Chapter : 2
Freedom
Copyright © 2018 by Art West. All Rights Reserved.


Published: 18 Apr 2022


They had us seven contestants strut across the stage and we were introduced to the crowd, with me bringing up the rear. Robin had coached me about this and had drilled into me the fact that I wasn’t strutting out to a ball field, I wasn’t taking the loads of trash out to the dumpster. What I was supposed to do was pretend I was a model, strutting the catwalk, it was an impersonation, not me. He had taught me to sway my hips when walking, dangerous to do in 4 inch spikes, and to keep my head up, bending it down would possibly wrinkle the tape under the make up. He told me to treat the stage as if I owned it, and when it came time for me to sing was the time to show as much emotion as possible and to pick out a few people to sing to personally, hopefully people in different areas of the bar, so it looked like I was singing to everyone personally.

The show went on as the first contestant motioned for the DJ to start “her” music. We other contestants were ushered into the backstage hallway where we could hear, but not see the one on the stage. Actually for the first four contestants what we heard was recordings of pop stars belting out their “anthems”, their popular girl songs. Contestant 5 and 6 each lip synced show tunes, and apparently number 6 goofed up and we heard many titters coming from the audience. Then it was my turn. I was surprised when three of the other contestants wished me luck, no one else had been shown the slightest bit of camaraderie, but then it was me who had wished each one good luck before they were called out onto the stage. I walked out praying I wouldn’t screw this up, that thousand dollar prize would help make my life a bit easier, it would make me feel more secure, and if something happened I wouldn’t have to sell a stock or a bond to pay for it.

When I arrived on stage I softly asked for a stool and a backless bar stool was handed up to me and a small hand mic was put in my shaky hand. Then I noticed Robin standing there in front of me. He gave me two thumbs up and I let my eyes raise up a bit and then I saw Chad leaning on the bar watching me. I nervously let my eyes wander the crowd and picked out a few guys I could sing to and then leaned my butt on the stool and cleared my throat to begin my song, a Capella. When I raised the mic to sing there was a hush in the crowd and I closed my eyes for a second as I sang the first words.

By the second line in the song I was open eyed, beseeching the crowd to answer the questions in the song, “Where is Love?” I looked into those faces I had picked out and during a voice change I watched Robin who was looking upon me as a very proud parent would and then I lifted my eyes to Chad who was standing there behind the bar, but he was no longer leaning on the bar, he was standing there, mouth wide open, staring at me, with thin rivulets of tears streaming from his eyes and I had to turn away from watching him and looked at the others I had picked out because I felt myself tearing up, but by the last stanza I was again drawn to Chad, and we stood there, staring at each other as I sang my heart out, both of us tear streaked. I added an additional last 2 lines in a basso profondo, “Once you have found him never let him go, Once you have found him never let him go” (from “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific). I tore my eyes from Chad and blew a kiss to Robin who led off the thunderous applause and then I got bold and blew one to Chad too. It took a moment to realize the applause was for me and Ray Davis came out and kept the applause going for a little while longer. Robin began the crowd demanding an encore and soon Ray asked me if I could do another song and I told him I could, but I would need some help.

I moved to the front of the stage and held a hand out to Robin and I told him we had to do something together. He nodded (I somehow knew he had anticipated this), and suggested “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” from “Gentlemen Prefer Blonds”. We looked odd, I’m sure. I mean here we were, a drag queen dressed in a three piece suit and a janitor dressed like a beauty queen, but the audience loved us and there was even more applause when we finished. He hopped off the stage and I was escorted off to the back hall to a very mixed reception by my “fellow” contestants.

We were all called back to the stage and each of the other contestants were given runner up envelopes with anything from fifty dollars to a hundred dollars for the real runner up and then I was called up and given the first prize, a thousand dollars. Robin was there at the front stairs to the stage, holding back well wishers and those who wanted to buy me a drink. I whispered to him that I had to get out of there and he helped me get through the crowd, with me thanking everyone as we passed. We made it outside and started across the parking lot and we had to stop so I could take off the fucking heels, they were killing my feet!

