Writer's Island #23 - Soar

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I watched from the confines of the glass enclosed booth, moving my head from side to side in an attempt to see around the people staring in at me. Jaydra and Lilliah were leaning against the ice cream vendor’s truck enjoying an ice cream bar. They were licking their lips, more from watching Matthew Whitcomb get out of his car than from any residue left by the melting ice cream.

Matthew was the owner of Castner-Kline Circus. He was a very wealthy man, and he was hot. He unfurled his long legs and stood. The sight of him caused Jaydra to drop her ice cream in the dirt. His eyes were crystalline blue, clear as the Caribbean Sea on a bright summer day. Matthew's white-blonde hair was windblown; ruffled from the long drive in his convertible. The car he drove was the color of a sparkling glass of chardonnay, its interior creamy leather. The girls admired the car almost as much as the man they had dubbed, Mr. Lexus.

Jaydra and Lilliah were both gorgeous women. Jaydra had the look of a California girl, blond, tan, and carefree; while Lilliah was an exotic beauty with a pale heart-shaped face and hair the color of a raven’s wing. Along with Tavish, a red-headed Scott, and Timoteo, a New York Italian, Jaydra and Lilliah were members of a high wire act known as The Flying Nicholsons. There wasn’t a relative among them, nor was anyone named Nicholson. The name was chosen by blindly opening and pointing to a name in the phone book when they couldn’t agree on a name for their act. They were well known for their high wire antics, considered the best in their field. I was the bearded lady.

As he passed them by, Mr. Lexus nodded his good morning to the girls. I couldn’t control the smirk that crossed my face as Jaydra’s, and then Lilliah’s heads whipped around to follow his every move as he climbed the trailer steps.

The trailer served a two-fold purpose. The management office was on one side, while Ken the Clown’s dressing room was on the other. Jaydra had tried to convince Ken the Clown to trade dressing rooms with her, even going so far as to bribe him. She had promised to fix Ken up with Lilliah, her best friend. Had Lilliah known, she would have ended their friendship.

The girls were still loitering by the ice cream truck when Ken the Clown stepped out of the trailer and walked over to them, “Hi Jaydra,” Ken said in his sexiest voice. Jaydra turned away and stuck her nose in the air, not bothering to reply.

Ken the Clown was tall, yet rotund, his head bald on top. He often combed what was left of his hair upward, apparently trying to emulate the popular spiked look. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to pull it off. Instead of stylish he looked like he had stuck his finger in an electrical outlet. Today Ken wore a pair of burnt orange, houndstooth pants and a baggy jacket. No one would mistake Ken for sexy.

Amused by Jaydra’s reaction to his hello, Ken made his way to the door of my booth. Waving goodbye to the staring, pointing masses, I put the ‘gone to lunch’ sign in the window and shut the curtains. I opened the door before Ken had time to knock and practically dragged him inside. He started to move in for a kiss when I pushed him back.

“Wait! You’ll ruin my beard,” I said while unfastening the grotesque piece of hair.

Ken made good use of his time by removing his clown makeup, ripping off the fake bald head that kept his white-blond hair hidden, and unzipping his fat suit. Free at last, we were in each other’s arms. Mr. Lexus was mine, Jaydra and Lilliah never had a chance.