Magic Mansion Jordan Price (best non fiction books of all time txt) 📖

eyes, and smiled his sad smile. Ricardo did his best to smile back and blink away encroaching tears.

“I wonder sometimes,” John went on, “what Rose would have said about Casey. And about Ricardo.” John collected his thoughts for another dramatically long pause. Not because he’d forgotten the words he’d prepared—but because he was weighing whether or not to deliver the next part of his speech. He considered, and he looked at Ricardo once more…and he forged ahead. “The choices I’ve made in my life mattered to her, not as my aunt…but as my mother.”

The silence that greeted John’s revelation was so profound, it seemed for a moment as if an invisible volume control had been muted. And then, somewhere in the back of the crowd, an indistinct voice rose and fell, and the spell was broken. Cameras flashed, now galvanized anew into action.

“It was a different time,” John said, picking up his narrative as if he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell. “Divorced women were regularly denied credit and housing. Minorities were required to pass literacy tests in order to vote. Unwed mothers were coerced into adoption, whether they wanted to keep the child or not. And even in Hollywood, lifelong gay partners were referred to as ‘bachelors,’ or worse, set up with a fake wife by their studios or their managers. Glenn Forrest gave Casey and me his blessing before he passed away, but my mother died in 1973 without ever acknowledging my sexuality. In my mind, she never would have. But lately, it’s occurred to me that if she were still alive today, she would have had forty years to acclimate to the world’s changes. She would have seen the Internet, and an African American president, and the fight for gay rights…and I suspect that even though she was known for being a tough, stubborn woman, she wouldn’t have been able to deny that my life is infinitely better with Ricardo Hart in it.”

Somehow, Ricardo managed to refrain from out-and-out crying. Good thing. He didn’t want to be caught puffy-eyed, given the way it suddenly seemed like the cameras had reproduced—and over the tops of all the official paparazzi, the fans waved iPhones and tiny point-and-shoots, hoping to snag a photo of him and John that would go viral as fast as the candid shot from Atlantic City. Aside from the blurry picture an undisclosed crew member had snuck of them smooching as the Magic Mansion confetti fell, it was unlikely any new photo of them would cause much of a stir. If anyone didn’t know Professor Topaz and Ricardo the Magnificent were romantically involved, they’d been living under a rock.

There were interviews then, and photo shoots, with the producer orchestrating which camera they should look into, and which reporter they could speak to next. Jia and Faye were glittery and fabulous as always—and evidently they were both willing to consider whatever nastiness had passed between them during their stint at the Mansion as water under the bridge. Jia could afford to be gracious. She might not command as many millions of dollars as David Copperfield, but she was certainly the hottest young magician the industry had seen since Criss Angel. And Faye, who was doing well enough for herself (but not quite that well) was smart enough to know when to forgive and forget.

And finally, when it was time to head back home and get ready for dinner and an after-party, a very young, very gay-looking sound technician, all big Latino eyes and shimmery lip gloss, approached Ricardo with a copy of TV Guide out in front of him like a shield, and whispered, “Can I have your autograph?”

The issue featured a shadowy, dramatically-lit shot of Ricardo plucking an ace of hearts out of his jacket, with John towering behind him looking grim and deliciously tall. The headline America’s Sweethearts? was splashed across them. Below that, Magic Mansion’s Secrets Revealed, and Sue says, “We’re just friends!” in the subhead. Ricardo loved that issue, even if the articles themselves weren’t exactly Hemingway, as John put it. One thing the reporter got right. Ricardo was gay, had been gay his entire adult life, and was totally smitten with Professor Topaz from day one. He pulled a marker out of his pocket to sign it, but the producer stopped him with a grab to the elbow. She looked like she was about to snap off the sound tech’s head with a reprimand for accosting the talent. “No, wait,” Ricardo said, “I want to.”

“Really?” she said. “How about getting back to your limo sometime today—do you want that, too?”

The crowd did seem just about ready to swarm over the velvet ropes. When Ricardo hesitated, John slipped an arm around his waist—and never in Ricardo’s wildest dreams had this stern, taciturn fantasy figure been capable of such effusive physical affection. But Professor Topaz was the fantasy. John the human being not only lived up to the fantasy, he blew it away. He put his mouth to Ricardo’s ear and said, “Listen to your heart. If you want to sign it, then that’s what you need to do. Otherwise, it’ll nag at you all night.” He plucked the pen from Ricardo’s hand and scrawled a nearly illegible Professor Topaz over the cover, then re-planted the marker in Ricardo’s grasp.

“You’re right,” Ricardo said, and signed his own name beneath his likeness—and then on impulse, added the words, Always be proud of who you are. Not necessarily an easy thing to accomplish, for sure, especially when the rest of the world might not be comfortable with the real you. But every day, even every moment, held a fresh chance to begin living from somewhere true.

-end-

FOCUS GROUP VOTE

Which applicant is your choice for the Magic Mansion cast?

Kevin Kazan 64%

Francis “Foxy” West 36%

back to the story…

TWO-TEAM ELIMINATION

Who will you eliminate from the Red Team?

Escape artist Ken Barron 35%

Elvis impersonator Chip Challenge 65%

Who will you eliminate from the Gold Team?

Charity Young and Oscar 61%

Amazing