The rest of Camelot week ran smoothly, Truman was soon forgotten. In fact, the summer was working out pretty well. Dennis enjoyed the revival of Dames at Sea and Once Upon a Mattress, but thought it foolish to scale down a show like Guys and Dolls for theatre in the round.

The musicals alternated with night club acts, and on Wednesdays they began to add in the kiddie shows. That production company toured four other theatres during the week, a grueling schedule for the performers. There was a new show each week and Dennis didn't know how they could learn so many new scores and scripts in just two days off.

The audience was usually a few hundred kids and assorted parents, chaperones or day care teachers. The lobby and bathrooms looked like a tornado had blown thru after each show, but Brian shrugged, at least the kids weren't allowed to eat in the theatre.

The Monday after Camelot closed was a dark day at the theatre. Kenny assigned John and Matt to repaint the stage the customary powder blue, he took the day off as well. Dennis was up with the sun and drove over to pick up Ted, they were going fishing…among other things.

The drive to Rio Vista took less than an hour and they stopped at the iHop over by Interstate 5 for breakfast. It was only about eight when they crossed the Sacramento River and turned south to the marina. Ted was bubbly, his normal morning emotions as he waited for the meds to kick in. Dennis wasn't sure what kind of boat Ted's father had; he should have known it would be big.

Ted signed them in at the gate, showing the guard his provisional license for identification. They drove down to the docks and parked. Dennis got out and began to survey the dozens of craft bobbing in the water ahead. There was one boat that sat at a pier of its own, it was fucking huge.

"Don't tell me your boat is that ship over there," Dennis said.

"Oh hell no, that's a real ship…ours is that small thing over there," Ted said, pointing at the next slip over.

Small? Dennis thought, all things being relative, the cock on a porn star would be considered small compared to a horse…this was no small boat. He had been on one boat in his life, a schooner that sailed out of San Francisco and gave tourists the ride of a lifetime. This was a cabin cruiser and it looked to be fifty feet long.

"Ted, that isn't small…it looks huge to me," Dennis said, and it only got bigger as they approached. There was a small ladder hanging off the side and Dennis figured the deck was about six feet off the dock.

"It's riding high, they must have pumped the bilge this week," Ted said.

"Where are the cannon?" Dennis joked.

The name on the stern said "Cavanaugh II," was there more than one? Ted allowed Dennis to climb the ladder first and that gave him a view of the rear deck and the sheltered cockpit.

Ted finally stood on deck and pulled up the ladder. "OK, the basics," He said. "This is a forty seven foot cabin cruiser built by Concord in 1970. It's a classic of course, you know my father. It has a sixteen foot beam and sleeps six in three cabins. Two bathrooms, showers and toilets, a diesel engine that eats fuel like there's no tomorrow…what else do you want to know?"

"How do we clean it?" Dennis asked.

"There's a hose on the dock, brushes and cleaner in the locker under the rear benches. We need to wipe down the cockpit and check out the cabins. Mostly it will be dust that blows in off the mountains, it gets into everything."

"OK, we can do that. Why did he buy something so big? You could run to Hawaii in this damn thing," Dennis said.

"We've taken it out to the Golden Gate and back…the business bought this boat. A tax write off I'm sure, I don't know the details. When Dad said I should take the safety course it wasn't to drive this monster, we have a sixteen foot runabout in storage at the other end of the marina."

"Oh, that makes better sense…this is like one big camper, you could live on this thing."

"Yeah, let me show you the inside," Ted said.

He walked in the cockpit and unscrewed one of the knobs off the throttle, inside was a key to the cabin doors. "Big damn secret, I think everyone hides a key there," Ted grinned.

The cabin was very much like a camper, or a mobile home. A seating area with chairs, a couch, and along one side a padded bench that served a table. The kitchen looked small as did the bathroom Dennis looked into. The cabins were pretty nice, but the beds took up most of the room.

