To give them an ending to rival those of Hollywood and a beginning for their new life together.
Epilogue
Final tech run complete: tick. Big reveal: tick. Seeing Kenzie make out with Dylan on stage: double tick.
Bruce had hated interrupting that little moment from the bio box with a slow fade of the lights, but as much as he was happy that his friend had found her true love, he had a mountain of jobs to do before leaving the theatre that night. He wanted to deal with them as quickly as possible so he could enjoy lying in bed with Gabe for a few extra minutes the next morning.
‘You could have given them a bit longer to share their moment, couldn’t you?’ Gabe said as they left the bio box.
‘If anything, I did them a favour. This way they can go back to Kenzie’s place instead of spending their night stuck here.’
‘Unlike us.’
‘Well, it’s not like we haven’t been alone in the theatre together before …’
‘You have a one-track mind.’ Gabe joked but the way he bit his bottom lip showed he wasn’t entirely opposed to a repeat performance. But as much as Bruce would have loved to recreate their own moment on the stage, that desire wasn’t enough to disregard the list of LX tweaks and changes he still had to do. Everyone would be coming from miles around to their little theatre thanks to the Draven they’d just put on. The revelation that Draven was in their midst would only add to the hype.
How long had Dylan kept that a secret? It must have eaten him up for years.
Perhaps Brachen’s bicentennial this week was Draven’s/Dylan’s coming out?
By the time they returned backstage, Kenzie and Dylan had gone. Bruce called out for them and stamped loudly on the stage in case they’d disappeared beneath it to the props room but there was no response. ‘Would you mind …?’ he started to say to Gabe only to find that he wasn’t standing beside him. ‘Gabe?’
He came out from the wings carrying Kenzie’s red dress that had a massive hole through the hem. Gabe’s face was in knots while assessing the damage.
‘Ugh. I saw this happen while I was helping Richard into his suit but hadn’t realised how bad it was until now. Do you think— Would you mind if we stayed a bit longer so I can fix it?’
‘Of course!’ His morning plans were back on track.
‘Jeez, you really are a theatre geek.’ Gabe smiled and stood on his toes to kiss him. ‘Okay, this will probably take me about half an hour. You go mess with the lights and then we’re going home.’ He looked at him beneath those hooded lids and Bruce forgot all about what he was meant to be doing. Gabe turned and walked away with more control than Bruce could muster at that moment.
‘Lights, Bruce!’
Lights. Yes. And then home …
Half an hour later he went to find Gabe in wardrobe, arriving as he emerged carrying the repaired dress, his eyes a little red and puffy.
‘What do you think?’ Gabe said before Bruce could ask what was wrong. Not that he needed to. He was holding the dress he’d helped design with his mother … A lump formed in Bruce’s throat.
Gabe held up the bottom of the dress for him to see. He’d closed the hole but the stitching remained as evidence.
Bruce shrugged. ‘It does the job.’
‘Mmmm,’ he grunted. ‘I really need Angela to give me those sewing lessons.’
‘I’m sure she will when the run is over. She’s invested in your success now. Can’t make fashion if you can’t sew.’
‘Sadly. Looks like Kenzie’s still learning to do fast costume changes. Hopefully she doesn’t do it again tomorrow. Are you ready to go?’
‘Ready when you are.’
‘Great. I am done with this theatre tonight. Let me just hang this up backstage and we can get out of here.’
Bruce switched off the lights as he followed Gabe down the hall towards backstage. A folded-over program jutted out of Gabe’s back pocket. Inside was a dedication to Sofia that Lexi had written. As promised, Sofia was listed as the costume and set designer and Gabe’s name was nowhere to be seen. Just the way Gabe wanted it.
Bruce locked up and placed the ghost light on the centre of the stage and he paused to look out over the empty seats. The theatre still hummed with the emotional energy the actors had raised. He and Gabe had been a part of that and they’d done it together using Gabe’s ideas and Bruce’s skills. They’d proved it could work. They made a great team.
‘Good to go?’ Gabe wound his arm around Bruce’s waist and leaned his head against Bruce’s shoulder.
He couldn’t wait to get Gabe home. The thought was enough to give him energy to last ’til dawn, but the future had a way of intruding. Rivervue might still be converted and Bruce’s house remained empty. For the time being he was staying at Gabe’s but it was filled with the memories of him and his mother, much as Bruce’s house was haunted by his less-than-happy past. No doubt Gabe thought differently of his home but perhaps there was a way they could create something new. For all the trouble that Gabe’s designs—both for the theatre redevelopment and the sets—had caused, he couldn’t deny they were inspired.
‘I was thinking about how we made it work, getting the sets together like that.’
‘Despite the arguing.’ Gabe laughed.
‘Because of the arguing. I don’t want to rush you but I’ve got a house sitting empty, a house I no longer want to live in. I was thinking I want you to design me a new one, design us a new one.’
‘Really?’
‘I’m as sure of it as I’m sure of how much I love you. I don’t want to take you away from
