by A. J. Marcus
“It looks like they’re both asleep.” Ed settled back into his seat. “That went better than I thought it would.”
“What, the trip to the zoo?” Adrian turned briefly toward Ed, then focused back on the traffic. “I didn’t anticipate any problems with that.”
“Not that. I expected that to go well. Kids and zoos, it’s a win-win situation, if you ask me. No, I meant telling Eddy about us. He took it really well. It helps that he likes you.”
“All the time he’s been spending with Trish and Sam might’ve helped too. He’s a great kid, and he has an awesome dad.” Adrian reached over and snagged Ed’s hand.
“And now he’s going to have Daddy Two.” Ed chuckled.
“Yeah. You know, before this I hadn’t even given much thought to what he’d call me. I figured Dio like everyone else, but I kinda like Daddy two. Almost like Thing One and Thing Two.”
Ed laughed, then glanced back to make sure he hadn’t disturbed the kids. “As long as I stay just Daddy and he doesn’t call you something rude, I’m okay with it.”
“Other than threatening to have Cara stomp me, I haven’t heard anything rude come out of his mouth.”
“Nah.” Ed shook his head. “He’s a great kid. I’ve been careful to not cuss around him. Trying to bring him up like my folks did me.”
“You know, Ed, I’ve heard you mention your mother, and you said your father ran the elephant ride before you did, but you never said what happened to your father. I’m presuming he’s no longer around.”
Ed sighed and squeezed Adrian’s hand. “Yeah, we lost Dad six years ago. It was an accident. He fell off our older elephant. I saw the whole thing. He was trying to get a new headpiece fitted right. He slipped. She tried to stop him, but couldn’t. It was the first time I’d seen an elephant cry. I think she blamed herself for it. He had massive head trauma and never woke up.”
“Wow, and you saw the whole thing.” Adrian squeezed Ed’s hand and then brought his fingers up and kissed them. “That must’ve been really traumatic to you.”
Ed nodded and gulped back the lump in his throat that always came up when he talked about his father’s death. “Yeah, I went running over. At first Paula, the elephant, wouldn’t let me get close to him. She was pushing him gently with her trunk with big tears running down on him. Then she must have realized there was nothing she could do and let me get him out of the corral. I think her reaction was almost worse than Mom’s. They say elephants can pine to death when they lose someone, be it elephant or person, they love. She almost did that. It would’ve been horrible if we’d lost both of them. I don’t know what snapped her out of it, but she came around and is still with us today. She’s just too old now to work.”
“So had you planned on taking over the family business?” Adrian asked as he changed lanes to pass a cattle truck that was splashing them.
“Yeah. I’d grown up with the elephants, just like Eddy is. They’ve always been part of my life. I don’t see myself ever not having them around. Without doing the elephant rides, I don’t know how else I’d be able to take care of them. Luckily, the ranch is paid for, so I don’t have that expense, but there is still feeding, and four elephants can be a bit much at times, particularly on bad years.”
“Well, maybe in the future, my income can help through the bad years.” Adrian headed for the off ramp that would take them back to the faire site.
“You’d do that?”
The flutist nodded. “Yeah, if we’re in this for the long haul, we’re in this together. I may not have had the family growing up that you had, but I know that couples who view things as together hang in there a lot longer than couples that see things as mine and yours. We still have a few details to work out, but I’m up for ours.”
Ed’s heart pounded. He’d been hoping Adrian felt that way about things, but had been afraid to voice the subject yet. Straining against his seat belt, he leaned over and kissed the side of his new boyfriend’s face. “I’m up for ours too.”
From the backseat came a yawn. “Are we there yet?” Eddy asked sleepily.
“In just a few minutes,” Ed replied. He settled back into his seat and happily watched the trees go by with his man driving and his son in the backseat. Life was good.
Chapter 25
Was two days enough practice? Adrian wondered as he and the belly dancers gathered backstage, waiting for the juggler to get finished with his act so they could go on. It was all he could do to not pace. I’m a professional. Professionals do not pace. This is just another Ren faire performance, just like last week. They loved me last week.
