A Circus Catastrophe Ages 9-12

By Marenn Harris, age 12

Random prompt 19: The circus comes to town, and Andi Prescott is shocked to see Toledo (Heartbreak Trail) preforming with his horse, Sultan!

        Andi looked up from the dishes when she heard the soft, steady pounding of hooves just behind the house. Justin and Lucy had the kids at their place in town. “Of course, someone had to ruin my one chance to get the house clean without interruptions!” she thought. She dried her hands and stepped over the threshold onto the back porch to find Riley, mud-drenched and forlorn, shoulders sagging with a look of frustration plastered on his usually calm features. “What happened to you? It looks like a steer dragged you a mile after a downpour!” she exclaimed.

     “Actually, you're not too far off. A calf got loose. I tried to lasso it and I did. Before I could dally the rope, Tucker yelped and Dakota shied. At the same time, the calf pulled the opposite way and yanked me out of the saddle straight into a mud puddle. I’m pretty sure the guys will never let me live it down.”

Andi burst out laughing. At an unenthused look from Riley, her laughter changed to the occasional soft giggle. “I’m sorry for laughing but it’s kinda funny that a calf pulled a grown man off his horse!”

     “It was a large calf,” he muttered, attempting to justify the incident and make it sound a little less amusing but he knew that a calf large enough to make it sound reasonable would no longer be called a calf .

      The next day Riley went into town to purchase some groceries, which Andi had once again forgotten on the main shopping excursion, and to pick the kids up from Justin’s. As he neared his first destination, he noticed posters plastered all over every building. When he arrived at Goodwin’s General Store, he realized what the posters were for. A broad smile spread from ear to ear.

A circus was coming to town! He hurried to get what was on Andi’s shopping list, which at that moment seemed about a mile long. He collected Jared and the twins with barely two words to Justin. He wanted to get home as fast as he could and share the exciting news with his beloved bride. It didn’t occur to him that a circus could dredge up some unwanted heartache. The little ones, who would soon understand why their daddy was driving faster than usual, had become very frustrated at the fact that he did not seem to be listening to their questions. The best answer they received was just an “uh huh” that was hardly audible over the rattling buggy.

When they arrived home, the twins and Jared went flying out of the wagon to find their mama and Riley was right at their heels. Once Andi had been located, the three little bundles of joy began clinging to her skirt and peppering her with questions. As soon as Andi and Riley could hear themselves think, Riley shared the exciting news with the entire family.

Everyone was overjoyed! Andi was a little less enthusiastic compared to the rest of her family. The memories of the last circus that had come through Fresno flooded her mind, most of which were unpleasant. When Riley noticed her reaction lacked excitement, he realized that circuses hadn’t always held joyous memories for her.

The most recent circus had almost ended tragically when the Ringmaster had blackmailed a young boy into stealing Taffy for the stunt rider, Miss Minnie Mae. Luckily, Andi’s brothers were able to find the young filly and return her to their precious baby sister. Riley sent the kids into the house to wash up for lunch and to do their chores. Then he brought Andi in for a hug and kiss. “The circus that’s coming to town probably isn't the same one as the last time. The likelihood of that makes it almost impossible,” he attempted to comfort her.

          “I know but it still makes me a little uneasy.”

          “That’s understandable considering what happened before with Taffy. I thought maybe we could all ride into town at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon for the parade and since the early show is only a little while after the parade, we could just stay in town ‘til it starts,” he suggested. She shook off the old memories and returned to her cheerful self. She agreed with him and that was that.

          The next day, they set off into town. Andi rode with Lilly on Shasta, Riley and Lottie rode together on Dakota and Jared plodded along on Coco. Once they reached the crowd of people, Andi dismounted and left Lilly in the saddle. She was determined to find a spot in the crowd where they could see.

Without waiting for the rest of her family, she started pushing her way as close to the front of the crowd as she could get, dragging Shasta behind her. After she arrived at her desired spot, she remounted, being very careful of the little one in front of her. Meanwhile, Riley had found a hitching post for Dakota and placed Lottie in front of Jared on his pony. He was not enthusiastic about the little hitchhiker. They spotted Andi easily and made their way towards her. They had jostled through the crowd to a spot next to her.

