Page 103 of Dead Serious: Case 3 Mr Bruce Reyes
“But all those awful things I said to you…”
“No longer matter.” Bruce shakes his head, giving him a small shaky smile. “I knew even as you were saying them that you didn’t mean them. You were scared and hurting.”
“But I…”
“Jack.” Bruce strokes his jaw tenderly. “I’m sorry I left you all alone.”
Jack shakes his head. “It’s done. We’re here now.”
Bruce looks over Jack’s shoulder as a bright, blinding light appears in the corner of the room. Jack twists to look at it and then turns back to Bruce.
“It’s your time, Jack.” He smiles at the light. “They’re all waiting for you.”
Jack glances at the light again, hesitating. “You could come with me,” he says.
Bruce smiles softly. Reaching up and cupping his face, he leans in and presses a gentle kiss to Jack’s mouth. “I can’t,” he whispers and pulls back. “You have no more unfinished business, Jack. There is nothing to forgive, no more guilt to carry. It’s time to find your peace.”
“With you?” he asks, hope shining in his eyes.
Bruce glances back at Dusty and something flickers in his eyes before he turns back to Jack and shakes his head gently.
“I loved you, Jack, and despite how it ended, we had some amazing times. I will always treasure the memory of us, but our time has passed. It’s time to move on, for both of us. I belong here now.”
Jack swallows, slowly looking over Bruce’s shoulder to Dusty, and offers her a small, sad smile.
“Take care of him,” Jack says to Dusty. “Love him the way I should have, without limits, without boundaries, and with everything you are.”
Dusty watches him with an unreadable look in her eyes as he turns toward the light. Bruce lets go of him, and Jack pauses and looks at me.
“Thank you, Tristan,” he says, “for not letting me die alone.”
“You’re welcome,” I whisper, a little choked up. Then, in a single breath, the light disappears along with Jack.
“Bruce,” Dusty whispers in confusion. “Why didn’t you go with him? You loved him, you could’ve been together.”
Bruce walks towards Dusty, stepping close and reaching for her, and even though he stumbles a little, he actually looks a little better, although he’s obviously still weak.
“Dusty.” Her name is almost a sigh as he leans against her. “I did love Jack. He was one of the bricks in my foundation, but we were only ever meant to burn as bright as the stars for the time we had, then fade with the dawn. We don’t belong together anymore. He has another path, as do I. I’ll always treasure the memory of the brief time we spent together, but Dusty… it’s you I’m in love with. It’s you I’ve been waiting for.”
“What?” Her eyes widen in shock.
“I’m in love with you, Dusty,” he repeats. “And I’ll keep saying it until you believe me.”
“You love me?” she whispers and shifts back slightly to look in his eyes.
“So much.” He pulls her close and leans in to kiss her, but she pulls back abruptly.
“Just wait… just wait a moment,” she says a little breathlessly, holding her hands up. “Just…” She closes her eyes as if steeling herself to do something really difficult and then—
I blink, and blink again, because it is no longer Dusty standing in front of Bruce, but a man I have only ever seen once, when he was lying on the table in my mortuary.
“Oh,” I murmur in surprise.
Gone are the platform heels and the glittery outfits, the Dolly Parton wig and the false eyelashes, and in their place is a tall, slim man wearing trainers, jeans, and a faded Queen t-shirt. His short hair is brown and his pretty face free of makeup.
“Under all the dresses and wigs, this is who I am,” he says. “I’m Dusty, but I’m also Dustin, and if you’re going to love me, you need to know all of me. I love being Dusty, but she’s not just for fun. She keeps me safe, she protects me when I’m feeling vulnerable. I won’t ever give up being her, but this is who I am too, even if you don’t see me very often.”
It’s then I’m hit by a simple truth. In the whole time I’ve known Dusty, from the very moment of her death, she’s only ever appeared in her drag persona, and it’s because Dusty is Dustin’s suit of armour. All this time, he’s been feeling vulnerable and scared, trying to adjust to life after death, so he fell back on the one thing he knew, the one thing that made him feel safe and strong. But now he’s not just letting Bruce in, he’s letting me see him too, showing us both that Dustin is the heart of Dusty.