Chapter 11 – Premiere night at the Circus Zaragoza
Next, on the way to the circus tent, the group passed closed to the cucaña, stopping to look at the young men who were trying to climb it. Despite their efforts, they could only get to a certain height before they would slip down the greased pole.
"I don't know how they do it. That must be so difficult," Victoria said.
"Yes, it is. If the pole wasn't greased like that, it would be much easier," Diego said.
"Would you be able to climb it then?" she asked.
"Me? No, no way. But Felipe might. He's light and agile like a monkey. Would you like to try and get us a Spanish ham?"
Felipe nodded, excited. He had missed the cans before while he was distracted at another stall, and he wanted to succeed at something that evening. He joined the queue and when he was his turn he held onto the pole and tried to make his way up as fast as he could, to keep gaining ground constantly despite sliding down with the grease at the same time.
"Well done, Felipe! Nearly there!" Don Alejandro shouted when Felipe was less than a meter to the top.
Felipe was about to reach the ham then, but the same as the other men he had got so tired with the effort he had to pause for a moment and started to slip down. He tried to keep going, but in the end, he had to give up and fell all the way back down.
"You nearly got it, Felipe! You have been the closest so far, I think," Victoria said.
"Yes, you did really well," Diego said, ruffling the smiling youngster's hair.
"What about you, Esteban? Would you like to try?" Don Alejandro said.
"Me? No. I'm a bit sore after falling on the race. Besides, I don't want to get covered in grease. I think I'll pass."
It was the turn of a thin, short, ginger-haired man then.
"I'll show you how it's done," he said cockily.
He grabbed the pole and made his way up quickly and graciously, not having trouble at all. He reached the top and while holding to the end with his left hand, he untied the ham leg and slid down in a flash. The whole process took him only a few seconds. The amazed crowd cheered and clapped then, very impressed by his skill.
"That's not fair! You are one of the guys at the circus!" a grumpy man said.
Esteban recognized that voice and turned quickly to look at that man, unable to hide his anger.
"Could you stop complaining about everything?!"
Esteban could not stand that man, the professional jockey, who had been complaining non-stop after he had got the money from the race and had handed it over to Padre Benítez. Esteban had no real proof at all about Manuel's involvement in his fall and Diego's, and it was killing him not to be able to formally accuse him of cheating.
"No! Not when I'm right!" Manuel replied.
"Really? There are no rules to prevent this man from taking part in this completion, the same as there are no rules for so-called professional riders like yourself taking part in amateur horse races, señor. Someone should teach you how the world works."
"Are you going to teach me? I'm waiting."
Manuel stood with his arms crossed over his chest, defiantly. For a professional jockey, that man was well built and quite tall, not like the usual shorter and lighter types, and he looked quite menacing. Before Esteban could answer with a punch, Diego grabbed his arm.
"Leave it. It's not worth it. We are going to the circus now. Come on, leave it or we'll be late."
Esteban looked at Victoria briefly, and as if something had clicked in his brain, he lowered his fist and relaxed.
"Yes, you are right, Diego. Let's go; the first pass is about to start."
"Excuse me, coward," Manuel said then, passing by hitting Esteban hard with his shoulder, making him stumble back, out of balance.
Esteban had to swallow his pride then, because going to the circus that night was much more important to him than fighting that scumbag.
ZZZ
The De la Vega's had the best seats on the first row, close to the main ring. Victoria sat on a bench between the two cousins, enjoying the performance while trying not to think too much about the gipsy's words. Both men seemed to be competing for her attention that evening and she felt flattered, but she kept telling herself her real love interest was Zorro, and only him.
"Do you like caramelized apples, Victoria?" Esteban asked suddenly.
"Yes, I love them. They are my favourite," she said mindlessly, distracted by the men performing in front of her.
"Mine too! I'll get some then. Anybody else wants an apple?"
Diego shook his head, the same as Felipe. They were more interested in the techniques of the acrobats rather than eating sticky apples. Mesmerized, Diego thought he would like to try a similar back flip to the one he had just seen the next time Zorro swung from the chandelier. The performer was the ginger-haired guy who had climbed up the cucaña, obviously a very gifted, agile man.
"Father? Uncle?"
