Three

The stars winked at each other, as if they shared a collective secret. The sky took on a purplish, navy blue hue. The ride back felt smooth; Fanny felt as if she was gliding along glass. The warm breeze ruffled her hair, lifting the brown strands, as if to let her fly. The kitchen lights were still on when Julie dropped her off. "Thanks Julie, today was  fun."

"Yeah, better be ready tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"The Circus starts for real tomorrow! I'll come pick you up bright and early." 

Fanny waved as the blue pickup truck drove away, watching it leave behind a dust cloud. The last of the blue disappeared before Fanny finally turned around to head towards the front door. 

The kitchen was empty, but the lights were on. Fanny slowly closed the door behind her, cringing as the hinges squeaked. She slid out of her shoes, and started to tip-toe towards the oak stairs. "Fanny? Is that you?" Her mother called out, as if catching a two year old trying to wipe mud onto the white dishcloth. Fanny sighed. She trudged into the dark living room. She was surprised to see both her parents sitting on the sofa, their grim looks illuminated by the little lamp, as if they've been waiting hours for her to return. 

"Mommy? Daddy? What's the matter?" Fanny squeaked. They shouldn't be that angry about her leaving with Julie; she's done it before, and they never said a word. She finished all her chores before sitting down to rest, and she remembered to turn the water on, so the plants should be fine. Why do they look disappointed? 

"Fanny, did you hear what your daddy said?"

"Uh, sorry, I kinda missed that." 

Her mother sighed."Darling. You are now engaged to Mr. Johnson's son." Fanny started blankly at her mother. "We agreed on it this afternoon, while you were gone."

"Wha-"

" Now I know you might be upset that we didn't ask you what you think, but this is for the best. Mr. Johnson will connect his farm with your daddy's. This way our farm will be saved."

"Saved? What's wrong with it, I don't-"

Her mother gave another sigh. Fanny wanted to explode. "This is why you didn't get to go to college. You never listen. As your daddy said before, the drought this year has been particularly harsh, and our little farm won't be able to make it without help. Since Mr. Johnson is near us, and his farm is so big, we decided to merge; however, in order to secure our contract, we felt it is necessary to become family of sorts, and since his son is in need of a wife, and you need to be married off, it was perfect."

Her mother's words didn't make a lick of sense to Fanny. "What perfect?" Fanny mumbled under her breathe. 

"The wedding will be held next week." Her mom slowly stood up and looked into Fanny's eyes. "It is time to start your own family." Her father took her mother's hand and they slowly started up the stairs. Her father glanced backwards at the dumbfounded Fanny, now staring at the little lamp with her mouth open. She painfully dragged her eyes towards to father's face, trying to search for some sort of escape, but all she saw was guilt.