Chapter 21

Friday, December 20

First Night

Mike stared at the rack of costumes hidden behind the curtain. “You get to wear all these?” Beneath every outfit was a pair of shoes, and suspended from each hanger was a bag containing the jewelry that went with it.

Anthony laughed. “How many numbers do you think we’ve got planned?”

“Do you perform the same songs every night?”

Elliott shook his head as he scrolled on the tablet. “We like to mix it up a bit.” He beamed. “Okay, the playlist is ready.” He peered at Mike. “You know what you’re doing, right? Because if I sashay out there to sing “I’m Coming Out”, and what pours outta the speakers is “I’m Every Woman”, heads are gonna roll. Well, one head in particular.”

Mike laughed. “Will you chill? Sam’s had me running through this about fifty times.” He peered at the large kidney-shaped foam pads sitting on top of a trunk. “What are these?”

Jim grabbed them. “ Those, sugar, are my hips.”

“Mike, you in here?” Ashley called from the bar. “Matt from the Provincetown Fudge Factory is here with the boxes.”

Anthony’s eyes gleamed. “Ooh, I think I might lend you a hand.”

Mike snorted. “Think again. Those little boxes of chocolates are destined for the guests’ pillows, not your belly.” The company was only one of several P-town businesses that had contributed to Nick’s Place. There were prints on the walls, ornaments in the lobby, and both the Provincetown Business Guild and the Provincetown History Project had provided framed photos of the hotel and the town, dating back many decades.

He and Sam had gone through every piece of bed linen, throwing out anything that was no longer fit for purpose. Thankfully, there wasn’t much that ended up in the trash, and they’d bought new sets.

He’d taken a last look at the place that morning, and he had to admit, everyone had done a stellar job. The first guests were due to arrive the following day, and Jim was going to work the front desk, with Ashley taking over while he was on stage.

We’re finally ready.

“Now scoot.” Sam smacked his butt. “We need to get changed.”

Elliott rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s only two hours until blast-off.” He grinned. “And it’ll take Ant that long to squeeze his fat ass into his dress.” Then he squealed as Ant gave chase, and all of them laughed to watch Elliott dodging behind the curtains.

“He’ll be watching, you know,” Sam murmured.

Mike didn’t have to ask who he was.

“I hope he approves.”

Sam enfolded him in his arms. “How could he not approve? His favorite nephew has breathed life into this place.”

“Correction— we’ve breathed life into it. Because this is very much a joint effort.”

Sam leaned in and whispered, “Don’t let on I told you, but they’re all a little nervous about tonight.”

He frowned. “Why? Do they usually have first-night nerves?” They didn’t strike him as the nervous type. Anthony had enough balls for all of them.

Sam shook his head. “It’s not that. This is the first time they’re going to have their significant others in the audience.”

Mike thought that was adorable. “So what’s the biggest number going to be?”

“The last one of the night. You won’t want to miss it.” Sam smiled. “It’s kind of a tradition. Nick came up with the idea years ago, and we’ve performed it ever since.”

Mike couldn’t wait.

Mike peered out from behind the curtains. The theater was packed. Every seat was occupied, and people stood around the edges of the room, chatting and drinking. Mike had spied Kris and Stephan in the audience, not to mention Patrick and a few of his buddies. The place was buzzing with energy, and when the lights dimmed and red spots illuminated the stage, a roar went up as Miss Dixx sauntered into view, a mic in her hand.

“Well, hi there, P-town. It’s been a while.” She couldn’t continue. The whoops, whistles and hollers rang out and showed no signs of diminishing.

Beside Mike, Candy shook her head and joined Miss Dixx on stage, to rapturous applause. “Have you missed us?”

She almost brought the house down.

When the noise dimmed, Candy beamed. “I’m gonna take that as a yes. Now, before we get this show on the road, we’d like to say something.”

Cherry joined them, holding a mic. “We want to thank all of you who made tonight possible. You know who you are.”

“Honey, if you want to show your appreciation, I’m game,” someone called out from the front, laughter breaking out around him.

Cherry let out an exaggerated gasp and fanned herself with her hand, her sparkling nails catching the lights. “Will you just hush? My boyfriend is in the audience tonight.” She shaded her eyes and squinted at the crowd. “Oh dear Lord— all my boyfriends are out there. Here’s hoping they don’t meet up.” She leered. “Then again, if they do, and they like each other, this could be my lucky night.” That earned her a huge laugh. Cherry blew a kiss in Stephan’s direction, and Mike had to smile when he blew one back at her.

Luscious sashayed onto the stage to hollers of delight. “Hey P-town, are you ready to partaaaay ?”

The enthusiastic response to her question left Mike in no doubt that barring one of the girls falling off the stage, it was going to be a great night.

And in those heels, anything is possible.

Then Luscious held her hand up, signaling for quiet. The audience fell silent, and she gazed out at them. “We’ve got five awesome shows lined up for you, and we know some of you will be here for every one of them. But before we do our first number, we wanted to say something.” She swallowed. “This is for Nick.”

Hands clapped, feet stamped, and cheers rolled out like thunder.

Mike wiped his eyes. “Nick, you found yourself—and me—an amazing family,” he whispered.

Luscious gave Mike a nod, he clicked on the tablet, and “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off” poured from the speakers. The four of them strutted around the stage, moving their hands suggestively over their bodies, and when they got to the chorus, the audience joined in, singing with exuberance.

Mike had never had so much fun. He didn’t miss a single cue, and Candy praised him whenever she was offstage. While the girls changed for their last number, Phil appeared in a tux and played show tunes on the piano. The audience sang along, until Ashley dimmed the lights once more, and the curtains drew back to reveal the girls dressed in skimpy red tops and shiny red plastic skirts trimmed with white fur, long black high-heeled boots, and fur-trimmed Santa hats.

A roar went up as “Jingle Bell Rock” started, and Mike watched in awe as they weaved in and out of each other, rolled their hips, and gave the crowd smoking hot glances. By the time they got to the last line, every member of the audience was on their feet, clapping loudly and cheering, the applause almost deafening.

The girls took repeated bows, and their reception showed no signs of abating.

Mike raised his eyes to the ceiling.

Nick? They did you proud.

He hoped his act on Christmas Eve would go off without a hitch, and that he’d get even half the applause the girls had received.

Especially the surprise he had planned at the end.