Pepper's Ghost by William Auten

Author:William Auten [Auten, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fire In Hand Media
Published: 2024-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

• • •

Her father calls again, but she hits Silence. In the passenger seat, Pete drops down his sunglasses and, zooming in and out on the map, notes the stop for the convoy up ahead. Alex tells him she’ll keep going.

“It’s a planned stop. We need to stick with them.”

“We can get there before them.”

“It’s not a race, Alex. We get there around the same time.”

“The Welty County Fair will be the first to greet us.” She white-knuckles the wheel. “We’ll be the first they see.”

“That matters to you?”

“They’ll see us rolling in, and they’ll know we’ll bring them one smile at a time.”

“Are you with Marketing now?”

“We should market ourselves. And have merchandise to sell before and after our shows.”

“We already have that.”

“We have a poster. Nothing else.”

“What else do we need?”

“Mugs. Shirts. Bobbleheads.”

“Bobbleheads?” The road rushes by in Pete’s sunglasses like white bolts across black squares. “Last time I checked we don’t have anything about the show on the side of the RV.”

“Maybe it’s time we did.”

“What would you want it to say? Come See Alex the Gorilla-Girl and No One Else?”

“Daisy, not Alex.”

“Aren’t they the same?”

Don’s alarm beeps. He yawns and asks if they’re close.

“About fifteen miles away.”

“Did we pass the next rest stop?”

“Alex did.”

“I could’ve used it. Petey, can you give me a hand?”

Alex glimpses the rearview mirror: Don swings his legs over the edge of his bed and points at his toes and calves; Pete massages them and slides Don forward and offers his shoulder, which Don staggers onto and rubs his back. The RV jolts to the side and rocks the two men. Pete lowers Don into the recliner and returns alongside Alex.

“Do we need to call Gloria?” she asks.

“Why?”

“Have her come pick him up. Or maybe one of their kids could come get him.”

“He’s stiff. Like I get sometimes. After we perform as much as we do.”

“Well, being on the road together has paid off. We’ve been promoted to full capacity. We’re all in with it.”

“How do you know?”

“We’ve got great numbers.”

Pete snaps off his sunglasses. “That again.”

“Chris let me know.”

Don chugs a water bottle. “Is my ibuprofen up there?”

“I’ll get it for you.” Pete wobbles out of his seat while Alex maintains high speed through a turn.

“You got something to wash it down with? Something other than water?”

“An ale or an IPA?” Pete asks.

Alex snaps, “No drinks like that on the RV.”

The two men stare at each other before glaring at her.

“Which one do you want?” Pete continues.

“The IPA.”

“Great choice, mi amigo.” Pete’s voice rises, his tone slicing. “It’s a clean, crisp mouthfeel with water from a spring in California and hops from Colorado.”

“Don’t take it with alcohol, Don. Please. We need you fresh for our shows.”

“I won’t be fresh for any of them if I don’t hit this now.”

“That’s why it’s called Skybridge IPA,” Pete continues. “And if you look closely on the label…” He hands the bottle to Don. “You’ll see a bridge linking mountains in the middle of a beautiful blue sky.

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