The Crown Is Mine

by Berlinda Wall

  I got several shout-outs as Desiree, and I stood up to hug the people who came over to say hi to me. It was nice to be recognized out of drag.

  "It seems we have misjudged you, my little princess," Kit said. "What show did you say you were performing in?"

  "I'm doing Marilyn Monroe at Club Cabaret as a fundraiser," I said.

  "So you're into charity work? That's very good to hear. Germaine, you may have a keeper here," Biff said.

  "Gigi and Desiree here put together the show I've been telling you about. You really do need to come and see it," Germaine said.

  "Get us tickets and we will be there," Kit said.

  “I will put you on the list,” Germaine said.

  With that, the house lights flickered, telling us to get into our seats. I was glad I didn't have to listen to their whining anymore. It was time to sit back and laugh.

  Torino put on an excellent show. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. Plus, she showed me what I could accomplish if I put my mind to it.

  Once the show was over, I was very grateful to Germaine and thanked him for the tickets. I was glad that I didn't have to speak with those two boys anymore…or at least I thought.

  CHAPTER 50

  The sold-out show went exactly as planned. The other contestants even showed up for this one, as word was getting out. Athena sat in a corner and looked like she had sucked on a lemon for the entire evening. It was nice to be congratulated by Miranda, Mary Jane, and Precious, whose words all came from the heart.

  After the show Marni reminded me that the Pride Celebration was coming up this weekend and Club Cabaret was entering their float in the parade. It was mandatory for the contestants to participate in the parade, whether on the float or in some other form of transportation, but whatever you did, it had to include the club's name on it. Marni showed me the drawing of the float, which was really basic because it was a flat bed being pulled by an SUV with a sound system on it. It didn't look like there was anywhere to sit on it, and the parade route usually took an hour or more, which meant I would be in my heels and my feet were going to kill me. I guess it was time to consider some sensible shoes.

  "Honey, I have a surprise for you," Germaine said. "I had these made up so that you can pass them out during the parade route." He pulled out a fan with my face on it. "On the front it is you and the back promotes the show. You can hand these out from the float because everyone needs a fan during the parade.”

  And he was right. Pride takes place at the end of June to coincide with the Stonewall Riots in New York, and it is always extremely hot and humid in Piedmont Park, so these would be good to pass out. And during every Pride I was told to expect a thunderstorm to come ripping through the park at some point. Rain and drag queens don't make a pretty site.

  "I can't believe you did this for me," I said as I hugged Germaine.

  "You deserve it after all the hard work you have been putting in, and I want to make sure you stand out during the parade. I don't think the other girls are going to be doing anything on the float. I even got Kit and Biff to chip in for the cost.”

  Yuck. That meant I would have to be nice to the two of them next time I saw them. "That's great news," I said as I slightly vomited into my mouth.

  "We already have the dress you should wear on the float to make you stand out even more. It will sparkle in the sun, and it is light enough for you to be comfortable in the heat. I put it in your closet at the apartment before I left for the show. I hope you don't mind. We thought we could get a little more involved in your campaign since you really don't have a manager helping you right now."

  "Your help is truly appreciated," which it was since everyone else had abandoned me, and I was feeling overwhelmed by everything that I had to do for the contest. I was surprised that he kept referring to all three of them as we.

  "We have a fitting planned for tomorrow morning so all three of us will be there to make sure everything works for the parade. We want to get you ready from head to toe."

  "Pookie, it's time to leave Desiree alone. Can't you see she is exhausted from the show? You can talk more shop later," Miss Gigi said.

  "You are right, darling. We can discuss this in the morning. Let's all get out of here.

  As soon as I got back to the apartment, I went to the closet to see what they had picked out for me. It was in a zipped-up garment bag which I gently removed from the closet and put on the bed. It was just like Christmas. I closed my eyes as the anticipation washed over me. I pulled the zipper down slowly, and as it parted, I was blinded by the sheer whiteness of the dress. I pulled it out of the bag and was dazzled by the sparkle that lit up my room. It was a white mini dress that was completely covered in plastic pearl shell circles that reflected light everywhere. The material was very light, so it was the perfect dress for the float since I didn't want to sweat like a pig and ruin all my makeup. I didn't see the shoes, so I guess I would get them when we did the fitting in the morning.

  I gingerly put the dress back into its protective housing and hung it back in the closet. I was exhausted by this point, so I stripped naked and hopped into bed. I pulled the covers up to my neck and said a prayer. "Dear God, thank you for everyone in my life. I hope I can live up to all their expectations of me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help other people. Amen."

  I drifted off to sleep. I immediately started having dreams about snowball fights and making snow angels. It was a glorious dream until Daisy Mae popped up yelling, "Be careful what you wish for! And don't eat yellow snow." I shot bolt upright in bed sweating. What did she mean? I lay back down, and eventually, after counting one hundred naked, men I fell back asleep. It was a restless sleep full of sheep and drag queens.

  I woke up in the morning to the smell of bacon and coffee and voices coming from down the hallway. I could tell Kit and Biff were already here and chatting with Germaine, so I slipped out of bed, put on a t-shirt, and some sweat shorts, and headed down the hall.