They climbed back to the lower deck and Dennis looked up at the flying bridge. Ted followed his gaze. "I get dizzy up there when the boat is moving, that's like sixteen feet above the waterline."

"So where do we start?" Dennis said.

Ted smiled. "I suppose we can take our shirts off first…then see what happens."

Dennis raised his eyebrows, and Ted pulled him back into the cabin. So it was gonna be like that. There was no reason to fan the flames of desire as that fire had been burning inside them both all week long. Passion was never the issue, patience was.

Ted learned something in the next hour. He might still be fifteen, a boy at heart, but he could fulfill the duties of a man when it came to love. No matter how intense the fantasies had been, the reality of their coupling was inspiring. Fortunately condoms made things last longer than two minutes.

Then they went out and scrubbed the boat from stem to stern, literally. The finish gleamed when they were done and then they went fishing off the long pier.

"What are we going to do if we actually catch a fish?" Ted asked.

"Throw it back, that's what I always do," Dennis replied.

"I try not to eat fish, well maybe tuna from a can, but that's been cleaned," Ted said.

"I throw them back because I don't even know how to clean them, Ted."

"Yeah, same here."

"Boy, what a couple of sorry fishermen we are," Dennis laughed.

"I'm hungry, all that exercise burned off a lot of calories…let's go eat."

The marina had a restaurant, fish appeared prominently on the menu so they both ordered roast beef sandwiches. Ted kept sneaking covert looks at his watch as they ate.

"Do we have to be somewhere?" Dennis finally asked.

"No, I just…well I want to make sure we have time to…you know."

Dennis shook his head. "Are you sure you took your meds this morning?"

"Oh yeah," Ted laughed. "This is perfectly normal me sitting here."

They went back to the boat and Ted performed all over again. Dennis enjoyed having someone to satisfy his needs again. There was something about the wide eyed innocence of Ted's love making that was so sweet. The boy had been looking for something to make their partnership more equal, some way he could return Dennis' love, and this was it.

Dennis had to laugh when Ted apologized; he didn't have the strength to do it a third time. "The meds take the edge off things, you know," Ted said.

"I'm lucky to get two orgasms on a good day," Dennis said.

Ted blushed and sighed. "I used to jerk off five…six times a day; it was all part of that compulsive behavior. I don't miss it; I didn't really understand why I was doing it. My penis got sore but that didn't stop me. Now things are under control."

"I never realized how hard it was for you, I'm sorry."

"Now I have someone to please, and that gives me focus."

Dennis chuckled. "So I have the prescription for your needs."

"Oh yeah, big time," Ted laughed.

Dennis felt his bottom tingle all the way home and thought maybe Ted was the medicine he needed as well. Now it would only be a matter of when and where they could satisfy their desires. It wouldn't take long before Ted would ask to try it, he was just as curious. Time to stock up on condoms.

The summer seemed to zip by, probably because they were all so busy. Looking back at the past two months Dennis decided he wanted to return next summer and if Kenny didn't…he would be in charge. By the end of July that didn't seem intimidating whatsoever, The Grove was just an entertainment mill.

August arrived and Ted's birthday party loomed on Sunday. The timing was perfect; Kenny pulled John in to cover for Dennis. Despite having offered a cookout to Dennis' parents, Mr. Cavanaugh had been too busy to pull it off. Ted had mailed them a family invitation to his party; Dennis' mother thought that was sweet.

Dennis tried to find the perfect gift, at least one that was in his budget. Ted had never been one to wear jewelry, he said it made him fidget. The physical stimulus of wearing something that jangled or moved against his skin was distracting, another sign of the ADHD. It had taken him a long time to get used to wearing a watch.

Clothing seemed like the only good option and that's what Dennis went out to find. Ted had the normal desires of boys his age; he wanted to fit in with the crowd at school. Of course at Cabot the lid was off the normal fashion scene, theatre students wore whatever felt good. Maybe it was time to nudge Ted to the edge and let him set a trend.

