Schemes and Dreams

Chapter Two: Thanks For Making Me A Fighter

The watcher in the shadows

“Ahh, this is going to be easy” Malcolm whispered to himself. “No bouncers, just a doorman. He’s a pushover like the others. We have nothing to worry about. We walk in, we scare Johnny off, and we walk out.”
https://i.imgur.com/KwAQu6f.png

Malcolm decided to lurk in the shadows for a bit longer to see if anyone else showed up to provide security. He was dying for a bite to eat though. He hadn’t been hungry when he left he home, but he could smell the food truck across the way that serves tacos al pastor that are out of this world. There was time for food later, business comes first even if it’s just family business he thought. The aroma just wouldn't let him alone. He checked his watch and realized it was approaching three in the morning. “The heck with this,” his stomach was growling now, “I’m outta here.” He still didn't understand his mother's motivation to take this route. Bump Johnny off or simply ignore him was his way of thinking. "Oh well, she has her way of doing things Malcolm, bizarre as her logic is" he thought to himself. "God help you if you dare to question her majesty" he said to no one at all. He chalked his grumpiness up to hunger and his proximity to those weirdos.

"Alright, time to get a bite to eat and call Nancy" he said to himself.




The Orchid Club: The following night

The club was bouncing to the beat of the DJ's upstairs and the performers on the main stage. It was a riotous rainbow of people and sounds. People feeling free to be who they are without feeling the need to hide or apologize. It was the perfect atmosphere to forget the cares of the world.
https://i.imgur.com/3jce5Oh.png?1

Lady Mimi was at the mic and had the crowd in the palm of their hand. Nancy and Malcolm entered the club with Mimi's humiliation as the prize they came to claim. They slowly made their way towards the stage, clearly out of their element. Mimi had been expecting this once word got around that they were back in town. They spotted Malcom and Nancy but didn't show any change that the fans would notice. In a way Mimi had been looking forward to this, to clearing the air once and for all.
https://i.imgur.com/7ZBFh84.png

"Well look who's back in town" Malcolm said with a sneer in his voice to match the one on his face.
https://i.imgur.com/Qgdiy6A.png

"Malcolm! Welcome to The Orchid Club dear" Mimi said then added, "What do have with you? You've taught a Shar Pei to walk on its hind legs and dressed it in a cheap knockoff Dior pantsuit. Sweetie you should come back on Monday night for the pet talent show! You’re sure to win!"

"Still pretending to be a girl I see. You're not doing a very good job of it either" Nancy said with as much contempt as she could manage.

"And you've taught it to talk too! Oh! My! God!" Mimi said then paused for effect before continuing. "Hello Nancy. I would say it's a pleasure seeing you but I'm the world's worst liar. What's a place like you doing in a girl like this?"

"I had hoped you would have grown up and stopped pretending to be something you're not and never will be, Johnny Landgraab."

"Mimi Eleganza"

"What the plumbob are you talking about?"

"You called me Johnny Landgraab. That's not my name. My name is Mimi Eleganza, and not just when I'm on stage."

"It's Johnny Landgraab!"

"Trust me Nancy, I am Mimi Eleganza."

"You are Johnny Landgraab!"

"Nancy, do I need to go backstage and grab my purse and show you my drivers license?" The crowd started howling with laughter.
https://i.imgur.com/uTWYYf7.png

"What!? Did you say 'my purse'?"

Seeing the opening that question provided to grab Nancy by the tail and give it a yank, Mimi took it and ran with it. "Yes. You say that like it's a surprise. It's a really nice comfortable cross-body number. Classic black so it goes with all of my outfits. I can get so much stuff into it. With all the makeup and things like sunglasses and everything else I carry around it's so hard to find a good purse with enough pockets."

"Shut up freak" Malcolm said as he took a step forward. "You make me sick prancing around acting like a girl. Why don..."

"Who said anything about acting Malcolm? I never said I was acting" Mimi said. "I'm entertaining, not acting."

There was movement at the back of the room, but Nancy and Malcolm were so focused on their confrontation with Mimi they failed to notice what was happening. Then a voice spoke over Malcolm's shoulder, a slightly androgynous voice...

