“Mom, admit it. You’ve never baked a coconut custard pie in your life,” I laughed at her, as we looked at each other covered in flour in the kitchenette of our Carlyle Hotel suite.

“I did get the recipe from your Gran,” Mom replied, trying to wipe flour from the tip of my nose with her fingers redolent of coconut pie filling. “It seems simple enough to make…”

“Why did you tell everybody you were going to bake homemade pies? No one is going to confuse you with Martha Stewart.”

Mom stood back from the cutting board and wiped a tear from her eye, only to smear flour onto her face.

“Oh, Cherry, I just thought it would be a nice mother-daughter thing we could do. Remember when you asked Alastair to get you a Betty Baker kitchen set?”

“Yeah, you scolded me and said it wasn’t normal for a boy to want to play with girls’ toys. And you told Alastair to cancel the online purchase!”

“Cherry, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t understand—” She reached out to embrace me but I averted her arms.

“Do you really understand now, Mom?”

“Yes, I do, sweetie. I’ve come to realize I gave birth to a baby girl seventeen years ago, not a boy.” I accepted her embrace and pressed my cheek against her, merging the flour on my face with hers.

“Let’s finish baking these pies!” Mom anxiously said. “We need to get dolled up and dressed for tonight.”

“Isn’t it just informal. Like casual?”

“We’re the hosts, Cherry! We have to look presentable. Now, I saw this perfect blue party dress in Dior’s window on Fifth Avenue and I just had to buy it!”

“I’m sure you’ll look beautiful in it, Mom.”

“It’s for you, Cherry.”

“No one will care what I’m wearing. Can’t I just wear—”

“Your cherry stems tee shirt and sweatpants? Oh, baby girl, you’re seventeen. Time to dress like an adult woman. And, anyway, you’ll need to look elegant playing the piano to accompany Maris when she sings for our guests.”

“She’s singing?”

“Of course. Maris has to sing when she sees a piano in the room. It’s in her DNA. She asked me to ask you to play for her. Don’t worry, she’s bringing her sheet music.”

“How about I just change into the dress when I’m playing piano and then change back to more comfortable clothes after?”

“Cherry! As co-host, I’ll expect you to greet our guests at the door when they arrive. I don’t want everyone to think you’re the hired help.”

“But everyone who’s coming has already met me. They know who I am—”

“Not everyone, dear. I’ve invited some additional guests. People you’ve never met. In fact, I’ve never met them either.”

“Oh…snap!”

“Don’t swear, Cherry. It’s quite vulgar.”

“I didn’t swear—”

“Yes, but you wanted to. Here, pour the filling into the pie crusts.”

Mom and I were all “dolled up and dressed” when the caterers started to set up our buffet dinner party at seven. Mom had decided to hire the Carlyle’s in-house catering service for a reasonable price of $5,000 ($200 X 25 guests) and they provided tables, chairs, and two servers. It was a tight fit in the living room of our suite but it was done.

At five of seven, I took my position at the door, ready to greet our dinner guests in my blue expensive designer party dress. Alice was wagging her tiny tail at my feet. I surveyed the room: a clutter of tables, chairs, and a central banquet table, festooned with a floral display, manned by the two servers/bartenders.

“Where are you, Cherry?” shouted Mom as she emerged from the kitchenette carrying the two coconut custard pies. She was wearing a light blue Dior cotton jumpsuit that was outrageously over-priced at almost $2000. I bet you could buy a similar looking one for under $100 at the Chico’s in The Commons back in Calabasas.

“I’m at the door, ready to greet our wonderful guests, Mom.”

“There you are. You look beautiful, Cherry! Oh, no, why isn’t Alice in her crate?”

“She’ll get anxious and lonely locked in her crate. Mom, she’ll behave. She loves meeting people—”

There were two quick knocks on the door. I took one last look at myself in the full-length mirror on the wall to the left of the door and noticed that Alice was also checking herself. Mom was standing in front of the banquet table, a wide smile on her face.

I opened the door and was met by a gaggle of members of Mom’s cast and plus ones.

“Cherry, you look splendid!” Danny complimented me. “Oh, Lulu, the spread looks scrumptious.” He handed me two bottles of Fernet-Branca Amaro Liqueur. “This is for after dinner. The perfect digestif.”

