The trainer cracked his whip and waved his gun at the lion. But it
wouldn't listen. The trainer's face contorted in horror as the lion ran up
to him and pounced.
The audience screamed.
The lion grabbed the cowering trainer and planted a big kiss on his
lips, then turned to the crowd, shaking clasped hands above his head
triumphantly while the trainer spat the liony taste from his mouth. The
crowd roared.
Lekya grinned from backstage. Dooley, playing "the Trainer" in full
clown regalia, had gone out of his way to pattern his character on Lekya;
though he would give the clown a clout to the head as soon as he came
backstage, Lekya was of course seriously flattered. He wondered what Sasha
would think of the kid playing him, in that tattered lion suit.
Probably not much.
There was a full house, and, more than that, they were an
enthusiastic, delighted audience, laughing outrageously even at Dooley's
oldest bits (which, of course, were brand new to most of the kids in the
stands), holding their breath while the Wire-Walkers skipped rope high
above the ring, cheering wildly while Dietrich's elephants danced a
lurching cha-cha (not that Dietrich would crack a smile either way).
It was invigorating.
He had doubts up until showtime; even though he could see the house
was full, even though the venders were going through their allotments of
cotton candy and popcorn at a record speed before the show had even begun,
even though the warm-up clown antics that preceded the show were
enthusiastically received, Lekya still wasn't sure. They could just be here
out of curiosity; the publicity the circus had received because of the TV
show had been great. Lekya couldn't tell; how would they respond? Were they
here for something to do, or here for the magic? Here for the circus, or
for Circus?
Then came the parade...
The circus officially began with a whistle from the Ringmaster, a
gentleman by the name of O'Brien who had a real flair for it despite his
youth. Then, as the band played "Strike up the Band" and "The Circus
Anthem", all of the performers would make their way around the ring in a
loose parade, waving to the audience and smiling. First the clowns, then
the tumblers, then the horses. Grizzled old Buck Trumbull, looking like
Mark Twain playing Wild Bill Hickock in his buckskins. Dietrich led
Esmeralda, his best elephant, with the two youngest troupers, Maria and
Juan Carlos Esperanza, on her back. Then the aerialists, and the Branns and
their trained poodles, then the Spinozas on their unicycles.
Then it was Lekya's turn.
As per Jake's instructions, Lekya allowed a long pause after the
preceding troupers had entered the tent. "Build a little tension," Jake had
said, "People love seeing Sasha. Let's make it really dramamtic."
Lekya let the Spinozas move out, zigzagging on their unicycles,
then he patted Sasha on the back of the neck. "Okay, Sasha, this is it,
let's show 'em something.'
The lion looked back at him, as if to say, "Of course."
Lekya could sense Sasha's excitement. Sasha loved the crowds.
Though he would never in a million years be able to prove it to any
scientist, he knew that Sasha understood what a "show" was, and what a
crowd's reaction meant. And, even more difficult to prove, but even more
certain, that Sasha loved the roar of the crowd. Lekya could tell by
Sasha's tensed muscles that he couldn't wait to move out into the tent.
It was time.
"Sasha, ho!" Lekya cried, loud enough for the crowd to hear. Then
he and Sasha, jogging abreast, ran out into the tent. The crowd gasped,
awestruck by the Sasha immense size... and by the fact that the ferocious
jungle beast was only tethered by a leash that would hardly challenge a
medium sized dog. Some of the people in the ringside seats cringed back.
There was genuine fear in the crowd... and genuine excitement.
Lekya and Sasha, per Jake's orders, jogged into the center of the
tent's single ring. Stopping dead center, all eyes upon them, Lekya gave
the cue... "Sasha, ha!" and the lion let loose a tent-shaking roar.
The echoes of the roar were met with silence. For a moment Lekya's
heart sunk; the audience wasn't with them. But then, slowly , the applause;
first a trickle, then a roar, then a tumult, with cheers and whistles and
stamping feet, and Lekya realized that the audience had been stunned
silent, knocked on their collective ass by the incredible Sasha. Lekya
grinned, and waved.
Then Sasha did something that proved once and for all that Lekya
was right about his love for the ring.
Unbidden, Sasha raised himself onto his rear legs and batted his
front paws in the air, unleashing a second roar easily the equal of the
first. Lekya looked at the lion, and a grin pulled itself across his face.
"You ham!" he said to the lion, "Sasha, you are ham!"
When Lekya looked away, he realized that the crowd was on its feet.
A standing ovation... in the introductory parade! Lekya'd never
seen the like before. He gave Sasha a congratulatory slap to the shoulder,
and they left the ring at a jog as the audience settled back into their
seats and the show began.
Now, as they neared Intermission, Lekya found himself itching to
get into the ring, to enter the Big Cage while the audience watched and
chewed their knuckles.
The clown act finished, and Dooley flashed a quick salute to Lekya
as he jogged past him on the way backstage. Lekya took a swipe at him as he
passed; "I see that! You think you funny!"
"Well, that is kinda the idea..." Dooley yelled back at him.
Lekya laughed, as the Berrillos raced into the ring. Their act
closed down the first half of the show; it was a tumbling act, but so
fast-paced that it led the audience into intermission on a high note, and
they filed off to spend money snacks and trinkets excited and happy.
Lekya watched them perform. They were a spectacular act, three
generations rolling and falling and leaping through the air. Some of the
moves were so intricately choreographed that it was almost breathtaking.
"Something else, aren't they?" The voice came from behind him. It
was Jake.
"They sure are. Pure circus."
"Yeah, I was lucky to discover them. Won't be long before one of
the big guns snaps 'em up for the arena circuit; but for now we're lucky to
have 'em."
"Good people, too." Lekya had spent some time with old Felipe
Berrillo; Lekya spoke a bit of Italian, so they had gotten along quite well.
"Ahh, it's all good people this year, Lekya." Jake grinned. "Even
the roustabouts."
"Can't say that every year."
"No. No you can't." Jake McCrae sighed. "I don't want to jinx
anything, but this is just so perfect, just how I dreamed it would be. This
is the circus of my dreams."
"Naah," Lekya said with a dismissive wave. "What are our dreams,
anyway? Look out there." He gestured to the stands. "This is the circus of
their dreams."
Felipe Berrillo performed a triple cartwheel while his
grandchildren dove between his hands and legs, and the audience roared
their approval.