  "Oooww, you look a little rough today," Kit said. "Little princess didn't sleep well last night?"

  "But the show was wonderful, darling. I can see why people are taking about you. Germaine, thank you for the tickets," Biff said.

  "May I have some orange juice?" I asked. I was still waking up and this was too much too early.

  "Here you go. I'm going to get the dress so we can check the fitting," Germaine said.

  "Yes, do, because I have places to be and people to do," Kit said.

  As Germaine went and got the dress, Biff and Kit chatted privately to themselves, which was fine with me.

  "Stand up, sweetie, and strip. I need to slip this over your head," Germaine said.

  I followed orders and stood up and got rid of my clothes except for the underwear. Germaine pulled out the dress and slipped it over my head. It fit really well.

  "Let me do some adjusting," Kit said as he started pulling on the dress in several places.

  While pulling on the dress, Kit decided to pinch my nipples. I thought he was a creep, but this just proved it. Unfortunately, Germaine wasn't looking when it happened so I decided to keep my mouth shut. I didn't know what he saw in these people.

  "This dress looks and feels great," Kit said as he ran his hand over my ass. Thank God I had underwear on.

  "I want to thank you both for helping to get this and the fans. I'm sure I will be the hit on the float," I said.

  "Remember, when you are on the float stand on the right side because as you go down the parade route, there are more people on the right. And as you go by the viewing stand on Tenth Street, wave to the crowd, because we will be sitting there with a bunch of our friends. They want to see the diva we have been telling them about. They all have money and are looking to make some donations to your cause," Biff finished.

  "I sure will. Thanks again, but I've got to get ready for work. Hope you both have a great day.” I shuffled down the hallway burying all of my disgust.

  CHAPTER 51

  The
staging area for the floats for Pride was at the Civic Station Marta Station. The road was closed off so that they could be lined up by category. The first group was the Dykes on Bikes, followed by the political groups and then the bar floats. After that, it was the numerous social groups and other organizations in the city. It was great to walk around all the floats and see all the creativity and all the happy faces. These floats put our float to shame. You would think a bunch of drag queens could have come up with something better for our float, which still wasn't here.

  Moments later, our float arrived, and I was completely surprised at the presentation. Marni obviously had mislead us all with the float picture from before, because what rolled up in front of us was a multi-level rainbow explosion with Mylar streamers and pictures of each of us over our area of the float, which included a support post and velvet rope to make sure we didn't fall off onto the road. They had even installed a butt post that you could lean on if you got tired. The sound system was at the front right behind the SUV, so we could jam out while we were riding.

  It was extremely cool to see my face blown up and blowing in the wind. On the side of the float by our stations, there were banners with our names and our charity names. Luckily, I was on the right side of the float with Miranda and Mary Jane. Anamia, Dixie and Precious were on the left side. But Athena was nowhere to be found listed. I finally asked Marni where Athena was going to be, and all he had to do was point.

  Athena was lying in the back of a stretch, cherry-red Lincoln convertible. That was the only thing that was cherry about that car since Athena had her hole punched more times than a hooker at a prison conjugal visit night. Her chauffer exited the car and opened the door for Athena to step out. She did look radiant in her red sequined dress and her six-inch stacked heels. She slowly sauntered over the rest of the contestants.

  "I decided to roll with some grace and class, ladies. And I do use the term ladies loosely," she said. "Giles, where is my cocktail?"

  "Coming, madam," he said as he brought over her martini on a silver tray.

  Athena reached over with her gloved hand and lifted the drink and put it to her cherry lips. She was soaking in the attention as everyone around stopped to watch. She slowly took a sip and savored the flavor. "Excellent, Giles. Keep them coming." With a wave of her hand Giles was dismissed.

  "Keep drinking those, bitch, and I'll be waiting for you to pee yourself during the parade," Precious said.

  "No, no, no dear. I have more couth than that. I'm sorry you had to do that in that trailer you were raised in," she said.

  Precious took off her earrings and gave them to me. "Hold these, please," she said as she started removing her heels. "Hell no! No one talks to me like that. I'm going to kick your ass."

  "Ladies, this is supposed to be a happy day of unity," Marni said. "Athena go back to your vehicle. The rest of you, there is a ladder for you to climb up onto the float. I want everyone to get into their places." Begrudgingly, Precious took her earnings back and carried her heels as she heeded to the float.

  "I'm glad that skank isn't riding with us. It will be more fun for the rest of us with her in her own little world," Mary Jane said. "And isn't she supposed to have the name of the club somewhere on the vehicle?"

  "It's coming," I said as Marni rolled out the Athena banner that was being strapped on to the trunk of the car.

  "At least they put it in the right place," Miranda said. "On her ass. Oh, I'm sorry, I got that and the trunk of the car confused. They both have a lot of junk going on."

  We all kept our sense of humor about the situation and decided to ignore Athena.

  Everyone got into their positions, but there was no sign of Anamia. We were all getting a little concerned since she wasn't in the best of health. After several questions on the topic. Marni finally made the announcement that Anamia wasn’t going to be on the float. She had accidentally swallowed a breath mint and went into hypoglycemic shock or something else very similar, but was going to be fine. It sucked that she wouldn’t be here, but at least she would be well.