"No, thank you," Don Alejandro said. "I used to eat them, but they are too sweet for me now."
"Same for me. They hurt my teeth. I think I'll pass," Emilio said.
"All right. I'll get only two then," Esteban said, standing up to get to the small stall at the other side of the tent where an old woman was selling them. On the way there he looked up to the rig. The acrobats had finished their act, and Sonia the trapeze artist was there, ready to start hers.
ZZZ
From above, Sonia signalled to the men fitting the safety net tight, asking them to remove it.
"Are you serious?" said the ringmaster. "Really?"
Sonia nodded, as confidently as she could, with a broad smile plastered on her face.
"Ladies and gentleman, our stunningly beautiful Sonia, The Incredible Flying Dove, has ordered us to remove the safety net!" the ringmaster shouted, elated. "She will perform her magical, impressive jump into the void at a great risk for her life! A big round of applause for señorita Sonia, por favor!"
ZZZ
While everybody clapped enthusiastically Esteban handed a few coins to pay for the apples, but the seller wasn't very interested in his money.
"Come on, get out of the way! I want to see this. Nobody has refused the net for a long time here," the woman said, pushing him to a side.
He left the coins at the counter, grabbed the apples, and walked back towards his seat, waiting for a moment under one of the main posts while Sonia climbed to her trapeze, sat on it, and started swinging it back and forth gently, as a child would do. He looked up, apprehensive. She looked so small up there, and so fragile.
I have to get this right. I have to get this right, he thought while twisting the apple sticks in his sweaty hands.
ZZZ
I hope that man knows what he is doing, Sonia thought, looking down from the trapeze while hanging from her knees. But this is what I would earn in three months. I need this.
She swung a little harder, ready to jump to grab the other trapeze coming towards her. She closed her eyes and then she jumped, knowing perfectly well the timing was wrong and she was going to miss the incoming bar. She didn't scream when it slipped off her fingers, but some other people did when they saw her plummeting to the ground at great speed.
ZZZ
Esteban was there by the post, waiting with the caramelized apples in his hands, ready for the signal. When he saw her closing her eyes he tensed, ready, and when she started to fall, he dropped the apples and got in position quickly to catch her in his arms before she would smash her gorgeous body against the ground. With the impact they both fell, Esteban hitting his already bruised back hard, but at least she was fine, without a scratch.
"See? I told you it would be easy," he said to her ear, grinning despite the pain.
A loud gasp of relief resonated under the tent, and the couple got surrounded by people very quickly, all eager to help them.
"Are you all right, Sonia?" said one of the other trapeze artists, her boyfriend, a very good-looking blonde man who had slid down a rope from the rig in a second. "Why did you ask for the net to be removed? That was crazy!"
"Don't worry, Marcus. I'm fine," she said when he got her up. "But only thanks to him. He is a hero!" she cried for everybody to hear, pointing at Esteban, who was still on the floor.
"Are you all right?" Diego said, helping Esteban up. Before he could say anything, Sonia embraced Esteban, kissing his face all over enthusiastically, to Marcus surprise.
"Thank you, thank you so much! You saved my life!" she cried with tears in her eyes.
Esteban stumbled a little with such vigorous display of attention, and he would have fallen again if Diego hadn't supported him from behind. His back hurt more than he was willing to admit, but he played the humble hero nicely.
"It's nothing, don't worry. I was at the right place at the right time. Anybody would have done the same. Where are my apples?"
People moved back a little, looking to the ground.
"Oops. Sorry," Mendoza said. He was standing on them, and had the caramel stuck to his boots.
"Never mind. Sorry, Victoria. I'll get you a new one."
Victoria, standing close to Diego with her jaw dropped, speechless, tilted her head while she looked at him going back to the stall to get more apples, limping along the way, walking quite stiff. What the…?
ZZZ
After that commotion, the show continued when everybody got back to their seats. Victoria and Esteban ate their apples while watching the tricks of the magician. After that, while a man was spitting out fire in the middle of the ring, a pretty blonde woman with scanty, flashy clothes and extremely long legs approached Esteban with a plate of freshly cut, cured ham slices.
"Compliments of that gentleman, for saving our beloved Sonia and for defending his right to climb the cucaña," she said, pointing at the red-haired acrobat who saluted them from the other side of the ring.
