Chapter 10: A Mission Fulfilled
"What do you think this is all about?" One of the voices in the audience asked as the wind blew through the grass around them, and more and more people gathered in front of the small theater.
"I have no idea." Another voice shrugged. "I just got a note telling me to come here."
"Yeah, me too." A third voice said.
"Damnit, Abby…" Charlie muttered to himself as he stood on top of the hill. "You have no idea what kind of a mess you're getting me into here…"
"Mr. Andrews?" A teenage girl with glasses and freckles dotting her face approached him with a kind smile. "We have a special seat near the front waiting just for you."
"I'm fine here, thank you." Charlie replied in a gruff voice.
"Oh… well…" The girl rubbed the back of her neck. "Enjoy the show, then…" She quickly slinked away from him into the crowd, while he crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the curtain that covered the stage.
All eyes turned to the stage as a boy slipped out from between the curtains with a flourish, the dull red cape around his neck fluttering behind the blue jeans and t-shirt he was otherwise wearing. "Welcome one and all to a very special night we've all worked very hard to prepare. What you're about to see may surprise you… it may shock and enrage, it may even frighten. But please, allow us to finish, so that you can see in this what we all see, so what you can feel from it what we all feel, so that you can truly know what this is all about. Thank you… and enjoy the show." The boy bowed swiftly and moved back behind the curtain as the strings of a single acoustic guitar began to ring out over the field.
The curtains were drawn off to the sides to reveal the stage lit by oil lamps hung up on all four corners of it, and Abby standing near the side of the stage rummaging through some papers. She was wearing a dress that looked similar to the one she was supposed to be wearing, but without the old-world feel to it. It was more of a plain modern dress in black and white.
One of the other girls entered the stage through the rear curtain, obviously lacking the proper set pieces. "Did you get something worthwhile, dear Rose?" She asked with a kindly smile, feigning an old-person voice even though she was only wearing a white wig.
"Oh… I believe perhaps I have." Abby dropped several of the papers to the ground, holding one tightly in her hands. "Oh my… it seems to have come from an admirer."
"An admirer?" The other girl laughed lightly and moved to pat Abby on the shoulder. "I told you the boys would be honing in on you any time, Rose. Just remember… don't let them dock until you're seasoned."
"Mother!" Abby forced a blush while several audience members began to laugh. "Nobody's docking anywhere. Especially before I know who it is…" Abby looked down at the paper again wistfully, running her fingers over the lettering on it.
***
Abby stood on the edge of the stage, looking out at the crowd with a blank look on her face, the sun halfway down in the distance, casting a fiery orange glow over the stage. The lanterns' light was beginning to take over, casting a strangely eerie color over the stage. Abby stared down at the audience, as if seeking answers. "I don't understand… I've investigated every boy in the school… nobody sent me this letter. Who could it have possibly been?"
"Don't you know?" Abby whirled when Paige spoke from behind her, wearing sporty clothes, though not the ones that were her real costume. "Have you not guessed? You are so intelligent, dear Rose, surely you've realized by now."
"Amy." Paige breathed a sigh of relief. "For a moment I was afraid you were someone who I could not trust."
"You trust me so much?" Paige asked.
"Of course I do. It seems lately you've been the only one I can trust." Abby turned away from her again with a sigh. "I just cannot piece it together, I feel like I should know the truth but I cannot see it… and it frustrates me to no end. Why does my admirer insist on hiding?"
"Perhaps they have a reason." Paige moved toward her, slowly across the stage. "Perhaps they are frightened."
"For what reason would someone be frightened of me? I am as gentle and helpless as a kitten." Abby turned to look at her curiously, watching her approach. "Amy… do you know who it is?"
Slowly Paige nodded, moving closer to her. "I do…"
"Will you tell me? Please, I cannot take not knowing anymore." Abby asked.
"I can…" Paige seemed to hesitate, stepping closer to her, until they were only a foot apart. "If you promise that we will always be friends, no matter what."
Abby blinked in surprise, staring into her eyes. "I don't believe anything in the world could come between us."
"You don't know… how much I needed to hear that…" Paige lifted her hands gently to Abby's shoulders and leaned forward slowly, soon pressing her lips against Abby's. There were several gasps from the audience, but nobody stood and yelled. The audience remained silent, transfixed, as the play went on.
***
Abby sat on the front porch of a cardboard set, her dress shimmering in the spotlights that illuminated the grand theater in the center of town. She wrung her hands in her lap before the sound of footsteps drew her eyes to the cardboard door behind her. She saw the girl from before wearing a white wig glaring down at her and angrily clutching a cane in one hand.
