You're a Carnie

excerpt

(This is an excerpt from my published novel BY THE LIGHT OF THE CARNIVAL - a ghost story that takes place in a carnival in a country field in 1977)

As the rain became a drizzle and the lightning passed, the students poured out of the big yellow bus, singing We all live in a yellow submarine. The Alpine Bobsled started up again, loudly blaring The Rubber Band Man by the Spinners. It played so loud that nobody heard Lady Fortuna say, as she looked up at the crescent moon emerging from the clouds, “Oh no. Changing forms. Changing phenomenon. Change from this to that. The sign of change is right up there shining down on us all. All things aquatic will come forth, and all things on this land shall fall deep into the sea.” She anxiously crossed herself. “That is what such a sign of such a moon always means.”

Joe didn’t see her talking to the moon, since he was finding out that many of the young men wanted to try their hand at shooting, and nobody seemed outwardly suspicious that nobody could win because the bullets were too small.

Then Lisa walked up to Joe. He was surprised… not only to see her but she was wearing a charming pink dress. She looked so lovely he smiled wide. “You! Lisa! What are you doing here? I didn’t see you. There you are. You look so…”

She saw he was taking her all in. She tried not to smile too big, as she said, “Wet?”

“Yeah, what rain.”

“The weatherman said it would be dry for once.”

Joe shook his head. “Dad thinks I’m baling hay soon. It won’t dry out unless an atomic bomb drops.”

She laughed. “That was funny.”

“I didn’t see you before. I didn’t know you were here tonight.”

Lisa looked toward the arcade tent. “Most of us are in there to stay out of the weather. Everybody likes to dunk the Devil.”

“Oh, they are?”

She smiled big. “He’s in his underwear. It’s crazy!”

Joe pretended ignorance. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Lisa chuckled. “I think it makes the Lutherans mad that there’s a guy sitting up there like that. It’s just driving some of them bonkers.”

Joe asked, “So he’s really getting dunked?” She nodded. Joe laughed bawdily.

Lisa continued, “And my eyeballs almost fell out, I think he’s such a fox. I mean Devil. Maybe he’ll go out on a date with me.”

Joe stuck out his lower lip. “Hey. Woah. Wait a minute. No way.”

“Why not? I thought he looked cute up there like that.”

Joe huffed his chest up a bit. “He’s just a carnie. You don’t want to date a carnie. That could ruin your reputation.”

Lisa said, “So are you.”

“I’m a what?”

“You’re a carnie.”

“I’m leaving after tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll keep me until the wee hours of Monday morning until they say I’m done. And then I sleep for three minutes and the sun is up and I’m out in the string beans until the hay dries.” He laughed. “And then I’m going to visit you all the rest of the summer when I can get away from chores.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”

He firmly nodded. “It’s the fates.”