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“To Cody and Joey, may all their future endeavors be prosperous.” Cody’s eyes widened. He looked at Roy and said, “You knew about the producers
     
and you never said anything.” Then he said to Lance, “And this is why you kept insisting
     
I do the show tonight.”
     
Roy smiled. “I didn’t want to freak you out. Lance and I both decided it was
     
better to let you and Joey perform naturally, without knowing how much was involved in
     
that one performance.”
     
Lance said to Cody, “I wanted you to have fun, without being stressed. And it’s
     
not every day that two clients of mine have this kind of an opportunity on the same
     
night.”
     
Cody tilted his head and said, “This is all for real. You’re not joking about it.
     
There really were record producers there tonight and they really liked us.”
     
Lance nodded; his expression hardened. “It’s for real. I’m an agent. It’s my job.
     
I’d never joke about something like this.”
     
Cody raised his eyebrows and gave Joey a look. He smiled and exposed his upper
     
gums. He jumped up from his seat and shouted, “They liked us, Joey. They really liked
     
us!” Then he threw his arms around Roy, kissed him, and said, “I wonder what Radcliff
     
Benson will have to say when he hears about this. I got a record deal on the same day he
     
had me fired from a Broadway show for being better than he was.”
     
“Don’t even mention Radcliff’s name,” Roy said, hugging his lover. “He’s
     
insignificant now. The best thing that ever happened to you was getting fired from that
     
show.”
     
“I’ll say,” Cody shouted, taking a long, hard swallow of vodka. “I’ll pay that old
     
queen back some day. I swear I will.” Anderson, Joey’s porn-star-material boyfriend, lifted his glass and said, “Joey,
     
this is wonderful. We’re going to Hollywood.” Then he put his arms around Joey’s wide
     
shoulders and kissed him on the mouth. When he spoke, his soft, breathy voice trailed off
     
at the end of sentences as if he were in the middle of a sex scene.
     
Joey rubbed his eyes and laughed. “I’m in shock. All these years, working so hard,
     
and it happens this fast. Wait until I tell my sister, Harriet. She should have come out
     
with us.” Unlike Cody, Joey didn’t jump up and shout. He seemed reserved, shying away
     
from attention. “What kind of TV show do they want me to do?” he asked Lance.
     
“I’ll explain the details later,” Lance said. “But trust me. You’re perfect for this.
     
It’s all about the music.”
     
Rush smiled and lifted his glass, “Congratulations, guys. This is wonderful news.
     
I hope I get a chance to work with both of you as clients in the future.”
     
Lance sat down in his seat and put his arm across the back of Rush’s chair, as if
     
he were claiming his territory. He looked into Rush’s eyes and said, “You’ll definitely be
     
working with them. I have a feeling you’re going to be around for a long time.”
     
* * * *
     
When it was time to leave, Joey and Anderson shared a taxi with Cody and Roy.
     
They sat three in the back, and Anderson put his arm around Joey’s shoulders and sat
     
down on his lap. They were slightly drunk, still in shock about the news, and talking
     
about the future with stars in their eyes. Joey had his hand on Anderson’s ass and
     
Anderson was smiling. When Cody asked if Rush wanted them to make room for him,
     
Lance stepped forward and said, “We’ll take another taxi. I’ll make sure Rush gets home
     
safely.” Cody smiled at Rush and said, “I see.” He seemed to know that Lance wanted to
     
be alone with Rush, and he was teasing Rush about it.
     
Rush straightened his back and said, “Maybe I should just go with them.
     
Tomorrow is a working day and I have to get up early.” It was almost one o’clock in the
     
morning and he had to be up by seven.
     
Lance didn’t respond. He