“We ended up at a place I knew well from the front windows but had never been in. I knew it as ‘The Wall’ and it was THE PLACE TO BE if you were gay and lived in Chula Vista. It is known among locals that behind the place, is where you go if you want a free blowjob. It’s also a place to be avoided if you are a kid. Of course, I didn’t care either way. I’d walked past it a hundred, thousand times and never once got bothered. There was always a person out front staffing the door. Over the years I got to know them all and when I would walk by they’d say, “Hello Alvin!” or “How’s the waves?” or my favorite, “There’s Sharkboy again!” Sometimes they’d even give me a high-five, or a fist-bump but mostly they’d just wave or point my way. Even some of the local ‘Gayboys’ got used to seeing me and would talk with me.

However, aside from a couple jerks, no one ever messed with me or even tried for fear of getting their butts kicked, not by me, but by those that watched the doors or the Drag Queens that preformed at the club. You see, this onetime someone had grabbed one of the drag queens as she was going in and it wasn’t a nice sort of grabbing. I hadn’t thought, I simply reacted and mule-kicked the guy in the kneecap. He went down like a sack of potatoes. I didn’t even stop; I kept right on walking like nothing had happened. So a few months later, I am going by, carrying my board, and wearing only a pair of board shorts; this guy, who I had never seen said something very, very uncool to me. I won’t actually say what he said, but it is something that even if I had been an adult, I’d still would’ve been offended by it. Before I knew what happened, he was on the ground and bleeding heavily from the nose. To this day, I don’t know if it was one of the three Drag Queen performers on their way in that evening, the doorman, or one of the regular customers lined up out front that hit that guy. All I know is that I never again had a single problem there and everyone treated me like a friend.

Sorry, I got way off track. Anyway, Momma Destiny took Meek… I mean Mindy-Lynn and myself to ‘The Wall’ where she got a table right up front for me alone. Now remember, I am only 12 years old and I’m in a GAY, ADULT, nightclub and no one seems the least bit out of sorts about having a kid there. I later found out that despite my bleached hair, the owner of the place recognized me instantly. It also helped that the owner was Momma Destiny’s Latin, step-cousin-in-law-twice-removed, or some weird thing like that. I didn’t understand it then and I don’t pretend to understand it now. All I know is I was a kid in a gay-bar and no one seemed to care at all that I was there.

So there I was, alone at the table, surrounded by gay men, some of which were fully dressed, other were shirtless and still others in just shorts or underwear. Thankfully, no one was nude.

Momma Destiny and Meek had gone to the back, leaving me alone but not really alone. I had a feeling that everyone in the place (Staff and patrons alike) were watching out for me. It was like I had more than fifty babysitters.

I had a feeling I’d be seeing Momma Destiny performing again, however I hadn’t even begun to expect what I was treated too.

For starters, I never ordered any food; it was just brought out to me. Being so close to the Mexican border, you know that 95% of the food is Mexican. So, when I was served real Mexican chili, I wasn’t surprised. By the way, did you know that REAL chili is not brown and does not have beans in it, but is green and is loaded with all sorts peppers which are meant to keep you warm during the cool Mexico nights? Until you’ve had REAL Mexican chili, you’ve never had real chili. It will burn going in and burn going out but it is the tastiest chili you’ll ever have!

I was halfway through my bowl of chili and stuffed hot peppers when I realized that not a single person in the place was drinking alcohol. They were all sitting or standing around either chatting or looking toward me. I got the idea that somehow everyone in the place had been told that as long as I was in the house, no one was allowed to drink. I had no idea that Momma Destiny and her friends had set everything up for the evening as a special evening performance. The lights dimmed which I was glad of, as then, I couldn’t see all those men looking, or trying to act like they weren’t looking at me. When the lights went down, the first performer came out lit up by red and blue police lights. It was a white, very buff guy dressed like a cop. Then three spotlights lit up, one on either side of the room, and one behind us, illuminating three other cops. For all of five seconds I honestly thought it was a raid until the music began to blare and the four cops began to lip-sync to the theme song from the TV show ‘COPS’ while stripping. I, of course, covered my eyes, as I had no desire to see four grown men ripping off all their clothes.