  "That's more room for me to work this dump," Dixie said. "You girls stay on your side of this floating trash heap and I'll stay on mine."

  "Let's get something straight right now, miss thing. You cross this line into my territory, and I will make you fly so fast your head will be spinning by the time Athena's car runs you over," Precious said. "Why do all of you want to get on my last gay nerve this afternoon?"

  "Yes ma'am," Dixie said.

  It was going to be a fun day, I could already tell. I saw that none of the other contestants had anything to pass out. Germaine was late in getting here with the fans. I knew it was always a bitch trying to find parking in this city, especially when there is a big event like this and the roads are blocked off.

  I saw a familiar-looking figure in the distance coming from the Marta Station pulling a wagon. I looked as he got closer and indeed it was Germaine with a little red wagon with boxes. He rolled his way over to the float.

  "I thought it would be easier to pass the fans out if I was on the side of the float. Here are a couple of boxes for you and some sun block. Make sure you spray it on, otherwise you will burn to a crisp in the sun," he said as he passed the items up to me. The boxes were already open, so I grabbed one and started fanning myself, since the temperature was rising quickly and we weren’t even moving yet. I grabbed the huge sun block spray-can and hosed my arms down, since that was the only exposed skin. Between make-up, hose, and hair, there wasn't much to cover, but it was the thought that counted.

  The final passengers for the float arrived. It was a gaggle of the club boys in Speedos and tennis shoes ready to shake their asses for the ride. You could tell they had already been partying, since they were all extremely friendly. Here was my chance to get some helpers for the parade. "Boys, do any of you have any sun-block lotion?" I asked. They all looked at me and shrugged no. "I'll make you a deal. If you help me pass these fans out I will cover you in sun-block spray. Do we have a deal?"

  Of course they all said yes and grabbed a handful of fans as I hosed them down from head to toe in sun-block spray. It smelled like a giant Pina Colada party on the float now. It was nice to rub the lotion onto several of the boys’ tight, toned bodies. They liked the attention as much as I liked giving it to them. My favorite was Marty, with the big box and furry chest. He had to be about my age and he kept hanging close to me. This could really be a fun ride.

  And much to my surprise, in the fan box was a sport drink bottle from Germaine, of course filled with screwdrivers. I was starting to like this. The boys hugged up to me to get their fans. I even had a couple of them fanning me while we were sitting still. Unfortunately, there was no breeze coming down the street, but they were keeping my makeup from melting off.

  The parade must have been starting because the Dykes on Bikes were firing up their motorcycles and started racing up and down Peachtree. It was extremely loud, but very soon they were far enough down the street that you couldn't hear them.

  "Alright ladies," Marni said. "This ship is leaving port." We started to ease our way into the parade line. Once we did, the DJ fired up the system. It was appropriate that the first song he played was Jennifer Lopez's "Let's Get Loud." I've always loved that song and it was so fitting for today. It made everyone shake their ass, and I got to bump booty with Marty. He had such a tight ass and I was wondering if he was a shower or a grower.

  "Have you ever fucked a drag queen?" I asked.

  "Once," he said. "I was extremely drunk, and it was a very weird situation. Once her clothes were off, he was a very sexy man. I'm sure if I got those clothes off of you there probably beats the heart of a tiger under all of that."

  "Rawr," I said as a made a cat paw swipe at Marty. He laughed, thank God. I didn't know how serious he was or if it was the cocktails talking, but I wouldn't mind letting him take me out for a ride.

  Peachtree Street was lined with the masses who came out to watch and get a
glimpse of the participants. A lot of them poured out of the restaurants from brunch, which is every gay person's favorite thing to do on a weekend. Get some drinks. Throw some shade. Heaven.

  As we rolled up Peachtree Street, we came to the holy-roller bunch. These supposed Christians were there with their signs saying "God Hates Fags!” and “Burn In Hell." Better yet, they had a PA system set up where they could broadcast their hate to everyone under the guise of trying to save our souls. The sad part was they had a little three year-old girl holding up one of the signs. This really proved that hate is taught at home, because this little girl had no idea what the sign said or meant.

  All the politicians on the talk shows keep saying the Christians are being persecuted for their religious beliefs, but these holy rollers proved the fact that there is Christian persecution going on, because if you don't agree with their beliefs then they are going to abuse and condemn you. What they don't realize is how bad they really look spouting the hate. We don't show up at their events and spout hate at them for their beliefs.

  "Little boy dressed as a girl, don't you know you are hurting God by your abhorrent behavior?" the minister said through the PA.

  I really wasn't sure whom he was talking to, so I pointed to myself, to which he replied, "Yes, you in the dress. God didn't intend for you to wear women's clothing. You need to turn to God and ask for his forgiveness," the bigot yelled.

  My only response was, "I did invoke God's name last night as my boyfriend was shoving his nine inch cock up my ass. Oh God. Oh God," as I gyrated my ass back and forth, but the float kept moving so I didn't get a chance to hear his response. Plus he had already moved onto his next target in the parade.