What if We Rewrite the Stars?

Act 4: The Barnum Wax Museum:

*The Next Evening*

Amelia and Caroline pretended to be ballerinas when Helen sang them a song. The apartment they lived in was small and the girls did not have much to do. They would dance and sing. They would put on shows for their mother while Phineas was either at work or trying to find work. Amelia would read the girls books, or they would make up their own. 

It was a simple life. But the girls never complained. They seemed happy.

"Girls..." Phineas smiled when the girls looked at him while they danced in the living room. "Where's your mother? I want to show you something." He smiled when Charity poked her head from the bedrooms. 

Their small place had a joint living room, dining room, and kitchen, along with two bedrooms. Charity and Phineas's bedroom, and then the girls' bedroom only had one big bed for the three of them to share.

"Why would a bank loan us $10,000?" Charity asked her husband while they walked behind their daughters. 

"Because we put up collateral." Phineas smiled at his wife. 

"But, dear, we don't have any collateral," Charity said, knowing that they didn't have much money.

"Sure, we do. In the South China Seas." 

"In the South China Seas?" Amelia asked, turning to glance back at her dad. 

"Deep in the South China Seas, Mimi," Phineas smirked at her, making Amelia turn back to her sisters, who were dragging her ahead. 

"And what did we buy with this loan?" Charity asked, making Phineas stop as he held her hand. 

"Barnum's American Museum of Curiosities." The little girls read out when the three Barnum girls turned to look at their parents. 

"What kind of museum is it?" Helen asked her dad.

Once they walked in, Phineas showed the girls into the big building that had wax figures all around it. Phineas laughed when one of the wax figure's heads was cut off by a fake guillotine. Amelia moved her hands to cover her little sisters' eyes when Charity looked unsure. 

"A place to be transported. A place where people can see things they've never seen before. Huh?" He smiled, making his family look at him. 

"Wax figures?" Charity asked him, the skeptic in her tone. 

"Yeah, yeah. They're all the rage in Europe. Look. Marie Antoinette with the sore throat. Napoleon. Come here. See?" Phineas said, showing his family around to other figures. "You've already met some of the most famous folks in history. But they're not all wax." Phineas said, walking over to a general and his horse. "This is the great... O'Malley." He continued when they walked over to a strange man. "Master of sleight of hand. A king of deception." Phineas continued to introduce O'Malley to his wife and daughters.

"You don't look like a magician," Caroline spoke up.

"I'm a thief." The "Great" O'Malley said when Amelia moved her little sisters closer to her. 

"A very good thief. I caught him nicking my watch." Phineas said to his skeptical wife when O'Malley flicked a coin, acting as if it came out of his mouth when Caroline and Helen looked at him in surprise. "See?" Phineas smiled at his daughters.

"An elephant!" Helen exclaimed when she started running over to the big elephant with Caroline while Phineas followed them. 

"Not just any elephant..." Phineas smiled when Charity and Amelia walked by O'Malley. 

"I can get you somethin' real nice. Just say the word." He said, tipping his hat to the two. 

"Oh... Thank you." Charity said, holding Amelia close to her.

"Oh, yeah. This is a ten-ton bull straight from the plains of Africa." Phineas said to his youngest girls before picking up Helen as she laughed. "And look at that. The tallest giraffe in the world." Phineas said, sitting Helen down as they all looked at the tall giraffe. 

"Can I climb up its leg?" Caroline asked when Helen and Amelia chuckled at her question. 

"Absolutely not. Okay." Phineas smirked when the girls giggled. Helen grabbed Amelia's hand as they continued to look around when Phineas turned to his wife. "Now... I know how it looks." Phineas smirked, taking his wife's hands in his. 

"If you didn't, I'd be worried." Charity chuckled at him.

"I mean, it just needs a little work, but..." 

"The loan has to be paid back every month." Charity interrupted him. 

"Oh, yeah, we're gonna pay it. We just need customers." Phineas smiled at her.

"Hundreds of them," Charity added.

"We're gonna get them."

~741 words~