To that end Dennis bought Ted a Derby hat and a Hawaiian shirt to go with it. The hat had been made in England, the real thing from Carnaby Street, very retro. The shirt was loud, bright colors that would make Ted stand out in a crowd. Corky had dressed like that, he was popular, and Dennis hoped Ted would be too.

The Monday after the party was a dark day at the theatre and so Dennis was invited to sleep over. He wrote out the directions for his parents since he would drive himself over to the Cavanaugh house. Dennis wondered if Ted's mother or Kathy would be there, did the parents talk to one another? Ted wouldn't enjoy the party if the King family were the only ones there.

He shouldn't have worried; both the circular drive and the street were filled with cars…who were all these people? Dennis could see dust rising up off the go cart track and hear the whine of engines, so he parked along the road and walked over to the gate in the fence.

All four cars were out on the track and there were a dozen people standing behind the safety barriers in front of the shed. One of the cars went whizzing by and Dennis saw that Mr. Cavanaugh was at the wheel, Ted was right behind him. Father and son were competing and it looked like fun.

The group watching consisted of several high school aged boys and girls, the rest were adults. The last two cars pulled into the pits and stopped; Kathy stepped out of the first car and pulled off her helmet.

"Wheee," She yelled. "I can't keep up with those two."

Dennis looked at the last driver fully expecting to see Ted's mother climb out of the car, but it was another girl. Kathy walked over and helped her undo the shoulder harness and then the girl stood up on wobbly legs. Her helmet came off and Dennis didn't recognize her, she must be one of Kathy's friends.

They walked over and handed their helmets to a couple of the boys who were next up. As they climbed in the cars one of the adults checked their harness, then they were off. No sooner had they left than Ted and his father roared up and slid into the pits, only this time Ted was in the lead.

He came running over the minute he saw Dennis. "Did you see? I edged him out…I beat my Dad."

Dennis smiled. "First time, huh?"

"Yeah, he's ruthless on the track," Ted said.

"Who are all these people?" Dennis asked.

"Oh, some are Kathy's friends, a few of mine from school, and some people from the family business. I don't mind them being here, it makes for a great party…and they all brought gifts."

Dennis had to laugh. Ted was happy and that's all that mattered. "I brought you a gift too, it may seem silly."

Ted shook his head. "I have everything I need from you, and later on after everyone is asleep…" He stopped there as his father walked up.

"Did you see that, Dennis? Ted nosed me out on the last turn," Mr. Cavanaugh said. "Imagine that…is your family here?"

"No, sir…on the way," Dennis said.

"I need something to drink," Ted said. "Let's walk out back."

The rear patio had been converted into an outdoor restaurant. A line of barbeque grills were waiting and several men worked around them tending to the food. A large white tent had been set up on the lawn beyond the pool with table space for dozens of people.

"As I recall you invited me to attend your little birthday party, what happened?" Dennis laughed.

"Um, yeah, about that. This is a pretty small party compared to some we've had here. I don't mind, Dennis…these are nice people…especially him."

Dennis looked across the pool deck at a boy who was just climbing out of the water, a very handsome boy. His bronze skin and raven hair spoke of his Mexican heritage.

"Eduardo?" Dennis asked.

"Oh yeah, see what I mean? That's centerfold material right there," Ted said. "What a waste."

Dennis almost laughed. Ted had grown up around Eduardo, which must have been frustrating. Lusting after straight boys went nowhere, but every gay boy in the world did it.

They sat on the patio while Ted drank some water. Kathy and her friend soon joined them. Dennis hadn't spoken to her much this summer, figuring they had little in common. But she was around her friends here and was quite pleasant to Ted.

Dennis' parents arrived and his little brother and sisters took off for the pool. Dennis made the rounds with his parents and they met everyone, and then a short time later the food was ready. It seems a Cavanaugh cookout was not hamburgers and hot dogs, although there were some nice sausages on the grill. But the cooked treats went on a buffet line and people lined up to eat.

