The Crown Is Mine

by Berlinda Wall

  "I thought you didn't have a boyfriend," Marty said.

  "I don't. It was the first thing that popped into my head. They sound as bad as my mother," I said.

  "For me it's my father. He hasn't come to grips with me being gay yet, so it makes it difficult to go home and visit," he said.

  "I'm sorry to hear that."

  "It's all good. I still love him, and I realize it may just take some time for things to change," he said.

  "That's a great attitude. I need to keep that in mind when I deal with my mother," I said.

  Germaine was keeping up pace and passing out fans as he went. Every person he gave a fan to stayed in the procession and walked behind him. My little fan boys were doing their job as they would shove a fan in their Speedos for someone in the crowd to come and pull out. It was weird seeing my face sticking out of someone's crack. At least it was a great picture of me so I didn't mind.

  It was nice having people scream my name and running up to the float to have their picture taken with me. "I loved your show," I heard from several people, which was even better since it was a labor of love. I even had a couple of people bring me Jell-O shots for the ride. It was an incredibly festive ride with lots of positive energy flowing both ways.

  It was great having Marty with me. He didn't mind if I hugged on him and squeezed him tight. He was just a really nice guy and he smelled great. Just like the beach.

  The girls were all civil on the float. I think that's because each of us had our own cheering section along the route with friends popping up everywhere.

  As the parade progressed, I noticed there was my fan brigade all following behind Germaine, fanning their selves with my face. After a while, the fan brigade started spreading out, and before I knew it, they had surrounded Athena's car. I glanced at her, and she did not look too happy. The parade route was full of stops and starts for the entire two hours, and every time her car stopped, the fan brigade stopped with her and stayed exactly where they were.

  Finally, Athena had enough. "Giles, stop this car right now!" she screamed.

  "Miss Athena, please remember where you are. There are cameras everywhere," Giles said.

  "I don't give a fuck," she snapped back. "Listen up, all you ass fucks. I suggest you get the hell away from my car before I step off and kick your ass. Don't think that I won't do it."

  I leaned down to Germaine and asked, "Who are all these people?"

  "They are friends of Kit and Biff. It is good to have friends in the A Gays," he said. "They sent an email out to their list of friends asking them to run interference on Athena, since she is your biggest competition."

  As much as I loathed them, I thought it was pretty generous of them to do that for me. I looked back to see Athena trying to grab fans out of the fan brigades’ hands. It became a game of keep away with Athena in the middle, not able to reach the fans raised high over the boys’ heads. I watched her jump in her heels and scream at the top of her lungs, but the group wasn't fazed. The best part was watching everyone film it on their cell phones. I could hardly wait to see these videos posted.

  "Who is that?" Marty asked.

  "That is just my biggest competition for the crown," I said.

  "Why do you want the crown?" he asked.

  "I don't know anymore," I admitted. "It started because it looked pretty, and it was a way to meet people. Then I realized I could do something good for other people. I committed to the contest, and I will see it to the end. I would rather see your end," I said.

  "Baby, you can see that anytime. I would rather show you the front sometime. Where is your phone?" he asked.

  I pulled my cell out of my purse, popped in the password to open it up, and handed it to him. The next thing I knew he put it in picture mode, pulled open his Speedos, and took a picture of his dick. Then he dialed a number. "That is my cell number. Save it when you get a chance." He then handed me back the phone, turned, and started gyrating to the music again.

  I got so distracted that I forgot about the drama with Athena. I looked and she was back in the car as the parade was moving along. She looked extremely disheveled as she was trying to relax in the backseat. Fortunately for, her the fan brigade dispersed as we came closer to the viewing stand as the crew started passing out fans to everyone they could. Marty snuggled up to me as we waved to the viewing stand. I could see Kit and Biff about half way up, and they were waving back.

