Those days are past now And in the past they must remain But we can still rise now And be the nation again That stood against him Proud Edward's Army And sent him homeward tae think again
I remember hearing Albert and Clyde's voices along with James'.
Albert spoke as my Father walked by saying: "Aw, looks like the twins wore Maddie out."
"What happened?"
Asked Elizabeth seemingly coming from out of no where.
Father was caring me in his arms.
"All four of them."
Said Father.
"Four?"
Added Clyde.
"Maddie, Kenzie, Kenneth and Lucy."
Marcus replied.
"What a party."
Clyde said almost whispering.
"Yeah, they had a good time."
Said Marcus.
"Did Storm and Alison join in?"
Questioned Albert.
James and Father silently shook their heads 'no' in unison.
Albert and Clyde smiled.
"I'll get the door cuz."
Said James.
"Okay.
Harold replied to James as he sank back down in his chair.
James opened the door the rest of the way for Father as he slipped inside and laid me down gently on my bed.
He said something to me in Scottish with the word 'Criona' in his sentence, I knew that meant "FATHER".
As he gave me his other jacket, I was deeply asleep as I heard his and James voices quietly nearby.
...
The room looked quiet, but familiar.
It was bare, but not in the sense it was empty. Dr. Morris was there.
Taylor Greens was lying on a bed made up of a metal frame and fluffy mattress.
She wore a nightgown and her brown hair laid over her shoulders like the white knitted blanket covering her from the knees down. Her eyes were unforgettable... at least by my Father's description. When he tells me the story, I can practically see her eyes and feel what's going on.
The moment when Marcus saw me, the look in his eyes said more than he could have ever hoped to verbalize. The smile on Father's face as he was taken with so much joy as I was laid into his arms. Mommy only held me for a minute before Daddy was holding me. -It was like she didn't want to develop a bond... like she knew her own fear and that she would pull away from her boyfriend and their child.
The smile on Daddy's face... there was a special look in Father's eyes and he held me in his strong, yet gentle arms with much tender care.
He was guarded of me from the start.
—something that would come in handy when mommy's fear of commitment turned into negligence and even failure to communicate. -Even if it meant not telling her boyfriend that she didn't feed their— no, HIS child who couldn't even walk yet.
....
"DADDY?"....
My mind switched from the scared newborn to the terrified 7-year old.
"Daddy, I'm hungry. My stomach hurts, Dad. Why won't the people feed me, Father? Can I come home please, Father? DADDY I AM HUNGRY. It hurts—"
I called hoping he was near... hoping dad would come to my side and take me to eat and I would see Jane and Terry.
"JAMES!"
I shouted for my friend... my brother—
No reply from anyone, just an echo in a chilly, dark inky space.
*****
I woke up and thought I saw Father— I looked around like: Where'd the trailer go?
I said all these things in my sleep.
—A dream, unfortunately just a dream, but maybe it wasn't just a dream. Maybe it was all part of the show. It felt so real.
Real again.
Like I was home again... An astrotravel perhaps?
Elizabeth POV
Maddie had in-fact been astrotraveling. We here, could feel it.
YOU ARE READING
What Happened Under The Big Tent (IT'S ALL PART OF THE SHOW SEQUEL)
Non-FictionFATHER- That is a title one earns, though few and none are set to believe he actually 'earned' it. With years gone by, The Carnival has traveled from town to town. With its black and white Big Tent, TopHat has returned to the place it all fell apart...
