The Secrets of Silk (22 page)

“Tate's his real name, but everyone around here calls him Sweet Daddy, and you can see why. Ain't he fine, honey chile?”

“Hmph,” Silk grunted. “I don't see what's so sweet about him. He don't look like much of nothing to me.” Silk may not have had Big Mama's gift of vision, but she could clearly see that Tate was nothing but bad news. Clutching her purse, Silk eased off the barstool. “I'll catch you later, Franny. I gotta go.”

“Wait a minute. Wally's ordering our food.”

“Fuck that food,” Silk spat as she breezed past Tate.

“Where are you running off to?” Tate inquired.

“None of your damn business,” Silk exploded and rushed out the door.

“Can I talk to you?” He grasped her arm.

“Hell, no.” She snatched her arm away. “You might think you're God's gift to women, but you ain't nothing but a pain in the ass to me.”

“Whatever you say, baby,” Tate said with arrogant laughter in his voice as he kept on strolling toward the bar.

•  •  •

The cocky look on Tate's face had infuriated her and when Silk got home, she took her anger and frustration out on the boys. She yelled at them for having the volume of the TV up too loud. She pulled Myron over to her, put him in a headlock and then ground her knuckle into the side of his head, causing him to flail about and holler. When she finished with Myron, she grabbed Bruce and shook him until he was breathless.

“Now, take y'all ornery asses upstairs and stay out of my sight.”

The boys quickly scampered upstairs.

Trying to alter Silk's bad mood, Dallas changed the channel from the cartoons she'd been watching with her brothers to
The Price Is Right.
“Do you want to watch this show, M'dear?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Silk responded, flopping down on the sofa while Dallas sat Indian-style on the floor in front of the television.

“We have some time to kill before I take you to the beautician who's gonna straighten out your knotty hair. Come over here and sit next to me, Dallas. Your bad-behind brothers done upset me and plucked my nerves.” Silk patted the sofa cushion, and Dallas rose from the floor and dutifully sat next to her.

When Dallas's tiny hand and arm disappeared beneath Silk's dress, Silk closed her eyes and let out a sigh of satisfaction. “That's my good girl. You're the only one in this family who cares about my feelings.”

W
ith Buddy putting in overtime and working the third shift as well as his regular morning shift, and with Mrs. Sudler staying overnight to babysit the kids, Silk had the entire night to kick up her heels and have a good time.

Dressed to kill, Silk turned heads as she walked along Twelfth Street, en route to the corner of Twelfth and Engle Streets where the charter bus was picking up folks who had tickets for the midnight show at the Uptown Theater.

Silk's steps faltered when she drew near the Flower Hill bar. She saw Tate's canary-colored convertible in the parking lot. She picked up speed and swept past the bar, relieved that she'd gone undetected by Tate. Tate had a way of rattling her nerves, and she didn't want him and his smart-alecky remarks interfering with the good time she planned on having at the rock-and-roll show tonight.

“Hey, honey chile,” Franny greeted cheerfully when Silk reached the bus stop on Engle Street.

There was a large crowd waiting for the charter bus, and she noticed that most of them were coupled off with only a few single people among them. As was usually the case, all eyes were on Silk. Women looked her up and down with envy, and the men appraised her with lust in their eyes.

It wasn't Silk's fault that the men tended to try and undress her
with their eyes, and so she shrugged off the dirty looks she received from their female counterparts and struck up a conversation with Franny.

“I can't wait to meet Smokey Robinson. That man makes me weak in the knees with his pretty, cat eyes.”

“I already told you that you're not going to meet any of the singers that perform at the Uptown. After they perform their sets, they go to their dressing rooms back stage. They don't mingle with the regular folks.”

“Speak for yourself, Franny. You may not get to mingle with Smokey, but I'm damn sure gonna hobnob with the stars. I'm gonna get Smokey's autograph and maybe a little extra something,” Silk said with a wink.

“I don't know how y'all do things down South, but you're in for a big disappointment if you think you're gonna party with recording artists after the show.”

“We'll see about that,” Silk said with confidence.

“The only way you can even get a glimpse of the performers after the show is over is by hanging around the back-stage door. Those fast-ass, Philly girls don't mind walking down that dirty alley near Susquehanna and Dauphin Streets to get to the stage door, but Chester women have a little more self-respect.”

Silk sucked her teeth. Franny, who wasn't too proud to beg for free dinners and drinks at the Flower Hill, was a fine one to talk about having self-respect.

“I'll take a walk down an alley in a heartbeat, if that alley leads to Smokey and his cat eyes,” Silk said with a chortle of laughter.

The bus pulled up and everyone piled on. Franny plopped down in the seat next to the window.

Silk gave Franny a look of indignation. “Uh-uh, get your big ol' butt up. I gotta sit there so I can see the scenery, chile.”

Without making a fuss, Franny slid over and allowed Silk to have the window seat. As the bus rolled along, Silk could hear low murmurings of discontent. She listened carefully and overheard several women grumbling in low tones.

“That's the woman that Buddy married while his wife's body was still cold.”

“Hmph. She's pretty and everything, but she seems like a fast number, if you ask me.”

“I heard she's a Geechie girl and she worked roots on poor Buddy.”

Silk's ears began to burn as she listened to the jealous biddies openly gossiping about her. Temper flaring, she stood up and squeezed past Franny and stood in the aisle with a hand on her hip.

“You have to sit down, miss,” the bus driver advised.

“I'll sit down in a minute, sir. But first, I have to make an announcement.”

There was a hush and the chattering people on the bus went silent as they waited for Silk's announcement.

“I'm giving all of y'all who are whispering under your breath about me the opportunity to speak your mind and say whatever you have to say to my face.”

