Meet the Cast: Tony Keating

We Are Not Saints Series

Good day, friends. I hope it’s been a wonderful one for you. My name is Jay Carson, and I’m pleased to be bringing you another edition of Meet the Cast. We’ve been interviewing members of the cast of characters from the upcoming series, We Are Not Saints, and today’s guest is Tony Keating. Tony is one member of the cast who appears in all four novels of the series. He and Father Jared Röhrbach had quite the affair going on, and we’ll ask him about it.

Jay Tony, welcome to Meet the Cast. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you ever since I read The Priest.

Tony Thanks. It’s good to be able to talk to you face-to-face, too.

Jay I’ve got to tell you, I think you’re probably the most enigmatic character in the series. We really don’t know a whole lot about your background. Why is that?

Tony I could be a wise-ass and say that I’m just a live-for-the-moment kind of guy — and that’s true — but you already know it’s more than that. The real reason is that my past is nobody’s business but my own. Let’s just say that it wasn’t very pretty, and it wasn’t very pleasant, but, in the end, it made me the person I am today.

Jay And who is that person?

Tony How can I answer that? Ask my friends. They can tell you more about that than I can. What I can tell you is who I’m not. I’m not a fool: I’ve pretty much seen it all and I won’t be scammed. I’m not impressed: I honor honorable people and leave the rest alone. I’m not a liar, a cheat, or a thief: It’s bad for business. I’m not a coward: I don’t need to escape anything in this life. Bring it on. In my mind, getting high’s an escape. If you want to use that shit, God bless you. That’s not me.

Jay Those are some high ideals, but there’s something more. Another trait I’ve noticed as I’ve followed you through the stories is that you’re a very loyal friend. Is that another of your ideals?

Tony Absolutely. There are two things I can tell you about that. One is, when people tell you who they are, believe them. I’m telling the world who I am every day by what I say and do. I want people to know that I’m proud of who I am. The other is, fool me once, shame on me. You get only one chance to be upfront with me. If you’re not, I won’t be your enemy. I won’t waste my time; I just won’t have anything to do with you.

Jay You’re what people refer to now as a “sex worker.” You guys used to be called “male escorts” or “rentboys.” What term do you use?

Tony Businessman. That’s what I am, plain and simple. I have several businesses. I deal in sex, I deal in real estate — I have a commercial broker’s license, and I deal in a lot of other stuff. But, like I said, no drugs. They’re bad for business. Whatever I do, I want satisfied customers who’ll keep coming back when they need my services. Then, they’ll tell their friends. It works. I don’t advertise, but I have more clients than I can handle.

Jay Do you ever get jaded, dealing in sex the way you do?

Tony Jaded? I’ll tell you what gets me jaded: people who think they’re better than me because of my business. I can smell ’em a mile away. They get my “money back guarantee.” I guarantee they’ll get their money back if they think they’re gonna treat me like shit. They can go take advantage of somebody else.

Jay But don’t you get tired of having casual sex with so many people?

Tony Look. You eat three meals a day, right? Does eating so many good meals turn you off food? I don’t think so. I guess you could get bored with it if you weren’t any good at it.

Jay Good point. But what about intimacy? Does sex work make it more difficult to connect with people?

Tony [Laughs] Ask Jared. I admit that when I first met him, he scared the shit out of me, but it only took a couple of days for me to be crazy about him. I kinda still am.

Jay Were you in love with Jared?

Tony You could say that.

Jay But you continued with your business, seeing other customers?

Tony Clients. Of course. I enjoy my clients, I’m not crazy about them. Jared’s different.

Jay How?

Tony I don’t know. I think it’s his spirituality. It was honest.

Jay I’ve read the story. I’m not sure that’s the word I would use for it. What do you mean by “honest?”

Tony He didn’t pretend to be anything but who he is. I don’t think you can be honest if you’re not spiritual, and I don’t think you can be spiritual if you’re not honest.

Jay You know Jared was in a relationship with Paul Fortis when he met you, right? And he was seeing you behind Paul’s back. Do you think that was honest?

Tony Yeah, in a weird way. Paul was jealous. He didn’t want to share Jared. Jared and I didn’t have that problem with each other. Jared was as honest with Paul as Paul allowed him to be. I’d say that Jared was being more honest by going out and doing what he felt was right for him than Paul was. Didn’t Paul mess around with that guy, Jeff?

Jay Yeah. I can’t say I’ve ever looked at things quite that way. But didn’t Jared eventually have to face up to the mistakes he made?

Tony What’s the matter? Don’t you? It’s not about facing up to them. That’s not the issue. His issue was not facing up to them. But when he did, it changed him, didn’t it? It took him a while, but he finally got there. I knew he would. That’s why I still love him.

Jay Okay. I can see what you’re saying. Do you mind if I change the subject a little? I want to ask you to tell us something about how you manage to come up with solutions so often. You always seem to come through for your friends. How do you manage that?

Tony I told you how. I’m a businessman, and a successful businessman needs strong contacts. I’m honest with my contacts and I deliver for them just like I do for my clients and friends. People know that when they do business with Tony, they’ll get an honest deal…and it’ll be confidential. I don’t talk about my deals.

Jay Are they legal?

Tony I didn’t say that. What’s upfront and honest doesn’t necessarily have to be legal. I will tell you this, though: nobody gets hurt. I just take advantage of certain…loopholes.

Jay Tony, you’re an amazing guy, and I’m so glad we had this time to get to know the real you a little better.

Tony Thanks. I’ve gotta tell you, though, that you’re a very good-looking guy yourself. Why don’t you look me up next time you’re in LA? I’m almost always at the gay club on Santa Monica. You know the one.

Jay Well…thanks again, Tony. I really appreciate the offer, but I don’t get to LA that often.

Tony That’s a shame.

We’ve come to the end of another session of Meet the Cast of our series, We Are Not Saints. If you’ve enjoyed these interviews as much as I have, please follow us at hlesbrown.medium.com. You’re invited to leave comments for me or my guests, and you can even email our guests personally. Their email addresses can be found at the bottom of their interviews. Keep an eye out for our next edition, when we’ll be interviewing Randy Carter’s boyfriend, Michael Keller. See you then!

Email Tony: tony.keating@wearenotsaints.net