"Is it true, Rose?" The girl demanded. "Can it really be true? Have you become what they say you have become?"
"Please don't speak of it that way." Abby said softly. "I have fallen in love, that is all…"
"With that girl." Her play mother growled and gripped the cane even tighter. "I would hope you'd have more sense than this. In this world there is only so far you can push society before it pushes right back, and society always wins!"
"I don't believe that, mother…" Abby spoke in a whisper so low the audience could barely hear it. "I don't believe love is ever hopeless…"
"Believe what you want!" Her play mother howled and turned back to the door. "Your belief won't change a darned thing. Lead you straight into a broken heart and a broken future, it will. Mark my words, no Gay is going to get anywhere important in this world, you should think about that before you declare who you 'love'." She walked back into the set.
Abby stood up from the steps and moved to walk across the stage as the house was pulled off to the left. "She can't be right… can she?"
"Not a chance." Abby turned in surprise to see Paige step out from behind a cardboard bush with a wry smirk on her lips and a bounce in her step. "Old bat probably doesn't even know what's really going on. The world is changing, Rose, we can make this work."
"Is it changing fast enough, is the question…" Abby trailed off.
"Screw it!" Paige exclaimed with a wave of her hand. "Screw it anyway! We don't need society to give us permission! We don't need your mother or our peers to understand anything. All we need is each other, and we'll have a future worth looking forward to."
Abby smiled a demure smile. "Do you really think so?"
"Of course!" Paige moved up to her and slipped an arm around her shoulders. "The future is ours, Rose! The future is what WE decide! Because it's OUR future, and we don't need anyone to tell us what our future is allowed to be!" She brought up her other arm and slipped both arms around Abby's neck. "We don't need permission to feel… why would we need it to express those feelings? Why do I need their permission to say I love you?"
***
Abby stood in the center of the stage, then suddenly clutched at her face and fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands with her shoulders trembling. Paige stood behind her, her fists clenched as she glared up at the ceiling, out at the audience, anywhere she could possibly see.
"Rose, please stop that." Paige told her sharply. "Who cares what your mother said? Who cares what anyone says!? We have what we need!"
"Is it really ALL we need, Amy?" Abby sniffled and looked up from her hands slowly. "Can it truly carry us forever…?"
"Yes!" Paige marched over to her and knelt down in front of her, reaching out to grip her hands. "It's all we need, Rose, it's all we'll ever need."
Abby stood up suddenly, pulling her hands away from her. "I don't know anymore… how can love carry a person through their entire life? What about the rest of it? Our careers, our friends, our families…"
"We can make it work, we have the strength!" Paige stood up in front of her, reaching out to grab her hand again almost desperately. "The strength of Romeo and Juliet! The strength to defy all expectations, to become legends! A legendary symbol of love and hope!"
Abby sniffled and looked down at their hands, then up into Paige's eyes again. "If only such strength weren't the stuff of fairy tales… maybe we could." She was breathing heavily, her hands gripping Paige's.
Paige seemed to pause for a moment, longer than seemed necessary. As Abby stared into her eyes she saw Paige waver, her mind whirling and her own eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Wh… what are you saying… Rose…?" Paige asked like she was supposed to, meeting her eyes again.
"I don't have the strength to defy the world… I'm sorry, I just don't." Abby gulped and shook her head. "Whatever dreams I have had must remain dreams. I may have those dreams every night for the remainder of my life… but I cannot trade in the rest of my life to make them real. I'm not as strong as you… nobody is as strong as you." Abby squeezed her hands tightly.
"You promised…" Paige gulped back her tears, tears that seemed far too genuine to just be part of the play. "You promised we could remain friends…"
"I'm sorry. This has been a beautiful dream…" Abby slowly pulled away from her, letting her hands slowly slip out of Paige's. Paige's fingers clutched at hers, desperate and grasping, but moments later Abby had freed herself. She moved away slowly across the stage, leaving Paige standing alone dead center. "You have the strength to defy the world, Amy… you have the strength to recover from me. Someday, when you find someone strong enough to love you, remember that this is the one dream… that I never wanted to end." Slowly Abby turned away from her and headed off-stage.
"No…" Paige collapsed to her knees in the middle of the stage, clutching at the solid wood with shaking fingers. "I am strong enough to defy the world…" She choked back a sob and squeezed her eyes closed, though the tears came regardless. "But I'm not strong enough for this…" She squeaked through her sobs and fell forward onto the stage, her whole body shuddering. "Not for this…" Her sobs echoed alone through the massive theater as slowly, the curtains drew closed between her and the audience.
