by Geof Johnson
“Oh. Um…well, we —”
“Never mind, Geek Boy.” She rolled onto her side and pressed her fingertip gently into his cheek. “You can make it up to me by telling me why I’m so much like the Dream Fairy.”
“I can do that,” he said, remembering how his mother used to describe the Dream Fairy to him when he was young, a little story she’d tell him to help him go to sleep. He recalled her exact words. “She’s got long, lovely, red hair — just like yours — emerald-green eyes,” —he looked closely into Fred’s eyes — “just like yours, and she has a face like an angel.” He reached over with one hand and caressed her cheek. “Like yours. I’ve never seen a real angel, but I don’t have to, because I’ve seen you.”
“Bravo! That was beautiful.” She kissed his cheek. “I knew you could do it.”
“Do you have your fairy earrings?”
“Hold on.” Fred closed her eyes for a moment and then opened her hand. Two tiny glass figures lay in her palm. “I do now.”
Jamie shook his head. “That’s incredible that you have so much control over this.”
“I want you to make them fly again, just like when we were kids.” She held them out, her palm flat, the two figures lying on their sides.
“I don’t think I can. It’s your dream.” He touched each fairy anyway, and they began to glow.
“See there? You can.”
“I didn’t do it. You did. I didn’t feel any magic.”
Fred gestured with her other hand and the fairies stood, then their wings began to flutter; they rose in the air and began to circle them. “I guess I am doing it.”
“Do you think you can make anything you want to in this dream?”
“How about a monster?” Fred gestured again, and an enormous purple figure rose nearby as the two fairies flew away and hid behind her. Long, hairy, orangutan-like arms sporting six-fingered hands with vicious claws waved about menacingly. The beast’s boulder-sized head was dominated by a gaping maw; wicked fangs oozed saliva that dribbled down its chin.
It took a step ponderous toward them and Jamie said, “Uh, Fred….”
Fred flicked her fingers on one hand and the monster exploded into thousands of purple confetti-like bits. Jamie covered his face with his arm and Fred said, “Don’t worry. I won’t let the mean monster hurt my baby.” She wiggled her fingers and the fairies returned, orbiting over them like two tiny satellites.
“That was pretty real looking. You can probably do anything, Fred.”
“That’s ’cause I’m the Dream Fairy.”
“The Dream Fairy flies around.”
Fred sat up, her face set in concentration, and a pair of wings sprouted from her back, growing rapidly. Jamie had to move to keep from getting poked in the face by one of them as they unfurled. Fred was a butterfly, emerging from a cocoon, opening her wings for the first time.
“That’s okay, Fred, I get the idea!”
The wings vanished as Fred laughed and lay back down.
“Can you put us anyplace that you want to now, or does it still have to be someplace you’re familiar with?”
“Where do you want to go?”
He tried to think of some place exotic, but ended up saying the first thing that popped into his head. “How about your couch?”
Fred winked and they reappeared in her living room. Jamie was lying down with his head in her lap. He had to blink several times to get oriented. “Wow. That’s great! Now we can make out here without your dad bothering us.”
“Before we do,” Fred said, touching his chin and running her finger sensually around his jaw, “there’s a favor I need to ask.”
“Anything for you.”
“There are two, actually.” She put her hand on his cheek and bent her head closer, eyes locked on his. “I want to have Melanie take the oath so we can tell her about our magic.”
“Anything but that,” he said quickly.
Her eyes narrowed and she sat up straight. “Why not?”
“I think the question we should be asking is why should we?”
“Because she and I have gotten to be really good friends and I think it’s better to tell her than let her find out by accident.”
“Are we gonna tell everybody? How about Bryce? How about Tom, Dick, and Harry?”
“You might want to tell Bryce, if you two really are such good buddies. If we slip up around them and say something we’re not supposed to, we’re in a heap of trouble. Word could get around fast, and then where would we be?”
“People might not believe it.”
“Are you willing to take that chance? I don’t want to go hide out in a cave. Maybe that was fine for Eddan, but I like the comforts of home.”
