Miss Lola.

Chapter 25.

Rhonda's pov continued.

They call him Foxxy because he's the spitting image of Redd Foxx, even down to the gravely voice and waddling gait and Foxxy wears thousand dollar suits and styles his long red hair in old school finger waves.

"Just the honey, I wanted to see." He says when I sit down across from his desk which is black and shaped like a dollar sign.

"What's up Foxxy? Why you looking for me?"

He taps ash from his Cuban cigar and rubs two fingers of his left hand together, letting me know what's up and I obligingly hand him his thirty percent which he slowly counts.

"You can do a whole lot better if you do some private parties. The fellas seem to like you, Blaze. I can hook something up."

Blaze is my stage name.

"No, thanks. I'm good." Rising, I zipper my purse and turn towards the door eager to get out of here when Foxxy stops me.

"You're a good looking girl, Blaze. Still in good shape after what? Four kids?"

"Three." I automatically say, wondering where this conversation is going. I hope Foxxy ain't trying to put the moves on me because he most definitely will get cussed out.

He's squinting with one eye closed and looking at my body in a way which makes my stomach churn and I self consciously jerk the front of the Chinese robe closed and tie the strings.

"You act like you don't like money. Girl, money makes the world go 'round. Didn't you know that? I can hook you up with more money than you can shake a stick at."

Once again I turn him down and hurry my happy behind on out of his office and back to the dressing room to collect my things.

Thunder has left for the night but three other girls have replaced her and they give me dirty looks which I automatically return.

These heffas don't intimidate me.

Grabbing my street clothes from the dented locker, I take my sweet time walking out of there and hear one of those skanks laugh.

Well if I hadn't been in such a hurry to get my kids from Miss Nancy, I might have gone back in there and said something but instead I let it slide and went on about my business.

It was another balmy night, and about a million stars looked like diamonds strung across the velvet sky.

I stood in the half empty parking lot, taking deep, cleansing breaths and simply enjoying the sweet scent of the meadow which is across the street from the club.

"Hey, Blaze." The raspy voice startles me and I whip around, eyes widening in fear until I recognized the short, muscular form of Hector Gomez who saunters towards me.

Hector has been coming to Foxxy's for a while now but all he does is drink at the bar and I rarely see him tossing money onto the stage.
As he draws near, the glow from the street light falls on his square jawed, light brown face and white Stetson.

He's dressed in a white Western shirt  black, skinny jeans and snake skin cowboy boots.

"Oh, hi Hector." I say, relaxing because he isn't a threat.
We'd gone to highschool together and Hector used to hang out with Merlin until they'd grown up and drifted apart.

"You headed home?" He asked.

"Well, I gotta pick up my kids first but yeah."

"That's good. That's good." Hector mumbles. He's staring at me but not in a creepy way. "You wanna go out sometime?"

I pause, a little surprised, and take another look at him. Hector is cute and has a pretty good job in construction but I'd never thought that he was feeling me like that.

"Umm..."

"You don't have to decide right now. Just call and let me know." He hands me a scrap of paper with his number written on it. "Can I walk you to your car?"

Still bemused, I absently nod my head and Hector walks me to my car and politely waits until I'm safely inside before walking away.

Later, when I pick up the kids and pay Miss Nancy, Tommy starts whining about being hungry.

"My stomach is 'bout to cave in."

"Boy, I know Miss Nancy fed y'all and y'all just ate at your Granny house earlier today."

"Big Ma." Bella corrects in a sleepy voice.

"Whatever." I say with an eye roll. "I  bet all of y'all are hungry too. Am I right?"

"Yes!" They all chorus.

So we stop at an IHOP and while the kids are munching down on waffles and maple syrup, I have a black coffee and take out the scrap of paper and look at Hector's phone number again.

Should I call him? Am I ready to date again?

I don't know, because of my horrible track record with men and is Hector really ready to handle my three kids because we're a package deal.

Sighing, I re-fold the paper and slip it inside of my purse.

I might call him for the heck of it. It might be fun to date someone like Hector who's always been a regular dude and his parents still lived in the same stucco house out on Willow road and as I recall most of his siblings had moved away after graduating highschool.

Not that I blame them, Elmwood looks pretty but it ain't nothing but a dusty, boring little town.

"Mama? Can I have some eggs?" Tommy asked and of course everyone else wants eggs too and so I call the weary looking waitress over and place the order.

"Y'all ain't getting nothing else so don't ask." I say after the waitress has walked away.

"We've got money." J.r says.

"Where y'all get money from?"

They look at Tommy who's blushing and looking guilty.

"Tommy?" I say.

"I asked uncle Merlin for some money and he gave it to us." He reluctantly said.

"How many times have I asked y'all to stop going around here begging people for money?"

"But he our Uncle." Tommy protested.

"That don't matter. Just stop begging, like I said. Do it again and that's your behind Tommy and it goes for the rest of y'all too."

"Yes, ma'am." I can barely hear them mumble the words.

Sucking my teeth in annoyance, I stir the coffee with a spoon and then ask,

"Well, how much money did y'all get?"

"Six dollars a piece." J.r says.

I'd made up my mind, "Fine. Y'all can pay for the eggs."

Tommy groaned, because obviously he had plans for his part of the money.

Finally, we're turning into the drive of the Broad Street projects where we've lived since J.r was a baby and Ray S.r's white cadillac truck is parked in front of our unit.

10/31/21
Edited 12/20/21.