Body of Work

Chapter 1-1

Chapter 1

“You can’t possibly be serious?”

Lee said nothing, just sucked in his cheeks in that disapproving way he had, and continued to stir his tea.

“He’s twenty-six.” I tried again. “I’m just saying that people will talk.” And now I sounded like my brother had when Lee and I first started hanging out.

“People always talk.” Lee sounded blasé enough that I knew it was exactly what he hoped for. “Why would I care if they talk?”

“Talk about what?” Grant asked.

I looked up as he slipped back into the booth, opposite me and next to Lee. “Christopher and I were discussing me asking you to be my plus-one for the premiere.”

Actually, I was telling him that people would get the wrong idea. He might like the attention of having someone younger on his arm but, plastic surgery or no, Lee was in his seventies. The attention wouldn’t necessarily be good.

“Really?” Grant’s face lit up. “Want me to go as your s*x slave? I could wear a pair of black vinyl short-shorts and a collar like the girls wore when you played Dr. Mortimer.”

I tried not to imagine Grant in vinyl short-shorts, but it was hard not to.

Lee smiled and patted Grant’s hand, a far more grandfatherly gesture than his thoughts, no doubt. The pervert. “I thought you might want to go as a vampire.”

Grant actually bounced in his seat. “f**k, yes. If you think that’s safe.”

Safe? I didn’t even bother asking.

I was on my third cup of tea when a young man stood at the end of our booth and cleared his throat.

“Yes?” Lee asked, smiling. He seemed to know what was coming.

“Mr. Hellstrom, could I possibly have your autograph?” When Lee agreed, the young man, barely more than a kid, passed him a small leather-bound book and pen. Lee opened the book, fanning through its blank pages before going back to the first sheet.

“The first of your collection, I see.”

The guy didn’t even spare me a glance as he said, “Mr. Hellstrom’s is the only one I’m interested in.”

I had to give him credit; the kid knew how to suck up.

Lee had been a stage actor in his prime. Dark-haired and handsome, he had made quite a name for himself, but nothing compared to the following he still had from a dozen or so cheesy Technicolor horror films he’d starred in during the late sixties and seventies. Now, with Lee’s cameo in a studio remake of one of his most beloved vampire movies, he was back in the spotlight.

Duty done, and his spirits flying high, Lee discussed plans with Grant. Once he’d finished his tea, he stood, looking pleased, and promised he’d call us both. He pressed a kiss to Grant’s cheek and whispered a thank-you, and I gave up. It wasn’t any of my concern, anyway. I had my own s**t to deal with.

Grant was all smiles, scarfing down the rest of his burger before waving a waitress over and ordering a slice of french silk pie, extra whipped cream. I again declined anything other than a refill of my tea. I hadn’t had much of an appetite recently.

“You’re not hungry?” Grant asked, miming eating his own brains with a two-handed scooping gesture, and I rolled my eyes. “Where is Dr. Frankenfurter anyway?”

Wasn’t that always the question? He was never on time, never home when he said, almost always a no-show for our weekly dinners with Lee. Then again, maybe it would have been more difficult starting a new life with a man like Victor Polidori if I wasn’t reminded of the existence of his shortcomings on a daily basis. Maybe his imperfections made my own issues seem like less of a deal breaker.

When I didn’t answer, Grant nodded as if that were answer enough, scooping up a fork of whipped cream and licking it clean.

I heard the bells rattle on the diner’s door and jerked my eyes away from Grant’s mouth.

It still wasn’t Vic.

***