Diamond Revelation

by Sheila Copeland

  Topaz sat in a chair in her dressing room while her stylist added a few extensions to her hair. A magnum of Cristal sat between them.

  “April, I am so nervous about tonight.” Topaz nursed a fresh glass of champagne. “I haven’t performed in years, and it rained. Can you believe that? I wonder if it’s an omen.”

  “You are going to look fabulous tonight.” April gave Topaz a hand mirror, and she inspected her freshly coiffed tresses from several views.

  “It’s not too glamorous, is it?” Topaz looked up at April in the vanity mirror.

  “It looks just like the poster. Don’t confuse beauty with glamour, but in your case the two are interchangeable. You can never hide your beauty, T.”

  “Thanks, April.” Topaz took one last look in the mirror. “I sure hope I can pull this off.”

  “Pull what off?” Germain walked into her dressing room. “Is it safe for me to come in?”

  “Sure, baby. I was just talking about tonight’s performance.” Topaz jumped out of the professional salon chair that had been installed in the bathroom of her dressing room. It also contained a shampoo sink and hooded hair dryer. She pressed herself into her husband’s arms. “Oh, baby, I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “I told you I’d be here for you,” Germain said as he wrapped his arms around her.

  “I know, but sometimes he gets in that office and doesn’t even come up for air,” Topaz explained to April.

  “This is special, so I took off early.”

  “I can’t believe it. You even beat the kids home from school.” Topaz laughed as she walked April downstairs to the front door. “Thanks for hooking a sista up. At least I’ll look good doing whatever it is I’m going to do.”

  She ran back upstairs where Germain was undressing. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to take a nap. Would you care to join me?”

  “Sure, honey, but I probably won’t sleep. I’m too nervous.” Topaz climbed into bed and scooted right up next to Germain so she could inhale his scent. His presence always gave her strength.

  I don’t know why I’m even doing this. I don’t really want to be out there singing. I belong here with my husband and children. She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried not to sniff. She didn’t want Germain to hear her crying. It’s just for one night. She reminded herself as she drifted off to sleep.

  The rain had diminished to a mist when Jade, Keisha, and Jorge returned to The Diamond with the restaurant’s van loaded with ice.

  “The electricity is still out, ladies.” A member of the crew greeted them with the news before they were even out of the truck.

  “I guess we’re going to have to cancel.” Jade looked at Keisha. “I can’t believe this.”

  “We sold out of tickets the first day we put them on sale and Germain put out all this money for a production crew to tape so they can put out a DVD, and we have no electricity.” Keisha felt like crying. She thought about all the months of planning. The rain was ruining everything. “T is gonna be so upset.”

  Jorge and another kitchen worker returned with a dolly and a flatbed cart and began unloading the ice.

  “All of the seafood is still fresh. The stove and the grill are gas, so the chefs can begin cooking,” Jorge announced.

  Keisha sighed. “Thank God for small favors.”

  Greggo met them at the door. “The phones have been ringing off the hook; people are still trying to buy tickets. It’s too bad we can’t add another show.”

  “No way,” Keisha replied.

  “If we can get this one done. Now I know how Nina felt the day of Sky’s showcase,” said Jade.

  “I’ve got everything under control here. I called the Party Rental. They’re bringing over a huge white tent and a couple of generators. We can move the press out there. The head of the production crew said he could give us sound, so the only thing we’re missing is air conditioning and lights. The china, linens, stemware, and flatware are also here, as well as the menus and place cards for the VIP tables.” He made a few notes on his clipboard and looked up at the girls. “I suggest you guys go downtown and buy some pretty gold candles.”

  “Praise the Lord. I just fell in love with you, Greggo.” Keisha smiled and wiped away a tear.

  “The show will go on. Come on, Key. I’m feeling really creative. We’ve got shopping to do.” Jade had Jorge drive them downtown to the Flower Mart where they purchased gold candles, cans of metallic gold spray paint, glitter, and yards of gold shimmering fabrics.