“You okay?” Jade asked. She did a little gyration of her hips, apparently limbering up before they went on. “You look a bit nervous.” “Maybe a bit,” he admitted.
Jade cocked her head, sending her long red hair cascading down to the right. “But why? You weren’t last week, and we did great last week.”
“Last week was supposed to be a onetime thing. This is the start of something bigger.” He paused. “I guess technically last week was the start of something bigger. I don’t know. There’s been so much going on this week. It’s like I’m a totally different person than I was last week. I officially have a boyfriend. I have a second job. I have a family. That’s a bit of responsibility to accumulate in a week.”
From out on the stage came the sound of the juggler dropping something heavy. The crowd laughed and clapped. Adrian saw the show last week and knew this was his finale. They’d go on as soon as he cleared his things from the stage and the audience changed out. They had about five minutes.
Jade laughed and gave him a big hug. “You’ll do great. You’re the awesome Adrian Mylonas, slayer of bad orchestra music, elephant charmer, and satyr extraordinaire. Plus you got us as backup, doesn’t he, girls?”
“Go Dio!” one of them shouted.
“We’re here for you,” came from another one. She was bent over doing something to her ankle bells.
Mel came over. “Don’t worry, Dio, it’ll be just like last week, only with a bit more planning and preparation… oh, and a longer playlist for you.” She smiled. “It’ll be great.” The belly dancer pulled on the bottom of his vest, forcing it down a bit on Adrian’s shoulders, then turned back to the other dancers. “All right, all your costumes on right? We don’t want to embarrass Dio by losing a strategic piece, now do we… Alysa? Not to mention what the faire ethics committee said after that bit-o-boob that was flashed two weeks ago, Gypsy will start getting fines every time we flash something that shouldn’t be. So, make sure everything is on nice and tight.”
The juggler’s assistant came back with the first armload of stuff. The young man looked a bit angry at something, but Adrian had other things to think about. Then the juggler stomped back carrying an armload of balls, hoops, and a bowling pin.
“The stage is all yours, ladies.” He glared at his assistant. “Rough way to start out the weekend.”
“Okay, ladies, and Adrian.” Gypsy appeared in their midst. “Let’s go out there and give them the best belly dancing show they’ve ever seen. We want them leaving and coming back this afternoon. Also, remember that we’re going to be filming this and it’ll be up on the Internet before most of us get home, if Jade gets the file edited quickly.”
Adrian had realized the day before why Samantha referred to Gypsy as the Belly Dancing Queen. She might be good, but she had a bit of an attitude to go along with it. Having been part of the professional music world for years, he knew how not to ruffle her feathers unnecessarily.
As the girls all did last minute adjustments, Adrian warmed up his flute. Like last weekend, it seemed strange to be going out to perform with something other than his concert instrument. But the music of the elephants wouldn’t sound right on the metal flute. This was now his main flute. He looked at it for a moment. It wasn’t flashy at all. It was plain, simple, and wooden. There weren’t any markings on it. Truth be told, there wasn’t really anything to it, other than the hol
es and the careful shaping by the craftsman who’d made it from a single piece of wood. From the stain and the ends, he couldn’t even really tell what kind of wood it was made of. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that it produced the music he needed it to.
For a second, the flute reminded him of Ed. The man was so different than the type of guys he normally went for. They were like his concert flute, flashy and occasionally temperamental. Ed was more like the instrument in his hands: sturdy, kind of basic, but felt good and had hidden qualities that came out when he was handled right. A smile crossed Adrian’s face at the thought of his boyfriend.
“Hey!” Mel called, “Come on, it’s time!”
He pushed thoughts of Ed out of his head and followed the dancers onto the stage. As Gypsy went to the front of the stage and greeted the assembling crowd, the gals began to spin, shimmy, and shake. The sound of bells, coins, and finger cymbals rang out. Catching sight of Ed standing near the back, under the big old oak there, Adrian took a deep breath and began a lively tune, something he’d adapted from a snake charmer video he’d seen recently. Something about it felt appropriate for belly dancing, and the girls had loved it during practice. It preserved the Middle Eastern feel of their dance.
