A month slowly dragged by. Every so often, the subject of the circus would be brought up and Willy would either pretend he couldn't hear the discussion or would refuse point blank to talk about the subject. Two days before Willy's birthday and the supposed trip to the circus, Charlie decided it was time for action. He waited until he and Willy were alone in the Inventing Room (the Oompa-Loompas were on a lunch-break) and sighed dramatically. He waited to see if Willy had noticed, but the great chocolatier was too busy fiddling with the gobstopper machine. Charlie heard him muttering under his breath and stepped a little closer to where Willy was laying flat on his back underneath part of the mechanism.
"Stupid thing's never worked properly since…" echoed Willy's voice from somewhere inside the contraption. "Aha! Got you!" Willy unfolded slowly and made his way out from the machine with a twisted, misshapen gobstopper in his hand. "Strike her up Charlie – she should be working now!" Willy patted the machine happily while Charlie restarted the mechanism. With a series of whirrs and clangs, the Everlasting Gobstopper machine sprang back into life. "One more month's testing and I think we can release them!" said Willy happily. Charlie took advantage of the pause to sigh again.
"I suppose so," said Charlie in the saddest voice he could manage. He stooped his shoulders and shuffled over to Willy, holding out his hand for the gobstopper. It was only when he sighed again as he disposed of the gobstopper down the waste disposal that Willy noticed something was wrong.
"What's up Charlie? Are you sick?"
"No, it's not that."
"Is it your parents? You can tell me you know, I can help." Willy was trying to do his sincere, responsible mentor look and Charlie laughed despite himself.
"No, it's not that either. It's you."
"Me? What have I done to upset you."
"It's more what you're not going to do," whined Charlie and turned around. His parents had tried pleading with Mr Wonka, then tried logic and reasoning, all with no effect. Charlie had decided it was time for psychological warfare, the lowest of all familial artillery.
"What?" asked Willy, wringing his hands. "Did I forget something? Can you tell the future and you forgot to tell me what I'm going to do wrong next year? Am I going to forget your birthday?"
"No, it's just that," Charlie sighed again, just for good measure. "I was really hoping we could all go out as a family to the circus because I've never been before and it would be so nice to have us all together. It's not your fault Mr Wonka, but I did so hope that you felt the same and that you wanted to do things together as a family. I guess I'm disappointed."
"With me?"
"A little. I thought you wanted to be a part of my family."
"I do – it's just that circuses…"
"What about them?" asked Charlie, looking up at Willy with his puppy-dog expression. He knew that his mother would have told him off there and then for trying to use his "cuteness" to win an argument, but Willy had never had to raise a child and had not built up the necessary defences. Willy visibly crumbled like cheesecake and gave a tired snort.
"Well, my father always disapproved of them and he hates 'carnies' as he used to call them. We never went and I do see his point – what kind of people travel around all the time? Never settling, never calling any place home – why would people do that?"
"I guess people are different – some people would wonder why you never leave the factory."
"I do too. Only the other week I went to visit my father!"
"I mean things like go for a walk, visit the cinema, go to a museum," Charlie paused, "or a circus."
"I suppose it's something I've never considered doing. If you'd like to go for a walk on my birthday, I'll gladly accompany you. Maybe at dawn when there's less people around," Willy added quickly.
"No, it doesn't matter," said Charlie, turning away and sighing again. "It's not the same." He shuffled the recipe cards in front of him, watching Willy out of the corner of his eye. Patience, Charlie, patience, he thought to himself. Finally, he saw Willy's face contort and heard a grunt of displeasure.
"Fine. We'll go to the circus. But as it's my birthday we're not staying long and we're leaving as soon as anything weird happens. 'Kay?"
"Okay – thanks Mr Wonka!" cried Charlie, turning and hugging his mentor around the waist. Willy was not in the mood and looked down, a little irritated that he'd allowed himself to be talked into the trip.
"I suppose you'd better go and tell your parents – I know they were going to get the tickets today." Willy disentangled himself from Charlie and moved to the door of the Inventing Room, opening it for Charlie. "Use the boat – and tell your parents that I'll be late for dinner." Charlie nodded and darted out of the door, skipping with glee. Willy waved as the boat glided off and then retreated inside the Inventing Room, sinking to the floor with his head in his hands. Comforted by the emptiness of the room around him, he whined to himself a few times before raising his head. "I can't do this," he whispered to the silence around him.