The grilled food included steak, shrimp and lobster. There was corn on the cob, several kinds of potatoes and salads galore, quite the feast. Dennis watched his father take a portion of steak and some shrimp, his two favorite entrees. Ted had a steak and some salad.

"I already snuck over here earlier and had some of the shrimp, wonderful," He said.

The meal was almost done when a table loaded with presents was carried out; Dennis had added his gift earlier and felt silly. Some of the wrapped boxes were huge compared to his. But when all was said and done Ted was running around wearing the Hawaiian shirt and Derby hat, at least until he was tossed in the swimming pool.

Dennis and his parents were given a tour of the toy collection; everything from robots to antique games, Mr. Cavanaugh had interesting tastes. The cars in the garage impressed his father, his mother was only amused.

"Men and their toys, it all seems so silly to me," She said.

Dennis didn't dare laugh. This from a woman who collected pictures of movie stars in her scrapbooks. But they finally went home and the party wrapped up around eleven. Ted thanked his father for the party with a big hug, and then he led Dennis to the pool house where they stripped.

The night was warm which made the pool seem a little cooler, but then maybe it was because they were nude.

"So I'm sixteen and don't feel a bit different," Ted said.

"Yeah, it's like a big milestone in life until you get there…and then nothing," Dennis replied.

"I suppose I can go get my license this week if Mom will take me," Ted said.

Dennis looked over and figured it was time. "What happened between your parents?"

Ted sighed. "It was Mom's thing. She fell for her tennis pro at the club."

"Oh…that is such a cliché."

"The tennis pro is a woman," Ted said.

"Oh My God, your mother had a lesbian affair?" Dennis asked.

"Yeah, funny isn't it…now you know why I don't think I can talk to dad about the gay thing."

"How did you find out about it?"

Ted shook his head. "Kathy…she saw them…um, together. Mom doesn't go to the club anymore, but the pro is gone anyway. I don't know if they're still together, maybe not. Guess now you know why Kathy is such a bitch, she told Dad."

Dennis was silent. How could the girl do that? And of course now she felt responsible for breaking up the family, how stupid. But how did Ted feel?

"Doesn't this affect you?" Dennis asked.

"Yes, but I can handle it because of my secret…our secret. Their marriage had been a mess for years; maybe Mom went looking for something…I don't know. But Dad has always been more focused on his business, and now he worries about his kids, I get to spend more time with him. I try to find the down side to all this but it isn't there, at least not for me."

"Then we'll have to be careful, your dad doesn't need another distraction," Dennis said.

Ted smiled. "You are all that…a real distraction."

The lights were out in the house; Ted's father was asleep since he had to work in the morning. They made love in the pool house and then dressed. Ted's room had two twin beds so they could each have their own. Ted set his alarm for six and then pulled Dennis into his bed. The alarm would allow Dennis to crawl into his own bed because Ted knew his father would come in to say goodbye in the morning.

It took a while for them to settle in, this was the first time they had slept together and the bed was narrow. But Ted moved so much in his sleep that Dennis finally gave up and slid into the other bed, shutting the alarm off on the way. He was barely aware when Mr. Cavanaugh came in the room and kissed Ted goodbye, he thought it was sweet.

The following week at The Grove was an oddball. Tuesday thru Friday they hosted the Comedy Tour once again. Six new comedians hosted by Gina Roland, Todd wasn't in the lineup. Like any show of this nature some of the comedians were good, others were terrible. But they were trying out new material so each show was slightly different and by Friday they were all pretty damn funny.

There was little for either Kenny or Dennis to do so they sat around in the control booth and talked to Mike about how difficult Saturday night would be. Saturday would bring them their first rock concert and it was made twice as hard because there was an early and a late show scheduled.

The booking agents in New York had assured Arthur Pierce that two shows in one night were average and that The Grove could handle it. On Thursday Tony had met with A1, the security service hired for the occasion that would provide a half dozen uniformed security men.

The full usher staff would be there to guard the outer doors, so it would be usher, guard, usher, guard, all the way around the circle's exit doors. Kenny and his boys would handle backstage. John, Matt and a new guy named Eric would be there. Dennis would stay close to Mike and Pat in case there were technical issues.