  This is what Pride should be about. A community coming together to celebrate our differences, but all committed to making the community stronger. It included the roller-skater boys, the lesbians, the marching band and flag corps, the politicians, the transgender community, the bears, the muscle boys, the athletes, the volunteers, and just everyone. There were people, flags, and floats as far as I could see up and down Peachtree Street.

  The float rolled over the new rainbow crosswalks at the corner of Tenth Street and Piedmont. Here was where the crowd was the largest and the most festive. They all screamed and cheered as the floats went by as the music filled the streets. The cocktails had been flowing and a large group of the sweaty men here all had their shirts off. It was a pretty site to see.

  The time had come for us to exit the float, since we were at the end of the parade. Marni was there waiting for us with the ladder to exit down. "It was great riding with you," I said to Marty.

  "You've got my number. Give me a call sometime," he said as he hugged me goodbye. It was wonderful watching his tight ass walk away with the rest of the Speedo boys.

  "Germaine, you must be exhausted. I can't thank you enough for walking the route and passing out the fans."

  "At least the wagon got lighter as the parade route went along," he said.

  I hugged him and we started walking back up the hill of Tenth Street. We needed to get to his car so that we could get home. My feet were killing me, and I needed to get out of this dress and into some boy clothes.

  Half-way up Tenth Street, we ran into Biff and Kit. "Great performance today on the float," Kit said. "But you do not need to be seen hugging on that trailer trash who was on the float with you. We need to find you a boyfriend to improve your image."

  "He was nice," I said.

  "That is besides the point," Biff said. "If you want to become an A Gay, you need to be seen hanging out in the company of quality people. That is not quality. The people we were sitting with in the viewing stand are quality people. They are the decision makers in this city, and you need to meet them."

  "Boys, thank you so much for your support. We are both pretty beat, so we are heading home," Germaine said.

  "Not yet," Kit said. "You need to make an appearance at Toby and Keith's party. It's only up the block at Myrtle Street. We want to introduce you since you are the up and coming star."

  "Come on, sweetie. We'll stop in and have a drink. Then we can head home," Germaine almost pleaded.

  "Just one," I said.

  We marched up the street, turned left on Myrtle, and we were there. The house had a gracious front porch that was draped in a ton of men. The minute we came up the front walk, I could hear people calling out my name. It was a very nice welcome. We left the wagon parked on the front lawn and Germaine held my hand as he helped me up the front steps. I could hear Biff and Kit telling everyone who I was. I think I was their talking point for the party.

  As we entered the great hall, you could see the bar set up in the kitchen. We made a beeline straight for the bar and the hot bartender, who was formally dressed with a pressed white shirt, black pants, a bow tie, and a vest.

  "What may I serve you?" he asked.

  "A screwdriver for the lady, and I will have a Manhattan," Germaine ordered.

  "Coming up, sir. Would the lady have a choice of vodka?" he asked me.

  "I would like Deep Eddy," I said. Deep Eddy vodka was the sponsor for one of the benefits where I performed, and it didn't give me a headache the next day. Always a plus when you're drinking.

  He poured our cocktails in
to real glasses and served them to us with a cocktail napkin. I hadn't seen anything this formal in my life except on TV. I could get used to this.

  "Enjoy," he said.

  We strolled around the party as Kit and Biff introduced me to everyone. It was a little awkward that they didn't introduce Germaine, but I made sure everyone knew he was my friend. I felt like I was pressing hands and kissing babies. I should have been running for an office, but I was running to be Miss Club Cabaret.

  We stayed longer than I wanted to, but we finally made our escape. I was beat as we headed up the block to the car. All I wanted was a shower and my warm bed. We turned the corner at Piedmont and headed up to Twelfth Street. I looked ahead and I could see Marjorie and the boys laughing and walking up the street on the other side. I missed them, but they were no longer part of my life. We turned up Twelfth and loaded the wagon into the car. Home James was all I wanted.

  CHAPTER 52

  Athena's Miss Firecracker Pageant on July 4th was one of her big fundraisers. It was being held at a private home off of Elizabeth Anne Street with a pool, which was a perfect setting for the glitz and glamour she promised.

