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  Take Two

  Take Two

  © 2022 Mark A. Roeder

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners and no infringement is intended.

  Cover Photo Credits: Background: Wisteria Lane – Rebecca Shepard Wiki Commons, Flickr. Model: Anton Forsdik, Flickr.

  Cover Design: Ken Clark

  ISBN: 9798831566017

  All Rights Reserved

  Acknowledgments

  This book would be a true mess if it wasn’t for the following proofreaders: Ken Clark, Jon Lucas, Jim Adkinson, David Tedesco and Markus Seemeier, who have all put a lot of time and effort into proofreading this novel. Ken is also responsible for the great cover, in fact nearly all the covers of my books and audio books. I appreciate their hard work.

  A Special Thanks to My Patrons

  Books do not make authors rich. Often, they don’t even pay the bills. This book was made possible in part by my patrons on Patreon.com: Russell Harkins, Albert McCann, Victor Freeman, Mark Andrews, Robert Powell, John F Callow, John Smeallie, Paul Covert, Ken Clark, Jon Lukas, Martin Jaragosky, Markus Seemeier, Cameron Smith, David Manfredi, John Webb, Urban Skeppstedt, Terry Jones, Andi, Evan Marshall, Dale Bay, Victor Thomas, Mark, Jerry Bradshaw, Yancey, Allen Coulson, Joshua Coleman, Ernest Clark, Ward Holsey, Mark DePriest, Douglas Rayner, MB Wade, and Greg Howard.

  Patrons get the inside track on my novels, sneak peaks, serial novels and other perks. They even get to read my novels before they are purchased. Even if you can’t become a patron, check out my page because some posts are public.

  Check it out: https://www.patreon.com/user/posts?u=8324548 or go to patreon.com and search for “gay youth novelist”.

  Other Novels by Mark A. Roeder

  Also look for audiobook versions on Amazon.com and Audible.com

  Blackford Gay Youth Chronicles:

  Outfield Menace

  Snow Angel

  The Nudo Twins

  The Very Troublesome Ghoulish Bizarre Boy

  Phantom World

  Second Star to the Right

  The Perfect Boy

  Verona Gay Youth Chronicles:

  Ugly

  Beautiful

  The Soccer Field Is Empty

  Someone Is Watching

  A Better Place

  The Summer of My Discontent

  Disastrous Dates & Dream Boys

  Just Making Out

  Temptation University*

  Scarecrows

  Scotty Jackson Died… But Then He Got Better

  The Antichrists

  Bloomington Boys—Brandon & Dorian*

  Bloomington Boys—Nathan & Devon*

  Lawn Boy

  Bloomington Boys—Scotty & Casper*

  Bloomington Boys—Tim & Marc*

  Bloomington Boys—Elijah & Haakon*

  Brendan & Casper

  Someone Is Killing the Gay Boys of Verona

  Keeper of Secrets

  Masked Destiny

  Do You Know That I Love You

  Altered Realities

  Dead Het Boys

  Dead Boys of Verona

  This Time Around

  The Graymoor Mansion Bed and Breakfast

  Shadows of Darkness

  Heart of Graymoor

  Come Back to Me

  Skye & Colin

  Marshall Mulgrew’s Supernatural Mysteries

  Christmas in Graymoor Mansion

  The Fat Kid

  Brendan & Casper: Older & Better

  Light in the Darkness

  Transitions

  Three Months

  Dream Lives

  Farm Boys

  Wicked Intent

  Second Chances*

  There and Back Again: An Adventurous Boys Holiday

  Big Brothers

  Bloomington Gay Youth Chronicles

  A Triumph of Will

  Temptation University*

  The Picture of Dorian Gray

  Yesterday’s Tomorrow

  Boy Trouble

  The New Bad Ass in Town

  Bloomington Boys—Brandon & Dorian*

  Bloomington Boys—Nathan & Devon*

  Bloomington Boys—Scotty & Casper*

  Bloomington Boys—Tim & Marc*

  Bloomington Boys—Elijah & Haakon*

  Phantom Begins

  Peralta’s Bike Shop

  Hate at First Sight

  Born Too Late

  Colin University

  The Youngest Frat Bro Ever

  A Boy Toy for Christmas

  Purrfect Book and Curiosity Shoppe

  Hoosier Boys

  Second Chances*

  *Crossover novels that fit into two series

  Other Novels:

  Cadets of Culver

  Benji & Clyde

  Teen Idol Secrets

  Falling Star

  Take Two

  Fierce Competition

  The Vampire’s Heart

  Homo for the Holidays

  For more information on current and upcoming novels go to markroeder.com.

  Chapter One

  Paramount Studios V.I.P Tour

  2021

  “Were you really a movie star and a TV star back in the 1950’s?” asked Victor, a young boy taking the VIP tour with his family.

  “I know it’s hard to believe, but I was. There’s a picture of me right up here,” I said, leading my group down a hallway. “That was me, long, long ago,” I said pointing to my much younger self. “I played Bud Thomas on The Bert Rogers Show for eight years.”

