It felt good to know her father accepted her friends. While everyone went around to their own business after breakfast, Beth gave her father a tour. As they walked, a car pulling a trailer pulled up to the camp. This confused Beth. Only the cops would show up unannounced and she didn't know any cop who would pull a camper trailer behind their car. A hefty middle aged man came out of the car and went to his camper to let out a black woman who seemed to have a slight attitude. Beth did feel nervous about them. But hopefully, they wouldn't add to the drama. She excused herself from her father to go find Jimmy. He wasn't there when her father arrived and she wanted to invite him with the rest of the troup. She walked into the big top to find him talking to the creep from the night before.
"Listen, I know why you're here. You got a thing for the twins. Look, I don't judge, okay? I get it, you know? You see a piece of tail, you just gotta have it. But us guys, we don't always think with our brains."
"It's not about the twins." Dandy said. "It's about me. I'd like to join the show. I've had an epiphany. I truly believe this is where I belong. I've been ruminating on my life and what I want. This is the perfect place for me."
Jimmy sighed before saying, "Well, unless you got pony legs under those trousers or a double ding dong..."
"No, but I do know the entire Cole Porter canon." Dandy said with a smile.
Jimmy just gave an "are-you-serious" look before taking a breath. "Listen, you ain't the first kid who wants to run away and join the circus. You got dreams of the lights. But trust me. It's nothing like you'd imagine. You wouldn't last one day here."
"You don't know me!" Dandy growled. "What you're looking at, that's not who I am inside. I'm one of you. I'll prove it. Please! Just take a chance on me! You'd be saving my life."
Jimmy abruptly grabbed Dandy's left arm and held it up. "You know what I wouldn't give to have real hands like yours? To be able to touch a girl without scaring her? From where I'm sitting, you got the world on a string. So, you go home to your mansion on the hill, and you thank God for all you got." He then threw the rich boy's arm and said, "Now scram. I gotta sweep a tent."
Dandy marched off in a huff. Beth then stepped up and approached her friend. He turned to her and saw the sadness in her eyes. She had seen everything. She gently took the hand that snatched Dandy's arm and kissed the palm. "I'd take the hands of a hard-working man over the hands of a spoiled rich boy any day of the week." She said with a small smile. "If Paul hadn't swept me off my feet, I'd have you. But I'm in love." She then let go of his hand and looked into his eyes. "Of course, you did catch the eye of our new sour puss."
"Dot? She likes me?" Jimmy asked curiously.
"If it were a snake, it would've bit you 'cause it's right there in front of your face." Beth laughed.
Beth later met with Desire and was surprised by what made her different. But Beth complimented her, saying she was beautiful, which made the hermaphrodite smile. Soon, a few of the troupe were in the big top, trying to see if the twins could sing. As Dezzy played the piano, Bette proved to be tone deaf.
"Nein! Stop! Halt!" Elsa called out. "You make my teeth ache. You are flat."
"I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous." Bette said.
"A little tone deaf." Dezzy said.
Beth and Marcus sat in to back to listen in on them. "Why aren't you up there, Littlebit?" He asked.
"Because I'm just here for people to stare at, not to sing." She answered.
After they had heard a new voice sing, they turned and saw Dot was the one singing. And her voice was beautiful. But Beth noticed that the air around Elsa seemed to darken. She knew that feeling. Jealousy.
"Ha!" Dell said from off to the side. "Not bad. That'll go over real nice tomorrow."
"What, has the curfew been lifted already?" Elsa asked.
"Ah, Hell no." Dell sighed. "But we're not gonna let that stop us. Three o'clock matinee every day until the curfew's lifted."
"'Matinee'?" Elsa asked.
"That's right." The strongman said. "Folks can come see the show, be home in time for Uncle Miltie."
"Nein." The German woman said. "Nein, no matinees. No. People don't come to see freaks in the heat of the day. They come in the evening. When the darkness moves in and speaks of mystery. The unknown. When logic loosens its vice grip and the imagination comes out to play. Night allows the stars to shine and we come alive." Elsa chuckled darkly. "No. Daytime is for kiddie shows. Clowns and kewpie dolls. Maybe that's what you're used to. But you're in a real freak show now. My freak show!"
The look Dell gave Elsa was intended to do a lot of harm. "Dell?" Dezzy called out. "Listen to the lady. She's your boss now."
"No lady is the boss of me." Dell said.
Jimmy stepped up and put his hand on Dell's shoulder. "Why don't we go outside and calm down, huh?"
Dell shoved Jimmy's hand away like it was poison, causing Dot to gasp. He looked around and sighed. "The Hell with this. I'm gonna go into town. Post some bills. There will be paying asses in these seats tomorrow. Curtain goes up a three." He then walked out angrily. Elsa soon stood and left to go to her tent.