Two days later, Willy dragged himself out of bed and regarded himself in the mirror. He flopped back on the bed in disgust. He hadn't slept properly and there were dark circles under his eyes.
"Happy Birthday to me," he sang wistfully, "Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear Willy Wonkaaaaaa," he sat up and stared at his reflection. "Happy Birthday to me," he finished. He trudged to his bathroom for a shower and reappeared twenty minutes later wrapped in an enormous pink fluffy towel, his hair turbaned up in a similar but smaller towel. He sat down at his dressing table and cut at his fingernails, keeping them as short as possible. Then he combed out his hair before reaching over and picking up his hairdryer. He looked pitifully in the mirror. What would he do when his hair did turn grey? Was it worth dyeing it? What colour? Willy grinned as he imagined himself with violet hair. Maybe bright red would be better. He shook his head and turned on the hairdryer, grateful that the decision to dye would be delayed for another year. At least his face hadn't aged – he was sure that avoiding sunlight had been key in that lack of development. Finished at last, he applied a light moisturiser over his face and hands and slipped on a pair of latex gloves from the box on his dresser. He stood, towelled himself down and started to dress.
The Bucket household was unusually quiet as Willy walked towards it. He could smell bacon, but couldn't see any sign of life inside the house – even the double bed was empty where there should have been elderly people half-snoozing and half-complaining. He hesitated before knocking. The door swung open at his knock and Willy poked his head inside.
"Hello?" he called quietly. "Anyone home?" He took a few steps inside, unsure what to do. He was tempted to call out for the Oompa-Loompas, but his throat was dry as he was a little afraid at the lack of Buckets. "Please?" he whispered.
"SURPRISE!" shouted Charlie, right next to his ear. Willy felt his stomach drop and gagged with shock, staggering forward to a counter and spinning around. His heart hammering, Willy panted and stared at Charlie with wide eyes. Behind Charlie, outside the house, he could see Mr and Mrs Bucket giggling at his discomfort. Rallying magnificently, Willy stood up and gave a toothy grin.
"Well done Charlie – well done!"
"Happy Birthday Mr Wonka," said Charlie, hugging him around the waist and handing him a card and a small package wrapped in brightly coloured paper. Willy looked aghast.
"For me?" he asked quietly. "A birthday present?" He walked out of the house and followed Mr and Mrs Bucket around the far side of the house. Willy looked up and realised that the dining table had been moved outside and that the entire Bucket clan had been moved out for breakfast, Grandpa George looking decidedly unhappy about the arrangements. There was an extra guest at the table, someone who Willy thought would never have deigned to come to the factory.
"Dad!" cried Willy, momentarily forgetting the gift in his hand. He walked forward and half-hugged Dr Wonka, closing his eyes as his father hugged him back. They separated and Willy gestured around the room. "What do you think?"
"It's very… colourful, Willy," said Dr Wonka. "I'm impressed," he added, smiling and taking a drink of coffee. In truth, he was very impressed but thought that he'd leave the gushing compliments until later when he and his son could have some private time. "Here is your card," he said, producing a pale blue envelope from his pocket. Another card from the Bucket family completed the set, and Willy took care to read each one and place it at a strategic point around his plate so that he could see each card during breakfast. He'd never had so many, if three could be called many. Carefully, afraid to break it, he unwrapped Charlie's present. Inside the wrapping was a long, thin leather case that held a gold fountain pen, complete with purple writing ink. Willy bit his lip.
"Thanks Charlie," he said, tucking the pen-case into his breast pocket. "It's lovely."
"That's okay Mr Wonka – any time!" Charlie reached for some toast. "Are you looking forward to later?"
"Yeah, should be great." Willy glanced over at his father, who Willy could tell was suppressing a snide comment. He didn't blame the old man for hating circuses. He missed the glare Charlie received from his mother, who didn't approve of the way Charlie had convinced Willy to go.
