The Barnstable Chronicles: The Prodigy - 7. Making Plans

After saying goodbye to Christian, Karlie, and the rest of the Project Runway team, David walked to the waiting car. He only wished he could have spoken with Charlie but understood the whole “rules are rules” thing. He only had seven weeks—at most—to wait. As soon as he got into the back of the limo, the driver asked David if he wanted to return to the Hyatt.

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

As soon as the driver pulled into the street, David pulled the slightly crumpled envelope out of his pocket and yet again admired the beautiful handwriting that simply said “David.”

He took a deep breath, opened the envelope, and began reading:

David,

I’ve decided to write you a note. With the crazy rules of the show, I don’t know if you’ll ever see it, and the only way I figure you can is if you pick Eric’s design—which you totally should! It’s so much fun and completely expresses that side of you!

So—three weeks ago, my son and I were watching “Ellen,” and I was totally looking forward to seeing Keanu Reeves. You might remember my somewhat slight obsession with him. Haha. Boy! Was I surprised to see it was YOU on the show—even more surprised when Parker came out, and you guys did the Chopsticks routine.

Funny—I always get emotional whenever I hear that silly song. But then again, I get pretty emotional four or five times a day. Some things never change.

Another thing that has never changed is the ache in my heart I’ve carried for the last eight years. Please know that I don’t blame you for any of that! We came to an agreement. You and I both knew deep down that we had two significant strikes against our relationship. The first being the success rate of high school sweethearts and the second being the almost insurmountable challenges of long-distance relationships—and ours would have been the longest of longs.

Not long after you left the States, I contacted your mother and got your email address. I sent you several emails a week for at least a month—probably longer. When I never heard from you, I figured you wanted a clean break from “us.” I mean, that IS what we agreed on.

To be honest, not hearing from you at all probably hurt more than the actual breakup. Again, I’m not putting any blame anywhere. What’s done is done, and I’m sure at the time you had your reasons. After all, I gave up, too.

 

 

You might have wondered why you suddenly stopped hearing from me. As I write this, I realize just how important communication is. When we don’t hear from the people we want to hear from, we begin to make assumptions. I know I did.

It took a while, but I did move on. You may remember Janet Anderson. She was dating my best friend, Liz. Janet and her mother died in a tragic accident. They were on the way to the hospital to deliver her baby.

It was terribly hard on her father and brother, Jacob. I met him at a cookout at Cam’s parents’ house. I won’t go into the details, but we eventually ended up living together and got married after a while. Yes, I loved Jacob Anderson—and in many ways—I still do. You know me well enough that once I love completely, I will never stop loving.

I eventually started volunteering with a local theatre group for kids on the Autism spectrum and became close to a couple of them. At the same time, Jacob and I decided to train for the state fostering program.

One of the kids I had become close to suddenly lost his mother to a brain aneurysm, and the state contacted us since they knew of my work with those special kids.

When we got to the offices, I was shocked to see the kid was one that I had grown close to. We took Noah into our home, and once it became clear that there were no relatives who were able (or willing) to take the boy in, we became permanent foster parents and eventually adopted him.

I’m a proud daddy now, and I have to tell you about Noah. I’m sure it’s challenging for anyone to foster and adopt—and countless people said those challenges were ten times greater with an Autistic child. I’m one of the lucky ones. Being Noah’s daddy has never been a challenge. My son and I have a remarkable bond—one that I’ve never completely understood or have been able to explain. But I have learned to appreciate that the connection Noah and I have is one of those extraordinary things that I will cherish forever.

Noah is now seventeen years old. There are times he is a typical teenager—he loves his video games and plays them way too often. Of course, there are times he behaves like a child half his age, which can bring a completely different set of challenges. But Noah has a heart that surpasses all ages. That boy sure can love! Believe it or not, when Jacob and I were going through our separation and divorce, Noah was my rock.

