Page 15 of Outback Reunion

Frankie and Logan lived in Geraldton now, where Logan worked at the radio station. Mark didn’t know Logan too well, but he’d heard that he was losing his eyesight to some horrible disease. Poor guy. Mark couldn’t imagine how bad that would be and for a moment it put his own injury into perspective. He might not be able to play the game he once loved anymore, but at least he could still see.

‘Since I was coming anyway, I offered to take Celeste with us so Simmo and Angus could have a date night.’ Angus—Logan’s brother—had married Simone a year or so ago. ‘Mummy and Daddy are at the pub, aren’t they, sweetheart?’ Frankie tickled her niece and then frowned at Mark. ‘I am surprised to see you here though.’

‘He’s here for a girl,’ Ruby informed them, a knowing grin on her pretty face.

‘Ooh,’ Logan and Frankie sang in unison. ‘Do tell.’

‘There’s nothing to tell.’

Thankfully, the queue shuffled forward, and they had to show their tickets. After that there was no more time for interrogations. They spilled in past the ticket booth—manned by an elderly lady with massive hoop earrings and a terrifying scowl on her face—through the gates into a pre-show tent that was bordered with food trucks, rides and sideshow games. Little Clancy tugged on Faith’s hand, begging her for a go on the merry-go-round.

As the others took the kids to the rides, Mark headed for the food truck.

Two women who looked to be in their early twenties were serving. Both were dressed in simple black t-shirts with the logo of the circus and their near-black hair tied back in high ponytails shimmered with gold glitter. Their make-up was caked on so heavily he wondered how long it took them to take it off at night.

‘How can I help you, gorgeous?’ asked the shorter of the two, batting long fake eyelashes his way.

‘I’ll have a hot dog and a Coke, please?’

As he waited, he looked around, searching for Gabriela amongst the circus folk manning the rides and selling tacky neon merchandise. He waved distractedly at a couple of other locals, although most people in the tent appeared to be summer tourists—they gave off a different vibe to farmers and fishermen. And then, just as the girl was handing over his drink, he saw her.

Over by the teacup ride, laughing and smiling as she directed children into a circle of giant, colourful, spinning cups.

He almost swallowed his tongue. Just like the women behind the counter, Gabriela was dressed in black pants and the circus t-shirt, her hair piled up in some elaborate do on the top of her head and a face full of sparkly make-up. She looked so different from the girl he’d met in the bar and then seen again a few days ago in the IGA. She was attractive with or without make-up, but the latter made her so in a very different way and if she’d been all made up when they ran into each other on Wednesday, he wasn’t sure he’d have recognised her.

The woman serving him cleared her throat—‘Do you want this or not?’—and he shook himself from his daze to see her holding his hot dog out to him.

‘Sorry. Thanks,’ he said, taking it. There was now a queue behind him, and his neck flared hot at holding everyone up.

‘No worries.’ She smiled and winked at him. ‘Maybe I’ll see you later?’

Mark made a non-committal sound and walked away. He wasn’t stupid enough to miss that she was flirting with him, but he wasn’t interested in hooking up with anyone from the circus. Right now, he wasn’t interested in hooking up with anyone.

Liar! Would you really say no to another night between the sheets with Gabriela?cackled a voice in his head.

That’s not why I’m here, he replied, and the voice cackled—Yeah. Whatever—as his gaze snapped her way again.

She was chatting to Faith and Ruby as if they were old friends while Clancy squealed with delight from a yellow teacup. Mark felt a pull between his heart and his head as he contemplated going over. The urge to talk to her again—to see her up close, to smell her, to simply be in her presence—battled with common sense and the knowledge that if he went over now, Faith and Ruby would put two and two together, and no doubt say something hugely embarrassing.

Following his head, he ventured into the main tent—the Big Top, he guessed—to find his seat. A muscular usher, wearing more lycra than a middle-aged cyclist, directed him to a seat a few rows back from the ring. He clomped up the ridged metal steps to find he was sitting next to none other than Eileen Brady.

Was this fate punishing him for not leaving the past in the past?

He nodded a smile at the older woman as he squeezed by her to his seat, which was touching the ones on either side of him, so that his thigh brushed up against hers.

‘Surprised to see you here, Mrs Brady.’ After what Eileen had said in the café about circuses, this was the last place he expected to run into her again.

She huffed, tightly grasping the handbag on her lap as if someone might snatch it from her at any moment. ‘I’m of the opinion you should keep your enemies close. I want to get a good look at all these folk, so I’ll know how to describe them to the police if the need arises.’

Geez, Eileen really had a bee in her bonnet. He wondered if she’d been scorned by a circus performer as well. Maybe they left bewildered lovers in every town, like naval officers in ports all around the world.

‘Good idea,’ he nodded, taking a bite of his hot dog. It wasn’t anything to write home about, but better than bloody beans again.

Eileen chattered about lord knows what as the tiered seating filled with people. He offered the occasional murmur of agreement, which seemed to satisfy her, and finally the lights dimmed, and the peppy carnival music that had been playing in the background grew louder.

Seconds later, a tall, lean man dressed in a purple and gold suit with a shiny black top hat, grey hair peeking out from under it, appeared from the top of the seating area, waving madly and stopping to say hello to people as he made his way down through the audience and into the ring.

‘Good evening, everyone.’ His deep voice boomed throughout the tent. ‘I am Lorenzo Jimenez, owner and ringmaster of the Grand Jimenez Family Circus and I’m delighted to welcome you all here tonight to my home, my family, my life.’

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