A Good Man (10 page)

“No, it seems fair,” Sonya said. “I have a problem with my bio because none of it is true.”

“We’ll reveal the real you in the end,” Larry said. “That’s part of the magic of the show. The big reveal.”

“Mr. Prince,” Sonya said, “I hate lying to people.”

“They’re only secrets, Sonya,” Michelle said. “Secrets aren’t lies, right, Mr. Prince?”

“They’re lies, Michelle,” Sonya said. “They’re not the truth.”

“That information is already on the Internet,” Larry said. “Anyone with a computer can check it out. The Crew has already read it and are preparing accordingly.”

“The Crew can read?” Kim asked.

Larry laughed. “Most of them.” He squinted at the sky. “I think.”

“So I can’t change any part of my bio?” Sonya asked.

“It is, as they say, already a done deal,” Larry said. “And we prefer you don’t change any aspect of it until the last episode.”

“The big reveal,” Kim said.

“Yes,” Larry said. “It will make the last episode so much more memorable if you withhold those secrets until the end.”

Then why isn’t that stipulation in the contract? Sonya thought. There’s nothing in this contract that says I have to maintain the lies contained in my bio once I’m actually on the show. Hmm. If I sign this contract as it’s written, there isn’t a thing they can do later to stop me from telling the complete truth at any time I’m in front of a camera. Michelle should have caught this. I’m glad she didn’t.

“What about Shani?” Sonya asked. “Where will she be staying?”

“We’ll put you and your sister up at Casa Malibu Inn tonight,” Larry said. “It’s right on the beach. Beautiful. After tomorrow night, you’ll be at the mansion while Shani stays at Casa Malibu.”

“How long will it be until Shani can join me?” Sonya asked.

“Oh, about two months, maybe longer,” Larry said.

“Cool,” Kim said.

She used my word! Isn’t that—Wait a minute. “What’s cool about it, Shani?”

“I’ll get to see LA, Jazz,” Kim said. “I’ll actually have some fun.”

Lord, how can I get to know her better if she’s not with me? And how can I watch out for her if I’m on lockdown at the mansion? Maybe there’s a room available at the mansion where Kim can hide out. “How big is the mansion?”

“Oh, you’ll love it,” Larry said. “It’s in Malibu. It’s a Tuscan-style mansion in Point Dume with five spacious suites. You get the master bedroom suite, of course. The Crew is crammed three to a suite.”

Shoot, Sonya thought. No free bedrooms. I have to speed up the process somehow. Yeah, I’ll just “need” her sooner than they want me to “need” her help.

“The mansion has a pool, spa, a spectacular view of the ocean, a vineyard, a greenhouse—it’s a paradise,” Larry said. “It even has a twenty-seat theater and a bowling alley. A heaven on earth. The Garden of Eden would be jealous.”

Not likely, Sonya thought. This world hasn’t been right since the Garden of Eden.

“How much does something like that cost?” Kim asked.

“Oh, seven, eight million,” Larry said.

“Damn,” Kim said.

I don’t like the way she said it, Sonya thought, but I agree. That’s ridiculous. What’s up with people? You can’t take any of it with you! The only thing you can take with you is your character, and the only thing you can truly leave is a legacy. A bowling alley? What’s wrong with the Bowl-A-Rama down the street?

“And for the right to stay in that mansion, all you two have to do is sign your contracts.” Larry pulled a thinner sheaf of papers from the satchel. “Shani, you’ll have to sign a contract, too.”

“I get paid?” Kim smiled. “Cool.”

Sonya watched Kim skimming the contract. I wish I could see … She slid her chair closer to Kim.

“Don’t worry about it, Sonya,” Michelle said. “I already read over it. It’s fair.” Michelle gasped. “Oh, my. I’ve forgotten to ask if I can represent you, Shani.”

Right, Sonya thought. She forgot.

“It’s okay,” Kim said. “What’s your cut?”

Michelle looked at her hands. “Ten percent.”

“Damn,” Kim said. “Nice racket.”

What? “Michelle, you’re my former publicist, not my agent, and you’re not Shani’s agent either.”

“Um, well,” Michelle said, flicking some bread crumbs off the table, “I’m actually representing you as an agent and not as a publicist this time.” She bit her lower lip. “If it’s okay. Look at the first page of the contract.”

Sonya flipped to the first page of the contract. I read right past this. Michelle Hamm, ATA, NATR. “What do ATA and NATR stand for?”

“Association of Talent Agents and National Association of Talent Representatives,” Michelle said. “I’m licensed by the state of California and everything.”

