DIANE D (the Musical Drama) by Doris Miller - HTML preview

“Yes.  The doctor and my family are going to drive her there.”

“I’m so sorry that she’s going through that.  Will you and your family get to see Diane D often?”

“Yeah, her mom and I are going to take turns and stay with Diane while she’s committed.”

“You are.”

“Yes.  The rest of my family will come and see her every week.”

“They are?”

“Yes.”

“Oh that is so wonderful Miss Margarita.  At least Diane D has her family to be right there for her.  I’m so sorry what she’s going through.  I’m sorry for what she and Marcus are going through!”

“So am I.  Vanessa, I called you to tell you that after I left the precinct yesterday, I started thinking.  Then I had a long talk with my family.  I told them all what Marcus is going through with this phobia he has of Diane and everything.  My family really felt bad about his phobia of Diane, so we decided to drop the out-of-court settlement against you guys.”

“What!” Vanessa excitingly shouts.  “You and your family are going to drop the out-of-court settlement against us?!”

“Yes we are.”

“Oh my goodness!  Really?!”

“Yes really.”

“Oh thank you so much Miss Margarita!  Thank you so much!”

“I figured both of our families are suffering enough, so therefore, you don’t have to worry about the out-of-court settlement.  My family and I decided to squash it.”

“Oh thank you so much Miss Margarita!”

“The only things Mary says your family should pay for is the toys, gifts and fruit that Diane had them spend money on and their travel expense.  Mary says your family can just reimburse the money for that.”

“Oh we‘ll definitely pay your family back for the toys, gifts and fruit they all bought for the so called little boy who has leukemia and their travel expense!  Thank you so much Miss Margarita, I am so grateful for this!  I’m so sorry that Marcus and his brother Richard sent that phony letter about the little boy who has leukemia to your family!  The letter that started all this mess!”

“I know.”

“Thank you again Miss Margarita!  Tell Mary that we’ll start reimbursing your family next week!”

“Okay I’ll tell her.  Take care Vanessa.”

“You too Miss Margarita!  By!”  Vanessa excitingly hangs up the telephone receiver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 44

 

Showtime At The Arena

 

 

It is several weeks later, 2:00 Saturday afternoon.  The lobby is packed full of excited people!  There are large posters on the wall with pictures of Nicolas, Mickey, Diane D, Charlotte, Nancy, Lonna, Kelly, Miranda, Bernice, Michael, the Diaz-Davidson Band members, Mike, Mitch, the other Youth Show performers, The Rangos, The Alpha Tap-Dancers, the Diaz-Davidson Choir and large signs in the lobby that reads :THE DIAZ-DAVIDSON ORGANIZATION PRESENTS ‘Nicolas AND MICKEY DIAZ-DAVIDSON, DIANE D AND THE DIANETTES, MICHAEL AND THE DIAZ-DAVIDSON BAND, THE DIAZ-DAVIDSONS YOUTH PERFORMERS, THE DIAZ-DAVIDSON CHOIR AND MANY OTHERS!  The people in the lobby are all excited as they read the posters and the signs!  A teenage girl reads the signs.  She excitingly turns to other teenagers and says, “The Diaz-Davidson Organization is gonna be performing here tonight!”  She and the other teenage girls start to scream and cheer!  She then says, “Boy I can’t wait to see Diane D and The Dianettes!”

“Me too!” a second teenage girl says.

“Didn’t Diane D’s parents and grandparents ban her from performing anywhere for a while again?” a teenage boy asks.

“I think they did at first,” the first teenage girl says.  “But her parents and grandparents got wind that a lot of fans want to see Diane D, so I think they kind of caved in to that.”

“Really?  So they’re going to let Diane D perform again?”

“I think so, I’m not too sure.”

“The Diaz-Davidson Youth Performers are gonna be here too!” a third teenage girl says.  “That means Mike and Mitch will be here!”

“Aaaaaahhhh!” the teenage girls scream and cheer!

“Are you sure Mike and Mitch are gonna perform tonight?” the teenage boy asks.

“I sure hope so!   I can’t wait to see them!”

“Me too!” a fourth teenage girl says.  “They are so fine!”

“Oooooh they are hot!” a fifth teenage girl says.  “I mean they are hot hot hot hot hot!”

“They are hunks!” a sixth teenage girl says.

“Aaaaaahhhh!!” the teenage girls scream and cheer again!