"Of course, if you've changed your mind, it's okay," said Charlie, knowing it wasn't but giving Willy the chance to back out as his parents had instructed. It was only fair, as his mother had said, given that he genuinely seemed to be dreading the idea.
"No, I'll go with you all. Who's going anyway?" asked Willy, feeling he'd like to end this conversation before it put him off his food.
"Charlie, Michael and myself," said Mrs Bucket, gesturing to each person she named, "Grandpa Joe, you, and your father." She quickly bit into a slice of toast.
"My father is going to the circus with us?" asked Willy slowly, before starting to giggle. "Now I know you're joking! Heh – maybe it's a dream and I'll wake up and you know what? It'll still be February and none of this will have happened!" He looked at his father's face and his smile fell. "You're really coming aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes. I was invited. I assure you that I will try to enjoy myself," said Dr Wonka dryly, obviously dreading the prospect.
"Oh good," said Willy. It was shaping up to be an unusual birthday at least. He should have been dancing with joy at the present and cards – instead he was fighting a wave of depression as he thought about what would happen later that day. Giving one final look at his father, who shrugged sympathetically, Willy tried to enjoy his birthday breakfast.
The day went too quickly and soon it was 4 o'clock and time to leave for the circus. Willy had tried to convince himself it wouldn't be unfair to back out, but knew his father would not approve of his going against his word. Mr and Mrs Bucket loitered in the lobby with Grandpa Joe and Dr Wonka, who were chatting about (of all things) various pet dogs they'd owned in their lifetimes. Charlie was hopping from one leg to the other, trying not to appear impatient and failing spectacularly. There was an ominous creak from the door at the far end of the corridor and Willy strode towards them dressed completely in black. He drew level with his father and tipped his hat cordially before nodding at Charlie.
"Let's get this over with then."
"Mr Wonka, if you leave in that attitude you'll never have fun!" said Charlie, exasperated.
"Fine – lead on to the circus. A fun-filled extravaganza of delights I have no doubt," replied Willy, gazing back longingly at the chocolate-room door. He put his head down and followed his apprentice out of the factory. Dr Wonka lingered behind and beckoned to Mr Bucket.
"Are you sure this will help him get out more? He seems thoroughly miserable," said Dr Wonka.
"I hope it will. He doesn't like to mix with strangers so the only way to get him to meet new people is to force him into these situations. I do think we may have gone too far this time though." He shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?" he asked with a grin, only to be met with a stern look from Dr Wonka, who stalked off.
"Kay," said Mr Bucket, following the dentist and realising there were now two people in the factory who couldn't say "okay" properly.
The circus was everything Charlie had imagined. As Mr Bucket handed over the tickets at the gates, Charlie took the time to have a look at his surroundings. There was a funfair on one side of the field where he could see rides running with brightly costumed helpers at every turn. To his right was a section of trailers – probably where the performers live, thought Charlie. In front of him was the huge tent of the Big Top. He could hardly wait and jumped on the spot in anticipation. He looked up and saw Willy staring open-mouthed at the spectacle, drinking in the strange and slightly scary atmosphere.
"Wow," whispered Willy.
"Isn't it great?" said Charlie, not really expecting an answer. "Wanna go on some rides with me?"
"Kay," answered Willy, not really listening and allowing himself to be dragged away by Charlie without really noticing what was happening. This wasn't the real world, thought Willy, this was something quite different. In the same way he had created a magical place inside a mundane factory, these circus people had created their own magic here in what had been the park. He shuddered a little as the unfamiliar atmosphere took hold and didn't realise someone had been speaking to him until Charlie gave him a nudge.
"What?" he asked abruptly, looking at Charlie.
"I said that you cannot wear the hat on this ride sir. Would you like me to hold it for you?" Willy looked at the speaker and was momentarily taken aback. He appeared to be speaking to a pink-clad fairy, complete with wings, who was looking at him with a mixture of concern and amusement. He smiled and nodded, handing her the hat and his cane without further comment. A blue fairy in the background whispered to a green fairy,
"Isn't that Willy Wonka?" Willy quickly turned away from the pink fairy and sat down next to Charlie, avoiding the fairies' enquiring eyes.