  “What are you going to do with all of this stuff?” Keisha asked as Jade picked out dozens of golden Japanese fans.

  “Make this a Topaz night to remember.”

  By the time they returned to the restaurant, it was almost five. “Thank God this thing doesn’t start until nine. I am so glad we decided to do only one show.”

  Jade carefully cut the fabric into squares to overlay on the gold tablecloths. While the tables were being set, Jade took the roses, candles, and spray paint into her office and created the centerpieces. She proudly placed them on the tables with the gold-trimmed crystal and plates.

  “Those big, expensive party planners ain’t got nothing on me.” Jade glanced up at the ceiling, which had been covered with gold fabric the night before, and smiled happily as the room began to shimmer. “Just wait until the candles are lit. It’s going to be so pretty.”

  “I know you ladies probably haven’t eaten a thing, so I thought you might like to sample these.” Greggo set a plate of grilled citrus shrimp on Keisha’s desk, and they immediately dug in.

  Kyle walked in the office he shared with Nina, who was sitting behind the computer in her pajamas. “I take it you’re not going to T’s show tonight.”

  “I’m not ready to see anyone yet.” Nina didn’t even look at Kyle when she answered. “It’s been raining. I can’t believe you’re even going to try to go into the city tonight.”

  “You know Niki’s been talking about this for days. All of the kids are excited to see T sing.”

  “You guys have fun.” Nina gave him a lifeless wave.

  “I can’t believe you’re not coming,” Kyle said as he disappeared out of her sight. “You’ve got to face her one of these days.”

  Germain helped Topaz and Baby Doll into the limousine while their driver placed her clothing and acoustic guitar in the trunk.

  “Still nervous, pretty girl?” Germain placed a hand on top of hers.

  “I’ll be all right.” She smiled into Germain’s eyes.

  Jade and Keisha returned to the restaurant with Sean and Eric. The candles were lit and the entire room sparkled.

  “Wow!” Eric looked around the club. “Are you sure this is our old juke joint?”

  “Juke joint?” Jade looked at Eric like he was crazy. “The Diamond is hardly a juke joint.”

  Keisha laughed. “Juke joint. Eric, you are so silly.”

  Topaz and Germain arrived with the kids, and the ladies escorted Topaz to her dressing room.

  “Everything looks so beautiful, y’all. Thank you so much for everything.” Topaz looked as if she wanted to cry. “I wouldn’t be doing any of this if it wasn’t for you.”

  “Girlfriend, you are long overdue,” Keisha said. “We sold every ticket the first day we put them on sale. The VIP tickets are gone too, and those were a thousand dollars.”

  “A thousand dollars?” Topaz’s golden eyes grew wide with surprise. “You mean people actually paid a thousand dollars to see me?”

  “Yes. And a large portion of the proceeds from those tickets goes to the foundation,” Jade explained. “We just wanted to cover our costs.”

  “That is so cool.” Topaz put a hand to her head. “Oh, the pressure. Now I’m even more nervous. Thousand-dollar tickets. I sure hope people think they got their money’s worth when it’s all over.”

  Everyone filed out of the dressing room except Germain until it was finally time to begin. Topaz walked on stage to a standing ovation,
which was totally unexpected, and it gave her an adrenaline rush. She was exquisite in a simple pair of gold stretch denim jeans with a pair of topaz Manolo’s and a white halter top. Her makeup was natural and flawless, and her hair was twisted in soft spiral curls with the white diamonds Jade had purchased for herself in Topaz’s ears. The candlelight made the natural highlights in her hair sparkle and glow. Her guitar was sitting in a stand on the floor next to a director’s chair that had her name written as a signature across the back in gold. The stage was set up to appear as if Topaz were performing in her living room for her guests.

  She smiled briefly, picked up her guitar, and began to play. Her accompaniment was a grand piano, light percussion, and a trio of background singers. The melodies were alluring and hypnotic, as she sang about the thing that mattered most in her life—love and its unfortunate consequence, pain.

