THE DENVER EDITION – CHAPTER 9
One week, two assignments, that's how long it had been and Ruth Camden was a very confused young woman. After what had happened in Chicago, Ruthie had a certain image of Janet Aguilera in her mind; a person who was mean, cold, driving and heartless. But now that she was working with the girl, Ruthie found her to be intelligent, talented and pleasant. Ruthie knew that a bit of it was certainly feeling bad for what had happened in the past; but it was her experience that in those cases the offending party made some grand and melodramatic gesture and then went right back to being nasty; they were just not capable of changing their personalities so entirely. So she was facing the real possibility that she had completely misjudged the young reporter. Of course that didn't change what had happened, but it did put a new spin on the events, causing Ruthie to examine them from Janet's perspective. In the end, Ruthie was so confused that she called Chicago and Glen Oak for advice. Her parents had (predictably) told her to give the girl another chance, no questions asked. At the other end, Teressa had warned her to never turn her back on the reporter, and even offered to come down and punch the girl's lights out. Gary, Toni and Marissa had all been in the 'give her small chances to prove herself' camp, but as a whole they thought it was a mistake. The best talk Ruthie had was with Meredith. The editor gave her some background, not only on the girl but on the story as well; that cast a lot of the events into new light. Ruthie even asked Doug and Nif their opinions. They were both of the opinion that it had been a bad thing that had produced a good result, namely bringing her into their lives, and that she should trust her new partner. Ruthie wasn't a fool, she had seen the events in Chicago as a means to get her to Denver and start getting the paper; she knew that there was probably someone (or something) out there orchestrating the events, but that still didn't answer the question as to whether Janet was a bad person, or a good person who had made a pretty bad mistake. Reluctantly she realized that only time and interaction would answer that question, so for now she was trusting the young reporter, but keeping her eyes open.
The other reporters and staff at the post had already started referring to the two of them as 'the brats'; both in reference to their age and their 'leave us alone, we know what we're doing' attitudes. Ruthie found it funny, and Janet found it annoying; but neither one could stop being true to themselves so the attitudes and nicknames remained.
It was late on a Tuesday afternoon and they were wrapping up assignment number three when Janet asked "now that we're finished, you wanna hit a bar and kick back a bit?" She had been making overtures like this for a few days, but she was always shot down. She didn't know if she and the artist chick would ever be friends, but she was at least willing to try. Unfortunately it seemed like the artist wasn't willing to meet her halfway.
Ruthie glanced at her watch and said "normally yeah, but I've got to get to rehearsal."
Now this was a new one for Janet, 'rehearsal' for what? "What're you rehearsing?"
"I'm in a play 'Much Ado about Nothing' and the performance is this Saturday and Sunday."
"So on top of everything else, you're an actress too?"
"Just an amateur one" Ruthie replied "I got started with it in Chicago."
"So other than you, anyone I know in this thing?"
"I doubt it; we're all amateurs, just doing it because we love it."
"So you're not getting paid for this" Janet asked.
"Nope, just for the experience."
In Janet's head, a huge neon light that said 'story' was going off. What kind of people chose to act in their spare time, and what kind of people made a living from directing amateur actors. Making a decision she jumped up and asked "you mind if I tag along"?
Ruthie looked startled for a second "why would you" then she paused and caught the look on her partner's face "you're thinking story here aren't you Ags?"
Janet looked a little embarrassed "yeah, I am. I was wondering what kind of people did this, you know; acted just for the love of the thing. And did it knowing they'd never make Hollywood or Broadway or anywhere like that. I think it would make an exceptional story, but I'd like to see what's going on and get everyone's permission first."
That last statement both surprised and decided Ruthie "well get your stuff and come on then" she said to the young Latina.
Janet gave a smile that lit up her face, grabbed her bag and followed Ruthie out the door. "So how did you get started in all this" she asked as they headed towards the theater.
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"So you weren't originally supposed to be in the play, you were just doing the scenery and stuff" Janet asked as the two of them were approaching the theater.
"Yeah, but then one of the actresses got transferred and suddenly everyone was looking at me to fill in."
"So how was it?"
"Not bad for the most part, the problem was I had to kiss Reggie."
"Reggie"
"Sophie's fiancé. He was playing a suitor of Sophie's character. So when Sophie was in the play there was no problem with the kissing, but then I had to kiss him. Let me tell you, that was weird."