“Who else do you represent?” Kim asked.

“Um, a few cute kids who do local commercials, and … you two,” Michelle said. “I hope.”

Ten percent, Sonya thought. She gets a “tithe” of our money just for getting us to do this silly show. It is a good racket.

“So, is it okay?” Michelle asked.

“Okay with me,” Kim said.

Not much I can do about it now. She did get me a “contract.” Sonya nodded. “Any more surprises, Michelle?”

Michelle shook her head. “No. I’m all out.”

Kim pointed at a line in the contract and slid the page closer to Sonya. “You see that?”

Thirty grand! Sonya thought. For essentially going on TV and giving advice? Wait a minute. Oprah made millions doing that. They’re underpaying my daughter! And between the two of us, we’re about to make Michelle over thirteen thousand dollars. It’s a great racket.

Kim snatched the pen from Sonya’s hand and signed “Kim Allen” several times, whistling as she did. She handed the contract to Larry. “I’m signed, sealed, and delivered.”

All eyes turned to Sonya.

“Give me the pen, Shani,” Sonya said.

Kim slid the pen across the table.

Sonya picked up the pen. Lord, this is a huge thing for me, and You said to share every part of our lives with You. I’m not entirely sure how You’re going to get glory from all this, but I’m trusting You. I have no other choice but to trust You on this.

Sonya signed the contract and handed it to Larry. “You got me.” “Wonderful,” Larry said. He stuffed the contract into his satchel and stood. “I need to get these into the works immediately.” He checked his watch. “You better get going, Michelle. Nice to meet you both. I’ll be seeing you at the mansion.” He shook Sonya’s hand. “This is going to be so much fun.” Then he shambled off.

“Um, do we have to pay the bill?” Sonya asked.

“No,” Michelle said. “I can afford it now.” She threw three twenties on the table and stood. “Ready?”

“Ready for what?” Sonya asked.

“You need some help with your …” Michelle fluttered her hands in the air. “We need to go make you irresistible.”

“How?” Kim asked.

Yes, how? Sonya thought.

“We’re going to give Sonya a makeover,” Michelle said. “And we can’t be late. There’s so much to do.”

Sonya slowly stood. “Like what?”

“Like everything, Sonya,” Kim said. “Should I take the before picture now, Michelle?”

“I’m getting a complete makeover right now?” Sonya said.

“The sooner we get there, the better,” Michelle said.

“We should have flown in yesterday,” Kim said.

Shani thinks she’s hurting me. “Um, Shani? We look alike, right?”

Kim nodded.

“Then, um, you’ll need a makeover, too.”

Ten minutes of a stop-and-go trip on West Magnolia Avenue later, Sonya and Kim were inside de Cielo Salon & Spa getting simultaneous pedicures and manicures in front of large mirrors while Michelle was across the street getting her Camry washed and waxed.

“Michelle is weird,” Kim said. “She needs the wash and wax, not the car. How long have you known her?”

“Nearly twenty years, I guess,” Sonya said.

“Longer than you’ve known me,” Kim said. “Maybe you made her weird.”

We could be having a nice mother-daughter makeover, but no! She has to be cruel. I can’t let her get to me. “Michelle has always been a little flighty.”

Sonya looked at her daughter’s toes, expecting them to be jacked up. Her feet look nicer than mine! That’s not fair. If she had played one hundred thirty college and four hundred professional basketball games, her feet would be jacked up, too. Hey, watch the cuticles on my pinkie toe. And that’s a callus! Don’t scrape it so hard!

The manicure and pedicure completed, Sonya looked in the mirror and saw a skinny white man standing behind her. Who’s this, and why is he staring at me so intently? She turned her head. “May I help you?”

The red-headed, freckle-faced man wearing red pants, white tennis shoes, and a tight white T-shirt sighed and stepped closer. “Just trying to figure out how much hair you’ll need, girl.”

“What do you mean?” Sonya asked. And I am not your girl.

“They said you’d need a bunch,” he said with a roll of his neck.

This can’t be my hairdresser, Sonya thought. Oh, this is so cliché! The man is gay!

“You really need another head of hair,” he said. “I don’t know if I have enough here, and you haven’t given me much to work with. I may have to make a few calls.”

“Excuse me?” Sonya said. “My hair is fine. I don’t need extensions. I just need a cut, that’s all.”

He pursed his lips and leaned close to Sonya’s ear. “A cut won’t cut it, honey. They want me to turn you into a diva, and I have serious doubts that will ever be possible.”

Jerk! “Who are you?” Sonya asked.

“Twan, with an a, not an o.”

Kim laughed.

