Page 3 of Shooting for his Heart
“Girl, fuck him! That’s what you would tell me,” Jenna spat out.
“I know, right? This nigga is making me soft.”
“I like the softer Vonnie,” Jenna cooed.
“He does too.” It was my turn to whine. “It’s crazy that I can’t be excited about my news because I’m too worried about what he’s going to think.”
“If he can’t be excited for you, that’s unfortunate… but don’t blow this to soothe his ego,” Jahnae said, encouraging me.
“You have to tell him first. Give him a chance…” Jenna suggested.
I exhaled. “Girl, tell me why I’m so damn nervous?”
“Because you have the opportunity of a lifetime. I know you want to make the best of it. You work hard, Vonnie. You deserve this.” Jahnae reasoned with me.
“I know. Well, let me get in here and prepare for his return.” I sighed.
“Look at my girl… sounding like a housewife.” Jenna teased me while Jah laughed at her silliness.
“Go to hell.” I laughed, too, as I ended the call.
After a refreshing weekend in Miami, I returned to the home I shared with my boyfriend, William. William Wright was a well-known real estate agent in Lulaville. He spoiled me and treated me like an absolute princess. One of the only things we disagreed on was my job.
Unlike my parents, who were both teachers and proud that their daughter was following in their footsteps up until I dropped out of school to dance, they wanted me to quit working at the strip club that hired me. William didn’t want me to work at all. He felt he made more than enough money to provide for us. The cushy lifestyle he provided me with was what convinced me to get out of the strip club altogether—not my parent’s threats and subsequent disowning. Disappointing them was only enough to make me stop dancing. I was still working there when I met William because I was so good with makeup. The girls had me do their makeup and touch them up backstage, so I made a gig out of it.
While the dancing only lasted for about a year, I had been doing the makeup and costumes for the girls at the strip club and local drag shows ever since. I got the hook up doing the dragshows through a dancer whose sister, Miss Kitty Kat, was one of the headliners. One night, she had a wardrobe malfunction, and I pulled out my machine and repaired her costume. She was stunned to find out that I made my own costumes to prevent myself from looking like everyone else.
The girls started paying me to alter their costumes. It brought in a little extra money and helped to pay the bills. I guess my grandma forcing me to learn how to sew was finally paying off.
I loved creating unique looks and ensembles. Since I wasn’t rail thin, I sometimes had to tweak my outfits to make them work. I could sew and tailor, but it wasn’t something I took seriously. I was a fairly good seamstress, but makeup was my real passion.
Once Will and I started dating, I stopped doing makeup for the strippers and got a part-time job. He didn’t like the idea of me working in the seedy clubs. Although I pushed back a little, I eventually let him have his way. I didn’t need to work in the clubs anymore anyway.
The publicity I got after doing Jahnae’s wedding took my clientele to another level. For over a year, I had been booked at least monthly for a wedding party. Things could have been bigger, but Will didn’t like me being so busy. His preference was that I didn’t work at all. For a while, I stalled on making my career blossom. In fact, I hindered it due to William’s unwillingness to see how much it meant to me. Just by knowing an NFL player’s wife, my career could have catapulted, but considering William’s feelings was more important to me.
Being with Will made it easy for me to live comfortably while I entertained the idea of pursuing my dreams. Starting a business was hard. It was good to have someone to depend on while I worked on growing in the industry.
While William thought I should be happy to be able to sit at home and be a housewife with a few hobbies that paid, I didn’t agree with that logic. I wanted a legitimate business. My lipstick line sold well, but I wanted to scale it to greater heights. I used it on all my clients and made sure they tagged me in photos to help market it.
My refusal to see things his way usually led to a disagreement, which is why I had been in the kitchen slaving for the past few hours. Will loved my cooking, so I made all of his favorites. I had some wonderful news to share with him. Well, it was wonderful news for me—not so much for Will. Hopefully, the meal would help soften the impact of my big reveal.
Tasha’s cousin, Larsen, who happened to be an art director, was in her wedding. Larsen was so impressed with my transformation of the wedding party that she searched my Instapic account. According to her, she stayed up all night scrolling through pictures of my work. In her quest, she’d seen my costume designs for the drag shows. The woman went so far down the rabbit hole that she saw the costumes I’d made for Comicon and other cosplay events.
I was a makeup girl. Larsen had bigger ideas for me. By Monday morning, I received a direct message on Instapic from her detailing a three-month deal on the set of a science fiction film being shot by none other thantheMarshawn Sheppard. He was only the producer of all my favorite horror movies. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I read over her message.
The movie was being shot in New Orleans and was set to start in a week. After a couple of days of back-and-forth correspondence, she emailed me the contract. I printed it out and promised to call her with an answer in a couple of days.
It was a good deal. The exposure alone would launch my career to new heights, so I was definitely taking the job. I just needed to talk to Will. My heart pounded with excitement whenI heard the front door open. I turned to watch Will’s fine ass walk into the kitchen and shed his navy-blue blazer.
“Damn, babe. You got it smelling good as hell in here,” he stated.
“Thank you. I made all your favorites: baked pork chops, fried cabbage, red beans and rice, cornbread, and you get to have meandbanana pudding for dessert,” I replied.
He chuckled. “Uh oh. I don’t know if I should ask what happened or what the occasion is.”
“Why does there have to be a special occasion for me to want to feed my man?”
“What is it this time, Vonnie?” he asked again as he settled into his seat.