Jamie blew out a long gust of air and looked into Fred’s determined eyes. I don’t think she’s going to let this go. “Okay, but not until we talk to our parents first.”
“Why? We’re not babies, Jamie. We can make decisions for ourselves.”
“We’re only seventeen, and this decision affects more than just us.”
“Hmph.” She stroked his chin again. “Well, getting to my second favor. Will you take us to the mall on Sunday?”
“You and Melanie? Why?”
“Her car’s in the shop, and my parents need both of theirs. Melanie can get a ride to my house so we don’t have to pick her up.”
“Can I just drop you off and pick you up later?”
“I guess.” She caressed his cheek. “You should come with us. You need some new clothes.”
“Shop at the mall? I’d rather be tied to a post and whipped with barbed wire.”
“That can be arranged.” A burly, shirtless man with a black-leather mask appeared near the opening to the front hall. He held a coil of silver barbed wire in one hand and tattoos covered his massive bare arms.
Jamie ground his teeth for a moment before saying, “Fred, I don’t like being manipulated this way. I’m not so sure that I like it that you have power, all of a sudden.”
The burly man vanished and Fred said, “Oh, so it’s okay if you have power, but not me?”
He sat up. “That’s not what I meant.”
Her eyes grew stormy and threatened lightning strikes. “You’re just mad because we’re on more equal footing now.”
“I’ve never thought of us as being anything but equal,” he said without hesitation.
Her face became thoughtful, softer. “Do you mean that?” He nodded and she said, “Well, how about you promise to go shopping with us if I promise to make out with you right now?”
“You’d do that anyway.” She gave him a long, steady look and he said, “Okay. I’ll go shopping with you if you make sure your dad doesn’t appear in this dream. I want total privacy.”
“Deal.” She leaned closer, put her arms around his neck and pulled his face to hers.
Chapter 12
Evelyn looked over her shoulder again, and Connie patted her twin sister’s hand. “They’ll be here, Evelyn. Relax.” They were in Asheville in the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, sitting in the floor section, more than twenty rows back from the stage.
“Wish we’d have gotten here sooner,” Evelyn said. “We could’ve gotten better seats.” She turned and looked at the balcony that ran along both sides and the rear of the hall; it was full. The only open seats were in the very back.
“These are fine. We can see the stage perfectly,” Connie said.
Evelyn had saved the two seats on her right for Rachel and Carl. Lisa and Larry sat on the other side of those next to the aisle. Connie was on Evelyn’s left, Ray was next to her, and Gina and Cory were last on the row. Gina leaned forward and said, “This is so exciting, Aunt Evelyn! Do you know I’ve never seen Jamie perform before? At least not live. Just the videos you showed me.” She looked up and waved. “Oh! Look who’s finally here.”
Evelyn turned again to see Rachel and Carl walking down the aisle toward them, their coats draped over their arms, Rachel with the program in one hand. T
hey waved back and joined them; Rachel eased into the red cushioned seat next to Evelyn and said, “We had trouble finding a parking spot.”
“What time did Jamie get here?” Connie asked.
“He left with Fred and Rollie about two o’clock. They had to get here early for a dress rehearsal and makeup and stuff.”
“Makeup? Even the boys?”
Carl pointed to a large camera on the balcony to their right. “They might be on television. We talked to another camera operator in the back, and he said it’ll probably be on the TriSouth Network.”
“Never heard of it,” Ray said.
“I don’t think our cable company carries it.”
“So how do we watch it?”
“Maybe Jamie can find it online.”
A blonde-haired girl sitting several rows ahead of them turned and waved, flashing a dimpled smile.
“Who’s that?” Evelyn asked.
Lisa waved back at the girl and said, “That’s Melanie. She’s one of Fred’s friends.”
“That’s the girl who kissed Jamie, Mom,” Rachel said.
“Oh my,” Evelyn said. “I can see why Fred was jealous. She’s pretty.”
Ray looked at Rachel and said, “Jamie could probably win this contest hands down if he wanted to, couldn’t he?”
A well-dressed couple in the row ahead of them, a man and a woman in their early forties, turned and glared at Ray. Ray glared back at them and said, “Well, he could.”
