SPEAKEASY
By the time Millie drove Bessie and Judith back to Bessie's house, Bessie was smitten. Millie and Judith couldn't stop talking about Zac's magic trick gift and Bessie couldn't stop dreaming about it. She held on to her trick flowers for dear life and she smiled all the way home.
When Millie stopped the silver, four-door Pontiac at Bessie's house, she turned around in her seat to look at her. "When we go inside, I'm gonna ask your daddy for you to sleep over at my house tonight."
"Okay," Bessie nodded. "Why?"
"Well, silly, because you're my favorite cousin and I've missed you!" Then her face darkened. "Not because we're going to a party or anything. Got it?"
Bessie swallowed hard. "Party?"
"Gosh, Millie, you shouldn't have even brought it up," Judith complained.
"It's okay," Millie said. "All Bessie has to do is simply say that she misses me and that we want to catch up. Or she can just keep her mouth shut and follow along with what I say. Right, Bessie?"
Bessie looked from Millie to Judith and back at Millie. "Do tonight's plans involve those Hanson boys?"
"Yes," Millie answered.
"Will Zac be there?"
Millie smiled. "Well, that's the plan."
"I'm in," Bessie grinned.
Millie and Judith giggled excitedly as the three girls got out of the car and bounded into Bessie's house.
Bessie lived in a two-story farmhouse with her mother and father out in the country. The farmhouse was located on a small farm which, before the stock market crash, had operated as a fully-functioning farm with animals and crops alike, run by farmhands that her father paid and provided room and board to. When the stock market crashed and the sale of the farm's goods began to slow, there was no need to produce the overabundance of eggs, milk, and beans, and so the farm had to be cut down to size and most of the farmhands let go. Bessie, who had been very young at the time, had suggested to her father that they use the extra they didn't sell to help those in need and he had told her that while that was a very nice sentiment, he just couldn't afford to pay the farmhands to keep doing the work. At the time, Bessie hadn't understood and she remembered crying as she watched farmhands she'd grown up with pack their things and start down their street.
Now the "farm" consisted of two barns, only one of which housed a cow and two horses, and unused land as far as the eye could see.
Inside the house, however, Bessie and her parents lived in luxury with central heating and air and indoor plumbing. The two-story home was furnished with antiques passed down from both sides of the family and finished off by unique pieces such as rugs and vases from her parents' early travels abroad.
On their way to the polished, mahogany staircase, the girls' commotion must have attracted the judge, because his tall, slender frame met them at the foot of them. "Whoa," he chuckled. "What's all the ruckus? I thought you'd be home by nine on the nose with a second to spare!"
Millie giggled at her uncle Jim. "Uncle Jim, it's so hot out there, we just thought we'd cool off for a bit before we went back so we could see the fair all in lights! Also, I was hoping Bessie could sleep over at my house tonight with me and Judith after the fair."
"Sleep over..." Judge Harlow repeated warily.
"Yes. Sleep over. It's nothing different than any other time she's slept over before. And it's not like you gave her any sisters, Uncle Jim, we're the closest she's got!"
Bessie envied Millie. Nobody on the planet could ever get by with talking to her father like Millie could. Not even Bessie. And somehow, every single time, it seemed to work. "Well, I remember what those consisted of: ice cream sundaes and chattering until midnight. It's summertime, I guess. I don't see where that could hurt, as long as you attempt to be in bed at a reasonable hour."
A reprise of the earlier "thank you" chorus rang out before the girls ran upstairs to Bessie's bedroom. Now Judith was going through all of Bessie's clothes, displeased with every dress she found. "Millie, she has nothing to wear," Judith said, exasperated. "Absolutely nothing."
Millie looked over the mountain of dresses that were now piled on Bessie's four-poster bed. "Well..." she said in thought. "She can just wear something of mine, I guess..."
"Can she even fill the top?"
"I'm sitting right here," Bessie said, annoyed. "And--and so what if I don't...you know, look like you two? Not all women are THAT blessed, you know."
