“Thank you, Ellen Degeneres! I can’t believe I’m sitting here with you! So cool!”

“Well, it’s pretty darned cool having you here, too!”

David looked out at the audience, smiling as they cheered and applauded. Parker loved how relaxed and genuine David seemed. His eyes glowed right along with his smile.

“So David, you’re the first classical musician to get that little award from People Magazine.” David’s cover appeared on the big screen, and the audience cheered again. “Were you surprised when they told you about the most prestigious award you’ve ever received?”

“It’s funny. They never told me!”

“What?”

“Right?! They called my manager the day before the issue was released—and that was two months after they came out to my house for the photoshoot.”

More pictures from David’s spread appeared on the screen, including the now-famous shot of him standing in the waves in his speedo. David blushed and looked away from the screen.

“Now, come on. Surely you knew something was up when someone took that picture!”

“Well, they did tell me the photoshoot was for that particular issue, and they were doing shoots of many, many others. I just figured that I would be buried somewhere in the middle of the magazine.”

“I guess you figured wrong, huh?”

“I guess so, huh!”

“Has this changed things for you—career-wise?”

“Yeah. My audiences have become quite a bit younger—and louder. They get a little crazy when I walk out on stage to perform, and I can hear some soft chatter while I’m playing. So I’m starting to see a lot of people who’ve never been to a classical concert before.”

“Does that throw off your concentration?”

“Not really. I’m able to block it out once I start to hear it. But then, I’m not your typical classical musician—kind of a non-conformist.”

“Right. Don’t they call you the ‘bad boy of classical music?’”

“Awww, I’m not that bad!” The speedo picture popped back up on the screen, and the audience cheered again. “Okay, okay—maybe just a little bad!”

“Well, one thing you are definitely not bad at is playing the piano. Why don’t you step over there and play a bit for us?”

“I would love to!”

As David walked over to the piano, Ellen looked out to the audience, “I know we didn’t get to talk long, but we wanted you to hear the Sexiest Man Alive play, and we wanted to make sure you got to hear a nice, complete classic.”

David sat at the piano, took a deep breath, and slowly moved his hands to the keys. He started playing Chopsticks with just two fingers, the same way everyone played the song. When he finished, he stood up as if he were going to take a bow. The audience tittered, and there were smatterings of applause as David looked off to the wings and motioned Parker to come on to the stage.

Parker slowly walked out from the wings, pointing to himself as if he were saying, “Me?” and David motioned for him to sit on the bench. The audience saw David whisper something into Parker’s ear as if he were giving instructions. In reality, David whispered, “Have a blast, babe. Love ya!”

They started their well-rehearsed routine, and the piece became more and more frenetic. Hands were blurred, and David’s hair was flying. Near the end of the piece, Parker began a rapid pattern of notes at the bottom of the keyboard and started working his way towards the high end, knocking David off the bench. The audience loved it!

David took Parker’s place on the bench, and the two finished the piece with incredible flair. They stood and took their bows as the audience leaped to their feet and screamed. Ellen walked over to them and hugged both as they went to commercial.

At the end of the commercial break, Parker was sitting in a chair next to David. Both beamed as Ellen congratulated them on their performance.

“David—who’s your friend?”

“Oh, just some dude I found in the wings. I needed some help, and he was there.” The audience had a good laugh at that comment.

Ellen shook her head and rolled her eyes. “No, seriously—the truth is—this is Parker Miller, and I know him!”

“And I know you, too!”

“So Parker and his partner Justin Petersen write the background music for my show Splitting Up Together, but I had no idea you could play the piano like that!” The audience applauded when a picture of Parker and Justin appeared on the screen. “So tell me, Parker—how did you and David hook up? (audience laughter) You are soooo dirty! I mean, how did the two of you meet?”

“David and I were competitive pianists, and we met back in the seventh grade. All the way through high school, we competed together and became best friends. Then after high school, we ended up going our separate ways and just found each other a few nights ago after his concert with the San Francisco Symphony.”

“David! How could you let a guy like this get away?”

“I know, right?! Seriously, Parker came to L.A. to study film scoring, and I went to Russia to study classical piano. The funny thing is we just found out that we had tried our damnedest to say in touch, but the powers that be in Russia blocked our emails for whatever reason, and we both thought the other had just decided to move on with his life.”

“Those pesky Russians and that internet! They seem to enjoy getting up in our stuff, huh?”

