know what kind of hurt he might be referring to, but knowing Jonathan, I suspected it wasn’t so much a matter of his not realizing what was going on as not wanting to think ill of anyone until he had specific reason to.
Joshua handed me his empty glass. “I want some more,” he declared.
“We’ll be having dinner soon,” I said. “I don’t want you to fill up on soda and spoil your appetite. Why don’t you go play with some of your toys?”
He shot me a dirty look, hopped off my lap and hustled to his room, returning with his large block of Lincoln Logs, which he proceeded to empty on the floor and begin to build a house.
“Jonathan tells me you’re the peacemaker of the group,” I said, trying to ignore Joshua’s actions. “That can’t be easy.”
He shrugged. “It’s not, always,” he said. “Usually, it’s a lot like third grade, with little cliques and minor rivalries and feuds. Roger hasn’t got the time to do everything and, besides, he’s the director. But every now and then things come close to getting out of control, like it’s been doing since Grant came on board. And that really worries me.”
“Crandall Booth’s nephew.”
Eric grinned. “Riiight. ‘Nephew.’”
I clearly heard the quotes around nephew .
“You don’t think they’re related?” I asked, though I’d already come to that conclusion.
Eric gave me a calculated, raised-eyebrow look. “Puh-leeese! Crandall’s got more money than God, and Grant wants to go to Broadway. Grant comes to rehearsals in a baby-blue Porsche. Crandall’s family came over on the Mayflower, and Grant’s got a mouth like a truck driver. You figure it out.”
That Grant drove a Porsche didn’t surprise me, since I knew a large chunk of Crandall Booth’s money came from his ownership of several luxury car dealerships.
“What does he do for a living?” I asked.
“Other than Crandall, you mean?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Grant claims he has a business degree, but if he ever even finished college, I’d be surprised. Crandall gave him a job in the central accounting department for all his dealerships. To hear Grant tell it, he practically runs the place, but a guy I know works there and say’s Grant’s just a glorified gofer. I understand he’s always running to Crandall bitching about how the department head runs the place. How in hell Crandall puts up with it, I’ll never know.”
“So, what’s Grant’s problem with the chorus?”
Eric sighed. “Look, if he’d come in like everybody else, it would have been fine. But he acts like he owns the place. And he thinks he’s God’s gift to men—he comes on to everyone, especially the guys he knows are in a relationship. Like I said, there’s already enough bickering and jealousy going on. It’s not always pretty and can get downright mean sometimes, but it’s all sort of like family.
“Grant isn’t family, and makes it obvious that he doesn’t want to be. But that doesn’t stop him from playing his games and starting his own little clique. He’s a real manipulator, and if some people are two-faced, Grant’s got at least a dozen. He doesn’t give a damn about the chorus. He’ll say or do whatever he thinks will help him get what he wants.”
“And what does he want?”
“Aside from everybody else’s boyfriend? Well, at the moment, among other things, he wants the solo in ‘I Am What I Am,’ which will be the biggest showstopper at our next concert.”
“ La Cage aux Folles !” I said. “Jonathan said you were doing it and you’re sure right about its being a showstopper. Some friends of ours in New York saw the show and immediately sent us the cast recording. We must have listened to it a hundred times, and ‘I Am What I Am’ grabs me by the throat every time. Talk about gay pride!”
“Well, Grant wants the solo on it, though Roger’s given it to Jim Bowers, who has a fantastic voice. He’s a bass and Grant’s a high baritone. Either one can do it,
Joshua handed me his empty glass. “I want some more,” he declared.
“We’ll be having dinner soon,” I said. “I don’t want you to fill up on soda and spoil your appetite. Why don’t you go play with some of your toys?”
He shot me a dirty look, hopped off my lap and hustled to his room, returning with his large block of Lincoln Logs, which he proceeded to empty on the floor and begin to build a house.
“Jonathan tells me you’re the peacemaker of the group,” I said, trying to ignore Joshua’s actions. “That can’t be easy.”
He shrugged. “It’s not, always,” he said. “Usually, it’s a lot like third grade, with little cliques and minor rivalries and feuds. Roger hasn’t got the time to do everything and, besides, he’s the director. But every now and then things come close to getting out of control, like it’s been doing since Grant came on board. And that really worries me.”
“Crandall Booth’s nephew.”
Eric grinned. “Riiight. ‘Nephew.’”
I clearly heard the quotes around nephew .
“You don’t think they’re related?” I asked, though I’d already come to that conclusion.
Eric gave me a calculated, raised-eyebrow look. “Puh-leeese! Crandall’s got more money than God, and Grant wants to go to Broadway. Grant comes to rehearsals in a baby-blue Porsche. Crandall’s family came over on the Mayflower, and Grant’s got a mouth like a truck driver. You figure it out.”
That Grant drove a Porsche didn’t surprise me, since I knew a large chunk of Crandall Booth’s money came from his ownership of several luxury car dealerships.
“What does he do for a living?” I asked.
“Other than Crandall, you mean?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Grant claims he has a business degree, but if he ever even finished college, I’d be surprised. Crandall gave him a job in the central accounting department for all his dealerships. To hear Grant tell it, he practically runs the place, but a guy I know works there and say’s Grant’s just a glorified gofer. I understand he’s always running to Crandall bitching about how the department head runs the place. How in hell Crandall puts up with it, I’ll never know.”
“So, what’s Grant’s problem with the chorus?”
Eric sighed. “Look, if he’d come in like everybody else, it would have been fine. But he acts like he owns the place. And he thinks he’s God’s gift to men—he comes on to everyone, especially the guys he knows are in a relationship. Like I said, there’s already enough bickering and jealousy going on. It’s not always pretty and can get downright mean sometimes, but it’s all sort of like family.
“Grant isn’t family, and makes it obvious that he doesn’t want to be. But that doesn’t stop him from playing his games and starting his own little clique. He’s a real manipulator, and if some people are two-faced, Grant’s got at least a dozen. He doesn’t give a damn about the chorus. He’ll say or do whatever he thinks will help him get what he wants.”
“And what does he want?”
“Aside from everybody else’s boyfriend? Well, at the moment, among other things, he wants the solo in ‘I Am What I Am,’ which will be the biggest showstopper at our next concert.”
“ La Cage aux Folles !” I said. “Jonathan said you were doing it and you’re sure right about its being a showstopper. Some friends of ours in New York saw the show and immediately sent us the cast recording. We must have listened to it a hundred times, and ‘I Am What I Am’ grabs me by the throat every time. Talk about gay pride!”
“Well, Grant wants the solo on it, though Roger’s given it to Jim Bowers, who has a fantastic voice. He’s a bass and Grant’s a high baritone. Either one can do it,
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