Houston

At the first club I ever worked at in Atlanta I met a great deal of lifelong friends. Among these friends was a great fatherly figure buy the name of Houston. I met Houston while i was at work one night. He came in not too flashy, but as a relaxed distinguished gentleman that just truly enjoyed life. He came with a good number of other guys and the girls I worked with seemed to just flock to him and his guys. Being new to this club I wasn’t so comfortable in walking over and saying hi, but when I walked by, I was stopped and invited over, and then so it started.

That night I danced for him, he ordered drinks, and tipped stage, not just for me , but for other girls as well. I soon began to learn that Houston was a highly valued customer, that of course spent money, but the girls loved him, and it wasn’t a job to be around him. Any girls that he liked or favorited never worried about drinks, food, hookah, or having a bad night that night. One thing Houston was good at was sharing the love. Houston would frequent the club at least a few times throughout the week, and when we didn’t see much of him, we for sure saw him at least once a month. Not only did he make sure the girls at the club were taken care of, but the friends he invited out to the club, and even some of his family members that he bought along made sure that we all had a good time, and made money too.

While at work, I would hear about how he would take girls out. Some girls were luck to go to events, festivals, concerts, trips, eateries, and just overall good fun excursions. Though invited by him countless times, I politely declined, or either had something come up. The true reason I never went was because I wasn’t used to the idea of going out with customers outside of the club. At first I heard it was dangerous, and I wasn’t quite sure who I could trust or what was expected of me. However seeing all the girl that were going on trips and having fun at vents. I figured, Why the hell not?

One thing Houston was known for was during the summers he would invite all h is club favorites out to his tent at a popular music festival in Atlanta. He provided drinks and food. We listened to music, danced, and talked about all that was going on.Seeing how our first outing was a success in a group setting, I then begin going out to eat with Houston, and even out of town. We went to dinners and lunches regularly, and during this time in my life I was going through pure hell. I was going through a rocky relationship with my mother, I was drinking heavy, and had other toxic relationships, vices, and situations that were truly eating away at me. During this time Houston served to be a guardian angel. He helped me more so with his wisdom and advice if anything. For all the money Houston has ever given me, and all the love he has shown me, no amount of money can replace the wisdom, guidance, and lessons I learned from Houston. Though he helped keep me on track, there were times my life would spiral out of control.

One of these times was right after we left from a trip, he dropped me off at home, and I vanished. No one knew where I was, and the last messages I had left to the people who would know of my whereabouts was suicidal, and there was a sense of danger and urgency to them. Where I was? That story is for another blog, but basically my relationship with Houston changed when he received a call from my mother.

Due to the nature of my hustle, my mother had access to my contacts, and with no one hearing from me, and the guy I was dating at the time not being involved she didn’t have a choice, but to turn to the last few people in my call logs. Low and Behold houston was one of them,. Due to the nature of this phone call it ultimately scared Houston away. Houston knew a lot about my family life, and basically heard two different versions of what was going on with me at the time. I can honestly say no one knew what was going on with me at the time, but Houston helped me through it, and I could have quickly overcame my problem had my mother not reached out and contacted him. Due to the phone call, Houston did not contact me for months. I saw him a few times after the incident, and basically I was in a much better place. We kept in touch I updated him, and whenever I thought about him I called, I still do.

There’s a book called, “ The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” the intimate , personal, hurtful conversations I have had with this man showed me why I am the way I am, why I do the things I do, and how every family has their generational curses that need to be broken. By no means were Houston and I ever intimate, but the emotional support received from him showed me how I was supposed to be treated, and how I feel is important. He always told me I could change anything I want to change, just change whatever it is for the better.I will always thank Houston for the encouragement and support I needed stepping into adulthood.