“Oh yeah! But I wouldn’t call it collusion!”

“Neither would they, David. Neither would Trump!”

“Now Parker, besides working on my show, what have you got brewing in the works?”

“Justin and I are putting the finishing touches on a new musical, and we’ll be doing some workshops and previews here in Los Angeles.”

“Oh! Can you tell us anything about it?”

“Are you kidding? It’s called The Second Life of Maxie Malone, and it’s based on the 1980’s film Maxie that starred Mandy Patinkin and Glen Close. I can’t believe I get to plug it on Ellen! That’ll at least sell a few tickets!”

“Oh, I loved that film! Good luck to you on that! Now—David, what’s next for you?”

“Well, I’m going to head home and get ready for a Lincoln Center performance with the New York Philharmonic, which will be filmed for PBS’ Great Performances.”

“Well, that’s nice and all, but you’re wrong! When we come back, we all get to see your next performance—and I can almost guarantee it’s going to be great! We’re gonna get David Chase out of some of those clothes and raise some money with the Sexiest Man Alive!

The show went to another commercial break, and the stage manager took Parker back to the green room while Ellen and David chatted things up a bit. All too soon, the show was back on the air.

“Okay! Welcome back! We have the Sexiest Man Alive—David Chase here with us, and you all surely didn’t think that I’d let him get away without getting to see some skin, now did you?”

The audience whooped and hollered and went crazy as David blushed and shook his head.

“Now, David. You’re going to help us raise some money for a charity of your choice. Which charity would that be?”

David sighed and looked at Ellen. “Well, since this was your idea, I figured I might as well just go ahead and have that money go to your wildlife fund. That okay?”

“Is that okay?? I’m gonna get you naked for that!” The audience went hysterical, and David blushed. “You have the cutest blush! I wonder if he blushes all over?” After more audience hysterics, Ellen continued, “I guess there’s only one way to find out!”

“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?”

“Oh yes, we are! You just think of those cute little baby gorillas in Africa, and I’ll take care of the rest. Now here’s how this is going to work. For every item of clothing I remove, the tally on the screen will increase. And we’ll start easy—shoes!”

Each shoe ended up being worth $500. Each sock went for $750. David’s jacket came off for $1000 bucks, and his black tee-shirt was worth $2000.

“Here we go, David! You let me take off your pants, and we’re going to round up to $10,000. However, if I find Ellen underwear when those babies come off, I’m gonna round it up to $20,000!”

“You better hope there’s underwear!”

“More than you know, David! More than you know! Twitch! Can we have a drum roll?”

The drum roll starts, the pants came off, and the Ellen underwear brought the total to $20,000.

One of Ellen’s staff brought out that giant check from Shutterfly paid to the order of Ellen’s wildlife fund and David. It was pretty cool, especially since he could hide behind it!

Once again, the show went to commercial. Ellen thanked David for filling in at the last minute, and he was whisked off to the dressing room while one of the crew grabbed his clothes and followed.

When they got to the dressing room, Parker was waiting, grinning from ear to ear. The members of the crew that were present complimented both men, and they soon found themselves alone. David started to put my clothes back on when Parker asked him to wait.

“I just want to feel you one more time before I have to leave.” They hugged and kissed while Parker ran his hands through David’s curls. “Damn! I fucking love your hair! Now I get why you were so into Charlie’s long hair.”

For some unexplained reason, David froze. He dropped his hands to his side and stepped back, tears brimming in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Parker,” David spoke with a barely audible voice.

“You still love him, don’t you?”

“I’ve never stopped.” David sat down in the closest chair and sighed as the flow of tears increased.

“David?”

After a deep breath, David continued, “He was the love of my life—still is. He’s ruined me. No matter how badly I want to, I’ll never be able to love anyone like I love Ch-Charlie.”

“But I love you, David. I’ve never stopped.”

“I love you too, Parker. Always have.”

“So, give us a chance!”

David raised his head to Parker with a shocked look on his face. “W-wh-what? What are you talking about?”

“Haven’t the last couple of days shown you the possibilities? What we have is good. So close to being great. I love you, David! I’m in love with you like I have since the beginning.”

“Oh, Parker! Don’t—don’t do this to yourself. You have Justin in your life. And it’s a life that’s so very different from mine. Don’t throw it away. I’m not worth it. You’ll only get hurt. I’m not able to give you what you need—no—deserve.”