"Do you want us to escort these two to the door, Mimi?"
https://i.imgur.com/Ifx27hC.png

It was then that Malcom and Nancy turned to see what was happening behind them. Malcolm was in for the shock of his life. His words caught in his throat as he was frozen in some strange combination of fear and incredulity. Nancy spoke out of the corner of her mouth. "I thought you said there was no security here you fool."
https://i.imgur.com/KhMCNA2.png

"Oh dear, I’m afraid I’ve been a terrible hostess. Nancy, Malcolm, allow me to introduce Daisy and Priscilla. Daisy, Priscilla these lovely folks are the Landgraabs, Nancy and Malcolm. It's okay Daisy, they can stay unless they try anything physical. You two," Mimi said to Nancy and Malcolm, "should have come after 11 pm. You could have met Buffy and Trixie too. It's probably for the best you didn't, poor Malcolm there looks like he's going to have an accident in his Chinos. See, Daisy and Priscilla are nicknames they chose for themselves. It adds to the fun for haters like you when you meet them."
https://i.imgur.com/Rc8Y5HJ.png

“All of you in here are disgusting freaks. Look at yourselves!”

“Shame, Nancy, shame!” Some in the crowd began to chant. Others were chanting “Love not hate” or “Hate doesn’t live here.”

Mimi smiled as they locked eyes with Nancy. Mimi hushed the crowd after a few seconds. Then Nancy spoke again, undeterred in her rant.

“Do you idiots realize that is a man in a dress on that stage. Under that ridiculous wig and ludicrous makeup is my son.”
https://i.imgur.com/h1pr5Zd.png

“Let’s break this down Nancy" Mimi raised a hand to admire the ultra long pink nails. "Firstly, this is a LGBTQIA club. Secondly this is a drag show, so the fact that there are men here in dresses is not exactly breaking news. And last but not least" Mimi said as their gaze went from those nails to Nancy, "who said I’m your son?
https://i.imgur.com/fFG9sZ7.png?1

“Me! Your mother!”

“The last time I talked to you, before I left home, you said I was no son of yours. So now all of sudden I am?"

“Yes!…I mean no!…I mean...stop trying to mess with my head."

"I'm not messing with your head Nancy. I would never engage in a battle of wits with a woman who clearly came unarmed." The crowd lost it.

"I’m the one that brought you into this world I can call you whatever I like!”

“Nancy, I'm pretty sure that was a duet dear. You know that whole it takes two to tango thing.”
https://i.imgur.com/ix9417D.png

“You know what I mean Johnny” Nancy said through clenched teeth.

“You still don't get it, or you refuse to get it. Allow me to clarify things for you, again. My name is not Johnny Landgraab and while I am your child I am not your son.”

“Are you still clinging to this delusional belief that you’re a woman. You never were a woman, you aren’t one now, and you never will be!”

“See, there you go jumping to conclusions. I said my name is not Johnny Landgraab and I’m not your son, but you go straight to making my statement into something about gender. I didn’t say a word about gender, you did.”

"If you're not Johnny then who are you? You call yourself Mimi. That's a woman's name. So your declaring to the world you are a woman."

"It's a name. Names are just words, they don't define a person's gender though you seem to think they do. It's only unwritten rules, or so called 'norms' that say a man can't be called Mimi or Megan or Stefanie, or that a woman can't be called Steve or Bob or Gary."

“Oh is that so! I'm having a hard time believing that you weren't making this all about your messed up ideas of gender when my son is calling himself Mimi, and he's wearing an evening gown and a metric ton of makeup. You are a disgusting freak of nature.”

“Ooo, good one Nancy. The makeup joke, ooo darling you get a point for that one. This is not disgusting, I'm not disgusting. Your hatred is the only disgusting thing here.”

"You're running all over the place dressing up in women's clothes and trying to act like you're a woman. Like you somehow think if I claimed you that I'd call you daughter."

"I never said I was your daughter. I don't dress the way I do because I want you to call me your daughter. Nancy I think you're losing it. But, what if I did say I was your daughter? Would that be the end of the world as we know it? No it wouldn't. The sun would still come up tomorrow. The earth would still spin round and round through the cosmos. Life would go on."