“Is it a sweet liqueur? I like something fruity to drink after a heavy meal.”

“No, sweetie, it’s bitter yet bracing…like life. Perhaps your mother will allow you a sip or two?”

“Cherry’s drinking the soft drink of her choice,” Mom declared. “She’s not drinking age and I don’t want her getting started before she’s 21.”

Danny patted my shoulder and whispered into my ear. “Don’t worry, kiddo, Uncle Danny will let you sneak a sip from my glass.” I rolled my eyes as he walked in. One of the servers took the bottles from me as I ushered in the people behind Danny. There was Maia, who brushed my cheek with hers, B-Loved and his date, Ron, Leisha, Brandon, and George, cast members, with their spouses, and Serena Chao, our Executive Producer, with her husband. Notwithstanding Mom’s insistence that the party was casual, everyone was dressed to the nines. I’m sure Danny was wearing a clean tee shirt beneath his dress shirt. None of the men was wearing a tie, thank goodness.

A second after I closed the door behind that group of guests, there were more knocks on the door. When I opened the door, a lone figure stood there. It was Philippa Chang, Annie Flaherty’s companion.

“Hi, Cherry. I guess I’m early.”

“Philippa, come in. Where’s Annie? Isn’t she coming?”

“Annie left to join Trent in LA last night. Trent wanted her to sing a couple of songs in his concerts on this mini-tour that goes through the 4th of July. All California dates. In fact, they’re set for a concert at The Hollywood Bowl in four hours.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here, just the same. We can toast each other with soft drinks because we’re both underage.” I giggled. “Aren’t you…” I started cautiously. “Aren’t you a bit jealous that she ran off to California with Trent?”

“It’s strictly business. Anyways, we have what you might call an ‘open’ relationship. You know what I mean?”

“I guess. I know someone else who might be more than a little bothered by Annie possibly being just a bit more than professional with Trent.”

“Oh, really? Who?”

“I’d rather not say.”

Another set of knocks on the door ended my conversation with Philippa. She nodded to me as she walked into the huddle of other guests laughing and chatting with Mom. I opened the door.

“Hey, sweetheart, the gang’s all here, I see,” my step-dad Alastair declared. He was holding a fifth of Glenfiddich Scotch in his left hand. He bent down and kissed my cheek. “You look smashing, Cherry.”

“She’s going to be stealing hearts, for sure.” David Wetherell stood right behind Alastair, holding another fifth of Scotch in his right hand. “Do you think 1,500 milliliters is enough for all the souses here?” He smiled as he also bent down to buss my cheek.

“Mom won’t let me drink any alcohol. Underage, you know.”

“She’s being a good mother, Cherry,” Alastair stated soberly. “I hope we’re all taking Ubers home tonight. Even you, David. Riding that chopper with a belly full of liquor is a death wish.”

As they walked into the room, Alice barked and tried to climb Alastair’s leg. David put his arm around Alastair’s shoulders. “Speaking of Death Wish, Al, Eli Roth originally wanted me to play the lead in the remake but I didn’t think I was right for the part. So they gave it to Bruce Willis. Now, let me tell you…”

Maris Lafferty arrived fashionably late at 7:30. She was greeted enthusiastically by everyone as she sauntered into the room. Dressed in a blue silk pantsuit with a daring, plunging neckline, she acted like the belle of the ball. During a brief lull in the chatter, she handed me her sheet music. It was a Stephen Sondheim song from one of his earlier musicals.

“Are you familiar with this tune, Cherry?”

“Oh, of course, Maris. Mom used to play the original cast recording cd often. The one from the Broadway revival you starred in…in nineteen ninety…”

“1992, Cherry. I won a Tony for that. My second.”

“When do you want to sing it?”

“It’ll be an after-dinner treat. After dessert but before the Amaro.” She stroked my cheek. “I’m sure you’ll do splendidly, dear. Just follow my lead.”

As everyone sat down with their plates full of buffet goodies and a glass of wine, Mom stood up and offered a toast.

