Lois and Carolyn, thanks for the beta...you’re the greatest!
I would also like to thank everyone who previewed the chapters for me.
Author’s Comments: When I originally wrote this story, this was intended to be the final chapter. But as I read the story there were an unacceptable number of loose ends here. So I decided to add a few more chapters to this story. I hope you don't mind. (smile)
Chapter 19 – The Unannounced Visitor
Friday Afternoon…(Day 61)
Michael was at Red Cape Comics sitting in his office at the back of the store, staring at a painting.
The painting was Superheroes, the recent gift from Justin…Superheroes, which showed Rage and Zephyr preparing to lead the team of comic book superheroes on an adventure to save Gayopolis.
Michael looked at the painting and wondered how Zephyr could lead anything, when his own life was such a mess at the moment, and this was something that Rage couldn’t rush in and make everything okay.
Hunter was working in the store this afternoon. He had immediately noticed the change in Michael since they had last seen each other. Hunter figured that something was wrong, but he correctly guessed that Michael wasn’t ready to reveal all the details just yet.
Michael was still grappling with what he now knew to be true…he had a living, breathing father. It was still all so new.
In his reflection, Michael wondered how do you walk up to someone that you hardly know, reintroduce yourself to that person, and then tell that person that you’re his son.
Michael began to get a sense of how Superman must have felt every time he considered revealing his Clark Kent alter ego or how Bruce Wayne must have felt when he had to tell Vicky Vale that he was Batman. He now felt a new kinship with his comic book superheroes.
‘Okay,’ Michael thought to himself. ‘Once you reveal that you’re his son…where does the conversation go from there? How do you recapture 35 years of lost moments?” he continued to wonder.
While Michael was considering all this, Hunter came into the back to tell him that he had a visitor.
Hunter resumed waiting on customers, while Michael walked over to the counter to find out who was here to see him.
“Hello, Michael,” the visitor said quietly.
Michael was too stunned to speak.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. I’ve heard a lot about your comic book store. I wanted to come and see it for myself,” the visitor continued. “Buzzy and I are old friends,” he added.
Michael still didn’t say anything, but he just continued to stand there, staring at his visitor.
“Excuse me, where are my manners? The last time we met, you saw me while I was in makeup, and you helped me out of my gown. I’m not even sure if you even recognize me…”
“How are you, Ms. Devore?” Michael interrupted, finally finding his voice.
“So you do recognize me,” Daniel teased. “I’m flattered. You’ve only seen me for about five minutes looking like this. I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me.”
“You’ve got to admit, it’s almost like looking in a mirror,” Michael said with a smile. “I’m really not blind, you know.”
Daniel smiled. “I see that your mother must have told you everything?” he said softly.
“She told me,” Michael acknowledged softly, taking a moment to get a good look at his visitor, who just so happened to be his father.
There was a long moment before Michael could speak again. “Why don’t you come with me? We can talk in here,” he suggested, leading Daniel back into his office. Then Michael offered Daniel a seat.
From a distance, Hunter watched the two men go into Michael’s office. Being particular observant, he immediately noticed the resemblance between them. His curiosity was now peaked. Still Hunter continued to handle customers and bide his time.
Meanwhile Michael and Daniel settled into the office. They tried to make themselves comfortable, but both of them were understandably nervous.
“She told me too, ” Danny continued, picking up the conversation. “So I guess I should start by properly introducing myself. I’m Daniel Devore, and it appears that we…you and I…are related.”
“If my mother is to be believed, you’re the one…who really IS my father,” Michael finally responded.
“Yes…”
“There doesn’t seem to be any protocol for this sort of thing…”
“No, there doesn’t. Believe me, I’ve spent a good deal of time looking,” Daniel added with a laugh.
What do I call you?”
“Whatever you like, Danny or Daniel or even Divina, if you like…although I’ll admit being HER is really exhausting!” Daniel teased with a sigh.
“I can imagine! Where did you ever get that name, Divina?” Michael asked with a laugh.
“I use to call your mother that when we were in high school. When they asked me what stage name I wanted to use, it just slipped out. The rest, as they say, is history. Maybe it was my way of keeping your mother close at hand. You’ve got to admit, your mother is not someone that can easily be forgotten.”
Michael laughed, “I’ll have to definitely agree with you there. She is definitely one of a kind,” he added.
“Well, now you know…” Daniel said with a devilish smile.
Michael laughed again, “That’s some story.”
“I know that we drag queens are known to be liars…but every now and then, we slip in the truth. It seems to keep everybody guessing.”
“Like me, four years ago…”
“I’m sorry about what happened back then,” Daniel said sadly. “I wanted to protect your relationship with your mother…I felt I owed her at least that. I also had commitments that I had to honor, so there was no way that I could have stayed in town and tried to work things out with you. So I …”
Michael interrupted, “So you moved on and never looked back,” he challenged with resentment in his voice.
“No, Michael! I did what I had to do, but I never forgot you. I’ve spent the last four years putting things in order so that I could come back here to see you. I saw Jennifer weeks ago to start looking for a place to live here in town. I never expected Debbie to tell you the truth. I came back to try to simply forge a friendship with you. After all, I liked you from the moment I first met you,” Daniel explained.
“I liked you too. Not just because we look alike. We just sort of clicked back then, didn’t we? But…then you were gone,” Michael complained.
“And that’s why I came back. I know that we can’t change the past. However, we’re here now…in the present…and I wanted us to try to again. Maybe this time…now…we can actually get to know each other,” Daniel pointed out. “I was hoping that you might take a chance on me.”
