Casteel 05 Web of Dreams

by V. C. Andrews

  attention.

  "How'd I do?"

  "Very well."

  "Thanks. I practice all the time, but it's hard

  because where I come from, people don't know much

  about circuses. They don't know much about

  anything," he said sadly.

  "Where are you from?"

  "A place in West Virginia known as the

  Willies. It's in the mountains above the town of

  Winnerrow," he said and saw that despite what he had

  said about the people back there, he had a warm

  feeling in his heart for his home.

  "Why do they call it the Willies?" I asked. It

  seemed like a strange name for a home.

  "Oh, living on the mountainside is enough to

  give anyone the willies---especially when the wolves

  howl like the wind and the bobcats screech. Up there,

  wild things roam at will. Gotta keep your eye on your

  puppy dogs," he added and laughed.

  "You don't make it sound very nice. No wonder

  you left to work in the circus."

  "No, I'm just kiddin'. It's not that bad. Actually,

  I miss the peace and quiet of the woods. Most of the

  time, you hear only the birds singin' or a nearby

  crystal-clear brook babblin'. And I miss the smells--

  the rich green leaves in summer, the pine needles, the

  wildflowers. It's great to look eye ti eye with squirrels

  and the like, and when the sun comes up in the

  morning and lifts its head above the mountain or

  peeps through the trees, you feel. . I don't know . . .

  alive, I guess."

  "Now you make it sound wonderful," I said.

  "Which is it?"

  "It's both. So, where are you going?"

  "I'm going to Texas," I said. "Fullerton, Texas,

  to stay with my grandmother."

  "Oh? Where you from?"

  "Boston and Cape Cod."

  "How can you be from two places?" he asked. I

  laughed, but he looked hurt. I saw he was a very

  sensitive young man and didn't want to be thought

  stupid or foolish.

  "My family has a few homes," I said. "I grew

  up in Boston, but I've been living in a home outside of

  Boston," I explained.

  He nodded.

  "Sounds like you were right."

  "What do you mean?"

  "You didn't need me to change your one to a

  five," he said sullenly. I stared at him a moment and

  then I shook my head.

  "Yes, I did," I confessed. His eyes widened

  with interest. "Huh?"

  "I didn't take much money with me when I left

  and I had no idea how much things cost," I added. He

  nodded, thoughtfully.

  "Sounds like you left in a rush. Did ya?" he

  asked, but I looked away. "Say, what's that you're

  holdin' onto so tightly?" He leaned over so he could

  get a better view of Angel. "A doll!" he said with

  amazement. My eyes flared.

  "It's not just a doll; it's a special doll, a

  collector's doll. It's a work of art and it's called a

  portrait doll," I said sharply.

  "Oh, I see. Excuse me. Well, can I get a better

  look at it? I promise to be careful."

  I fixed my eyes on him. He looked sincere so I

  handed Angel to him. He held her gingerly and

  studied her face and features. Then he whistled

  through his teeth.

  "You're right. This is truly a work of art. I never seen such detail in a doll." He lowered her and gazed at me. Then he looked at her again. "Wait a minute.

  This doll looks a lot like you."

  "It's supposed to," I said taking her back

  carefully. "I told you--it's a portrait doll. I . . . I

  modeled for it."

  "Oh. Say, that's something, and those clothes,

  they look special too."

  "They are."

  "Well, that explains why you're holdin' on to it

  for dear life."

  "I'm not holding on to it for dear life," I

  snapped. He laughed again. When he smiled, his eyes

  brightened warmly. There was nothing snide or

  conniving in his smile; it was nothing like Tony's

  sneer. Luke's smile gave me a warm, safe feeling. "I'm just kiddin' ya. So where do you have to

  go?"

  "Texas. Dallas, Texas."

  "That's far. When's your train leavin'?" "Not until eight P.M., I'm afraid."

  "Eight P.M.! That's hours and hours. You can't

  just sit here all that time. It's dusty and dirty and noisy

  here. Don't you know nobody in Atlanta?" I shook my

  head and he thought a moment. "Well, let me ask you somethin'. Would you like to see the circus? I can get you in free and it would pass the time away and then I

  can bring you back to the station."

  "I don't know. I. ."

  "Have you ever been to a circus?"

  I thought. I had been to one in Europe when I

  was very little, but I barely recalled it.

  "No," I said.

  "Well that fixes it then," Luke said slapping his

  hands together. "Come on." He reached down for my

  bag. I remained seated. "Come on, I won't hurt you

  and you'll have fun."

  I thought about his offer. I did have a terribly

  long time to wait and he was so handsome and

  friendly. Why not? I decided and stood up.

  "Great. I just took a friend to the station and

  was on my way back," he explained as he led me out.

  "The circus ain't far from here. It's only goin' to be

  here another two days and then it's off for

  Jacksonville."

