The Crown Is Mine

by Berlinda Wall

  "I am so sorry," was all I could say.

  "Not a big deal. The show ended and you congratulated Miranda for a wonderful evening before she headed out to count the money they made. It looks like they did pretty well. And right after that, one of your adoring fans came up to ask a favor."

  "I have adoring fans?"

  "Yes, this guy named Rafael who had seen you perform in Atlanta came up to say how much he loved you and to ask if you could help him do his make up for the bear beauty pageant on Sunday. You said yes right away and began to thank him profusely for telling you how much he liked your performances. You had a lot of head bob motion going on while you were talking to him, which I think confused him. At that moment, Stefan came up to chat and I turned my back for a moment. When I turned around you were gone. I really was afraid you were going to fall into the pool and drown, so Stefan and I went out to find you since we couldn't see you in the bar."

  "Where did I go?" I asked as I started to really get embarrassed.

  "You were like the white rabbit that went down a hole because we couldn't find you anywhere in the lodge, including our room. And I don't want to admit this, but our search got delayed for a little bit."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Stefan planted a big, wet kiss on my lips and the feel of his beard rubbing against mine turned me on so we sat and made out for a while. That's all it was. We didn't do anything past that. He is a great guy, but I just don't know. I don't want a long-distance relationship, and I figure we might as well enjoy what we have here and leave it at that. He was nice enough to go down to the cabins to help me find you."

  "How did you know I was down there?"

  "All we had to do was follow the trail of your clothes. There was a shoe here. Another one there. A sock here. Another sock there. We collected them as we went and we knew you might be in trouble when we found your shorts hanging off a bush."

  I took a deep breath. "So what happened next?"

  "Well, we found your shirt on another bush. When we got to the first cabin, all the bears were dressed in leather by their fire pit, so we figured that cabin was too hard for you. The next cabin had a bunch of chubby bears having a late night buffet out front, which we figured was too soft for you. Finally, we came along a cabin where all the bears were in their underwear having a dance party out front with all these glow sticks. This cabin was just right for you."

  "How did I end up there?"

  "Your admiring fan, Rafael, brought you down there so that you could meet his friends and party. I could tell you were done at this point as you were staring at your glow wrist-band and starting to stumble around. Stefan and I scooped you up and made you say good night to everyone. Rafael looked a little crushed that we were taking you away from him."

  "What does he look like?"

  "Turn to your right.”

  I turned my head to see a very wide-eyed bear smiling and standing in front of me. "Good morning, Desiree," Rafael said.

  "Good morning to you too," I said.

  "How was the rest of your evening?" he asked. "It could have been more special if this big brute here hadn't hauled you away last night."

  "Just doing my duty," Paul said.

  "You're still doing my make up today?" Rafael asked.

  "Sure, but I didn't bring any of my supplies with me."

  "No problem. I brought plenty. This isn't my first time performing," he said.

  "Good. Let's say 4 backstage then."

  "Fabulous. I'll see you then," he said as he left to rejoin some of his friends.

  "What have I gotten myself into?" I asked.

  "It could have been worse. You could have woken up in that cabin this morning without any of your clothes at all, and then you really would have to do the walk of shame."

  "Oh my God that would have sucked. Please tell me there isn't anything else to this story," I pleaded at this point.

  "There's more. Stefan and I put one of your arms around our necks for support to make sure you didn't tumble. Your mumbling briefly became clear as you stated again how you thought our dinner was a date at first. At least Stefan laughed when he heard that."

  "Sorry," I said.

  "When we got you back here to the room, we plopped you on your bed. At this point, Stefan had to go, so we shared one last kiss as he left. Great kisser, by the way. Then you said that your head was spinning, so I got you back up and put you on the floor by the toilet. You said you were hot so you removed your underwear and threw it at me to catch. Needless to say I let it hit the floor. At that moment you turned and projectile vomited into the toilet. I couldn't tell you how glad I was that everything ended up in the toilet because I didn’t want to have to clean anything up."

  All I could do was hang my blushing face in shame.

  "The vomit was colored like a melted box of crayons. You had the yellow from the orange juice and then all the gummy bears. It created a rainbow in the toilet. I got you up and we rinsed your mouth out with some water and got you back into bed, but you wouldn't go to sleep unless I hopped in bed with you and cuddled. I kept telling you no, but you wouldn't take no for an answer, and the only way I was going to get some sleep was to hop in bed with you. You wanted me to strip naked, but I finally got you to agree that I could strip to my underwear before I got in bed, which is fine for me since I sleep in my underwear anyway. I put my arm around you and you pushed back into me to spoon and within thirty seconds you were sound asleep."

  "I am so sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

  "My little cub, it wasn't so bad. It was nice to actually sleep with someone since it has been a while for me and sleep is all we did. I just happened to wake up at my usual time which let me go down and get the coffee and donuts."

  "But how can I make it up to you?"

