To the Stars and Beyond

Chapter 9

 The show ends around two in the morning and when Rachel invites us all out for a cast party at a bar nearby, I want nothing more than to go back to my hotel and sleep. Considering that I didn't even have a dress, that was going to be my plan. That was, until a grinning Eleanor knocked on the door to my dressing room, holding a bundle of dark green silk.

"What have you got there Elle?" I ask cautiously.

She hands me the bundle of silk, "It's a dress. Put this on."

The old lady closes the door, leaving me no choice but to try it on.

I slip it on and zip up the back. It's one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. It's a simple slip dress that falls a few inches above my knees and has two thin simple straps. I smooth it down in awe.

Two seconds later, Eleanor comes in.

She smiles, "I knew it would look perfect on you."

I spin in front of the mirror, trying to see it from every angle possible, "Where did you get this? It's beautiful."

"Your mom made it for me a couple years before she died." Eleanor tells me, "I never wore it because it just didn't look right on me. I guess it's safe to say she made it for you without even realizing it at the time."

Suddenly I see the dress in a whole new light. It isn't just beautiful anymore, it's also a part of my mother. I was only 9 when my parents died, so I don't have many vivid memories of them. However there is one.

I was down at the waterfront in our hometown, skipping along with one tiny hand in my dad's and the other in my mom's. I remember my dad's detailed dramatic story and my mom laughing controllably with me. We had been perfect, just the three of us.

"I want you to keep it." Eleanor tells me.

Before I can stop myself, I hug her tightly, burying my face in her shoulder, "Thank you for everything you've done for me Elle. I wouldn't be who I am today without you."

"Of course dear." She says, "Now go out and party like you're young."

I smile, "Yes ma'am."

She gives me directions to the bar and then I head off into the night. When I get there, the place is loud and busy. Most of the customers are cast members with a few odd ones out who are probably wondering what kind of clown car interrupted their night.

At one booth, I see Davis sitting with Beth and a couple of the other contortionists. At the other tables are musicians, and clowns, and acrobats, and jugglers, and sword swallowers, and fire breathers, and so many more circus performers. Some of them are mingling with the civilians, but most of them are sticking to each other, drinking, laughing and having a good time.

I take one of the only empty seats at the bar and order a drink. Luckily the bartender doesn't ask me for my I.D.

"One for me too please." A voice says from beside me.

I look over and see a man sitting on the bar stool next to me. At first glance he could be a supermodel in his thirties with his styled dark hair, crisp black suit, and mature posture. But it doesn't take me long to realize he's only a couple years older than me.

"A lot of circus performers are here tonight, aren't there?" He says to me, his american accent standing out in a bar full of brits.

I nod, "Yeah, we just finished our show."

"You're one of them?" He asks in surprise.

"You wouldn't have guessed so?"

"Not at all," he admits, "You don't look like one of them."