Angela was one of the very few people who knew that 'Boy Wonder' was actually two.
Alex Jane had twin sons, Daniel and Patrick; he'd trained them both in cold reading and all tricks of the trade ever since they were three, and now they were honed conmen just like their father.
The twins were like two peas in a pod: they liked all the same things, and did everything together. It took her a lot of time to be able to tell which was which, but then she learned that Daniel was the most reckless of the pair and he had a birthmark the shape of a half-moon on his left shoulder.
It seemed that the Jane brothers shared also a similar taste in women, for both of them fell in love with her at first sight. She couldn't hide the fact that she was flattered by their attentions; the truth was that she actually enjoyed keeping them on tenterhooks, flirting with each of them in turn.
Daniel was the one she eventually lost her virginity to, in a hurried quickie behind her trailer while she was actually supposed to be looking after her little brother. Patrick immediately sensed the shift in their relationship, and he ostensibly avoided the new couple for the next few weeks.
Angela felt a bit guilty over her friend's sudden withdrawal, but she was way too busy to give it more than a passing thought. Her newly established relationship with Daniel had opened up a Pandora's box of forbidden pleasures, and she wanted to explore them all.
Their feverish passion lasted a couple of months at most; during that time they took every opportunity to sneak behind their parents' back for a good roll in the hay, and she enjoyed every second of it.
However, when she finally came to her senses again she was disturbed by a feeling that she couldn't quite place. There was something about Daniel that scared her, as if he was hiding a darker side behind his charming smiles and innocent eyes.
In the end she decided to open up to Patrick; he was the person who knew Daniel best, and she trusted him better than her own boyfriend.
Patrick looked decidedly torn when she asked for his advice. He didn't want to betray his own twin, but she could tell that he was actually worried for her; it was as clear as day that he was deeply in love with her, and she felt a sudden rush of affection towards him.
"Take me away from here," she begged softly, and saw him capitulating at last.
Together they plucked up the courage to leave the carnie life firmly behind their back, so that they could make a brand new start somewhere else.
Patrick always behaved like the perfect gentleman, even went as far as sleeping on the floor when they happened to share a motel room. Angela was secretly grateful for that; she wasn't anywhere near ready to start a new relationship so soon, she was still running away from her first boyfriend after all.
It was only when they settled in a small coastal town near L.A. that she swallowed her nerves and tentatively brushed her lips at the corner of his mouth. It was nothing like Daniel's passionate kisses, and yet Patrick's gentle response simply took her breath away.
They dated for a while, until one evening she was rendered speechless as he went down on his knee and presented her with a modest but beautiful solitaire ring. She had never been the marrying kind, but now she couldn't deny how much she wanted this; so she simply said yes.
They had a simple wedding on the beach, then spent their honeymoon in Malibu. Patrick had been doing a few private readings of late, rich women who were more than happy to pay lots of money for someone to tell them exactly what they wanted to hear.
It didn't take them long to run out of money again, but her husband vowed he would buy her a house close to the ocean someday.
Angela didn't exactly approve the fact that he still conned people to make a living, but then it was what he did best and she was sick and tired of being flat broke.
Patrick's popularity grew slowly but steadily, and in a little over than a year he was able to fulfill his promise. She couldn't believe her own eyes when she first set foot in their brand new Malibu home, the beauty of it surpassed even her wildest dreams.
That night they made love on the terrace behind the house, the rhythmic sound of waves mingling with their soft panting. It was probably the single perfect moment in her life, and one that she was going to remember until her dying day.
Later on, as they cuddled up together a shooting star crossed the night sky and a soft smile tugged at her lips; her only wish was that they could always be as happy as they were right now.
What they had left behind didn't matter, all that mattered was their future together.
However, as she finally drifted towards sleep, she found herself wondering how her life would have been if she had chosen Daniel over his twin. Angela had no idea how her brother-in-law had taken the news of the two of them eloping together; neither she nor Patrick had contacted their respective families ever since their departure, apart from a short letter where they presented their marriage as a fait accompli.
In the end she simply fell asleep with her head nestled on her husband's shoulder. He loved her and she loved him, perhaps one day they could even think of starting a family of their own.
Patrick would surely be a wonderful father when the time came; and she dreamt of a golden-haired child running along the seashore, laughing in the sunshine.
It was the first light of dawn that woke her in the morning, and she stood there for a long while watching as the sun played over the features of the man her heart belonged to.