"Thank you, that's very kind. This ham looks delicious," Esteban said, taking the plate while nodding to the man with a grateful smile.
Victoria looked at him, still puzzled about how casual Esteban was acting after saving a woman's life as he had done.
"Spanish ham, anybody?" he said.
"I'll have some, thanks," Don Alejandro said, taking a slice. "Hum… That is the best jamón I have ever tried! It must be Ibérico de pata negra." After that comment, everybody took a slice, agreeing with him.
The ringmaster announced then the juggler's act. When the jugglers started to throw the clubs into the air, Esteban passed the whole plate to Diego.
"Hold this. I am quite full already."
"Are you sure?"
"Oh, yes. Carry on. You didn't have an apple as I did. I can't eat anymore."
"All right."
Diego looked at his cousin, wondering why he seemed so nervous and tense all of a sudden. He was looking at the jugglers intently, following their moves without taking his eyes off them, and it was quite weird.
"Can I have another piece, Diego?" Emilio asked.
"Yes, of course," he said, lifting the plate towards his uncle.
Right then, the juggler closest to them lost control of the clubs, and one of them flew away from his hand in their direction. Victoria screamed, covering her face with her hands. Esteban grabbed the club before it smashed Victoria's head, hitting the ham plate with it. The plate flew off Diego's hand, spreading the remaining ham slices all around them, and then smashed in pieces on the ground while everybody under the circus tent went silent with the shock.
"Victoria, are you all right?" Esteban asked with the club in his hand. "Are you hurt?"
"No, no, I'm fine. It's just… gosh, that was close!"
"She's all right!" Esteban cried, lifting the club in the air like a winner. Everybody clapped and cheered at once then, delighted.
Diego could not believe it. To him, it looked like Esteban knew what was going to happen and had got rid of the plate in advance to be ready to catch the club, but that notion was ridiculous. How could he know the juggler would lose the club? Unless… No, he could not be so stupid as to endanger Victoria on purpose, could he? With that doubt lingering in his mind, Diego carried on watching the show, keeping a close eye on his cousin.
ZZZ
It was the turn of the strong man. After performing some feats, he asked for volunteers to lift the biggest weights. Mendoza was the first one to come into the ring. He grabbed the bar with two large iron balls at the ends and pulled up, but he could hardly move it from the spot because it was too heavy. A few more men tried as well, but they couldn't move it either. When the strong man was about to demonstrate how to lift the bar, some of the dogs of another act ran loose, coming into the main ring creating havoc. Some helpers dressed as clowns chased them with nets and blankets, jumping about all over the strong man's weights trying to catch the barking, wriggling, mad dogs while all the spectators laughed, distracted.
"They've switched the weights," Diego whispered to Felipe.
"When? How?" he signed.
"Didn't you notice? The clowns did. The heavy ones are hidden under the canvas floor now."
"No, you are imagining things. They could not possibly do that. Everybody would see it."
"Yeah, you'll see."
If I'd walk there right now and grab those weights, I bet I could lift them with one hand. But I cannot do that as Diego, no way. Only Zorro could do that, he thought, sulking.
When the dogs got under control, the strong man grabbed the bar with the weights and lifted it over his head, with his face turning red with the apparent titanic effort, getting an enthusiastic applause from Mendoza and everyone else except Diego, who remained sceptical.
At least Esteban is not trying to impress Victoria with his strength, he thought, still looking at his cousin with suspicion.
ZZZ
"And now, señoras y señores, one of the most exciting and dangerous act of the night," the ringmaster announced. "I have the pleasure to introduce the great Cuchillo, the best knife thrower in the world! Put your hands together for him, please!"
Everybody clapped when a handsome, exotic looking man with dark, olive skin and thin, dark moustache and beard entered the ring carrying a bunch of knives. He was wearing a tiny, light green and embroidered silk waistcoat open at the front so he could display his muscular torso and arms with pride.
The assistants wheeled in a large round board decorated with a bright yellow star, and some other smaller targets, and they left them all standing in the middle of the ring. Cuchillo performed then some feats with his knives hitting various targets, at one point even blindfolded, always with perfect precision.
