The Saga of Girly Lee Brown A novelette by Theresa Black

Chapter 4

My wardrobe was limited, but fortunately Lu and I were the same size, so she suggested I wear one of her dresses. It was very pretty – white cotton with embroidered flowers. I wore stockings and three inch heels since it was daytime but I needed Mr Marchant to know I was comfortable wearing heels.

Lu and I were on time when we arrived at the Star Theater-Restaurant. Such places look a little drab in daylight but they liven up when the lights go on at night. We were shown into Mr Marchant’s office and he indicated two seats. Then he looked from one to the other, not knowing which one I was.

“I’m Lee, Mr Marchant,” I said helpfully.

He laughed. “Well you could have fooled me,: he said. “In fact you did fool me, I pride myself I can pick a guy in a dress at twenty paces but I had no idea which was you and which your sister.”

He went on to describe what the show was like and asked if I could sing and dance, and I said I had some experience in both. After that he took us into the big room filled with round tables and with a stage at one end where the shows took place. A young man was tinkling on the piano and Mr Marchant introduced him as Jake, but said he became Marilyn when playing with the band at show time. He asked if I could favor him with a song. Put on the spot I couldn’t think of one but then Lu suggested ‘Stormy Weather’, which I’d been singing in tune with Lena Horne on the radio.

“Do you know it, Jake?” asked Mr Marchant and he nodded and started to play. Well, I sang the song and he nodded.

‘You have a nice voice, though maybe something more upbeat for our shows but I’ll consider it. When can you start?”

I was shocked. It seemed I had the job. “Well I have to go back to Hicksville and collect my belongings, and then find somewhere to live,” I said.

Ever practical Lu said. “I’m sure she can stay with my sister and her husband until she finds her own place, but you haven’t mentioned money, Mr Marchant.”

He smiled. “I can see you brought your manager along, Miss Brown. How does ten dollars a week sound for a start, plus a share of the tips? I’ll give you a month’s trial and if you stay on then we’ll renegotiate on your pay. In the meantime, why don’t you come back this evening to meet the girls and see the show? We open at nine and stay on until late, but it’s best you arrive at eight to meet everyone.”

Once we left the Star, I was on Cloud Nine, but Lucille wasn’t impressed.

“Ten dollars a week? That’s slave labor; he’d better double that after your trial or you’ll take your talents elsewhere.”

We arrived back at eight, suitably glammed up. This time I was wearing five inch heels just to show I could. There were ten artists in the troupe and I noticed that about half arrived dressed as girls and the other half as rather feminine-looking men. You couldn’t disguise the beautifully arched eyebrows, the manicured nails and the gorgeous hair – mostly held back in a ponytail. They all responded politely as Mr Marchant informed tham that I was joining the troupe. One of the girls was about to leave to try her luck in New York and I would be replacing her. Mr Marchant had told us that unlike some cheap drag shows where the girls mimed to recorded music, all the girls here sang to a live band.

We were shown to a table near the stage, the significance of which only became apparent later. We were also given a complimentary bottle of ‘champagne’, which I was sure had never seen the inside of a French cellar, but when I later found out what customers were charged for it I confess I was a bit shocked. I drank sparingly but perhaps just enough to relax me.

It was a great show. All the girls had good voices and the accompanying band consisting of piano, bass, drums and a girl on trumpet or saxophone, played very well. I was nicely relaxed and enjoying the evening and then the surprise came. Mr Marchant, now respondent in a tuxedo, stepped onto the stage and made an announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a surprise for you this evening. I’d like to introduce the latest member of our talented troupe – so new she only joined us this morning. Here to sing that great Lena Horne classic ‘Stormy Weather’, please give a warm welcome to Miss Leeann LaBrun.”

The whole room started applauding and I was stunned.

“That’s you, Lee. Get up there and sing,” hissed Lucille, and so I did. I hadn’t had time to be nervous and that was probably Mr Marchant’s intention.

Marilyn was great, she did an intro and then nodded to me when to start singing, and after the first verse, Ella, as I later found out was her name, played a saxophone solo, before I finished the song. I have to say the room erupted in applause and I bowed and bowed again until I felt it was time to return to my table.

Lu leaned over and said “You were amazing! They all loved you.” It was at that moment that I realized the intoxicating twin bonuses of being an entertainer; not only did you get paid but you got applause too.

Afterwards, Mr Marchant came up and half apologized. “If I’d given you advance warning, you would have been frightened to death, but you did really well. Actually I’ve been rethinking your remuneration. How does twenty dollars a week sound?”

“It sounds great, Mr Marchant,” I said and he smiled. ”Meanwhile, here’s a little something for your impromptu performance tonight,” he said, taking out his wallet and passing a ten dollar bill over to me. What a night it had been!

The performances ended at around 2am, but before that Mr Marchant appeared again.

“You were saying about finding somewhere to live. The girl who is leaving was sharing a two-bedroom apartment with Coralee, so she is now looking for a replacement. May I introduce you?”

He brought Coralee over and I was glad to see that she was one of the girls who arrived dressed as a girl. We discussed sharing the apartment and she gave me the address and offered to show me around the following morning, around eleven. I was pleased to see that it was on the north side of the city, not too far from where Verne and Gary lived.

Lu and I went there the next day. I saw that although Coralee was now in pants, hair tied back and no makeup, she was obviously still in girl mode. The apartment was very nice – neat and tidy and would suit me fine. She told me how much it would cost in the share of rent and some things like electricity and gas and I could see it would be perfect, especially as her being in the show as well, she would be sleeping in after a late night just as I would. That was my concern about staying with Verne and Gary, and anyway, it was THEIR place.

“There’s just one other thing,” said Coralee, and she looked slightly embarrassed. “I have boyfriend and sometimes he stays over. Is that alright with you?”

