The Siren and the Drag Queen

While Misty didn’t often pay attention to the patrons at the shows, they noticed that all the women who’d been sitting together were more than the usual civilian attendees. The women had a watchfulness not common in regular folks. They reminded Misty of some of the Navy boys from their hometown of Coronado, California. They used to watch the BUD/S classes run up and down the beaches in the early mornings before school. The newbies were oblivious to Misty’s presence, but the instructors always knew Misty was there, and some even nodded to them. The women had the same awareness of their surroundings as the BUD/S instructors.

Which means, they’ve either experienced some sort of trauma or they’re military.

Misty finally spied the group they’d seen at the table over by the side wall of the lobby, with their backs to the wall and all exits visible. While they laughed and smiled, none of them were completely relaxed, their eyes roving around the room with watchful alertness. Misty didn’t see the woman they wanted at first, but as they sashayed closer, she appeared, carrying drinks for two others. Misty was again struck with the woman’s stunning beauty and they swallowed against their nervousness.

Don’t be ridiculous. It’s like interacting with any other fan.

Except, for once, Misty wanted someone to like them. They wanted to make a good impression on the sad, watchful woman.

“Hello, ladies.” Misty cocked a hip and flourished one hand. “Welcome to the Hodge Podge Lodge. I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new to the show?”

“They are, but I’ve been here a time or two.” A bright-eyed white woman with short auburn hair and freckles across her nose and cheeks grinned. “I’m Chandra. These are my friends Ann, Deborah, and Lisa.”

Lisa.

While the Native American and east Indian women were beautiful and friendly, Misty couldn’t keep their gaze off of Lisa. But the blonde white woman was the least interactive of the group. She nodded and didn’t offer to shake hands, for which Misty was sorely disappointed.

Someone needs some cheering up.

“So pleased to meet you all. I’m Misty Fjord and I shall do my best to entertain you all in order to convince you to donate to our humble theatre space.” They smiled broadly, winking at Lisa in an effort to get her to smile. “We just discovered the place had been built with cheap aluminum pipe for the plumbing. The whole building has to be retrofitted with quality copper piping.” They leaned forward and lowered their voice conspiratorially. “My father was a plumber so I know a little about laying pipe.” They winked as the woman barked laughter. “Of course, he meant in the traditional way, and it rubbed off on me, so we thought the best way to get the building repaired was to have a charity show and silent auction.”

“Oooh, I love auctions. Like eBay with fewer people.” Ann rubbed her hands together.

“Uh-oh, look out, Ann’s gonna sweep in and snipe folks, just you watch.” Deborah rolled her deep brown eyes. “Come on, Chandra, we better keep her in line.”

“Why do I have to go? We can’t be rude and abandon Ms. Misty Fjord.” Chandra winked with a little coy smile. “Lisa can go with you.”

Ann paused, eyeing Misty before shaking her head. “Nope. Lisa doesn’t get out enough. Tonight is for her to lighten up. Besides, I want to see the auction and you already know the drag queens. Give Lisa a chance.”

“Oh, no, that’s not necessary—” Lisa held up her hands in protest.

“But I want to—” Chandra protested even as Deborah dragged her away.

“Very nice to meet you, Ms. Fjord.”

Ann waved and smirked as she followed the other two, leaving Misty alone with Lisa, the place they’d wanted to be all night. Lisa scowled before shoving some popcorn into her mouth and disgruntledly chewing.

“So, did you enjoy the show?” Misty shot her a coy look.

Lisa swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, it was good. Look, I’m sorry about my teammates. You don’t have to hang out here with me. I’m sure you’d rather mingle and drum up more funding for your plumbing issues.”

Misty waved a manicured hand, their nails catching the light from the chandeliers overhead. “I’ve done my duty for the night. Hell, I already got three people to go over to the auction tables.” They snapped their fingers. “Ta-dah! Magic.”

Lisa snorted. “Well done, you.” She shook her head.

“But if you want to know a secret…” They trailed off and glanced around before lowering their voice. “I really wanted to meet and talk to you.”

Lisa’s eyebrows went up. “Seriously?”

Misty held up their hand with three fingers. “Scout’s Honor. Boy Scouts at the time, because my father didn’t like it when I preferred the Girl Scouts’ uniform. So I had to learn knot-tying, whittling, tying lures for fishing, and building fires. Too bad they didn’t give out badges for cooking and baking over a campfire. I excelled at those.”

“What? Blasphemy!” Lisa shook her head. “No one is valued so much in the field as the cook. Cooking over a campfire is a bitch if you want anything other than hotdogs and marshmallows. Most of the time all we got were MREs, and they don’t even compare to hotdogs.”

“I don’t think Meals Ready to Eat count. You’re not even using the fire.” Misty grimaced.

“How did you know that’s what MREs are?”

Misty shrugged. “I went into the Army after high school so I could get money for college. I had only average test scores so I needed someone to pay for it. Little did I know, I’d be paying that debt back for the rest of my life.” They grimaced as they rubbed their left thigh. “I wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way of a guy with a scimitar in Afghanistan. He actually looked like the guy Indiana Jones shot in the marketplace in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I didn’t have time to watch him before he was on me. We subdued him but not before he sliced through my thigh, nicking my femoral artery.”

Lisa hissed. “Shit oh dear. How did you survive?”

“Damn good medic and a nearby chopper. My active tour was done and it took me the rest of my fourth year to heal. I didn’t re-up.” Misty shrugged. “I did get the college degree, though, so I suppose it worked out.”