Page 36 of The Wonder of You
“You’re the boss,” Henry replies casually. They both stare at each other for a moment too long until Henry breaks into laughter. “Yeah, sure, that sounds good. I’m looking forward to having a break for a bit, I could do with a weekend nap. Also, the kids in this town are smart, I need to restock on prizes!”
“Perhaps you could use my rocks as prizes,” I offer. This is of course a joke; my rocks are cute but most certainly not worthy of handing out as a prize. I enjoy teasing Henry, though. He’s so brutally honest with most people here, but with me, he tries to beat around the bush. His awkward stutter always makes me giggle.
“Well, Renée, I wouldn’t like to take so many away from you.” He takes another puff from his cigarette and avoids eye contact with me.
“I can just start painting more, though,” I tease. Phoenix bites his lip to stop himself from laughing. I notice the amusement on Lukas’ face.
“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea,” he chips in. “I can always get more rocks for our Renée to paint.”
“It’s just…” Henry coughs, looking everywhere but at me. “Well…”
“Well what Henry? Do you not like Renée’s painted rocks?” Phoenix asks in a serious tone. Lukas chuckles silently into his cup of tea.
“It’s not that, Renée, it’s just… the kids like prizes they can cuddle and play with, you know what I mean? They like the toys that you can chuck around,” he finally looks at me. “You know I love them though, don’t you?”
“Henry, you’ve known me for so long, and you still can’t tell when I am teasing you?” I laugh alongside Phoenix and Lukas.
“I hate that sad little pout you do, fake or not, breaks my heart, little Renée.” He pokes his tongue out at me and in response, I make the exact face he just described. He rolls his eyes like a father humouring his daughter and goes back to enjoying his cigarette.
Chapter 25
Immortal Land
Golden Valley
1914
After a century or so, it is a pleasure to see Lukas caught up in his own love. He is so deserving of this and I cannot be any happier for him. Cheri holds his hand as they stand around us. We’re all sat in a circle after a long day at the circus. Phoenix wraps his arm around me and pulls me closer to him. He is my warmth in these cold winter months. Everyone watches Lukas and Cheri expectantly.
Cheri is very calm, but Lukas is almost dancing on the spot with what looks like a mixture of excitement and nerves.
“Get on with it, then!” Henry drinks from his beer, a smirk on his face. Of course he is being light-hearted. Lukas knows that, which is why he returns the smile and pokes his tongue out. Cheri huffs, she still hasn’t quite grasped Henry’s humour in the decade that she’s been with us.
“Well, we know that our leader, Gabriel, is setting rules on reproduction now that our world is rather populated. I’m not sure how he plans to set that, how to stop… you know,” she sighs. I see the way Lukas squeezes her hand to reassure her it is okay. Cheri’s nervous babbling reminds me why we became friends when she joined us. There is something in the way she looks around the circus that says she isn’t as in love with it as the rest of us are. She has moments of saying something sarcastic or slightly harsh. I can tell she is far from Henry’s biggest fan and she barely engages with Toni or her girls. Initially, this worried me, but she has settled down and I found many sweet parts of her personality. I see the side of her that loves Lukas, that likes getting involved. Where the rest of us like to get together, she is reserved and needs more time away from the group. Of course, there are times when Phoenix and I barely leave the cabin, wanting to spend time with only each other for the day. However, it’s never done because we dislike the rest. I hope Cheri doesn’t dislike some of us, despite her occasional frustrated glances. I like her, I enjoy a giggle or two when I visit her in their cabin.
“Anyway, what I am trying to say is… it’s a good time, you know? To have a baby.” She drops her head, as if she’s embarrassed.
We all gasp.
“And we are… Cheri is pregnant!” Lukas blurts.
I stand up and clap like a child. “You guys!” I squeal. “This is amazing. I am so happy for you.”
Handshakes and hugs are thrown around until Cheri comes over and whispers to me.
“This is a bit much, chat later?”
I nod. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
She nods, but she looks uncertain. I hope she feels like she can confide in me. I watch her walk away and wish I knew more about her so I could help. I’ve tried numerous times to broach the subject of family andbackground history. I can only assume she has a similar story to mine. People don’t just turn away from their family for no reason and I’d appreciate the opportunity to discuss that sometimes. Cheri is quick to shut the questions down though, and change the conversation to something circus related. I don’t want to push her, but it leaves me, even after all this time, feeling uncertain about our friendship.
My thoughts are distracted by Phoenix wrapping his arms around my waist. He snuggles his head into my neck. I hold onto his hands as I look out at the camp and the view.
“Do you think she will be okay giving birth? Medical care can be so hit and miss here,” I whisper. Lukas is still wandering around and I don’t want to put any fear in his mind.
“She’ll be fine, Lukas will keep her comfortable.”
“Do you think she likes me? I really like her, but I sometimes wonder…”
