ISAAC
The next morning Zac woke up, surprisingly rested and refreshed. And early. He normally slept in, but not today. Today, he awoke to the warmth of the trailer as the birds sang in the tree nearby and the sun shone through the leaves outside the window. Today was the last day of the fair and the last opportunity to earn money the way they preferred to earn it, performing for crowds rather than finding odd jobs to pass the time until the next carnival opportunity, wherever or whenever that may be.
He was awake before his brothers and he stepped over whatever mess they had made last night to get to their small bathroom to wash up. The water tank would need to be changed soon. While it was useful to be able to hitch your home to your car and go (whenever your car was in working order), and it was relatively cheap to live this way, there were still parts of living like a gypsy that were the absolute pits--changing the water tank was one of them.
They'd been lucky enough to have purchased one of the more luxurious travel trailers that 1929 had produced, paying for it with the vaudeville money they made and then miraculously being able to finish paying it with what they had left after the stock market crash. While it was small, and it was cramped for three grown men, it was still comfortable. They had running water, they had means of heating and means of lighting, and that was pretty much all they had money for. The gypsies in the camp where they parked their trailer were nice to them. They'd become like a family and everyone who lived close by helped and took care of each other. There was strength in numbers and Zac and his brothers often said that if it weren't for the gypsies, there were times they thought they wouldn't have made it through the day.
And speaking of making it through the day, Zac cleaned his teeth, ran some soap and water through his shoulder-length hair, and stared at himself in the tiny mirror. This was it. The last day of the fair where Bessie Harlow knew where to find him, before they borrowed a car to hitch their trailer to and take it back to the camp by the river. Would she show up today? Even after the way she'd gotten upset yesterday, did she sleep on it and decide to try to make amends? Not that he deserved for her to show up, that was. But, still. He needed her. For the past two days, since the moment he'd laid eyes on her, he needed her to get him through the day. He didn't understand why he needed her, but he did.
And then the morning started. Nibbling on a breakfast of fresh fruit, Zac took in a deep breath once outside and made a valiant effort to remain positive. That was the one main thing he did wrong yesterday. Today was a new day. Today, everything was beautiful, everything was good, and he would take nothing for granted.
Getting a head start on getting their equipment together and setting their stage before Taylor and Isaac woke up, Zac began dragging out props and backdrops and inspecting them for possible weather damage. Stepping out of the trailer next to theirs, the excessively voluptuous bearded lady batted her eyelashes and waved at him, wearing much less than she should have been. "Morning, beautiful!" Zac called with a grin as he set about his work. The bearded lady giggled and she blushed and she stepped with a quickness back inside her trailer. Zac chuckled and shook his head as he picked up one of their trunks and carried it to the small wooden steps that led to the stage.
Before too long, Isaac and Taylor looked alive and Isaac ran a hand through his hair as he sat on the back of the stage, watching Zac count a deck of trick cards. "What are you doing up so early?"
Zac breathed in a breath and shook his head as he counted. "Slept good last night."
"I'm surprised."
"So am I."
"You think she'll show today?"
Zac sighed, satisfied with his counting, trading the deck for a sack of fake coins. "I can only hope that she does."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Well. Then I'm a bastard."
"So you're just gonna give up, then. Just like that."
"Ike, I don't know what else to do," he said, exasperated. "I don't--I don't even know where to find her."
"Zac. Come on," Isaac replied. "She's Judge Harlow's daughter. Everybody knows where Judge Harlow lives."
"Right. Excuse me while I just march right on up to the judge's door and ask him to see his daughter. That'll go over well."
"Well, I see we're just as charming as we were yesterday," Isaac breathed sarcastically. Then he looked back up at his younger brother. "Besides, it's Monday. The judge isn't home. He's at work."
This realization piqued Zac's interest just a little bit. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"And anyway, I don't know why you're so worried about him in the first place," Isaac continued. "You haven't gotten into any trouble in a couple of years. And so what if you're interested in his daughter? It's slim pickings around here and beggars can't be choosers. You're a nice guy. You're smart, you're good-looking--and I should know, we share the same bloodline." Isaac paused to smile as Zac shook his head. "Anyway, you're good people. He'd be an idiot not to let you date her. And besides, you won't know until you try."