At the end of that tune, he barely paused while the audience clapped. The next melody was the one he’d come up with the week after his first weekend at faire. It was very Celtic. The girls had worked out something a bit more interpretive and less traditional for this piece. When he started his third piece, this time accompanied by a hand drummer who’d worked with the dancers for years, Mel and Jade disappeared offstage. They’d planned this. It was one of the benefits of getting to practice before the performance.
The two dancers reappeared as he finished the last cadenza of the third piece. The gals on stage bowed to the audience before they scurried offstage, and Mel and Jade swirled silently into place on either side of him.
Waiting for the audience to quiet down was the hardest part of his whole show. Adrian waited two breaths to let the silence settle in. Then he blew the first long, low note of Cara’s song. He closed his eyes and let the music roll out of his soul. It poured out into the silent audience. With the soft shoes the two dancers wore, he could barely hear their movements around him. Cara’s song wrapped itself around the audience. Deep in the atmosphere he created, he could feel them all hanging on every note he played. They were entranced by the music and the silent, seductive movements of the dancers.
When the song ended and he removed the flute from his lips, he paused for a moment, waiting for the audience to realize the song was over. In the distance, Cara voiced her enjoyment of the tune. Then the audience burst into cheers and applause. Several of them stood up, then more, until everyone was on their feet. Out under the oak tree, Ed blew him a kiss.
Then, in a flurry of bells, coins, and cymbals, the other dancers returned, and they went into the next piece. By the time the show was over, Adrian was soaked in sweat and thankful he didn’t have a shirt on under the vest, but lighter pants would’ve been nice. He bowed to the audience as Gypsy swirled out to take the microphone for her final speech, letting them all know there were more shows that day. Several of the girls jumped down off the stage and hurried out to the ends of the aisles with baskets for tips.
Ed came up onstage and gave Adrian a huge hug and a big kiss. “You were great.”
“Thanks,” Adrian replied. Jade showed up at their side and offered him a bottle of water. He accepted. “Thanks.”
“Do you need to go sit down for a bit?” Ed asked, steering him toward the backstage door. “You’re really flushed, and I can’t say I’ve seen you sweat this much.”
The cold water rushed down Adrian’s throat, cooling him as it flowed. It was almost too much, but it felt good enough he didn’t care. He swallowed. “Performing in this heat can do that.” It was the hottest day of faire yet, and the humidity was setting in. He took another swig of the water as they walked out behind the stage. “I’ll be fine in a few.”
Gypsy sauntered up next to them, a smile gracing her face. “Another excellent tip show. Thanks, Adrian. The audience really loves Cara’s song. I can’t wait to see what the Internet response to it is.”
In the distance, an elephant bugled. Seconds later, screaming started.
Chapter 26
Even before Cara’s bugle died down, Ed ran from behind the gypsy stage. When the screaming started, he ran faster. His heart pounded as his feet beat down the packed lane. People gathered in front of the elephant ride. A group of children stood there. He recognized Dru, who watched the Ren faire kids. None of the camels were moving. He spotted Sonny running across the corral toward something. Gwen seemed determined to beat him to his goal, even with a howdah full of passengers on her back clinging to the rails and screaming.
Ed pushed through the gathered people at the fence and he squeezed through. He stopped for a moment. A small brown form lay on the ground under Ciro’s feet. Sonny crouched next to it. Cara had someone pressed up against the back wall. A low, threatening rumble emanated from the elephant. Bryan struggled to get Cara off whoever it was she had pressed up against the wall. Then Ed spotted the hat on the ground.
He’d bought Eddy the hat last year. The boy loved the hat with its long pheasant feather in the band. Ed scooped up the hat and rushed to the boy lying at the feet of the little elephant.
“Come on, Ciro, move.” Sonny pushed at the little elephant, but he stood there, like he was guarding Eddy.
