The Guild of Fallen Clowns (34 page)

Mary broke her silence. “You’re kinda
pathetic, aren’t you, Alan?”

He slumped in the seat and mumbled,
“Yes.”

“I think it’s sweet,” she added.

“Huh?” He sat up and saw her smiling.

“I think it’s sweet the way you think of me.
I know you would never take pleasure in my pain. And I’m sure it
wasn’t easy telling me that you are intimidated by me. You really
shouldn’t feel that way. Once you get to know me, you’ll see that
there’s nothing intimidating about me. I’m not that much different
from you.”

“I don’t know about that,” he said.

“Really, did you notice my smile when you
said you were intimidated by me?”

“No.”

“Well, I smiled. That had to be a painful
admission for you, and I smiled. It was wrong, but it felt good. So
I understand why you looked the way you did when I said I had
plenty of fears of my own.”

The ride stopped and the operator lifted the
safety bar. Mary rose to step onto the platform. Alan braced her by
gently placing his hand on her lower back. She stepped off the
platform and turned to wait for him to join her. He stepped down
beside her. She smiled wide and grabbed his hand. She turned so
they were side by side and she returned his hand to her lower back.
Alan matched her smile and they began walking away from the ride.
Her head leaned into his shoulder.

“What next?” he said.

She pointed in the distance and said,
“Cotton candy!”

The cab came to a stop at the carnival’s
entrance. Reggie looked in the rearview mirror and combed her hair.
She returned the comb to her purse and dug around until she found a
tube of lipstick. She pulled off the cover and twisted the bottom,
exposing the bright red stick inside. She leaned in and tilted her
head back as she applied a fresh coat to her stretched upper lip.
She smeared both lips together, evenly distributing the radiantly
pigmented wax. After a final inspection, she returned the lipstick
to her purse, grabbed the figure from the passenger seat, and
exited the vehicle.

A young girl took the long ribbon of tickets
from the half-circle hole through the ticket booth window and
rejoined her group of friends nearby. Reggie stepped forward and
leaned close to the circular opening.

“Hi, I’m a cab driver and I’m looking for
someone who works here. I think he left something in my cab earlier
and I’m here to return it.”

“You got a name?” Cracky said.

“Yes, my name is Regina,” she replied.

Cracky grinned and waited for her to figure
out his question. She didn’t catch on. He stared at her and his
grin opened to a smile. Still oblivious and confused at the smiling
clown face behind the glass, she added, “Most people call me
Reggie.”

Cracky laughed and let her off the hook.
“It’s nice to meet you, Reggie. Now, would you happen to know the
name of the person you’re looking for?”

Reggie rolled her eyes and returned an
awkward smile. “Dah! Why would you want to know my name? I’m so
stupid. His name is Geno. At least that’s the name he gave my
dispatcher.”

“Geno?” Cracky repeated.

“Yes, do you have a Geno here?”

“Yeah, Geno works here. I’m just surprised
because I’ve never known him to venture out. Are you sure his name
was Geno? Was he a pasty-faced little guy with greasy long
hair?”

“Yes, his name was definitely Geno, and he
wasn’t very tall. But I don’t know about the rest. Is it possible
that you have two Genos working here? Because the guy I’m talking
about was cute. I don’t think he was pasty or greasy looking. He
was a gentleman.”

Cracky chuckled. “No, lady, we only got one
Geno. You should be able to find him in da Haunted Labyrinth of
Mirrors. It’s back dat way on da left. Da place is temporarily
closed for repairs, so go ’round back and knock on the door.”

Reggie turned to move away, raising the hand
gripping Peepers and giving a half wave as she thanked him. Cracky
only got a glimpse of the figure before her hand lowered and she
walked away. His expression looked like that of someone who just
got an unexpected whiff of a bad fart. He turned to stick his head
out the side door window for another look, but it was too late. She
rounded the corner and disappeared from view.

“Six tickets, mister,” a boy said at the
window. Cracky shrugged his shoulders, turned, and exchanged the
boy’s money for six tickets.