A kind older Mexican guy to my right tapped me on the shoulder and said in a heavy accent, “Not to worry young man. They won’t bare all.”

I glanced up to see that all of them were wearing Speedos with gold police bandages over their bulges. It was still a bit uncomfortable watching them gyrate while other guys in the audience stuffed money into their Speedos.

I don’t think I have been more embarrassed than when the cop from the back came up, placed his police hat on my head, draped a police badge on a glitter chain about my neck, and was holding the back of my chair while dancing behind me as the two of us were lit up by the spotlight. Although I couldn’t see most of the audience, I could hear them laughing and whooping over this spectacle.

I was so glad when the performance was over and the stripper officer took his hat and badge. Although it would have been rather cool to have been able to keep the badge on the glitter chain.

The next performance was the one I’d been brought to see. The Left stage lights all went blue and out came Destiny dressed completely in black sequin at the left side of the stage and then this awesome song beat began for a moment before Destiny commenced to lip-sync… “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene…”

The name echoed repeatedly throughout the club. It was haunting, and magical, and eerie, and electrifying.

Then the right side of the stage lit up with red and out walked Meek… I mean Mindy-Lynn, dressed in a very reveling, red sequin dress. I wanted to jump on the table and cheer for Meek! Then he began to lip-sync too, “We started dancing and love brought us into our groove… as soon as we started to move.”

It was a musical-mashup and it was awesome.

Meek seemed so much older than his 15 year old self as he moved and danced so seductively while pretending to be singing the words of the song, “The music played while our bodies displayed through the dance, then love picked us out for romance.”

Destiny appeared heartbroken as she mouthed the words, “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene…” again the echoes followed by, “I’m begging of you please don’t take my man!”

Meek turned toward Destiny and as he pretended to be singing, his body language appeared rude and disrespectful, “I thought it was clear the plan was we would share this feeling just between ourselves. But when the music changed, the plan was re-arranged He went to dance with someone else. We started dancing and love put us into a groove – But now he’s with somebody new – what does love want me to do? Love said: Let the music play he won’t get away, Just keep the groove and then he’ll come back to you again, let it play. Let the music play he won’t get away, this groove he can’t ignore, he won’t leave you anymore, no, no, no.”

Destiny turned toward Meek and adopting the same rude body language she sang, “Your beauty is beyond compare. With flaming locks of auburn hair, with mocha skin and eyes of emerald green, your smile is like a breath of spring, your voice is soft like summer rain, and I cannot compete with you, Jolene!”

It was again Meek’s turn, however he snubbed Destiny by turning away from her and toward the audience and sang as if trying to persuade us all to side with him in this three-way tug-o-war of love.

“So we started dancing and love put us into the groove, as soon as we started to move, as soon as we started to moooooooove. Love said: Let the music play he won’t get away, Just keep the groove and then he’ll come back to you again, let it play. Let the music play he won’t get away, this groove he can’t ignore, he won’t leave you anymore, no, no, no. The music played while our bodies displayed through the dance, then love picked us out for romance.”

I swear Destiny was nearly in tears as she pretended to sing, “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene I’m begging of you please don’t take my man!”

Meek ran his hands down his body as though his hands were those of his lover, “We started dancing and love put us into a groove. But now he’s with somebody new.”

Destiny began to stumble and held her hands as though begging, “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene… Please don’t take him even though you can!”

Meek began to dance very erotically as he sang, “He’s dancing his way back to me – Love said: Let the music play he won’t get away, just keep the groove and he’ll come back to you again. Let the music play!”

He continued to lip-sync the words, “Let the music play he won’t get away, just keep the groove and he’ll come back to you again. Let the music play!” while Destiny clutched at her heart, turned away from the audience as her spotlight faded away.

Finally, the song ended and the house lights came back up as Destiny rejoined Meek on stage to bask in the applause and roar of the crowd. Now that the performance was over Meek appeared to be crying, as Momma Destiny hugged him and the two of them waved.

They again vanished behind the glimmering curtain as a portly man with a pointy goatee and very bushy eyebrows came out and announced, “Thank you all for indulging us this evening and please give another big thank you for Miss Destiny and Mindy-Lynn.”

The crowd would not be silenced until Momma Destiny and Meek came out for one more bow.