Janet started laughing, and Ruthie soon joined her; but then the young artist looked up and saw who was standing outside the theater waiting for her. Without another word, but keeping the smile on her face she ran and jumped into Doug's arms kissing him vigorously. Janet just stood there bemused at two people who were obviously in love with each other. As she was snuggling into Doug's arms, Ruthie suddenly remembered that she was not alone. Quickly stepping back and turning, she said "Janet, this is my boyfriend Doug Howser. Doug, this is Janet, the girl I work with at the paper."
Doug's mental eyebrows went up at this revelation, so the person responsible for the 'Chicago situation' was now coming to play practice. Doug knew that Ruthie was still conflicted over the young reporter; and though he was happy with what had eventually come of Janet's actions, he still harbored some anger over the pain she had caused Ruthie. But in the interest of tranquility he decided to make nice, well as nice as possible. He took a step forward and extended his hand "nice to meet you" he said in a pleasant but non-committal tone.
For her part, Janet was surprised to be getting off this easy, she figured that the boyfriend would have had her roasting on a spit by now, or at least given her a good death glare. But he did none of those things, he was polite, without being overtly friendly; and Janet was impressed. "Pleased to meet you as well, doctor Howser" she replied, shaking his hand.
"So what brings you down here" Doug asked the young reporter.
"Well, when Camden told me what she did in her spare time, I thought it might make a good story."
"What about it would make a good story?"
"The people involved, why they act. It isn't for the money or for the fame; they all have other jobs, I assume, so why take time out of your life to do something like this. That's the story I want to tell. Like you, you're a doctor, a job that takes up a lot of your life, so why are you here, doing amateur theater?"
Doug looked a little sheepish for a moment then answered "a patient of mine told me that I needed to get a life, so I took her advice."
As he was speaking, Janet saw the blush rising up his neck and cheeks. She could guess who that patient had been. "Exactly, so if everyone agrees, I'd like to do a story on the company and the director; a profile piece, not a review of the production."
"Well then, let's go ask" Ruthie said, headed towards the theater door.
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That evening they were sitting in Bash Riprock's kicking back and having a good time. Nif had shown up and Janet had stayed with them, there were also a few members of the cast that had come along as well.
Janet was a little surprised at how things were progressing here in Denver. Upon reflection she realized it was the smartest move she had ever made, just above working under Carson. It wasn't just the professional opportunity, before coming to Denver, she had never felt accepted by or close to the people around her, even her family. But here she was tight with her co-workers and it felt like she was beginning to develop a circle of friends. The irony that the person most responsible for this was also the person with the most reason to hate her was not lost on Janet. She still had trouble resolving the fact that Ruth Camden had put their mutual past behind her and was giving Janet a second chance. Janet continued to have difficulty believing that people like that still existed in the world, evidence to the contrary aside. Her story idea had originally been a cover, so she could observe Ruth in a different setting, hoping to prove that the girl was sincere; but it had blossomed into what could potentially be a great story. She had spoken to many members of the cast and was blown away as much by their enthusiasm as by their different occupations. The man playing Don Pedro was a plumber, Hero was a legal secretary, Claudio drove a UPS truck, and Ursula was a housewife named Barb that had begged her name to not be included in the story. Janet had agreed but asked the woman why she didn't want to be mentioned. "It's my husband" she had replied.
"What, he doesn't want you doing this, or something that takes you out of the house" Janet then asked, getting a bit upset.
"No" the woman replied "It's just the opposite. He's so supportive and enthusiastic that he'd be down here disrupting things and being a nuisance. So he thinks I'm taking a class at the community college."
Janet chuckled a bit at that "you know, I think that's the first time I've ever heard a wife say her husband was too attentive and caring."
Barb chuckled a bit herself "he is a great guy, it's just that sometimes I wish he weren't so enthusiastic. Our sons keep asking him to be quiet at their soccer games. The rest of the parents call him 'the cheerleader'."
They had talked about other things for a while, but as Barb walked away, Janet smiled to herself, realizing that this was just one story, and there were quite a few and each one would be unique. She also found it funny that nearly the entire cast referred to Ruth and Doug as 'the lovebirds'; she would have to use that one at work some time. Now as she raised her glass and looked around at the people with her, she didn't see a group of nameless would be actors, but a group of people from different classes and ethnicities that were united by their love of something. She also saw a group of potentially close friends and that scared her a little.