 

A few male arena workers are in the arena hallway looking through the door windows at the crowd in the lobby.  “Wow look at all those people!” one of the arena workers says.

“I see,” says a second arena worker.  The arena workers continue to look through the door windows at the crowd in the lobby.  They turn their heads around and see Mary walking slowly in the distance with a cup of coffee in her hand.  “Hey Miss Mary!” the second worker shouts.  Mary turns and looks at the worker as he asks, “How’re you feeling now?!”

“Still tired,” Mary says.  “But I‘m hanging in there.”

“That’s good!”

“There are a lot of people out in the lobby right now waiting to see your organization’s show!” a third arena worker says. “The fans are out here already and it‘s only two o‘clock!  What time is your organization’s concert is suppose to start tonight?!”

“Eight o‘clock!” Mary says.

“Eight o‘clock?!”

“Yes eight o‘clock tonight!”

“Well the fans are already out here!”

“Yes I saw them earlier!”

“You did?!”

“Yeah!”  Mary starts to walk away.

“Okay, see you later!” 

Mary waves to the fellows and continues to walk away as the arena workers turn their heads back around and continue to look through the door windows at the crowd in the lobby.

 

It is 7:00 Saturday evening.  There is heavy traffic in the street going towards the arena. 

 

There are around several hundred excited fans waiting outside the arena, waiting to get inside.  They are holding up signs high in the air that read: ‘NICOLAS AND MICKEY’ ‘DIANE D AND THE DIANETTES’ ‘MICHAEL AND THE DIAZ-DAVIDSON BAND’ ‘MIKE AND MITCH’ ‘THE DIAZ-DAVIDSON YOUTH PERFORMERS’ ‘THE DIAZ-DAVIDSON CHOIR’.  Several pre-teen and teenage girls are wearing T-shirts that read: DIANE D AND THE DIANETTES. Other pre-teen and teenage girls are wearing T-shirts that read: MIKE AND MITCH.  Suddenly a few limousines pull up to the arena.  The crowd sees the limousines.  They becomes excited and anxious as they look at the limousines!  “Is that the Diaz-Davidson Organization in those limousines?!” a man in the crowd asks.

“I don’t know!” a woman in the crowd says.  “I heard Diane D’s parents and grandparents are already inside the arena.”

“They are?”

“Yeah. My brother is a security guard in the arena.  He told me on the phone that Diane D’s parents and grandparents were inside the arena since this afternoon.”

“Oh yeah? Well where’re Diane D and her brothers at?  Where’s her husband at?  Where’re the Dianettes at?  Are they inside the limousines?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is Diane D in any of those limos?” another man in the crowd asks.

“We don’t know.  I don’t think Diane D’s family ride in limos!”

“They don’t ride limos?” a third man in the crowd asks.

“That’s what they said on one of their interviews.”

“What! Then who are inside the limos then?!”  The man turns towards the limousines and shouts, “Hey Diane D, are you in there?!”

“Where’re the Dianettes!” a fourth man shouts.

“Hey Nicolas and Mickey!” a woman in the crowd shouts.

“Are they in those limousines?” a second woman in the crowd asks.

“I sure hope so!”  Suddenly a few more limousines show up at the arena.

“Hey!” a fifth man in the crowd shouts.  “That’s probably Mike and Mitch inside those limos!”

“Really?!” a teenage girl in the crowd shouts.  The crowd becomes more anxious.

“Hey Mike and Mitch!” a man’s voice shouts.

“Mike and Mitch!” a girl’s voice shouts.   The crowd becomes more anxious as they continue to watch the limousines pulling up.

 

It is now 8:00pm.  The arena is packed full of excited people!  There are a lot of people holding large banners and large signs high in the air.  Some of the banners and signs read: NICOLAS AND MICKEY DIAZ-DAVIDSON with very large bold letters printed on them while other banners and signs read: DIANE D AND THE DIANETTES with very large bold letters.  Some banners and signs read: MICHAEL AND THE  DIAZ-DAVIDSON BAND while other banners and signs read: MIKE AND MITCH.  Jason, his grandpa, grandmother and several other family members are in the arena audience near the stage.  They too are holding a banner that read: DIANE D AND THE DIANETTES.

