CHAPTER TWO

DIXIE

 

“Bitch, you don’t know what you talking about,” I say to Fergie, as I nurse over tonight’s dinner. “Sometimes your mouth just moves a mile a minute just so you can hear yourself talk.”

I’m preparing lasagna with my homemade sauce, while shaking my tiny ass around the kitchen because the music is on. Tonight is going to be fabulous because I have so many things planned. First I’m preparing a fresh meal, second I’m expecting a boy toy to come over and play and lastly, I’m finally headlining at Wiggles gay club.

The thing that’s spectacular about my performance is this…Wiggles doesn’t allow just anybody to do their thing on the stage. Had it not been for one of the girl’s cancelling, I wouldn’t have gotten the call last night saying I was up. But at least I’m ready for the show.

“How the fuck you gonna tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about?” Fergie says to me. “Last week and the week before that someone did Single Ladies. You know they hate to double dip on Beyoncé. Just do something else. It ain’t like you didn’t rehearse another routine. For goodness sake, Dixie, be original for once in your miserable life.”

Before answering her, I stir the tomato sauce with the large spoon and taste it. It was just like I like it. So I spit in it, the way I do with all of my food when I cook. It’s the one ingredient I know that even if someone tried to steal my recipe, they won’t have.

“I’m not doing Lady Gaga, Ferg. I told you what I’m doing.”

“Okay, well if you get down there, and they don’t let you perform, I’m going to laugh my ass off. Just remember that you been warned, sweetie.”

“Well knock yourself out, you were probably going to do that regardless, you hating ass bitch,” I yell. “To tell you the truth it don’t matter what I dance off of, when Charlie gets finished beating this face, bitch and doing this hair, they will be on their knees thanking me for showing up. From my beauty alone, trick. Please know me.”

“Hold up, chile,” Fergie says. “Now Ms. Charlie is a Picasso when it comes to the makeup, but even he can’t perform the miracles your face needs.”

“Oooo Ms. Fergie, you on fire tonight, chile.” I place the sauce in the bottom of the pan, and set up the noodles for the lasagna. “What has gotten into you? You fighting with Mr. Good Dick again?”

She sighs. “That ain’t even the half, but you close. This bastard gonna come over here the other day and tell me he’s going back to his wife. I knew that trade was wit’ his wife a long time ago, but why he cutting me off? Girl, I get tired of the games these niggas play.”

“Bitch, stop!” I yell, stomping my barefoot on the kitchen floor. “Mr. Good Dick cut you off for real?” I place a layer of cheese onto the lasagna.

“I’m not even playing, Ms. Dixie, although I wish I was. You know me and that nigga been getting it in since high school. What I’m gonna do now? He’s the only nigga I fucked in two years.”

I bust out laughing. “Girl, it’s me on this phone, not your mother. I think you got the lines crossed and forgot who you talking too. Please understand that you can keep it real with me always. With that said, you and me both know how many addresses done hosted that back pussy of yours.”

“My bad,” she giggles. “Well he’s my favorite fuck boy. But what I’m gonna do now that he’s not in my life? I know I do my thing on the side, but I thought we would always be together.”

“Get you another candy man. Shit that’s what we gotta do.” When the line beeps I say, “Hold on girl, somebody hitting my phone.” I switch over and say, “Hello there.” I place the last layer of noodles over the lasagna.

“Dixie, it’s me, I need your help,” Charlie says in a low voice. “I know it’s a bad time to be calling you, but I truly don’t have a choice or no one else to call. I’m in a bind.”

“Oh, my God, are you okay?” I sprinkle cheese on top of it. “You didn’t get into an accident did you?”

“No, I wish I was, Dixie. I fucked up this time on a major level. You remember what I was telling you I did at the job right?”

“I do.”

“Well I got arrested today.”

My eyes widen and I throw the spoon into the sink. “Arrested for what?”

“For stealing from FloorMart. That’s what they trying to put on me.”

“Oh, Ms. Charlie,” I say placing the lasagna in the oven. “I told you to be careful when you did that dumb shit. Damn!”

“I know, and I feel so badly about it too,” she pauses. “Look, I know you have that show tonight, and I hate to do this to you, but I need you to come bail me out. My money is under the bed, in my shoebox.”

The moment she says that, I hang up. When I do the phone rings again, and I answer it because I know Fergie was on the other line.

“Bitch, you wouldn’t believe what just happened.” I walk into the living room to look at the leotard I’m wearing for my performance tonight. “Please tell me why Charlie just called and said she needs me to bail her out of jail? What the fuck I look like?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, girl. You want me to do your performance tonight? I can sure use the money, because I wanted to get some injections in my ass and hips from Sugar.”

“Bitch, I wish I would let you twirl on my stage,” I yell. “You got me all the way fucked up. Honey, the show will go on and it will go on with me in the lead.”

“Well what about Charlie? You can’t leave him down there.”

