In August, Bradley’s Feathers and Freaks Traveling Circus comes to town.
They’ve got The Incredible Chicken Man – Half Human, Half Cackling Poultry. He stands in the middle of the arena and sways to the music. His arms flap and his little chicken feet fly. I feel bad when people hit him with rotten eggs, even though it’s kind of funny.
Bradley’s has The Fantastic Fire Breather, too. He plops down on a bed of nails and sticks flaming things in his mouth. Every time Mr. Breather does it, Mommy rolls her eyes. She winks at me then stares at her watch to see how long it takes Daddy to ‘drop one of his pearls of wisdom’. We don’t have to wait long before he says: that sure is a fancy name for a guy who’s such a hot head, or I’ve heard of having a thick skin, but this is ridiculous!
Bradley’s has clowns, lion tamers, and trapeze artists, too. Not just freaks like they had two years ago in 1961. I was only seven then, so some of those people made me real scared.
Sometimes Bradley’s has three rings. I hate that. It’s too hard to see all the acts at the same time. It gives me a headache. Then Mommy makes me take a baby aspirin, but I keep telling her I’m not a baby anymore!
Last year Daddy and Mommy got into a big fight over who was going to go get more popcorn. They fight a lot, so I wasn’t surprised. Daddy said she was the woman, so she should go. Mommy said you stink. Around and around they went. I stuck my fingers in my ears and moved my head back and forth. I didn’t want to miss any of the three acts.
When everybody glared at Daddy and Mommy and yelled ‘ssshhhhhhh’, I pretended to be with the people next to us. I don’t think the lady liked it much when I scooted close to her, though.
The argument ended when Daddy said he ought to sell Mommy to the circus and be done with her. She said go ahead, you thankless son of a finch, or something like that. She said he never appreciated her, and she’d probably be better off if she mucked the elephant quarters. She said at least she’d get paid real peanuts instead of what Daddy paid her for all she did. I never saw Daddy pay her anything. She called him an ‘in great’ before she took off down the bleachers. Daddy’s jaw got real tight, so I didn’t ask him what an in great was.
He told me to stay put while he went to find Mr. Bradley. I was real sad about Daddy selling Mommy, but then Mr. Cyclops, The Strongest One-Eyed Man in the World, got into the arena and started swatting at a bunch of clowns who piled out of a teeny car. I laughed so hard my eyes leaked.
When Daddy came back, he had a big smile on his face. I asked him where Mommy was, but he just grunted. At home he said things were going to be a lot different now that Mommy was in a better place. I thought for a minute she died. He put a bunch of money on the table and told me tomorrow he’d get me that Barbie I’d been whining about. Then he told me to get my pajamas on because Mommy was going to call soon, and I should go to sleep right after she talked to me.
The phone rang. Mommy said she loved me and missed me already, but she had to leave to keep from wringing Daddy’s neck. I asked if he was going to sell me to the circus, too. She laughed and said nobody can sell anybody to the circus. I said then where’d he get all that money. She said if Daddy told me he’d sold her then he was a big fat liar because that money was from his bonus check. I didn’t know what that was, but I wasn’t scared he’d sell me anymore. Before she hung up, Mommy promised to call me every night.
She’s been gone a year now. The circus is coming back tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see her. When she called last night, she told me Mr. Bradley was so impressed with how she mucked the elephant quarters without complaint that he promoted her. She didn’t tell me what she’s doing now, but she said she can’t wait to see me at the circus tomorrow, either. She said I was in for a big surprise. I like surprises.
Now she’s in the middle of the arena looking real pretty in a pink sparkly costume. She’s got a poofy feather in her hair. A big honkin’ elephant is picking her up with his trunk. She looks happy, but I’d be scared out of my wits if that thing came near me.
The elephant just put Mommy back down on the ground. She’s wearing a big ole smile and waving to the crowd. She winks at me and smiles some more then sticks her middle finger in the air and waves it at Daddy. The lady next to me sucks in her breath, and I see Daddy’s jaw get real tight.
I don’t know why that lady and Daddy are so mad. All I know is I sure am glad Mommy’s not dead.