“I’ve missed having a father all these years. You know that a picture on a mantel doesn’t compare to a living, breathing dad. Then again, not every kid finds out that his father is an internationally renowned drag queen…not every kid finds out that he has a father after 35 years either.”
“No. Thank god…they don’t! And how do you feel about finding out those two things,” Daniel asked hesitantly, holding his breath as he waited for the answer.
“It’s nice to have a real father after all this time…everything else is going to take some getting use to.”
“I can understand that. Look, I didn’t mean to intrude. Here are my phone numbers, so we can stay in touch…that is, if you want to. I’ve been waiting a long time to get to know my son. I’ve been waiting for a chance to get to know you.”
“I’ve been waiting too,” Michael practically gushed.
“So are you going to teach me all about superheroes?” Daniel asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“Let me show you something,” Michael said with a laugh, leading Daniel over to the painting. “Take a look,” he said. “Here they all are: Rage and Zephyr and Superman and Captain Astro and all others… ready to save Gayopolis,” he adding, pointing to each superhero as he named them.
“What a magnificent painting! I’ve never seen comic books characters shown as fine art before. This painting must have cost you a fortune! I hope that you have it properly insured. Where on earth did you get this?”
“The painting was a gift from Justin. He’s an artist, and he painted this. He’s also my business partner. We created the comic book, Rage, together. Rage is based on my best friend, Brian. He and Justin became legal partners a few weeks ago,” Michael calmly relayed.
“Your business partner…that would be Sunshine,” Daniel said with a knowing smile.
“So Ma couldn’t resist telling you about him, huh?” Michael said softly. “Why am I not surprised?”
“His name came up in conversation, while we were all having dinner…your mother, and Jennifer might have mentioned him…once or twice.”
“Ah yes, that would explain it. They both claim him as their own. But he’s been this pesky little twink that I’ve never been able to get rid of,” Michael explained with a laugh. “Ma took him in when he was 17. He took over my old room. He took over my friends. He just wormed his way into my life. Now he’s everywhere.”
“Ah, like a little brother, huh? I once had a little brother too. When we were kids, I spent years trying to figure out how to send him back. After years of plotting, I finally gave up and accepted the inevitable. By the time I left to seek my date with destiny, he and I were pretty close, but we haven’t seen each other in years.”
“Maybe now…”
“Maybe…” Daniel said softly, “We’ll have to see,” he added. “Let me get going. I have a show to get ready for. If you get a chance, why don’t you come to the club and see it over the weekend. I’ll leave your name at the door. Feel free to bring a guest, if you’d like.”
“I think I’d like that,” Michael said, “You’ve got to admit that Divina Devore is hard to resist,” he teased.
“Hmmmmm…I thought you might feel that way,” Daniel teased. “As usual, Divina gets all the attention,” he continued with a broad laugh. “But what about me?” he added as an after-thought.
And in that moment, Michael heard himself echoed in his father’s voice. He smiled a smile of recognition, for now he knew where it all came from.
“Well, at least you’ll know where I’ll be,” Danny teased again.
“I’ll talk to you later…” Michael assured him.
“I’m looking forward to that…” Daniel finally said. “Good bye, Michael.”
“Good bye, Daniel,” Michael said, reaching out to give him a hug.
The prying eyes of Hunter missed nothing.
***
Once Daniel was gone, Hunter hurried into the office. “Who was that?” he asked.
“Who?” Michael asked, so lost in his own thoughts that he really didn’t understand the question he was being asked.
“The man who just left…he looks a lot like you,” Hunter commented, ever the perceptive one.
“Does he now? Imagine that?” Michael teased with a knowing smile.
“Is that all that you’re going to say?” Hunter continued to press.
Michael pondered for a moment. He still wasn’t sure that he was ready to talk about this, but Hunter had been so instrumental in everything. It was Hunter, who had helped him to find the initial evidence that started this cascade of truth.
So Michael took a deep breath and decided to share at least part of the story with him.
“I finally talked to my mother,” Michael began. “I now know the truth. Hunter, the man who just left here was Daniel Devore, and he looks a lot like me…because he’s my father…my real father.”
“That’s amazing! So you found out the truth!” Hunter said with some excitement. “Why didn’t you introduce us?”
“There’ll be plenty of time for that,” Michael answered, still not quite ready to share a father that he just found himself. “He’s going to be living here in Pittsburgh, so he’s going to be around for a long time,” he managed to add with another smile.
“You had so many unanswered questions after we found all that stuff on the Internet,” Hunter reminded him. “It looks like you somehow found answers, but how?”
“Ma…she told me the truth…now I finally know everything.”
“So that was your dad? He’s quite handsome. That means that I have another grandfather, doesn’t it?”
“Let’s take this one step at a time. Daniel is just getting used to having a son. I don’t want to scare him off by overwhelming him with you and entire family,” Michael added with a laugh. Then he paused. “Oh, I forgot to tell you…Ma mentioned that Mel and Linds and the kids are coming in sometime tonight. You know that JR will be looking for you this weekend?”
“They’re coming back so soon. It seems like they were just here.”
“Well…”
“I’ll make sure that I see JR, don’t worry. And I’ll be sure to tell Ben that they’re coming into town.”
“Thanks…”
“I have a very handsome grandfather!” Hunter quipped, reflecting again on what was important.
“And after all this time, I have a dad!” Michael said almost in a whisper.