Robin was the perfect gentleman as he helped me divest of all the regalia, laughing as he helped me out of the ten thousand dollar gown and the thousands of dollars worth of jewelry before teaching me how to remove all the goop from my face and laughing out loud as the tape was yanked from my face and from behind my ears. Once I had spent some time in the bathroom washing and had brushed my hair we sat and I made him a coffee and then presented him with the onyx pendant and chain I had put aside for just this night. He was thrilled with my present and thanked me profusely for it. An hour later I was alone, it was just after midnight and I was wide awake, so I did what I usually did, I had another coffee and went on line and passed another quiz in my on line economics course and sat through another hours worth of lecture from the professor and electronically handed in my homework assignments. After all that I slept like a log.

The next day was a Sunday and I caught up on my laundry and house keeping. I repacked the items I had used last night and made sure the deodorant pads were removed from the gown and the shoes were cleaned. The gaff and the stockings were hand washed and the built in padding rinsed out to remove any traces of sweat or make up. All were hung in the bathroom to dry. About 3 PM I went and did some grocery shopping for the week and stopped at the ATM at my bank and deposited the thousand dollars in my savings account. I spent an hour working out on the Nautilus machine and felt really good about how I felt after. I ate a light dinner and then tackled my books for the classes I’d have the next day. I had another good sleep and awoke with an hour to spare before going to work at the bar.

I don’t know who did the cleaning on the weekends, but the place looked like it hadn’t been picked up since I had been in there Friday to clean. I must have taken ten tarps full of trash to the dumpster (fifty dollars in assorted bills!) and the restrooms took an extra half hour each (five dollars in change from the dispensing machines). Chad showed up to inventory the booze and we stocked the bar after. He asked what I had gotten up to over the weekend and I told him I had cleaned and did the shopping and wash for the week and aced another quiz in my economics class and gotten ahead in my reading for the other classes. I asked how his weekend shifts had gone and he told me that Saturday night there was a great drag contest and the winner of the competition was by far the best singer he had ever heard. He told me that whoever he was had a fantastic range and even had him crying. I told him I wished I could have been there and he said I would have liked it.

The classes went well in the afternoon and I received a call from Chad asking if he could come over and make use of the Nautilus machine for about an hour. I told him he was more than welcome to come over after his bar shift. I prepared my dinner, and threw in an extra chicken breast in case Chad stayed for dinner. He arrived after he had been relieved by the evening bartender. He said he was sore through his shoulders, and had been since we had stocked the bar, and he thought if he worked out on the machine it might relax the muscles there so he’d be able to sleep tonight. He removed his shirt and the jeans he had worn all day and padded into my bedroom to the machine. I followed and offered to massage his shoulders to warm them up for him before he started to manipulate them and he nodded so I grabbed the liniment and took the bottle to the bathroom and ran the hot water over it until it steamed and warmed up the bottle. I tested the oil and when it felt warm to my touch I took the bottle to him and had him sit on the bench of the machine with his back to me.

I kneaded his bare shoulders with the oil until he was purring. I had this grown man/boy purring and moaning at my touch. When he felt loose and warm I gently kissed the back of his neck and told him dinner would be ready in another hour. I went and put the now marinated chicken in the oven and dumped another bagged salad into a serving bowl and pulled out a bag of frozen potato wedges and added a few spices to make dinner time hash browns. When Chad had finished his exercising he appeared in the kitchen in just his briefs and I was again taken with the sculpture of his hot body. He told me he felt wonderful and tried to sneak a hash brown from the tray I had just removed from the oven. I snapped a kitchen towel at him and told him the bathroom was empty, please wash up before dinner. He asked if he could shower and I told him he had 10 minutes.

He returned with his mop of hair still damp and looking fantastic, commando in just his jeans and sneakers and hungry. After we had eaten he had to go, but he thanked me for everything, the massage, the dinner and the great company. He hugged me at the front door and left with a wave of his hand.