Broadax Sound Productions would roll in Saturday morning to set up, the roadies for the band arriving at two. Dennis knew the band; they were from his parent's generation. Steve Milner had a dozen albums and his music was going through a revival. That was a sure testimony to the crap that recording companies were cranking out these days, people preferred the older music.

The first show was due to kick off at seven-thirty, the second one at ten. All Mike could do was shake his head.

"That's the most absurd schedule I ever heard of, it won't happen as planned. Hell, this is rock and roll…nothing ever goes as planned and we have no room for error like this."

Dennis was worried. Mike was the expert on concerts, and here he was predicting disaster. Kenny had other problems in mind.

"How do we keep three thousand people from smoking dope in our theatre? Milner is a pot head band, you know."

Pat had the only answer. "Just breathe deep and enjoy the high, we'll keep the booth windows shut."

Mike was more worried about the turntable. "We have to convince them to set up like they were in a studio. There's gonna be too much weight onstage to turn that damn thing on and rotate them, bands hate that shit anyway."

Pat laughed. "If they're stoned they probably won't even notice."

"Yeah well if the cable stretches Tony is gonna have a fit, and so will Dennis," Mike said.

"Me? Why me?" Dennis asked.

"Because you guys will be down in the orchestra pit pushing the turntable around. Manual labor, be sure to bring some heavy gloves."

Ted would be working that night so Dennis laid all this news on him at the first opportunity, and got back the usher's worst scenario in return.

"Kathy says we'll still have an audience in the house when the second bunch begins to arrive, where are they gonna park? Tony is talking about hiring cops to direct traffic, I have a bad feeling about all this," Ted said.

"You and me both," Dennis replied.

The nature of the business, at least from Dennis' limited experience, was that management had no idea what it took to accomplish all the technical requirements for a performance. All they wanted was the money to flow, preferably inwards.

It was Saturday morning just before ten when Dennis arrived at the theatre. Ted was off with his mother sitting at the motor vehicle office about to take his driving test and Dennis wanted to be there for support. He wouldn't find out what happened until later when Ted arrived for work, but he would know if there was a smile on the boy's face.

Broadax had a truckload of stuff and the scaffold to hold it up. It had been decided to place sound towers at four points spaced around the top of the circle. The onstage house system would be used for monitors for the band. The roadies began to wheel stuff in while Kenny and Dennis stood back and watched.

All this equipment was new to Dennis; he'd never worked a rock show before. Broadax set up a mixing board behind the seats and underneath the control booth, which would shorten the run of their cables. But the sound towers meant cables running up the aisles from the stage, and that was sure to cause issues with a packed house filled with stoners.

By noon the sound company was playing music over the system to check it out; Dennis had never heard anything so loud. Kenny slid up beside him and grimaced.

"I'd issue earplugs if we had any," He yelled.

"Thanks for nothing," Dennis yelled back and they both laughed.

The sound would dampen down when the theatre was filled with bodies, and then the noise shut down as the roadies went out to lunch. Mike didn't adjust a single lighting instrument.

"I have no idea where to aim anything, and by the time I do the stage will be filled with equipment and it'll be impossible…so what the fuck, its lunch," He said, and then he left with Pat.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kenny said, so Dennis drove out to get them sandwiches. It just might be their last meal of the day, who knew?

Just after two-thirty the roadies for the band arrived and looked the theatre over.

"Jeez, this place is small," One of them said.

"So's your dick, but you still get it up to perform," Came the reply.

Sebastian Crowder was the head man in this bunch and he went straight for the union crew. Mike asked him if they'd ever played in the round before and Sebastian shook his head. They discussed the set up and then the roadies went to work.

Mike walked over to where Dennis and Kenny were standing.

"What did you tell him?" Kenny asked.

"He'll set up like we want, said they won't rotate because of all the cabling. But I gave him our stock line," Mike said.

