For Sarah, to read after work...
-1-
They arranged themselves in their seats just as the music was changed, and the lights began to dim. Rita raised her hand to her mouth to clear her throat, sitting up straighter so that she could see as a spotlight was turned on, illuminating the curtain at the back of the ring.
Connie pressed herself against her, leaning in close so that she could whisper and still be heard.
"Thank you."
She murmured, and Rita glanced at her, the dim light casting a pale pink glow across her face, making her even more beautiful than she already was.
She glanced to her lips, had it been any other moment she would have kissed her in reply. Instead she gave a quick smile and slipped her hand ever so discreetly into the shadows between them, searching for Connie's, and finding it, feeling the chill of her fingers intertwine with her own, their palms pressed flat and close against one another, their knees touching so as to obscure their hands should either Grace or Florence turn around.
They turned their attention back towards the stage where the ring master appeared, a tall thin man with a curled moustache and a top hat so shiny that whenever it caught the light it blinded whomever happened to be looking directly at it.
He introduced his show with a theatrical wave of his hand and a deep bow, and Connie found herself looking at her daughter as she applauded. Grace was leaning forwards in her seat. She could just see the side of her face, the shell like curve of her ear and the way her cheek rose as she smiled and laughed out loud as the clowns appeared.
She drew in a long breath, only barely noticing how the clowns pulled doves from their sleeves, and how their white faces never seemed to move, their painted smiles never faltering. She remembered how as a child she had been to only one circus. Her grandmother had taken her, and she had walked away from it as though in a dream. She'd felt so aware and awake within the confines of the circus, and yet when she had left she was no longer certain which side of the fence the dream was.
She felt like that now, whilst she watched acrobats in luminous white body suits fall from the fairy lights, stopping themselves just before they hit the floor. It was the thrill of being surrounded by something wondrous and fantastical, only magnified and focused directly at her. She could feel everything so much more in the dark, surrounded by so many others but so very alone with her thoughts.
She looked again at Grace, the back of her dark head, and she imagined how small Grace had been when she was born, how she'd slipped her hand into the incubator to touch that little head of hair, feeling it pulse with life against her palm.
Now she felt Rita's pulse against her hand. The feel of her skin against hers reverberated across her entire body, though her fingers remained entwined in hers.
She licked her lips. She longed to unlink their hands and raise her fingers to touch her face, to thank her for the simple act of taking Grace and Florence to buy what they'd wanted.
But she resisted,too fearful of Grace turning around. Instead she stole glances, watching the way the light fell over her skin.
Several times she caught Rita looking back at her, and in those moments, when she held her eyes with hers she felt she had to kiss her, that there was no other option, and as the music bloomed louder, and Grace and Florence whooped and shouted their applause, Connie leant in towards her and kissed her gently and perfectly on the lips, and as she kissed her, the lights in the ring flared brighter, the acrobats caught the light perfectly as they spun high in the air – the entire circus sparkling, dazzling every other person in the tent.
Rita pulled away first, her cheeks flushed, her heart pulsing in her throat.
"Grace..."
She whispered, touching her fingers to her lips, her voice worried, though her eyes smiled.
Connie glanced to the back of Grace's head.
"People don't pay much attention to anything unless you give them reason to"
She whispered, and as she spoke Rita happened to glance just over Connie's shoulders, to where the man at the sweet stall stood staring at them, his arms folded, his figure dimly illuminated by the circus ring, and she couldn't help but feel a shiver of something all the way through her body, as if the past were there in the room with her, though it was only a glimmer, a hint of something that stayed on you the way powdered sugar stayed on your fingers. Some people can get rid of it but it's still there, the events and things that pushed you to where you are now, it's still there, hidden in the dark, watching...
-1-
LittleBooLost: Not Rita's husband ;) I did give a clue as to who the man at the sweetstall actually is...did anybody get it?!
Jenny: Thank you for pointing out that I had set the story as 'complete'! I don't know whether it has been like that all the way along, or if I just accidentally managed to do it! Apologies anyway!
Lollyblanc: Thank you, as always! It won't be long now until Grace finds out about them!
Amie.o'neil: Thank you so much for your lovely reviews!
Kate:! THANK YOU! Your review made me smile for the entire afternoon! What a lovely message to get! I'm so glad you're enjoying it, and I hope you continue to. If you have anything you'd particularly like to see happen, let me know!