A Circus Boy Returns Home
Part 20
'I wonder what Sammie's doing right now,' Tim asked. 'I miss my kids. Come to think of it, I'm missing Jason, and my nephew and nieces. And not to mention Damian. Maybe I should have stayed home. I never expected to get homesick.'
Tim was moping when Dick came back with two plates of food.
"Hey, are you all right?"
"I'm feeling homesick," Tim replied.
"You know you can call home at any time," Dick replied.
"I didn't think about that," Tim said.
"Problem is, some of these small towns don't have that many cell towers, and the connections can be bad."
"Is that why I couldn't get through to you when I would try to call you?"
"Most of the time," Dick said. "Sometimes I would be in the middle of a performance. I'll do better next time, or maybe I'll just take you and the family with me. I really want to support the circus. We're really the last when you think about it. Animal groups want us to free our animals, but a lot of them were born here as well. They don't know anything about being wild and free."
"They could go to an animal sanctuary," Tim replied.
"Now that's a good idea. Maybe I'll talk to Pop about that later." Dick ruffled Tim's hair. "Here, I brought you something to eat." Dick handed Tim a small plate. "To tell you the truth, I'm missing home, too. I didn't expect to be gone this long. Haley's probably grown since I've seen her. I should have taken them with me, but I'm so used to coming here by myself, I guess it never occurred there would be a problem."
Tim sighed heavily.
"Tell you what, after the last performance, and before the circus packs up, you and I can leave," Dick said. "I'll have Pop Haly store my motorcycle and I'll get it another time. I can even afford to have it shipped. When I'm here, I forget that I'm . . . . I'm one of the sons of a Billionaire."
"You were growing up poor," Tim said.
"Poor in the ways of money, but not in other ways," Dick replied. "Not in the ways that really counted. I know I promised I would show you that, but with everything that happened, I became afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Of losing you, again," Dick answered. "I didn't want anything to happen to you. And look what's happened. Someone tried to kill you, Timoti. It hasn't been that long ago that . . ."
"Risk is our business," Tim answered.
"What?"
"Risk is our business," Tim repeated. "A quote I heard from an old television show. Look, we risk our lives every night so people can sleep safe and secure. The police patrol the streets for the same reason, but there's not enough of them to make sure everyone is secure. People certainly don't want to live in a police state, where everyone's movements are being watched. That's where we come in. We can freely patrol while the police work on those cases they know they can handle. We take care of the bigger picture."
"You're right, we do," Dick agreed.
"And I realized something else just now," Tim answered. "You're giving people joy just for a little while. And if something were to happen to you, that would mean there is less joy in the world. Maybe, maybe we can come back. And we can bring our families. We can stay longer, even for a whole season. Damian can help Bruce, and so can Jason. Then we can really be part of your circus . . . Our circus family."
Dick gave Tim a wide smile, and then he carefully lifted him up so he could give him a real hug.
/Thank you, Timoti," Dick said in Romani. /And welcome home./
End
A/N: The story has not truly ended. There are clues to an upcoming story you will not want to miss.