"And if I try and I fail?"
"She's a grown woman. If she wants to see you, she'll find a way. Honestly, Zac, I wouldn't worry about the judge. I think you're focusing your energy on the wrong person. And that's where you screwed up yesterday."
Leave it to Isaac to lay on the words of wisdom. Zac envied Isaac. Out of the three of them, Isaac's head was screwed on the tightest. He was the oldest, at thirty years old, and he handled all their business, ran their shows, did their schedules, and found their work. Even with dealing all the business, he still found time to work on their car, learn new gags, and date Judith Carter during the summer. And when Judith was at school during the rest of the year, he found time to date others. He also spent quite a bit of time in the speakeasies and that made Zac nervous a little bit. Other than that, Isaac was as straight-laced and reliable as they came. He couldn't ask for a better older brother. Seriously. Taylor could be sketchy at times.
"Why don't you ask her to the social this weekend?" Isaac said.
Zac looked up from his fake coins and furrowed his brow in confusion. "Social?"
"Yeah. You know, the town social. The one they have every summer."
He looked at his brother matter-of-factly. "We don't go to those things."
"No," Isaac replied in thought. "But she might." Standing up, he patted Zac on the shoulder and walked away in search of something to do. Zac thought about his words. He was right. Why the hell was he standing there trying to make excuses to not see her, worrying about the judge or his reputation at some dinky town social? It wasn't about him anymore. It was about her.
God, he was an idiot.
Trying his hardest not to feel sorry for himself again, he sucked in another breath, straightened his spine, and forced himself to stay positive as he went back inside the trailer to dress for the act.
During the act, Zac could hardly concentrate on anything he was supposed to be doing for scouring the crowd over and over again. He didn't see her. She wasn't there. Zac was crushed.
His brothers were crushed, as well, but not for the same reason that Zac was. Isaac and Taylor looked ready to crush their younger brother at a moment's notice. There was the part where he fumbled his wand, the part where he dropped half the card deck, and the part where he nearly lost the hat full of tips all over the ground. Isaac looked ready to pound Zac right into the wooden stage--Taylor looked like he might actually do it.
Once the act was over, the scolding started. Zac just sat back and took it. What else could he do? He was guilty of everything he was accused of and more. His head and his heart just wasn't in it today. Without her in the crowd, the entire act meant nothing.
As Isaac and Taylor went over the long list of things that went wrong, never forgetting to remind him of the money it cost them, Zac noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and his heart skipped a beat. Sauntering over to them were Millie and Judith with flirty smiles plastered to their faces. Zac couldn't care less about the two of them. He craned his neck to see if Bessie was in tow, but it was no use. It was just the two of them today. Discouraged and disheartened, he ignored them and got to work packing up the props.
____________________________________________________________
Isaac Hanson was thirty years old, the eldest of The Mystical Hanson Brothers. At thirty years old, he had seen nearly all of the United States, eaten the finest of foods, and rubbed elbows with the most prominent of people. He'd had women of all shapes, sizes, and class, and even went back for seconds a time or two. However, not one of them had held half the sex appeal as the little blonde bombshell who came home to him from school every summer. He liked to believe that he had a little something special with Judith Carter, young as she was, but they were a pair who liked to keep their personal feelings private between each other.
Isaac met Judith two summers ago during the same show that Taylor had met Millie. After the show, Millie had literally dragged Judith behind the stage with her, with the intent of introducing her to Zac. When it was discovered that Zac was messing around with an acrobat from one of the neighboring acts, Isaac introduced himself and the pair became inseparable. They had a lot in common. They both enjoyed liquor, they both enjoyed jazz, and Judith had an uncanny appreciation for a good cigar. Judith wasn't like most women--at least not deep down, anyway. She'd been dealt a difficult hand in life, similar to Isaac's, and wasn't as lucky in the money or the family department as her best friend, Millie, was. Judith had lost her mother to cancer when she was fourteen and was then raised by her father and her brothers, who were barely home as they worked in the mills all day and night, allowing Judith to subsequently raise herself and have the run of the town. She and Millie became best friends in high school and now, even in college, you didn't see one without the other. Judith never liked to talk about how she managed to get into the University of Oklahoma and Isaac never asked her.