"You weren't having a flashback were you?" asked Charlie.
"No, just looking around. What are we on?" said Willy as two bars locked into position around his arms and waist. He felt a little panicked, closed in like this in a strange place. He didn't have time to worry about this however as the ride started and whisked him off to a world of upside-down, stomach-churning 'fun' that Charlie seemed to be genuinely enjoying.
Four rides later and Willy judged it safe to go and find Charlie's parents. He was a little shaky – not because he didn't enjoy the rides but because he had been fighting a feeling of nausea since entering the park and being tipped upside-down on rides he hadn't built himself was unnerving. Before finding Charlie's parents, Willy needed to retrieve his hat and cane. He walked up to the first ride he and Charlie had endured and coughed politely behind the pink fairy. She turned quickly, forcing Willy to jump back to avoid her long brown hair as it spun around. The pink fairy laughed and smiled at him warmly.
"Hey stranger, I was wondering when you'd be back." She reached down into the booth next to her and presented the top hat and cane with a flourish. "Are you staying for the performance in the Big Top?" Willy realised he didn't know and was grateful when Charlie answered for him.
"Yes, are you in it?"
"Yes – we," she indicated her fellow fairies, "are in the horse troupe." Willy gave a hysterical giggle and the fairy raised an eyebrow. Willy shut himself up and tried to remember his manners as he straightened his top hat.
"Have you been a fairy long?" asked Willy, shutting his eyes as he realised how lame that sounded. Thankfully, the fairy laughed in response.
"A few years. I have toured with the circus every year since I was twenty-five. I used to show-jump, but then I decided I preferred gymnastics on horseback to just riding around a course and jumping some silly sticks," she stopped and looked up at Willy, who was staring intensely at her. Neither said anything for a few moments until they were rudely interrupted by the arrival of the blue fairy.
"Hi there Mr Wonka – I love your chocolate!" bubbled the blue fairy, blonde curls bouncing as she wiggled up to them. "I'm Elaina – the head fairy in the show later." She twirled, showing off the sequins on her flounced skirt. Willy smiled and tried to look anything but scared – there was too much of the Mrs Beauregarde about this fairy for his liking.
"Helllo Elaina. Have you been a fairy long?" asked Willy, not really interested in the answer. To his annoyance, she found the question amusing and giggled girlishly.
"Yes! About twenty years – I started when I was two! My father runs the circus and I've always performed in it. I love my work – it takes you all over the world. I'm so pleased to meet you," she said without a breath, extending a hand. Willy didn't hesitate, but reached one hand to the brim of his hat and touched it lightly as he half-bowed.
"I'm very pleased to meet you also, Miss Elaina." He gave a polite, toothy smile that Charlie recognised. It was the sign to leave.
"Shall we go and take our seats Mr Wonka?" asked Charlie.
"Good idea. I shall see you ladies later," Willy added, spinning on his heels and striding off. Two steps away, he turned back to the two women, but then seemed to think better of it and followed Charlie to their arranged meeting place. Elaina giggled and turned back to her work, shortly followed by the pink fairy.
"She seemed nice," said Charlie.
"Hmm?"
"The blue fairy – Miss Elaina. She was ever so friendly."
"Yes, she was, wasn't she?" said Willy. He looked back over to the ride.
"Why wouldn't you shake hands?" asked Charlie.
"With who?" asked Mrs Bucket, linking up with Charlie and pecking his head with a kiss. Willy started – he hadn't realised the Buckets had arrived.
"Mr Wonka met a really nice lady called Elaina. She's a fairy!" exclaimed Charlie.
"I suppose she's pretty?" drawled Dr Wonka from behind Willy.
"She's okay," said Willy.
"She's gorgeous!" said Charlie, causing his father to roll his eyes.
"But it's not what you think," added Willy.
"I hope not," said Dr Wonka, causing Willy to hang his head. Of course he thought – no talking to carnies, and no talking to women. Broke both of the rules for the night in one fell swoop. Typical. Just when he'd been starting to relax as well.
"They've opened the doors," said Mr Bucket. "Shall we go in?" They turned and regarded the huge tent in front of them and set off as a unit for the evening show.
