going to guess Dizzy, and you’re a dead man if I’m wrong, ’cause I hate to be wrong when it comes to my horns.”
Dan grinned. “Right again.”
“I don’t know this piece. What is it?”
“It’s a live performance of ‘Lullaby In Rhythm’ from a Paris nightclub. Very early Dizzy. It’s a reissue I picked up recently.”
“Cool! Catch those brush strokes! That drummer’s making love to someone. So’s Dizzy. Hear those triplets? Whenever I hear Dizzy, I feel a whiskery set of lips moving to-and-fro across my belly till I’m ready to explode.”
“So is he hot or cool?”
“He is definitely hot. Listen to that sound — the man’s on fire!”
“Define Gillespie’s tone in three words or less.”
“Hmm....” Donny put a match to a cigarette, cocked his head, and listened. “Sexual … seductive … he’s all wet and slurpy. He gets right inside your skin with that splatter of notes.”
“Too many words. How about ‘slutty’?”
Donny exploded in laughter. “You got it. That’s exactly what old Dizzy is! Slutty! Whoo, boy! I can feel those bristles on my belly! Just don’t tell him he’s making love to a man, though. He might get upset.”
“You never know. He might like you.”
The laughter subsided. Dan switched CDs. A glittery baroque theme gilded the air.
Donny snorted. “Ah, man! That’s Marsalis again.”
“You sure?”
“You can’t fool me just because he’s playing classical.”
Dan shook his head. “Nope.”
“What? Sure it is. That’s Wynton Marsalis. I know this piece.”
“What is it?”
“Something about the Bright Seraphim. It’s by Handel.”
“No, man. You are dead wrong on both counts. It’s not Handel and it’s not Marsalis.”
Donny stared, cigarette smoke leaking from his nostrils. “It can’t be. Let me see that thing.” Donny looked over the CD case, shaking his head. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said softly.
“That’s Gerard Schwartz playing Scarlatti. He’s as white as they come.”
“You see? I told you Marsalis plays like a white boy.”
Dan smirked. “Gotcha!”
Donny raised a warning finger. “You say a word about this and I’ll tell everyone you gave Abe Pittman head in my bathroom because you felt sorry for him when Victor dumped him.”
“Ooh!” Dan said. “That’s mean. Okay, I promise.”
The track came to an end. The night was silent again. Donny turned to look at Ked curled up on his chair.
“You think the kid enjoyed his party?”
“Party of three, with his father and surrogate uncle?”
“Doesn’t he have any friends his age?”
Dan shot him a look. “Do you think he’d want me to introduce them to gay Uncle Donny and his dad’s boyfriend Bill?”
“I see. We’re good enough to fuck, but not good enough to be family, is that it? And what happened to His Royal Highness, anyway? He stand us up again?”
Dan shrugged off the question. “You know — work. Something came up.”
“Uh-huh. Something’s always ‘coming up’ at work. When are you going to get wise to that one?”
Dan cocked a warning eyebrow. “Whatever that means, Bill is fine. For now.”
“Yeah? Then why’s he always running around half-naked, doing E at clubs and acting like he’s still in his twenties? He’s a doctor, isn’t he?”
“He’s still a big kid at heart.”
“I’ll say.”
Dan took a pull from his beer and set the bottle on the table. “Anyway, it’s not as if I have options.”
“And it’s not as though you advertise, either. When was the last time you went out to a bar?”
Dan shrugged. “I don’t get lucky in bars — I just get drunk. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m no beauty.”
“No, Sugar, you are not, but you have a very tight, trim body the older boys love because it makes them feel like powerful daddies, and the younger boys enjoy because it makes them feel desired by a hot, sexy man. So everyone’s happy.” Donny looked askance at Dan. “What about you?”
“Don’t be a spoilsport.”
Donny glanced over at Ked again. “The boy was asking how come you and I don’t date any more.”
Dan took another pull on his beer. “What’d you tell him?”
“I said I only fuck white boys to hear them scream, and I don’t date you because I couldn’t respect you if I did.”
Dan threw a hamburger bun at him. It glanced off Donny’s shoulder and rolled across the table.
“Asshole! You did not say that. And as I recall, you’re the one who screamed on our dates. Good thing I told Ked not to believe a word you say about me.”
“Well, I think I once told him his daddy was pretty sizeable for a white boy. He told me his mother said the same thing.”
Dan laughed quietly. “Bastard.”
“What? It’s true! It’s a monster.”
“You don’t need to tell my kid that.”
“Don’t you want him to grow up to be proud of you?”
“Not for that.”
“Suit yourself.” Donny crossed his arms and turned away. He waited a moment before looking back. “So you and Miss Doctor are getting along these days?”
Dan shrugged. “He’s unreliable and takes forever to return calls, but he’s great in the sack....”
“And you say I reduce everything to sex!”
“… which you do … plus I’m going to meet some of his friends this weekend. Did I mention that the wedding we’re invited to is on a yacht?”
“Ooh! A yacht even!” Donny made a face. “The girl’s