The silence continued.

Silk's expression was a chilling mask of hatred. “Okay, well, since nobody has anything to say, I'm gonna sit back down. But if I hear another word of gossip about me, I'ma put my foot up somebody's ass right here on this bus. Don't let this pretty face fool you. I know talk is cheap, but you best believe, I can back up every word that comes out of my mouth. So, y'all can try me if you want to.” Silk gave the onlookers a contemptuous, sweeping gaze, and then rolled her eyes at the lot of them before returning to her seat.

“Ooo, you told those bitches off, and now all of a sudden nobody
has shit to say. It's so quiet on this bus, you could hear a mouse pissing on toilet paper,” Franny said with a giggle.

Inside the Uptown Theater, Franny wanted to stop at the concession stand and buy snacks, but Silk grabbed her by the arm. “We don't have time for that shit. We have to get ourselves some good seats.”

With Franny in tow, Silk pushed past people as she made her way to the front of the theater, close to the stage. After securing choice seats in the center of the front row, she gazed at Franny with a smug expression.

“I never sat near the stage before,” Franny said in awe.

“Okay, now that we're situated, you can go back to the candy stand and get us some goodies.” Silk handed Franny a five-dollar bill and recited her order. “You can get yourself whatever you want out of that money,” Silk offered.

By the time Franny made her way back to her seat, loaded down with two cardboard containers filled with large cups of soda, hotdogs, popcorn and packs of Goobers, the lights had gone down and Georgie Woods and Jimmy Bishop, two handsome local DJs, were on stage together, warming up the crowd.

Electricity seemed to crackle in the air. Silk hadn't been this excited since the night of her killing spree. Goosebumps ran up and down her arm. Franny attempted to hand Silk one of the cardboard containers, but Silk held up a hand, letting Franny know that she didn't want to be bothered. Silk's eyes were glued to the stage, and it didn't go unnoticed that both deejays' eyes were glued on her. They were both tall and good-looking with processed hair and wearing snazzy suits. She gave them an alluring smile, because it was in her nature to flirt with handsome men, but she hadn't traveled to Philly to make time with any DJs. She wanted Smokey Robinson and no one else would do.

Act after act made their appearances on stage and their performances had the house rocking. Finally, The Miracles came out on stage. The crowd roared and Silk thought she would pass out from excitement. She couldn't believe she was looking directly in her heartthrob's pretty, hazel eyes.

Smokey quickly ran through his past hit, “Shop Around,” and when the band played the beginning chords of “You Really Got a Hold on Me,” Silk, along with every other woman in the house, screamed at the top of her lungs. The screams drowned out Smokey's sweet, falsetto voice. Finally, the women quieted down and while Smokey sang, he gazed at Silk.

They locked eyes for the entire song. Mesmerized, Silk was trapped in Smokey's spell until Franny whispered, “That woman singing backup with the Miracles is his wife.”

“How do you know?” Silk snapped.

“I read it in
Hit Parade
magazine. They been married for a long time.”

“Hmph!” Silk was ready to pout, but she perked up when Smokey yelled, “All right, is everybody ready?”—the beginning words to the group's new hit, “Mickey's Monkey.” When the band started playing, Silk found herself out of her chair and on her feet, doing the dance that was called the Monkey.

“Come on up here,” Smokey said invitingly and Silk ran up on the stage. Smokey and Silk did the Monkey to the delight of everyone in the audience. Having her big moment, Silk wasn't letting it go easily. When Smokey stopped dancing and refocused on singing, she kept on dancing. But instead of sticking to doing the Monkey, she launched into the scandalously sexy new dance called The Philly Dog. Swerving down to the floor and humping like a dog, Silk created chaos inside the Uptown Theater. Men threw their hats toward the stage and whistled loud and vigorously.

When the song ended, Smokey asked her name and told the crowd to give Silk another round of applause. He also whispered that he wanted her phone number. “I'll send my road manager to get it when my set is over.”

Next, Smokey and The Miracles sang “I've Been Good to You” and “I'll Try Something New.” He sang one love song after another, and he seemed to be singing each song to Silk, personally.

He ended his set with “What's So Good About Goodbye” and then the lights came up, indicating that the show was over. Silk didn't budge. She remained in her seat, waiting for Smokey's road manager. If things went the way she intended, Smokey would ditch his wife and get together with her tonight.

“What are you waiting for? We have to be on the bus back to Chester,” Franny reminded her.

“Go ahead. I'll catch up with you later.” Silk didn't bother to look at Franny. Her mind was focused on having a secret rendezvous with Smokey Robinson. Hell, if he was willing to get rid of that wife of his, she'd gladly leave Buddy and travel around the country with him. She envisioned herself taking his wife's place onstage. Sadly, Silk had to admit that she'd never be his background singer since she couldn't sing worth a damn.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the road manager, an older man with a big gut and a pock-marked face, approached her. On Smokey's behalf, he asked for her number.

Silk handed the road manager a piece of paper that she'd jotted her number on. “When is he gonna call?” she inquired anxiously.

He scratched his head. “Well, he sleeps pretty late. I suppose you'll hear from him around three or four in the afternoon.”

“Okie-dokie,” she said with disappointment. Although Silk had wanted badly to get together with Smokey tonight, she derived a
modicum of pleasure from the fact that she'd be wrapped in Smokey's arms tomorrow night, feeling his luscious lips pressed against hers. And possibly, he'd sing sweet love songs directly in her ear.

Hopefully, Buddy wouldn't mess up her plans. Lord, if that man didn't work the midnight shift again tomorrow night, she'd have to slip out of a window after he went to sleep. She'd find a way to go meet up with her dreamboat. Nothing could keep her away from Smokey.