Page 46 of A Straight Line

“Speaking of leathery, worn-out things, has anyone seen Felix’s testicles?” She asked.

The crowd laughed uproariously, and I smiled when Denny laughed harder than anyone.

“Felix?” Bang Bang brought a hand over her eyes again to peer out into the crowd. “Where are you, you worn-out old trick?”

A sharp whistle came from the area by the bar, and we all turned our heads to find Felix waving his middle finger in the air at Bang Bang on the stage.

“Oh, calm down,” Bang Bang said. “I was just wondering if you’d thought about a trip to Michael’s is all!”

Laughter pealed through the bar once again as Bang Bang continued her show. For the next several minutes, Bang Bang showed more pictures she had of the elder gays, telling stories of the bar’s history, what part each of the men played in its opening—and staying open. Thankfully, she also included the other drag queens, Bethany, other lesbians, our trans family, and others. Of course, each story was punctuated with a crude joke at each one’s expense. The drag queens who had been tending bar began moving about the room, delivering more beers and shots, and the crowd got drunker and rowdier, interacting more and more with Bang Bang as she carried on about A Straight Line and all of the queers in the community who had meant something in the span of its history.

Finally, after roasting everyone thoroughly, Bang Bang treated us all to her lip-sync version of I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. Maybe it was a little trite, but considering how she had just finished her roast with talking about how the bar would be a lasting landmark in the community, even if Harry and Vic had decided it was time to move on, it was fitting. Finally, the rest of the drag queens joined Bang Bang on stage and performed a rousing lip-sync to I’m Coming Out by Diana Ross. As the queens did their lip-sync, several party attendees got on the dance floor and kicked up their heels.

When all was said and done, and the queens were exiting the stage, leaving Bang Bang to wave and say “thank you,” the crowd couldn’t be tamed. Hoots and hollers, snaps, and whistles echoed through the bar as Bang Bang waved over and over again, blowing kiss after kiss in the direction of Harry’s and Vic’s table. Even when Bang Bang exited the stage, through the curtains at the back, instead of down the stairs at the front like the rest of the queens, the crowd remained rowdy. It wasn’t until the other queens were behind the bar and serving drinks again, and more music was being played that everyone started to focus elsewhere.

For all the laughing I had done and the joy I had felt for the half-hour Bang Bang was on stage, I suddenly felt sullen again. Seeing Bang Bang on stage, fearlessly working the crowd, making everyone laugh, had filled me with a joy I hadn’t felt in a long time. Now that it was all over, and I knew the party was going to come to an end eventually, all I felt was empty. And maybe a little drunk from the shots and beers we’d had since we got to the bar. When I felt Denny nudge me in the side, I looked over to find him gazing at me imploringly. His eyes darted between me and the dance floor.

I wanted to scream.

“Hey,” I said, distracting him, “I just want to go say ‘hi’ to Bang Bang before she disappears for God knows how long.”

I had to shout to be heard over the music and the crowd.

“When you’re done, we’ll dance?” Denny asked, hopefully.

“I mean, yeah. We’ll see. Okay?” I shouted back.

“Yeah,” Denny said. “All right.”

He didn’t say anything else. Instead, he turned on his heels and walked away. I watched him as he made his way through the crowd and over to Harry’s and Vic’s table, where a group of people was waiting to say a nice word or two to the soon-to-be-former owners of A Straight Line. The way his shoulders were hunched, and how he shuffled his feet, I could tell Denny was upset.

Why am I such a dick?