  "Don't worry. I have done much worse so let's leave it at that."

  "Thank you."

  The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. A couple of drinks, and I was feeling right as rain. And I did my duty and did Rafael's make up for the show. He wasn't kidding when he said he had performed before. He ended up winning the pageant, which was a first for him, and he thanked me from the stage for all my help.

  CHAPTER 47

  The real world set back in as the routine of work, sleep, eat, and drag took over. I was beginning to think there was no end in sight. We were getting ready for the second showing of "Bombshell" and the marketing machine had taken over.

  Chas had really ramped up the Facebook event and invited everyone he knew. Paul, Marjorie, Miss Gigi, Germaine, and I invited everyone we knew, no matter how near or far. Chas even reached out to all the gay publications in town to make sure they mentioned the show in their calendar section, and even tried to get me interviewed, which would have been very strange. The bar was plastered with flyers, Chas even promoted the show to the alternative straight publication.

  Desiree's page was getting more traffic than I ever expected. Every time I posted new pictures, my friend requests went up, and I was up to over 500 friends. I couldn't tell you who half the people were, but I didn't mind that my brand was getting extended. It was nice to have all this attention since I had always been one of those people who faded into the background. Plus, the nice benefit of becoming a celebrity was I kept getting invited to more events and parties. Everyone was starting to want a piece of Desiree.

  The phone rang. I could see it was Miss Gigi, so I answered.

  "Look sweetie, I have some notes on the show. Do you want to be remembered for something good or for something great?"

  "Something great."

  "I'm glad to hear that, because the biggest change we need to do is with the choreography," she said. "Right now it is just good, but good isn't going to bust this show wide open. I've got the choreographer from the theater already set up and he is working with the cast members already to make changes on some of the big dance numbers. This will really help the show.

  "What about Marjorie? She has worked so hard on the sh
ow that I just can't push her aside."

  "Don't think of pushing her aside. She has greatly contributed to the show so far, but I think what we need to do is out of her level of expertise. I'm only saying this to make the show better.”

  "When are you going to tell her?"

  "I'm leaving that up to you. She is your friend, and I think it would be easier coming from you." And with that, she said good bye and hung up.

  The advance ticket sales for the show were already at one hundred which was making me very nervous. The room packed out at two hundred so we could have a packed house. That would be incredible. Word of mouth must have been working to get people to buy tickets. I wanted as many people to see the show as possible, but how could I tell Marjorie? She is my friend and put so much of her time and energy into it. I needed to tell her before she found out about the other choreographer. There was no time like the present.

  Marjorie had been in a great mood lately because she and “The Package” had worked out all their issues and were seeing each other on a regular basis again. It did make me a little jealous that she had a special person in her life and that I had yet to meet that someone.

  She was still finishing up her morning coffee. Now was as good a time as any, so I approached her very cautiously. "Marjorie, you know we are coming up on the second showing of ‘Bombshell,’ and I know it has been taking up way too much of your time especially since you and ‘The Package’ are back together."

  "Sweetie, it has not been taking up too much of my time. I like helping you guys out. It makes me feel good to get involved in things."

  "And I appreciate that very much. I spoke to Miss Gigi a little bit ago, and she had some good notes on ways to improve the show. A little bit of dialogue changes here and there, but his biggest suggestion was to improve the choreography."

  "What do you mean ‘improve the choreography’?" she asked.

  "She thought that some of the big dance numbers needed some more pizzazz to really put the show over the top so she decided to bring in the choreographer from the theater to start reworking some of the numbers." I said.

  "Don't you think it would have been appropriate to have spoken to me about this first? I could give the numbers more pizzazz if you want them that way, but since you both wanted them as simple as possible, I made it very easy for everyone to learn the numbers,” she said. “If you wanted more jazz hands I am capable of putting them in there.

  "I understand."

  "No you don’t understand. How would you like it if she had gone behind your back and made changes without asking you? You wouldn't have liked that at all. This is your show too, so I would suggest you have a chat with Miss Gigi and tell that bitch I'm pissed,” she said.

  "I'll see what I can do. She didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

  "Yes she did, because she didn't have the courtesy to even tell me this to my face. Albert was right. The bitch is crazy, and I don't want to have a single thing to do with her again. I suggest you man up and get some balls and tell her that she is not the producer God of this show, and that if it weren't for everyone's energy going into this show you would still be just a drag queen doing mediocre shows,” she said.

  "This show is going to make me a star."

  "This show is going to make you a bitch, and I suggest you don't ask me for any help on any of this anymore because I am done. Do you understand me? I am done. I should have known better when you forgot to thank me after the first show. It was a sign of things to come."

  "Come on! You can't be serious!"

  "I am unbelievably serious. Tyler, I love and respect you, but this drag thing is starting to turn you into this unabashed monster, and you don't even realize it. You aren't in it to raise money for your charity anymore. Instead you are just doing this for attention. We all love attention, but I'm tired of attention whores."