Her smile widened as she approached him and she wrapped his arms around his neck, scrunching up her little button nose. "Hey, Daddy! Amazing show today, as always. And you wore the top hat! You know how much I love it when you wear that hat."
As flattered as he was, he frowned at the thought of the act. "It was horrible today. Seriously. Horrible."
"Oh, well, so Zac was a little off his game today. It happens, no big deal."
"Except it is a big deal. You know it's a big deal."
"I know, Daddy," she pouted as she thumbed the small goatee that grew from his chin. "I know."
He loved when she called him Daddy. He knew he was much older than her. Nine, almost ten, years older. So he understood where it came from. But it didn't stroke his ego any less and he made no effort to keep her from saying it. He and Judith shared a bond that he wasn't interested in breaking. She knew things about him--knew the things he liked that he wouldn't dare let his brothers know he was into, and shared those interests with him. They weren't in love, and they had no plans for a romantic future, but that didn't mean he wanted her to go anywhere anytime soon, either, and he knew she felt the same about him.
He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, longing to forget that today's show even happened. "So, what do you ladies have planned for the day?"
"Hopefully the same thing you have planned."
Isaac chuckled at her. "Oh, so you want to help tear down the stage and pack it up? Excellent, we could use the extra hands."
She curled up her lip and shook her head and it caused him to laugh. "No, thank you," she said. "But I did want to talk to you about something."
His heart began to race. Every time she said something cryptic like that, he began to panic. They'd played Russian roulette of the sexual persuasion for way too long now. One of these days he was afraid he would mess up and get her pregnant. It hadn't happened yet, but there was always the chance. "Is, uh, is everything okay?"
"Oh, everything's fine," she nodded rapidly. Then she furrowed her brow and lowered her voice. "Don't worry, it's not that."
He let out a sigh of relief and then he smiled. "What is it, princess? I'm all yours."
"Well..." She started, glancing around them. "I have a, uh, a little...business proposition for you..."
His suspicion caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. "Business? You have a business proposition for me?"
"Um--we, uh, we should talk about it in private. Maybe after you're done here--"
"No, we'll talk about it right now." In a mix of curiosity and concern, his heart racing mile a minute, he took her by the hand and led her up into their trailer, closing the door behind them.
"Ike," she laughed nervously as he stood in front of her with his hands on his hips. "Why are you acting so strange?"
"Because you and business are not normally something I would put together. So I can only take that to mean that you're in some kind of trouble and you need me to get you out of it."
"Ike! What do you take me for?" She scolded. She placed her hands on her hips to match his and she lifted her chin into the air. "I'm not the kind of woman who can't get herself out of trouble. You know that. Besides, I'm not in trouble. I just told my cousin I might be able to help him out. That's all."
"With what?"
Looking mildly uncomfortable, Judith looked around them and then lowered her voice to a whisper. "My cousin, Johnny, runs a new speakeasy downtown. He's looking for a runner. A dependable one. And I told him I might know someone who needed the extra cash."
Isaac's eyes widened in shock. He knew Judith was into a lot of things, but he didn't know she was involved in anything like this. He thought she thought better of him than that. "Are you crazy?" He hissed. "You suggested to someone that I would be willing to run liquor for them? Are you out of your mind?"
"No!" She hissed back, annoyed. "Not liquor! Money! Bets! He wants to run a little gambling along with the drinking and he needs someone reliable who will collect the bets and run them to the policy house! That's it! Nothing more!"
"Yeah?" He said, still studying her suspiciously. "Why not just have you do it?"
She sighed and she crossed her arms over her chest in a pout. "I wanted to. But he said that the gamblers wouldn't feel comfortable placing their bets in the hands of a woman. So he asked me if I knew anyone and you were the first person I thought of."
"Why me?"