"Well, you have to be blessed to fit into any of Millie's clothes," Judith remarked.
Millie sighed. "I can just...fix her hair and put some rouge on her cheeks. It'll be fine. Just--Bessie, sweetie, sometime this summer, you and I are going shopping. If you're gonna go to the university next semester, you have got to stop wearing these little-girl day dresses."
Tossing a dress or two and some clean undergarments into an overnight bag for good measure, the three girls left Bessie's house and headed straight for Millie's.
_____________________________________________________________
For the first time in his life, Zac was nervous. As he and his brothers stood in the back alley of the building they were supposed to meet the girls at in downtown Tulsa, his heart pounded. It had rained an hour or two earlier and, while the streets were wet, he feared getting his shoes or his pants wet in the puddles. He had already asked Isaac three times if his tie was straight and if his hat was crooked, and Isaac just chuckled every single time. "You act like this is the first dame you ever went out with."
"This one's different," Zac said.
"Just because you gave up that expensive wand trick you just had to have?"
"I'll get them back," he muttered.
"I hope so. We can't afford to just go giving away our props to pretty girls who bat their eyelashes at us."
"And yet here we stand, spending the money we earned today on booze to impress a few ladies," Zac murmured.
"Hey," Taylor butted in. "We're allowed to have a little fun once in awhile, too."
"Sorry," Zac said regretfully. "I just really want to impress this one. Is that a bad thing?"
Isaac and Taylor shrugged. "I guess not," Isaac said.
At that, they heard the roar of an approaching car and Taylor trotted to the edge of the building and leaned his tall, slender frame around it to see what he could see. Looking behind him, he whispered, "It's the girls!"
Zac took a deep breath as he rounded the corner behind Taylor and watched the girls get out of the car. There came Millie from the driver's seat...Judith from the passenger's...where was the third one? Ah, yes. There she was. Warily climbing out of the backseat.
Suddenly, something about this didn't feel right. It felt...wrong, almost. This wasn't the way he had imagined talking to the girl for the first time. Not in an illegal night club full of smoke and drink. That was no way to treat a lady on the first date. But still. She had agreed to come along and his brothers and his dates were going in, so--what else could he do?
As the girls giggled and generously greeted his brothers, showing displays of affection that made even Zac blush a little, the third girl crept up to them and was very quiet. She seemed meek, but she was so beautiful, even under the moonlight, in her long-sleeved, polka-dotted dress with the belt at the waist and the turned-down collar. Her white, cloche hat nearly hid the beautiful pair of hazel eyes that had mesmerized him earlier and her white gloves covered the delicate fingers that had accepted his trick flowers.
In that moment, much to his dismay, Zac determined that she was so far out of his league that he didn't even know what he was doing there.
Before Zac even had a chance to greet the girl, his brothers were already talking to the guard at the door. As Isaac and Judith went inside, it was Taylor's and Millie's turn, until Zac's date finally spoke up. "I'm not going in there."
His heart skipped a beat for a moment. Her voice was gentle and light and the moment she opened her mouth, all was right in the world. He could happily let her voice comfort him for the rest of his life.
All eyes were on her all of a sudden and her eyes were wide as saucers. Millie looked mortified and she hissed at her, "Yes, you are! Come on!"
The girl shook her head and stepped backward. "No. I'm--I'm not going. I'll just--I'm gonna go home..."
"You can't go home!" Millie hissed. "If you show up at your house without me, you're going to get us both in trouble!"
"Well, then I'll just sit out here until you guys come out. Or I'll just--I'll sleep in the car. That's it. I'll sleep in the car. I'm tired anyway."
"I swear, of all the--"
"Millie, you told me we were going to a party. You didn't tell me we were going to a--a speakeasy!"
"SHH!" Millie hissed loudly. "Are you trying to get us all arrested?"
