Happy Endings

The guys had just watched an old movie. The CD was still in the machine. They were on the floor of the loft – the fireplace was lit - and Brian had a question….

“Didn’t you like it, Kiddo?” he asked. “I think it’s a pretty good movie….”

“Yeah, “ Justin replied unconvincingly. “The music was great…..”

“So what was not to like about the picture then, Babe?” Brian pursued his point.

“I can’t believe you watched the whole thing and didn’t notice that it had an unhappy ending, Brian,” Justin told him. “Kathy and Karl-Franz would like – probably never see each other again….”

“Well they seemed to be OK with that,” Brian argued. “After all – Karl-Franz was the king and Kathy was a serving girl in a college bar and…..”

“So, what if I was a king and you were a serving guy in some bar?” Justin related the situation to a real life imagined parallel, “And I had to marry like - Emmett - because he was royalty too….”

“Well things are a little different now, Taylor,” Brian reasoned. “’The Student Prince happened about 150 years ago and folks did things a lot differently back then.”

“But I bet you’d go all noble on me if we ran into that situation, Brian Kinney,” Justin maintained, “even in modern times. And I bet I’d have to marry Emmett…..”

“Geez, JT,” Brian laughed. “That’s the very first time you ever worried about me being too noble – and you sure can make a mountain out of any available molehill….”

“Well the whole thing is your fault anyhow, Kinney,” Justin complained. “I had Malcolm all set to put on Desert Song - where the right guy gets the right girl in the end - and you talked him out of it…..”

“All I did was warn him that he wouldn’t be able to fit many horses on that 10 by 15 stage he’s got over at the Playhouse….” Brian defended himself.

“You also pointed out – if I remember correctly – and I always do – that Student Prince was also by Sigmund Romberg and it had great music too - and it was playing at the Civic Light Opera this season, Mr. Kinney,” Justin remembered correctly, “And he could go see it there….”

“And who went with him to see it when it played, JT?” Brian countered. “Not me.”

“No – you pretended you were too busy the whole week it played, Brian,” Justin smiled, “so I went with him so he’d have company….”

“Seems like Hunter went with him, Baby,” Brian teased, “and you like – tagged along with them – but I guess they insisted you come along. And you also said then you liked it a lot. That’s why I got the movie version for us to watch….”

“I said I liked the music, Brian,” Justin said. “You have to listen carefully to what I say, Bri. I can be pretty subtle sometimes….”

“You are right, Mr. Taylor,” Brian agreed possibly. “I should listen more closely. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed your subtlety….”

There was a break in the conversation at this point as Brian thought maybe he caught a subtle cue in Justin’s manner. Whether he did or not probably didn’t influence the extent of the pause – which was actually pretty long.

“The guy who played the prince was really good looking, Brian.” Justin turned to movie criticism as the conversation resumed.

“Yep he was,” Brian was pleased to agree, “but like I told you, it wasn’t him that sang. That was Mario Lanza’s voice….”

“Wasn’t he good-looking enough to be on the screen, Bri? Nobody like – wants an ugly student prince,” Justin wondered.

“Actually, Mario had a weight problem and the studio decided that he was like – too fat,” Brian confided. “Nobody wants a fat student prince either…..”

“People are so shallow, Brian,” Justin philosophized. “I bet I’d still love you if you were ugly and fat….”

“I’m sure you would, Baby,” Brian laughed. “I bet I’d still love you if you were ugly and fat too…..”

“I just wonder,” Justin grinned. “But I don’t think I want to put you to the test so I’ll just stay the way I am – slim and beautiful….”

“My very own student prince,” Brian grinned back. “So which of the songs did you like best, Sweetheart? There were lots of good ones.”

“The only one I ever heard before was that song about drinking, Bri,” Justin told him. “There’s a bunch of guys at the Institute who sing that every once in a while when they get a keg….”

“Geez, Baby,” Brian smiled, “I never thought of your Institute as being like old Heidelberg where Karl-Franz went….”

“Well we’re really not, Kinney,” Justin pointed out. “You wouldn’t catch us in those crazy uniforms the guys wore in the movie….”

“Nope,” Brian laughed. “No uniforms for the students of the 2000s. Except that all the guys wear torn jeans and dirty tees and….”

“Oh no, Kinney,” Justin insisted. “My tees are always clean….”

“A subtle protest against the unwritten dress code over there, JT,” Brian decided. “I’m glad you told me how subtle you are. I might have missed that otherwise….”

“I think there were a couple of songs in the movie that the CLO didn’t have, Brian,” Justin remembered. “I’m pretty sure….”

“Yep, you were paying attention, Taylor,” Brian told him. “They added two songs for the movie. Both good ones. Malcolm can use them in his stage production if he wants to…..”

“I think he should, Bri. They were good songs. I’ll maybe work on that. And you know what else, Brian?” Justin suggested. “Maybe I can get Malcolm to do a happy ending when he stages Student Prince next spring. Yeah, I could subtly….”

“You know what, Kiddo?” Brian suggested back. “Maybe it would be better if he left the ending alone. A lot of the folks who come to see it know how it ends and they might not like the change…. Anyhow, Kathy and Karl-Franz are straight so who cares….?”

“That’s true, Kinney,” Justin pointed out, “but if straight people get to have unhappy endings, gays will want them too and then….”

“Well this is two Sigmund Romberg operettas we’ve watched in a row, Honey,” Brian summarized. “So the next old movie shouldn’t be a musical….”

“Anything you pick, Bri.” Justin cuddled closer as he subtly picked up that the conversation was closing.

“Well, there’s this movie from about 1960,” Brian conjectured. “It’s called Psycho. And it’s not a musical….”

“As long as it has a happy ending, Bri,” Justin told him – sliding even closer to the big guy on his left.

“Well the ending of Psycho is subtle, Baby,” Brian grinned at him. “But I would say you could call it happy if you thought about it….”

But Justin was not thinking of Psycho as the evening’s conversation came to a happy ending of its own – which was probably the most important thing. Psycho could wait.
 

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