Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Vivian
Jonah singing to me—only me—has me breaking down. How did I ever think he was this horrible, spiteful person? He’s beautiful in every way. And the deep timbre of his voice is doing things to me.
The crowd cheers so loudly for him, and I want to join them, but I also need to take care of my voice. As soon as he’s off the stage, I jump into his arms and wrap my legs around him. He laughs, his face bright with joy, and then he kisses me.
I finally let him go so others can congratulate him, but I hold on to his arm, in case anyone tries to steal him away. I love this man so much. I just need to tell him.
After everyone is focused on the next performer, Jonah sighs heavily and darts me a look. “Vivian…”
“What?” I don’t like the look on his face. It doesn’t bode well. Did he talk to George? “What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head and gives me a smile. “It’s nothing.”
And for once, I decide to go with it. Bad news can wait. “Okay.” I turn to Frankie—
“Wait. There is something.” He pulls me away from the crowd. “Sorry. Old habits are hard to break.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you can protect yourself, but I hate seeing you get hurt.”
Now, the not-knowing is worse. “Just tell me already.”
“Your father’s here.”
Ice runs through my body. “What? My father is here?”
He covers his face with a groan. “I shouldn’t have told you.”
I blow out a few breaths. “You were right to tell me. This way I can be prepared.” I kiss him again, wanting to erase the worry in his eyes. “Thank you for trusting me.”
He visibly melts. “Of course.”
We kiss several times, and then Frankie pulls my hair.
“Ouch.”
She side-nods to a small white trailer. “Time to get ready.”
I kiss Jonah goodbye again.
“What about me?” Maisy asks.
I love this kid. She is unfazed by her brothers kissing. And while we’ll have to explain that to her at some point, for now, we’re all good. Most of us, anyway. I lift her into my arms and kiss her cheek. Then I turn my face, and she kisses mine.
When we get to the trailer, Frankie opens the door. It has everything I could possibly need. A makeup stand. A closet to hold clothes. Styling wands of every type and size. I turn around, taking it all in. “This is amazing, Frankie.”
“How else do you think we do makeovers on the fly?”
It takes a bit to get ready. And while I’m not really afraid of crowds, I hate being judged.
Since my father is here, that is sure to happen.
He will most definitely judge me. No one knows that I’ve been working on this act for months.
Mrs. Landers has let me use her daughter’s dance studio to practice.
And Cassandra has let me practice my makeup skills.
And now it’s all coming together. What if I can’t do it? What if everyone laughs?
Chin up, Vivian. This is your chance to show the world who you are.
The important people already know. My mom. Maisy. Frankie. Not sure about George at this point. And, most of all, Jonah.
But this isn’t really for them.
It’s for me.
Once I’m ready, Frankie helps me get close to the stage. I want to stay out of sight until it’s my turn.
After the cheering dies down from the act before mine, Roz opens their arms to greet the crowd. “Are you ready?” They all cheer. “Let’s try that again. Are. You. Ready?” The crowd roars. “Much better, my lovelies. Now, let’s welcome to the stage, Vivian Beauchesne.”
They say my name perfectly. Was that Jonah’s doing? No crying, Vivian.
Frankie smacks my arm. “You gon slay.”
“Thanks, boo.”
When I take the stage, the crowd goes still.
Well, the ones paying attention. Many are still at the booths and food trucks.
Roz stares at me with a stunned look on their face.
Now, that is satisfying. As I stride across the stage, I gain strength from my persona and project confidence.
Many of the acts lip-sync. It’s normal practice.
But I don’t need to. I have a higher range than a lot of the female performers I know.
I finally make it to the center of the stage to greet Roz and the crowd. “Thank you, Roz. Can I say you look stunning, darling?” I turn to the crowd. “Don’t you agree?” The crowd cheers even louder.
They smile and wave, and only I can hear the words they mutter under their breath. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
Once I’m alone on stage, I smile at all the people watching. Cell phones all around me capture the moment and for once, it doesn’t bother me. “This song is for a special someone in my life.” I find Jonah, and he grins up at me.
Then I wave my hand to cue the music, and I perform Sam Smith’s “Unholy,” with every ounce of my being.
It’s exhilarating. Every high note soars above the crowd. At every jut of my hip, every choreographed move, executed perfectly, the crowd cheers. The only thing not rehearsed, not perfected, is the emotion in my performance. I mean every word. And the crowd loves it.
Everyone’s on their feet and, yes, it’s an outdoor event, but the crowd is jumping and clapping, and even knowing my father is watching and disapproving doesn’t diminish this moment. I raise my arms to the sky one last time and curtsy to the crowd. “Thank you all.”
As I leave the stage, Roz whispers frantically, and I realize they’re talking into their headset. They stare at Levor, clearly wanting them to do something. Are they angry with me? Shit. I don’t want to make enemies. As I walk past Levor, he says, “Vivian, a moment?”
This is where it all goes wrong. I was too cocky earlier. “I’m sorry—”
He catches my eye and holds my gaze. “Don’t ever apologize for who you are.”
I nod. Then he hands me a card. “Call us.” And then he winks.
