"Honey, it wasn't that bad. It was your first time, and you did great for your first time performing in front of this many people. Look, you’re competing against some entertainers who do this all the time and perform in shows on a regular basis."
"Really?" I said timidly.
"Hell yes, boo. The more you do this, the better you will get. Come on we have to get you ready for your second number." She started stripping me out of my outfit with wig first, heels second, and dress third. There I was again in pantyhose and a bra. My mother would be so proud.
"Sugar, if it means anything, I think you did a great job," Mary Jane said as she grabbed my arm. "Don't listen to that whore Athena. She never got enough love as a child. Gotta go. I'm up."
It was good to get some support from the other contestants. I was still afraid this was going to turn into a big cat fight.
As the night dragged on each girl went up and did her numbers. I did my second number and had more confidence than on the first number. It must have showed because I actually got some real tips. I guess the Captain and Tennnille’s "Love Will Keep Us Together" was my lucky number even if it didn't keep them together.
The final number of the night was by Precious Oil, who performed Crystal Waters’ "100% Pure Love." I watched from the wing, and this girl was a true entertainer. The crowd loved her as she went out into the audience and picked up one of the audience members and spun him around. She was a big girl and she did this with ease. The crowd went off when she finished and the stage floor was littered with dollar bills. It took a minute to get it cleaned up.
After her number, it was time for the cast call back. All the girls were called back onto the stage where we stood in a Miss America line pretending to like each other. I know I did, but Athena managed to get herself positioned in the middle of the line and kept staring down at the other contestants. The final number of the night was the entire cast performing "525,600 Minutes" from “Rent.” All the money raised during this number would be evenly split among all the contestants, so here was a chance to make some money.
Once the last bit of the money was collected, Kit-N Kaboodle announced our standings after the first show. "It is my great honor to let you know how well the ladies did this evening. It was a great show, and on behalf of the performers and the staff here at Club Cabaret, I want to thank you for all your generosity." At this point, the contestants grabbed each other's hand. I had the pleasure of holding Athena's and Dixie Monroe's hands. "In 7th place is the youngest performer, Miss Desiree, with $100. In 6th place is Ana Mia Drunkorexia with $212. In 5th place is Mary Jane Bazooka with $259. In 4th place is Miranda Lambadingdong with $278. In 3rd place is Dixie Monroe with $314. In second place is Athena Parthenos with $421. And it is no surprise that in first place is that valuable resource, Miss Precious Oil, with $502. Congratulations ladies on a wonderful evening. Have a great night, everyone."
As Athena's name was called for 2nd place, she squeezed my hand and Mary Jane's hand extremely tightly, almost causing us both to drop to our knees. She was not a happy camper and stormed off stage the minute the curtain was closed.
"She's always so easy to piss off," Precious Oil said as she watched Athena storm off. "This is going to be fun."
Maybe for her, but the jury was still out on how I would do.
CHAPTER 19
"So how did your first show go?" Sheila asked the next day at work.
"It was a disaster. I'm currently in last place, and I need some ideas on how to raise money. I can always ask Marni because he said he was always there to provide us help."
"At least you know where to start. I'm proud of you for putting yourself out there to help others. It's a good thing. Have you thought any more about coming to my friend's place in Savannah next month? I really could use a friend for the drive."
"Are you sure you wouldn't want to take along a real date?"
"Hell no. I want my best girlfriend with me."
"You make it sound like so much fun that I would be thrilled to go with you. I've never been to Savannah, so it will be a first for me.”
"Thank you. You're an angel," she said.
"Hey angel, you need to go to the restroom and get the rest of the mascara off your eyes. It's creeping me out," Braxton said.
"Yes sir." Off I went to the restroom. I looked in the mirror closely and sure enough there were still traces of mascara in the corner of my eyes. I thought I had scrubbed hard enough to remove all of it, but somehow I had still missed some. Chalk that up on my learning curve about drag. Wash your face better after each show. I grabbed the warm wash clothes we kept in there for the guests and proceeded to soap up my eyes. By the time I was done, I looked like I had been smoking pot with my red eyes. I had gone from one extreme to the other.