Beth huffed after a few moments, finally letting out her held breath. Jimmy looked back at her and asked, "Hey, Beth, can you sing?"
"Yes, she can." Her father said.
Beth's face flustered hard. She didn't want to sing. But with her father's insistance, She got up on the stage and told Dezzy the song she wanted to sing.
Dearest friends, dear gentlemen
Listen to my song
Life down here's been hard for you
Life has made you strong
Let me lift the mood
With my attitude
Hey fellas
The time is right
Get ready
Tonight's the night
Boys, what you're hopin' for will come true
Let me be good to you
You tough guys
You're feelin' all alone
You rough guys
The best o' you sailors and bums
All o' my chums
So dream on
And drink your beer
Get cozy
Your baby's here
You won't be misunderstood
Let me be good to you
Hey fellas
I'll take off all my blues
Hey fellas
There's nothin' I won't do
Just for you
So dream on
And drink your beer
Get cozy
Your baby's here
Hey boys, I'm talkin' to you
Your baby's gonna come through
Let me be good to you
Yeah!
Beth looked up and saw that almost every one of her new friends had entered the tent to see her sing. Even Dot smiled at her voice. Beth sighed in relief happy to be done, but her father clapped harder, wanting her to continue. But Beth knew a way to distract him.
"But, Dad, it's lunchtime. You did promise us lunch today." She said.
"Well, you are right, Littlebit. Go ahead and round up your friends and we'll go head into town." Marcus said.
Bette and Dot declined going to lunch, knowing they would be stared at. But that didn't stop the rest from wanting to go. Beth, Paul, Jimmy and Toulouse the dwarf piled into Marcus' car while Eve, Suzi, Salty and Pepper rode in the troupe's car. They decided on a diner that Jimmy would frequent when he went on supply runs or to his other job.
They walked in and Jimmy spoke to a waitress behind the counter with her back to them. "Excuse me, Miss?"
"You're back." She said as she turned with a smile. But it fell the moment she saw everyone with him. And they weren't normal.
"Yes, ma'am." Jimmy nodded. "And I brought some friends this time."
All the diner patrons turned to gawk at them. They honestly didn't mind. They made a living at being stared at for their oddities. "W-W-What do you want?" The waitress stuttered.
"Well, this is a diner, ain't it?" Jimmy asked as if it were obvious. "We're hungry. And we want to be served."
"Is there a problem with that?" Beth asked.
Someone from the right of the group suddenly looked up from reading his newspaper that was laying in the table. "Beth?" He wore a large trench coat over his button up.
The tattooed lady quickly turned and gasped. "Peter!" She exclaimed before rushing to hug him. "I was wondering how much longer you'd be." She then turned to her troupe. "Everyone, this is Peter."
Jimmy decided to try and be normal and offered his right hand. "Nice to meet you."
To everyone's surprise, Peter lifted his bare right foot and used it to shake Jimmy's hand. "Pleasure's all mine, son."
Jimmy jumped back from that, making Beth laugh. "Still doing that one?"
"I get a few laughs out of it." He said. He then turned to Jimmy. "My apologies, son. Couldn't very well give you a hand." He then shrugged off his trench coat to reveal that he had no arms. "Lost them at the beginning of the war. Came home feeling all kinds of worthless. So, I put my foot down and decided to use my mind. And now, I'm one of the best lawyers in all of the southeast region of these United States. But if I'd have known you all would have come to town for lunch, I'd have waited."
"Well, then, let's sit down and eat." Beth said. She pulled Peter to sit with her and her friends at the bar. He sat next to Marcus and they conversed over the happenings of the past few months.
"Remember, manners matter. Use your forks, napkins on the lap." Jimmy said. At that, Paul took his boler hat off and set it on the bar like a gentleman. Next to him, Beth unfolded her napkin and placed it gracefully on her lap and gave a polite smile to the waitress in front of her.
At the far end, a man sitting at the end eyed Toulouse. After a few seconds of contemplation, he abruptly stood and left the diner. A lady at the table next to them suddenly spoke. "Excuse me." At first, no one turned to her. But an abrasive "Excuse me!" got Jimmy's attention. "Is there anyplace else you can eat? You're upsetting my daughter."
Beth looked over and saw that the little girl looked more curious than upset. Jimmy seemed to see this too and smiled. "Oh, I'm sure she'd love the show if she saw it. Tell the ticket lady Jimmy sent you."
Beth let a gentle smile be shown and extended her right arm. "You wanna see, sweetling?" But the mother roughly grabbed her daughter's arm and whispered something harsh into her ear. Beth didn't like that. "Ma'am? You could've just told me you didn't want me to show her." She then pulled her arm back and went to look at the menu.