The next two days were as normal at the bar and school as well, but about 5 PM on Wednesday I received a call from Robin, who told me that Ray, Mr. Davis, was furious with him. He’d been asking for the name of the winner on Saturday night and Robin kept telling him he didn’t know the guy’s real name, just Marion Kynd, the stage name. Ray was a very suspicious guy as I knew from around the apartments (which he also owned). I also knew he could make Robin’s life hell, so I told Robin not to worry, I’d figure out a way to get him off his back.

The next morning before going in to clean the bar I stopped at my bank and made a withdrawal of a thousand dollars. I asked for the largest bills possible and I shoved it into a fanny pack I had on under the waistband of my jeans and then went to work. Ray unlocked the door for me and I began my cleaning, waiting for Robin to come in to complete my plan. I finished up in record time and by the time Robin came in I was ready to put that plan into action. With his help we vocally reenacted the songs I had sung on the contest night. Ray had been watching from the backstage door and when we were done he did something no one had ever seen before, he came up to me and hugged me.

I was shocked. Ray was not known for showing any emotion ever. He told me he was so happy it was me, but he also reamed us out for involving a minor in the activities of an adult bar. He seemed very serious in his words, like he had to get that off his chest, but his eyes were sparkling as he did it and he even gave me extra money that day to show there were no hard feelings.

On the following Monday he called me into his office after I had completed the cleaning and he asked me to take a seat in his office, which I was surprised to see already had a smiling Robin in it, he must have snuck in while I was taking out one of the many loads of trash to the alley. I took the other seat across from Ray’s desk and he began to tell me that Robin thought I had the best voice he had ever heard, and Ray agreed. He had a cousin in New York that ran a very popular and successful show bar in the city and they were wondering if I’d like to do what I had done on Saturday night here, only Saturdays to begin with, but there was the possibility of adding other nights or working out of other clubs he ran. I turned to Robin and he told me that it could be very profitable for me as I already had all the outfits and all I really had to pay for was my train ticket in and out of the city, about forty-five dollars each way, and maybe a cab ride to the station after a show and one to the club from the train in.

I was scared. I was as scared as I was when I testified in court in order to obtain my emancipation, maybe more. I knew that Robin had lived there at one time and if he thought it was a good idea, then I guess I could do it. All it took was him saying I could do it and I was asking Ray how long I would have to do it if I agreed, I wondered because the new semester would start in about two and a half months and I wanted to be prepared for it. Ray told me there would be a contract that would run for 8 Saturday nights, with an option for more evenings during the last 4 weeks leading up to, but not including New Years Eve. I asked if he had a copy of the contract and he said he could get one faxed to him and I asked him to please do that, I’d wait. While he called his cousin I turned to Robin and asked if he thought I could handle not the singing, but the whole New York thing. How would I be viewed, I mean I didn’t even look the 16 I already was, let alone 21. He told me that he had an idea, but he wanted me to get the job first and he said he’d take care of it. I wouldn’t have to worry, he’d have someone with me at all times, like a chaperon/bodyguard, someone who he trusted with his life, and now he could trust them with mine.

As soon as the fax came through with the contract I took the pages and told Ray I’d be back in about a half hour and I dashed out of the bar and went around the corner to the lawyer that Jerry had hired for my emancipation hearing and also the lawyer who was handling my trust from Jerry. His secretary told me he was on the phone, but five anxious minutes later he came out and got me. He asked what I needed as we walked back to his office and I showed him the pages from the contract. He read them through and asked if I was following in Jerry’s heel prints and I chuckled and told him about the contest last Saturday night. He sat there and said he would have never guessed that was me on the stage. He and his boyfriend had seen the show and thought I was wonderful in it. He then explained that the offer in the contract was good, but not for me. He made a notation on it and said he would come back to the bar with me and we’d see just how serious they were about hiring a minor to entertain at this New York Club.

When we returned to the bar Ray was still in his office and Robin was chatting with Chad at the bar as Chad did the restocking. They both greeted the lawyer as if they knew him and he responded in kind. Apparently he knew Ray also as they too greeted each other warmly. Mr. Prentice asked Ray if we could use his phone to call his cousin and he led us to his office and stayed with us as the call was made.