"And that would be?" Dennis asked.

"Rock is harder in the round, baby…just wait and see," Mike laughed.

"I think we need T-shirts saying that," Kenny said. "If we survive this I'll have some made."

By four the stage was covered in equipment, and a chair, a large overstuffed chair. It seems Milner used it as a trademark; he would sit in it and play some acoustic pieces. They had a small raised platform in the middle of the stage for Milner to stand on so the band would be all around him. Now they waited, the band was due for a sound check at six.

Tony had avoided the theatre all day long and showed up at six.

"Where's the band?" He asked.

"I sent John over to the hotel, he called to say they're eating dinner," Kenny said.

"They're supposed to be here," Tony said.

"John mentioned that to their manager, he said they'd eat first…what else can I do, Tony?"

"Nothing…I hate fucking rock stars," Tony said. "Here pass these around to your guys so we know who is who," And then he stomped off to his office. Kenny handed Dennis a laminated ID card on a lanyard to wear around his neck. Dennis checked it out. It had The Grove logo on it and staff written in large letters. But around the symbol of the tree were the words: Rock is Harder in the Round…Mike had known about these badges all along.

There was food in the dressing rooms, enough food for an army…or a few dozen stoned musicians and roadies. The road crew had come back from lunch with a buzz; it was going to be a long night.

At quarter of seven the band walked in, looked at the theatre and sat down to play a few minutes…that was the total sound check. Broadax didn't seem concerned, Dennis was sure they'd seen all this before. Then the band descended on the dressing rooms and closed the doors. If they'd had a do not disturb sign they would have placed it on the door knob. The band was getting high.

Dennis walked towards the lobby and finally saw Ted, but he wasn't smiling.

"How did it go?" Dennis asked.

"The test, that was easy," And he pulled out his new license card. But then he gave Dennis a frown. "Have you looked outside? It's a zoo out there, I never saw so many freaks in my life…and they're headed in here with us."

The guards took their stations around the theatre and Kathy opened the doors to the crowd. Dennis stood with Ted for a while and decided this was going to become a small riot. The seats were general admission and people tore down the aisles to grab the front rows. Oddly enough, much of the audience was dressed in black just like Dennis.

Ted went back to his duties in the lobby. Dennis told him if things got out of hand to come up to the control booth where they could defend the stairs against intruders. Mike and Pat were lounging around when Dennis climbed up to see them.

"We were thinking about a good game of cards," Mike laughed. "Need something to kill the time."

Dennis looked out the window. "Am I making the announcement tonight?"

"There's a good way to start a riot," Pat said. "Sure, tell them they can't smoke in the theatre and see what happens, they'll set fire to the place."

"Oh shit, it's already seven-thirty," Dennis said.

"Calm down, there is nothing we can do…it's their game. Poker anyone?" Mike said.

Just after eight the sound guys appeared from backstage where they had been partying with the band, the crowd was restless…and stoned. Then without warning Steve Milner and his band walked down the aisle and Mike scrambled to light up the stage. He only brought the house lights to half and considered leaving them there.

The band made some tune up noises and then jumped into a song. Dennis could see the booth windows vibrate; he could only imagine how loud it was out there. He found out when he got downstairs, the place was flooded with sound.

Dennis walked all the way around the circle behind the seats and noted the security guards had earplugs, smart move, the ushers didn't have any. When he got back to the sound console he watched a while and then stepped out into the lobby. The outer lobby on the other side of the locked doors was jammed with people; the audience for the second show had begun to arrive.

Kathy was pacing while Ted stood shaking his head at people banging on the doors. There were still people wandering in and out of the bathrooms. Brian, the maintenance man, sat in a chair against the wall and gave Dennis a frown, he could only shrug back. The place would be a mess when this was all over.

Ted was busy so Dennis went backstage and could hardly think back there for the noise. There were people on the back deck pounding on the door, but orders were not to open it for anyone. He went over and looked out the windows of the roll up door and saw a large crowd of people walking on the road towards the front of the theatre.

