When Elephants Fly by Nancy Richardson Fischer

Author:Nancy Richardson Fischer [Fischer, Nancy Richardson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781488095269
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-09-01T13:11:27+00:00

26

On the path to the far side of the giant circus tent, two guys in tank tops that accentuate massive muscles and myriad tattoos pass me—they’re pulling wagons piled with colorful pedestals.

“You’re the reporter, right?” one of the guys asks, stopping.

“Yes.”

The second guy scratches a nose broken so many times it looks like a staircase. “Otis asked us to keep an eye out for you, help you find your way.”

“Just heading to the food cart,” I say with a smile, hiding my annoyance that Walker’s PR guy is keeping me under watch. The smell of grease hits by the far corner of the big tent. My mouth floods with saliva. The food cart is painted bright purple with a sliding window on the front. A girl bustles around inside. “Hey,” I call out. Pretty eyes circled with thick liner study me. The girl’s brow and nostril are pierced with tiny gold rings that complement her bronze-toned skin.

“What can I get you?”

“Lunch?” I reach into the pocket of my shorts for money.

“Your food is free.”

“What? I can pay.”

“Not what the family wants.” The girl flips her braid over one shoulder. “Anyway, we don’t take cash. Performers eat on credit. Workers use coupons.”

“Coupons?”

The girl shrugs. “It’s none of my business.”

“Meaning?” She gives me a flat look. Okay, moving on. “I’m Lily.”

“Esmerelda. Soirez. My family is the featured trapeze act. Six generations. We’re from Venezuela.”

“You’re on my interview list.”

“Otis told me.”

“Mind if we talk now?”

Esmerelda shrugs. “Guess not.”

She does not seem thrilled. “So you do that? Trapeze?”

“I flew before I could walk.” Esmerelda eyes me. “I’ll make you a burrito, extra cheese, avocado and double rice. You’re too skinny.”

I pull out a pen and my notebook. “Isn’t it terrifying?”

Esmerelda scoffs. “Flying? No. It’s in my blood.”

I think about saying it’s in my blood, too. “Does anything scare you?”

“You mean like the dark or something?”

I mean like hearing a man’s voice telling you to drive your car into a group of little kids, watching your best friend’s face morph into a monster or people screaming so loudly in your brain that you consider taking a hammer to your own head to crush the voices. “Yeah,” I say, “like the dark.”

Esmerelda laughs. “Nah. Only thing that scares me is failing.”

Jealousy slithers through my belly.

“You can come watch us. Practice starts in twenty minutes in the big tent.”

“That’d be cool. Hey, how old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“Can I take your picture?” She nods, so I take a few shots while she finishes making my enormous burrito. The first bite is beyond delicious. “Mmm. Thanks. So you love working for Walker’s?”

Esmerelda’s smile disappears. “I know about zoo people. You look down on the circus. But Wild Walker’s is the best thing that ever happened to my family. I’ve got a Twitter account. I read what people are saying about your little elephant not belonging here. She’s just an animal. Real people work here with real kids who get an education in the United States of America and the chance for a better life.

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