"Millie, come on," Taylor said, his arm wrapped around her waist. "If she doesn't wanna go in, don't make her go in. Zac will stay out here with her."
Zac wasn't sure if this was his brother throwing him a bone or not, but he graciously took it and ran with it. "Uh, sure. Yeah, I'll stay out here with her. If--if that's okay."
The girl looked at him and shook her head. "No. It's okay, really. You--you go have your fun--"
"You can't be out here alone," he objected.
"I agree with Zac," Millie said eagerly. "You can't be alone."
"I can most certainly be alone if I choose to be," the girl said defiantly.
"Oh, stop being so difficult," Millie said.
"Being out here by yourself at this time of night ain't proper," Zac said to her. "Not to mention, it's not safe. I'll stay, it's okay."
Millie smiled at everyone. "Well, then. That sounds settled. Come on, Taylor, let's go inside. I could really use that drink right now." And in an instant, they disappeared, leaving Zac alone with the girl.
Suddenly, she turned on her heel and stormed off in the other direction. Confused, he walked fast to follow her and he caught her around the corner of the building with the car door open, violently peeling off her gloves, one-by-one, and taking her hat off of her head. She muttered curses at everything as she went along, tossing each item forcefully
into the car. "Stupid gloves," she muttered. "Stupid hat, stupid--stupid Millie. Stupid speakeasies and liquor that makes people just...stupid..."
He supposed she had meant to be quiet enough where nobody could hear her. Or he supposed maybe she hadn't expected for him to follow. But he couldn't help himself as he stood there and smiled at her, amused by her anger. She was adorable, even when she was angry. And he still didn't even know her name.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he approached her nervously, as if one wrong move would send her running into the night. "Hey," he said gently. "I'm, uh, I'm Zac. Zac Hanson. I don't guess we've been formally introduced yet."
She looked up into his eyes briefly before she glanced at the ground again, and then slowly closed the car door. "I'm Bessie Harlow," she said, meekly. "How do you do?"
In spite of himself, he smirked at her. "My family had a cow named Bessie, growing up."
Bessie furrowed her brow at him and raised her chin. "Well, I'm no cow. My name is short for Beatrice. Beatrice Elizabeth Harlow. And it would do you good to learn it."
Zac was taken aback by her sudden tone. He wasn't expecting that out of her in a million years. Maybe he'd misjudged her. "What is that, a defense mechanism or something?"
"Is what a defense mechanism?"
"All that sass talk."
"I wasn't sassing you."
"If you and I are gonna get stuck out here together, let's get one thing straight, sister. You're no better than me, even though you might think you are. You got that?"
Her mouth hung open and she blinked at him out of shock. And then, her expression changed and her face fell. "I never said I was."
Resisting the urge to scoop her into his arms and comfort her innocent frame was extremely difficult. They were already starting off on the wrong foot and he didn't want to scare her and run her off entirely. "Look, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to be so rude."
"I know you don't want to be out here with me," she said. "I know you'd rather be inside. But I just don't think places like that are for me. Maybe someday, but not right now. And--and I'm sorry that I ruined your evening. But if you want to go in, you can. It's okay, you don't have to worry about me."
"Bessie," he found himself saying softly. He liked her name. He liked the way it felt rolling off of his tongue, and he liked the way it sounded coming out of his mouth. "I'm out here because I want to be. I've been wanting to meet you ever since this afternoon before our act."
She looked up into his eyes and he caught a twinkle in them from the moonlight. "Really?"
Zac nodded. "Yeah. Really. Say, you wanna go for a walk or something? We could walk and talk. No big deal."
"Okay," she agreed quietly.
They began their walk along the sidewalk, slowly strolling past the dark, empty storefronts in the middle of downtown. They walked in silence, Zac's hands shoved in his pockets and Bessie's arms crossed nervously over her chest. He was glad that she'd discarded her hat and her gloves. Now he could see more of her.
The silence had grown awkward until Bessie took him by surprise and said quietly, "So, um, what are we supposed to talk about?"
