Maria: a circus-story pt 2

Author's Note:

This portion of the story is something of a short interlude between the last part and the next very messy chapter. Originally, this and the next chapter were going to be one, whole chapter. But, for the sake of desperately needed brevity, I have seen fit to separate them. If you are a wetlook fan, you may find this chapter much to your liking. If not, feel free to go straight to chapter 3. I'll do my best to catch you up in the re-cap. And, without further ado, enjoy!

-- Marlowe


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Re-cap:

After turning 18, the young and ambitious Maria Costin came to the North Shore Circus with a letter from her late father requesting that the manager have her trained to become an acrobat. However, while the former manager is now the owner, he is still overseas. The new manager's wife, Josephine DeVentura Willard, is the star acrobat of the circus and is jealous of Maria's youthful beauty. She has Maria join the circus' clown troupe to keep her "in her place." However, Maria gets to know the friendly clowns and likes them--particularly a thirty-year-old clown-girl named Gabs.

Unfortunately, though, the day that Gabs has to leave, Joe Bennett--the clown manager, is told by Mrs. Willard to put Maria through a humiliating rite of messy passage for clowns during her first show. Bennett did not want to do it to Maria at all, but Mrs. Willard insisted that he do it or he will be fired. Bennett and the clowns reluctantly conceded: getting Maria messy in front of a huge circus-audience. She spent the night outside in an animal-wagon while still wearing her ridiculous outfit and covered in mess. However, a mysterious figure came to give her a towel, blanket, and warm soup which lifted her spirits greatly. We now return to the story in progress.

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At sunrise, Bennett personally went out to the wagon to fetch Maria. Every step he took was one of weighted hesitation. He fully expected to find the poor, young woman shivering in a fitful sleep of ill exhaustion. Imagine his surprise when he found her sleeping peacefully wrapped in a warm blanket--almost completely dry and mostly clean. He took her back to her bunk where she continued to sleep for around another hour. Bennett gave the other clowns strict instructions not to disturb her.

When Maria awoke, she found herself in her bunk and wondered if it had all been a strange dream. She got her answer when she realized she was still wearing the same stained and ruined ballerina-clown costume from the night before. She grabbed her leotard, then went to the bathrooms to get changed out of the ridiculous garb.

After changing back into her training clothes, it wasn't long before one of the clowns found her and told her that Bennett wanted to see her in his office. Maria then made her way to the small side-section of the main clown-tent Bennett used as an "office." Maria found him, as well as around twelve other clowns waiting with him. He spoke, saying,

"Maria, we're very--very DEEPLY sorry about what happened last night. The--that routine was an old initiation rite we used to do...and we got orders from management to...put you through it. None of us wanted to, but they threatened to fire anyone who wouldn't comply...so, we had to do it. We are very sorry about it. If--if you want to leave the circus, we wouldn't blame you one bit. We've even collected a bit of money for you to help you get wherever you'd need to go. It's not much, but it's something. And again, we are all deeply sorry. We hope you can forgive us."

All the clowns bowed their heads and could hardly make eye contact with Maria. They DID seem very ashamed of what they did to her. For a moment, she thought about leaving. It would be easy to walk away and wash this experience off of her. But, she then remembered the mysterious stranger and his words. She was determined not to give up hope: she would become a trapeze artist one way or another. After a good minute in silence, she said,

"That...that was very nasty: what you all did last night. But, as long as you all never do it again, I forgive you--I forgive you all. And-and I'm not leaving, either. If you'll still have me, I want to stay on and become a clown."

They all were amazed. Bennett was shocked, but also greatly relieved. He told her,

"Thank you, Maria. Of course you can stay with us. We don't deserve you one bit, but I'm so glad you're willing to give us a second chance. All the clowns filed out of the office--thanking Maria as they left. When only Bennett was left, he asked,

"Maria, I want to know, who gave you that blanket I found you in...or the towel and that thermos for that matter." Maria answered,

"Well, to be honest, I don't know. Someone came to me in the middle of the night and gave them to me. I couldn't see him in the dark and he didn't say his name. Could it have been one of the clowns?" Bennett scratched his head and said,

"Unfortunately, no. Trust me, everyone of us clowns were chomping at the bit to go out there and bring you back in. But, we were ordered to stay in the bunks all night--ordered by Mrs. Willard. SHE'S the one who ordered us to put you through all that last night. For whatever reason, it seems she really doesn't like you." Maria looked down in thought. Coming to realize a harsh truth, she responded,

"I suppose she does. I don't know why. I haven't done anything to her...I don't think." Bennett scowled and elaborated his thoughts on her,

"She's a stuck-up, nasty, conceited woman: that Josephine. We used to have a fantastic troupe of aerialists that performed here: the Red Condors. I was good friends with their lead acrobat and manager, Sal Hartt. But three years ago, that woman came along, married Willard, then poof: gone were some of the most experienced acrobats in the biz.

