For a minute I thought, hmm, and then Andy came to Miami and I thought no. No no no. I would never. They’re so in love. Oh my God they’re all over each other. Yes! I can hear them on the other side of the house. I get so hot.
It’s terrible, they can be in the fucking kitchen talking about, you know, fucking salad, and their voices change. Yes they both have a sex voice, you would die. Oh yes. I’m, my God, find me a man. I don’t know anybody here except their friends. Everybody’s married! Except this one guy, I met him at the movie premiere last winter. He was so nice. He doesn’t live close by. I don’t know, he was single then. No! Oh my God you’re so loco.” She laughed hard. “Throw me a bone, oh my God.”
Victor and Andy couldn’t look at each other. They would have cracked up for sure. Andy had a hand clamped over his mouth. Victor was halfway through the bedroom doorway because he didn’t know if he could maintain.
“No I’m not going to call Ernesto, he can fuck himself with a chainsaw, that piece of shit. I don’t know, I’m wearing out my vibrator.” She laughed again. “Oh yes. That’s the only thing. I’m busy learning Shakespeare. We have dinner with their neighbors a lot. They’re all in and out of each other’s houses all the time, it’s just like we were growing up, it’s nice. We’re going to a show next weekend, one of the neighbors is in it. That woman who was in the tango movie. Oh she’s amazing. There’s an after party, all their hot dancer friends will be there. God in heaven, somebody has to be single. Yes,
maybe I can find a man there. Light a candle for me.” Another laugh. “Sí sí chica. I’ll talk to you soon. Besos a ti.”
Andy and Victor crept back into the bedroom, easing the door shut, as Loretta was winding up the call. They went through to the bathroom, closing that door behind them too. Victor turned on the shower. Then they laughed, trying to muffle it with bath towels. “Oh Jesus,” Andy said after a while, splashing water on his face before he turned the shower off again. “Well, that answers the question of how non-obvious we are. Not at all.”
“Do I have a sex voice?”
“Oh, honey, do you ever.” Andy said that in his sex voice, which got a laugh – and a hot look – from Victor. “I guess I’d better locate my phone and send a text to Jim. If he’s not already planning to be at this thing next weekend, clearly he should be.”
“See if he can come to dinner this weekend,” Victor suggested. “We could get Tanith and Sid, Tina and Reza. Have a little movie-making chat fest.”
“And it won’t be so obvious if he’s not the only guest. Brilliant strategy.” Andy kissed him. “We should go downstairs. I do not know how I’m going to look her in the eye.”
“Oh, like you didn’t know she can hear what we do up here.”
“All of it, apparently. She’s been so politely oblivious.” Andy checked himself out, noted the love bite on his neck, gave Victor a look. “I really am so in love with you.”
“I know. I’m so in love with you, too.” Victor kissed him again and opened the door. They went downstairs, and everybody managed to act normal. They talked about the costumes their friend Kenji’s shop was working up for Loretta as Viola as Cesario, and for Andy and Victor as Antonio and Bassanio. They had Maria the makeup artist lined up. This was all scheduled for the following week. “Get on the phone to those people about this weekend,” Victor reminded Andy. “You know they’re all busy.”
“Yeah, okay.” Andy found his phone in the control center off to one side of the kitchen and composed a group text. After he sent it he glanced up at Loretta. “We’re inviting some people over from last year’s movie. Tanith and some others. Apparently they’re all sort of working on this new thing she wrote for Tina.”
“Tina the camera woman? The one who got the Eisner award?” Loretta had done her homework on their colleagues, even though her own part in
‘The Ghost of Carlos Gardel’ was simply to dub Vicky’s lines for the Spanish-language markets.
“That’s right. She’s doing another graphic novel which is actually the inspiration for this show we’re going to see next weekend. So we thought it’d be fun for you to hear about that.”
“Oh yes. Thank you!” She went and got herself a glass of water, leaning against the counter to drink it. She looked like she wanted to ask something.
Victor made a ‘what’s on your mind’ gesture. “I loved doing that dance in the movie. I haven’t ever danced like that before. Do you think I could take some lessons while I’m here?”
“Jesus, yes,” Andy said. “We should have thought of that ourselves.
Dmitri’s studio is less than fifteen minutes away.”
“Tomás works there,” Victor said. “Vince works there, you met him at the premiere. They have a lot of great teachers. Want me to take you over tomorrow, show you where it is? Then you could take Andy’s car whenever you want to go.”
“Hey!” Andy tried to sound outraged. Loretta and Victor both laughed.
“Fine, whatever, take my car. Let’s see about some dinner.”
It was a full house that Saturday; even Tanith’s husband Sid, an LAPD
lieutenant, was free to join them. Vicky and Sharon came over from next door, so every seat at the table was taken. “Mother of God,” Andy said,
“would you look at these women. You’re all going to be out under the piazza lights later so I can take some pictures.”
They had some catching up to do. Tanith talked a little about the most recent class she’d taught. Sid told a story
