November 1997—Savannah, Georgia
A bitter breeze softly swept by the Spanish moss that hung over the branches of olden oaks, dying down when it was time for Bonaventure Cemetery to close for today.
A gravekeeper (aka a sexton which doesn't sound as cool) was wandering around the graves, searching for guests who lost track of time. To the visitors seeing loved ones, they would allow them to say their goodbyes, trusting they would leave shortly afterward. As for the other kinds of visitors—the ones who came to the cemetery for purposes that didn't relate to paying their respects to the dead—they would strongly advise them to leave immediately. Most of them did as they were told. Most of them...
The gravekeeper sighed, "Seriously, what's so special about Bird Girl that has strangers flocking to her?" They watched a young woman wearing her red hair in twintails pose in front of the bronze sculpture while another young woman with ginger hair attempted to take a good picture of her.
"Oh, come on. It's not so hard to capture my charm on camera," said South Carolina in a haughty voice.
Georiga grumbled, "I've already taken a dozen photos."
"Yes, but this one features me doing the same pose as the statue. So, you better get this right."
"Excuse me," the gravekeeper interrupted them, "the cemetery will lock its gates in about five minutes. It's time to leave."
"Okay," said Georgia. "We'll take our leave."
"No! Not yet!" South Carolina snapped at them. "Five minutes is plenty of time for another picture!"
"I've already taken pictures of you the entire day," she groaned.
"Fine." She snatched the camera out of her hand. "You," she shoved the camera into the gravekeeper's hand, "take a picture of me."
"Huh?"
"Don't give me that daft look." She returned to posing in front of the statue. "Take a picture of me."
"But—"
"No buts, peasant! Take a picture of me in front of this statue. I won't leave this graveyard until I get one more picture."
The gravekeeper reluctantly did as they were told.
But after reviewing the picture, South Carolina frowned. "It's too crooked for my liking. Take it again."
"What?"
"Again, I say!" she scoffed. "God, no wonder you're working here. No living being would ever want to deal with your incompetence."
"At least the dead don't complain..." they muttered under their breath.
Georgia shook her head and sighed, "I'll be waiting outside the cemetery." She left on her own, leaving the poor gravekeeper to deal with the snobby South Carolinian alone.
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Later that evening, Georgia and South Carolina returned to the city to attend a gay cabaret—a sentence that seemed out of character.
"Indeed, this isn't my type of scenery." Georgia and her fellow state sat at a small round table in front of a stage, trying hard not to stare at all the scantily clad transvestites walking around the club. "To think you ask me to take you to such an establishment, unbelievable."
South Carolina giggled as she sipped her cocktail, "Fufufu! Is this your first time at a cabaret?"
"Of this nature, yes. I would prefer a much quieter place than this."
"You can visit the retirement home and play Go Fish with the grandmas another day."
"For your information, the grandmas are better company than you. The only reason I'm here is to make sure you don't do anything stupid."
"Like what?"
"Be racist."
She scoffed, "I'm not racist. If I was, I wouldn't be here, to see a Black entertainer no less."
"Uh-huh," she spoke in a doubtful tone. "During the show, you better keep your mouth close and not embarrass me."
"No worries. I'll be on my best behavior."
As the room darkened to a violet glow, the beat of the drums and the sounding of jazzy trumpets introduced everyone to the limelight of the stage. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" announces a male voice from the speakers. "Popularly featured in the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, she'll soon make her debut on the silver screen, starring as herself. Please put your hands together for the Grand Empress of Savannah—The Lady Chablis!"
The audience applauds and whistles, gradually growing louder as the black curtains drew back, revealing the Grand Empress of the show. At forty years old, she was still fabulous. For the show, she wore a pair of glittering earrings and a cerulean sequin dress that fitted her slender frame like an actress at a gala. Like any star, it was easy for her to grab the eyes of the room. She loved the atmosphere. She loved the attention. She waved and smiled at her audience, speaking into the microphone, "Hello, my bitches!" Her greeting drew more applause from the crowd. "How y'all doin'? Not that I give a damn."
"Woooo!" the audience cheered.
She chuckled for a second. "Before I start pickin' on one of y'all, I wanna ask how many of y'all read the book? The one about me and a bunch of characters no one doesn't give a damn about."
"Yeah!" A bunch of shouts, head nods, and whistles echoed in the room. South Carolina took it a step further, raising a copy of the book in the air.
"Good, good!" She pointed at the book. "If you haven't gotten John's book, you better fuckin' get one after the show. Because later this month, I expect everyone to show up to the premiere of the movie adaptation like tonight's show—excited to see my pussy."
Cheers, whistles, and laughter erupt from the audience.
"So, now I wanna know how many are here because of the book. Raise your hands if you came to Savannah to see The Doll for real."
A dozen hands were raised. Among them was South Carolina who raised them along with her copy of the book, ignoring glares from Georgia.
The Lady Chablis took notice of the individual with a smirk, pointing at her, "You—the Daddy's girl in pigtails. Where you from?"
"Charleston!" she immediately answered, strangely unnerved by the nickname that was suddenly dropped on her.
"Ah, I had a couple of shows at the gay bars over there. Lovely city. Great people with great beaches, too." She looked at the drink in her hands. "Mind givin' me a sip of what you're havin'? I need to cool off from all this sexy hotness I'm exudin'."
"Um, sure." She handed The Doll her cocktail.