Willard sent them packing, and now they're off up north on the east coast with another circus. And now we're stuck with Josephine and her 'Bianchi Sisters.' Suffice it to say, it's been quite a step down. But you wouldn't know it by all the posters and advertisements this circus has been putting out: 9 times out of 10, it's her and her acrobats."

To learn this, the gears were beginning to turn in Maria's head. She was starting to realize why Mrs. Willard disliked her so much. She told Bennett,

"I see. She was the one who wanted me to join your troupe. When I came here, I asked if I could be trained to be an aerialist--you see, my parents used to perform at this circus as acrobats a long time ago. My father gave me a letter to give to Mr. Pendleton requesting for me to be trained." Bennett gave a sad frown and said,

"Well, this has been very bad timing, indeed. Al was a great manager, but over the past few years, he hasn't been able to keep up with everything the way he used to. He retired 'bout five years ago, and has been in Europe almost a year now. But, he'll be back stateside in three months." Bennett then got up and said with a smile,

"I'll tell you what: as much as I'd hate to lose a new clown as nice and determined as yourself, I'll have a word with Al about you when he gets back. And, I'll write to my buddy Sal and see if he could train you with the Condors. I guarantee they'd be far better teachers than Mrs. Willard."

Maria smiled and said, "I would really appreciate that, sir! Thank you!" She shook his hand, and he informed her,

"As much as I believe you could be a great clown, I believe you'd make just as good an acrobat. Until Al gets back, you can just work fetching supplies and helping us get ready for shows. You don't have to train as a clown anymore." Maria was elated. She thanked him once more, then took her leave.

Almost immediately, she ran into Gabs whom she heard running through the tent shouting for her. Gabs ran to her and threw her arms around her in a tight hold. She exclaimed,

"Maria! Oh, you poor girl! I'm so sorry! If I had known, I would never have left! As soon as I heard about it, I came to find you. Are you alright??" Maria smiled and said,

"Yes, I'm alright. I'm glad to see you too, Gabs. Is your mother okay?" Gabs' mouth dropped open, she looked at Maria and said,

"Is my--? Yeah, my mother is fine. She had a mild heart attack, but she's doing a lot better now. But you--they put you through the wheelbarrow! I'm so sorry that happened: I would have never allowed it. Tell me, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Gabs still couldn't and didn't believe it. She went on, saying,

"Oh, your poor thing! They put me through the same routine my first show at the circus. It was the most humiliating experience I'd ever had. I was beside myself for days afterward. How are you so...so...'okay' about it?"

Maria then told Gabs about the man who came to her aid that night--giving her all the details she didn't tell Bennett. Gabs was amazed. She said,

"That's so...incredible! I've never heard of anything like it! I've NO idea who that could have been." Maria then told Gabs about Bennett's offer. She was glad to hear about it, but was still incredibly mad at Bennett. She kindly asked to be excused by Maria for a moment, then stormed into Bennett's office.

"What the HELL, Bennett?" When Gabs was angry, she could make her face look truly terrifying, and she had hardly ever been angrier than she was at that moment. She said almost between clenched teeth,

"The WHEELBARROW! You put Maria-- the brightest ray of sunshine I've ever met-- through the wheelbarrow!" Bennett replied with a sigh,

"I had no choice." Gabs was incensed. She yelled,

"Bull - SHIT! You had a choice, you just didn't take it." He now yelled back,

"Do you think I wanted to do it--to do any of the outrageous demands that Josephine gives me? No! But she directly told me I'd be fired if I didn't! I can't just go find another circus and get work--not a clown at 47 years old--not in today's world!"

"The wheelbarrow breaks every rule in the book--our most core principles. If you had quit, at least you'd have your honor and dignity. For what you've done, you deserve to be fired!" Bennett sighed again and buried his face in his hands. He told Gabs,

"Please leave...now!" Gabs scrunched her nose and scowled at him, then stormed out. She caught up with Maria and they ate breakfast together. Although Gabs wasn't going to be teaching her anymore, she and Maria immediately agreed to hang out together often while Maria worked. Little did everyone know that something was yet to happen that day that would cloud Maria's blue skies.

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"So, she didn't leave? My, she really is a tramp." Mrs. Willard smiled as she poured herself more coffee. Mack, her personal assistant, had just related the news to her that Maria was staying with the clowns. Josephine continued, saying, "Oh, the show last night was fantastic! I've never laughed so hard at a clown show!" Mrs. Willard silently smiled for a moment. After some careful thinking, she said almost to herself, "If only every clown show could be like that..."