  "Wow. I can't believe you think I am like that."

  "You don't even realize it. And your friend Germaine isn't doing you any favors either. He just keeps filling your head with all these thoughts when I really think he just wants to relive his glory days through you."

  "Germaine is a great talent. He was just misunderstood in his time."

  "Well, he isn't getting any younger or prettier. That time has passed him by and he needs to move on instead of getting you to do everything that he can't do anymore. He is a tired old queen who needs to start living his life for himself again instead of living it through you."

  "How can you say those things about Germaine? He is one of the most generous and kindest people I have ever met, and he likes me for me, and not because he is trying to be me."

  "No, he wants you to be a better version on him. All three of you are made for each other. You all just keep feeding each other's egos. It makes me sick."

  "If that is the way you feel about it, then maybe I need to move out. I may have overstayed my welcome here."

  "Yes, maybe it is time for us to go our separate ways," Marjorie said as she put down her coffee cup and walked down the hallway to her bedroom and closed her door.

  I couldn't believe her opinion of Miss Gigi and Germaine. They have always been very nice to her and me and tried to make her feel welcome at all the rehearsals as far as I could see. Maybe it was that time of the month or maybe things with “The Package” weren't going as well as I thought they were. Time to make a couple of phone calls if I was going to find a new place to live.

  CHAPTER 48

  Germaine met me at the door as I dropped my rolling duffle bag down. He was the first call and he said he, of course, would glad to have me as a roommate.

  He lived in a two bedroom/two bath apartment which was decorated exactly how I thought his place would look. Everything was a little over the top, but it all fit together. From the Bette Davis framed print to the overstuffed furniture, it all screamed Germaine.

  "Here, let me take that for you," he said as he picked up the duffle bag and started down the hall. "This room is yours," he said as he pushed open the door. "And your bath is right here,” he said as he pushed open another door. Neither room looked like they were ever used.

  "I was hoping some day to have a boyfriend, but since that never happened, these rooms really don't get much use and would be perfect for you."

  "I can't thank you enough. I just don't know where everything went wrong with Marjorie."

  "She was jealous of your talent, and your other friends were the same. Albert had already turned his back on you, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of them did."

  "I just can't believe it all went down like it did. They were more than friends to me, They were family."

  "Baby doll, I am your family now, and you are looking at a very bright future. When ‘Bombshell’ has its second showing, you are going to become a celebrity here in town. People will want to be with you, and you will become a member of the A Gays," he said.

  "What are A Gays?"

  "Not what, but who. The A Gays are the ones who hold the power and the money in our community," he said. “They are the ones who throw the best parties and put on the best charity events. These are the people who will put your campaign over the top and that crown will be resting on your head faster than you know it."

  "You really think so?” I asked, since I really had no clue who these people were. I'm used to the people who came out to the shows.

  "Yes. You are already getting invited to parties, and that is getting ready to explode once this performance makes you the belle of the ball."

  "I don't know about that."

  "It is all going to happen for you. Come on, let's get your stuff put away. We have a lot to plan out.”

  The show was only a couple of days away and it was almost sold out now. Today was dress rehearsal for the new choreography with all of the cast. It was the only time we were going to have to go over the new steps before the show and it had to be perfect. The moves were a step up from what we had been doing, so it was giving the show the extra punch
that it needed. I hated to say it, but Miss Gigi was right, and it was the right thing to do.

  Germaine and I headed to the club. His apartment was a little further away and we got stuck in traffic. There was only one thing guaranteed about Atlanta and that was traffic. We had to hop on the expressway, which was always a nightmare. Everyone in this city only took the expressway and never learned any of the side roads. It just sucked.

  We made it to the club with just moments to spare as everyone was there and waiting for us. I got into my costume, and we were ready to rehearse.

  Antonio, the new choreographer, was an affable man and fit in with the rest of the cast and crew. He immediately put everyone through their paces. The steps were not hard to learn and they did make a difference. I was glad Miss Gigi talked me into this.

  We managed to get through the dress rehearsal in a relatively short period of time, which was great because now I could get something to eat. It was going to be a little strange because I was used to eating with Marjorie or one of the boys, but since they weren’t speaking with me I would have to get used to other arrangements.

  "What do you want to do for dinner?" I asked Germaine.

  "Well Miss Gigi and I were going to get a bite to eat. You are more than welcome to join us."

  I looked in my wallet, and I was low on funds. It would have been better if I grabbed something from the store and just headed home. That would give me leftovers. Home was a new place with a lot of things to get used to. I guess I didn't realize how much I took Marjorie for granted, but Germaine drove so it wasn't like I had much choice.

  "Don't worry, I'll pick up the tab," he said noticing I was looking into an empty wallet.

  To really cap off the day, I ran into Athena on the way out. She was very subdued for some reason. I didn't say a word as she approached and looked straight ahead.