"You know" Janet said "I've never been to a play before; I can't believe how neat it was."
"You mean you never went to a play while you were living in New York" Doug asked.
"When were you in New York" Ruthie asked before Janet could answer.
"When I worked for People magazine" Janet replied.
"You worked for People" Marcia the legal secretary asked.
"Yeah, just before I came out here" Janet said.
"Wait a minute" Ruthie said "did you come up with that 'Pixie Picasso' line they used about me."
The rest of the group broke out laughing as Janet looked a bit chagrined "yeah, I used that term to sell the story, after that I kept trying to edit it out, and the higher-ups kept putting it back in. Sorry Camden."
"I guess it's OK" Ruthie grumped "just don't try any of that cutesie crap on any of our stories or you will be in deep poo, are we clear" this last coming out with mock severity.
"Yes mother" Janet said, rolling her eyes.
"So anyway" Doug said after the laughter at the antics of the pair died away "back to the original subject, why didn't you go to any plays while you were in New York?"
"It's just nothing I've ever done" Janet replied "growing up my folks were migrant workers, so there wasn't a lot of time or money for things like plays, and we weren't in school enough to be involved in productions or anything like that. Sneaking in to movies was about the limit of our cultural education."
"So with that kind of background, how'd you end up working as a journalist" Steve the UPS driver asked.
Janet looked a bit uncomfortable but continued "I was kind of the runt of my family, not the youngest, just the smallest. So as far as they were concerned I wasn't as 'valuable' as my larger and stronger and faster sister and brothers. So I figured that if I couldn't be the strong one or the fast one, I'd be the smart one. After I realized that, I was reading all the time; books, magazines, newspapers, anything I could get my hands on. Even with all the moving we did I managed to keep up with school. When I graduated I received a scholarship to the University of Alabama at Birmingham that was targeted at migrants. I had loved reading so much I decided to study journalism while I was there. Four years later I graduated and the rest is history."
"What about your family" Marcia asked "what did they think of you graduating college?"
Janet took a second to compose herself "towards the end of my freshman year I got a letter from them that said they were going to Texas. They never bothered to leave an address, or a phone number or anything. I haven't seen or spoken to them since."
Silence reigned around the table for a moment or two, the meaning of Janet's words sinking in. She saw the expressions and anticipated the response "guys don't get too worked up about it; I came to terms with it a long time ago." The expression on everyone's faces shifted a bit, and no-one offered commiseration or expressions of sympathy, but the looks she received spoke volumes and warmed her heart. Seeing that everyone was still a bit uncomfortable though, Janet decided to change the topic. "So doc, you ever done anything like this before?"
"Once" Doug answered "almost ten years ago. My best friend decided that he needed some moral support while he was taking this acting class, so I got conscripted. We never actually got to the point where we were doing anything for an audience, but we did bits for the other students to critique."
"Could I talk to him" Janet asked "take a now verses then angle on your story?"
"NO" Doug nearly shouted, clearly agitated "that isn't possible."
Janet was clearly taken aback, but tried to hide it "no problem doc, you don't want me digging, I won't dig."
Doug could hear the hurt in her tone and could see how the others were upset by his attitude so he tried to recover a bit "I know, it's just that he and I . . . . it's still sore."
Everyone could hear the pain in Doug's tone, so they let it be. The topic was soon turned to more pleasant matters and eventually everyone left in a good mood, ready for the first dress rehearsal the next day.
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When they got back to her place, Ruthie invited Doug up, she was wondering what the situation was with him and his friend. She went to the kitchen and fixed Doug and herself some tea. When she took it out to him, he was staring out the window, his mind a million miles away. Ruthie handed him the mug and he took it, but his eyes never acknowledged her and his mind was still far far away.
"Doug" she said, finally.
"Yeah Ruth"
"Do you want to talk about him?"
He sighed, it was a sound she recognized, the sound of a painful event being dredged up from where it had been deeply buried. "Not really, but I probably should" he replied sipping idly at his tea. "His name was Vincent DelPino, but everyone except my dad called him Vinnie. He was my friend for as long as I could remember. He was just about the only one that didn't treat me differently because of my cancer or the whole genius thing. Anyway, I grew up to be a doctor, and Vinnie was an artist. He tried lots of different areas, but murals ended up being what he was best at. Hospitals, schools, highways, he painted his murals wherever someone paid him to. The other thing he did was community work. A friend of ours, Ray, was this former gang banger; so Vinnie decides that he can use art to reach some of these kids and change their lives. It was working too, he was really reaching these kids, the kind that no-one had ever reached out to before."
