Forget About Wifey, Says the DJ
By Madison Whatley
In the last hour of Friday night, I was on the first pole of a four-pole rotation when money flew over me like Froot Loops spilling from the box. The stage had been dry all night, but when someone makes it rain on me, it’s a physical reminder that I’m exactly where I should be. If you see something you like, the DJ says, put some money on that ass. He’s my favorite DJ. He always puts me on stage just as money is thrown. He’s a part of my home club. We’re family. I’d told him I was going to try out some other clubs. He said This ain’t no other club, Joy. This a party club. You’ll be back. And he was right. Stage money isn’t as good anywhere else. Between my legs, I looked into the blue eyes of the skinny blonde girl standing next to my stage, shocked that she was the one throwing me the most money I’d seen all week. I’d seen her walk in hours prior with a group that bought a section for a young guy’s birthday. She was wearing a Lululemon skirt and jacket set with white Nike Air Force 1s. She looked preppy and out of place, I wondered why she was there. She hadn’t approached the stage all night. But she wasn’t being cheap or annoying, like women usually are in the club. She wasn’t climbing on the stage or flashing us or whooping. Why did she choose me? She was standing confidently, throwing money and smiling at me, like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Madison Whatley is a South Florida poet and 2023 graduate of Florida International University's MFA program. Her poetry has appeared in FreezeRay Poetry, SoFloPoJo, and Cola Literary Review. Her poetry manuscript was selected as a Semi-Finalist for the 2023 Berkshire Prize by Tupelo Press.
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