"Don't you rip that dress," Biff said. "It is one of a kind and was hand made by several small Chinese women who hand-sewed on all those beads. This is the dress where you will sow the seeds."
"What do you mean ‘sow the seeds’?" I asked.
"Sweetie, every drag queen has their own signature move," Kit said. "When you are performing in this dress, you will be doing a very dramatic song to fit the dress. Your arm movement for parts of this song will be this."
Kit then began to perform and his right arm motioned from the middle of his body in a straight line to his right as his body bent over slightly to the right. This caused his arm to angle down slightly. As he got his arm fully extended his palm opened up, and then his arm pulled back up and into his body very slowly.
"That is what you call sowing the seeds," he finished. "You are taking the seeds and throwing them into the crowd, and then pulling back to see what you have sown. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I think I do. It is like when Athena stands there and pulls the cabbage," I said.
"Exactly!" Biff said. "You were right, Germaine, this girl does have some brains after all."
"Now walk, bitch, like you are wearing that dress and it is not wearing you," Kit barked.
And I walked.
"Hold your back up straight," Kit said.
And I walked some more. At first, my heel was getting caught on the train, but the more I practiced, the more the dress moved with me and not against me. We started flowing together, and I was as graceful as a gazelle. It was as if I was Cinderella making her entrance at the ball, and everyone was staring at me.
"That's better, princess," Biff said. "Now out of that one and try on the next one."
We spent an hour trying on the other dresses and shoes that were purchased for me to see which ones they thought would make the best impression on the producers. We settled on three looks that they thought best represented me for the video shoot. I personally would have chosen one of the other dresses for one of my three looks, but they seemed to know what they were doing so I just shut up and let them drive this bus.
The script was emailed over later that day so that I had a chance to memorize what I needed to say. To me, it was kind of bland and what you would expect to hear me say, and I didn't think it really best represented me. I made some editing choices and forwarded the revised script back to Biff and Kit. I had no sooner sent the revisions than my phone lit up. Both Biff and Kit were calling me, and I was afraid to answer the phone. I let both of them go to voice mail. I would rather listen to what they had to say instead of being talked down to. I waited patiently as the voice message box on my phone registered two new messages.
The first was Biff. "How dare you make changes to the script? Don't you realize how much effort is going into making you a star? Don't you go pulling a diva move now, honey, before you are famous. You are not a crazy Mariah Carey yet." And with that, the phone slammed down.
The second was from Kit. "Darling, I don't mean to complain, but what the hell are you thinking? Are we not good enough to be working with you? You seriously hurt my feelings because I have spent hours working on getting this script produced you ungrateful little cunt."
“Wow” was all I could think. So I emailed them both back that I would go with the script as presented. I didn't want them to think that I was ungrateful for all their help. Of course, they both responded immediately to the email as if nothing had happened.
"See you tomorrow at the video shoot," Biff replied.
So it was time for the video shoot at the club. Germaine brought in Miss Gigi for my final make up touches. I learned how to do good make up, but Miss Gigi came in and whipped my face into a totally camera-ready diva face. I was glad she was here. It was the first chance I had to chat with her since she and Germaine went to the Fireman's Ball.
"How was your evening, sweetie? Did you get to put out any fires?" I asked.
"Oh my gosh, there were so many hoooooot men there. I had to keep pulling out my fan and cooling down my coochie," she said. "Everyone was so nice. I'm surprised Biff and Kit even let me go."
"Well they have to throw a bone once in a while at Germaine," I said.
"I know they are pretentious asses, but they are good for business. I had several people come up to me through out the night complimenting me on the show. The people love you as Marilyn. It was good to be recognized for talent for once instead of being thought of as that crazy drag queen," she said.
"Those days are long gone behind you. How do you handle being around that many people with all the drinks flowing?"
"I learned a trick a little while ago. If the glass in your hand looks like you're drinking a cocktail then people automatically assume it is a cocktail. Little do they know it is nothing more than club soda over ice with a lime thrown in. They assume there is some vodka in there, and I let them think that. Plus, I make sure Germaine is the only one who brings me my drinks. He is such a sweet man. That way I can truly watch what I drink," she said.
"That's a great plan. The problem I have is all these men want to buy me shots, and those really put me under the table. I just don't know what to do about that." I said.
"You either need to learn to play with the big boys and down the shots or you need to figure out a way to discreetly dump the shot. Next time, cup the shot in your hand with your fingertips instead of drinking it. That way, you can pretend to down it with the group of drunks and make a face when you are finished, and as you bring your hand down, slowly tip the shot glass over, dumping the drink on the floor or under a table or into a planter. Everyone will look at the face you are making and not your hand dropping to the floor. Hope that helps," she finished.
"It really does. How do you deal with the really drunk men who just keep hitting on you and still want to drink?" I asked.