“May I have everyone’s attention for a second before you all chow down on this delicious meal? Thank you all for gracing our home away from home tonight. I’ve only known most of you for two weeks since we started rehearsals, but I can already sense this show will be the hit of the new season. Many thanks to Danny, our genius director, Maia, our wonderful playwright, B-Loved and Trent, wherever you are tonight, for the great score, my splendid fellow cast members, and The Netherlanders Organization, ably represented by our Executive Producer, Serena Chao. Applaud yourselves!”

Cheers and applause rang through the room. Alice barked.

Mom raised her glass of red wine. “To the success of ‘Blues For a Diva’!”

More cheers and applause. Alice barked.

Alice wandered from table to table, garnering the affectionate pats of our guests and the occasional bit of food. I made sure that no one offered her anything that might be toxic to a dog, like nuts, dairy-based items, chocolate, bread, or fatty meats like bacon. Fortunately, she’d already been given her dinner so she wasn’t that hungry.

“I thought you didn’t like dogs, Lulu,” Danny ventured, nibbling on a chicken wing.

“It’s only because of Cherry that we have a dog. I didn’t think I could ever own another dog after my dog Buster ran away from home when I was twelve. I still believe my mother purposely left the gate to our backyard open so that Buster would be tempted to run off. That broke my heart. I could never love another dog after that. The memories would be too painful.”

“Until Cherry made it impossible for us not to get a dog for her,” Alastair interjected.

“Don’t tell that story again, Alastair,” I pleaded.

“What story?” asked Danny.

“I think it started when she saw ‘101 Dalmatians’ when she was 4 or 5 years old—”

“No,” Mom interrupted. “It was ‘Lady and the Tramp’, Alastair.”

“She kept asking Lulu to adopt a dog from the Agoura Animal Shelter near where we lived in the Valley. Of course, Lulu couldn’t explain her objections to doing that—”

“How do you explain that to a 4-year-old?” asked Mom.

“I never liked dogs. They bite little children. I know. It happened to me,” Maia added to the discussion.

“Cherry never let it go. Every once in a while, she’d ask Lulu again.”

“And every time, she’d say no,” I complained.

“One summer, when Cherry was seven, we took a road trip through New Mexico. You know, Santa Fe, Albuquerque—”

“Roswell! Alastair wanted to see where the aliens crashed back in 1947. He believes in UFOs. So, we had to visit New Mexico in the hottest month of the year,” Mom sighed, shaking her head.

“You’re not a believer. Fine. But we had fun visiting the Roswell museum, didn’t we, Cherry?”

“Yeah, I liked the models of the aliens. They looked almost real. It was cool.”

“So, on our way back home, we drove by Gila National Forest and decided to do a little hiking.”

“You decided to do a little hiking,” Mom corrected. “I just wanted to find a nice motel in Phoenix where I could sleep in an air-conditioned room.”

“We’re following one of the trails when all of a sudden we realize we’ve lost sight of Cherry.”

Mom squeezed my arm as she recalled the incident, her eyes shut.

“We looked for almost two hours. We even had a half dozen other hikers helping us search. Finally, we found Cherry near a stream about a mile away from the trail. She was wet from head to toe, holding a..a…what was it we discovered it was, Lulu?”

“An agoutis they’re called. Basically, a giant water rat,” she cried in a trembling voice.

“It took us half an hour to get her to let go of that animal. She wanted to keep it as a pet. Cried in the car all the way to Phoenix and then, even after a night’s sleep, cried all the way back home to Calabasas.”

“That’s really when I first saw her as a girl—”

“What do you mean? She is a girl!” Danny exclaimed.

“I mean,” Alastair quickly resumed, “she’d always been a real tomboy. Doing the kinds of things little boys do. But the way she held that rat in her arms, it was almost maternal.”

“I hate it when you tell this story,” I said, holding Alice in my arms in a decidedly maternal fashion.

“So, for Christmas that winter, I gave Cherry what she wanted. Voila! Alice!”

“I named her after you,” I giggled.

“Yes, I think of her as my other daughter.”

Toward the end of dinner, Mom received a Facetime call on her phone.

“Lulu, what do they say about turning your phone off during dinner?” teased Danny.