The parade was just beginning as they settled into their place in the crowd. The first few wagons held nothing of interest to Andi. As she watched, the band began to play. The sudden noise startled Shasta. He reared and caught Andi off guard, sending both her and Lilly backwards. Luckily, Riley reacted quickly and caught Lilly and someone else cushioned Andi’s fall. Andi looked up at her rescuer. Who looked back but Mitch! But the person they missed in all the commotion would soon cause much confusion and heartache.

 Mitch hoisted Andi to her feet. “Need to hire a team of men to stand behind you when you go to a parade!” he teased her.

          “Haha, very funny. I don’t try to fall but something always spooks me or my horse.”

          “I’m moving next to you so don’t fall backwards,” he said with a smirk. The next thing she saw made her heart ache. A boy, small and forlorn, sat on the seat of a wagon, his face streaked with dirt. He reminded her so much of Henry, the runaway who was forced to steal Taffy. She was determined to find him and help him find his way home.

     Soon the parade was finished and the waiting came. “Let’s find a nice place to wait until right before the show,” Riley decided. To Andi, the hour and a half wait felt like an eternity. It dragged on for what seemed like days of sitting in a stuffy cafe.

“I can’t believe Riley talked me into this! I’d much rather wait outside,” she thought to herself. Finaly, the time came for them to head to the big top. This circus didn’t have as many side shows as the last one but it still had a few. They set out to see what they had to offer. Before they had seen much, they had to head to the main event, the show. The lighting was so bad that at first, Andi couldn’t see a thing. All her other senses were on full alert. The din of many voices and a few cranky animals. The stench of animal waste flooded her nostrils mixed with hints of sweets and popcorn. As her eyes adjusted to dim light, she saw three rings with short, colorful, canvas walls around the edges and one big ring around the rest. As soon as the Prescotts reached their seats, the show began.

          A short, fat man dressed in a red and black tuxedo waddled his way into the center of the largest ring. “Welcome and thank you for coming,” he bellowed. “You will be mesmerized by the first three acts. Please welcome the incredible Flying Smith Family, Bongo the clown, and Thomas McHale and his extraordinary stallion, Sterling!”

As he said each name, the performers came into the rings. When he uttered the last name, who galloped out into the ring but Toledo McGuire and his prized stallion, Sultan! Andi recognized them instantly but at first she was too dazed to say a thing. When Riley noticed Andi’s silence and faraway look in her eyes, he asked her, “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” His words knocked her out of the  daze. She was silent for a second but finally she could force the words out.

      ”I-I-I know him!” she stuttered .

      “Who?!” he said as his eyes widened.

     “The trick rider. It’s Toledo McGuire.”

       Riley’s face twisted in confusion.

      “One of the traitor cowhands from the cattle drive when I was sixteen!” she exclaimed.

      “The cruel one with the knotted rope?!” His eyes got wider, if that was even possible.

      “Yes! He’s here, and to top it all off, his jail stint shouldn't be finished. Justin saw to that personally.” Before Andi could say another word, Riley cut her off by standing up and rushing down a few rows to where her family sat. He said something hurriedly to her brothers. She could pretty well guess the gist of it. It riled them. Riley slowed himself down and bluntly asked Mother something. She nodded, quickly got up, hurried to Andi and sat down.

      “Riley and the boys are going after Toledo as soon as his part of the show is done. Riley asked if you would like to go. I’ll watch the kids,” Mother told Andi. Andi sprang up. She rushed to Riley’s side.

       “Mitch, go get Sheriff Tate,” Chad barked. Without a word Mitch hurried off to do his bidding. The rest of the posse headed off to collect the fugitive. They went to the door where Toledo had entered and waited.

      As soon as Toledo stepped out, he grabbed Sultan’s reins and Andi. He put the reins to her neck. Andi shrieked.

      “Let me leave with her or she dies!” Toledo shouted.

      Mitch walked up and responded, “I’d watch my words if I were you.”

      The cold metal of a pistol barrel touched the back of Toledo’s head. He heard a click; then a voice came from behind him. “ Let the girl go or else.”

     It was Sheriff Tate. Toledo obeyed. Andi ran to Riley who kissed her passionately and whispered, “I love you.” The Sheriff pushed Toledo to his knees, cuffed him and led him away.

     “I think I might need to hold you hostage to keep you from getting held hostage,” Chad joked. They all burst out laughing. Andi and Riley headed home with three cheerful kids, who were ignorant of their mother’s brush with death. Finally, all was well.