She crossed the small space between them and wrapped her arms around his neck again, pouting her lips at him. "Because, Daddy. I know you need the money. I know you need to fix your car and I understand what it's like to be strapped for cash. We all are these days." She pulled away from him and pulled up her dress, revealing her black stockings with a considerably large hole in them. "Some of us can't even afford new stockings," she pouted. Then she let her dress back down and took him in her arms again. "I know you're reliable and I know you're trustworthy. And I know by the kinds of acts that you do that you know how to detect if someone's cheating you, so you'd be someone my cousin and the dealers can trust. And," she said as she let her fingers walk up his chest and up to his chin. "You'd get to spend more time with me. Johnny says the betters might want a little eye candy to invite them to the table. We'd be like a team, you and me. And we'd get a cut of the dough. What do you say, Daddy? It's nothing but a little harmless running."
The truth was, he didn't know what to say. He knew exactly what kind of running she was talking about. He was no stranger to gambling. And he didn't know what kind of fantasy she had created in her head about what it was all about, but the reality was, it was dangerous as hell. But there was the potential for good money to be made if the betting was any good. And with another carnival or circus in sight no time soon, he really could use the money to help fix the car so that he and his brothers could seek out more traveling work.
He swallowed hard and he studied the small girl, with her short, platinum blonde curls and the black, sleeveless dress that hung off of her thin body. She batted her eyes in hope at him and he had no idea what to say. Part of him wanted to discuss it with his brothers. However, he knew if he did that, he would get no support from them whatsoever. Maybe it was best that they just didn't know anything at all. It protected them and it protected him--and Judith. Yes, the less that knew anything, the better. He couldn't believe he was even entertaining this thought.
As if she felt like he needed any further convincing, Judith looked up at Isaac and batted her big brown eyes at him and pouted her lips again, a look that she knew he couldn't resist. "What's it gonna take, Daddy? What else can I do to make you say yes?"
And then her hands drifted to his belt buckle. She backed him into the nearest bench and she dropped to her knees. In that moment, he'd made his decision.
The next morning Zac woke up, surprisingly rested and refreshed. And early. He normally slept in, but not today. Today, he awoke to the warmth of the trailer as the birds sang in the tree nearby and the sun shone through the leaves outside the window. Today was the last day of the fair and the last opportunity to earn money the way they preferred to earn it, performing for crowds rather than finding odd jobs to pass the time until the next carnival opportunity, wherever or whenever that may be.
He was awake before his brothers and he stepped over whatever mess they had made last night to get to their small bathroom to wash up. The water tank would need to be changed soon. While it was useful to be able to hitch your home to your car and go (whenever your car was in working order), and it was relatively cheap to live this way, there were still parts of living like a gypsy that were the absolute pits--changing the water tank was one of them.
They'd been lucky enough to have purchased one of the more luxurious travel trailers that 1929 had produced, paying for it with the vaudeville money they made and then miraculously being able to finish paying it with what they had left after the stock market crash. While it was small, and it was cramped for three grown men, it was still comfortable. They had running water, they had means of heating and means of lighting, and that was pretty much all they had money for. The gypsies in the camp where they parked their trailer were nice to them. They'd become like a family and everyone who lived close by helped and took care of each other. There was strength in numbers and Zac and his brothers often said that if it weren't for the gypsies, there were times they thought they wouldn't have made it through the day.
And speaking of making it through the day, Zac cleaned his teeth, ran some soap and water through his shoulder-length hair, and stared at himself in the tiny mirror. This was it. The last day of the fair where Bessie Harlow knew where to find him, before they borrowed a car to hitch their trailer to and take it back to the camp by the river. Would she show up today? Even after the way she'd gotten upset yesterday, did she sleep on it and decide to try to make amends? Not that he deserved for her to show up, that was. But, still. He needed her. For the past two days, since the moment he'd laid eyes on her, he needed her to get him through the day. He didn't understand why he needed her, but he did.
And then the morning started. Nibbling on a breakfast of fresh fruit, Zac took in a deep breath once outside and made a valiant effort to remain positive. That was the one main thing he did wrong yesterday. Today was a new day. Today, everything was beautiful, everything was good, and he would take nothing for granted.