The upshot of the call was that an additional thousand was added to my per show fee to cover a “companion” because of my age, as well as traveling to and from the venue, and my meals, and the eventuality I might have to stay overnight sometimes, especially in the later winter if the trains were delayed by weather. The changes he had made to the contract were approved and he signed it and I signed under him as the under aged performer. Ray witnessed it and it was faxed to Ray’s cousin and we received a return faxed copy a few moments later. Ray ran off a couple of copies and Mr. Prentice took a copy with him and told me that he would likely come to see one of my shows, but he’d let me know when.

Robin whooped when we all came back out into the bar and then we had to tell Chad what was going on. He wasn’t pleased, but he wasn’t mad either. He told me that I was a great talent and he would miss me being here. I looked at him oddly I guess because he said I certainly wouldn’t want to be cleaning a bar, studying and attending classes, and traveling to New York to perform for one show and travel back all in a week, how would that work. I told him that working in the bar was the highlight of my day. That I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and Robin during the mornings and my classes in the afternoons. So I lost a day here in Springfield, so what. It was here with them that I was happy. “Besides,” I told him, “Where else would I get to rehearse with Robin?”

Robin came to my apartment with me and he told me that the two numbers we had done for the contest would be fine for the first night of my New York show, but they would probably want two or three more to complete the half hour I was being given to perform in. We went through the CD’s that Jerry used to play and there were several I thought I knew by heart so Robin picked three long songs and I sang them for him. He told me that when I packed for the show I was to be a part of, I had to have a backup gown that would work with the two wigs I should take along. He told me that it would save a lot of time if I just grew out my own nails to just a bit longer than I was used to and just have a nice manicure, with the dazzling gowns and the jewels I didn’t need painted nails, especially as I would be traveling by train to and from the club.

He made a few calls and in an hour he had arranged for his brother and his lover to meet me every Saturday afternoon at the train station and escort me around until it was time to take me to the club to prepare for the show and that they would stick with me like glue until they saw me get on the return train to Springfield. He said I’d have to buy them dinner, and pay them each a hundred for doing this, but that they were both teddy bears and they would love working for me and protect me like I was their own kid. He warned me that they were both as big as lumber jacks, but it was all muscle and they would make good bodyguards for me. I had a week to prepare for my New York debut.

The rehearsals went well and I did spend some of my time watching videos on the internet of some drag performers and 99% of them were lip syncing. That wasn’t what I was doing, but I watched the way they carried themselves and how they worked the stage. I listened to how they bantered with the audience and I realized I didn’t have to stay in one spot on the stage, I could move around, I could sit on a stool, I could even dance a little, or sway with the music, nothing outlandish, just what felt natural.

Robin was very pleased with the results and I even had the courage to ask Chad to watch the final line up of songs we had selected at a “dress” rehearsal I put on for them one early afternoon at the bar’s stage. This was the first showing of me having done my own make up and hair. I won’t say it was perfect, one damned eyelash just wouldn’t stay in place and my wig could have used a little touching up, but overall it gave me the confidence to know that I could do it without a lot of help. I’d just have to learn to be quicker about it.

The next Saturday morning I was nervous as all get out, but my bag was packed and I was so anxious to get the whole thing over with so I worked out for a while and was thankful that Jerry’s gowns all had sleeves or at least short sleeves as my arms were really getting muscular and in the shower I realized that my legs were too. I hadn’t told anyone, but that day was my seventeenth birthday, yup, the 15th of November. I was just about to leave my apartment when there was a knock on my door and there was a bunch of flowers thrust in my face when I opened the door, and then I was scooped up in someone’s arms and there was Chad, coming to see me off on the train. He had to work that night, but he wanted to wish me luck and to make sure I got on the correct train. I put the bouquet in water on my kitchen table and he took my big suitcase for me and we walked a few blocks to the train station where I had another surprise, Robin and Ray were there and they said they had decided that this was a really important day for me and they were going to be there with me for the whole day.