The way she posed the question threw Zac off guard a little bit. He'd heard the phrase, 'what do you want to talk about?' and even, 'what should we talk about?' but never, 'what are we supposed to talk about?' It was almost as if she expected there to be some kind of script or program they were supposed to be following.
"Whatever we want," Zac said. "We could talk about anything. We could talk about the weather or the fair...or about you or me...or us..."
"Us?" She asked curiously.
Zac shrugged. "Eventually."
"Oh," she replied quietly. And then they continued to walk on in silence.
After a few more minutes, Zac couldn't take it anymore. "I'm not gonna bite you, you know."
She glanced over at him and she tucked her hair behind her ear, turning her eyes to the ground again as she fidgeted with her thumbs. "I know. I just--I mean, the truth is, I've never done this before."
Zac chuckled, in spite of himself. "We're just walking. Everybody's done that."
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "No, I--I've never been anywhere with a boy before. I've, um, I've never been on a date."
His eyes widened and he blinked into the air in front of him. He felt like he'd been blindsided and he couldn't get over his disbelief. "I don't think I believe that."
Finally, she looked up at him. "I wouldn't lie to you. I'm being honest."
He looked back at her, into her kind, sincere eyes. In that moment, he knew that she would never do or say anything to deceive him. He found comfort in her eyes, something he hadn't felt in quite some time. "You're so beautiful," he muttered under his breath.
"What? I'm--I'm sorry, you'll have to speak up."
His heart pounded and the nerves came back. He hadn't meant to say anything out loud. Searching for a recovery, he pulled his hand from his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, you know, pretty little rich girl like you, probably got them all eating out of your hand..."
She stopped in the middle of the street and looked up at him, staring hard into his eyes for the first time that night. He reviewed his words in his head. Oh, no. That was bad, too.
Then, to his surprise, her face softened. "You think I'm pretty?"
And then he just stopped overthinking his words. "I think you're beautiful."
Even in the darkness, he could see her face turn red and she smiled shyly, ducking her head and tucking her hair behind her ear. "Um, um, thank you," she said meekly.
"You're welcome." He cleared his throat and they started to walk again. "So you've, um, you've really never been on a date before, huh? How, uh, how old are you?"
At this question, she raised her chin with the first sign of confidence he'd seen since he first laid eyes on her. "Eighteen," she announced proudly. "Eighteen, soon to be nineteen."
"Oh," Zac said, taken aback a little. He knew she had to be young, but he didn't expect her to be quite that young. It explained a lot, actually.
"How old are you?"
Zac cleared his throat to stall her question. He didn't really want to tell her now. "I'm older than you."
"Well, I gathered that," she said, a smile creeping across her face.
"I'm twenty-six."
"Wow. You are older than me."
"Thanks for the reminder."
"Well--it's not so bad, I guess..."
"Bessie--what are we talking about, here?" Now it was his turn to stop in the sidewalk and face her.
She looked at him, confused. "We're talking about how old we are..."
"Why?"
"Because you asked me."
He glanced at the ground in thought as they prepared to cross the street to come down the other side. He needed to control himself. He seemed so anxious, so ready to--to start a relationship with her. And he barely even knew her. However, he didn't need to. He'd already decided he would be spending the rest of his life getting to know her. He wanted to learn something new every day, he wanted to--he wanted to fall. Every single day. Was any of this even natural?
He had to cool things off. He had to take it slow. And--and damn it, he had to get his trick flowers back. Suddenly, he thought of Isaac, and if he didn't come home with those things tonight, Isaac would be angry for sure. And he guessed he had right to be. Except that the trick flowers belonged to Zac and if he wanted to let Bessie keep them, he could. But Isaac was right. They needed to hold on to what they had.
As they started down the other side of the street, Zac cleared his throat as he attempted to ease into the question. Unfortunately, the question came off a little more gruff than he'd intended. "So, uh, you got those flowers I gave you earlier?"