To give you an idea of his personality, his all-time favorite thing is the “Toy Story” film. For his first birthday with us, we converted his bedroom into a duplicate of the film’s bedroom, complete with the toys, the colors, the furniture. Even now, although he lives in the garage apartment, that bedroom is his safe place. It still brings him so much joy!

Wow! I was just going to write you a quick note to tell you how just how scared I was to see you again—and how happy I am that I have. I can still hear your words ringing through my head—“Even the gods couldn’t keep us apart!”

Of course, I don’t have any idea when I’m going to be done with the show. I don’t have any idea how I’m going to find you once I’m able—but I will. I need to feel my arms around you. I need to thank you personally for playing the Nocturne for me again.

We’re both completely different people now. So much has changed in our lives. But one thing has never changed, and that’s my love for you. I can’t wait for you to meet my son. I have a feeling that’s one more thing that’s going to be beautiful.

I don’t know what our future may hold. I know what I hope it looks like. One thing I know for sure—my future must have you in it, no matter how that looks.

I love you, David. I always will.

Charlie

David’s eyes brimmed with tears as he smiled from ear-to-ear. Although Charlie wouldn’t make any commitment, he certainly left the door open for all the possibilities. The fact that he shared so much about Noah reaffirmed to David the gigantic heart Charlie Danner possessed.

While he wasn’t going to remodel one of the bedrooms in his home, he decided to gather some Toy Story paraphernalia to help Noah feel comfortable when he came to visit with Beverly.

David was in the middle of reading Charlie’s letter for the third time when the limo pulled up to the hotel entrance. He thanked the driver and went straight to his suite. Once inside, he stripped himself of the clothes he had on and went into the bedroom. He dug around the bottom of his bag and found his favorite toy, a 9½-inch dildo that was almost identical to Charlie’s monster.

He sucked and swallowed it, dreaming of Charlie’s moans and small cries of passion while his fingers laced into his hair. He couldn’t wait very much longer before he had to lube up the dildo and push it into his tight and quivering ass. As he thrust in and out of himself, David closed his eyes and remembered the image of the stunning man hovering over him. He remembered the look of ecstasy that covered Charlie’s face. He remembered the sweat dripping onto his body as Charlie pounded into him.

And just as Charlie would shift slightly to give maximum pleasure to David’s prostate, David moved the dildo and did the same. Being completely in the moment, David was surprised to find the result just as complete—an intense hands-free orgasm that shook him from head to toe.

David eased the silicone cock out of his ass and closed his eyes. “I love you, Charlie Danner,” he whispered as he fell asleep.

* * * * *

Eric walked into the workroom after he met with David to cheers and kudos from the other designers. Christian was there to congratulate them all on an excellent runway show and announced that they would have the evening free. He also reminded them to keep in mind that they would be back at the studio at 7:00 the next morning to begin work on the second challenge.

They were instructed to gather their things and make their way to the bus in front of the building. They would be taken to Atlas to decide on their own what their evening plans would be.

As they were packing their things, Charlie leaned into Eric and whispered, “Did you give the envelope to David?”

“Of course, silly. And yes—your man was thrilled to see it. We’ll talk more when we get home—as long as the cameras aren’t anywhere around.”

Unfortunately, the cameras were around, filming the guys discussing what their plans for the night would be. With six guys, there were several different plans, and they all agreed that since it was a night off, there was no need for all of them to do something together.

David and Eric looked at each other and smiled. They decided to go to Washington Square Park and enjoy dinner in one of the cool SoHo restaurants. The camera crew then went to the girls’ apartment to film their plans.

“Quick, Eric! Let’s get out of here before the camera dudes decide to follow us!”

They made a hasty retreat and soon found themselves sitting on a bench in the park. “Charlie, how are you doing now?”

“Are you kidding? I got to see David. He played a song for me. He picked my design as one of his top three. I’ve not felt this good about my life in so long.”

“About your design. When I met with David this afternoon, he told me that he bought your design instead of waiting for the auction. He said he was going to start wearing it for his performances.”