  Germaine said he would tag along with me, but for this event, I chose to go incognito as myself so as not to draw attention from the girls who were competing for the title. I didn’t think it would be fair to show up in drag to a drag pageant that I wasn't in. We had a free weekend away from Kit and Biff, as they were on their way to Fire Island, no doubt to screw their brains out. They kept encouraging me to have a slut phase, which I didn't think I was ready for. I was having a hard time finding just one person to have a slut phase with. I had texted Marty after the parade, but so far nothing back yet. Oh well. On to the next one, whenever that would come around.

  We headed up Sheridan, but when we got to Elizabeth Anne, the cul-de-sac was already jammed with cars, which forced us to park in the parking lot of the closed camera store and walk the block and a half back to the house. I just couldn't believe there were that many people here for this. She must have been making a killing off of this fundraiser. I knew she was charging the girls $50 to enter the pageant and they had six contestants. The cover charge at the door was $10. I was afraid to see how many people she had here. I had to remember it was a competition, and we were all raising money for our charities.

  We strolled up to the side gate, which was the entrance to the pageant, and paid our entry fee like everyone else. The setting was gorgeous with the landscaped backyard and expansive patio surrounding the kidney-shaped pool. There were half-naked men soaking in the last rays of light, lying around the patio sipping cocktails. As it turned out, Athena and her supporters had gotten several margarita slushy machines to provide for the guests, which made the mood very festive.

  The dressing room for the show was the two-car garage, which was to the right of the pool. It had a door that came right out to the patio by the pool, which made it easy to enter and exit the performing area. They had even built a runway over the pool to the other side so the girls could work the entire crowd. There was a DJ booth, a great sound system, and even a spotlight, since the show didn’t start until it was getting dark which wouldn’t be until around 9:00. This production was very well thought out.

  We worked our way up the stairs of the two-tier deck so that we could get our free cocktails. From up here, we had a great view of the whole party. It was really starting to pack out. I was hoping the deck was built to support this much weight. I could see it on the news now. "Drag queens killed by collapsing deck. News at 11." Once upstairs, I ran into Mary Jane out of drag. She came out to check the competition, which she usually didn't do, but it was great to see her.

  "You usually don't come to these things. What brought you out tonight?"

  "One of my friends, Heather Lockless, is competing in the pageant. He doesn't take this too seriously, so that's why he wanted to do this show. He figured he'd get a few laughs out of it. Oh, and take a look at this."

  With that, she pulled out a flyer and handed it to me. One of the contestants had printed up flyers and passed them out to everyone she knew. In big headlines, it said "Free Alcohol,"

  "This is why its so packed," Mary Jane said. "Otherwise it wouldn't be so nuts."

  "Does Athena know about this?"

  "If she didn't, I'm sure she knows by now. From what I have been able to learn, she's holed up in the garage with the contestants still putting on her face. I hope they are surgically sewing on a new one because the one she has looks like she got hit in the face with a sack of oranges.”

  We all laughed.

  "Time to relax," Mary Jane said as she pulled out a joint and lit it up. "Do you want a hit?”

  "No thanks. Every time I drink and smoke pot, it makes me puke. I'll stick with the free drinks. Germaine, would you like a hit?"

  "Yes, please. I thought you would never ask," he said.

  So all three of us had great spots along the railing watching everything unfold below us.

  "Are you Desire and Mary Jane?" a very thin twink asked.

  "Why, yes we are," Mary Jane said.

  "May I get you two a cocktail? I've enjoyed both your shows and want to say I appreciate all you do for the charities."

  "You are welcome," I said. "I would love a screwdriver, and for Mary Jane, a margarita please."

  "Yes ma’am," he said as he made his way over to the bar.

  "When did I slip into the ma’am territory?" I asked Mary Jane.

  "Don’t worry, honey. To him, everyone is a ma’am. You look fabulous just the way you are.”