"So what happened?"
"He was killed" Doug replied with a hitch in his voice "the mural he was working on covered up some gang's graffiti. They decided that they were being dissed and decided to get some pay back. So they shot Vinnie and the two guys helping him. I was supposed to be there, but I was wiped out from a long shift in the ER. I didn't even know he was dead until the next day. I could have been there with him, maybe saved him, or at least let him know he wasn't alone, but I was tired and he died alone on a street. The guys with him lived but Vinnie died." Ruthie could see the tears pouring down his cheeks. "They eventually caught the guys and they're in jail now, but Vinnie's still dead, and I can never tell him how much his friendship meant to me."
He finished off his tea and slammed the mug down onto the table next to him. Ruthie could see his knuckles were white where they gripped the mug, and she could also see the muscles twitching in his face. Wordlessly she came over to him and just held him. She didn't try to offer words of comfort or mouth any trite expressions of sympathy; she just held him and hoped that he felt how much she cared about him. Slowly she could feel his muscles relax their clinch, and he was soon returning her embrace. Without exchanging a word, the two got up, turned out the lights and went to bed where they fell asleep in each other's arms. As he was drifting off Doug hoped his nightmares didn't return.
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The next couple of days were pretty busy for Ruthie. She had a lot of little saves, and then rehearsal way into the night so she was tired most of the time. But in what little free time she had, she was trying to get Doug to open up a bit more about Vinnie. It was slow going, as she tried to strike a balance between being concerned and being pushy. And it seemed to be working, Doug was opening up to her and even amusing her for hours with the tales of what they had done together. All in all she thought he was dealing better than he had been and was actually starting to face his guilt.
Saturday morning finally arrived, and with it, the paper as usual. Ruthie took one look at it on the ground, and let her curiosity get the better of her for once. After all she was a human being. Swiftly turning to the entertainment section she went looking for a review of the play. She found it, but what immediately grabbed her attention was the article below it.
ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE
By Janet Aguilera Pictures by Ruth Camden
It would be difficult to find a more diverse group of people, ages that range from 22 to 58, every race is represented, most major ethnic groups have a member or two in this group, and they are from all walks of life; Doctor, Plumber, Secretary and Housewife. They are led by a person that hasn't had a permanent home in over 30 years and are together for a single reason; their love of the theater. But these are not patrons, no; they are regular people who become actors and actresses in their spare time. They don't do it for the money or the glory; there are no dreams of Oscars or Emmys or Tonys, they do it for the shear love of the work. This is the world of the amateur theater troop. There are groups like this in every major, and many minor cities in America. On the playbill they are always listed as performers or artists, but I believe that these are incorrect labels. I believe that instead of artist, they are art, they and their lives are windows, opening onto, and revealing various facets of the tableau that is human existence. Story and pictures continued on page D9
'Never let it be said that you aren't a major talent Ags' Ruthie thought to herself. She went back and read the review and then finished Janet's article as she sat down at the kitchen table. She was checking through to see what required her attention today when suddenly there were a pair of hands over her eyes.
"Guess who"
"Brad Pitt"
"Close, but not quite"
"Justin Timberlake"
"Wrong again"
"The best looking doctor in Denver"
"I guess third time really is the charm" Doug said as he leaned over and kissed Ruthie warmly. "So how do we do" he asked looking at the entertainment section.
"Pretty well" Ruthie replied "and Janet wrote a great article. You know, this has been fun, but I'm looking forward to just getting back to normal and only having to worry about the paper and the gallery."
"I know what you're saying" Doug replied as he perused the front page.
They ate breakfast and read in comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Ruthie got up to take a shower.
"I forgot to tell you" Doug said with his nose burried in the sports "my folks called the other day, and they're coming up for Thanksgiving."
"Thanksgiving" Ruthie asked; distress evident in her voice.
"Yeah" Doug answered, missing her tone "they say they're really looking forward to meeting you."
'So much for normal' Ruthie thought as she headed off to the shower.