“You need something, honey?” Twan said to Kim.

Kim shook her head.

I almost laughed, too. A white guy who calls himself “Twan”? “Um, Twan, who told you that I needed extensions?”

“Bob Freeberg.”

The man with the half-dollars in his shoes. How nice. “And Bob hired you to do them?”

“You don’t think I can do them, do you?” Twan asked.

“I didn’t say that,” Sonya said. Anything’s possible in La-La Land.

Twan put his fingers through Sonya’s hair. “I’ve done quite a few sisters in my time, sister.”

Lord, please keep me from cringing.

“Like who?” Kim asked.

“Like whom,” Twan said. “I’ve worked with Gabrielle Union, Kerry Washington, Meagan Good, and Alicia Keys.”

“No shit,” Kim said.

He blinked at Kim.

Sonya sighed. “Please forgive me, Twan.” His name is getting easier to say. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have anything done to my hair. I’m no diva, and I don’t ever want to be a diva. I’ve only had extensions maybe three times in my life, and they didn’t last very long.”

Twan crossed his arms. “Bob said you needed a lot of hair, girlfriend, and he wasn’t lying.” He sighed. “But …”

“But what?” Sonya asked.

“I think I have the solution, for both you and the rude thing sitting in that chair. It’s called a wig.”

“Oh, hell no!” Kim shouted.

“Kim, please,” Sonya said. “Hear the man out.”

“A wig is easy on, easy off,” Twan said. “So you can take it off when you’re not supposed to be a diva.”

I like this idea. “Sounds good.”

“Sonya, no!” Kim shouted.

Twan sighed. “I only use one hundred percent human hair in my wigs, and then you can style it however you want.” He drew a line about six inches below Sonya’s shoulder blades. “About this long.”

Sonya looked in the mirror at the line. I have never had nor have I ever wanted hair that long! I’m not Pocahontas! “Really? That long?”

Twan shrugged. “Any longer and you’ll be Morticia Addams.”

“Sonya,” Kim said, “I am not wearing a wig.”

“Okay,” Sonya said. “Don’t wear a wig. Twan, Bob only wanted me to have all the hair, right?”

Twan nodded.

“Hook me up, then.” I’m gonna get me some hair.

After Twan left, Kim stood and stretched her back. “You’re going to look foolish, Sonya.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“A long wig will only make your face longer and skinnier,” Kim said. “You may even look like Cher.”

“Okay.”

Kim blinked. “You want to look like Cher?”

“No,” Sonya said. “But whatever the producer wants, the producer gets. I signed a contract, right?”

Twan returned with a long, flowing, silken black wig and began to fit it to Sonya’s head. “I call this one Fascination.”

He names his wigs. Strange man. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Sonya said. “I never told you my name.”

“And you’re not supposed to,” Twan said. “I have been sworn to secrecy.”

“Really?” Kim asked. “Why?”

“If I were to reveal that any woman I work with is wearing a wig, no one will ever work with me again. Warner Brothers has been good to me, and I intend to keep it that way.” He turned Sonya’s chair around. “It’s not perfect, but …”

Wow, Sonya thought. That is amazing. My face shrank. I look like one of those high-cheeked models now. Man, I’m almost pretty. She turned to Kim. “How do I look?”

Kim didn’t answer immediately. “You look okay.”

“Just okay?” I must look great!

Kim stepped closer and touched Sonya’s wig. “I mean, you look like black Barbie.”

“Yeah, I kind of do.” Sonya smiled at Twan. “Just … bobby pins and hairclips to keep it in place?”

“I’m sure Warner Brothers will have a crew working on you every morning,” Twan said. “They’ll make sure it stays on.”

“I wish I had a brush,” Sonya said. “I really like this look, Twan. Thank you.”

Kim nodded a few times. “Um, Twan, you got another one?”

Gotcha, Sonya thought. There’s a little girl inside my grown little girl who dreamed of being Barbie.

Once Kim saw herself in her wig, she smiled.

“This one I call Thrill, rude girl,” Twan said. “It’s not quite as long as hers, but it’s fuller and thicker.” Twan handed Kim a brush. “Brand-new brush, never been used.”

“Go ahead,” Sonya said. “Brush it out.”

Kim brushed the wig with long strokes, pulling most of it toward her chest.

That girl is actually happy, Sonya said. I’ve never seen her eyes dancing so much. Thank You, Lord, for this moment.

“Done?” a brusque voice said.

Sonya saw a petite blond woman in a lab coat. What’s she want? A blood sample?

“Yes, Lynn,” Twan said. “All done.”