“I was expecting this call, Danny.” She connected and Trent Foster’s cheerful face appeared on her phone.

“Hey, Lulu! Trent here, sitting in the living room of my parents’ humble house in Pacific Palisades. I’m so disappointed I couldn’t be there tonight to break bread with everyone but, as they say, the show must go on. Otherwise the promoters will have me for dinner, bones and all. Now, could you mirror this onto your TV so that I can see all of you and vice versa? Annie’s here and we’d like to sing for our supper in absentia.”

“Hello Trent and Annie. I’ll hand the phone over to Cherry and she’ll do the honors. I’m an old fuddy-duddy with tech stuff.” She handed the phone to me and I toggled Airplay, chose the Smart TV on the wall, and Trent’s head filled the TV screen. Everyone turned toward the TV.

“Hey everyone. Sorry I can’t be there tonight. I’m in Mom and Pop’s house. Annie and I are heading over to The Hollywood Bowl in a couple of hours. Say hello, Annie. Wave.”

“Hi people,” Annie shouted unnecessarily, waving her right hand while keeping her left hand on the keyboard of a grand piano she was sitting at. Trent was standing behind the piano, leaning over and exchanging smiles with Annie.

“We’ll let you get back to eating but first we’d like to sing our version of ‘What a Wonderful World’ for you. It’s how we both feel about ‘Blues For a Diva.’ It’s going to be a smash hit! Maestra, if you please…”

After Trent signed off, I turned to Mom and tried to needle her. “They make beautiful music together, don’t you think? I sense a lot of chemistry between them.”

“It’s show business, Cherry. They both sing well and they’re very good actors. Nothing beyond that.”

“Like when you and David worked on ‘Thick As Thieves’ together? Just being professional?” I looked over to the table where David was sitting, regaling Maris with what seemed to everyone at their table to be a very funny story.

“Cherry, just drop it. Okay?”

There was a loud knock on the door.

“Someone’s real late to the party or your neighbors have complained to the police,” I said with a smirk.

“Go answer the door, Cherry. Please.”

I walked quickly over to the front door and opened it. Standing before me was a young Asian-looking man dressed in some kind of bohemian mish-mosh of fashion styles.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“I’m Chris Chang.”

“And…?”

“Lulu Brooks invited me to the party. I’m sorry for being so late but I was in Boston today. Just got off the train, went home and changed.”

“I can see you’re appropriately dressed for a dinner party. I’m Cherry. Lulu’s my mother. She didn’t tell me she invited you.”

“She told me that Annie Flaherty had asked her to invite me, kind of last minute. I don’t know Annie Flaherty either. She is a friend, I’ve been told, of my brother Phil. Is Phil here?”

“Cherry, who is it?” Mom stood up from her table.

“Chris Chang? He said Annie asked you to invite him—”

“Oh, god, no!” Philippa bolted from her table and ran in the direction of the kitchenette. Everyone swiveled their necks from watching the escaping Philippa to focusing on Chris at the front door.

“Oh, yes, Annie wanted me to invite you. I’m glad you could make it,” Mom said as she led Chris to what remained on the banquet table.

“Thank you. Sorry about being so late. I came down from Boston. It looks like one of your guests took exception to my arrival. Perhaps I’ve offended somehow?”

“I don’t know what that was about. Cherry, could you see what the problem is with her?”

I walked into the kitchenette and saw Philippa freaking out, looking like a lab rat trying to find its way out of a maze.

“Philippa! Calm down. What’s the matter?”

Her eyes were wide with fear. “That’s my brother Chris. He can’t see me like this!”

“Like what?”

“Like…like a girl.” She managed to stand still and look into my eyes. “I’m a guy. I’m Phil Chang, not Philippa.”

“You’re trans?”

“Well, no, I don’t think so. Maybe. Maybe I’m just a crossdresser.”

“Your brother doesn’t have any idea?”

“We’re not close. I think he’d be very disapproving.”

“What about your parents? Have you told them?”

“I think they’d be okay with it but I’m not sure myself. How can I tell them something I’m not sure of?”

“Annie asked my mom to invite your brother.”

“She’s pushing me to admit I’m trans. She thinks I’m in love with her cousin Paul. We’re roommates at Stanford.”

