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Kate
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THE AUDIENCE BANTERS as they fuss over seating in the school auditorium. She’s the only one in the front row. Just like church, it’s just a bit too forward for most Minnesotans. Screw them.
Kate waves back at Jamie’s parents; does she look as terrified as Jamie’s mother? The Heathrows (crunchy granola types, according to Erik, who lived their college years in the peace corps) look no more equipped to handle this moment than Kate. Save for this row, the auditorium is packed. Samantha had said a whole slew of Jamie supporters were coming in from the Twin Cities and Madison. Lavender Magazine was even sending their managing editor to cover the event.
The rumble of the crowd boils in Kate’s head. Or is that her blood pressure spiking?
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THE LAST TIME she sat in the front row was for Sound of Music, way back in the eighties. Lucy Veebee had played the part of Liesl, Baron Von Trapp’s oldest daughter, whom Katie had identified with most in the movie. Mark Fox, a junior that year, played the younger brother Frederick and in a desperate twist, Liesl’s Nazi boyfriend Rolf. Back then, there weren’t enough boys able sing and twirl about the stage—let alone willing to.
Lucy had swept onstage in a chiffon dress, her hair in tendrils. This normally vinyl-trousered and safety-pinned girl caused quite a commotion that night. Who knew she could look like Brooke Shields and sing like Cyndi Lauper? Her mom was in heaven. Her father, hair still wet from a shower, had gaped.
Then Mark had strode on as Rolf. The crowd murmured at the sight of the boy who was supposed to be Liesl’s brother. The only thing changed about him was a grey Nazi uniform two sizes too large and his strawberry blond bangs combed to the opposite side. He took her hands and pleaded in tenor, “Your life little girl is an empty page that men will want to write on.”
Lucy’s gaze had washed across the front row and landed on Katie. Her eyes flashed.
Oh, my God, she’s looking right at me! And everybody knows it. Oh God.
Katie slid down in her chair.
Lucy wrung out her line in a syrupy alto, mostly on key. “Tooo wriiite oooon.”
Katie swooned with fear and shame and delicious pride. The crowd guffawed as Liesl and Frederick/Rolf began their spinning dance. Then the crowd cheered.
It was the first year the music program offered three performances. It was the start of a really good music program at WBHS.
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THE SEATS FILL next to her.
Mark nudges her shoulder. “Hey you, what’s so funny?”
“Oh hi. I was just remembering you in Sound of Music.” She leans forward to Ray. “Mark was a Nazi.”
“Wha?”
“The play,” he says. “I showed you the pictures. Where’s Erik?”
“Went with Brace to talk to the talent scout.”
“Ah.” Mark looks up and his gaze turns frosty.
Lucy Van Buren stands before them in her Barbie ensemble. “Erik sitting here?” She looks around. Her mom, Bridget, stands beside her, wearing a polite smile.
“Nope. It’s all yours.”
Mark sits back with a sigh.
Lucy and her mom settle in, then Bridget leans across Lucy. She lays a hand on Kate’s wrist. “Where are those handsome men of yours?”
Kate battles the urge to rip her arm away. She feels badly. Isn’t even sure why she feels this way anymore. Water under the liftbridge, right? Gallons upon gallons.
“They’ve been talking to a talent scout from UW. Brace is getting a lot of attention right now. He scored a twenty-eight on his ACT, so it could go either way.”
Lucy turns to Kate. “Hey, that’s great. At least he’s in the running. Good for him. How’s Sam doing with Erik not being here?”
“She’s fine,” Kate says. “They’ll be here for the Sunday matinee. I’m not even sure she wanted me here tonight. But she sure badgered me all day about whether you would be.”
Bridget shrinks back into her seat.
“Really?” Lucy shakes her head. “That’s crazy.”
“Not really. They respect you.”
“Ah, naive, impressionable youth.”
“A regular pied piper,” Mark mutters as the lights dim.
Kate stares at the stage too, elbows Lucy. “I know what you did, by the way.”
“What’s that?”
“Found that school for Jamie. The one in Minneapolis?”
“Meh. All I did was connect some people. So,” Lucy whispers, “what about Claudia?” She glances around. “Is she—?”
“Late night session.” Kate bows her head. “Or so she says.”
Lucy sighs. “I hope it’s not property taxes again. Those are killing me.”
“Well. She’s coming to the matinee. Even if I have to kidnap her.”
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WELL INTO THE first act, Jamie Heathrow stands onstage in a glittering gown and wields a scepter as tall as a shepherd’s staff. Together she and Samantha (in a dull black dress and a green face) sing about defying gravity. Jamie looks genuinely awestruck, arms outstretched, as a wire harness slowly reels Samantha up into the curtains.
Jamie’s falsetto is a fleeting cry to heaven. If she chooses a hormone-based transition it might remain high, otherwise those vocal cords will soon broaden. There’s something extraordinary about it, something the Digicam pronged in middle of the aisle won’t capture. That airy voice removes the traditionally maniacal comedy from Glinda’s character. Her pleading gaze at Elphaba upends the subtext of the play, making the friendship between the girls all the more desperate, the love story between Elphaba and the boy Fiero almost an afterthought. A sort of “Yes, yes, there will be a marriage and little green babies and all that. But this is—this between us—this is crucial.”
What if Claudia is right? Maybe Kate doesn’t need to worry about Zev. It’s this changeling that her daughter could be falling in love with.
Samantha’s voice fires through the theater like a siren. “No wizard’s ever gonna bring me down!”