I went through purchasing my tickets and then we all went to the waiting room for travelers and waited for the train to pull in. Chad wasn’t allowed to stay, so he hugged me and gave me a quick chaste kiss and he was gone, but I had Robin and Ray to help keep me occupied and that they did for the whole two hour trip. I realized that on my subsequent trips I could study or read as the seats were comfortable and it really wasn’t too crowded in the train car. We arrived in Penn Station where the train was met by Robin’s younger brother Chuck and his boyfriend Dave and they really were quite impressive in size and in intellect. They indeed looked like that guy on the paper towel packages as they were brawny looking guys and boy did they know the city in and out. They knew how to get everywhere and how long this or that would take. They had decided to take me (us) to the club and get them to secure my travel case so we could explore for a while before the show later in the day.

Ray ended up staying at the club with his cousin, who was very nice to me and everyone else. He seemed impressed with my bodyguards and the attention they paid to every detail. I was given a small room for dressing and makeup and Chuck and Dave said they could work with that after having checked it out. We went on a whirlwind mini tour since it was my first visit to the city and they really did try to show me a lot. By 1 PM we were getting hungry and Robin insisted I eat a good lunch because he knew I wouldn’t be able to eat much at dinner, I’d be more able to eat after my 10 PM show. We walked a bit and I got to see more of the city and then I started to feel tired so we went back to the club where they all socialized while I took a nap on the sofa in my dressing room.

Robin made sure I was awake at 6:30 and I started to prepare myself for the night ahead of me. It started off with some soup and crackers and then it was time to get dolled up. With Robin watching I did what I had practiced, he making comments and suggestions as I went about transforming from Lee to Marion Kynd. Once the face was done and the wig styled on it’s head form Robin wrapped a towel around my head and made me put on a short robe and he took me out to the club and showed me the poster that had been placed in the small lobby. It was a picture of me at the contest, up on stage with a mic in my hand and singing. The words in gold lettering said that Marion Kynd was performing for one night in the club and showtime was 10 PM. It was exciting and it was nerve wracking at the same time.

He then led me to the stage where we met with a guy who ran the sound system and lights. I guess he was expecting a lip sync performer, as he asked for my vocal CD and I told him I would need a follow spot and a live mic only for this first show as the only music would come from my own voice. I talked to him and he suggested a vocal test of his sound equipment so I cleared my throat and began to sing. I started out with “Where is Love” because that has the greatest variety of ranges I could sing and before I was finished Ray and his cousin and a bunch of bartenders, waiters, kitchen staff and bouncers were out there in the big room listening and when I finished there was a good amount of clapping going on. I think Ray’s cousin was pleased, as he had seemed a bit skeptical up to that point.

Robin and I went back to the dressing room with Chuck and Dave and there I checked for any touch ups that might have to be made and once everything was how I wanted it I asked Robin what he thought and he examined my face and said it was perfect. I considered the two gowns I had brought and made a switch from what I had originally thought I’d wear and by the time Chuck had helped me into it Dave had started fussing with my wigs and sure enough, these two big burly guys were hairdressers and now I knew that except for what might happen on stage, everything else was going to be just fine. Just before showtime I put the dreaded heels on and finally I could look both Dave and Chuck in the eye on an even level. They applauded my transformation and we all went to the backstage curtain to peek out and see if the room was filling up or not. It was about half full, with more coming through the doors as we watched a bit, and then it was back to the dressing room to vocalize a bit so I wouldn’t be too raspy out on stage. Ray was there with a big bunch of flowers and I noticed there were a few other arrangements there as well. I looked at the cards and saw there were some from Mr. Prentice and the club and from Ray’s cousin personally. And another arrangement from Chad and the bar back home.

The rest of the night is kind of a blur, but a good one. My opening number went really well but the next, what was to become my “signature” number, “Where is Love” had them on their feet demanding more. I bantered with the audience a bit, letting them know this wasn’t a recording and then while the lights were still up I could make out a table of 10 in front of the stage and there were all the guys from back home sitting there, Mr. Prentice and his boyfriend, Ray and his chum, Ray’s cousin, Robin and a friend from the city, Chad, and Dave and Chuck.

