Page 51 of A Straight Line

“I know so,” Bang Bang said. “But if you go through life with your thumb up your ass, afraid to get your heart broken, ignoring that voice that tells you to take the leap, the thirty years you might’ve had turns into twenty. Then ten. Then nine, eight…then nothing. You’ll just end up a dusty old queen wishing you hadn’t been so bitter.”

“I got it, I got it,” I laughed.

“Good.” She slapped my knee and turned back to the mirror as I rose from the chair. “Now that I’ve sorted you out, get out there and have that dance and drink. I’ll be out shortly to talk to your uncles. Save a dance for me, would you?”

“Uh, yeah. I don’t dance.”

“What?” Bang Bang looked scandalized. “You don’t dance?”

“I’m a bad dancer.” I shrugged.

“Russ,” She said, “the best thing about dancing is that you don’t have to be any good at it to enjoy it. You do it simply because it’s fun.”

“I suppose…”

“Especially if you have somebody cute to do it with.”

“Are you talking about yourself or some guy in the bar?” I teased.

“Obviously, I’m talking about myself,” Bang Bang said, “but if I get out there and find you grabbed some other cute guy, I won’t hold it against you.”

With a laugh, I headed to the door as Bang Bang began picking at her wig in the mirror. Obviously, she needed to look perfect before she went out to the bar once again. When I reached the door, I craned my neck to look at Bang Bang once again.

“Hey,” I said, “thanks again.”

“What for, Russ?”

“This.” I gestured vaguely. “For Harry and Vic. For the community. For listening.”

“Oh,” She sighed, “no need to thank me. That’s just what we do.”

“Drag queens?”

“No,” She said, “the community. When we need each other, we show up. When one of us shines, we all shine.”

I smiled. “I’ll try to remember that.”

“Good.” She winked.

“Hey,” I said, “if you…or Morty…ever need me to show up, I’ll be there. Bang Bang is awesome, but I’ve heard some pretty great things about Morty, too.”

Bang Bang smiled. “That’s just about the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me, Russ.”

I almost turned to the door again but stopped myself.

“Hey.”

“Yes?” She asked, looking unbothered, but I knew I had to be on her last nerve.

“Your wallet and…a casserole dish?”

“Girl, did you know it was Le Creuset!?” She screamed as she spun on the stool to face me. “And that was back when I didn’t have the money to just go out and buy a new casserole dish! You can’t trust any ole trick! I’m still pissed, and I have money now!”

I laughed loudly. Le Creuset. She didn’t even care about the wallet.

Bang Bang gave me another wink, then turned back to the mirror. So, I stepped out of the back room and shut the door gently behind myself. The sound of thumping dance music and the crowd of people in the bar reached my ears, turning my body into a live wire once more. However, after talking to Bang Bang, I felt lighter. The noise wasn’t quite as overwhelming as it could have been. I walked down the hallway and made my way back out into the bar, hoping Bang Bang would show up soon to talk to Harry and Vic. It would be an even more perfect ending to the night for them.

Out in the main room of the bar, the crowd had thinned around my uncles, and they were sitting at their table, their hands held on the top it, two beers in front of them, as they watched everyone dancing to a Britney Spears song with glee. I stood there for a moment on the periphery of the party, a smile coming to my face at seeing the absolute, unfiltered joy on their faces. Almost fifty years of partnership, forty years of owning A Straight Line, and they looked as happy and as in love as I’d ever seen them.