Getting a head start on getting their equipment together and setting their stage before Taylor and Isaac woke up, Zac began dragging out props and backdrops and inspecting them for possible weather damage. Stepping out of the trailer next to theirs, the excessively voluptuous bearded lady batted her eyelashes and waved at him, wearing much less than she should have been. "Morning, beautiful!" Zac called with a grin as he set about his work. The bearded lady giggled and she blushed and she stepped with a quickness back inside her trailer. Zac chuckled and shook his head as he picked up one of their trunks and carried it to the small wooden steps that led to the stage.
Before too long, Isaac and Taylor looked alive and Isaac ran a hand through his hair as he sat on the back of the stage, watching Zac count a deck of trick cards. "What are you doing up so early?"
Zac breathed in a breath and shook his head as he counted. "Slept good last night."
"I'm surprised."
"So am I."
"You think she'll show today?"
Zac sighed, satisfied with his counting, trading the deck for a sack of fake coins. "I can only hope that she does."
"And if she doesn't?"
"Well. Then I'm a bastard."
"So you're just gonna give up, then. Just like that."
"Ike, I don't know what else to do," he said, exasperated. "I don't--I don't even know where to find her."
"Zac. Come on," Isaac replied. "She's Judge Harlow's daughter. Everybody knows where Judge Harlow lives."
"Right. Excuse me while I just march right on up to the judge's door and ask him to see his daughter. That'll go over well."
"Well, I see we're just as charming as we were yesterday," Isaac breathed sarcastically. Then he looked back up at his younger brother. "Besides, it's Monday. The judge isn't home. He's at work."
This realization piqued Zac's interest just a little bit. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"And anyway, I don't know why you're so worried about him in the first place," Isaac continued. "You haven't gotten into any trouble in a couple of years. And so what if you're interested in his daughter? It's slim pickings around here and beggars can't be choosers. You're a nice guy. You're smart, you're good-looking--and I should know, we share the same bloodline." Isaac paused to smile as Zac shook his head. "Anyway, you're good people. He'd be an idiot not to let you date her. And besides, you won't know until you try."
"And if I try and I fail?"
"She's a grown woman. If she wants to see you, she'll find a way. Honestly, Zac, I wouldn't worry about the judge. I think you're focusing your energy on the wrong person. And that's where you screwed up yesterday."
Leave it to Isaac to lay on the words of wisdom. Zac envied Isaac. Out of the three of them, Isaac's head was screwed on the tightest. He was the oldest, at thirty years old, and he handled all their business, ran their shows, did their schedules, and found their work. Even with dealing all the business, he still found time to work on their car, learn new gags, and date Judith Carter during the summer. And when Judith was at school during the rest of the year, he found time to date others. He also spent quite a bit of time in the speakeasies and that made Zac nervous a little bit. Other than that, Isaac was as straight-laced and reliable as they came. He couldn't ask for a better older brother. Seriously. Taylor could be sketchy at times.
"Why don't you ask her to the social this weekend?" Isaac said.
Zac looked up from his fake coins and furrowed his brow in confusion. "Social?"
"Yeah. You know, the town social. The one they have every summer."
He looked at his brother matter-of-factly. "We don't go to those things."
"No," Isaac replied in thought. "But she might." Standing up, he patted Zac on the shoulder and walked away in search of something to do. Zac thought about his words. He was right. Why the hell was he standing there trying to make excuses to not see her, worrying about the judge or his reputation at some dinky town social? It wasn't about him anymore. It was about her.
God, he was an idiot.
Trying his hardest not to feel sorry for himself again, he sucked in another breath, straightened his spine, and forced himself to stay positive as he went back inside the trailer to dress for the act.
During the act, Zac could hardly concentrate on anything he was supposed to be doing for scouring the crowd over and over again. He didn't see her. She wasn't there. Zac was crushed.
