Page 39 of Jacob Michaels is Not Here

Oma’s looked like the cat who caught the canary.

“Drag queen.” Oma shrugged. “What else would you expect?”

“What is he when he’s Carlos?”

“Robbie, Carlos likes to be Carlita,” She said. “Carlos is an oracle, and Carlita is an oracle. The rest is makeup, wigs, and shoes. Ya’ live long enough, you need a few hobbies.”

“Drag is a hobby?”

“Well, not really.” Oma shrugged. “But it ain’t been but half a century or so that Carlos has been able to be Carlita. So, he’s takin’ advantage of it. I think that’s probably his favorite thing about livin’ this long. He finally gets to be himself when he’s her.”

“Must be nice.”

“You bein’ snippy with me?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m glad that Carlos—or whatever his real name is—lived long enough to be able to be Carlita, too. I’m happy for him.”

Oma nodded slowly.

“I’m glad I got her the shoes.”

“I know she appreciates it.” Oma gave a firm nod. “Oracles have a hard time makin’ a livin’ as it is nowadays.”

“Not many people believe in them anymore.” I snorted ruefully. “Hard to get a job when your main skill is advice and prophecy, huh?”

“You could say that.” Oma smiled. “But she sure can sing and dance, that Carlita.”

“That she can.” I agreed. “I’m going to call some people.”

“Who?”

“Nosy.” I waggled my head. “One, my accountant. Need a wad of cash for Jason’s pack, don’t we? Two, my agent, manager, and assistant. Letting people know their services are no longer needed is best done face to face, but I’m not going back to Los Angeles. Three, I guess my lawyer. Gotta figure out what to do about…everything.”

“Point Worth is your home now?”

“That was an inevitability, Oma.” I sighed.

“Don’t you think you should go out there to California if you want to fire people?” Oma suggested. “Gettin’ told you ain’t got no job anymore is even worse when the person tellin’ you don’t bother to look you in the face.”

“Fine.” I shrugged. “I’ll call my accountant and lawyer. I’ll save the rest for when I can ‘go out there to California’ and do it in person.”

Before anything else could be said, I left the kitchen. I’d already let Oma have her way enough.