Page 17 of Outback Reunion

Then, finally, right before the interval, she emerged, her whole face glowing as if she had an aura of light surrounding her, the parrot once again on her shoulder. She danced across the ring, waving madly as she went to a twenty-odd-foot pole at the edge and then began to shimmy up it like a tree monkey. What strength she must have in her arms and legs to do such a thing—no wonder she had the body of a goddess. As if the climb wasn’t amazing enough, Gabriela pulled herself up onto a tiny platform and that’s when Mark noticed the highwire. Not far from the top of the tent, it began at the platform and spanned across to a pole at the other side of the ring.

When she’d told him she was a dancer, he’d never imagined this.

He wanted to cover his eyes, yet he couldn’t look away as she lifted the parrot down and put it on the rope. The bird danced up and down and then ran back and forth along it, doing little somersaults on the way back.

‘Come on. Come on. Come on. Chicken. Chicken. Chicken!’ taunted the parrot, flapping up and down.

The audience laughed.

‘Did you just call me chicken?’ Gabriela called.

And then she chased her pet to the other side of the wire as if she were running on solid, even ground, not a thin rope high up in the air.

Mark searched the ground for gym mats or some kind of padding, but there didn’t appear to be any, and when he glanced back up, he noticed she wasn’t alone up there. The little girl had made her way up a ladder on the opposite post and stood on the platform at the other end of the wire. As Gabriela got to the middle, the kid detached a long metal pole from the side of the platform and thrust it towards her as if trying to push her off.

Even though he knew it was all an act, he wanted to ring the girl’s neck. Only five or six at most, how skilled could she be? What if she made a mistake? His heart was in his throat the whole time he watched Gabriela take the pole and walk back across to the other side, holding it above her head. The parrot jumped onto it and did a few tricks before Gabriela switched the pole and parrot for a skipping rope and skilfully skipped onto the wire, pausing in the middle to do a few tricks.

Honestly, the woman was a wizard. Magic. Mark was torn between awe and terror. What if the parrot distracted her? Or what if she caught her foot on the rope? She would surely plunge to her death. He breathed a sigh of relief when she and the parrot finally retreated to their opposite platforms.

Thank God it was over, he didn’t know how much more he could take.

But it wasn’t. As if a skipping rope wasn’t insane enough, Gabriela tossed it to the kid and then pulled out a tiny bicycle which she rode right out onto the wire and across to the other side.

Holy shit.Mark felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

What would she do next? Juggle fire while riding the bike?

But no, it was much worse. He stopped breathing altogether as she rode back onto the platform and gestured for the girl to climb onto the handlebars.

Oh God.The hot dog churned in his stomach as they turned and this time, with the little girl waving down at the audience, Gabriela rode the tightrope with the two of them. Cheers erupted as they got to the other side.

Smiling, parrot still on her shoulder, Gabriela returned to the middle of the wire, bowed and then beamed down, waving at the audience.

Mark was wondering if they could actually see anyone with all the bright lights from below shining in their faces when Gabriela’s gaze landed right on him, and his question was answered.

He both felt and saw the moment she recognised him. Her eyes widened and time seemed to stand still as the air crackled between them. Feeling something shift inside of him—suddenly he felt lighter than he had in months—he lifted a hand to wave.

The audience gasped as Gabriela lost her balance.

Shit. He watched in horror as she teetered on the wire, her arms spinning wildly at her sides, trying to help her body regain its balance.

Time seemed to pause. What had he done?

And just as he was about to shove past Eileen, leap over the first few rows of seats and jump down into the ring to catch Gabriela if she fell, she righted herself, somehow making it look as if her near-tumble was all part of the act.

Not looking at him, she smiled as she waved once again at the crowd, before shimmying down the post and disappearing back through the curtains.

Lorenzo, dressed in yet another different sparkly suit, appeared again to announce the interval and remind everyone there were food and drinks to buy and sideshow games to play, but Mark shot out of his seat and out of the tent before the ringmaster had even finished speaking.

Chapter Four

‘Mummy!’ Luna shrieked as they headed backstage, the crowd behind them still applauding. ‘You almost fell!’ She threw her skinny arms around Gabi’s waist and clung tightly. ‘I thought you were going to die.’

‘Fall. Fall. Fall. Fall. Fall,’ chanted Loud Mouth from Gabi’s shoulder.

‘Shut up, Loud Mouth,’ Gabi spat, wrapping her own arms around Luna, her heart still racing. ‘I’m fine, sweetheart. I’m okay.’

Lorenzo appeared a few moments later, two of the tent boys who made sure the tightrope and all their equipment was safe right behind him. ‘Gabi, sweetheart. Are you okay?’

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