“I was there when you were born, trust me you are male. Not that you act like one. When the doctor handed you to me he said ‘It’s a boy!’. Are you going tell me you know more than him?”

“I know me. I know that I've never really felt like the candy bar matched the wrapper. The world isn’t black and white, it's not either/or, like you want to pretend that it is or that you demand it to be. It’s not your right to define me or anybody else or tell us how we have to live and act. That’s for each individual to define themselves, for each individual to decide who they are. Look I don't know what the future holds for me. My journey may have reached its end. I may have found myself. Or I may decide to push on and finish the transition process. I don't know. I do know that I'm happy. I'm happier than I ever been. A heck of a lot happier than I ever was living under your roof. I'm comfortable in my own skin.”

“So you think you can just ignore facts?” Nancy said.

“I’m not ignoring facts. The fact is I never was Johnny Landgraab, the name never fit me. Yes I am your child, but I am not the person you tried to force me to be. I could never be that person because that is not who I am." Mimi had played this moment out in their head on more than one occasion and now it was time to go all in. The fact that Nancy was never going to accept Mimi was never really in doubt, but this evening sealed it. Since they were past the point of no return, Mimi planted her flag. And for this Mimi was coming off the stage to look Nancy straight in the eye. "This is who I am. Love me or hate me, you will never change me."
https://i.imgur.com/Z4BhUCl.png

"It's so sad that you can't be happy for me. That you can't let me live my life in peace and in a way that makes me feel happy and whole. You call yourself my mother, and you are, but you've never been a good mom. A good mom would want their child to be happy and would be an ally, not an enemy. You never made any effort to listen to me when I tried again and again to tell you who I am. Trust me, I live with me, 24/7/365, I know who I am better than you do. Disown me if you can't accept me. I don't care. Because if you can't accept me and love me as I am," Mimi said and then they dialed up all the sass they could muster, "then honey I'm better off without you and the drama and negativity that follows you around."
https://i.imgur.com/te2KwPi.png

Nancy erupted. "Fine! I don't ever want to see you or hear from you ever again! You are dead to me. As far as I'm concerned you don't exist and you never did. Malcolm has always been an only child."

"It's so sad that you would rather cling to hate instead of embracing love and acceptance. Your loss ma'am. I'm blessed with so many friends who love me and truly care about me, so goodbye."
https://i.imgur.com/lc2sb7v.png

With Mimi's last words Nancy and Malcolm turned to leave and the chants of 'shame' and 'love not hate' cascaded over them as they walked out into the night and out of Mimi's life. Mimi and the crowd inside the Orchid had let Nancy and Malcolm know exactly what they thought of them. There was someone else who had something to say and they were waiting outside...
https://i.imgur.com/JbDBOgo.png
https://i.imgur.com/khxSsuu.png
https://i.imgur.com/R55Tuu9.png


Malaika was there in an instant to wrap Mimi in a huge hug. Not that Mimi was shedding any tears. They had been without love from Nancy for so long there was no loss left to mourn. "I am so proud of you" Malaika said as she held her embrace with Mimi. "I know I can never replace the bond you should have with your birth mother, but I'm here for you like she should be, anytime. You are more than just a drag daughter to me. All my girls are family. We have our disagreements but they are rarely anything that can't be patched up by talking it out. Especially over tubs of ice cream."
https://i.imgur.com/vnn28lu.png

"Thank you hun...I mean mom. You always have felt like the mother I wish I could have had. Please don't worry about me, I'm fine. I really am. Better than fine, I'm free. I know it sounds horrible and like I'm in denial and trying to rationalize my lack of sadness and tears, but I can't remember the last time that woman ever said one kind word to me. I have so much to be thankful for, and so many people that fill me with love and joy, I can move on. Let's get this party going again. Would you care to join me on stage for 'Fighter' or 'Girl On Fire'? I'll let you choose the number."
https://i.imgur.com/kA4ymH0.png

"Can't go wrong with either, but Fighter is you baby. This is your time, work it gurl."
https://i.imgur.com/KYbHSPc.png

(The video and lyrics are under the spoiler tag. The lyrics aren't 100% about this topic, but the sentiment behind them absolutely is.)