“Sure. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get a boyfriend of my own once I settle in,” I said.

“I don’t doubt it for a moment,” she replied. “You’re so pretty, and such a nice person.”

I just smiled. What else could I do in reply?

“So when do you think you’ll want to move it?” she asked

“About a week, is that ok?” I replied
.
“Perfect. Suzie leaves in about five days, so it will give me time to clean up.” I smiled. That must be a joke – the place looked really spick and span.

We spent a few more days with Verne and Gary and then took the Greyhound back to Hicksville, after an evening meal of take-out Chinese which we bought as a ‘thank you’. Having a baby does limit one’s social life a bit, something that would never be a problem for me.

When I arrived home, I had to break the news to Mom and Grandma.

Mom shed a few tears. “I don’t blame you for going, honey; this is no place for a young person. You have your whole life still ahead of you, and you must follow your dream.”

One thing that made me feel batter about leaving was that Luella was not far away from Hicksville, and I knew that Lucille had been going out with Rob, a young local farmer who was living with his grandparents and due to take over the farm soon. They seemed to be getting serious, and after seeing the look on Lu’s face when she held Gary Jnr, I suspected that wedding bells would not be far away., so there would be two of my sisters close by if Mom and Grandma needed help.

I packed all my clothes and a few little trinkets into a suitcase for my journey to Chicago. I felt like the end of a chapter of my life had arrived, and a new one starting.

A day later, I boarded the Greyhound again, this time on my own. It was much too early to arrive at Coralee’s apartment when the bus pulled into the bus station. Gary had very kindly offered to pick me up again and take me to their home for a few hours until I could reasonably arrive at my new home. After breakfast and a shower to freshen up, I rang the bell at Coralee’s at 11am.

“Welcome to your new home,” she said and we shared a hug. I unpacked my suitcase in my new room, and that afternoon Coralee drove us to the club for a rehearsal and for me to get fitted for some costumes. Everyone was most welcoming, and I was sure I would soon feel at home.

I had already been given the words and music for a few songs I would sing one solo and the rest as backing to one of the other singers. I was also fitted with some very glamorous costumes. One was a bit low-cut and I started to wonder if I should seriously think about having breast enhancement surgery when I could afford it. Coralee and I went back to the apartment at five for a few hours’ rest before returning to the club at eight to get ready for the first show. Shows took place at nine, eleven and one am, and the club closed between two and three. It made for a long day when there were rehearsals too, but we were young and had plenty of stamina.

I settled in very quickly and the first month went in a flash. Mr Marchant called me into his office, told me that he was very pleased with the way I had settled in and raised my wages to thirty dollars a week. When my share of the tips was added, that made an extra five to ten dollars or so, although it varied from week to week.

We were expected to mingle with the customers and sometimes sit at a table and have a drink with them, but I only ever drank lightly – trying to sing while drunk would not have gone over well at all. Some of the older men, usually married ones, made discrete enquiries on whether I was available for extracurricular activities, but I always declined with a smile. I was an entertainer after all, not a whore.

Some of the young men were very attractive and I confess I did succumb to their charms on an occasional basis. At least, knowing what the club was, they knew exactly what to expect when they got into my panties. That may make it seem like I was a whore after all, but I never took any money from them; gifts of lingerie or jewelry were a different matter. Well, I was unattached, young and healthy and so was my libido, so I make no excuses for my actions.

Verne and Gary invited me to dinner every fortnight or so and got an update on how I was doing, but I didn’t tell them about my meetings with young men of course. Perhaps they came to their own conclusions. I always took a gift of some sort – perhaps a bottle of wine, or a toy for young Gary, who was growing fast.

About three months after I arrived in Chicago, I had a letter from Lucille telling me the not unexpected news that she was going to marry Rob. It would be a small family wedding and I was invited to be the matron of honour – I could hardly be a bridesmaid anymore! I went to see Mr Marchant, and as the wedding was on a Saturday, I was given the Friday off and promised to return for the Monday show.

When I arrived in Hicksville, Mom said that I was looking more glamorous than ever. Well, I was no longer a country girl. I provided my own gown for my bridesmaid duties after consultation with Lu. It was quite beautiful and could be worn on other occasions. The dress I had worn to the previous two family weddings and which I had thought glamorous at the time did not suit me at all anymore. Lu told me I looked amazing and I returned the compliment. She looked blooming and I wondered if she already had their first on the way. Knowing Lu it would be by design not an accident. When Rob’s parents asked what I did in Chicago, I said I was a singer with a band, but was not more specific. They seemed quite impressed. Of course I was called upon to sing during the reception which I was happy to do being quite used to singing before an audience by now, and this was a very small one.

Rob’s younger brother Sid was Best Man and so my partner at the wedding. I got the distinct impression that he would like to explore our relationship more, after feeling his reaction as we danced close together, but that was not possible of course. He gave me his telephone number but I did not keep it. Sunday morning I was back on the Greyhound and heading to Chicago.

I wasn’t wrong in my instincts about Lu – she was delivered of a healthy full term daughter six months after the wedding, and named her Leeanne! Over the next couple of years, Luella and her husband had twin boys, Peter and Paul, and Verne and Gary had a baby sister for Gary Jnr, whom they called Cheryl. I was becoming an aunty many times over.

Over the next two years, I continued to sing at the ‘Les Belles’ and share the apartment with Coralee. As predicted, sometimes she had a boyfriend stay over and it could be hard to sleep due to the sounds coming through the bedroom wall, but I was glad for her that she was having a good time. As it happened I never had anyone stay overnight.

I started to think that I’d be at the club until I became too old to sing any more, but then the night came that changed it all.

To be concluded