“I am, I can and I will. I’ll pick him up after my performance. Shit, it ain’t my fault he got caught stealing money from FloorMart. He needs to deal with the consequences and repercussions of his actions.”

“Damn, Ms. Charlie,” he says to himself. I guess he’s trying to make me feel bad for him by saying his name. “I really like him, Dixie. You shouldn’t leave him down there. That poor thing is all alone out in this world. If you don’t get him that pretty little thing will rot!”

“The girl ain’t going to die. She’ll be fine until I get back. And when you think about it, she truly doesn’t have a choice.”

“You can be an awful person when you want to.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, baby love.”

“You gonna pay for this, girl.” She laughs. “And what did you tell him anyway?”

“I hung up in his beautiful face. And when I talk to him later I’ll tell him my cell phone call dropped like I always do when I don’t feel like being bothered.”

“Wait, you do that shit to me all the time!”

“You are absolutely correct, just like I’m doing it to you now.” I hang up on him and throw the phone in the sofa.

 

****

 

As I step off of the stage, I’m sweating and feel off balance. To make matters worse, I didn’t get a dime for my performance in the wig on the stage. Whenever you perform, the queens show support by walking up to the wig and blessing it. I didn’t get any money. No penny, no nickel, no nothing!

“I’m sorry, girl,” one of the girls say to me when I flip my wig over to see if I have any money. “That was pretty awful to look at. Maybe you should try harder next time you think?”

“It was just like the performance you gave on Ms. Taylor Swift. And I don’t know if you heard, but it wasn’t nothing to look at,” I say wiping sweat off of my face with a towel. “So don’t come for me because I didn’t send for you.”

“The difference is when I stepped off of the stage I had a coin.” She eyes my empty wig. “And right now your well looks a little dry.”

“You know what, I don’t have time for you, Belize. Miss me with all that shit.”

“I’ll miss you in a second, honey,” she says, “right now I’m not done reading you. What’s up with that face of yours?” she frowns. “I know Ms. Charlie isn’t responsible for such a mess, because she’s a professional. Did you call yourself doing your own makeup?” Belize walks away.

The moment she says that, I remember I left him in jail. Since I didn’t make any money, and the performance didn’t do what I wanted, I guess I could’ve scooped him up, but oh well. Hindsight is twenty-twenty.

I’m about to leave when Kenny Sugar walks his frumpy looking as up to me. Sugar is the one person who gets on my nerves. Every time he comes to me, he’s asking me about Charlie. I don’t trust this bitch, because for whatever reason he doesn’t like me.

On several occasions I’ve been told that he has my name in his mouth. Like the time I got into a fight with Andre, one of the queens at the club, because he hit my car with his in the parking lot. Automatically Sugar assumed it was something I did when he didn’t even know me.

“So I guess you didn’t give Charlie my message. Because she hasn’t called me and I refuse to believe she would do that without at least seeing what I wanted.”

I sigh, and roll my eyes before batting my eyelashes. “Sugar, whatever message you gotta give Charlie you can give to me. I told you he’s at work during these hours. You making the situation longer than it has to be because you’re not telling me what you want with him. I’m good with relaying messages.”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll give Charlie the information when I get it.”

He exhales so hard a curl on the wig I’m wearing flutters. “It’s a gig for money. Are you happy now?”

This was the first time he told me what he wanted with Charlie, and I wish he had before. Because although I make a few pennies working for the government, I always welcome the opportunity to make more income.

I smile and say, “Sugar, you should’ve said something to me before.” I giggle. “Girl, you got me yelling at you when we should be friends. I mean, why you didn’t tell me that? Instead of bothering Charlie, whatever you need, I can do the job.”

She shakes her head. “No, honey, I’m looking for honest queens.”

I grit my teeth. “Who says I’m not honest?”

“Your actions right now prove it,” she says.

“You know what, I’m not going to even argue with you. So do me a favor and just give me your number again, and I’ll tell him you want him to call you.”

Before he could respond I hear someone yelling in the background. “Listen up, girls,” Belize says holding an upside down wig. “I need everybody to pitch in right now! Ms. Charlie just called and said she was arrested and didn’t have the money for bail. Ya’ll band together and help me bring that queen home!”

Suddenly all of the people who were broke when I was on stage, dug into their purses with their wide knuckles and presented bills. I feel like spinning on these queens and scratching their cakey faces. Always hating on me but treating Charlie like he’s some kind of rare queen. Just cause he knows how to do makeup and make wigs. What about me? I’m here at least three times a week and Charlie is here no more than once a week if that. Where is the fucking loyalty?

A few of the queens look at me as they place their bills in the wig. I guess because I’m in here while he’s in jail. I can feel their disapproving stares, including Sugar’s who just shakes her head and walks away from me.

Trying to give a performance of a lifetime I say, “Oh my, God”— I cover my mouth— “I gotta get out of here and help my girl! She needs my help.”