“Right,” the well-dressed man said. “Everybody thinks that about their child.”
“Oh, I suppose you have a kid in this contest?”
“Abigail Moore,” the woman replied. “She’s a ballet dancer. She’s going to try out for a New York dance company next year.”
“Oh, ballet.” Ray, never one to waste time reading Miss Manners, pretended to yawn.
“And this Jamie fellow? I suppose you’re related to him somehow.” The woman said in a dry tone.
“He’s my great-nephew, Jamie Sikes. He’s a magician, and he’s fantastic. He goes on right before intermission.”
“Oh, magic,” she said. “How…interesting.” But her eyes said otherwise. She obviously wanted them to know that she was too polite to say how she really felt.
“At least we won’t fall asleep during his show.”
The couple sniffed as one and turned their heads away to face the stage. Evelyn had to clamp her jaws tightly to keep from smiling.
Connie whispered to Evelyn, “He could win, couldn’t he?”
Evelyn whispered back, “If Jamie flew around the auditorium and made a doorway to transport this whole audience to another world, I think there would be no doubt.”
“But he won’t, will he?”
“He wants Fred and Rollie to win. Plus, it would be a little hard to explain.” The lights flickered twice and she said, “It’s starting.”
The first act was a juggler named Edgar Silverman. He was anything but boring.
Connie whispered to Evelyn halfway through his performance, “He’s going to be tough to beat.”
Evelyn nodded but didn’t say anything. They next act was a singer, and Evelyn was not impressed with her. The classical pianist who followed was talented, but the applause from the audience was subdued. She was followed by another singer, a boy, who looked too scared to win. Evelyn found herself counting the performers on the program — sixteen. Eight now, and then intermission. That leaves only three more until it’s Jamie’s turn.
The ballerina, Abigail, came next. She’s pretty good, Evelyn thought, but not exciting enough. She glanced at Ray, who stifled a yawn, a real one.
A gymnast and then a girl who played the marimba followed, but Evelyn found herself mentally urging them to hurry so Jamie could come onstage.
When it was finally his turn, Jamie was introduced by the Master of Ceremonies and got a nice round of applause as he walked across the stage. “Some of these people may have seen him before,” Evelyn said. “Probably at one of the benefit shows.”
“Is he going to do any real magic?” Connie whispered.
“At the end. He told me he’s going for the laughs.”
Jamie had his cloth-covered magic table set up, and he wore a black tuxedo and a top hat. After a couple of minutes of routine, off-the-shelf tricks, he removed his hat and set it on the table. Then he tapped it with his magic wand and a brown and white rabbit popped its head up. A collective aww rose from the crowd, but when the rabbit looked at Jamie and dropped back into the hat, the awws turned to laughs.
Jamie’s expression grew intent and he reached way down into the hat, his arm disappearing all the way up to his armpit; he pulled out a rubber chicken. The audience chuckled as he threw it over his shoulder and reached back in, felt around for a moment, and pulled out a multicolored scarf…and pulled out some more scarf…and even more scarf, a scarf with almost no end. He finally pulled the last of it free and picked up the hat, looked into it with a puzzled, Charlie Chaplinesque expression, and scratched his head.
While he stood there looking perplexed, a small, furry animal appeared at the far right edge of the stage by the curtain — the rabbit — and it hopped across the floor. Jamie, apparently alerted by the crowd’s laughter, turned and saw it and tracked it down. He grabbed the bunny and shoved it into the hat, started his bow, but stopped when he heard the laughter. He turned mid-bow and saw the bunny hopping across the stage again.
He grabbed it, carried it to the table and shoved it back in the hat, only to have it come hopping from the wings again. The laughter grew as he picked it up and repeated the now familiar process, only this time he finished by waving his wand about and saying a few magic words. Then he took a quick glance at the wings, and seeing no rabbit, picked up a set of cups from under the table.
There was a commotion from the audience. Jamie looked up as someone said, “It’s the bunny!” A young woman squealed, “He’s in the aisle.” Jamie shielded his eyes from the lights with his hand and every head turned to catch a glimpse of the rabbit, hopping up the aisle toward the stage. Jamie motioned to the crowd and someone grabbed the animal and carried it to Jamie. He knelt by the footlights, retrieved the errant rabbit, and scolded him with a shake of his finger.
