never after

was she enchanted, or drugged?

—harryette mullen

once upon a time, she went to a magical club on rush street, in chicago, illinois. she went with her girl, who went to pick up men. white men. her girl was a cinder ella. a goddaughter. wore the right shoes. a red cape with a hood. her girl knew a prince from a toad. and. how to get results. wolf whistles. she went to chaperone. she was the designated driver, especially when she drove home alone. she loved to watch the sun rise over the water, as she headed north on lake shore drive. she called her girl the afternoon after, to see how it went. to hear what went down. who went down. on whom. breakfast downtown, in some cool café. a ride home with the white knight in the morning in his imported, european steed. horsepower. she wasn't jealous. she had a man. black man. she only wished she was invited to dance more at the club. she wasn't black enough. or. white enough. to catch the white guys' eyes. she didn't look like the type. to. she nursed her amaretto sour till it was mostly melt. she was the designated driver. the chaperone. the colored girl. whose skirt was not short enough. or. tight enough. to.

one night, her man was off from his job. parking steeds. imported, european steeds. for tips. for tuition. he could take her out. where? the magical club, downtown, on rush street, of course. she would not be a chaperone. she would be a princess. she would dance and dance. with her man. she would get down. on the floor. at the door, there was a problem. out of state ids. her id was from the same state it always had been. she was from out of state. her girl was from out of state. her man was from out of state. they were in college. they were seniors. they were legal. she made her case. she stood her ground. she put her foot down. on the one. on the two. they got in. paid the price. got their hands stamped. however. there was a pea beneath the dance floor. the clock kept striking midnight. she could not spin the straw into gold. she couldn't let down her hair. they knew it spelled trouble. but. they decided to have one drink and leave. they had a point to make. paid the price. drank the drinks. she ordered an amaretto sour. they brought her a stepmother's special. a red delicious. they made their point. but. and. she pricked her finger on it. she began to fall. down. she could hardly stand. it. charming. her man's kiss did not revive her. make it go away. he carried her off into the set sun. off the set. up. she slept it off. they shrugged it off. they learned what they already knew. they knew better. they lived to tell the scary tale.