"Here is another trick. If Mr. Handsie is drunk already and still wants to drink, get them a drink, but only pour a little alcohol on top. That way, once they take the first sip, they will be able to taste the booze and assume there is more in the cocktail. At least you can slow the drunk down a bit," she said.
"Ladies, your time is up!" came the scream into the dressing room by Biff. "Time is money."
"Well back to the grind," Miss Gigi said.
"I'm glad we had a chance to get caught up," I said. "We need to do this on a regular basis."
"Yes, we do," she said.
"Move it! Move it! We are losing valuable time," Kit said.
So we both came out and took our positions. Me on stage and Miss Gigi ready with a powder puff behind the camera. The director was adjusting the final lighting so we were ready.
It was explained to me that when the director started his countdown, he would point to me when the action was to begin. We had music in the background, which helped put me at ease because I was a little nervous being in front of a camera for the first time. I kept saying to myself, "The camera is the lover you never had. Seduce him and make him your bitch." With that in mind, my lines flowed out of me so genuinely and graciously that I thought I was going to make myself cry.
"Cut!" the director yelled. "Desiree, you need to be more voluptuous. Arch your back a little and tilt your head to give me an interesting angle. You look a little flat."
So the music restarted and the countdown began. I arched my back and tilted my head to create a different silhouette. I felt like I was on "America's Next Top Model" as I stretched my neck and looked for my light.
"Cut. Good job. Onto the next shots. Please get Miss Desiree into her next outfit.”
With that, I was whisked backstage, and Miss Gigi helped me into my next dress and heels.
"Thanks for all your help," I said. "You have been a great friend to me."
"Honey, if it weren't for you I would probably be washed up and in the gutter by now. This girl loved to party, but with ‘Bombshell,’ I was able to find my way again and without your idea of doing the show, none of that would have happened."
"You would have found your way eventually," I said. "It's hard to keep all your talent under wraps."
The rest of the video shoot flew by, and before I knew it, we were finished. The boys were looking at the playback of the video and everyone seemed very excited about what they were watching. Now it was time for them to get it edited down and sent in. I knew the wait for an answer was going to be unbearable, but everything good was worth waiting for.
CHAPTER 59
Stephanie at Bonk was true to her word and let me do a Saturday beer bust and on top of that Bonk would donate back ten percent of the proceeds from the food served that day. The club was kind enough do donate one keg and then sell me a second one at half price so we could make some money.
I decided to do this event out of drag since it was warm outside and I didn't want my face to be melting everywhere. Germaine even came, but of course it was too hot outside for him, so he took a spot at the bar in the air conditioning. Lucky bastard.
How a beer bust works is patrons buy a red solo cup for $10 from my band of little helpers and they can have all the beer they want while they are having lunch or hanging out. Either I or one of the other guys would come around with pitchers and refill the glasses as they got emptied. There was also going to be a raffle during the day. All the prizes were donated, and by donated I mean Germaine went out and bought some items at the instructions of Biff and Kit.
It was a beautiful day to be on the patio. DJ RonRon donated his time and talents to entertain us and the lunch crowd as they came strolling in to buy some of our solo cups. Our crew was ready to greet them, with Victor collecting the money, Shelly explaining what the beer bust was, and Troy being the pump boy. That boy was the town pump in more ways than one, but he was so hot it didn't matter. He was just so pretty to look at and he stroked the tap just right. After hearing the explanation of what a beer bust was several of the patrons ponied up and bought a cup.
Being a beautiful summer day and being this close to Piedmont Park we had a steady stream of customers coming in all afternoon. The music filled the patio over the din of the chatter as the patrons consumed more and more alcohol. It was time for the first announcement about the upcoming raffle and the fabulous prizes one could win. So I graciously took the mic from DJ RonRon and let people know why they were here.
"Good afternoon, everyone! My name is Tyler, but some of you may know me better as Desiree from the show ‘Bombshell’ from Club Cabaret. I want to thank everyone for coming out and helping raise money for Atlanta Street Rescue. For those of you not familiar with them, Atlanta Street Rescue works to get homeless gay youth off of the streets and provide a safe place for them to go. We will be coming around to sell raffle tickets, so please donate generously, and again thanks for coming out."
That wasn't too bad. I was getting more comfortable with speaking in public while not embodying Marilyn. I grabbed the bucket and the roll of raffle tickets and started working the crowd. I had taped the list of raffle prizes to the front of the bucket so it made it quite easy to show people what they could win for each raffle segment. The first round included a basket of hair care products, and looking around at some of the lesbians here, they definitely needed the help. Hadn't they ever heard of hot oil? There were also some gift certificates to Target and Starbucks which everyone could use. Tickets for the raffle were a dollar apiece or $5 got you twelve tickets. I had some takers, but it really was a chore going from table to table selling tickets when people weren't interested. I didn't know if it was me or the prizes that didn't appeal to the crowd, and then it finally dawned on me that it was a crowd of mostly women. I don't know if they had left the park after a softball game or what, but they filled up most of the tables. There was a smattering of gay boys here and there who were more than happy to buy some tickets.