She immediately got up and made her way over to the circus tent to pay Bennett another visit. Because it was a day she took off from practice, she wasn't wearing her typical training gear. Instead, she wore a black jacket with a deep-cutting, low neckline. It had long sleeves, and the bottom flaps of the jacket were given a slight, ruffled flourish to resemble a skirt. Beneath this, she wore a thin pencil-skirt that came down just past her knees, then widened a bit at the hem in the same slightly ruffled way the bottom of the jacket was. She wore jet-black, high-heeled shoes that clapped along whenever she walked on a solid surface. Her bleach-blonde hair was a combination of waves and curls. It was folded up and over into a large curl at the top like a style from the 40s and the bottom of her hair came down her upper back in ringlets at the bottom.

With her dark red lipstick, she was dressed to kill that day. And if someone were to refuse her anything, killing might have been exactly what she'd do.

When one of the clowns saw her coming, he sent word to Bennett. Bennett came out of his office to meet her directly in the middle of the practice tent. As she came in, she caught the attention of many of the clowns, and a small crowd gathered. Amidst the crowd were Maria and Gabs. As Mrs. Willard came up to Bennett, she smiled and said,

"Good afternoon, Bennett. I was hoping I might have a word with you--a private word in your office?" He stood firmly and answered,

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say to my fellow clowns, here." Mrs. Willard was taken aback by this for a moment. Then, she sighed and raised her voice. Addressing all the clowns, she said,

"I just wanted to congratulate you all on last night's show. It was such a great performance--in fact, I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. I loved it and so did our audience. So, going forward, you are to use pies in all of your clown shows, and Maria needs to be in every show and take at least five pies to the face per night." The clowns began muttering amongst themselves at this. The one's around Maria turned to look at her. Her face was red with embarrassment and a bit of frustration.

Strangely, Bernard--the clown who had ushered Maria into the ring the night before, went to go find a ladder to, as he told his friend, 'clean a spot' he saw over the entrance to the main-tent. Gabs began to look like she was about to declare war on the audacious woman. But, before she could raise her voice, Bennett told Josephine,

"No. I won't do that. Not to Maria...not to anyone. The point of our shows is to display the art and fun of clowning--not humiliating people in a harmful way." Josephine raised one of her sharp eyebrows and said,

"I suppose you would rather be fired, then, hmm?" Bennett was just about to accept his firing when Gabs spoke out. She said,

"Wait! Mrs. Willard-- he'll accept your offer." Mrs. Willard was surprised and greatly amused at this turn of events and Bennett was utterly shocked. Maria was stunned at what almost sounded like betrayal. Gabs went on and said,

"You want Maria to take five pies in each show? Sure! We'll give her even more than that. You want pies? We'll give you pies! Just don't fire Bennett." Josephine gave a smirk of delight, then looked to Bennett. Bennett looked to Gabs who nodded affirmatively to him. He said,

"It seems we'll be accepting your offer." She gave a brisk, airy laugh of delight, then said,

"Excellent! And my my, I like your attitude, darling" She said pointing to Gabs. She continued, saying "Maybe SHE should be the manager of the clowns. Well, now that all is settled, I'll be off now. Ta-ta!"

All the clowns glared angrily at her as she strutted away like a model on a runway with her head held high and her nose literally held up in the air. But, just as she was leaving the tent, Bernard "dropped" the large bucket full to the brim of soapy water he was using to "clean" the "spot" over the entrance from his ladder.

"SPLOOSH!!" went the water as it fell down right over her head and was immediately followed by the thin, metal bucket. She was completely drenched in the soapy water. Her knees buckled and she about fell over when it happened. She took off the bucket and sneered at the gathering of clowns all laughing at her. Even Bennett couldn't resist a slight chortle.

"Ughh!!" She blurted out as she pulled back her wet hair from her face. Her nicely done-up hair was now drenched and straightened by the water. She looked up at Bernard and saw him smiling down at her. She then shouted at Bennett,

"Have this clown FIRED!!! I never want to see him at this circus again!" And with that, she stormed away dripping with cold, soapy water.

Everyone congratulated Bernard and told him how sorry they were that he now had to be fired. He shrugged it off and confidently said he'd find work elsewhere. He came up to Maria and said,

"I'm so sorry about last night, Maria. I owed that to you." She gave him a hug and thanked him. Afterwards, he packed up his things, said his final goodbyes and made his way to the bus-station in town.

Meanwhile, Bennett reconvened with Maria and Gabs in his office. He told Gabs,

"So what's the deal with what you told Josephine? I thought you didn't want Maria being humiliated...and that I should be fired." Gabs explained after an apologetic sigh,

"Listen...I don't really want you fired--you've worked here over twenty years and, believe it or not, I do understand how hard it is to find work these days. And Maria needs you to help her become a trapeze artist--it would be a bit harder to do that if they replace you.

And the biggest reason of all: that woman thinks she can just waltz in and make pies her personal tool of humiliation. They were never meant to be that for clowns. Messy slapstick belongs to us clowns, and I say we take it back! We will use pies and mess: but in the right way--the way it was intended. We'll show her how clowning is really done!"

To be continued in part 3