When I got back to the, desk Sheila shared with me the drama going on at the hotel involving the night manager, Mary Grace Rhineland. "Well, while you were out over the weekend, they found out that Mary Grace had been using the empty rooms to have sex. It turns out she has a furry fetish, so she was sneaking her furry animal lovers in through a side door. Security would never have caught her, but they found the tail of one of the furry outfits stuck in a door of what they thought was an unoccupied room. They opened the door and there was Mary Grace riding a furry hobby horse. All she could say was, ‘Ye haw.’ Needless to say she was escorted off the property."
"Are they looking to fill that position?”
"Too late, sweetie. The new night manager, Jaime something-or-other, starts tonight. We all get to meet him at the end of our shift," she said.
I liked Mary Grace even though I never had to work with her. She was always nice to me when ever she saw me. I hoped that the new night manager would be just as friendly.
Germaine hadn’t made it in yet, which was very surprising. He was never late and didn't look so hot when he finally got to the front desk. He was very pale.
"Honey, what's wrong?" I asked.
He looked up at Sheila and me and his eyes started tearing up. It just broke my heart to see him start to cry.
"I just got news that a former friend committed suicide. We had a falling out and hadn't spoken in awhile," he said.
Sheila and I both grabbed him and hugged him. None of us wanted to let go. I finally had to ask, "What happened?"
Germaine took a second to compose himself and pulled his silk pocket handkerchief out to wipe away the tears. "I got a phone call from a friend asking me if I was watching the news. I wasn't, so I quickly turned it on in time to catch the end of the news story. Billie had hanged himself and was discovered by the house-keeper. There was no note. There were all sorts of people trampling over his front yard. It was a disgrace."
"I am so sorry," Sheila said.
"Is there anything we can do?" I asked.
"Thank you for your kindness. I really feel sorry for his family and friends. It is sad that he couldn't reach out to one of them for help. Hell, I would have even gone over if the bastard had only called. Even though it had been some time, it still feels like I had the wind kicked out of me. We used to be so close, and I hated it when that friendship died," he sighed.
"We're not that busy," Sheila said. "Why don't you two go grab a coffee and talk. I've got the desk covered.”
"Are you sure that is okay?" Germaine asked. It was never like him to shirk his responsibilities.
"Please go. You need this time," she said again.
So I grabbed Germaine's arm and we walked over to the small café in City Center, which was connected to the hotel. Germaine was very quiet and still as he sipped his coffee and stared off into space. I was just giving him time to gather his thoughts and then he let it all out.
"Once upon a time, Billie and I were great friends. We did everything together and even lived together, but we were only friends. We used to go to plays, see movies and travel together. We even had a three way once. It was like kissing your sister, and thank God the boy toy was beautiful with a big dick and just
wanted to be serviced," he continued. "But everything changed when I started dating someone long distance. At first, nothing seemed to change and everything was status quo, but then he started hanging around with another friend, and they slowly cut me out of everything they were doing. I made every effort to keep involved in his life, but he just kept getting more distant. I would go to New York every eight to ten weeks and then my boyfriend, Iggy, would come here every eight to ten weeks. Long distance dating sucks, and I highly don't recommend it. I think Billie no longer saw me as his playmate and had to move onto someone else. I felt alone every time he and his new friend would go out and leave me alone, and it was hard to get comfort from someone who was six hundred miles away. Eventually, things with Iggy didn’t work out, and I was tired of being treated as an outsider, so I decided to move out. Nothing much was said at all the day I packed the moving truck and left. I think the only words out of his mouth were ‘See you round.’" He sat quiet again.
"You don't have to get this all out today," I said.