  “Hey! I love that show!” said Brittany, who was in her mid-teens, the very age of the girls who once went crazy over me. “You were Bud Thomas?”

  “That was me.”

  “Wow!”

  “We filmed our show at Desilu Studios, which was owned by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.”

  “From I Love Lucy!” said Brittany.

  “Exactly. Lucy was also my boss.”

  “You knew her?”

  “Quite well. I’ll tell you some stories about her later in the tour. Desilu was later sold to Paramount, so it became part of the studio were touring now. This is the last remaining major Hollywood studio.

  “Do they really film movies here or is this just an amusement park made to look like a studio?” asked Victor.

  “Hollywood is the land of fantasy and illusion, but this the real thing,” I said as we walked outside. “See all the big metal buildings? Those are soundstages and I think… Yes, the red light isn’t on so we can go inside this one.”

  “What does the red light mean?”

  “If it’s on, it means filming is in progress and no one should enter. If it’s off, it means filming isn’t taking place at the moment and it’s safe to go in.

  “The soundstage looks pretty boring from the outside, doesn’t it?”

  Several in my little group nodded.

  “The outside may be bland, but the inside… Well, you’ll see. Right now, this soundstage is being used to film a new Dorian Calumet movie based on the life of Oscar Wilde. Let’s go take a look.”

  I led my group inside.

  “Whoa,” said Victor.

  “Welcome to nineteenth century London. Well… you would not have found the cameras, lights and film crew in old London, but this will be London in Dorian’s film,” I said.

  “It looks so real.”

  “Let’s take a look around while we can. It probably won’t be long before they begin filming again.”

  “There’s Dorian Calumet! It’s really him!”

  Dorian smiled and walked toward us. I had been giving tours of Paramount for years now and knew him well.

  “Everyone, I would like you to meet Dorian Calumet.”

  My group gathered around Dorian, asking questions and requesting his autograph. I remembered the days when I couldn’t go out in public without being recognized. I didn’t miss that so much, but a part of me wanted to be Bud Thomas again.

  Dorian was soon called away, so I led my group up near the cameras and right to the edge of the actual set.

  “We can’t step onto the set now because, as you can see, it’s being prepared for the next scene.”

  “That can’t be real snow,” Victor said taking in the wintery scene in front of us.

  “No. It’s artificial. In the old days, we used bleached cornflakes for snow. Now things are a bit more advanced. Next summer, if you watch Dorian’s movie, you’ll see this set in the film. You’ll notice there are three cameras…”

  An intense bright light from below blinded me at the same time a sharp pain zipped up through my body. I could feel myself sailing through the air and every hair on my body stand on end…

  Chapter Two

  Fairview 1955

  I jerked upright and gasped, struggling to hold onto the vanishing tendrils of memory as they slipped away, but they dissipated like mist in th
e sun.

  What the…

  A letterman jacket with a large F on the left breast was draped over the desk chair near the bed I was lying in. A Fairview High pennant was tacked to the wall.

  Shit!

  I couldn’t remember my next line. Had I spaced out in the middle of a scene?

  I jumped out of bed, but… there were no cameras. There were no lights. There was no crew. Where was everyone and why was it so quiet? Had I fallen asleep on the set? Wait. The set didn’t look right. Something was very wrong here.

  “Bud! Hurry up! Mom says to get moving or you won’t have time to eat breakfast before school.”

  “Monte,” I said gazing at my younger brother as he stood in the doorway.

  “Who’s Monte?”

  “Uh…”

  “Hurry up, will ya?”

  With that he was gone. I took in the room. It was as I remembered it, but... This wasn’t possible. My series had ended decades ago. I looked up. There was a ceiling where banks of lights should be. I turned in a circle. There were four walls. The set didn’t look like a set. Everything looked… real.

  “I’m Adam Bluestone. I’m an actor. This isn’t real.”

  I screwed my eyes shut, kept them shut for several seconds and then opened them again. Nothing changed.

  This was the bedroom of Bud Thomas, the character I played on The Bert Rogers Show, but the room was never real. It was a set and that set had been demolished decades ago. This wasn’t right.

  I walked to the closet and opened the door. There were Bud’s clothes. I recognized them even after all these years, but…

  “Bud! Get down here!”

  Eileen? How could she… The actress who had played my mother had died years ago.

  I dressed and then hurried into the hallway. I walked down the stairs and… it was impossible, but the stairs actually went downstairs into the living room. They weren’t supposed to do that. They weren’t supposed to go anywhere. The second floor of the house sat directly on the floor of the soundstage…

  Now thoroughly disoriented I walked through the familiar living room and into the kitchen. I stopped and stared.

  “About time, sleepyhead,” said Nancy, my little sister on my series.

  Nancy?

  “What’s going on here?” I asked.

  “We call it breakfast, Bud. Have a seat,” Dad, my TV dad that is, said.

  Bewildered, I took a seat, where my TV mom placed a heaping stack of pancakes and bacon in front of me. I stared at it. It smelled truly delicious, but...

  “Bert? Eileen? What’s going on?”