Abby rushed back out onto the stage behind the safety of the curtain, kneeling in front of Paige and gripping her shoulders to whisper. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah…" Paige sniffed and pushed herself up from the stage, looking up at her with a smile under tear-stained cheeks. "D-did pretty good, huh…?
Abby heaved a sigh and pulled her into a hug. "You have no idea… come on." She stood and quickly pulled her off to the side of the stage as the rest of the cast began to gather.
They heard the audience begin to roar with applause as the final curtain call began and the rest of the cast members began to file out onto the stage as their names were called. Abby and Paige sat on the side, the latter taking deep, calming breaths while Abby watched her with a somewhat worried eye. "You look a little pale… are you sure you're okay?" Abby asked.
Paige flashed a small half-smile and looked up at her. "I'll be alright, guess maybe I just overdid it a little. I'm fine, really." She insisted again as she lifted a handkerchief from the table beside her to wipe at her cheeks. Abby was unconvinced, but they were running out of other actors to call onto the stage. Soon they would be down to the main stars.
"Come on, it's almost time for us to get out there." Abby stood and reached out to take Paige's hand. She felt Paige's fingers squeeze her hand tightly.
"And our biggest stars of the evening, Amy and Rose!" Charlie's voice echoed into the back from the stage. The applause was deafening as the two girls made their way quickly out onto the stage, their hands locked between them in a vice-like grip. They marched up to the center of the stage in the middle of all of their fellow actors and took a deep double-bow. The applause of the packed theater in the middle of town was deafening, drawing a huge grin from Abby that she hadn't been able to give for quite a while. She could even see Ty and her parents applauding.
The entire cast joined hands and bowed deeply once more, as the giant red curtain slowly slid closed between them and the audience. The chatter among the kids onstage was instantaneous, kids excitedly yammering or ranting to one-another about how the play had gone, while Abby just turned to look at Paige, their hands still clasped between them.
"You were wonderful." Each told the other in a soft voice. They could only smile until the small moment was broken by one of their fellow cast members.
"After parrtaayyyy!" One of the girls shouted at the top of her lungs. Paige and Abby could only laugh, they certainly couldn't argue.
***
The flashing lights were strong and the beat of the music kicked into full swing, sending the roomful of teenage youths into a frenzy of movement on the dance floor of the small gymnasium where Charlie had set up their celebratory party. It was on the smaller side, but that didn't stop the music from pounding and the students from doing what they did. Most of them were already in the middle of the dance floor, while others stood on the sidelines lined up across the long tables of punch and small snack items that had been provided.
Abby and Paige were in the middle of the dance floor, letting off the steam that had built up over the weeks of getting this play ready and all that had been happening in their lives. Abby enjoyed the dance, but she spent more time watching Paige cut loose, grinning and throwing her arms and legs around the dance floor like she was being attacked. The sight made Abby chuckle, but also filled her chest with a strangely warm feeling. It was nice to see her so happy after the weeks of stress she'd endured…
"Whew…" Paige finally slowed down after several songs of dancing, wiping the back of her hand over her sweaty brow. "I don't know how much more I can take of this."
Abby laughed with a playful grin. "You're out of energy? Well, I think we've found something ELSE I'm better than you at."
"Oh blow it out your hole, Archer." Paige punched her lightly in the arm with a smirk. "Come on, I think I could use a time out." She turned to head off the dance floor, weaving her way through the throbbing crowd of teens to the tables lining the room, where she poured herself a glass of punch.
Abby leaned against the table with a contented smile on her lips, scanning the happy crowd until she looked into a far corner of the room and spotted Charlie sitting by himself with a steaming mug clutched in both hands. There was a small stack of papers sitting on the small desk in front of him, though he paid it no mind. He just sat and watched the kids dance with a gentle smile on his lips, occasionally bringing the mug up to sip at it.
Abby nudged Paige and gestured to Charlie. When Paige nodded in return with a full glass of punch in her hand, the two of them made their way around the dance floor to meet him.
Charlie smiled warmly at their approach. "Abby, Paige." He nodded. "I may have said this already, but thank you so much for everything you've given. Your performance… and everything else."
"It was our pleasure." Paige grinned and nodded in acceptance. "It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see what the critics think!"
Charlie chuckled slightly and gave her a sadder smile. "Unfortunately, it looks like the critics have spoken. Some of them, at least." He leaned forward and pushed the paper on the table towards them.
Curiously, Abby reached down and opened it to read while Paige peered over her shoulder. Abby's eyes widened in surprise and anger as she read. "Overhyped play 'Amy and Rose' turns out to be nothing more than another piece of homosexual propaganda that fails to ignite a spark?"
"Propaganda!?" Paige fumed. "He didn't get it at all!"
Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "Honestly, that's about what I expected."