“Are you?”

“Well, yeah, I am but that could just mean I’m gay.”

“Are you gay then?”

“No, I don’t think so. You see, I’m just so confused. And Annie thought she could push me over the edge by having me live as a girl for two months in New York City.”

“So far, how are you feeling about that?”

“I need time. I think I’ll know better after these two months are over. So far, I feel…free. Like I’m supposed to be a girl, you know? What am I saying? You can’t possibly know how I feel—”

“You’d be surprised. Do you want to go back out there and confront your brother?”

“No! He wouldn’t be able to process this at all. And he’d tell my parents. They think I’m working as an intern on the musical that Annie’s in. Like a go-fer or something.”

“There’s a door that leads to the hallway. Right behind you, next to the pantry. Go! I’ll tell Mom you came down with an upset stomach and went back downstairs to your suite.”

“Thanks, Cherry. You’re okay. You’re in my circle of trust now.”

“Cherry!” It was my mother, calling from the living room. “Maris is going to sing for us now. She’s going to need a pianist.”

“Your father is Dr. Kenneth Chang, LA’s leading radiologist! I thought I recognized your name. I didn’t connect the two of you until I saw you in the flesh tonight!” Maris was excitedly telling Chris, who had sat down at her table to eat.

“Actually my father is rather disappointed in me that I didn’t become a doctor like him. And my mother is disappointed I didn’t become a lawyer like her,” Chris laughed. “I was told my brother Phil would be here at the party, seeing as he’s an intern with you for the summer.”

“Brother? We don’t have an intern named Phil, do we Danny?” David Wetherell asked Danny, a table away from them.

Danny shook his head, more interested in pouring himself a glass of Alastair’s Scotch.

“Maris, I’m ready to tickle the ivories,” I told her.

“Yes, dear, let me give myself some liquid courage first.” She reached across the table and picked up David’s bottle of Scotch. Pouring some into her glass, she confessed to me, “One never gets over the jitters before taking the stage. Never.”

I sat down at the grand piano and straightened up the sheet music on the stand. I wanted to crack my knuckles before setting my fingers down on the keyboard but decided against it. I don’t think Maris would appreciate the joke.

Mom got everyone’s attention, standing in front of the piano, the Manhattan skyline seen through the windows behind her. Introducing Maris to polite applause, Mom walked back to her seat. Maris weaved her way to the piano, nodded at me, and smiled. She was just tipsy enough to not feel her jitters.

After our last guest left and the caterers had carried everything out, restoring our living room to its original formation, I turned to Mom, flaked out on the sofa.

“Did you give the servers their tips, Cherry?”

“Yes, Mom, I gave each of them $250 like you wanted. They were more than happy to see the cash I put in their hands.”

“Good. They did a very nice job. Cherry, there’s still a whole half of a coconut custard pie left. Want a slice? I’ll make some coffee.”

“I’ll take the coffee, Mom.”

“You’re telling me without telling me, the pies sucked. Listen, missy, you were an equal partner in baking them.”

“Wonder what Trent and Annie are up to, if not right now, soon.”

“Cherry, I told you it’s a professional relationship. Anyway, Annie’s a lesbian. She and Philippa are involved. By the way, what exactly happened to her. Whatever it was, it came over her quite suddenly. She made it through most of the dinner without any sign of indigestion.”

“I don’t know, Mom. She really needed to go home though. Good thing she’s only two floors below us.”

“Just so you’ll stop with the kibbitzing, Trent invited me out to LA to spend the 3rd and part of the 4th with him.”

“I’m starting my film class on Tuesday, the 3rd.”

“I know. You’re going to stay with Alastair Tuesday and then he’s taking you to grand-mère’s barbecue on the 4th. I’ll be back that night. Okay with you?”

“Yeah, sure. I like spending time with Alastair. He’s almost like a father to me.”

“Don’t be sarcastic, Cherry. I’m bushed. I’m going to sleep. Make your own coffee if you want.”

“What are we doing tomorrow, Mom?”

“Tomorrow’s Sunday. I’m sleeping until two in the afternoon. Why don’t you frolic in the park with Alice?”

“Sweet dreams.”