1. Evonne Ross #2
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 drag shows 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 than the Marshawn 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 when I 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 me and banana 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.
“OK. Hear me out before you make a decision on how you feel,” I replied, walking over to the stove and filling his plate with food.
“All right.”
“So, you know I did that wedding on Saturday, right?”
He scoffed, looking up from the plate of food I placed in front of him. “Of course, how could I not remember? You were gone for two whole days.”
“Right… so there was an art director in the wedding, and she was so impressed with my work that she invited me to work on an upcoming movie!” I squealed.
As predicted, Will’s reaction didn’t mirror my own. “OK, wait a minute. A movie?” His facial expression soured as he waited for my response.
“Yes! A movie!”
“Who in the world picked you to work on a movie, Vonnie?” His words were laced with doubt.
“I just told you there was an art director at the wedding, Will. She saw my work.” I rolled my eyes.
“How long is this movie going to take, Evonne?”
“A couple months… maybe three.” I shrugged.
“And where is this movie going to take place?” he wondered.
I could already see where this conversation was going. I plopped down in my chair and prepared for him to dissect and overanalyze my amazing news. Leave it to him to dampen my mood after such a dream come true.
“It’s in Louisiana,” I revealed.
He grimaced. “A few months in Louisiana, Vonnie? I don’t know about that.”
“What’s to know, William? In case you weren’t listening closely, I wasn’t asking you. I was trying to tell you about the exciting news that I got. Instead of being happy for me, you just pissed all over it like the dick you are.”
“I mean, I can’t really get excited about you being in another state for months at a time. Tell me… What part of that you thought would excite me? Being away from my girlfriend? What do you plan on doing? Flying back and forth?”
“You go away all the time, and it’s never an issue,” I stated, reminding him.
As I said, Will wanted me at home, not joining him at conferences in Atlanta nor flying with him to the Caribbean to find international real estate.
He wanted me sitting at home, twiddling my thumbs, anxiously waiting for him to return to his throne.
Well, he could kiss my ass. I was done playing his game.
“I’m gone for a week at the most, baby, not months. I’m not letting you go run off to Louisiana alone for months at a time.”
“You don’t have to let me do shit. I’m sorry, but I already told you that I wasn’t asking for your permission.
Contrary to what you seem to think, you don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, William,” I said, pushing to stand from the table.
“Do you know how big of an opportunity this is for me? I’m about to be working on a Marshawn Sheppard film! Do you understand how huge that is?”
He dropped his fork and held the bridge of his nose as if I was giving him a migraine.
“Baby, I understand your excitement—I really do. Although I’m not completely sure who Martin Sheppard is, I know you’ve been looking for your big break.
I’m just telling you the opportunity might be huge, but if you leave town for three months, you might not have a man when you come home.
Is that a risk you’re willing to take? I love you, but absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. ”
“Are you seriously threatening to leave me?” I asked, tilting my head and slamming my fork down because he had to be kidding me.
“I have needs, baby. I’m not gonna lie… I don’t want to be without you for months at a time.
I’ve sacrificed a lot to be with you as it is, investing in your business…
taking you to different wedding venues. I could be watching the game or resting on the weekends, but I’m always running around with you. ”
“I appreciate everything you’ve done, baby. Now, I’m trying to do something on my own for once.”
“I don’t mind taking care of you, Vonnie.
I thought you would see that by now. I’m invested in our relationship, but I feel like you’re more invested in trying to be the next big thing.
You can’t keep trying to compete with your friend.
Yes, her husband is famous, but you have a man that loves you for you.
I’ve overlooked a lot of your behavior and even brought you around my friends, knowing you wouldn’t fit in. ”
“My behavior?” My ears had to be playing tricks on me.