It was around nine-thirty when Dennis realized that things were starting to get out of control. The band was playing on stage and were just about halfway through their set of music when Brian came rushing backstage and collared Dennis.

"I need you to go outside and find me some cops; some assholes are trying to break in the boiler room doors."

"What? OK, what do I tell them?" Dennis said, not wanting to go outside at all. For one thing the crowd was pretty heavy, and obviously some of them were angry. Kenny had suggested that if Milner was still playing the first show when ten o'clock rolled around that some of the idiots outside would think they were missing their second show. Go outside, sure…but how would he get back in? Kenny was at the back door when they got there.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Out there," Dennis said.

"Are you nuts?" Kenny said. "At least hide that badge, it makes you a target."

"I'll be back," Dennis said with a grin.

Brian pushed open the back door, startling a bunch of people standing on the porch.

"Hey let us in, man," One of them called.

"If you have tickets go around front," Brian growled. He was big enough that no one would argue with him. Dennis slid out from behind him and went down the stairs into the pit where his car was parked. He tucked the ID badge into his shirt pocket as he didn't want anyone to see it. He made his way past people out getting high, college kids older than he was.

Dennis made his way down the grassy slope and around the edge of the trees towards the lobby area. He looked up the slope at the rear doors to the boiler room and saw a small crowd there. Four or five guys had torn down one of the outside lamp posts and were using it as a battering ram on the doors.

Now he took off running towards the front realizing that Brian wasn't kidding, he rounded the corner and saw a cluster of cops standing by the steps to the lobby. He should have known something was up, they were wearing riot gear. Not far from where they stood was a police car laying on its roof, the mob had turned it over.

Several cops turned his way and held up batons which made Dennis come to a stop. He pulled out his ID card and held up his hands.

"I work here, we need help. They're battering in the boiler room doors back there," Dennis said and pointed.

One of the cops looked at his ID card and nodded. "Show us," He said.

Dennis turned around and almost ran, but then realized that he had a squad of cops following him and slowed down. They came to the edge of the building and Dennis pointed down the slope, the cops charged the guys with the lamp post. That was his cue to leave.

The best way to get back inside would be through the lobby. Once Ted saw him he could slip thru the door, if the mob allowed. It was a mob now, but a lot fewer of them were standing in the ticket lobby, most of them were outside yelling at the cops.

Dennis took one last look at the mess in the parking lot; it looked like a scene from a movie. The overturned police car and a dozen or so patrol cars with lights flashing surrounded the front of the theatre. Two fire trucks and several ambulances sat up the hill by the entrance.

But the worst part were the people, there were hundred's more rushing through the parked cars towards the theatre…it looked like a mob. Dennis slid into the lobby and approached the doors, one of which had cracked glass. Tony was standing in there with Charlie the box office manager and a few ushers. Ted immediately saw him and moved to the door. Dennis stood quietly in front of it and Ted hit the panic bar.

Dennis hurried inside and shut the door before anyone else could get a hand on it, there were no handles on the outside.

"Where the hell have you been?" Tony asked.

"Brian sent me out to find some cops, there were guys trying to bash in the boiler room doors," Dennis said.

Tony groaned, this was going to be expensive. Just then there was an explosion out in the parking lot, the upended patrol car burst into flames.

"OK, I'm canceling the second show," Tony said.

Charlie shook his head. "I don't think we have the cash for refunds, Tony."

Tony was seething. "Then we'll write them checks, thousands of them if necessary."

The concert started late and that violated the contract, it was a weak argument but Tony said that's why they had lawyers. Dennis didn't think it sounded convincing, he gave Ted a shrug and went back up to the control booth.

"Mike, you better go down and talk to Tony, he wants to cancel the second show," Dennis said.

Mike laughed and bounded down the stairs. Pat shrugged and went back to watching the show. Dennis went backstage to tell Kenny and await the decision. Fortunately the decision was taken out of Tony's hands; the police cancelled the second show.