 

Diane D’s family, relatives, The Diaz-Davidson Band, The Diaz-Davidson Youth Show and The Diaz-Davidson Choir are all backstage.  Barry approaches Nicolas and Mickey.  Mary and Margarita are standing with the choir members, trying to fix the choir members’ robes a little as the choir members stand on three lines, one in front of the other.  Three plus-size black female choir members on the other end of the line talk and burst out laughing amongst each other.  Mary angrily looks at them.  She points her finger to them and shouts, “Hey hey hey!  It’s no time to laugh now!”  The three women and everyone else look at Mary as Mary shouts, “You three goofed up and messed up on stage the last time, bursting out with that darn laugh!  We’re not going to have anymore of that!  It’s time to get serious and start performing right!”  The three women look at Mary then look away from Mary and hold their heads down as Mary gives them a cold stare.

“No ser demasiado duro con ellas Mary,” Margarita says.

Mary turns to Margarita and says, “No Mama, Voy a ser duro con ellas!   Voy a ser duras a nadie que goofs y no hacer nuestra organizacion ir correcta!”  Mary turns as she and Margarita continue to fix the robe of the other choir members as the choir members all remain quiet. 

Nicolas turns to Barry and says, “I guess Mom let Deidre, Francis and Adrianne have it, huh?”

“Yeah, she sure did,” Barry says.  “And here she comes now.  Are you guys ready to start your performance?”

“Yeah Dad, we’re ready,” Mickey says.

Mary, Margarita, Tomas and Marilyn approach Barry, Nicolas and Mickey.  “Como van las cosas aqui?” Mary asks.

“Todo esta bien Mama,” Mickey says.

Alex approaches Mary, Margarita, Barry, Tomas and Marilyn and says, “Um Margarita, Tomas?  The announcer wants to know if Mike and Mitch are gonna perform tonight.  He wants to know whether or not to call or announce their names out to the audience later.”

“No,” Margarita says. “Tell the announcer that Mike and Mitch are not going to perform tonight.”

“They aren’t?  Why not?”

“Because they’re banned!”

“They’re banned? Wait a minute, I thought Diane is the one who is banned for a while.”

“Not anymore.  Mike and Mitch are the ones who are banned now.  They are on punishment!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because they cursed their own great-grandfather out the other day,” Tomas says.

“What!  They cursed their own great-grandfather out?”

“Yeah!”

“Well how did that happened?  What did they say to him?”

“Well when Mike and Mitch’s parents, Devin and Maria and both of their parents and Maria’s grandfather from Puerto Rico came by the house to visit them and check on them,” Margarita says, “Maria’s grandfather yelled at Mike and Mitch and told them to stop getting into so much trouble.  Then Mike and Mitch got angry at him and told him to go ….., I don‘t even want to say the rest of the words they used!”

“Yeah!” Barry says. “When I heard what they said to their great-grandfather, I grabbed a wooden paddle, took both Mike and Mitch upstairs and whacked the crap out of both of their behinds!”

“You did?” Alex asks.

“That‘s right,” Nicolas says.  “Mickey and I heard the whacking in the next room.”

“Y’all did?”

“Yeah.  It was loud.”

“It sure was,” Mickey says.  “Then Mom, Grandma, Devin and Maria and their parents came in the room to stop Dad.”

“They did?” Alex asks.

“Yeah. They all felt sorry for Mike and Mitch because they said the whacking sounded too loud and hard.”

“That’s right!” Barry says. “I made sure I whacked them hard, they needed it!  I’m not gonna let them get away with saying that to their great-grandfather!  Then they tried to claim they never said that statement to him!”

“They tried to say they never said that to him?” Alex asks.

“Yeah!  It would have been their great-grandfather’s word against theirs, but Mike and Mitch couldn‘t lie this time around because we all heard them with our own ears, that’s why I had to whack the hell out of them and from the way I whacked them, I don’t think Mike and Mitch will be able to break dance or play any sports for a looong time.”  Everybody laughs a little.

“So where are Mike and Mitch at now?”

“Upstairs in the office sulking, angry because we won‘t let them perform tonight,” Tomas says.

“The rest of our family and some of their family and relatives are upstairs with them, watching them, keeping an eye on them,” Margarita says.  “So tell the announcer that Mike and Mitch are not performing tonight and don’t even bother to call out or announce their names.  We’re gonna have their cousins from Puerto Rico perform in their spot.”

“Their cousins from Puerto Rico?” Alex asks.

“Yes. Mike and Mitch’s older cousins and some of Mike and Mitch’s other relatives from Puerto Rico are here in town visiting them too. A lot of their relatives came here last week.”