She looked up at him, confused. "What?"
"The flowers. I need them back."
Her jaw dropped and she looked at him as if he'd just kicked her puppy or accused her of having a contagious disease. "You can't just--take them away..."
"Yes, I can. They're mine. I need them for my act."
"But--they were a gift..."
"They weren't a gift. It's part of the show."
"But that's not fair..."
"Actually, it is."
Her chin hit the air once more. "No. They're my flowers. They're pretty and I'm keeping them."
"Look," he suddenly barked at her. "I can't afford to buy more! Okay? I need them back."
All of a sudden, their differences hit him like a ton of bricks. What was he even doing? Who was he to think she might even be remotely interested in him? She was the daughter of a wealthy judge and he--well, all he did was perform hokey carnival tricks without so much as an address to claim. He should have never started this. He should have never given her his trick flowers at the fair or even agreed to come out tonight. He shouldn't have let things get this far already.
Except that there was no way he could turn back now. Not even if he tried.
Bessie's face fell now and Zac instantly regretted his tone. "Well--um--what do you do with all the other acts? I bet you have to buy more every single time."
"I don't usually give them away."
"You gave them to me."
"Temporary lapse in judgment."
Stopping mid-stride, she clicked open the clutch that hung from her wrist and pulled out the small bouquet of trick flowers, smoothing them out as she revealed them. The fact that she was even still carrying them around was enough to knock the wind out of Zac's chest. "Well. Okay," she said hesitantly, holding them out to him. "But they're--they're very pretty."
"Thanks," he said, taking them from her and shoving them in the pocket inside his jacket. "They're fake."
"So?"
"Look, princess. I'll pick you some real ones. Wildflowers. All colors. Those are free. And they're prettier and they smell good. Okay?"
She looked up at him, her eyes wide with wonder, much as they were at the fair earlier that day. "You'd pick me flowers?"
A smile crept across his face, his heart melting at a moment's notice. "I'd grow them just so I could pick them for you."
She smiled back at him, biting her lip shyly, and then ducking her head once more as they started to walk again. She was so bashful, so innocent. He was glad he didn't take her inside the speakeasy. She was right, it was no place for her. Her place was safe in his arms, smelling the fresh flowers he wished he could be picking for her right now.
"So, um, I know who you are," she said quietly.
"Oh?"
"I know my daddy put you in jail a few times."
Zac sighed and shoved his hands back in his pockets, looking at the ground as they walked. "Yeah...that was--that was a few years ago..."
"I know. You--you know who I am, too?"
He smiled. "Your last name's Harlow."
"Oh," she nodded. "So it is. Anyway, I, um, I want you to know, I don't--I don't judge you for that. I mean, earlier I did, but--"
He had to scoff a laugh. "Earlier you did?"
"Yes, but--but that was before I knew."
"Before you knew what?"
"How kind your heart is."
Speaking of Zac's heart, it was pounding. Hard. He racked his brain to remember at what point he'd said something to make her think that. Nobody had ever told him he had a kind heart before. Now he needed to know what he'd done to deserve it. "Um, I feel like all I've done is smart off and be forward."
"You have a little," she admitted. "But mostly, I can tell you're kind. You have kind eyes. And your volunteering to stay out here with me when you could be inside having fun was very nice of you."
"Who said I'm not having fun?"
"Oh, no," Bessie sighed with displeasure all of a sudden. Zac followed her gaze across the street. "Millie's swacked."
And, apparently, so was Isaac. They watched across the street as the two couples sauntered from behind the corner and towards the car. "Shit," Zac said under his breath, hoping Bessie didn't hear him. Then he said to her, "We gotta get them out of here. Nobody can see how drunk they are."
"Guess this means our night is over," she sighed.
Zac's heart broke. "I'm afraid so."