"Yes, I do. I can't hold it in. They say the first thing people do who are mourning is get angry. I don't want to be one of those people. I still think I'm in shock. All I could do after I heard the news was function like I normally do. I finished breakfast, took my shower, and got dressed. I sat on the bed and put on one sock at a time like I normally do, followed by my underwear, pants, dress shirt, shoes, then tie. I don't remember if I turned my oven off or not. I hope I did."
"I'm sure you did. If not, we can always call your neighbor to go over and check."
"You are so sweet to me. My friend let me know that there would be a memorial service, and my first instinct was not to go. We hadn't been close for a long time, but then I remembered memorial services are for the living and not those who have passed on. I need to go and give my support to his friends and family. The last time I think I ran into Billie was at the grocery store. We exchanged pleasantries, but not much else. It is sad when a friendship dies, but I wish he had just called me. I would have been over there in a minute."
I hugged him.
"No more drama. Time to get back to work," he said. He wiped the last of his tears, drank the last of his coffee, and out the door we went. Welcome to Monday.
CHAPTER 20
As I struggled to get organized, Mary Jane Bazooka got a jump start on her fundraising. Her event was her band, Baked, doing a show and having a "baked sale." I didn't know what that was, but the flyer looked good, and I needed to see what the competition was doing to get my creative juices going. Plus, I liked Mary Jane because she was always nice to me.
The show was held on a Saturday afternoon in the backyard of one of her friends’ homes. Albert and I got there a little early to see what the set up was like. They had a stage at the far end of the flat yard with what seemed like decent sound equipment, which was playing classic rock songs of the 70's, and some lighting. They had a couple of bars set up and the "Bake Sale" set up along the fence lines.
"There's not much to the ‘Baked Sale,’" I said to Albert. "It's just brownies wrapped in plastic, and they're asking ten dollars a brownie. I would never pay that much for one of those."
"Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids," Albert replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Those are pot brownies, hence the name ‘Baked Sale,’" he said as he stressed the words Baked and Sale with bunny ears.
"Ohhhhhhhh," I said.
"Turn off that light bulb over your head. It's blinding me," Albert said. "Everything refers to pot. The band name and the lovely brownies."
"That makes sense since her charity is medical marijuana." I myself am not a big pot smoker because every time I drank and then smoked pot, it made me throw up. And when I smoked pot only, I hated it because I couldn't judge distance, which made driving impossible.
"Hey Desiree," Mary Jane said. "It's good to see you here," and then she air-kissed me so as not to mess up her make up. I was surprised that she recognized me in just my boy clothes. "You make a cute boy."
"Thank you, and yes, we paid the cover charge," I said.
"Go grab a beer. The kegs were donated and the show will start in an hour," she said.
"I sure will," Albert said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the bar. We were able to get a couple of solo cups and top them out before heading to a quiet corner to watch the crowd stroll in.
"This reminds me of high school," I said.
"Why's that?" Albert asked.
"Because when I was in high school, there were three groups and you only belonged to one of them. The first was the stoners who are well-represented here today. I knew a bunch of the stoners, but I wasn't considered one of them. Then there were the socials, who were the popular, mean kids, and again I wasn't them."
"Then what group did you belong too?
"I was in the middle group, who were about as normal as you get, but I mingled with everyone. It wasn't that big of high school since we lived in the north Georgia Mountains, and the girls all loved me."
"Why was that?' Albert asked.
"Because the girls knew I was gay, so I was never going to be more than just a friend. They knew I didn't want anything from them except their friendship."
"Did the boys know you were gay?"
"Most didn't and the ones who did knew not to fuck with me or the girls were never going to go out with them. If the boys were going to get any, they had to play nice with me. I was lucky and it was never an issue. What about you? How was high school for you?"
"Not much to tell. I was very mellow in high school, but I wasn't out either, so pretty much I just drifted through day to day," he replied.
"How many people do you think are here already? I asked.