"I think we're ready to order." Jimmy said.
The waitress nervously approached and pulled out her pad of paper and a pen. "What do you want?" She asked rudely.
Jimmy looked at her for a moment before turning when he heard Eve. "A saulsberry steak should hit the spot."
"I'll have the iceberg wedge." Suzi said. "I'm watching my figure."
Paul looked past Beth and saw the plate the man at the end had left. "That actually looks pretty good. I think I'll just have that." And reached over his lover and grabbed the plate. He then placed it down in front of himself and ate.
"Paul?" Jimmy called. But he was ignored. Jimmy sighed and turned to his left. "What are you having, Pepper?"
"Meatloaf! Meatloaf! Meatloaf!" She chanted as Salty nodded vigorously.
Jimmy smiled and said, "Okay, the meatloaf."
The waitress put down her pen and paper and walked up to Paul. "Um, excuse me, that's not yours."
A loud bang was heard and everyone turned to see Dell at the door with an aliuminum pale on the floor by his feet. "Let me guess." He said staring down at Jimmy. "This was your bright idea."
"No, sir." Marcus said as he stood. Dell turned to him. "My daughter is your tattooed lady and I invited her and her friends to have lunch with me toady."
"Well, sorry to tell you this, Pops. But they eat at the camp." Dell responded rudely.
"We're not bothering anybody." Jimmy said, getting the strongman's attention.
"But that's not his food." The waitress interrupted, pointing at Paul's plate. She then reached for it. "I'm gonna have to bus this."
Paul slapped her hand away. She retreated like he hit her with a paddle. And the manager jumped forward. "Hey! Don't you touch this girl!"
"He's trying to eat and she was taking it from him!" Beth defended.
"She's just doing her job!" The manager said to her.
Dell suddenly slapped Paul upside the head and grabbed his neck. "Apologize to the girl." He whispered aggressively into his ear.
Jimmy then shoved Dell. "Hey! What's the problem here? She was just gonna throw it out anyway."
A deadly silence followed as Dell picked up Paul's plate and dumped it in front of Jimmy. "You mean like this?" He mocked.
"I have the right to refuse service!" The manager said. "You people have to leave!"
Customers suddenly rushed out, Pepper was crying for her meatloaf and Dell suddenly jerked Jimmy to his feet. "See what you did? You give these folks a free show, whose gonna wanna buy tickets. Come on, you stupid freaks, let's go." He then turned to head out the door
"Hey, stop calling us 'freaks'! We're people. Just like anybody in this joint." Jimmy said.
Dell suddenly snapped. "I said let's go!" He snarled. He then grabbed Jimmy's arm and dragged him out of the diner. The troupe went to the window and saw Dell beat up Jimmy. Beth couldn't believe this. Once the assault stopped, Beth let a breath she had been holding. She then ran outside and helped Jimmy stand up.
"I can't believe you took that!" She said.
"I had him on the ropes." Jimmy breathed.
Everyone filed out of the diner and decided it was best to head back to the camp. Though her father swore he'd give Dell a piece of his mind, Beth insisted that he go straight home after dropping them off. Marcus only agreed upon his daughter's desperate pleas that he'd go home. Peter, however, stayed and met with Elsa to talk about being the camp's personal attorney. Elsa, of course, graciously accepted.
Beth and Paul prepare for the show in their trailer, not really knowing what to expect. It was still daytime and cars were already filling up the parking lot.
Dell introduced everyone, one by one, showcasing their uniqueness. And when it came to Bette and Dot, the song he had them sing was something not even Beth would song. But watching Paul playing those drums made her smile. She had noticed Jimmy walk off, but she didn't really keep her attention on that when she saw Toulouse do a stage dive into the crowd of young men who swarmed in front of the stage to get a better look at the twins and dance to the song.
Once the song ended, everyone cheered for the twins. Bette seemed a little saddened that the majority of the cheer was for her sister. Dot was beaming with newly found confidence.
Beth and Paul celebrated their successful matinee together in the trailer that night. Paul was only in his trousers with the suspenders off his shoulders and his wife beater taken off by his lover and tossed carelessly to the side. Beth was straddling his lap in nothing but her panties and her fingers combing through his hair while his mouth attacked her breasts.
God, he couldn't get enoug of this woman. He had nearly dove into the crowd to attack some hormonal teenager who tried to grab her leg, but he was held back by Eve, who kept telling him that Beth could handle herself, and indeed she did when she stomped on that teen boy's hand with her high heel.
Nothing could honestly ruin what they had. And if anything tried, he'd be there to stop it in his tracks.