As I began another number The lights dimmed until I was in spotlight, but I still gave a lot of attention to that front table. That night I did a number as Carol Channing and one as Judy Garland for the first time as the final two numbers and the place went wild, I mean there was massive applause and foot stomping going on and a big bunch of long stemmed roses were handed up to me on stage. There were calls for an encore and I did “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” as Marilyn would have. It was a show stopper and stop it I did. I was drenched when I came off the stage into Chad’s arms. He could tell I was spent, but exhilarated as he followed Dave and Chuck to the dressing room, supporting me along the way. I started to take the wig off but Ray’s cousin stopped me and asked if I’d pose for more pictures for him so I neatened up my face and he took a lot of shots, head and full length, and after that I was able to start to transform again. They let me use the employee shower in their locker room and I felt a whole lot better after that.

The contingent from back home had to scramble to make the last train home, but we did it and I even had the time to pay Chuck and Dave, even though they said not to, but I knew I wanted them around for the rest of my shows so I did, telling them they could give me a freebie another time. It was a tired but happy and satisfied group on the train back and I appreciated everyone of those that had made the effort to make my opening night performance a special one for me. We all split up at the corner I had to turn off at to get to my apartment and there were hugs all around as I took my suitcase and went home. The others were going to the bar to help close it, and probably have a few more drinks as it was just approaching 2 AM, the bar’s closing time. I fell asleep as soon as I lay on my bed.

The next day was Sunday and I admit I did sleep in late and when I woke at 10 AM I started the weekly washing and my usual weekend chores, like the weekly grocery shopping and a through cleaning of the apartment. It was a drag, but it all had to be done. The good thing about it was I could use a laundry room that was on my floor and do the cleaning while the loads were in the machines. It really didn’t take long and while the last load was in the dryer I set it for an hour and a half and fed the machine with some of the change I’d been collecting from the coin return slots on the dispensers in the bar. It was then I took the van and went and did my grocery shopping, stopping on the way to deposit the money from my first show and my last pay envelope contents. I had quite a bit of money saved up by now and I resolved to pick Mr. Prentice’s brain on finding a real financial adviser to try and get my money working for me. I was home with plenty of time to get my drying out of the machine and folded and returned to their proper location in the apartment.

This was the way my weekends went for the next several weeks and then with only two more Saturday night shows to go Ray’s cousin asked me to meet with him and a couple of other guys about two hours before I went on stage. We sat in the show room at a big table for ten, although there were only five of us. Ray’s cousin started off by introducing me to the three other guys who all owned gay performing clubs or bars all around the country, about a 100 all together. They wanted me to put together a traveling troupe of performers and move the show on a weekly or monthly basis from one club to another.

I leaned in to Ray’s cousin and whispered into his ear, “Do these guys know how old I am?” He whispered back and told me to take their idea and run with it, between Robin and I, Chuck and Dave we could do it. I sat back up and asked if I were to do it, how large a troupe would they expect and could each of the venues handle them. Would they expect all the performers to sing or would lip syncing be accepted. How were we to get everyone from one club to the other and where would we stay while in a particular town or city. I told them I needed to know all that and more, like what was their bottom line for each show and would we be entitled to a cut of the door and a cut of the bar for each show or just the weekends. I told them that I needed the answers to those questions so I could determine if their payment schedule for all the venues was doable for what they were offering. I asked them to enjoy the show tonight and then get back to me, I was only going to be here for the next two Saturday nights.

The show went really well that night, I really showed off for those guys, I think I was showing them what they would miss by not offering me enough to put my education on hold. I received my own first gift of jewelry that night, a diamond pendant on a chain. It was delivered by a courier at my dressing room door after my show was over. It was from Tiffany and Co. and I had to sign for it as it was addressed to me personally. The diamond was in a heart shaped gold cut out and the note with it said, “With all my heart, here is love.” The note was not signed and there wasn’t anything on the courier’s paperwork to tell who the sender was. It was very simple and understated, until the light hit the diamond, and then it came alive. I loved it and wondered who had thought to send it to me. There was someone I hoped who it was from, but I had no idea if Chad could afford something like this.