As they crossed the street, the two couples saw them coming and Judith hissed as loud as she could, "Bessie! Bessie, hurry!" Crossing the street and meeting up with them, the blonde bombshell then grabbed Bessie by the arm. "Bessie, she is completely swacked. We gotta get her home. Do you know how to drive her car? I don't know how to drive it!"
Bessie nodded. "Yes, I can drive her car. Just--just put her in the backseat. And don't let her vomit, I hate vomit."
As Judith and Bessie put a babbling Millie in the backseat, Zac took one look at Isaac and he knew that he and Taylor had their work cut out for them. Interrupting his thoughts, Bessie suddenly asked, "Where's your car?"
"What?" Zac asked, coming out of his trance.
"Your car," she repeated. "Where is it?"
"Oh. Uh, we didn't bring it. We don't live far away from here. And, uh, besides, Ike probably needs to walk this off, anyway." What he didn't want to tell her was the truth--that their car had been sitting, broken down for over two months now, with barely any means of getting it fixed.
"Oh," she said. "Well, okay, then." She quickly closed the gap between them and placed her hands on his shoulders for support as she let her lips lightly graze his cheek. "Thank you for being so nice to me tonight," she said before she dashed away to the car.
Zac took in a breath and chills ran down his body, from his head, right out through his fingers and toes. She'd kissed him. Hot damn, she'd kissed him!
______________________________________________________________________
It hadn't taken long for Millie to fall asleep in the backseat of the Pontiac once they had started down the road toward her house. Judith sat in the front seat with Bessie, only just barely inebriated, with the window rolled down, enjoying the summer night air.
Breaking the silence, Judith asked Bessie, "So, what do you think of Zac?"
Bessie could barely concentrate on the road at the sound of his name. She didn't even know where to start. "He's so nice," she said. "A little cocky at times, but still nice. He made me give the trick flowers back."
"Give them back? They were a gift, he can't do that."
Bessie sighed. "Well...I was wrong to think they belonged to me, so. I was rude in taking them."
"No, you weren't."
"I don't think they make a lot of money doing what they do."
"That's not exactly a secret, Bess."
"What do you mean?"
"They live over at the gypsy camp in their carnival trailer. It's a known fact all over Tulsa. How did you not know?"
Bessie stared ahead in thought as she drove. Her heart broke in an instant. It explained everything, especially the way he acted over the flowers. It wasn't that he was being mean--it was because he was ashamed and he hadn't wanted to say anything. Bessie wished she could turn the car around right now and go back and tell him that he didn't need to be ashamed. She liked him anyway.
Then she remembered something he said in the exchange and she smiled. "He said he would pick me flowers."
"Pick you flowers?"
"You know, since I can't keep the trick ones. He said he would pick me wildflowers."
"Oh, Bessie," Judith said softly. "That's so romantic."
Bessie grinned and glanced over at Judith. "You think so?"
"Oh, yes. I think he's crushing on you."
Bessie giggled. "But we've only just met."
"So? You were crushing on him today after the fair and you hadn't even spoken to him."
Judith was right. Bessie was falling fast.
_____________________________________________________________________
Zac was more than perturbed at his eldest brother. How could Isaac let himself get drunk like that? How could he be so irresponsible?
Mostly, Zac was perturbed because his night with Bessie had been cut short because of Isaac. Bessie's cousin, Millie, was in no shape, either, but Bessie was able to hide her in the backseat of a car. Zac and Taylor had to work together to not only make sure Isaac made it home on two legs, but to make sure they stayed out of sight and kept Isaac quiet.
The last thing they needed was for him to get arrested and for them to run the risk of getting arrested by association. No. Zac was finished going to jail. Starting tonight, he was turning over a new leaf. Watching his back. Staying out of trouble.
After they'd gotten Isaac safely to the trailer and in his bed, Taylor and Zac sat outside on the trailer steps. "So, how was the club?" Zac asked.
Taylor shrugged. "Same old. Nothing special. I think their batch was watered down this time, though. They like to tell you it's the same stuff, but I can taste the difference. Millie seemed to like it, though, so I didn't say anything."
