Tell-All

bright brown eyes look at me, then back to the page, and he continues to read.

ACT III, SCENE TWO
    We continue with the audio bridge of Webster Carlton Westward III reading, “ ‘… Katherine Kenton committed suicide on what seemed like such a joyous occasion.’ ”
    The mise-en-scène shows my Miss Kathie in her dressing room, backstage, the soft-focus stand-in perfect and lovely as if filmed through a veil. We watch as she sits at her dressing table, leaning into her reflection in the mirror, fixing the final smears of blood and scars and crusted scabs for her upcoming Guadalcanal battle scene. From outside the closed dressing room door we hear a voice call, “Two minutes, Miss Kenton.”
    The voice-over continues reading, “ ‘It had long been rumored that Oliver “Red” Drake, Esq. , had taken his own life, after traces of cyanide were uncovered following his sudden death. Although no suicide note was ever found, and a subsequent inquest was unable to reach a conclusion, Drakewas reported to be severely despondent, according to Katherine’s maid, Hazie Coogan . …’ ”
    On Miss Kathie’s dressing table, among the jars of greasepaint and hairbrushes, we see a small paper bag; the sides are rolled down to reveal its contents as a colorful array of Jordan almonds . Miss Kathie’s lithe movie-star hand carries the almonds, a red one, a green one, a white one, almond by almond, to her mouth. At the same time, her violet eyes never leave her own reflection in the mirror. A glass bottle, prominently labeled CYANIDE, sits next to the candied almonds. The bottle’s stopper removed.
    Webb’s voice-over continues, “ ‘It’s likely that my adored Katherine feared losing the happiness she’d struggled so long and hard to attain.’ ”
    We see the idealized, slender version of Miss Kathie stand and adjust her military costume, studying her reflection in the dressing room mirror.
    The voice of Webster reads, “ ‘After so many years, my beloved Katherine had regained her stardom in the lead of a Broadway hit. She’d triumphed over a decade of drug abuse and eating disorders. And most important, she’d found a sexual satisfaction beyond anything she’d ever dreamed possible.’ ”
    The Katherine Kenton fantasy stand-in lifts a tube of lipstick, twists it to its full red length and reaches toward the mirror. Over the beautiful reflection of herself, she writes:
Webster’s amazing, massive penis is the only joy in this world that I will miss
. She writes,
As the French would say … Adios
. The fantasy version of Miss Kathie dashes a tear from her eye, turning quickly and exiting the dressing room.
    As the shot follows her, Miss Kathie dashes through the maze of backstage props, unused sets and loitering stagehands;the voice-over reads, “ ‘According to the statements of Miss Hazie, Oliver “Red” Drake, Esq. , had often talked in private about ending his own life. Despite the general public impression that he and Katherine were deeply, devotedly in love, Miss Hazie testified that a morose, secret depression had settled over him. Perhaps it was this same secret sorrow which now drove my exquisite Katherine to eat those tainted sweets only minutes before the hit show’s finale.’ ”
    Onstage, Japanese bombs pelt the ships of Pearl Harbor . Under this pounding cascade of exploding death, the svelte Miss Kathie leaps from stage right, bounding up the tilting deck of the USS Arizona . Already, her complexion has paled, turned pallid beneath the surface of her pancake makeup.
    In voice-over, we hear Webster reading, “ ‘At the greatest moment of the greatest career of the greatest actress who has ever lived, the rainbow reds and greens and whites of those fatal candies still tingeing her luscious lips …’ ”
    At the highest point of the doomed battleship, the ideal Miss Kathie stands at attention and salutes her audience.
    “ ‘At that moment, in what was clearly and undeniably a romantic self-murder,’ ” the voice-over continues, “ ‘my dearest Katherine, the greatest love of my life, blew a kiss to me, where I sat in the sixth row … and she succumbed.’ ”
    Still saluting, the figure collapses, plunging into the azure tropical water.
    The voice of Webster reads, “ ‘The end.’ ”

ACT III, SCENE THREE
    We open with the distinct pop of a champagne cork, dissolving to reveal Miss Kathie and myself standing in the family crypt. Froth spills from the bottle she holds,