“They did?”

“Yeah.”

“So their older cousins are going to perform instead?”

“Yes they are.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes tonight.  Their cousins Chico, Jose and Roberto.  They’re dancers.  They’re the ones who taught Mike and Mitch some dance moves and used to practice and rehearse with them. They’re going to perform tonight instead of Mike and Mitch.  When Mike and Mitch cursed at their great-grandfather, we decided to punish them by canceling their performance then I quickly called their cousins to see if their cousins were interested in performing.  They jumped at it and said yes they would love to perform, so they’re going to perform tonight.”

“My God, how do Mike and Mitch feel about that?  I bet they hate their cousins right now and probably called their cousins every name in the book, didn’t they?”

“No Mike and Mitch love their cousins, they don’t care if their cousins perform, it’s just that they want to perform also and we‘re not letting them.  We told Mike and Mitch that they should have thought about all this before they cursed at their great-grandfather.  So tell the announcer that Chico, Jose and Roberto are going to perform tonight instead of Mike and Mitch.  Tell him to announce Chico‘s, Jose’s and Roberto’s names when the time comes.”

“Okay.”  Alex turns and leaves the room.

Mary starts to fix Mickey’s tie.  She finishes fixing Mickey’s tie and goes to fix Nicolas’ tie and says, “Antes de llegar al escenario, tengo que conseguir el aceite de bano y frotelo sobre tus caras.”

“Ah olvidar el aceite de bano Mom,” Nicolas says. “El show va a empezar en cualquier minuto ahora.”

“Esta bien.”  Mary turns around to Barry, Margarita and Tomas and says, “I’m gonna keep an eye on the girls?  We don’t need Diane disappearing and being missing again.”

“Isn’t she in the make-up chair?” Barry asks.

“I sure hope she’s still in it.  That’s why I have to hurry and get back to the other room.”

“I’ll come with you Mary,” Margarita says.

“Let’s all go check on Diane,” Barry says.  Mary, Margarita, Barry, Tomas and everyone else turn and walk towards the doorway and walk out the room.

 

 In another room backstage, Diane D is leaning back in a make-up chair with a cloth wrapped around her neck and body with her face towards the ceiling squinting her eyes and face as a slim black female make-up artist stands over her working on her face.

Mary, Margarita, Barry, Tomas and everyone else enter the room.  Mary, Margarita, Barry and Tomas walk towards Diane D and the make-up artist.  “How’s the make-up coming along?” Margarita asks.

“Were you able to hide most of her scratches and bruises?” Mary asks.

The make-up artist turns to Mary and Margarita and says, “I did the best I could.  She didn‘t really have much scars or bruises left.  She only had a couple of scars here and there.”

“Well we still just want to make sure those couple of scars don’t show.”

“I understand.”  The make up artist turns back to Diane D and continues to work on Diane D’s face as Mary, Margarita, Barry and Tomas approach Diane D.

“Diane?” Barry says.  “We’re here hon.” 

Mary and Margarita stand on both sides of Diane D’s head.  They gently hold and rub the top of Diane D’s head as they look at her face.  “Diane,” Mary says.  “Esta usted bien?”

“Estoy bien Mama,” Diane D says as her eyes remain closed. 

“Esta seguro de que puede realizar Diane?” Margarita asks.

“Por supuesto Abuela.”

“Tomemos un vistazo a su cara Diane,” Tomas says.  Tomas turns to the make-up artist and says, “Excuse us for a minute.” 

“Sure,” the make-up artist says then steps out of the way.

Tomas, Mary, Margarita and Barry step closer to Diane D‘s face.  Diane D continues to lay back on the chair with her eyes closed as her parents and grandparents inspect her face.  Tomas then says, “Okay baby.  Cuelgue en alli mientras el estilista trata de cubrir las cicatrices.”

“Okay Grandpa,” Diane D says.

Margarita turns to the make-up artist and says, “Okay, you can continue to cover up her scars.”

“Okay,” the make-up artist says.  Margarita, Mary, Barry and Tomas move to the side as the make-up artist steps back to Diane D’s face and continues to cover up the scars on Diane D’s face as Margarita, Mary, Barry and Tomas look on.

 

It is 45 minutes later.  Inside the arena, a white male announcer comes out on the stage.  He goes to the microphone and shouts, “Ladies and gentlemen The Diaz-Davidson Organization is her