"Why do you stay with her?" Zac asked. "And why does Ike hang around with Judith? All they seem to like to do is have a good time."
"Well, that's exactly it," Taylor smiled. "They're fun girls. They're not shy. And we have an understanding, so it's not like we have any obligations to each other."
Zac nodded in understanding.
"I don't think Bessie's that kind of girl, though," Taylor continued.
"She's not," Zac agreed. "And I'm glad for it."
"You, uh, you really like this one, huh?"
"She told me I had a kind heart, Tay." Zac turned to look at his brother. "Nobody's ever told me that before."
"Maybe she's sees something in you."
Zac hung his head and retrieved the trick flowers from his jacket pocket. "There's nothing worth seeing in me." He twirled the fake bouquet around in his hands. "You should have seen her face when I told her I needed these back. I hurt her feelings. And I didn't want them back, anyway. I gave them to her on purpose." He sighed and he shook his head. "She's a good girl. And she's so young and innocent--maybe a bit naïve. I don't deserve a girl like her."
"Everyone deserves someone," Taylor said quietly. "I might not be, you know, keen on settling down or anything. But I still believe there's someone for everyone. And sometimes it's not always with the kinds of people you expect. And, you know, maybe...maybe that's what makes love so special."
Zac smirked in disbelief and looked over at his brother. "When did you get so wise on the subject?"
Taylor chuckled, amused. "You think I didn't get something out of all that Shakespeare and poetry Ma made us read as children?"
Zac smiled as he looked out into the darkness. "I sure do miss them," he sighed, a memory of their parents causing his heart to grow heavy. "They were good parents to us, weren't they? Made sure we were educated...grew up proper."
"As proper as they could," Taylor agreed.
Then Zac shook his head in defeat. "And now look where we ended up. Homeless and broke, doing nothing with anything they taught us. We failed them."
"We're not homeless. We each have a bed to sleep in and sufficient shelter over our heads. We didn't fail them. We chose to stick with what we love to do, no matter what. They'd be real proud of us, I bet."
Twirling the fake bouquet in his hand once more, Zac turned and handed it over to Taylor. "I need you to teach me how to do this with real flowers."
Taylor's eyes widened in alarm. "Real flowers? You can't do that with real flowers."
"Come on, Tay. You're better than either of us at these illusions. I know you can think of something. I really need you to help me do this."
Taylor turned the bouquet over in his hand and examined it in thought. "Um...maybe I could figure out how to spring load the wand...the bouquet of real ones would need to be thin, though..."
"That's okay. As long as they're real."
"Okay," Taylor said, standing up. "Yeah, just...just give me a couple of hours..."
He took the bouquet inside, leaving Zac out on the steps below. Maybe he wasn't good enough for Bessie. That was the truth. But he could at least keep the one promise he made to her--he'd give her real flowers. He just hoped she came back to the fair tomorrow.
By the time Millie drove Bessie and Judith back to Bessie's house, Bessie was smitten. Millie and Judith couldn't stop talking about Zac's magic trick gift and Bessie couldn't stop dreaming about it. She held on to her trick flowers for dear life and she smiled all the way home.
When Millie stopped the silver, four-door Pontiac at Bessie's house, she turned around in her seat to look at her. "When we go inside, I'm gonna ask your daddy for you to sleep over at my house tonight."
"Okay," Bessie nodded. "Why?"
"Well, silly, because you're my favorite cousin and I've missed you!" Then her face darkened. "Not because we're going to a party or anything. Got it?"
Bessie swallowed hard. "Party?"
"Gosh, Millie, you shouldn't have even brought it up," Judith complained.
"It's okay," Millie said. "All Bessie has to do is simply say that she misses me and that we want to catch up. Or she can just keep her mouth shut and follow along with what I say. Right, Bessie?"
Bessie looked from Millie to Judith and back at Millie. "Do tonight's plans involve those Hanson boys?"
