Chapter Thirty Two

While the magician was on I was really getting shaky. I hadn’t eaten since lunch, and it dawned on me that the shakes weren’t only from my nerves, but also because my blood sugar was dropping. I got Juanita to get me an order of fries and a burger patty with some Ketchup from the kitchen. She brought me a Coke too, which was a good idea. After I took a few bites I felt better. Juanita stayed with me in the dressing room to keep me calm until she had to introduce the Comedian. His act was only about ten minutes and it dawned on me that if I really sucked, it wouldn’t matter much anyway. Juanita came back to the dressing room and led me by the hand to where I would wait sidestage. I peeked through the drape at the side to see where Katie was sitting, so I could make eye contact with her. “If I just focus on Katie, I’ll be okay” I thought to myself. Juanita let go of my hand and strutted out onstage after the comedian’s final bow, and strolled up to the microphone and “Let’s hear it again for Tommy”, and the crowd gave her a half-hearted round of applause. “And now Ladies and Gentlemen, all the way from Denver, the fabulous “Margaret”! She waved her right hand to stage right with a flourish and I mechanically began to walk out on stage. There was a little applause, the music started and Juanita exited stage left. I found Katie’s face in the crowd and started to lip sync to Teresa Brewer’s “Sweet Ol’ Fashioned Girl” and began to go through the motions that I’d rehearsed. When the music stopped I was thinking “That wasn’t so bad, at least the place isn’t packed, there are maybe forty people in the club tonight.” I was more than a little surprised when there was a little applause. The second song started, I had picked Jo Stafford singing “Teach me Tonite” and was even doing a little better with that one that I had with the first. It was still pretty mechanical, as I just wasn’t swaying with the music like I was feeling it. I smiled at Katie and she put two fingers in her mouth to give me a ‘wolf whistle” which oddly enough got the crowd into the performance. When the second number was over, I had a short bit I would do thanking Juanita for the nice introduction and giving an explanation of why I picked the third song even though it wasn’t Christmas…it was Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby”. I was to go side stage with the microphone and would get a stool that Juanita would have ready for me while giving the set-up for the song. I would bring the stool center stage, they would drop all the lights except for the center stage spot, I would sit on the stool and seductively ensure that my leg was hanging out of the slit up the side of my dress. I wanted to show enough leg that the top of my hose and a garter could be seen. I was very surprised at the smattering of applause I got after I had finished. I got off the stool and hurried offstage, handing the microphone to Juanita on my way off.

It hadn’t been a disaster, but I was very glad that it was over. Katie was at the dressing room door in about three minutes after I left the stage. She was raving about how entertaining it was, mostly just to be nice, because she was my dear friend. I ordered a shot of Irish and a beer to unwind, and had gulped the shot of whiskey, and was sipping the beer while I got out of my dress when Juanita came to the door. She told me that she was very pleased with how it had all gone, and that a gentleman in the audience had requested my presence at his table. I was really trying to beg off, saying that I was really tired, but Juanita was insistent. I relented and said “Oh alright, but only if Katie can come with me.” Juanita made her annoyed face, and said “Meet me at the maître d’s stand when you’re ready.” I didn’t want to pull that dress back on, but I did, and Katie zipped me up. I padded back to the maitre’d in my bare feet because the new shoes were killing me. I balanced myself and put the shoes back on there and I was hoping to just sit down soon. Juanita led Katie and I to the gentleman’s table and cordially introduced us. The gentleman was indeed extremely good looking and my first thought was that he would think he had made a mistake when he saw me from a point of ‘closer inspection’. He ordered us some drinks and was making small talk when the house combo started playing again. He was tapping his toe and I thought “Oh fuck, please don’t ask me to dance.” My feet were killing me, and I was exhausted. I was trying to be nice, because he was truly being attentive. He asked me to dance. I told him maybe after a couple of drinks. Gentlemen always got a huge kick out of the fact that I always ordered beer. (The shot I had that night was probably the only one I drank that year.) They were amused that I never ordered a ‘pink flamingo’ or some shite like that. I felt better after sitting for a while, and after the second beer, I didn’t care that my feet hurt so much. The house band was playing a tune I liked, so I danced with the nice man. He wanted me to leave the club with him that night, but I said I was sorry, and that I really & truly liked him, but that “I couldn’t possibly tonight…but how about next week?” His face lit up and he said “May I call you?” I told him “Of course” and gave him my number. I was driving Katie home that night, and on the way she just couldn’t stop talking about him. She raved about how handsome he was. His name was George.

The performances went just a little bit better on the subsequent nights. A regular ‘date’ of mine was my ‘face in the crowd’ to focus on Thursday. Katie brought her Mom and Dad on Friday. I got more than a little freaked out when the Eartha Kitt record got scratched on Friday night after the performance. After the club closed I rehearsed actually singing it with the house band’s accompaniment, the band guys said it sounded okay to them. Luckily it’s not a song that requires a whole lot of range, you just sort of ‘talk in pitch’. Saturday came and I had something new to be nervous about as I actually had to sing the last number. The club was packed, and I was afraid that my voice was going to crack or something. What made it worse was that the audience was pretty boisterous and had actually booed the magician. Susan got ‘the duty’ that night to be my familiar face in the crowd, while I was doing my first number, I was looking in the middle of the room for her as I had told her to sit there. When I finally saw where she was, I saw she had company. I sure felt better when I saw Stanley Jackson, Aggie, and Patricia sitting with her. Officer Jackson had evidently made it possible for Patricia to go that night as Susan needed his help to get her into the wheelchair and then into the club. It was a very nice surprise. As usual, I was in a hurry to exit the stage after I finished and was interrupted by a really nice round of applause. Juanita grabbed me on my way off and brought me back out to center stage to take another bow.

I was surprised by the applause, as I really had no idea of how I sounded. For all I knew they would throw tomatoes when I finished. All’s well that ends well though. I had been so incredibly nervous. My obligation to Juanita was fulfilled. In the following weeks there were several times that customers bought cigarettes from me and made nice comments like “You were good, I enjoyed your show.” Or “Why aren’t you in the show anymore?” Juanita wouldn’t bother me again about performing, at least not for a while. My family had really enjoyed the show; they said I was honestly good. I guess they had a great deal of fun watching me squirm.

George (the gentleman that I had met at the club the night of the first performance) called on Sunday and asked me out to dinner for the following week. An hour after I had consented to have dinner with him, a dozen long stemmed roses and a heart shaped box of confection arrived. The card read only: Thank You, George
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As a footnote to the above entry:
Thanks to all of you who helped find the artist who created the cover image for my novel, especially Colleen Eris. Of course my undying gratitude goes out to the artist who signs her work "PinkBra"...Thanks Jennifer!