reviews_and_ramblings | It Had to Be You by Timothy James Beck

Daniel is a thirty years old guy like many in New York. He flew from a small town in Wiscounsin hoping to become an actor at Broadway; during high school he was the classical misfit, not actually out as gay but nevertheless the target of those guys who considered themself normal. As often in those cases, losing himself in daydreams was the only way to survive and playing a role on stage was another way to escape reality. In a small town, Daniel's ability to perform was something special, but in New York City he was only one other daydreamer; Daniel left his small town since he didn't fit there, but it's not better in New York City. Young and alone, Daniel was starting towards the path of selling himself, more for being noticed (and having enough to eat) than really for money. Who saved Daniel from that sad destiny, was his makeshift family, full of wonderful characters like Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, all in drags. In his small town, when Daniel thought to himself as gay, he never once imagined himself in drag, but then he realized that it was another way to play a role, on stage, but also in life. On stage Daniel wore glitters and satin, out of the stage he had still a mask. His own was 2Di4, a female impersonator of Lady Diana; and it worked for many years till the day the real Lady D died in a car accident. Daniel was not only playing a role, 2Di4 was also his life, and losing his source of inspiration was like losing again himself.

At thirty Daniel is again at the starting point, the last 12 years lost forever. More or less at the same time, he also finds out that his lover Jeremy is cheating on him with a common friend, Robert. So Daniel takes a whole turn on his life: he moves to Hell's Kitchen in a small apartment with a little garden and he spends the summer planting seeds and trees in that garden, another way to delay. At the end of the summer, the garden is a little eden, and Daniel has not yet decided what to do with his life. His friends, mostly drag queens, want for him to perform again, but he has not that in him. He meets Sheila, a young girl coincidentally from his same small town, who is temporarly living with Blaine, another fellow townfolk. Blaine is actually Mr 5.33, the same man Daniel is spying from his garden every day coming home and doing an impromptu and unwilling little striptease for the neighbor. At first Daniel befriends Sheila for the chance to meet Blaine, but then he finds out that he really likes the girl; Sheila's relationship with Blaine is strange, but from the beginning it's clear that it's not love, at least no more. Sheila also convinces Blaine to hire Daniel as Personal Assistant; Daniel has no real skill for the work, but he learns looking at DVD like Working Girl and From 9 to 5. The job allows him to get nearer to Blaine, and to discover some of the man's secrets.

Meanwhile, Daniel's ex, Jeremy, is regretting is choice to leave and wants to come back home to Daniel, and also Jeremy's new lover, Robert, is making a move on Daniel... from not having no one and being dumped, Daniel has now three possible lovers in line. Quite an ego burst. And the real good thing is that now all of the are interesting in Daniel, the real one, and not the face 2Di4 he was on stage. What Daniel didn't do 12 years ago, and what he delayed misguising as a female, he is doing now: he is coming out, from the closet, from the small town, from the dresses he used to hide. He is no more living on the shadow of someone else, replaying on stage her mistakes, Daniel is now doing them all by himself.

Even if there is a nice and tender love story between Daniel and Blaine, the story is mainly focused on Daniel. Blaine is all in all a good character and a nice man. He made some big mistakes in his life, but now he is trying to straighten (no pun inteded) them. Maybe at the very beginning, he is not so straightforward (again, no pun inteded) with Daniel, but it's really a question of few days. After that, he becomes the perfect possible boyfriend, comprehensive and caring, sweet and tender. But still, his character remains quite in second line in comparison to Daniel.

The love story between them is sweet, tender and very normal. A classical office romance, with a little of teasing and nice development. There is not detailed sex, when they do it (and they do it), the author chose the "and afterward..." tactic, means that we leave the characters just before the main course, to rejoin them at the afterward. No bad, the story is funny and light enough to fullfill the gap.

Amazon: It Had to Be You

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