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.His desk—the one space he was still using regularly—looked like tornado had hit it.“Sorry, there isn’t much room,” he said.“But it’s just me, and I don’t need much.Would you like something to drink? A soft drink or a beer?” he looked at his father as he asked.“That would be nice,” his mother said as she settled on the couch with his sister.“If you have…” She stopped and her eyes got wide at the sound of the back door opening.He knew without looking that Kaelan stood frozen in the doorway.“I’m sorry,” Kaelan said.“I didn’t realize you had company.”Peter turned, meeting Kaelan’s gaze.“It was a surprise visit,” he said.“This is my dad and mom, my brother, Joseph, and sister, Peggy.” His gaze swept back over his family.“This is Kaelan, one of our performers.” He turned back, and Kaelan still stood in the doorway holding the door open.“I was just about to ask if I could borrow something to drink.”Kaelan’s smile was stiff.“Of course,” he said.“Nice to meet you all.” He backed onto the platform where Peter followed him.“I’m sorry,” he said as they entered his carriage.“It’s okay,” Peter said as they entered the carriage.“They surprised me.I was about to come over and warn you.” He caught Kaelan’s shoulder and turned him around.He could see the tension around Kaelan’s eyes and kissed him on the mouth.“I didn’t want that to be so uncomfortable for you.” Peter grinned.“At least you were dressed.”Kaelan smiled then and blushed.“Yes, that’s fortunate.”Peter grabbed three beers and two ginger ales from Kaelan’s stash and went back to his own car.“Peter,” Peggy said as he handed her a ginger ale, “why was he in costume if you aren’t doing a show today?”“Oh, well, he actually wasn’t in costume,” Peter said.He sat in his desk chair and took a swig of beer.Peggy’s eyes grew wide, and then Joseph burst out laughing.“Jeez, Peter, you had me going there for a moment,” his brother said.His dad was grinning too, but his mother was watching him carefully.“No,” Peter said.“It isn’t a costume.He’s the star of our sideshow.He’s for real.”Joseph stopped laughing.“You’re serious? You are.You’re serious.”Peter nodded.“Yeah, he’s for real.”“How’d he get like that?” Joseph asked.Peter shrugged.“Can’t say.” There was no way he was going into the truth with his family.The last thing his mother needed to know—provided she even believed it—was what her brother had done to his son.She already looked a little pale, and his father looked like he was about to give Peter a lecture on telling tales out of school.“Gosh,” Peggy said.“He’s amazing looking—like some kind of exotic bird.”“Yeah,” Peter said.You don’t know the half of it.Jake chose that moment to show up and let Peter know that he’d found a place to get supplies.“That’s great, Jake,” Peter said.He got into the safe and counted out bills to buy food.He handed it to Jake.“Listen, maybe you could take Peggy and Joseph to the food tent and get them something to eat.Then, show them the animals?”“Yeah, sure thing, boss, and I’ll be sure to bring back a receipt for the supplies,” the kid said.“You want me to send someone around with sandwiches for you all?”“Yeah, thanks, that’d be great.”Peter’s waited until his brother and sister left before speaking.“Sorry about the intrusions.”“They seem pretty familiar.Do they always just walk in like that?” his father asked.Peter shrugged.“We’re kind of like family,” he said.“They’re employees, Peter,” his father said.“Yeah,” Peter said, “well, a circus isn’t quite like a bank.” He meant it as a jest, but it came out a little like a challenge.He heard it, and he knew his father did too.He sighed.“Look, I’m sorry.I just…I got caught up in a lot of responsibility here that I wasn’t counting on.A lot of people depend on me.”“So you explained in your letter,” Harold said.“Don’t misunderstand me, son.I’m proud of you for facing up to the responsibility.I understand your reasoning, but…”“You’ve given up your whole life, honey,” his mother cut in.“Your job and Anne Marie, everything, and you seemed so sure of your future.”“I know, Mama,” Peter said.“I know I did, but I hadn’t seen a thing of the world.I didn’t know what it was like to have real responsibility, to have people depend on me.When I got here, these folks hadn’t been paid but once in six weeks.Not more than a couple bills had been paid.They needed me, and the more I looked at selling the circus, the more I realized that doing that would put most of them out of work.I just couldn’t do that.” He tore at the label on his beer bottle.“And to be honest, I like it.I like the work and the people.”“But, honey, what about a family? I know you want that,” his mother said.“If it’s meant to be, mama, I’ll meet someone [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]