“Are you kidding me? He wears a white tie and tails for his performances. That’s not—”

“Nope. He said he was changing his appearance from now on. And your coat is a part of that.”

“Wow. I can’t believe it!”

“That’s not all, Charlie.” Eric reached into his pocket and handed Charlie the envelope from David.

“Oh. My. God.”

“Why don’t I step over a bench or two and give you some privacy?”

“No. Please stay with me. I don’t know how this is going to go.”

Charlie opened the letter and began to read. He looked over to Eric and said, “You can read it, too. You and I are already way beyond secrets by now.”

Charlie Danner—my dear, sweet, Charlie Danner,

If you are reading this, then that already makes me happier than I can explain. When I found out you were going to be on the show, I can’t even begin to describe the excitement I felt. All I could think was that finally—FINALLY—I was going to have the chance to get my Charlie back into my life!

The biggest regret in my life is that we agreed to split up before I went to Russia. I tried to contact you several times and never heard back from you. I now know that even if you had tried to reach me, the Russians blocked all of my emails except those from my mother. And chunks of those were blacked out!

I know you felt it—I know you felt that same jolt of energy when our hands touched the other night. It was just like the first time our hands touched in your little Honda Civic the night of the cast party. I saw it in your eyes. I hope you saw it in mine—my feelings for you have never changed. I love you as I always have.

I had to call your mother to find out if you were still married. I’m so sorry for any pain you went through as that stage of your life came to an end. I know how you love—it’s pretty intense—and to lose that can’t be easy.

We only have to wait a few more weeks until we can be together again. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms. I can’t wait to feel you hold me. Like I said the other night—even the Gods can’t keep us apart, Charlie Danner!

I still have the same phone number that I had when I left for Russia. You can call me any time—night or day. I can’t wait to hear your beautiful voice again!

I love you, Charlie Danner! Please, at least think about giving us another chance!

Your David

“Eric, he loves me. It’s right there!”

“You had any doubt? After he played that Nocturne for you in front of all those people?”

Charlie just smiled as he folded the letter and slipped it into his pocket. “I’m so tempted to make myself lose so I can be with him sooner!”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Charlie Danner! I would have to kill you!”

“Don’t worry. It was a joke. I would never do that. It would haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Charlie and Eric stood and headed over to Christopher Street so they could find a place for dinner.

* * * * *

David left the Hyatt the next morning and soon found himself walking into his home on the beach. He had only been gone a week, but the dull, stale air hung heavily inside. He immediately opened windows and doors and soon had a pleasant ocean breeze blowing through the house.

He unpacked his bags and sorted his dirty laundry. He carried his dirty clothes to the laundry room and started the first load. David chuckled as he thought of the irony of doing his own laundry. After his Russian experience, he found that some of the most domestic activities brought him joy. Doing laundry helped center him.

While waiting for his laundry, David sat in the great room and turned on CNN. About an hour later, his phone rang. It was Ben.

“Hi, Ben. What’s going on?”

“I think maybe I should ask you the same thing.”

“What? No hello?”

“Hello, David. What the Hell is going on?”

“That’s more like it—and I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

“Blue? Purple? Do you have to buck traditional white tie at the fucking New York Phil? What was that about?”

“You know I’ve always hated conforming to the traditional tails thing when I play. I just had enough and asked Tania to hook me up with something I was comfortable in. Why? Did you hear any complaints? I didn’t. Fucking van Zweden even told me he preferred the purple.”

“The New York press was all abuzz over it. Why didn’t you say something to me? I’m your fucking manager. But you seem to want to manage yourself. And no—that’s not even a suggestion. You need me more than you want to admit!”

“Of course I need you! You’re the best manager I could ever hope for. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you ahead of time. Not that it would have made a difference. You could have bitched and moaned till the cows came home, and I would have still worn it. The New York press, huh?”