What just happened? But I can’t focus because as soon as I reach the ground, people swarm me with congratulations and claps on the back…and pats on other places.
They need to stop touching me.
I frantically search for Jonah. And then he’s there, clawing his way through the crowd. Frankie takes over, yelling at people to get back.
And then Jonah’s arms are around me, squeezing me tight.
He grabs my face. “Vivian, that was amazing. You’re so—”
“I love you. I don’t care about anything else. This”—I wave at the stage, the crowds—“it’s fantastic, but you are the most important thing to me.”
His smile gets brighter. “I love you too.”
And then we’re kissing, and for once, everything is right. Even the things that are wrong don’t seem that bad. When we pull apart, out of necessity, he touches my face. “Your makeup is ruined.”
“I can see that.” I wipe smudges of pink and purple off his cheek. And the bottom of his lip. Then it doesn’t matter because he’s kissing me again.
“Okay, kids, break it up.” Frankie drags me away to take off my makeup. I glance back at Jonah once and then follow my bestie. We laugh and joke as we navigate through the crowd, and when we finally emerge from the throngs of people, I come face-to-face with my father.
“Vivian.”
My good mood evaporates. But at least I’m prepared. “What are you doing here?”
Frankie shifts on her feet, watching us.
“It’s nice to see you again, Franchesca. I hope your parents are well.”
“It’s Frankie.” She shrugs with a nonchalance I know she doesn’t feel. Her parents didn’t want anything to do with her once they realized she wasn’t as straight as they wanted. “And I wouldn’t know or care.”
“I see.” He turns to me, effectively dismissing her. “Vivan. I came to see you perform.”
“You should have waited for the video. It’s probably already out there.”
“You’re making this difficult,” he says curtly.
“Am I?”
“I’m…proud of you. You were spectacular. It’s not my style, of course—”
Frankie scoffs, and he gives her a withering look. Which she ignores.
“Thank you, Father.” I’m not sure what else to say, but I desperately want this conversation to be over. “I need to get changed.”
He ignores my words, but that’s hardly anything new. “I heard about the job offer. I think it’s perfect for you. I was”—he pauses and tries to school his features—“wrong, Vivian. I admit, I was wrong.”
Huh. “Those words were hard to say, weren’t they?” I cross my arms, never taking my eyes off him. “You’ve been wrong about many things that concern me, Father. So, you might need to be more specific.”
“I’m trying, Vivian.”
I sigh. “I can see that. But after years of being pushed into a mold that didn’t fit and that I didn’t want, admitting once that you were wrong doesn’t cut it.”
He nods. “Fine. I thought you’d make a good lawyer or businessman, but I can see now that your talents lie elsewhere. This fits you better. But the prize money from tonight won’t be enough for you to get started—”
“Hold on. The winners haven’t even been announced yet.”
His body relaxes, and he smiles. An honest-to-God smile. Is this an alternate universe? The end-of-times? Right when I get a boyfriend? Figures.
“There’s no doubt you’ll win. No one else was even close.
” He straightens and pulls on his suit jacket.
It’s a hundred degrees out, and he’s wearing a suit jacket.
But I know what this is. It’s his let’s-get-down-to-business talk.
“You’ll need more than the prize money, so I’m releasing your trust fund. ”
I stare at him. After all this time? “No conditions?”
He bristles at this. “I don’t want you to squander it away.”
“Unbelievable. Uncle Henri left me that money.”
“And he put me in charge of disbursing it when you’re ready. And you haven’t been ready. Until now.”
Is he afraid I’ll spend it on a Maserati that can go over two hundred miles per hour or that I’ll blow it skydiving over the Swiss Alps? I say the words I’ve held in for too long. “Uncle Henri’s death was an accident.”
For a moment, the grief he tries so hard to hide peeks through. But he locks it down quickly. “We’re not talking about that, Vivian. You should get changed,” he says as if it were his idea all along. “We can talk after.”
The trailer or makeup shed, as they call it, is cool. It feels amazing. But I’m still frustrated by my father. I pull off my costume and scrub my face. Frankie yanks the microfiber cloth from my hand, and I glare at her.
“Never wash your face in anger,” she says, as if I’ve committed a grave sin. “Your pores deserve better.”
She’s right.
As I gently wash the makeup off, Frankie gives me a knowing smile. “I have something that’s going to make you feel so much better.”
“Is it rum? Please say it’s rum.”
“Sadly, it is not. But rum is definitely in order.”
I rinse my face and pat it dry. “What is it then?”
She does a little dance as she pulls out her phone and hits play. That’s when I realize there might be things better than rum.
My father’s voice plays from the speaker. “I was…wrong, Vivian. I admit, I was wrong.”
She grins, and I bow to her, naming her the bestiest bestie in the entire world.
Later, with Jonah’s arms around me and Mom, Maisy, and Frankie by my side, they announce the winners.
When Roz gets to first place, she holds up the last card and waits for the crowd to go quiet. “And the winner of San Diego’s Pridefest 2026 Talent Show is….” Jonah hugs me tighter as Roz says with perfect pronunciation, “Vivian Beauchesne.”