“But—”

“No, Parker—don’t.” David got up and took a weeping Parker in his arms. He kissed him on the forehead and held him out at arm’s length. “Having you back in my life has made me happier than I’ve been in years. I promise you—I will not lose you again. You will always be the man I will consider my longest, closest, and dearest friend. That’s precious to me. I hope it is for you.”

Parker nodded his head and looked into David’s eyes just as there was a knock on the dressing room door.

“You good?”

Parker nodded and sniffed. He then went into the bathroom and shut himself in so David could answer the dressing room door. When he opened it, there was someone there he’d never met.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

“Hi—I’m looking for Parker. Is he here?”

David cocked his head and looked at the man in front of him.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I’m Justin. Parker’s boyfriend.”

“Oh!! Come in! Parker’s just using the bathroom. Did you see the show?”

“Yeah, I called in a couple of favors and got a house seat. You guys were freakin’ awesome!”

Just then, the bathroom door opened, and a smiling Parker walked out. “Oh, c’mon, Justin! We were fucking awesome. I promise you, David Chase taught me every cuss word I know!”

“Whatever!” David reached out to Justin and shook his hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Justin!”

“Likewise. I just wanted to make sure Parker knew I was here so he wouldn’t try to grab a cab back to the house.”

“Thanks, babe!” Parker went to Justin, kissed him, and grabbed his bag. He turned to David and said, “I’m so happy we found each other after all this time—even happier that we’re exactly where we were when we went our separate ways all those years ago. I’m not letting you go again!”

Parker walked over to David, hugged him, and whispered into his ear, “Now—find Charlie. It’s the only way you can be truly happy.” He then stepped away from David and over to Justin.

As they were walking to the dressing room door, David stopped them. “Justin—you’ve got an amazing guy there. Hold onto him. Don’t lose him. I know how that feels, and it sucks beyond imagination.”

“It’s great meeting you, David. And yes—I know just how lucky I am to have this guy by my side!”

Parker and Justin headed for the door, and just as they were about to walk out the door, Parker turned around to hug David one more time.

“I love you, David. Always have. Always will. But you need to find Charlie. I want you to be as happy as I’ve been from getting you back in my life. And don’t worry about me. I’m good.”

“I love you so much, Parker. And yes, you’ve made me incredibly happy. I’ll see what I can do about Charlie. But he is married and has a kid. I don’t know what the future holds, but if I could just see him one more time—get some real closure—that will make all the difference in the world.”

Once the door closed, David sat at the dressing room table, holding his head in his hands. Weeping, he said out loud, “Damn you, Charlie Danner! Why are you still holding onto my heart so fucking tight!”

* * * * *

Charlie wept softly through the commercial break and stopped as Ellen embarrassed audience members with their Facebook photos. Unfortunately, the tears started to well up again as soon as Ellen began her introduction of David.

When David made his entrance and danced his way over to Ellen, Charlie was dumbstruck by the man’s sheer beauty.

“He looks real nice, Daddy. Don’t you think so?”

“Yes, Noah. He looks amazing—and happy.”

Although Charlie was smiling throughout the interview, he still had a pool of tears sitting in his eyes. A concerned Noah kept his watching his daddy, preparing himself just in case he was needed—just as he’s done over the last several months.

When David started playing Chopsticks, it was too much for Charlie as he remembered the night when Charlie and Parker played for him at the restaurant after the closing night of Spamalot.

When Parker made his entrance, the crying stopped, if not for the fact that Charlie was quite literally shocked. “Oh. My. God.”

“What’s wrong, Daddy?”

“That’s Parker Miller. David’s best friend.”

“Do you know him, too?”

Charlie snorted as he thought back to the night of hotel sex he had with the two men playing their asses off on Ellen. “Yes, Noah. I know Parker, too.”

By the end of the piece, Charlie was smiling and crying at the same time—which completely confused Noah. “Daddy? Why are you crying and look happy? How can you do that?”

“Oh, my sweet, sweet boy. Your daddy’s all mixed up, isn’t he?’

“It’s okay. Do you want me to hold you like I did after Papa went away?”

“I’m going to be just fine, but I would love to do that. You’re such a sweet boy, Noah. I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

Charlie scooted to the other end of the sofa and leaned into Noah’s chest as his son wrapped his arms around him.

“This makes me feel better, too.”

Noah and Charlie watched the rest of Ellen while Charlie gently made circles with his finger on Noah’s arm. Noah found himself playing with Charlie’s curls. The intimate connection that only a loving father and son can have immediately put both of them in a place of peace and contentment.