*****

Reggie’s chubby fist rapped three times on
the hollow steel door. As she waited for Geno to open the door, she
looked around. Seeing nobody, she slightly raised her left arm and
sniffed her pit. Another privacy scan of her surroundings and she
sniffed her right pit.

The door opened and she took a step back.
Geno glared at her standing on the metal grate. Seeing she was
obviously nervous and unsure of her decision to visit him, Geno put
her at ease. “Regina, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Well, I was in the area so I thought I’d
stop in to see if you left this in my cab.” She held out the
Peepers figure.

Geno looked at the figure. “I’m sorry, my
dear, but no. It’s not mine.”

Her arm lowered, “Oh, I’m sorry. The fare
after you found it on the seat. I just assumed—”

“No need to apologize,” he said. He closed
the gap between them and put his arm over shoulder. “I’m glad
someone else left it because it brought us together again.”

“Really?” she said.

“Of course. You see, I bought this expensive
bottle of wine a long time ago and I didn’t want to open it until I
found a special person to share it with.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?”
she said.

Geno laughed. “I’m talking about you,
Regina. I know it sounds crazy after a couple of cab rides, but I
really like you. I would love it if you would do me the honor of
having a drink with me.”

“I don’t think it’s crazy. I like you too.”
She blushed.

Geno stepped to the side of the doors
opening and bowed. “After you.”

“I can’t,” she said.

“Oh, are you still working?”

“No, it’s not that. My shift is over, but
I’m parked outside the entrance. I didn’t think I’d be long. I
should move the cab into the parking area.”

“I have a better idea,” Geno said. “Pull
around behind the gate here.” He pointed to the grassy area outside
the fence. “I’ll unlock the gate for you. This way you won’t have
as long a walk.”

She giggled and told him she would be right
back as she rushed away. As soon as she was out of view, Geno’s
flirty expression turned cold. He rushed inside the Labyrinth to
prepare for her return. Minutes later, the door opened again. Geno
stepped out with a canvas bag and walked to the gate behind the
Labyrinth. He rested the bag in the dirt, unlocked the gate, and
pushed it open about a foot. He returned the key to his pocket,
picked the bag off the ground, and proceeded to walk between the
structures until he blended with the crowd of visitors.

*****

The cab eased its way through the tall
grasses along the outside perimeter of the fence. The thumping in
her chest intensified as she noticed the open gate behind the
Haunted Labyrinth of Mirrors. With a gentle press of her foot on
the brake the vehicle screeched as it came to a stop. Looking
through the wire fence, Reggie saw the back door of the Labyrinth
cracked open, welcoming her return.

“This is crazy,” she whispered before
placing the car in park and turning off the engine. She sat inside
the cab, looking at the fence, the open gate, and the open door to
the building.

“Is this really happening?” she said as she
continued staring at the door, waiting for a declared winner
between her logical brain and the more repressed adventurous brain
to emerge. Romance joined the fight, and logic was forced to
retreat.

Without further hesitation, she exited the
car, slipped through the gate, and proceeded until she stood at the
partially open door. Once again, the now severely wounded forces of
logic halted her advance by firing a final warning. “What are you
doing, Regina? You don’t even know this guy,” she mumbled.

Before making her decision, she peeked
through the cracked opening. At the center of the circular,
mirrored room sat a small round table and two chairs. An open
bottle of red wine, two half-filled wine glasses, and two lit
candles completed the setting. She smiled and pulled the door
halfway open.

“Geno,” she called out. No answer came.
“Geno,” she repeated. “This all looks very nice—romantic—but I’m
not sure it’s a good idea. I don’t want you to get the wrong
impression.”

Again, she waited for his reply. She looked
around the room and tried to find the hidden panel he would emerge
from.

“Are you here? Can you hear me, Geno?” As
she waited for his reply, the lights in the room dimmed, freeing
the light from the flickering candles to dance around the mirrored
walls of the room. Reggie squinted to adjust her eyes to the sudden
darkness, but it was difficult to see through the light pollution
of the setting sun streaming through the open door behind her. She
stepped inside and closed the door. Her hand remained on the handle
behind her back. Her eyes adjusted and a smile came over her
face.