  We still hadn't seen Athena yet, but I did see Dixie Monroe pop up all of a sudden and with a photographer in tow. She was in full high-whore drag, which she could do even thought this wasn't one of her events. We watched her as she went from one hot man to the next. She would sit down with them for a minute, and then her photographer would pull out a clip board with something on it for them to sign. Once they all signed, Dixie and the photographer corralled them all together and started posing them in different positions around the party. He would then snap a ton of shots of the men individually and then in pairs. It was all very erotic as they were posed pressing their bodies as close together as possible with only their thin swimsuits protecting their penises from rubbing together. I had no idea what she was doing.

  Mary Jane texted one of her friends on the patio level and asked them to find out what was going on. We watched as he went over to a cluster of the models and asked what they were taking the pictures for. He chatted with them briefly, then we saw him text. Within a second, we heard the ding on Mary Jane's phone. She read us the text.

  "Shooting for a calendar that will be a wallpaper for the computer. She is selling them to raise funds for her charity. That's a big no no against the rules.”

  I agreed, but since we didn't like either Dixie or Athena, we didn't say or do anything. The photo session dragged on as the photographer got creative with the positioning of the models and pulled out some props. He had a shamrock for March and a Santa hat for December. They were going about their business until we all heard the garage door slam open.

  Athena stood there in her regal Fourth-of-July themed-dress with a headdress that appeared to be three feet tall. She stopped and posed so that everyone could see her before she slowly started walking to the runway over the pool. She moved very elegantly. As the light struck her headdress, it sent sparkles all around the party. All hell didn't break loose until she set foot on the other side of the pool.

  "You fucking cunt!" she yelled.

  Dixie, who wasn't paying any attention to Athena, turned her head very slowly and replied, "I knew you were coming by the earth tremors I felt. They were so heavy they caused me to orgasm."

  "What the hell are you doing here, you bitch?” Athena said surprisingly calmly. I thought her head would have exploded by now. "The rules state that no contestant can work another contestant's event, and that's exactly what you are doing."

 
"The rules?" Dixie said. "When the hell do you play by the rules? You truly didn't do that in any pageant we were in. You screwed so many of the judges, I thought you would have left a snail trail behind you for weeks or your intestines would have fallen out right there on the stage."

  "At least I didn't look like afterbirth on the stage.”

  "I have to thank you for putting the red spots on my evening gown where my vagina was. It looked like I had gotten my period. Luckily, one of the judges had a fetish for that and scored me higher than you.”

  "That's the only time you ever beat me in a category. I've got the crowns to prove it. And what have you got? You got the loser roses and the plaques that said you were first runner up. That is all you will ever be to me. The first place loser and my lackey. You aren't even worth being my lap dog, you bitch.”

  Dixie sat there for about one second looking over at Athena. She stood up very slowly and composed herself. By this time, every eye in the place was staring at the two of them, but it was all choreographed to a thumping beat, which was very strange. She walked straight up to Athena and never said a word. Next thing we saw was Dixie's right palm slapping Athena across the face, causing her head to snap. Needless to say, Athena wasn't expecting it from the look on her face. Before you knew it, she slapped Dixie right back, snapping her head back. Dixie recovered and threw another slap striking Athena across the face again. Athena returned the favor slapping Dixie across the face.

  Dixie finally clenched her fists and let out a primal scream as she lunged at Athena, catching her off guard as they both tumbled back onto the runway. It looked like two rats fighting over a day-old biscuit as they rolled back and forth up and down the runway with wigs and shoes flying everywhere. Athena's headdress slowly floated to the bottom of the pool as Dixie's wig ended up floating like a dead rat. All you could hear was muffled grunts and they rolled and rolled.

  Eventually, members from each fan club came up and pulled the two apart. There was no Marni here to stop this show. Dixie's photographer was helping her off the ground and started dusting her off. Athena was able to regain her composure as she got back to her feet. "Please remove this trash," she said as she pointed to Dixie.