Drillmington: Power and Glory

The house could have been called palatial. In the Greenville section of Delaware, it appeared as a structure made for a doctor or ballerina. It boasted great panes of glass that permitted sunlight to pour into the rest of the house.

For the doctor, there was the sterile nature and for the ballerina, there was space and space and space.

“We could put down all of the furniture here and just leave this room blank,” Julisia said, excitement rising in her voice. Her eyes dazzled as a smile stretched across her face. Her glance switched to the exterior, too.

TSL just let his jaw drop slightly. He put an estimate to his mind. Julisia had already figured this out in her own head.

“We’re looking at $2.5 million. I know you're wondering. We can do this. We’ve been making bank over the past year. Once you finish this tour in the state, you’ll go across the country and then internationally.”

“I hear you talking.”

“What? You don’t think we can afford the apartment and this, too?”

“It’s not that Ju,” he said.

“It is.”

“What I’m saying is that we have to save up for it if we want to have enough space for our way of life going from thousandaires to millionaires. I’m telling you without explaining…but I’m explaining.”

Julisia kissed her teeth. “We’re going to be fine.”

“You say that but we have to keep the idea that the merch is selling, the streams are flowing, and the shows produce dollars, we’re okay. With our other business,” he shot a glance at the real estate agent, “We can only tell if we have that extra income coming in as well.”

Julisia looked at the walls of the house. The redness and gold trim enticed her. It gave her impetus to do even more.

“I know what you’re saying, babe. I know you want to be cautious. I know you want to be—”

“But—”

“Butt what?”

“But you’re going to say it. But.”

“I was going to say, however. Anyway, together we’re worth about three million dollars.” The real estate agent walked away.

Julisia walked further away with TSL arm-in-arm.

“I just said that so she would look it up online. We’re actually worth six.”

“You’re quite the mathematician. There is no God but thank God I found you.”

“I’m serious, Top.”

“I am, too. You’ve got a soul and a heavenly body that would be the closest thing I have to mysticism.”

“Of course. I am an angel sent from Lucifer's fallen horde. This face is too devilish.” She smiled but it seemed broken. Like her spirit had dropped in fuel and that she expended the energy.

“We’re going to do this….we’re going to have the capabilities to take ourselves to the next level financially.”

“And let me state this,” she said. “We’re going to be together through all of this. The business is the business. On both fronts. We can have entertainment and other things, too. At the point, we will forever be coasting on the higher levels of love and loyalty to our values.” Julisia’s smirk had scurried away after that “devilish” comment and she had looked at him with those blue-gray eyes once more. She seemed to drill into him and he understood her meaning.

“If we do this…we will be committing to something with power and glory. I do want this for us. I do want this to work. I know we can do this together,” Top Shelf reassured.

Julisia grinned and hugged him. He kissed her neck.

“Mrs. Chao,” Julisia called after the real estate agent.