“Wow! This is beautiful. I never would have
guessed that a carnival attraction could be transformed into
something so romantic.” She remained positioned with her back
against the door. She twisted her wrist to test the handle. She was
comforted by the knowledge that the handle was loose and she could
leave in an instant.

“Where are you, Geno? Please come out.”

Instead of Geno’s voice, jazz music filled
the room from hidden speakers.

She grinned and let go of her grip on the
back door. She raised both hands and said, “How did you know I love
jazz?” Her arms lowered to her sides. Then she laughed and shook a
pointed finger around the room. “I get it. You saw my CDs in the
cab. That’s how you know.”

She took another look around the room. The
candles, the wine, the soft lighting, the mirrors, and his perfect
choice in music all played together in lowering her guard.

She smiled and shook her head. “You know
what? Aw, what the hell. How could I say no to all of this?” She
walked to the table, sat down, and raised the glass of wine. “Now,
get out here. I’m not going to drink alone.”

In her position at the center of the
circular mirrored room, she didn’t see or hear Peepers as he
stepped out of the mirrored panel behind her. He walked along the
mirrors until he entered her view. Thinking it was Geno, she smiled
and turned to face him. Peepers stopped and faced her. She
screeched and jerked back. Half of the wine spilled from her glass.
She put the glass on the table and remained seated with the chair
backed a foot from the table.

“Who are you? Where’s Geno?” she stammered.
“Geno!” she hollered. Her arms crossed over her chest.

“My name is Peepers. I represent the Guild
of Fallen Clowns. On this day, your life will change.”

Reggie stood, sending her chair sliding to
the wall behind her. She looked around the room for the door she
had come into the room from. It was gone, replaced by another
mirrored panel.

“Where’s the door? Where did it go? Let me
out of here now. I’m not into this. You’re scaring me,” she rambled
as she looked past Peepers for the door.

“Peepers here to help Regina.”

She stopped looking for the door and focused
on Peepers. “Hold on! You look like that statue thing someone left
in my cab.” Then it hit her. “Wait, that means it
was
Geno’s. He lied to me!” Again, she called out, “Geno, get out here
now! I don’t know what game you’re playing here, but I’m not
interested.” With her eyes on Peepers she continued, “So you can
call off your buddy in the creepy costume and show me where the
door is.” She stared at Peepers and added, “Let me out and I’ll get
this guy’s statue.”

Peepers smiled, exposing his mouth full of
pointed teeth. “Geno isn’t here. Peepers figure not needed in here.
Peepers will set you free.”

Still wide-eyed from the glimpse of Peepers
teeth, Reggie backed up against the wall.

“Please do it then. Set me free. Show me
where the door is.”

“Soon. Peepers set you free soon.”

“What do you want from me? Are you going to
rape me? Oh my god, this was a trap and you guys are going to rape
me.” She slid to the floor.

“Peepers not interested in sex.” He motioned
toward the table. “Peepers will set you free after we drink.”

Regina looked up at him. “You’re not going
to rape me? You just want to have a drink of wine with me, then
you’ll let me go?”

“Drink and talk. Then Peepers will set you
free.” Peepers returned her chair to the table and sat down in the
other. He poured more wine into her glass and took a sip from the
other one. His eyes closed as he savored the flavor.

Regina rose to her feet and remained pressed
against the wall.

Peepers looked at her and took another sip
of wine. He didn’t pressure her to sit with him. Instead, he
continued sipping the wine until his glass was empty. He refilled
his glass and she watched as he examined it, holding the glass out
in front of him as he swirled the wine.

“Good wine,” he said without looking at
her.

“One glass—if I drink one glass you’ll let
me go?” she said.

Peepers glanced over at her and looked back
at his wine. He enjoyed another sip and ignored her question as he
continued to swirl between sips.

Regina moved toward the table with caution.
Standing across from Peepers, she grabbed the back of the chair.
Peepers paid no attention to her as she eased the chair out and sat
down. Her eyes were glued on his every move. Peepers filled his
glass for the third time. He placed the near-empty bottle on the
table and before lifting his own glass, he reached his long, bony
finger to the base of her glass and slid it toward her.