"Now, my usual assistant is sick, so I will need a brave volunteer to be my next live target at the spinning wheel, please."
He looked around the audience, but nobody moved.
"I have never seen such a bunch of cowards in my life!" he said then, shaking his head. He came closer to the first row and looked at Don Alejandro. "What about you, señor? You do look brave, but are you brave enough to stand for me at the wheel?"
"No, I think I will get quite sick if you spin me around, señor," he joked. "Besides, I prefer to watch while you impale somebody else to that board."
Everybody laughed then.
"What about you?" the knife thrower said, pointing at Diego.
"As my father, I prefer to watch, thank you."
"You? No, you are too young… I can't truncate a promising life for entertainment purposes only."
Felipe smiled, relieved, and the knife thrower carried on searching for a suitable target.
"A pretty señorita? No, I could not bear depriving the world of such beauty if something went wrong."
"Thank you, but I would never volunteer for this. I'm not that crazy," Victoria said.
"What about you, caballero? After you saved our lovely Sonia like a knight in shiny armour, are you brave enough to face the knives?"
"All right. I'll do it," Esteban said, standing up to come into the ring.
"A round of applause for the brave hero of the night!" the ringmaster said, clapping.
While clapping mechanically, with nil enthusiasm, Diego looked at his cousin with his eyes narrowed. I knew it.
ZZZ
This is such a bad idea. This is such a bad idea, Esteban thought while holding onto the support bars while the assistant —the blonde woman with perfect, long legs who had got him the ham plate before— secured his wrists, ankles and waist to the round board, fastening the straps tightly. When she had finished, she spun the board and Esteban rotated with it, having trouble to focus on the man throwing the knives as he got quite dizzy going round and round at considerable speed. His back hurt as he leaned against the board, tense with the panic he suddenly felt. He heard the impact of the knives all around him on the board, but he was too disoriented to really catch the sequence of what was happening. He saw Cuchillo hesitating with the last knife in his hand, and the next time he was upside down he felt a sharp pain in his right thigh. He couldn't help but to scream, as most of the women present did when they saw the blood dripping down the board and the knife sticking out of his leg.
Mierda. Mierda. Mierda.
Esteban gritted his teeth so he would not scream anymore like some hysterical women in the crowd were doing. He felt his stomach turning, and when he was about to be sick the wheel stopped abruptly when he was facing down, and then it was moved more gently to get him in an upright position.
"You are such an idiot, you know?" Diego said while untying the belts, looking mad at him.
"I know," Esteban said, wincing in pain, not sure why his cousin looked so angry with him instead of concerned. When he got freed from the straps, Diego pulled the knife off his leg. Esteban tried to get off the board but he fell forward, too weak and dizzy to support his own weight. Diego caught him in his arms and let him gently on the floor, lying on his back.
"Somebody get the doctor!" Diego cried while applying pressure to the wound. It was bleeding profusely, so he assumed a large blood vessel had been damaged there.
"I'm so sorry, señor. That should not have happened," Cuchillo said, looking mortified.
"Shut up and bring me something to make a tourniquet before he bleeds to death!" Diego barked.
Cuchillo got one of the straps from the board and handed it over to Diego. While he was fastening it on the leg as tight as he could above the wound, Sonia kneeled down at Esteban's side, fussing all over him.
"Oh, my hero! Are you all right?"
Victoria was standing beside Don Alejandro, unsure what to do. When she saw that trapeze artist all over Esteban, she felt a surprising pang of jealousy coming out of nowhere. She kneeled at the other side, opposite to that woman, and grabbed Esteban's right hand.
"You'll be all right, Esteban. Hold on."
He looked at her with a silly smile on his face, already drifting away. Then, Sonia grabbed his chin and made him look her way.
"Yes, you'll be all right."
Victoria pushed her hand away and turned Esteban head to the right side again.
"I'm here with you."
Just what we needed now. A cat fight, Diego thought. He slapped Esteban's face gently a few times then, shaking his head.
"Hey. Don't go. Stay with us."
But Esteban drifted away unconscious while thinking all the money spent and all that pain was worth it to get Victoria's attention.
ZZZZZ
A.N – Sorry for the maiming with the knife, but don't complain too much about it because it could have been much, much worse, and you know it ;)