Page 39 of Outback Reunion

‘We?’ he asked.

‘Me and the other circus kids. Acts generally don’t stay with one circus forever and so the kids come and go with their parents. It’s not all bad though. I can speak a tiny bit of six different languages thanks to children from various foreign countries who schooled with us while they were here.’

He smiled. ‘That’s cool. I learned Italian in primary school and Indonesian in high school but can’t remember anything of either.’

‘You’re probably better at other subjects than I am. To this day, I still don’t understand the role the alphabet plays in maths.’ She shook her head. ‘But anyway, I related to what you said, because it’s hard to make friends when you move about all the time, and it means I’ve never really felt like anywhere is home.’

He found it hard to imagine what that was like—no matter where he went around Australia, he’d always had the farm to come home to—but Liam chose that moment to interrupt, placing another glass of wine in front of Gabriela and another beer down in front of Mark, who hadn’t realised they’d almost finished their first drinks.

‘Courtesy of Henri,’ he said. ‘She wanted you to know the wine is for wiping Mark’s smug smile off his face in that arm wrestle—you’re her new hero—and the beer is her commiserations.’

Mark looked over at Henri and, at her wide smile of satisfaction, gave her the finger. She laughed and turned to a tourist waiting to be served.

‘Anyway.’ Liam cleared his throat. ‘Kitchen’s about to close. Can I get you any food to go with your drinks?’

Gabriela shook her head. ‘No, thank you, I shouldn’t even have another drink.’

‘You can’t refuse a free drink,’ Mark exclaimed, not wanting her to go yet. ‘And you can’t leave Bunyip Bay without trying a Bunyip Burger. They’re Australia famous.’

When she arched an eyebrow, he added, ‘Okay, maybe WA-famous but theyshouldbe world famous. You must be hungry after all that performing. My shout.’

For a second, she looked like she was about to refuse, but then she opened her mouth—‘How can I resist a recommendation like that? But I’m paying’—and he was too happy she’d decided to stay to argue the latter.

‘I’ll have one too, thanks, Liam.’ When the publican retreated, Mark said, ‘You won’t regret it.’

As she smiled and took a sip of her second glass of wine, Mark made a mental note to thank Henri later. If his embarrassing loss had resulted in a free drink, which meant he had longer to spend with Gabriela, it was worth it.

‘Who was that woman you were sitting next to last night?’ she asked, putting her glass back down on the table. ‘Is she your grandma or something?’

Mark was momentarily confused. ‘Oh, Mrs Brady?’ He snorted. ‘No, thank God. She used to teach Sunday School when I was a kid. Turned me off religion for life! We just happened to be sitting next to each other.’

Gabriela let out a little laugh. ‘She didn’t look to be enjoying herself very much.’

‘I think she was trying very hard not to. She’s got it in her head that you circus people are here to wreak havoc in town, but I saw her trying not to giggle when that old clown was in the ring.’

‘Desmond?’ Gabriela’s eyes lit up. ‘He’s a darling. Been with Lorenzo and Eve since before I was born. He used to be the elephant trainer.’

‘Wow. Now that’s what I call a job. What happened to the elephants?’

‘They went to a zoo. So,’ she said, semi-pointing her glass at him, ‘tell me, now you’ve seen our show twice, what did you think of it? Did you... enjoy it?’

It felt like a loaded question and the truth was he barely remembered any of the acts, aside from the ones she was in. ‘More than I thought I would. You were amazing.’

She tried to brush off his compliment, but he wasn’t having any of it.

‘Honestly, you blew me away up there on the tightrope.’

‘Highwire,’ she corrected with a smile.

He chuckled. ‘And your talents seem to be very diverse. Does everyone have to do more than one act?’

‘Pretty much. You can’t just doonething in the circus, especially when you’re the family. Performers come and go, so you need to be able to fill the gaps if need be. Once upon a time the Grand Jimenez Family Circus had twenty full-timers plus the family, but now we only have thirteen full-timers, so everyone is working more jobs than ever. And, quite aside from performing, everyone needs to pitch in with all other aspects.’

‘Tell me about it.’

‘What do you want to know?’

‘Everything. You’re the only person I’ve ever known in a circus. It’s like meeting someone from another time or dimension.’

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