His brothers were crushed, as well, but not for the same reason that Zac was. Isaac and Taylor looked ready to crush their younger brother at a moment's notice. There was the part where he fumbled his wand, the part where he dropped half the card deck, and the part where he nearly lost the hat full of tips all over the ground. Isaac looked ready to pound Zac right into the wooden stage--Taylor looked like he might actually do it.
Once the act was over, the scolding started. Zac just sat back and took it. What else could he do? He was guilty of everything he was accused of and more. His head and his heart just wasn't in it today. Without her in the crowd, the entire act meant nothing.
As Isaac and Taylor went over the long list of things that went wrong, never forgetting to remind him of the money it cost them, Zac noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and his heart skipped a beat. Sauntering over to them were Millie and Judith with flirty smiles plastered to their faces. Zac couldn't care less about the two of them. He craned his neck to see if Bessie was in tow, but it was no use. It was just the two of them today. Discouraged and disheartened, he ignored them and got to work packing up the props.
____________________________________________________________
Isaac Hanson was thirty years old, the eldest of The Mystical Hanson Brothers. At thirty years old, he had seen nearly all of the United States, eaten the finest of foods, and rubbed elbows with the most prominent of people. He'd had women of all shapes, sizes, and class, and even went back for seconds a time or two. However, not one of them had held half the sex appeal as the little blonde bombshell who came home to him from school every summer. He liked to believe that he had a little something special with Judith Carter, young as she was, but they were a pair who liked to keep their personal feelings private between each other.
Isaac met Judith two summers ago during the same show that Taylor had met Millie. After the show, Millie had literally dragged Judith behind the stage with her, with the intent of introducing her to Zac. When it was discovered that Zac was messing around with an acrobat from one of the neighboring acts, Isaac introduced himself and the pair became inseparable. They had a lot in common. They both enjoyed liquor, they both enjoyed jazz, and Judith had an uncanny appreciation for a good cigar. Judith wasn't like most women--at least not deep down, anyway. She'd been dealt a difficult hand in life, similar to Isaac's, and wasn't as lucky in the money or the family department as her best friend, Millie, was. Judith had lost her mother to cancer when she was fourteen and was then raised by her father and her brothers, who were barely home as they worked in the mills all day and night, allowing Judith to subsequently raise herself and have the run of the town. She and Millie became best friends in high school and now, even in college, you didn't see one without the other. Judith never liked to talk about how she managed to get into the University of Oklahoma and Isaac never asked her.
Her smile widened as she approached him and she wrapped his arms around his neck, scrunching up her little button nose. "Hey, Daddy! Amazing show today, as always. And you wore the top hat! You know how much I love it when you wear that hat."
As flattered as he was, he frowned at the thought of the act. "It was horrible today. Seriously. Horrible."
"Oh, well, so Zac was a little off his game today. It happens, no big deal."
"Except it is a big deal. You know it's a big deal."
"I know, Daddy," she pouted as she thumbed the small goatee that grew from his chin. "I know."
He loved when she called him Daddy. He knew he was much older than her. Nine, almost ten, years older. So he understood where it came from. But it didn't stroke his ego any less and he made no effort to keep her from saying it. He and Judith shared a bond that he wasn't interested in breaking. She knew things about him--knew the things he liked that he wouldn't dare let his brothers know he was into, and shared those interests with him. They weren't in love, and they had no plans for a romantic future, but that didn't mean he wanted her to go anywhere anytime soon, either, and he knew she felt the same about him.
He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, longing to forget that today's show even happened. "So, what do you ladies have planned for the day?"
"Hopefully the same thing you have planned."
Isaac chuckled at her. "Oh, so you want to help tear down the stage and pack it up? Excellent, we could use the extra hands."
She curled up her lip and shook her head and it caused him to laugh. "No, thank you," she said. "But I did want to talk to you about something."
His heart began to race. Every time she said something cryptic like that, he began to panic. They'd played Russian roulette of the sexual persuasion for way too long now. One of these days he was afraid he would mess up and get her pregnant. It hadn't happened yet, but there was always the chance. "Is, uh, is everything okay?"
"Oh, everything's fine," she nodded rapidly. Then she furrowed her brow and lowered her voice. "Don't worry, it's not that."
