Love From The Flying Trapeze

Chapter 2

The birds sang beautifully outside Robert's window. He loved waking up every morning knowing that peace surrounded him and his home. The bed is so soft. It felt like he was laying on a cloud. Books were scattered everywhere in the room, open and closed. The wardrobe had clothes hangers in it but instead the clothes were on the floor. A putrid smell lingered as if a dead body was under his bed. Stretching his arms as wide as he could, he let out a little moan. Not wanting to get up.

"Get out of bed, you lazy dog!" yelled Linda as she stormed her way in. "Seriously, I took you out to a circus that I didn't even want to go too and this is how you repay me? By having a terrible arse room. We are suppose to be meeting with Chanice in thirty minutes," he stood up more quickly than a flash of lightning, except to trip over on his boots. "Clean this place up! If you don't have this room clean by the time we are leaving, I am kicking you out of this house!" She marched out of the room. A heavy sigh escaped from Robert as he began to clean.

He started with gathering up his clothes. He washed them and hanged them up on the line outside to dry. Then, he carried the books to the little room they have which looked like a library. They call it the library, in fact. Robert is massive reader. Every second he gets, he reads. That is only when he is free though, of course. Romance books are his favourite. He is always hoping he will find the girl of his dreams. And in the back of his mind, he already has.

Linda is in the kitchen making breakfast. They are a fan of jam. Jam on toast, jam on biscuits, jam in cake. Anything. Jam was the way to go. And Linda is baking scones and setting up the smooth cream and jam onto the table. They didn't have a separate room for eating and cooking like most other families do across the world. The dinner table was in the middle of the kitchen. Most of the families in Stanley had the same. Robert walked through the kitchen door. He had his black hair gelled back, sunglasses on, a white t-shirt with buttons, tight dark blue pants, and newly polished, pointy black shoes. Linda wore the same outfit as yesterday.

"Mama, shouldn't you change out of those clothes?" He asked.

"Why would I spend all day washing these clothes just to wear them again? Might as well wear them for as long as I can."

"But it is unhygienic. You could get sick."

She gave him a stern look, as if to say quit it.

"Are you okay?" Robert asked. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" He laughed a little.

"No," she replied irritatingly. "I will be waiting for you in the car" she took two scones in a small bowl and walked out. Robert felt a grip around his neck, like a hand was strangling him.

It only took ten minutes to drive to the park. Chanice was already sitting cross-legged at the picnic table in the very centre. The freshly cut grass smell made Robert feel comfortable. That smell was his favourite. Chanice looked up from her laptop.

"Hey, there you two are!" She called out waving with the biggest smile you could ever see, showing full teeth.

Linda sat down on the opposite side from Chanice, and Robert sat next to Linda. Linda matched the same energy as Chanice. Always smiling and laughing whenever together. Robert could swore they were in a secret relationship and not just best friends. He is not just assuming this because of their emotional connection, but one time he caught Chanice feeling his mother's bottom from behind and kissing her neck. They stopped instantly when Robert entered the room that day. He did not  have a problem with them being together, but he did wish his mother would tell him the truth. The time that he confronted Linda about it, she changed the topic. He did not understand why they are choosing to keep it a secret from him.

After thirty minutes, Robert got bored of just sitting there. This is how the conversation always goes with Linda, Chanice, and him; they would all talk together for the first ten minutes or something, that is, Chanice asking Robert how work is, then Linda and Chanice will continue chit-chatting and leaving Robert right out of the conversation. Even if he tries to get his word in, they shut him down.

Robert pulled out his phone. He checked the news first, just an article about finding a new fish species. Robert was not into that stuff. He then found himself on Instagram, just scrolling through posts after posts. Nothing interested him anymore. It was just the same old stuff. That is, dog pictures, vacation resorts, sexy models showing off their bodies, etcetera. However, one thing interested him. The Hart Bros. Circus. He wondered if they had an Instagram page, so he searched there name. No results. Then he googled them. The same thing showed up. No results. Weird.

"That circus is amazing" said Chanice with so much enthusiasm. This caused Robert to look up. He then noticed a person standing behind the tree about ten feet away from his table. It was a woman, with white curly hair and a short skirt showing her white legs. They looked pale. She wore a pink skirt and a white crop top. Robert's heart stopped beating. It was the flying trapeze.

Linda touched Robert's arm, causing him to jump.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, love," she said with a chuckle. Chanice grinned. "We were just wondering if you would like to join us at the movies tomorrow?"

"Sure, mum" he replied. Robert looked immediately back at the tree, but she was gone.