"What?" Abby looked at him in surprise. "You knew the play would be panned? But… but…"
"But what was the point!?" Paige demanded. "We didn't change anything, and if the play is gonna get reamed THIS hard, it's not going to sell tickets OR DVD's."
"True, it won't." Charlie shook his head. "It won't sell, and it won't change minds. However, I did what I set out to do." He smiled. "You see, what's important is not that people see your message the way you want them to… but that they see it at all. Which they did, thanks to you girls." He gave them another grateful nod and smile. "As long as the message exists, as long as we don't give up, it'll sink into society… someday."
Abby met his gaze for a moment, then gave him a nod and a smile of her own. "Yeah, I think I understand."
"Me too." Paige smiled as well, a bit more tensely. "It still sucks, but I guess you're making sense."
"Well, that's the real world sometimes. It can suck pretty hard." Charlie chuckled. "Now please, don't worry about any of this. You two more than anyone have earned the right to relax for a night, after all of your hard work over the last couple of weeks."
"Alright." Abby nodded and handed the paper back to him. "Thanks for giving us the opportunity to do this, Charlie." Abby smiled once more, then turned to head out onto the dance floor, but she hesitated when she saw that Paige wasn't following. "Paige?"
"Can I ask you something, Charlie?" Paige asked. Charlie nodded. "You said the play was kind of autobiographical… which one were you?" Abby blinked at her in surprise, then turned to look back at Charlie. "Amy, or Rose?"
Charlie gave her a long, searching stare, then leaned forward in his seat, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Would that we could all be strong enough to stand against society… many of us wouldn't have to make this winding journey alone. Nor would we have so many regrets follow us for the rest of our days."
Paige nodded slightly and her hand slowly reached out to take Abby's, gripping her fingers tightly. "Thanks for everything, Charlie." Paige spoke with a smile, then turned to head out onto the dance floor with Abby as a new song began to play over the speaker system. The soft beat began as the two girls turned towards one another, the notes beating out a steady rhythm while their lips curled upward and their bodies moved together.
There's a place in your heart
And I know that it is love
And this place could be much brighter than tomorrow
And if you really try
You'll find there's no need to cry
In this place you'll feel there's no hurt or sorrow
Abby felt Paige lean against her, their bodies moving together with the melody, their arms locked around one-another in a soft embrace. Their legs moved to the soft beat, though neither of them was particularly graceful. They kicked each other more often than not, but neither of them cried out or complained. After a while, they stopped trying to move their feet and just swayed their bodies back and forth with the music as one.
There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space
Make a better place...
After a little while, Abby realized that people were starting to stop and look at them, seeming to be surprised to find them dancing so close to one-another. They nudged and whispered to one-another until soon it seemed like everyone in the building was watching them sway back and forth to the music. For a moment Abby thought to break it off, but the feeling of Paige's arms tightening around her back stopped her. Paige knew… and she didn't care. Well then… why should Abby? Instead she just closed her eyes, holding Paige close and moving with her still.
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me
***
The orange sun shone down on the town, including on top of a small grassy hill in the park, overlooking the now-empty theater where they had first performed Amy and Rose several weeks ago. Abby and Paige leaned on opposite sides of one of the tall trees that stood strong against the wind, its leaves swaying back and forth in the soft breeze that swept over them. Abby stared down at the theater with one arm resting on her knee, while Paige faced the other way.
"So, the play flopped, and neither of us made any progress towards being stars." Abby sighed.
"Mmmyup." Paige said around the small white lollipop stick that stuck out of the right side of her lips.
"After all our effort getting the play put on, it didn't do anything to change the world and make it a better place." Abby said. "It's just as hostile towards homosexuals and homosexuality in general."
"Sounds right." Paige replied around the lollipop stick. "At least your mom stopped busting your butt, though."
"Yeah…" Abby sighed and shook her head. "So after all of that… everything that happened, with us, with our parents, with the town… you have any regrets?"
"Hmm…" Paige pulled the lollipop out of her mouth with a soft 'pop' and twirled it in her fingers. "Marco's in jail for life this time, I got to play a strong woman in an excellent play, and I have a girlfriend…" She mused. Abby blushed lightly, but didn't argue about her use of the word 'girlfriend'. It was the first time she'd heard Paige talk about her that way. "I think I'm fairly content, all in all. There'll be other chances to break into the spotlight."
"Hehe…" Abby giggled softly and leaned her cheek against her arm, staring down at the theater, colored fiery orange in the setting sun. "Definitely… we'll find other chances. It'll happen someday… everything will be better…"
The End ("Heal the World" performed by Micheal Jackson… Rest In Peace)
