Homeless in the City - Part 7 & 8 : Kirk's Party and Carmen's Gig

 I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Kirk Nickerson, so-to-be Vocal Legend. My story is a compelling one. I started from nothing growing up in poverty having been raised by a single mother with seven mouths to feed. As the youngest, I didn't get much attention. I watched my sibling leave the nest one by one, each headed for a life of mediocrity if not out-and-out desperation. But not me! I knew from the start that I was different, and after years of struggle, I met and wooed the right woman to help me make my dreams come true. With my talent and her money, nothing will stop me from achieving the global recognition I deserve. 

Thanks to my bride's generosity, I was able to convert her large, but sadly outdated home into an entertainment Mecca. 

Of course I wanted to share my good fortune with my less successful brethren with whom I once shared lodging. So I threw a party and invited them to see how far I've come. May I be an inspiration to the rest of them!

In case you aren't familiar with these poor souls of whom I am speaking, allow me to introduce them. Carmen and Angie are newlyweds. 

They had a baby out of wedlock and named him Darby. Why they would be stupid enough to get themselves into a situation where they have a child and no home to provide for the child is beyond me, but it's not the kid's fault, and he's a good little tike. 

When I was living with them, I helped take care of him a lot because Angie just didn't seem like she had it all together.

Darby's growing fast and is a toddler now. Soon he'll be going off to school. I hope Carmen and Angie can get their act together before that happens. I'd hate for the other kids to bully him for being homeless. 

Carmen came to my party, but Angie stayed back to take care of Darby. Carmen says she took a job at city hall. It's a grunt job - podium polisher or some such thing, but at least they'll have a steady income even if it's small. As for Carmen, he's a magician, and not a very good one. He asked if he could use my stage to practice as he had an important gig the following evening. 

I think he was hoping to have an audience to watch him, but most of the guests were too busy enjoying my lovely wife's hot dogs and musical stylings using her bass fiddle. 

Despite their shortcomings, Carmen and Angie are the cream of the crop where this group is concerned. The rest of my former roommates include two criminals and a snotty teenager. I guess Davina isn't so bad, but she's old and has a screw loose. She was wandering around in her swimsuit asking if it would be okay to go swimming in my pool so soon after eating. I had to explain to her that, while I was now well-to-do, I did not have a swimming pool. (Hmmm . . . maybe I can fit one in the front garden.)

Andrew is the other criminal of the group, and I swear he was scoping the place out for valuables. (Note to self: get an alarm system!)

He has a lot of nerve showing up here in his shabbiest outfit! I know he has better clothes. To make matters worse, after the party, he got this notion in his head that it would be perfectly appropriate to use our kitchen to prepare some waffles! We were not amused!

I finally had to put my foot down and throw him out! This man is no longer welcome in my house! 

Speaking of rude guests. I was magnanimous enough to invite the snotty pipsqueak, Paulo to the party, thinking he might want to hang out with my new sons, and how am I rewarded? The punk gave me a mean high-five, that's how!

He pulled this stunt right if front of my lovely wife! He's trying to humiliate me, I just know it!

You may be wondering about the bot costume. I just happen to like bots, and if I want to dress like one, it's my party, dang it, and I can do what I want!

I admit some of my guests weren't quite sure what to make of it, but my homeless homies have see it before. 

I ran into Clyde Reeves the following day, and he said he paid good money to go watch Carmen's magic show, but it was a big disappointment. 

He said, "I would have felt sorry for the young man, if it weren't for all the money I paid so I could take my date for a great night out. The kid messed up probably four out of five attempts, and had a very limited number of tricks which he performed over and over!" 

Poor Carmen. Maybe he should stick with bartending, though I've also heard he's not very good at that either. 

I heard he's got a gig scheduled at the Red Pagoda. Hopefully he can redeem his reputation there. 

Well I gotta go. Places to go and people to see you know.