The curtain tumbles inward. And at first, there is silence. It’s so much to fathom. And then everyone realizes it’s the polite thing to do. And then the applause grows in a damn-that-was-something-you-don’t-get-on-Channel-Five sort of way.
At this moment, Kate doesn’t care about Jamie’s struggles or Claudia’s flashbulbs. The girl/boy will do fine. As will Claudia. And Mark and Ray. And maybe even Lucy. The question is what Samantha is thinking right now. What does she hope will come from this? Is a trip to the American Idol tryouts at the Mall of America in their future?
Mark leans in. “You okay?”
The lights brighten for intermission.
Kate quickly dabs a knuckle under her eyes. “Oh my God, I’m so stupid.”
“No you’re not. Look around.”
And indeed, Lucy’s eyes sparkle and Bridget is dabbing at her own lashes with a Dairy Queen napkin.
Lucy shakes her head slow and incredulous. “Sam could skate into Julliard on her voice alone. And the stage presence? Between the two of them, it’s like they’ve been playing those witches since childhood.”
Mark grabs Kate’s hand. “I need her for summer stock. C’mon, Kate.”
“Just make sure she also has a summer,” Lucy says.
Next to him, Ray crosses arms and nods. “I agree. She needs a life too.”
“You, hush,” Mark says.
Kate blows a gust. “Wow, I don’t know. Let’s ask her when things calm down.”
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DURING THE SECOND act, there are a few misspoken lines and cracks in those tired, young voices. But the unintentional humor of shy Jamie Heathrow playing the most popular witch in Oz makes the whole thing fantastic.
Along with Jamie’s parents and Mark and Ray, they head backstage, but it’s such a madhouse, all they can do is gape at kids running by laughing and hugging each other.
They all follow the girls to the parking lot amidst the cheers and whistles of the cast and other parents.
Samantha slings an arm around Jamie. “Dude. I’m seriously becoming a witch.”
“Me too. I can feel it happening.”
Kate shrugs. “Great. No car for graduation then, just a broom.”
Mark takes Lucy’s arm and murmurs low, “Can I talk to you for a second? Privately?”
“Sure,” she says, but then she stops walking.
They all do.
Kate stares into the parking lot where a crowd has gathered. At its center glows video camera lights and the occasional flash, which imprints green dots on her retina.
“Whoa,” Samantha says.
“Jamie!” a reporter calls and then they all squawk her name like gulls.
Jamie takes Samantha’s hand and leads her into the glare and noise.
“Here we go,” Kate says. “Now’s your chance to run, Luce.” She turns. “Lucy?”
But Lucy and Bridget are already halfway to her BMW.
“Great.”
Mark raises an eyebrow at Kate but she looks past him. Farther down the sidewalk stands Zev, hands in pockets, not a hockey buddy in sight. Kate waves. He waves. But before she can open her mouth, he turns and strolls off. She eases into the crowd along with the Heathrows, prepared to yank Samantha from the fray the moment she says something ridiculous.
“This is a historic night, Jamie. Congratulations.” And it is. The first time in this state that a trans student has played their correct gender. “How does it feel?”
“Fine. It feels fine.” Jamie stares at the ground.
“But do you think this play represents a sea change for your movement?”
“I don’t—I don’t have a movement.”
“Yet,” Samantha says, her face bright and shining with the remnants of Noxzema and green sparkles.
Kate crosses her arms and grins. They are absolutely loving this. They’ll remember this the rest of their lives, talk about it forever, blow it way out of proportion, even though the reporters are just from a small gay magazine in the Twin Cities, local cable, and the Valley Dispatch.
“Samantha, how do you feel about Senator Larson’s referendum proposal tonight?” the reporter from the Dispatch asks. “How do you resolve Jamie’s transition with your grandmother’s politics?”
“Huh?”
“Senator Larson sought a vote on the marriage amendment this evening.”
“Oh my God,” Samantha whispers and shrinks from the light.
“All right,” Jamie’s father interjects. “That’s enough.”
Kate steps in and hooks Samantha’s arm. “You don’t have to say another word.”
Samantha stops and says over her shoulder, “I love my grandma. We don’t always agree. But I love her. Other than that? She’s wrong.”
Ouch, Kate thinks, that one’s gonna sting, but Claudia brought it on herself.
“If there’s a God, it doesn’t care who we love. And it would also know that Jamie is becoming who she was always meant to be.” Then Samantha nestles into Kate, and they make their way down the walk.
Mark and Ray meet them at the cars. Ray is on his cellphone, a finger in his other ear.
“The senator really pulled a fast one on us,” Mark says.
“On all of us.” Kate kisses her daughter’s head.
“She used my night,” Samantha whispers. “She used my night.”
Kate locks eyes with Mark. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, honey.”
At the minivan, the girls hug goodnight. Jamie’s parents briskly walk her away. Samantha gets in, and Kate closes the door.
“If we’d known,” Mark whispers, “we would have bumped up the protest for tonight.”
“She must have thought our family being there would do too much damage this time,” Kate murmurs. “I told her we wouldn’t be on the Marrisota side anymore.”
Mark nods. “Probably didn’t want any more run-ins with the monkey suits either.”
“What do you think this means now?” Kate asks. “Will she get enough votes this way?”
“Don’t know.” Mark shrugs and looks at Ray, who’s struggling to hear his phone. “Our friend at the Strib will let us know soon as the session lets out.”