Out With My Ex

Shane and I went to Sircuit to meet up with my ex-boyfriend Lauri, who is in town for a couple of weeks. As we walked into the bar there was a drag show on.

"Drag?" I said to Shane. "You've got to be kidding." I stood on the spot, just inside the door.

"Come on," said Shane.

"Don't know if I want to."

Lauri suddenly appeared laughing. I knew he was laughing at the drag, he didn't need to tell me.

I'm sorry, but I've never understood the attraction for men who are attracted to men, and masculine things, of men dressed up in a dress to look like woman. Clearly, I don't have that gene.

We got beers and watched the bad drag, pulling it to pieces... well, we're still acidic queens deep down, even if we deny it.

"Why is it that it is always the big, fat ones who want to be drag queens?" I asked. "Why isn't ever the small, petite ones?"

Lauri laughed. "That's so true."

Dale bought over three jugs of beer. Lauri and I looked wide-eyed at the amount of beer before us. Dale patted us on the shoulder and kept going, as Dale does.

"You know, ever since I saw Paul Capsis sing archipella, in harmony with two other drags, in Sydney that Mardi Gras," I said. I closed my eyes and heard those angels. "Any drag queen who doesn't use her own voice to sing, leaves me thinking it's amateur hour."

"I know, it's a cop out," said Lauri. "Very nineteen seventies."

The spot light swung on to us. "Hi, what's your name?" the drag queen asked Lauri, shoving a mic in his face. We hadn't noticed the drag queen, who was on the floor working the audience, walk up to us.

"Lauri," said Lauri. Big smile, Lauri doesn't mind attention. Loves it, in fact.

"Are you doin' him?" asked the baritone voice, of me.

I looked at Lauri's beaming face looking at me. "Not any more," I said. Still handsome, I thought. I'd still have sex with you. I hadn't thought that in years, but, I'd not been asked that in years."

"Boyfriends," Lauri offered.

"Used to," I said.

"Ex's," Lauri said.

"Is he any good?" the drag queen asked me with a flick of her head towards Lauri.

Is he any good? I thought back to staring into his eyes and kissing him for hours. I remembered the drunk chick at The Albury, that Sunday night after Mardi Gras, when Lauri and I were dancing wrapped in each other's arms, who slurred in our ears, You two are too beautiful together. Big grin. I bet you'd be amazing to watch? Lecherous look. I thought about nearly not seeing Mykonos at all, when we didn't leave our cabin for 4 days out of the week we were there. I thought of the parties, the years, the loving, the fun... we had SO much fun.

I caught Lauri's gaze, "Yeah, real good."

He smiled back with those loving eyes of old.

I rubbed his head.

He hugged me tight.