“Yeah, they were all over the ‘bad boy of classical music’ thing again. But here—the Daily News said that it was apparent you were comfortable since you played with—what did he say—Yeah, here it is—‘Chase played the difficult Rachmaninov Third Concerto with such ease that the piano sang with an eloquent emotion, unlike anything I’ve ever heard.’ Blah, blah, blah—”

“Well, that was nice—a little wordy, but nice.”

“So the main reason I’m calling is to tell you that the studio sent me some samples of your third concert. Jesus, David—Even I have never heard you play like that! This album is going to kill the charts!”

“You think so?”

“I know so! If you agree, I’m going to ask the studio to bust ass so we can release the album earlier. I want to get this out there before Christmas.”

“That would be cool. So we need to get the photoshoot done for the cover pretty soon. Can you get me Annie Lebowitz? I’d love to do the shoot here at the house.”

“I’ll start on it right away. Did you end up with a good look from the Project Runway thing?”

“Yeah! It’s fun and playful. When I saw it for the first time, it brought me so much joy!”

“Excellent. Lebowitz is going to cost a fortune, you know.”

“I have a fortune. Is there a problem?”

“No—just want to remind you in advance.”

“Consider me reminded. Just get her for me, please!”

“You got it. Oh—just so you know—I’m thinking I’m going to like this new version of David Chase. It looks good on you.”

“Goodbye, Ben! Keep me posted—and have them send me the recordings, okay?”

“Goodbye, David.”

Less than fifteen seconds after David ended his call with Ben, and his phone rang again. He didn’t even bother looking at the screen. “Hi, Ben! What did you forget?”

“Uhm—not Ben! Hi David, it’s Tran.”

“Tran! Oh! Sorry about that. I had just been talking with my manager Ben. How are you?”

“I’m good—great! I’m in New York for the week attending a workshop-slash-conference thing, and I remember you lived in the area. I’d love to see you!”

“That would be wonderful. Where are you staying?”

“I’m at the Giraffe—one of those cool boutique hotels.”

“Yes, I know the Giraffe. When are you available.”

“I’m tied up with stuff until 4:00 each day. Evenings are free for me.”

“Awesome. Hey—how about this evening? I’d love to see you, and I actually have no plans.”

“Yes! That’s perfect! How about 6:00? I’ll meet you in the lobby. We can have dinner at the restaurant here at the hotel. It’s excellent.”

“Perfect! I’ll see you at 6:00 then!”

After the call ended, David stood on his deck, looking out over the ocean. He sighed when he realized that as much as he enjoyed his times with Tran, he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—allow anything to happen. He had invested far too much in the possibilities with Charlie Danner.

Watching the waves roll into the island, David let his imagination take over with the vision of Charlie and his son playing in the waves. That eventually transformed into Charlie and himself playing in the waves. That image soon melded into making love on the sand. David sighed and said a silent prayer to any Entity that would hear him—a prayer that would bring Charlie into his arms, and more importantly, into his life once again.

Driving back into the city, David seriously considered the possibility of getting a place in Manhatten. He hated driving back and forth. David especially hated asking friends and colleagues to make the drive out to Westhampton. Things were going exceptionally well for him on the financial side of things, and Ben has often suggested that he invest some of his cash assets into something that would help him out with his taxes.

He thought of his neighbor, Anderson Cooper. AC lived in the city during the week and spent his weekends on the island. David could most definitely handle that kind of life.

After more than an hour of driving, David pulled into the Hotel Giraffe's parking garage and found a reasonably close space to the lobby entrance. He made his way into the lobby and broke out in a huge, toothy smile as Tran walked over to him. The men hugged, and David kissed Tran on the cheek.

“The cheek? Something’s going on with David Chase, I would guess.”

“Do you have reservations? Or can we get a drink at the bar?”

“There’s a bar inside the restaurant. We can get something while we wait for our table. They’re a little busy tonight with the conference and all.”