"Probably fifty, so that means her take is already $500. We need to get some events going for you," he said.
A few refills later, it was show time. The classic rock stopped and the announcer grabbed the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen please welcome to the stage, Baked.”
Baked made its way on stage and Mary Jane was now dressed in camouflage shorts and a tank top with a bandana and black boots. The guitarist strummed the opening notes of the Rolling Stones' “Jumping Jack Flash,” and next I knew it was a full onslaught from the band with Mary Jane strutting around like Mick Jagger. Then she began to sing live. She had an awesome voice. It was such a change to see her sing live since so many drag queens just lip sync. I guess ever since RuPaul's Drag Race hit the TV, every drag queen on that show is now putting out music and trying to extend her career.
The band rolled through an hour and a half of music, and before their last number, Mary Jane got a chance to say some final words to the crowd.
"I want to thank everyone for coming out. As many of you know, my mother had breast cancer, but she couldn't get access to medical marijuana to help ease her suffering after chemo. I'm not trying to get marijuana legalized, but I do want to get it more available so that cancer patients will be able to ease the affects of chemo. Luckily, my mother is a survivor, and we are looking forward to many more birthdays with her. Thanks for coming. And now for our final number we would like to do something from one of my personal favorites, Queen.”
The band ripped through "Tie Your Mother Down," and then it was over. By the end there were two hundred people in the crowd standing and cheering for the band, who were all very sweaty as they left the stage. But Mary Jane's make up didn't run or have a single smudge on it. I wonder how she did that?
She came over, "So what'd you think? I know I'm no Freddie Mercury.”
"You did him proud," Albert said. "I didn't realize you were such a big rock fan."
"I love classic rock, but for a drag show, it doesn't go over too well. You have to do the songs on the radio or you don't make any money and the crowd gets bored."
"How much did you make tonight?" I asked.
"Not sure yet. I've got a couple of cash managers who will give me the final numbers once everyone gets out of here. We hav
e an agreement with the neighbors that the music would be over by 9:30 so they don't complain, and they are all invited to the show to see it free. It worked out really well."
Just then one of her cash managers came up to give her the number. "Is this a good time?” he asked.
"Give us a minute," Mary Jane said.
"We've got to get going anyway," Albert said.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening," I said. "I'll see you at the club."
As we were leaving, I could see the cash manager and Mary Jane hugging. "It must have been a good night," I said to Albert.
"Well you figure two hundred people at $10 is $2,000. Plus, who knows how much money they made at the Bake Sale? I think they had a good night. Maybe $2,500 to $3,000."
"I'm jealous," I said. "I don’t' know if I can pull something like that off."
"Yes you can. We just got to get you organized, and get things going."
As the night air cooled, we headed home. I tried thinking of events to do to raise money, but I was a blank. Time to seek help.
CHAPTER 21
Our planning meeting was set. It was the boys, Marjorie and Shelly. Shelly used to work for a non-profit, so I needed to pick her brain for ideas. I was so new to fundraising and I was new to Atlanta, so any help I could get was appreciated.
"Since you don't have an organization behind you, I would like to recommend starting small and building up. There are plenty of things that don't cost you anything to do, but it will get you out there in front of people," Shelly said.
"Like what?" Chas asked.
"You can do the street begging. I believe someone mentioned that the club has some permits for that. There's bowling events, car washes, yard sales, wine tasting, a beer bust, and doing the drag shows at the club. But for the drag shows, try to get some raffle items so you can do a raffle where people buy tickets, and give away prizes that you can ask businesses to donate. Since you work at the hotel, you could ask if they would be willing to donate a weekend at the hotel that you can raffle off or free haircuts or restaurant gift certificates. People would buy tickets for those things," she said. “I knew one charity that volunteered at Georgia A & M home football games by running a booth and made money that way. This is all stuff that is easy to do and doesn't cost anything. Once you have a following, it will get easier."
The Crown Is Mine Page 6