He let out a sigh of relief and then he smiled. "What is it, princess? I'm all yours."
"Well..." She started, glancing around them. "I have a, uh, a little...business proposition for you..."
His suspicion caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end. "Business? You have a business proposition for me?"
"Um--we, uh, we should talk about it in private. Maybe after you're done here--"
"No, we'll talk about it right now." In a mix of curiosity and concern, his heart racing mile a minute, he took her by the hand and led her up into their trailer, closing the door behind them.
"Ike," she laughed nervously as he stood in front of her with his hands on his hips. "Why are you acting so strange?"
"Because you and business are not normally something I would put together. So I can only take that to mean that you're in some kind of trouble and you need me to get you out of it."
"Ike! What do you take me for?" She scolded. She placed her hands on her hips to match his and she lifted her chin into the air. "I'm not the kind of woman who can't get herself out of trouble. You know that. Besides, I'm not in trouble. I just told my cousin I might be able to help him out. That's all."
"With what?"
Looking mildly uncomfortable, Judith looked around them and then lowered her voice to a whisper. "My cousin, Johnny, runs a new speakeasy downtown. He's looking for a runner. A dependable one. And I told him I might know someone who needed the extra cash."
Isaac's eyes widened in shock. He knew Judith was into a lot of things, but he didn't know she was involved in anything like this. He thought she thought better of him than that. "Are you crazy?" He hissed. "You suggested to someone that I would be willing to run liquor for them? Are you out of your mind?"
"No!" She hissed back, annoyed. "Not liquor! Money! Bets! He wants to run a little gambling along with the drinking and he needs someone reliable who will collect the bets and run them to the policy house! That's it! Nothing more!"
"Yeah?" He said, still studying her suspiciously. "Why not just have you do it?"
She sighed and she crossed her arms over her chest in a pout. "I wanted to. But he said that the gamblers wouldn't feel comfortable placing their bets in the hands of a woman. So he asked me if I knew anyone and you were the first person I thought of."
"Why me?"
She crossed the small space between them and wrapped her arms around his neck again, pouting her lips at him. "Because, Daddy. I know you need the money. I know you need to fix your car and I understand what it's like to be strapped for cash. We all are these days." She pulled away from him and pulled up her dress, revealing her black stockings with a considerably large hole in them. "Some of us can't even afford new stockings," she pouted. Then she let her dress back down and took him in her arms again. "I know you're reliable and I know you're trustworthy. And I know by the kinds of acts that you do that you know how to detect if someone's cheating you, so you'd be someone my cousin and the dealers can trust. And," she said as she let her fingers walk up his chest and up to his chin. "You'd get to spend more time with me. Johnny says the betters might want a little eye candy to invite them to the table. We'd be like a team, you and me. And we'd get a cut of the dough. What do you say, Daddy? It's nothing but a little harmless running."
The truth was, he didn't know what to say. He knew exactly what kind of running she was talking about. He was no stranger to gambling. And he didn't know what kind of fantasy she had created in her head about what it was all about, but the reality was, it was dangerous as hell. But there was the potential for good money to be made if the betting was any good. And with another carnival or circus in sight no time soon, he really could use the money to help fix the car so that he and his brothers could seek out more traveling work.
He swallowed hard and he studied the small girl, with her short, platinum blonde curls and the black, sleeveless dress that hung off of her thin body. She batted her eyes in hope at him and he had no idea what to say. Part of him wanted to discuss it with his brothers. However, he knew if he did that, he would get no support from them whatsoever. Maybe it was best that they just didn't know anything at all. It protected them and it protected him--and Judith. Yes, the less that knew anything, the better. He couldn't believe he was even entertaining this thought.
As if she felt like he needed any further convincing, Judith looked up at Isaac and batted her big brown eyes at him and pouted her lips again, a look that she knew he couldn't resist. "What's it gonna take, Daddy? What else can I do to make you say yes?"
And then her hands drifted to his belt buckle. She backed him into the nearest bench and she dropped to her knees. In that moment, he'd made his decision.