When they walked into the dining room, the host recognized David right away and told him how much he enjoyed his concert at Lincoln Center. He laughed and mentioned that he was sitting at the top of the nosebleed section, but it didn’t take away from the beauty of David’s playing.

“Thank you—umm, Devin. That’s so kind of you to say. And thank you for coming!”

“You should do more concerts in New York. We kind of claim you as our own here, you know.”

“I’m seriously considering that. Making several changes in my future, you could say.”

“And I can get you to a table right away so you won’t have to wait at the bar.”

“Thank you, Devin. That’s perfect.”

Devin took David and Tran to a table tucked away in the corner, one that would offer them a bit more privacy than the majority of the other tables in the restaurant. Once they were seated, Devin took their drink order and told them their server would be right with them.

David and Tran ordered mimosas as they didn’t want to fill up on a heavier drink before dinner. David had eaten at the restaurant before and knew their entrees were both delicious and substantial.

Devin returned to the table with the drinks and said, “Once again, Mr. Chase—it’s an honor to have you as a guest in our restaurant. I sincerely hope you have a wonderful evening.”

“The pleasure is mine, Devin. And thank you.”

David walked away, and Tran looked at David, smiling and gently shaking his head. “How do you do that? You just made that kid feel like a million bucks, and he’s just a fan. You barely batted an eyelash.”

“Not just a fan. That guy put out a pretty good chunk of money to hear me play. He probably had one of the worst seats in all of Geffen Hall, and he still had a wonderful time. As far as I’m concerned—Devin deserves to be treated with the same level of respect a VIP patron gets—probably more since it was probably more difficult for him to come up with his ticket price than some of the well-off people who believe they can buy my respect.”

“Wow! That’s amazing, David. So, I have a question—what happened to the bitter, brooding David Chase I’ve known for the last three years?”

“I found him.” David grinned from ear-to-ear.

“You found who?”

“Charlie. I found my Charlie.”

“Why do I know that name?”

“I told you about him. Charlie is the boy I left behind when I went to Russia to study.”

“That’s right! And he’s the reason you’ve never been able to allow yourself to get deeply involved with another man, isn’t he?”

“Yes. I used to hate Charlie for that. But dammit, Tran—deep down inside—I truly believe it was my heart telling me to wait. Looking back, I think I always knew I would find him again.”

“Where did you find him?”

“Talk about the fate of the Universe—I was a challenge on the new season of Project Runway, and Charlie is one of the designers. It’s an All-Star season with designers that almost made it into the finals.”

“Holy shit! A huge part of me is thrilled for you! A small part of me is thinking back to that kiss on the cheek and how disappointed I am. But really, this is amazing. You should sell the rights to Hollywood. It would make a great movie!”

“Well, the story is far from complete. I don’t know how things are going to go when Charlie finishes the show. We have a lot of bullshit to resolve. Plus, I live in New York now. He’s still on the cape, living with his teenage son—special needs teenage son. We live in completely different worlds. Who knows how—or if—things will work out to the point we both have what we want and need.”

The server came to the table, introduced himself, and asked if they were ready to order. Tran apologized that they had been catching up and had not even looked at the menu. David promised they would find something right away if they could just have a couple of minutes.

Tran decided on the Pappardelle with the braised leg of lamb, while David chose the Creste di Gallo—Brooklyn Italian sausage with a pesto sauce. They decided to share a kale salad to start things off.

Once their order was placed, Tran held his glass up to David. “A toast! To the kind of love that we all dream of having—and only a chosen few get to have.”

They took a sip of their mimosas, and David replied, “Nothing’s set in stone yet. There are a lot of things that have to be dealt with—mainly eight years apart with no contact.”

“Wow. No contact at all?”

“None. I just discovered that several people had tried to email me right after I arrived in St. Petersberg, but the conservatory Gestapo had intercepted my emails and blocked them all—except for my mother’s—she was able to get through.”