  As she sang, the audience was transformed. People forgot everything and allowed themselves to be entertained. They forgot about the rain, and no one seemed to mind that the air conditioning didn’t work as a gentle ocean breeze cooled the room.

  “I’d like to dedicate this last song to my husband. Germain, you’re my superstar, baby,” Topaz said as she blew him a kiss. “I love you.”

  It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop when she began a capella. “Long ago, and oh so faraway, I fell in love with you.”

  As the instruments joined in, tears pressed their way out of Nina’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Her cousin’s voice was hauntingly beautiful—even longing and mournful. Nina managed to sneak in without anyone seeing her right before the show began, and she prayed that she would be able to keep it together and not come unglued in the middle of Topaz’s performance.

  “Loneliness is such a sad affair, and I can hardly wait to be with you again,” Topaz continued as she wept real tears.

  Eric looked into Keisha’s eyes and kissed her softly on the lips. Kyle took a sip of champagne and swallowed hard, trying to force the lump out of his throat. “I must be trying to get a sore throat or something from all this rain,” he said to himself. Niki, totally mesmerized, sat on Kyle’s lap with her head resting on her father’s chest. “Aunty sings so pretty,” she whispered softly.

  “Don’t you remember? You told me you loved me, baby.” Topaz’s sultry vocals had the audience gripped in a vise as her voice tugged on their heartstrings and refused to let go.

  Sean stood behind Jade, holding her as they both swayed gently to the beat. Chris was too proud of his mother. He was grinning ear to ear as he watched her. Baby Doll had a funny little smile on her face. There were tears in Germain’s eyes when he blew her a kiss.

  “I love you. I really do.” Topaz sang the last words as she continued to sing runs and improvise.

  The room thundered with applause. People stamped, cheered, and tossed the roses from the centerpieces onto the stage as they secretly wiped tears from their eyes.

  “Encore!” everyone yelled. “Encore!”

  Topaz smiled through her tears. She hadn’t even thought about an encore when she put the show together. She looked at her pianist, Greg Phillinganes, who was also her musical director. He played the vamp to “Superstar” again, and everyone immediately quieted down, because they all had to hear it again.

  The next day, every popular morning radio show in Los Angeles was talking about her performance, and they couldn’t stop talking—it was the topic of conversation the entire day. Somehow, Stevie Wonder’s KJLH mysteriously received a copy, as did Big Boy at Power 106, Steve Harvey, and The Michael Baisden Show. There were even a few copies overnighted to stations in New York City and other major markets.

  Because Jamil had produced her first two CDs, Revelation Music was inundated with calls. The phone lines were jammed. Topaz.com, her Web site, was literally shut down because it couldn’t handle all the hits coming in at once. Viacom was already on the phone with Topaz’s lawyers arranging to televise the concert on VH1.

  There was a review on the front page of the Hollywood Reporter.

  A Topaz Night at The Diamond. Forget the ambience…the room glittering with gold, complete with golden Ecuadorian roses, the delicious fare, or the Cristal that flowed endlessly. It was definitely the night of glitz and glamour that I expected. Record labels are known for bringing the bling, especially when they want to compensate for a lack of talent. But that definitely wasn’t the case here.

  What we didn’t expect was Topaz delivering a riveting collection of vocals and music that couldn’t be described as anything but hauntingly beautiful love songs. Backed solely by a piano and light percussion, Topaz’s performance was nothing less than stellar.

  Topaz, well at the top of her game, executed expertly delivered punches from the first note. And just when we thought we couldn’t take another hit, the gorgeous diva served up an amazing Luther influenced rendition of “Superstar” that was a bona fide TKO. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, myself included. Kudos to The Diamond for a five-star evening and for bringing a true Superstar back to her adoring public. I can’t wait to get my copy of the CD.

  Chapter 18

  It was terribly hot and humid that morning, the aftermath of the late summer rain. Temperatures soared close to the one hundred degree mark. It was September, one of the hottest months of the year in southern California.