By the time Milner was done at ten-thirty and walked off stage he looked tired. The band retreated to the dressing room and Mike cornered Sebastian before he could disappear.

"The manager and a few other folks will be back here in a minute, you might tell the band to chill out for a while." Mike wasn't going to say anything else, but then Tony and two cops came thru the door. Dennis turned around and walked away, deciding that it was time to disappear.

It took a while to clear out the house and Ted found Dennis standing by the sound board.

"Come look at this," Ted said, and they walked out to the lobby.

The outer lobby was filled with cops in riot gear, a whole line of them across the front doors to the theatre. There were more uniforms outside, cops carrying shotguns.

"I think we're closed down," Dennis said.

Ted laughed. "Ya think? What a disaster, Charlie says he has to open the box office for refunds tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Not tonight?"

"The cops said no, people have to come back for refunds. Charlie is making signs to put on the doors," Ted said.

"Somehow I think The Grove just held its last rock concert," Dennis said. That statement was to become prophetic.

By two in the morning the band had cleared out and the theatre was empty once again. Kenny stood on the dock and looked at the dozen or so abandoned cars in the parking lot, he figured the drivers had been arrested.

Kathy had driven Ted home around midnight, once enough of the crowd had left to make it safe to go outside. There had been no time to go into the details with Ted, but Dennis felt like the whole day had been a waste. If there had been a second show it would only be ending about now, Milner was a total fuck up.

He got home just before three and found his father sitting in the living room reading a book.

"Dad…why are you up?" Dennis asked.

"Your mother and I saw the eleven o'clock news; we've been worried sick about you…what happened?"

Dennis didn't want to explain, but he knew his father wouldn't sleep until he knew the facts. From the news reports The Grove had seemed like a riot zone to the viewers, it wasn't far from the truth.

"Well go to bed," His father finally said. "I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of this over the coming days."

Dennis slept like a rock and awoke in time to see the news at noon. If Arthur Pierce had ever considered what damage bad publicity could do for his theatre this was it. Comments were made on every news cast for days following the Spring Grove riot, for that's what it was called every time it came up.

The county government said they would be reviewing The Grove's license to operate and Dennis could see his job slipping away. The police admitted the theatre management tried to do everything it could to prevent trouble, but no one was prepared for the violence of the crowd. Pictures of the burning police car, a score of arrests and people standing in line at the theatre to get their refund abounded on the news.

Dennis didn't know what to do; they had a Las Vegas singing act due in on Tuesday night for the week and the kiddie show on Wednesday afternoon. He spent the afternoon in the Cavanaugh pool with Ted and then Kenny called him on Monday night.

"Hey there, I need you at three tomorrow," Kenny said.

"Uh, The Grove is still in business?" Dennis asked.

"Hell yeah, that was just a bump in the road, the fun never ends at Spring Grove…besides I have a present for you when you get in."

"OK, three it is…thanks," Dennis said.

"It's just you and me this week," Kenny said. "Two singers and a few showgirls, how hard can that be? See ya."

Dennis stared at the phone after Kenny hung up. Obviously Tony didn't give up easily. He called Ted with the news.

Dennis walked up the back steps at three the following afternoon and found Kenny sitting on the deck in the sun with his shirt off.

"Howdy," Kenny said and tossed Dennis a bag that had been sitting in his lap. "Take your shirt off and try that on for size.

Dennis opened the bag and pulled out a T-shirt. The green and gold were The Grove's colors, and on the breast Dennis' name was printed above the pocket.

"Look at the back," Kenny said with a grin, and Dennis turned it over.

On the back was a gold bull's eye target and the words around it said: Rock Used to be Harder in the Round."

Dennis looked at it and chuckled, and Kenny joined in, within seconds they were both in hysterics. It was funny, so funny it hurt. Both of them knew Spring Grove would never be the same.


On to Chapter Nine

Back to Chapter Seven

Chapter Index

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Exit Stage Left is © 2010 by Chris James.
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