Autumn Anecdotes

Carnival Rose (Pt. 2)

I grip the bottom of the hoop as tight as I can and hoist my left leg up to hang from it. The rope shakes as I assume Bart is circling it as per the choreography the rope shakes even more as he has to lower himself down the rope. I arch my back, finding the metal by my leg I hold onto it with one arm as Bart swings down to my side. We hold the bar with one hand while we hold each other by the wait in the other. The hoop spins while we're lowered down. Our feet softly touch the ground as the music stops and the audience applauds.

"And that's our Carnival Rose and Ferris Fairy!" the announcer barked, "Stick around for autographs!"

A swarm of voices surrounded us. Paper and pen was thrusted into my hand and I signed each one to the best of my ability. 

"Are the flowers real?" a boy laughed.

"Yes they are," Bart cut in whispered low and stern, the light slap of skin on skin made me assume that Bart grabbed his arm out of midair, "And try to touch them and you'll regret it."

"Hey, you don't have to do that, Bart," I tell him, "I can deal with that crap just fine myself."

He grunted a small acknowledgement. 

"Could you sign this for me, please?" an elderly woman's voice came, pressing the pen and paper into my hands, "My grandson is such a fan of yours, but he couldn't come today because of sickness, the poor dear."

I scribble something vaugely resembling a C and an R I hope. 

"Absolutely, ma'am, we hope you enjoyed the show," Bart said, taking the paper to sign after I'd finished.

"I absolutely did," she assured, "And might I add, you two make a lovely couple."

Bart and I both paused a second before bursting out in laughter. These past few years, we've gotten close while we train, but definitely not in that way.

"Okay, okay, sorry for laughing," I apologise to the old woman, regaining my composure.

"I have a girlfriend"

"And I don't do that."

"You don't want a boyfriend?" she seemed very confused.

"Yeah, it just doesn't seem appealing."

"Wh-why?"

"I just don't feel that way about people." I laugh.

The old woman still mumbled confusedly, but she took the autograph and thanked us nonetheless. 

"Baby! You did great!" Patty's voice came, getting closer and closer.

"Thanks, Pat," Bart laughed, "Hey, let me take you out for dinner."

"Yes! Absolutely, where do you want to go?"

"Matcha's?"

"Sure, McKayla, do you want to come?"

I intantly tensened up. It's not that I don't like Patty, in fact, it's because I like her so much. She's been so cool about Bart having a platonic female friend, so she's cool in my book. I can't come, because I know what's about to go down. About a month ago, Bart asked me to help shop for engagement rings. Granted, I wasn't much help, but earlier today, he said that he's going to propose.

She stuck with him all the way through the two of us getting a little famous, she traveled with us in the circus, and she's just generally a great person, and I'm not about to crash his proposal.

"No, it's okay," I tell her, "my form felt a bit weak today, so I'm going to practice a bit. You two have fun, though."

"Alright!"

Their footsteps faded out of the room.

I feel around for the hoop.

"ALRIGHT! PULL ME UP, LARRY!" I yell to the stagehand.

One year later, I'm twenty one years old, and Patty's maid of honor. There was a lot of argument between Pat and Bart of if I'd be Bart's best woman or Pat's maid of honor. Pat won, so here I am now, wearing a floor length dress.

Bart tells me all the time about how beautiful Pat is. It's all he talks about some days. I can only imagine how beautiful how beautiful she looked today of all days. I stand here, the doors clatter open, and the organ starts playing. There are gasps and murmurs as she enters, and a couple yards away from me, Bart silently crying.

And now that's history.

Kidding, kidding. You want to know what happens next. Well, two years later, a beautiful baby boy was born and his name was Bartley Jr. I of course, was the godmother to this little ray of sunshine. His father eventually decided that the traveling circus was no place to raise a child, and so he settled down. I decided to keep on the road. Eventually, after another couple years of the road life, I got an offer to travel the world, performing for people of all walks of life. No longer just a circus performer, but a star. I still keep in touch with Bartley to this day. I visit them every once in a while, they visit me every once in a while. It's funny, after all these years, I can always recognise the cheer of my best friend from the crowd below. 

Alright, so I'm taking a one week break to get the next couple stories together, but you can look forward to Pumpkin Spice on October 31!