  "Sounds like a lot of traveling," I remarked. He

  walked so straight and assured through the train

  station. I admired him for being so confident at his

  age. Unlike the boys I knew, even Joshua, Luke had a

  maturity about him. I expected he had grown quickly

  because he was on his own.

  When we stepped out of the station, he turned

  me toward the parking lot and indicated a beat-up,

  light brown pickup truck.

  "That's my Rolls-Royce," he said. "Ain't much,

  but it gets me where I gotta go. I bet you're

  accustomed to finer vehicles," he added, winking. I

  didn't reply. He opened the door for me and I got in.

  There were three empty beer bottles on the floor. He

  scooped them up quickly and dropped them in the

  back of the truck. The seat was ripped and there were

  wires dangling from the dashboard. He got in quickly

  and started the engine. It spurted and stalled. "Come

  on, Lulu Belle, you should be impressin' our passenger, not bein' stubborn. Just like most women," he

  said, "she's moody."

  "Men are just as moody," I retorted. He

  laughed. The truck started and we were on our way to

  his circus.

  "Is your family involved in the circus business

  now?" I asked him.

  "My family?" He laughed again. "Hell, no. My

  daddy's been somethin' of a farmer and a moonshiner

  most of his life. Ma's a hardworkin' woman. She

  raised six of us and it took its toll on her, I'm afraid," he said, his face turning soft and sad. "You know what they say: it ain't how far you've traveled, it's how

  rough was the road."

  "Six is a lot to raise. How many boys and how

  many girls?"

>   "All boys, which made it harder, I suppose. She

  never had a daughter to help her with the housework." "Where are your brothers?"

  "They're spread out all over the place. Two

  went bad already. Before I left the Willies, we heard

  Jeff and Landon were in county jails for shopliftin'." "I'm sorry," I said. I had never known anyone

  whose brothers or close family members were

  criminals. I couldn't help being afraid and wondering

  if I hadn't made a mistake getting into the truck with

  him.

  "Yeah, Ma's takin' it hard," he said shaking his

  head. "What's a moon . . . moon . ."

  "Moonshiner? Boy, you sound like you live

  behind some tall, thick walls. Moonshiners make

  moonshine whiskey, bootleg whiskey. They got their

  own homemade stills and they make this cheap

  whiskey and sell it all over the place. Most of the

  time, nobody bothers them, but once in a while,

  federal agents pop up. Ma don't like Pa doin' it, so he don't do it as much. Lately, he's been doin' odd jobs, handyman jobs. He's a good carpenter. Speakin' of dolls and such, you should see the wooden figures he carves when he's a mind to. Why, he can sit on our porch for hours and hours and work on a dumb piece of wood, turnin' it into a rabbit or squirrel that looks

  so real, you'd expect it to jump out a your hand." I laughed. He had such a colorful way of

  speaking, yet he sounded real, down to earth, honest. I

  couldn't help liking him and, in a way, envying him

  for the simple life he had led and the simple world he

  had grown up in.

  He made a few turns and soon I saw the orange

  circus tents ahead of us. There were crowds of people

  coming and going. Luke waved to a man directing the

  traffic and turned so he could drive through an

  opening in the barriers created with ropes and posts.

  We bounced over the field, past the elephants that-

  looked at us with little interest, and then stopped

  behind a smaller tent.

  "I work here," Luke explained. "I care for the

  animals, feed 'em, wash 'em down. It ain't much, but it

  keeps me around the circus. Come on. We can put

  your suitcase and your doll in the tent. I have a

  mattress in one corner. That's my space. Nobody bothers it." He saw the hesitation in my face and added, "One thing about circus people; they never steal from each other. That's what I like about them-- their code of ethics. Much better than the world

  outside."

  I got out and followed him into the tent. There

  were pails and cleaning equipment, bags of feed,

  ropes and other tools stored in it. In the rear was a bed

  of hay with an old mattress dropped over it to form a

  makeshift bed.

  "I sleep here," he explained. "That's my stuff."

  He pointed to a duffel bag. "Why don't you put your

  doll into your suitcase and just leave it right there next

  to my bag."

  I nodded and opened my suitcase. He stood

  over me, looking down as I carefully wrapped Angel

  and placed her in the suitcase. I closed it and he put it

  beside his bag.

  "There. Now let's go have some fun. I don't

  have to do any work for a while," he said. I followed

  him out and to the carnival area where there were

  rides and games and food stands. It was a wonderful

  day to go to a circus and carnival. There were just

  enough clouds in the sky to keep the sun from beating

  down, yet it was warm with a slight breeze. Everyone knew Luke and from the way most waved to him and

  greeted him, I thought they liked him very much. As soon as we entered the carnival area, he

  talked me into going on the Ferris wheel. Although it

  wasn't a very big one, we still had a wonderful view

  of Atlanta when we reached the top. The seat swung

  back and forth, taking my breath away. I squealed

  with delight and Luke laughed and embraced me to

  give me a sense of security. I did feel safe under his

  strong arms.