“Hold him still,” Ed said. He dropped to his knees and gently pulled Eddy from under the elephant’s feet. His son’s chest still rose and fell, but his arm hung awkwardly, and a nasty bruise was already forming on his forehead. Ed’s heart stopped for a moment. Tears fell down his face as he clung to his son.
He stood up and carried Eddy behind the wall, ignoring Bryan’s shouting at Cara and the woman’s screams that came from between the elephant and the wall.
“Somebody get security!” Sonny shouted. “Gwen, come on, girl, back to the stand! Clive, we’re shut down! June, give the folks their money back and get the camels unloaded.”
Just on the other side of the wall, Ed lay Eddy down on the hard ground. His son was so pale and still. Adrian appeared at his side.
“What happened?” Even the musician’s strong hand on his shoulder held no comfort.
“I don’t know yet.” Ed’s voice cracked. “We need a doctor.” He couldn’t lose Eddy. The boy was so important to him.
“You stay here. I’ll run and get the paramedics.” Adrian squeezed his shoulder and dashed off.
“Please hurry.” With shaking hands, Ed reached up and straightened the boy’s messed-up black hair. A tiny trunk touched him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Ciro standing there where the walls gapped to let the elephants come and go from the front. Tears ran down the little elephant’s face. For a moment, Ed wanted to shove the animal away, but it was obvious that Ciro was upset by what had happened. The little pachyderm let out a long, piteous cry.
“No, Ciro.” Ed rose to stand between the elephant and his son. “You need to let me take care of him. Cara, come here!” Seconds later, the screaming out front stopped and the mother elephant appeared in the gap.
Anger flashed in her dark eyes when she saw Eddy lying still on the ground. She glanced back into the corral.
“Cara.” Ed called her attention back to him. “I need you to take care of Ciro while I take care of Eddy.” The mother elephant nodded like she understood. She reached out her trunk to her offspring. The little elephant took it and clung to it as he stepped back to the comfort of her heavy legs.
“No!” a woman shouted from the corral. “That elephant attacked me! I’m the victim here, as much as these animals are!”
“Ma’am, we need you to come along with us,” said a man Ed didn’t recognize.
Then Adrian was back with another man following him. “He’s back here,” the flutist said.
Ed shook his head. “I don’t know. I was down the lane when I heard the elephant bugle and the woman scream. When I got here, he was on the ground under the baby elephant’s feet. I moved him back here, out of the way.”
The paramedic nodded. He knelt down, pulled out a stethoscope, and listened to Eddy’s chest. “That’s good. His heart and lungs sound fine.” He felt along the small limbs. “I think his arm is broken. We won’t know about head injuries until we get him to the hospital.”
Adrian wrapped his arm around Ed’s shoulder. “He’s going to be fine.”
“I hope so,” Ed gulped, fighting back more tears that threatened to spill out.
“Sir, will the elephants let us get a gurney in here so we can get him to the ambulance, or will we need to carry him out?” the paramedic asked.
“If we’re with you, there shouldn’t be a problem,” Ed replied.
The paramedic nodded again. Adrian squeezed Ed’s shoulder. “I’ll guide them in.” Then he left for a moment.
Ed stared down at Eddy, so still, so small, there on the ground. How did this happen? Why was Eddy here now? He was supposed to be with Dru. Ed remembered seeing the girl and the other kids in the crowd outside the fence. Trina!
“Dio, make sure Trina’s all right!” he shouted as the paramedic returned, helping another get the gurney over the rough ground. The distant wail of sirens came with the men.
Adrian caught Ed’s eyes and nodded before he vanished back around the wall.
“We don’t have to take him through the faire,” Ed said. “I have a gate back behind the trailers.”
The first paramedic nodded. “That’d help a lot.” He relayed the information to the arriving ambulance through the microphone on his shoulder. The other paramedic lowered the gurney to the ground as they stopped it alongside Eddy’s unmoving form. Although it would’ve only taken one of them, the two men lifted the boy together and gently laid him on the thin bed.