“And they did this because—”

“I’m almost positive it was my being gay. I know that one of my best friends—who is also gay—sent me a rather explicit email right off the bat, so they knew about me. And that isn’t such a good thing to have known about you in modern Russia if you know what I mean.”

“Speaking of sexuality—are you out yet? –or at all?”

“Well, all of Barnstable knew I was gay before I left. A few people here know—my manager, the people at Project Runway, some friends out on the island—

“Is this Charlie guy out?”

“Completely out. I think he always has been, too.”

“And if you two end up together again?”

“There is absolutely no way I can hide my feelings for Charlie Danner. I had to do that while filming a reception line for the show, and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I so wanted to grab him and kiss and pronounce my never-ending love for him in front of everyone in the room!”

“Well, that would have been great for ratings, right?”

“Right!? And Charlie would have murdered me on the spot!”

“Did he win the challenge?”

“Can’t say. I signed a non-disclosure. I shouldn’t have told you Charlie was even on the show, but I’m sure you won’t say anything to anyone, right?”

“Right!”

David and Tran spent another two hours enjoying their dinner as well as each other’s company. When they finally settled their bill and left the dining room, Devin fanboyed a little bit more, bring a smile to David’s face.

In the lobby, Tran asked David if he wanted to come up to his suite. David looked at Tran and smiled, “Tran, I would love to spend some intimate time with you—but it could be nothing more than a massage. I’m afraid the temptation would be far too great. And with things the way they are now—it’s probably best that I head on home now.”

David hugged Tran and thanked him for having dinner with him. David knew deep-down that he wouldn’t see Tran again. It saddened him that Tran had hoped for so much more than David was willing or able to give.

On the drive home, David hit the Bluetooth and told Siri to call Ben.

“David! Twice in one day? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing Ben. Everything’s just fine—better than fine! Hey, the reason I’m calling is that I’ve been thinking and—”

“Uh oh—it always used to scare me when you started thinking. Now—I don’t know so much!”

“Now, don’t go getting a big head—but I’ve decided to take you up on one of your suggestions.”

“Head’s swelling—I can feel it!”

“Not that head, you dufus!”

“Whatever—so tell me what nugget of sage advice you have decided to follow.”

“I want a place in the city. I want to make it my primary residence and use the Westhampton house for weekends and getaways.”

“Hello? I’ll pay any ransom you ask. You have apparently kidnapped my friend and client and have made a piss-poor attempt at imitating him.”

“Shut up! Seriously though—I was in the city this morning and was driven out to the island. I was home for two hours, spoke to you, and then a friend from the west coast called and wanted to meet for dinner. I drove back in to the city and am now on my way home again. This has become the perfect time to think about a nice place in the city.”

“So sure—I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

“Of course you do—you thought of it!”

“Oh, that’s right! I do look out for you on occasion. So tell me—what are you looking for?”

“I’m thinking three or four bedrooms, a space for a fairly large studio, living room, family room, fully decked-out kitchen. Yeah, definitely four bedrooms.”

“That’s going to run you several million, ya know—depending on what part of the city you choose.”

“What? I can’t afford that?”

“Of course you can—that and a lot more. But why so much room?”

“That’s something I’m not willing to discuss at the moment. But when there is something to discuss, you’ll be the third person to know.”

“Asshole.”

“Twit.”

“Okay. Okay. I’ll have Sarah start on a real estate hunt Monday morning. Anything else? Sally just motioned for me to go to the bedroom. I can’t turn that down.”

“I don’t want to think about that, Ben. You’ve now given me a visual I can’t unsee until I get home and sit down in front of some internet porn. Thanks for that!”

David got back home a little after 10:00 and immediately went to his room, stripped, and fell into his king-sized bed. He reached over to his nightstand and retrieved his Charlie-sized dildo. After thirty minutes or so of fantasizing about his boy making love to him, David found himself drifting into a post-orgasmic sleep, dreaming of the man who would soon be in that very bed with him.