As the show ended, neither noticed Beverly, Charlie’s mother, had come into the house. She stood at the end of the great room and took a picture of her “two favorite boys” snuggled up on the sofa. Rather than scare the boys or break the mood, she quietly moved into the kitchen and began to prepare dinner.

She pulled a large Southwestern-style salad and a chicken carbonara casserole out of the refrigerator. As soon as the oven was hot, she placed the dish in and proceeded to go through her mail.

Charlie and Noah walked into the kitchen when they heard Beverly milling about the back of the house.

“Mom! Why do you still insist on getting dinner ready? I have Mrs. Henderson making all these wonderful meals, so you don’t have to!” Charlie walked to his mother and hugged her.

“Noah? Do I get a hug from my special boy?” As usual, Noah patiently waited for Beverly to ask him to hug her. Although he had advanced exceptionally far on the Autism spectrum, he still found it hard to initiate any sort of physical affection with others—even family members. The only exception was Charlie. Noah’s connection to his adoptive father was as strong as any two people could be connected.

“Noah? Where’s Timmy? Is he going to join us for dinner tonight?”

“No Nana. His mama came and got him so they could go to a restaurant for dinner.”

“How lovely! Will he be back tonight?”

“Yes, Timmy told his Mama that he wanted to stay here tonight. He likes living with me in the apartment.”

“Of course he does! You two boys have a lovely home, and it’s so close to your dad’s house you can always have good meals here! You and Timmy are fortunate boys.”

“Yes, we are.”

The conversation was interrupted by a call on the land-line. Charlie walked over to see if a number showed up on the caller ID and was surprised to see an actual number instead of the “Unknown Caller” that usually appeared when solicitors tried to interrupt his day.

“Oh, it’s a call from New York. I should probably get it and see if it’s something important.

Noah helped Beverly set the table for dinner as Charlie became more involved with the call. Beverly did her best not to listen in but couldn’t help herself. All she could garner was her son answering questions with short, one-word answers. Apparently, there was a lot of information coming from the other end of the line as Charlie was writing away on a notepad by the phone.

Beverly felt a rush of happiness as she saw something she hadn’t seen in months—a broad smile on her son’s face. She assumed it was a client wanting a new design since Charlie’s design business used the land-line.

As Beverly pulled the casserole out of the oven, Charlie wrapped up his phone call.

“Holy shit, Mama!”

“Good news?”

“I think so? Maybe? I don’t know? Yes?”

“Daddy, you’re not supposed to say shit. That’s one of the bad words.”

“I’m sorry Noah. Thank you for catching me.”

“Tell me, Charlie! What’s the news that has you smiling from ear to ear?”

“That was Project Runway. They’re doing an all-star season and want me to be a part of it. They said Heidi and Tim had left the show, and it’s back on Bravo. Since they have so many new faces now, they felt an all-star season would help boost viewership. He also said I was the first person they called, and they would only proceed if I agreed to do it.”

“Oh, Charlie! That’s wonderful news! You told them yes, didn’t you?”

“No, I told them I had a lot to think about before I could commit to anything. I don’t know if I could go through all that again.”

“Well, that smile on your face looks like you already know what you want to do.”

“I know, Mama. It’s just my life completely fell apart when I came home. That’s what scares that crap out of me.”

“Daddy? Is crap one of the bad words?”

“I don’t know for certain, Noah. Let’s let that one pass, and I’ll be more careful, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy. Can we eat now? I’m hungry.”

“You boys have a seat, and I’ll fix your plates. We’ll talk about this while we eat.”

Noah sat at the table next to Charlie, and he watched his father deeply sigh as he went deep into thought. The smile vanished in short order.

Two thoughts crossed Charlie Danner’s mind. The first being that although he wasn’t a finalist on Project Runway, the exposure helped him to create a name in the design world, and he was kept quite busy with his custom yet quirky designs.

The second group of thoughts took him to the time he returned home after the show. He found Noah holed up in the apartment, afraid to come out or even make the short trip to the main house. Sadly, he also found a resentful husband and was no longer interested in his family or marriage.

No matter where his mind took him, every positive thought came crashing down with the all-too-familiar feeling of loss and betrayal.

“Charlie? Talk to me. Let me help you.”

“I can’t do it, Mama. I can’t risk losing anything more.”