  Topaz drifted in and out of a stressful sleep, dreaming. In the dream, Chris, Baby Doll, and Niki were at the beach playing in the surf as the tide rushed in and out. Topaz was relaxing on a chaise in a cabana while she watched the children. Suddenly the waves were huge, much too large for even an adult to play in. Chris and Baby Doll ran out of the water and into the cabana, but Niki disappeared. Topaz jumped out of her chair and ran into the water to look for her. She spotted the little girl inside of a wave trying to scream for help.

  “Niki, baby, no, no,” Topaz screamed. She was just about to grab Niki’s hand when the wave swept the child completely out of her reach. “No, baby, no.” Topaz’s screams were bloodcurdling.

  Germain, who was in the bathroom shaving, ran out with gel on his face.

  “What’s wrong, baby? What is it?” His wife’s screams frightened him. His heart raced with fear.

  “Germain, you have to help Niki. She’s going to drown if you don’t get her out of there.”

  “T, baby, wake up. You’re dreaming.” Germain shook her gently.

  “Noooooo.” Topaz thrashed around in the bed all tangled in the sheets.

  “Honey, wake up. You’re dreaming again,” Germain said a little louder.

  “Huh?” Topaz opened her eyes, surprised to see her husband standing over her, then realized she had been dreaming and wondered what she had said.

  “That was some dream you were having. It was probably the worst one yet.” Germain went back into the bathroom to finish shaving. Topaz scooted past him so she could relieve herself.

  She tried to stall as long as she could, thinking of some way to change the subject. “It’s really hot, huh? I wonder if it’s going to rain again.” Topaz washed her hands and went to look out the window. The walls in the master bath were completely made of glass, offering a view of the ocean.

  “Don’t try to change the subject, T.” Germain knew her too well. “You were dreaming about Niki.”

  “I was?” Maybe she could play dumb.

  “Yes. You wanted me to go help her. She wasn’t getting sick again, was she?”

  “No.”

  “What was going on?”

  “I don’t remember, sweetie.” Topaz squeezed Crest onto her toothbrush.

  Germain put his hands around Topaz’s forehead and massaged her temples. “Sometimes I wish I could get inside your pretty little head so I could know what you’re really thinking. You’re not keeping anything from me, are you?”

  “No, honey.” Topaz turned on the water in the shower.

  “Are you sure? You know you can always tell me anything.”

  “I’m sure.” Topa
z knew he was watching her so she dropped her robe on the floor and stepped inside the steamy shower. He got in with her and didn’t say another word…about Niki, anyway.

  Topaz dropped the kids at school and drove to Beverly Hills later that afternoon, where she met Germain so they could meet with her attorneys. The law firm had received several offers that they couldn’t wait to discuss with them.

  The couple held hands as they walked into the law offices located on Wilshire Boulevard directly across from Neiman Marcus. Topaz and Germain were both anxious to know what sort of offer had been received that the attorney would not discuss on the telephone.

  “I’ll just get straight to the point.” Miller Davis was an extremely intelligent and charismatic brother. While the majority of the entertainment industry was run by Jewish and Italian men, it was wonderful to have African American representation that was equally powerful and connected. Germain had met Miller on the golf course and asked him to handle Topaz. She liked the idea of her man having a say in her business. She refused to make any decisions without Germain, because what she did affected the entire family.

  “VMG is offering you a one hundred million dollar deal for five CDs,” Miller declared with a dazzling smile.

  Topaz’s mouth dropped open in surprise. She looked at Germain, who was also shocked.

  One hundred million dollars. The words echoed over and over in her head. It was enough money for her family to live very comfortably for the rest of their lives. She took a sip from her bottle of water.

  Germain spoke first. “A hundred million dollars. That’s a lot of money, Miller.”

  “It most certainly is, and Topaz is worth every penny. She should have had a deal like this when she first came into the business. There are only a few singers who have ever been given this kind of money. Michael Jackson didn’t even have a deal like this.”

  “He didn’t?” Topaz was at a loss for words.

  “No. I also have a list of managers who have expressed interest in Topaz’s career.” Miller pushed a sheet of paper across the table, and Topaz and Germain perused it quickly.