  Bert and Eileen both gazed at me, looking as confused as I felt. It was as if they didn’t recognize their own names.

  “I think Bud may be sick,” Karen, my older TV sister, said.

  “Why aren’t you eating, Dear? Do you feel okay?” Eileen, my TV mom, said.

  “I’m… uh… fine.”

  I peered at her and she smiled as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

  “Then get to it. You don’t want to be late for school.”

  I looked around the table into the faces of the actors who had played my family on my old series. They were all perfectly in character as if we were filming a scene, but… where were the cameras?

  I was hungry and didn’t know what else to do, so I began to eat my pancakes. They were as delicious as they smelled. The bacon was the best I’d ever tasted.

  What was going on here? I was with my family, my TV family from The Bert Rogers Show. My real brother was here, but he had played my little brother on the show, but the show… we filmed it in the 1950’s. How could…

  I’ve gone insane. That’s the only answer. I’ve gone insane and I think I’m in my old TV show.

  I gazed around the kitchen as I ate. Everything was exactly as I remembered except… this was a real house. It was all real, but it couldn’t be real. It had never been real. It wasn’t possible.

  If it wasn’t for the confusion and fear, I would have enjoyed myself immensely. How many times had I wished I could go back to the years we filmed The Bert Rogers Show, the time before my acting career went into the toilet? Everything was wonderful then, but we weren’t filming the show now. Somehow, I was inside it. That wasn’t even conceivable, was it?

  I finished my breakfast and went back upstairs to get my books. They were sitting waiting on me as if the set dresser had carefully placed them there for a scene. There was nothing to do but continue on until I could figure things out. Whatever this was, I was here and I might as well enjoy it while I could. This would all end soon enough. Indeed, I expected it to end with every moment that passed.

  “Come on, let’s go!” said my brother from the door.

  “Keep your pants on, Monte.”

  “Monte? Why do you keep calling me that? Who’s Monte?”

  I gazed at my brother and he gazed back at me as if he wasn’t quite sure I was okay. I would have suspected my real-life sibling was playing the role of my TV brother to mess with my head, but he wasn’t a kid anymore. He was an old man, like me. Too much was wrong here. This couldn’t be real.

  One thing was for certain, I needed to think of those around me by their character names instead of the names of the actors who played them. If I didn’t, I feared I’d go insane… if that ship hadn’t already sailed.

  “Um… just someone I know how looks a lot like you.”

  “Lucky guy!”

  “Ha! You fracture me, man. Let’s split.”

  No one had talked like that in decades, but the words came out of my mouth as if on their own.

  We walked downstairs and outside where my steps faltered.

  “We’re in Fairview. We’re really in Fairview,” I said.

  “Where else would we be, Bud?” Henry said, laughing.

  “Uh… nowhere. Henry, pinch me.”

  “Pinch you? I’m not falling for that. You’ll slug me.”

  “No, I promise I won’t. Pinch me.”

  “Okay…”

  Henry did so. “Oww!”

  I don’t think I’m dreaming.

  “Hit me.”

  “What?”

  “Hit me, just in the shoulder.”

  Henry looked at me as if he thought I’d lost my mind, but he did it. Hard.

  “Oww.” I rubbed my shoulder.

  “Happy now or would you like me to slug you in the face?”

  “That won’t be necessary. Let’s go.”

  I wasn’t dreaming. I could eliminate that possibility, but what was going on here? What was it Sherlock Holmes said, ‘When one eliminates the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer?’ Or, something like that. Great, now I was taking the advice of a fictional character. Somehow, that seemed entirely appropriate.

  “Hey, Bud. Do you think I can make the baseball team? Do ya?” Henry asked.

  “Huh? Oh. Well… maybe… you could be bigger.”

  Why wasn’t Monte… I mean Henry bigger? He had grown to be taller and far more muscular than me.

  Quit thinking about it. Quit analyzing it. Focus on making it through today.

  “I should still try out, though, right? It would be so boss if I made the team. The girls go crazy over baseball players, right? If I was a baseball player, Mary Lou would have to notice me.”

  Mary Lou… so this was that episode.

  “Sure, you should try out. You can’t make the team if you don’t try.”

  “Thanks, Bud. You always give me great advice, Bud.”

  Wasn’t the dialogue in our show better than this?

  I shook my head. I had to stay in the moment.

  I took in our neighborhood as we walked toward school. There was the Mitchell’s house and the Wilson’s next door. Down the street was Dr. Stone’s home and office. This was Fairview, no doubt about it. This looked exactly like the old back lot except there were no buildings or soundstages in the near distance and no Los Angeles beyond that. The small downtown, which we were now approaching, wasn’t disconnected from our neighborhood either. The residential area flowed into the business district, just like in a real town. We weren’t on a back lot. Somehow, this was real…

  We walked along Main Street. There was Floyd’s Barber Shop where Henry and I got our hair cut. Just down the street, was the Gillis Grocery, the Fairview Bank, the Fairview Library, Ethel’s Café and Tom’s Texaco Station. It was all here and it was all real, but… I wasn’t even going to bother to think, ‘but it can’t be.’