"Darling, we loved your show," one of the groups said. "Where is your partner in crime on the show, Miss Gigi?" they asked.
"She had to work today, but she said she would try to sneak out a little early if she could," I said.
"I hope so," the table said. "She really made you shine with that play of hers."
That was an odd comment, but I just let it slide by. "She sends her regrets that she couldn't be here to see her fans," I said.
"Here's another $20 for your cause," the group said. "And send that hot pump boy over. Our solo cups are empty."
"Right away, gentleman," I said and went straight over to Troy and pointed to their table. The boys waved at Troy, who grabbed a full pitcher and went straight over to fill their cups.
It was harder selling the raffle tickets than I thought so I decided I needed to take a break and check on Germaine. Plus it gave me a chance to hit the restroom, since all of us were drinking to keep up with the crowd. I usually don't drink beer, but a cold beer on a hot day was hitting the spot.
But before I headed in I swore I saw “The Package” running by. It had been awhile since I had seen him. The restaurant wasn't that far down Piedmont from Marjorie's apartment, so it could have been him. I wondered how everyone was doing.
As I entered the restaurant, I noticed that Germaine had a crowd of boys around him. I wouldn't call them men, since it looked like a gaggle of twinks. I would deal with this after I hit the restroom because I wanted to make sure I still looked presentable and I didn't have anything stuck in my teeth. There is nothing worse than having something green stuck in your teeth and no one telling you about it. I checked myself out in the mirror and cupped a handful of cold water and splashed it on my face. There was nothing more refreshing than wiping the sweat off of your face and neck and cooling down. Nothing in my teeth and my hair was all in place. I was good to go.
I sauntered over to Germaine. As soon as I got there he waved the boys away.
"Come back in fifteen," he said to the gaggle, and they all shuffled away.
"What was all that about?" I asked.
"As I have been putting myself out there more lately, I've discovered that the young ones are attracted to me," he said. "It is quite flattering to have these boys approach me. For so long, I was so tired of being rejected that I stopped even trying."
"Honey, they are attracted to your money," I said "Not to be rude, but they are only looking for a sugar daddy."
"I know that. I may be older, but I have been around the block for a long time," he said. "I would like to bask in their attention for a while, even if they are only after one thing. I am not intending on becoming a sugar daddy anytime soon."
"How does Miss Gigi feel about all your new attention from the gaggle of twinks?"
"Of course she is jealous, but I'm not trying to do anything to encourage this."
"Well I suggest you quit buying drinks for these boys. The minute you cut off the alcohol, they will focus their attention somewhere else."
"Did it ever occur to you that they may be actually interested in me? I find it insulting that you think they are only attracted to me for my money. I think I am a catch, and one of these boys may deserve my attention sometime. Look, I'm tired of meeting someone and giving them my number and then never having the phone ring, or them giving me their number, never getting that returned text or call. It is excruciating waiting for someone to return my affection and having my heart broken. It is absolutely soul-crushing. You haven't really experienced this yet because you fail to realize when someone is sincerely interested in you and you go through life oblivious to the pain of other people. Maybe these boys are only after one thing, but at least they return my calls and texts."
"Oh my God. You are right, Germaine. I didn't mean to sound so petty. I'm sorry."
"And you always wondered why I am not on the dating apps. Well the reason I'm not is because I got tired of chatting with people only to get blocked when they found out I am HIV positive. I had to get a thick skin very early in order to deal with this. I am upfront with every one of these boys and they don't seem to mind."
“I never knew."
"I don't share this with many
people because it really isn't any of their business, but it has made me more lonely and shut in than I should ever have been. It's like when you were on the apps and the minute you mentioned to these boys that you did drag you kept getting the cold shoulder. People were judging you without ever having even met you. It really takes you to a bad place. Remember telling me about the guy who wanted you to piss fuck him, and then once he found out, he said he wouldn't do anything with you if you did drag full time?"
"I hated that feeling because it made me feel bad for doing something that I enjoy doing and they didn't even care. I really am sorry."
"Apology accepted. Now you better get back out there. It looks like it is shift change on your tables," he said.
He was right. It was time for the table to turn. The lesbians were leaving and their tables were quickly being filled up by hot men. Now it was time to work the crowd more.
I got back to our beer station and had to help collect money and pass out the cups. Plus Troy's arm was getting tired from pumping up the tap to keep the pitchers full. It was time for him to take over collecting money. The men were more than happy to put $10 into his hand or his shorts pockets, and Troy was even happy to oblige.
"What is your name?" one of the patrons asked him.
The Crown Is Mine Page 27