  "Want a beer?" he asked after we got off. "I can

  get it free," he said winking and nodding toward the

  young man at the beer concession.

  "No thanks," I replied. He bought me a soda

  pop.

  After that he tried his luck at darts. He became

  very upset when he didn't win anything, but I told him

  not to put down any more of his money on the game. "Try another, if you want," I advised. "My

  father used to tell me that when something's not going

  right, just put it aside for a while and do something

  else."

  He nodded, thoughtfully.

  "You're right, Leigh. I get stubborn and stupid

  sometimes and lose everything in anger. It's nice having someone sensible beside me," he said, his eyes soft. When he looked at me like that, with such intensity and with such sincerity, all sounds around me died away. It was as if we had drifted into our private world for a moment, risen above the crowd,

  just the way we had on the Ferris wheel,

  "Come on," he said taking my hand excitedly

  and pulling me along. We stopped at the baseball

  game. The object was to knock three milk bottles off a

  basket. You had two chances for a quarter. Luke took

  the balls into his hand and wound up to throw. Then

  he stopped.

  "Touch it for good luck," he said handing me

  the ball. "I don't usually bring good luck," I said. "You will to me," he insisted. He made me feel

  good about myself. I held the ball for a moment and

  then he wound up again and threw it. He hit the

  bottles squarely in the middle and the three burst away

  from each other and off the basket.

  "A WINNER!" the man behind the counter

  announced, and then he reached back and took a

  pudgy, little black teddy bear from the shelf and

  handed it to Luke.

  "For you," he said handing it to me. "It's not as

  beautiful as your doll, but it's a lucky one."

  "It's very beautiful and very cuddly," I said

  pressing it to my cheek. "I love it. Thank you, Luke." He smiled and led me off. He bought a footlong hot dog and had it covered with all the fixings.

  We started eating the hot dog. We had fun eating at it

  from both sides. Our noses bumped when we reached

  the middle and we laughed and laughed.

  "I've got to- feed the elephants," he said. "And

  then we can go in and see the clown show and

  acrobats, all the circus acts, okay?"

  "Sure." I followed him back to the work area.

  He found a wooden case for me to sit on and watch as

  he worked. He took off his shirt and seized the

  pitchfork. The sun glistened off his smooth, muscular

  back. He had wide shoulders that tightened and

  displayed their strength as he scooped up large bites

  of hay and dropped them in front of the appreciative

  elephants. He worked right beside them, beside their

  enormous legs, any one of which could crush a man to

  death, and he stood inches from their thick, muscular

  trunks, but he didn't seem afraid and the elephants

  took great care not to nudge him. After he fed them

  their hay, he filled large pails with water and placed

  them in front of each elephant. They immediately

  dippe
d their trunks into them. It was funny to see and

  I couldn't help laughing.

  "Ain't they some beautiful creatures?" Luke

  asked me when he was finished. "They're so big and

  strong, but so gentle. If people had their strength,

  they'd be going around bashin' each other all the

  time," he added bitterly. "Well. Let me wash off a bit

  and then we'll go to the show. You all right?" "Yes, fine," I said still hugging my soft teddy

  bear.

  "You can leave that with your suitcase," he

  said. "If you want."

  "Okay." I went into the tent and put the stuffed

  animal with my suitcase. When I came out again, I

  saw Luke over by a water hose, running the water

  over his head and upper body. He wiped himself

  vigorously and then returned.

  "Just let me brush my hair," he said. "Can't go

  around lookin' bad when I'm with such a beautiful

  woman," he added. Although he smiled when he said

  it, I sensed he meant it and that made my heart flutter.

  He went into the tent and then emerged with his hair

  brushed neatly. He had such rich, soft ebony hair. I

  felt like running my hand over it.

  "Ready, mlady?" he asked, offering me his arm. "Yes, I am." I put my arm through his and we walked to the show tent. We could hear the barker calling the crowd to the next show and Luke's eyes lit up. As we joined the line moving through the front entrance, I felt the excitement building. There was the sense that we were about to see the greatest show on earth. Children were laughing excitedly, but even their

  parents looked flushed and happy with expectation. The ticket taker just nodded at Luke and we

  entered free. He hurried me around to what he said

  would be the best seats in the house. Once we were

  seated, he bought us bags of peanuts, a soda for me

  and a beer for himself.

  "How can you drink so much beer, Luke?" I

  asked him. "Doesn't it make you woozy?"

  "Woozy?" He laughed. "Naw. This stuff ain't

  nothin' compared to the moonshine I grew up on," he

  replied, but I saw Low it was beginning to make his

  face red. He saw the concern in mine.

  "But you're probably right about this, too," he

  said raising the cup of beer. "I won't drink any more

  today."

  That made me feel better and I turned to the

  show. The music started and the clowns came rushing

  in, slapping and falling over each other, squirting each

  other with water guns and dropping water-filled

  balloons on each other's heads.