The Lady Chablis took a sip of the red drink and hummed. "My, that's some good pussy juice." She took another sip while the audience giggled in their seats. "Ya came with anybody to the show?"
She turned to Georgia who was shaking her head, mouthing a silent yet loud, "NO."
South Carolina smirked. "Yeah! A friend!" She pointed to her companion.
"A friend!" The Doll awed, recognizing the fellow Georgian's blushing face. "Ah, the Grand Empress Georgia. Lovely to see you finally attend one of my shows. Ya enjoyin' yourself?"
She forced a strained smile. "Sure... You're eccentric and raunchy as always..."
She laughed, "That's right, girl! Y'mama still lookin' fine as fuck! Y'all agree?"
"Woooo!" everyone cheered.
Except for Georgia who moaned, "I don't belong here..."
~ Motherfuck it! ~
"To tell y'all the truth, I'm still gettin' used to the idea of myself being shown on the silver screen," said The Doll in a relaxed tone. "Don't get me wrong. I'm used to all the attention—both good and bad. But if you were to tell me back then—a broke sixteen-year-old sissy—I was gonna star in a movie, I would slap you for lyin' or bein' on crack." She paused, letting the audience chuckle.
"Some people say it's not easy bein' gay. Well, try bein' a Black transwoman, livin' in the Deep South no less." She paused. "Lookin' back at my life, I can say without a doubt I was lucky. I knew from the very beginning I was different. I might've looked like a li'l boy named Benjamin. But really, I was a li'l girl who happened to have candy, even though I had no clue what it was at the time. It was no secret. Auntie Katie Bell would joke how often I flirted with men when I was a kid. Gran'mama who raised me during my beginning years didn't approve of my sissy behavior, but she didn't attempt to fix me. For who I am, that was the Lord's business, she believed. As ironic as this might sound, it was thanks to my faith in Jesus Christ and my Gran'mama's love I was able to understand myself.
Still, that didn't mean I was protected like a sweet lamb. Some people wished I acted more masculine—like a man. My mama was no exception. Especially around my teenage years, whenever I did something gay—like wearin' a dress or havin' friends who happened to be boys over at the house—she would force me to strip naked. Then, she would beat me with a switch before tyin' me to the porch, naked for the neighborhood to see." She paused. "I know what you may be thinkin', but I've gotten over it and forgiven her. Because... It isn't easy bein' my mama. Goin' to nursing school, workin' at hospitals to make ends meet, then comin' home to see your boy wearin' makeup. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to straighten her little Benjamin...
... I would like to think she regretted what she did to me, especially ever since I made a name for myself. Like I said earlier, it isn't easy being a Black transwoman. But it's also not easy bein' the Black parent of a girl with candy. In the end, it's two tears in a bucket, motherfuck it. I eventually found the mamas I ever needed for support while doin' drag. Even durin' the lowest lows when I was sick, penniless, heartbroken, addicted to drugs, and close to gettin' sent to prison because of dumbass bigots, I would've been worse off wasn't for the love and support I had from friends and family. Most importantly, I wouldn't be standin' here lookin' like an uptown White woman weren't for my resolve.
Truly, I'm thankful to John for puttin' me in his book. Ever since people nationwide heard my name, I've been given many opportunities such as bein' in a movie and bein' interviewed in talk shows. And the best part, I get to be my true self, other than controllin' my language, but that's beside the point. Aside from an occasional bigot bein' a dumb bother, there are more people nowadays who love me for I am—a woman who happens to be hiding her candy." She smirked. "Thanks for comin' to my show. I expect y'all to show up at the movie premiere. Until then, bye, bitches!" She waved before shimmying off the stage, leaving an applauding audience on a good night.
~ Hetalia! ~
Hey, hey, daddy, give me some tea!
Hey, hey, mommy, hey, hey, mommy!
I cannot forget the taste of that
Frogmore stew I ate so long ago!
Draw a circle, that's the Earth!
Draw a circle, that's the Earth!
Draw a circle, that's the Earth!
I'm South Carolina!
Draw a circle, that's the Earth!
Looking closely, that's the Earth!
Or maybe, that's the Earth?
I'm the Palmetto State!
Ah, with just a brushstroke,
A beautiful world can be seen!
Let's shag along to some beach music!
South Carolina!
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+ The Lady Chablis, aka The Grand Empress and The Doll, was an American actress, author, and transgender club performer. Formerly named Benjamin Edward Knox, she changed her name when she was sixteen years old, a year after starting her career in drag pageantry. She rose to national prominence when she became a minor yet striking character in Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil, a best-selling nonfiction book written by John Berendt and published in 1994 with a film adaptation released in 1997. She spent much of her life in Savannah, Georgia regularly performing at her "home" nightclub of Club One until her death on September 8, 2016. To this day, she was still remembered for her sassy, eccentric personality and for inspiring many minorities to be themselves.
- On a side note, I read Hiding My Candy: The Autobiography of the Grand Empress of Savannah to get a better idea of The Doll's personality. That was the original intention. But while reading the autobiography, I learned more in-depth information about The Doll that wasn't described on Wikipedia or any other site on the Internet. Her recollections about the difficulties of being a Black transwoman in the South were so...raw. Also, the food recipes and beauty tips at the end of the autobiography were quite neat to read. I would highly recommend this book to readers who wouldn't mind reading some vulgarity.
~
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