"So this Damon guy was wholly responsible for the whole Tangia thing the sexy clothes, suggestive songs, what I call burlesque meets R&B. But once you got started in those skin flicks, surely you could have put your foot down, tell him enough was enough. Uh...I watched that first film you did, Tanya Deep, and I must say you seemed as if you enjoyed playing the sexy siren."
It was late. The pinkish sunset told Ralph that he stayed longer than he intended. Oh, he did tell Bev he'd wouldn't be home until after supper, the well-placed but unintended lie that he was meeting a client. Well, he was meeting someone important, and now that lady was spilling her guts, telling him things that only she held secret all these years. Ralph still couldn't understand why she was telling him all this, but he guessed she had to get it off her chest. What floored him was not the sordid tale of Damon and his machinations, but the fact that Dinah, owner of the Soul Shack, was in fact Sadie's maternal aunt.
"As I said, Ralph," she said in between sips of mineral water, "Aunt Dinah understood what had happened to me, and why I took that turn down the dark path. She didn't thoroughly approve of how I used my...err...talents, but she stood by me nevertheless. My parents pretty much disowned me the moment they saw me on stage the first, and only, time. It was Aunt Dinah who got me out of a bad situation, and not the showbiz. I, shortly after Damon got killed by dope pushers, learned I was pregnant. My funds have dwindled to nothing; Damon did that. Stole most of my money and used it to fund his habit. I ended up on welfare, and with a child coming, I had no where to turn. My parents were dead, and Aunt Dinah suggested I put the baby up for adoption."
She paused then momentarily shifted gears. Looking at Ralph intently, she said, "I'll get back to the baby thing, but I wanted to tell you right now that I somewhat learned to relish my Tangia persona. Somehow, deep inside, I loved that sexy no-holds-barred siren still love her. Perhaps it was the changing times, you know, being on the cusp of the sexual revolution. I think, if I had stuck it out, even without Damon's influence, I might have achieved longlasting stardom. You know, what with changing attitudes and freer thinking. I will admit making those skin flicks and doing the wild woman thing sort of freed me, made me rethink my whole repressed upbringing. I guess being Tangia all those years got me in touch with my own sexuality, but with Damon breathing down my neck, orchestrating my every career move, I just couldn't be my own person. Now, after all this time, with this comeback, I believe Tangia will rise again, even at my age."
She laughed, then shifted again.
"Ralph, after some diligent searching, I've met my biological daughter, but she doesn't want to be known, at least not in public yet. She is to join me onstage, and she agreed to perform with me. Imagine that: a mother and daughter act."
Ralph registered marked surprise; his eyes widened and brows shot up. He couldn't belive what Sadie just said, that she had already met the child now grown she gave up for adoption nearly thirty years ago. What puzzled Ralph was the fact Sadie so casually mentioned that she found her daughter, and that said woman will perform with her birth mother.
He had to speak up, ask a few pertinent questions. "Sadie, I still don't know what all this has to do with me. I mean, I visited the diner on a whim, saw you, then put tow and two together. You know, about you being Tangia. And I still don't know all the details about how you found your daughter, not that is of any business of mine; such has nothing to do with me. But answer this: How did you manage to locate your long-lost child; how did she react when you revealed yourself to her?"
Sadie had to be careful in answering Ralph's questions. While she so much wanted to share the news of searching for then finding her daughter, Sadie did not want to reveal too much. Ralph was a special case, and she valued his friendship.
Revealing all before the concert would prove to be far too risky. So she just told him a few pertinent facts and let the rest fall into place when the time came.
"Ralph," she said with guarded expression, "just come to the show tomorrow night. You will meet my daughter then. Let's just say that she was quite surprised when she found out I was her birth mother. But she was cool about it when I told her of my circumstances the music and movie career, Damon, everything. In fact, she was thrilled that her birth mom was once, and will be again, in show business."
******
In a darkened bar he sat, wondering what to make of all Sadie told him. So many questions still unanswered, and Ralph began to suspect Ms. Cooper was holding back. There was something not right. She didn't tell him everything about this longlost daughter she gave up for adoption years ago. And said daughter will join her birth mother onstage tomorrow night a tandem act so Sadie said.
Who was this daughter? Is she another down on her luck woman, or is she from a good home? Does she have a husband and children? If so, how did hubby and kids take the news their biological grandmother was a raunchy R&B singer who dabbled in making skin flicks? And what was the reaction when the daughter agreed to join her mother onstage? What could those two possibly perform, knowing Sadie/Tangia's penchant for off-color lyrics and sultry moves?
Ralph nursed his cocktail, running all those unanswered questions through his head. He ran his hand through his hair, fiddled with his glass, not wincing with every swallow of whiskey and soda, a drink he usually avoided. However, he needed something stronger than the usual light beer, and he mused over not going to that concert tomorrow night. Maybe Darryl could find someone else, just to use the extra ticket. Ralph began to regret he ever stepped foot in that diner, which started him on this quest to learn more about the waitress Sadie who formerly, years ago, was the celebrated Tangia. He wished he never bought and watched that Tanya Deep video, never let the curiosity about the woman get to him. And why, of all things, did Sadie show an acute interest in him? Was she playing him, looking for kicks?
Perhaps Sadie actually pined for the chance to make a comeback; judging from her present eye-popping appearance, the woman obviously relished playing the sexy siren. This was her true calling, and Ralph began to wonder if Sadie's story of forcible gang rape and an overbearing Svengali was all a pack of lies. He began to believe the woman wanted him as just another conquest. Isn't it obvious? Sadie, in her Tangia persona, probably had lovers by the scores. She just didn't play the lustful, hip-wriggling Lorelei; she lived it and enjoyed every minute.
******
"What do you mean you can't go? Man, she gave your those tickets for free! I think you're letting your imagination run wild, Ralph. I mean, she invited you to her concert. Hell, you even met the woman in all her glory, and she told you everything from how she got into the business to finding the daughter she gave up years ago. Not too many women would open up like that, and you just met her."
Darryl joined his friend in the bar full of anticipation of experiencing what could very well be the comeback of the year. He was flabbergasted enough when Ralph phoned earlier that day, informing of Sadie's letter and those complimentary tickets. Ralph, at least from what Darryl gathered during their phone conversation, seemed anxious, ecstatic, apprehensive over meeting the woman destined to recapture lost glory. However, now, Ralph voiced regret of ever pursuing his curiosity, ever allowing himself to be engulfed by this woman's spell.
"Don't get me wrong, Darryl," he said with a twinge of guilt mixed with apprehension. "I still love the gal's music, and she seems a nice enough woman. But there's still something not quite right. She told me about how her boyfriend literally ran her life and career, and how she wound up pregnant and broke after the bum got killed. But I can't shake the feeling she's hiding something else, something really deep."
Darryl drained his beer glass, raised an eyebrow, replying, "Come on, man. She can't be what you said. She was young at the time; her boyfriend used her for his own gain. Damon pushed all the right buttons and she just went along. Hey, times were different for girls like than back then. Women have it easier now. You think Sadie, if she was a teenager now, would allow herself to be sucked into Damon's chicanery? To be used and exploited? Her parents would have called all kinds of lawyers to put the scum behind bars for a long time. Back then? Just the mention of gang rape would paint her a slut from the git-go. Crimes like that were hushed up, and do you think her parents would risk their good name dragged through the mud? I don't think so. So forget your suspicions and let's go to that concert next week. Hey, we got backstage passes and everything. I can guarantee next Friday night will be an experience we won't forget."
Darryl was right.
To be continued...Go to Part 6
Copyright©2005 by P.R. Parker. All Rights Reserved.