Fiction, Short Stories

Ms. Vivian Fox

ryanhougardy / January 30, 2021

Her hands trembled as she affixed the spider-like false eyelashes to her eyelids. She carefully adjusted the long artificial follicles so that they were even with each other, fanning the drying glue with her free hand. Satisfied with the blend of colors, glitter, and shimmer adorning her eyes, nose, cheeks, and lips, she sat back in her chair and grabbed her nearly empty vodka soda. She stared at the clownish woman in the vanity in front of her, then blew a kiss to the fading polaroid taped to the mirror. She sucked down another sip, letting the vodka warm her throat before touching up her electric red lipstick. Even after so many years, her nerves still flooded with chaotic enthusiasm every single time.

“You’re up, sweetheart.”

She hoisted herself into her white stilettos and took one last pleasing look at herself in the mirror as she drained her drink. “Thanks, Brad,” she kissed the bouncer as she floated by him leaving a prominent red mark on his stubbly cheek. She rounded the corner and walked towards the main bar area, the smell of her sweet perfume mixed with booze permeating from the sticky floors. The last performer was entering her final chorus, so she waited at the end of the dim hallway, adjusting her form fitting white dress and oversized plastic jewelry. She fluffed her hair with her hands and teased the top to make it appear bigger and more wild. Her heart rapped against her ribcage while adrenaline pumped up her spine and shoulders.

The last performer walked off the stage, waving and blowing kisses to the adoring audience as she stuffed the wad of ones and fives into her pale blue bustier. “Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for your next entertainer, Ms. Vivian Fox!” The crowd roared as the first few notes of Mariah Carey’s “Emotions” blared from the speakers situated around the room. A palpable burst of dread and excitement invaded her, dulling her senses while her nerves screamed with anticipation. Her vision narrowed while pulsating blurs ran across her mind. Warm vibrations jumped along her legs, weakening them, making them feel heavy and useless one second and bursting with a barely containable energy the next. She ran her tongue along her painted lips while her breath quickened, and her skin glistened with perspiration. This was fear. This was joy. This was Vivian’s favorite feeling in the world.

In a moment of sublime clarity, she balled up her nerves, her dread, her excitement, and she transformed it into the energy, the confidence, she needed to mount the stage. She lifted her head and puckered her lips before she briskly trounced out of the drab hallway and up the couple of steps into the center of the raised platform. The crowd exploded as Vivian mouthed the beginning of the song, mimicking Mariah Carey’s voice. She glided around the stage, the tail of her sequin dress whipping around the floor. She looked directly at various members of the audience, whose phones were trained on her performance, pulling them deeper into her fantasy with a magnetic presence that couldn’t be ignored. She was a pro.

As she entered the first chorus, she sauntered over to the stairs, stepping to the beat of the synthesizer drums banging out of the speakers. She paused on each step, contorting her body into a seducing stance, emphasizing her rear end packed tightly into her glittering dress. As she reached the floor, she threw her bejeweled left hand in the air and pulled her right hand up to her ear just in time to impersonate the first of many whistle notes. The crowd again erupted, screaming “work!” and “yas!”, further invigorating Vivian’s prowess for performance. She felt the power and joy come flooding in with the claps and screams and mesmerized smiles of her spectators. This is the escape she lived for, she thought.

She wiggled her way around the room, mouthing the second verse masterfully, her sweet scent further hypnotizing her fans as she passed by. Ones, fives, and tens pinched between eager index and middle fingers waved to the motion of her movements before being lovingly deposited in her pristinely polished hands. She gazed into the eyes of each of her benefactors, transporting them into her universe, giving them a glimpse into the world she alone was queen of. Another set of high notes, another chorus, more high notes, the bridge. Vivian spun around, her bright white teeth beaming from in between her plump red lips. She closed her eyes and continued spinning, her face aimed up towards the water-stained ceiling. She was fully transformed. She was Vivian Fox.

As the final whistle notes sounded, she made her way back to the center of the stage, imitating the high pitch melody. A weak spotlight operated by an enthused barback took aim just as the song was ending, bathing the statuesque Vivian in an ethereal light. She stood in the center of the stage, one hand resting on her hip and the other stretched towards the low ceiling. She closed her eyes as her heart pommeled in her heaving chest, finding herself lost in the ecstatic blend of cheers, claps, and hollers. When she finally opened her eyes, bills thrown by the enchanted crowd littered the stage around her feet. The spotlight operating barback ran to the stage and gathered her spoils while the host boomed, “ladies and gentlemen, one more round of applause for our very own, Vivian Fox!”

With another vodka soda in hand, she made her way around the bar, mingling and taking photos with fans. Her post-performance high usually lasted the rest of the night and tonight was no exception. She eventually made her way back down the alcohol spattered hallway and into her changing room. She slipped out of her stilettos and sunk into her chair in front of the vanity. She looked into the mirror, studying the person looking back at her. She took a deep satisfying breath and said, “until next time, Viv,” before leaning forward and peeling off her false eyelashes. She ran her manicured fingers up the side of her face until they met her ears. She dug her finger along her hairline and gently lifted her big, blond wig off her head. She began to wipe the heavy make-up off her face when Brad knocked lightly on the half open door.

“Viv, you decent?”

“Viv’s gone home for the night, it’s just me now.”

Brad pushed the door open a little more to make room for his belly. Half inside the dressing room and half out in the hallway, he said, “You were incredible tonight, Jake. Really put on a hell of a show.”

Jake continued to wipe the make-up off his face, looking through the mirror at Brad. “You’re just saying that because I’m the oldest queen here.”

“True, but you’re also the best,” Brad joked. “You have a fan that wants to meet you…”

“I’m not really prepared to meet any fans.” Jake ran his hand up and down his body indicating the illusion was over. He took out a fresh wipe and continued cleaning his face when he noticed Brad still standing there. “Fine! But just a quick hello.”

A young man walked into the dressing room followed quickly by a middle-aged woman, who looked around skeptically. Jake noticed the big under-21 “X” on the young man’s hand and the small rainbow bracelet around his wrist. He couldn’t have been much older than 16. The middle-aged woman, her hands placed squarely on the boy’s shoulders, was the first to speak. “We’re sorry to bother you. I know you’re cleaning up and…”

Jake set his wipe down and turned to look at the boy and his mom through his eyeliner-stained eyes. “Not at all, it’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m Vivian Fox.” Jake extended his manicured hand to the boy first.

The boy looked at the ground briefly before bypassing Jake’s hand and instead throwing his arms around him in a tight hug. He pulled away and looked at Jake apprehensively. “Sorry, I’m just such a big fan. I’ve seen your performances online and… you’re my favorite.”

“Wow, thank you, I, uh…” Jake looked up at the boy’s mom and asked with a disbelieving chuckle, “You brought your son to a bar?”

The mom grabbed onto her son’s hand and took a deep breath before closing her eyes and saying with a slight whimper, “Sam… recently came out… to us. To his family.” She opened her damp eyes and looked at Jake. “And my son is the most important thing in the world to me. I’m just trying to be a good and supportive mother…”

4]Jake froze and looked at Sam’s mom. Before he knew what he was doing, he was hugging her. He closed his eyes and whispered in her ear, “Thank you.”
This is why he does it, he thought. This is why he became Vivian Fox.

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