I wore that necklace while working in the bar that week and everyone liked it, but it got no special reaction from any of the guys, Chad included. After a week of wearing it, and no other mention or hint of it’s origin, I carefully packed it up and put it in the secret hidey hole with the jewels from Jerry’s estate.

The show the Saturday before Christmas was even more wonderful. I snuck in a few holiday favorites and during the show a large serving platter was placed on the stage and by the time the show was over there were at least 35 or 40 small gift packages on the tray. I looked to Ray’s cousin who was standing just off stage and he just nodded when I pointed to the tray, so instead of the little talk at the end I took the tray and placed it on the stool I kept on stage. I began to unwrap the gifts and there was a gorgeous pair of clip on diamond button earrings, no card. I thought they were lovely and told the audience they were, and a big thank you to whoever had gifted them. I proceeded through all of the gift boxes and showed the jeweled contents to the crowd and when done I sang a few more carols, encouraging the audience to join in.

Back stage I quickly packed with Dave and Chuck’s help and cleaned up enough to rush to the station to catch the last train home. In the morning, while eating breakfast, I went through all the gifted items from the previous night and realized they were all from a variety of well known shops and jewelers, there was no cheap stuff here. I sorted through and picked several pieces that would go well with the assortment of gowns I possessed and set those aside. The rest I put with the rest of the still unused jewels from Jerry’s inheritance in the secret hidey hole I had created in the back of a closet in the entry hall.

I met with Mr. Prentice and Robin and we talked over the little meeting I had with Ray’s cousin and his business partners. Mr. Prentice said he could easily set up a corporation for this endeavor, but that because I was still a minor he would have to co-sign anything I was involved with. Robin asked if he was going to be included in the performing as well as management and when I told him I hoped he would be, that I had been counting on it, then his smile returned and he said he had about 15 pounds he had to loose. All we needed now was some sort of contract that guaranteed us money for each show so we would not be stuck without a pay day for the performers we engaged, or ourselves, after all, Robin was giving up a really profitable job and I would be giving up attending classes, but I intended to still do my on-line courses, and any others I could, no matter where we were.

The Saturday of my last show in New York, two days before New Years I was asked to try and be in the city for a meeting set up for 4 PM. Robin went with me and we held the meeting in the main room of the club again, with only the addition of Robin. The group of club owners had a proposal all set and they handed it out. It was a small fortune to me. It was a flat fee for the show, no matter how many performers we had, half the take from the bars, half the take from the table service, 70% of the door take each night we performed. There were bonus clauses to be paid to us if actual figures were over 20% of the estimated take from any venue. It sounded good to me and then Robin piped up and asked what provisions were we to expect at the venues. The spokesman assured us that added security on show nights would be hired off duty policemen.

Unfortunately that was not sufficient, as Mr. Prentice had explained to me. He had told us that what we needed was hired security that wasn’t connected to the clubs in any way and shouldn’t be locals who might let another local person get away with something just because they knew them. A private guard not from the area would make for better protection for us and anyone appearing with us on stage. They would also cover our backs on the door take by having one of them posted where the cover to get in was collected. He felt we should have five guards with us at least. He had priced them out and for the 7 months they wanted us to tour their clubs the cost was two hundred and fifty thousand, a cost that could be covered by setting aside from the door and liqueur takes for the tour about a percentage and a half. I presented this typed proposal to the spokesman and thy went into a huddle and agreed to that and it would be added to the contract tonight. The starting date was for February 11th of the new year and end September 11th of the same year. We agreed to the stated contract and the changes to it to be made and then the completed new contract would be faxed to Mr. Prentice and we would sign the document and return fax it to them here at the club and a completed set would be couriered to Mr. Prentice. We had a deal.


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Freedom

By Art West

Completed

Chapters: 1 2 3 4