He grabbed the hat from the table, shoved the rabbit back inside, and putting one hand on the bottom and the other on top, he said “Disappearo!” He flattened it to a black pancake. A little girl wailed from the crowd, “You killed it!”
Jamie grinned and put his hand over his mouth as the audience chuckled. Then he tapped the hat three times with the wand, and it popped back to full size. With a dramatic gesture, he reached into the hat, pulled out the rabbit, and held it aloft. Then he took his bow. His performance was over.
The ovation was warm, but not overwhelming. Evelyn felt a twinge of disappointment. He could’ve done so much more.
The lights came on for intermission and they stood, shuffling their way with the rest of the crowd to the lobby. Ray put his face to Evelyn’s ear and asked quietly, “How did he get that rabbit to do that?”
“Jamie can get an animal to do just about anything. You should see him with dogs.”
Ray nodded. “So that’s why they like him at the vet clinic so much.”
When they returned to their seats, Connie scanned the audience and said, “Where are Rollie’s parents?”
Rachel pointed. “All the way up front with a big group from their church. You’ll hear them when Rollie’s introduced.”
The lights dimmed for the start of the second half of the show. Rollie walked onstage with his dummy, Rufus, and the front couple of rows went crazy, screaming and clapping and waving at the dark-skinned young man with the big grin.
Connie leaned over to Evelyn in order to be heard over the din. “The dummy even looks like Rollie.”
“Jamie modified it a little.” She wiggled her fingers and raised her eyebrows.
“Oh.” She nodded.
Rollie opened his act
with the dummy looking at the audience and nodding. It moved its mouth and appeared to say, “Hi, my name is Rufus.” It looked at Rollie. “And this is my dummy, Rollie.” The crowd laughed and Rollie launched into his routine.
While watching Rollie perform, Evelyn thought, He’s gotten so good. He doesn’t even have to tell a joke to be funny now. All he has to do is stand there and grin.
Rollie finished and got the loudest ovation yet — not just from his vociferous church friends — but from the entire audience. Evelyn smiled as she clapped, stopping for a moment to wipe away a tear. I’m so proud of him.
Evelyn had trouble paying attention to the next performer, another singer. The bluegrass trio that followed was more interesting, but they were weak on their instruments. Evelyn found herself drumming her fingers on the armrest and rereading the program during the next couple of performances. The next-to-last act was a piano-flute duo. She found it impossible to focus on them. I wish they’d hurry up so we can see Fred.
The duo finished, and as the stage crew rolled away the piano, Evelyn felt her palms grow damp and her stomach tighten. Lisa looked over and said, “I’m so nervous!”
“Me, too, Lisa,” Evelyn said.
“Do you think Fred is?” Connie said.
“Maybe a little. The kids probably did their chant before they started.”
“What chant?”
Gina grinned and said, “We’re the Crew, we can’t be beat.” Lisa and Rachel joined her. “Everybody smell our feet!”
Connie’s brow furrowed. “Why do they do that?”
“It helps them relax.” Evelyn said. “It works. I just found out recently why.” Her sister continued to look at her quizzically. Evelyn wiggled her fingers at her and whispered, “Magic.”
Connie nodded and whispered back, “Ohhhhh.”
The stage lights shifted to a single spot and the music started. A man and a woman with professional video cameras on their shoulders went down front to the edge of the stage and Evelyn thought, The director must’ve decided that Fred was the most telegenic of the contestants. They’re probably right.
Fred made her entrance, skipping and twirling across the stage, and Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat. She looks stunning. She wore a short black tuxedo jacket over a black sequined leotard and white hose. The white tie around her neck sparkled with more sequins and she had a red satin cummerbund around her narrow waist. Her hair flowed free in a mass of curls in the back, but was held up at the sides by two rhinestone-covered clasps that flashed under the lights. Her face glowed with a confident smile, inviting the audience’s attention. No, she commands it.