"Yes," Millie answered.
"Will Zac be there?"
Millie smiled. "Well, that's the plan."
"I'm in," Bessie grinned.
Millie and Judith giggled excitedly as the three girls got out of the car and bounded into Bessie's house.
Bessie lived in a two-story farmhouse with her mother and father out in the country. The farmhouse was located on a small farm which, before the stock market crash, had operated as a fully-functioning farm with animals and crops alike, run by farmhands that her father paid and provided room and board to. When the stock market crashed and the sale of the farm's goods began to slow, there was no need to produce the overabundance of eggs, milk, and beans, and so the farm had to be cut down to size and most of the farmhands let go. Bessie, who had been very young at the time, had suggested to her father that they use the extra they didn't sell to help those in need and he had told her that while that was a very nice sentiment, he just couldn't afford to pay the farmhands to keep doing the work. At the time, Bessie hadn't understood and she remembered crying as she watched farmhands she'd grown up with pack their things and start down their street.
Now the "farm" consisted of two barns, only one of which housed a cow and two horses, and unused land as far as the eye could see.
Inside the house, however, Bessie and her parents lived in luxury with central heating and air and indoor plumbing. The two-story home was furnished with antiques passed down from both sides of the family and finished off by unique pieces such as rugs and vases from her parents' early travels abroad.
On their way to the polished, mahogany staircase, the girls' commotion must have attracted the judge, because his tall, slender frame met them at the foot of them. "Whoa," he chuckled. "What's all the ruckus? I thought you'd be home by nine on the nose with a second to spare!"
Millie giggled at her uncle Jim. "Uncle Jim, it's so hot out there, we just thought we'd cool off for a bit before we went back so we could see the fair all in lights! Also, I was hoping Bessie could sleep over at my house tonight with me and Judith after the fair."
"Sleep over..." Judge Harlow repeated warily.
"Yes. Sleep over. It's nothing different than any other time she's slept over before. And it's not like you gave her any sisters, Uncle Jim, we're the closest she's got!"
Bessie envied Millie. Nobody on the planet could ever get by with talking to her father like Millie could. Not even Bessie. And somehow, every single time, it seemed to work. "Well, I remember what those consisted of: ice cream sundaes and chattering until midnight. It's summertime, I guess. I don't see where that could hurt, as long as you attempt to be in bed at a reasonable hour."
A reprise of the earlier "thank you" chorus rang out before the girls ran upstairs to Bessie's bedroom. Now Judith was going through all of Bessie's clothes, displeased with every dress she found. "Millie, she has nothing to wear," Judith said, exasperated. "Absolutely nothing."
Millie looked over the mountain of dresses that were now piled on Bessie's four-poster bed. "Well..." she said in thought. "She can just wear something of mine, I guess..."
"Can she even fill the top?"
"I'm sitting right here," Bessie said, annoyed. "And--and so what if I don't...you know, look like you two? Not all women are THAT blessed, you know."
"Well, you have to be blessed to fit into any of Millie's clothes," Judith remarked.
Millie sighed. "I can just...fix her hair and put some rouge on her cheeks. It'll be fine. Just--Bessie, sweetie, sometime this summer, you and I are going shopping. If you're gonna go to the university next semester, you have got to stop wearing these little-girl day dresses."
Tossing a dress or two and some clean undergarments into an overnight bag for good measure, the three girls left Bessie's house and headed straight for Millie's.
_____________________________________________________________
For the first time in his life, Zac was nervous. As he and his brothers stood in the back alley of the building they were supposed to meet the girls at in downtown Tulsa, his heart pounded. It had rained an hour or two earlier and, while the streets were wet, he feared getting his shoes or his pants wet in the puddles. He had already asked Isaac three times if his tie was straight and if his hat was crooked, and Isaac just chuckled every single time. "You act like this is the first dame you ever went out with."
"This one's different," Zac said.
"Just because you gave up that expensive wand trick you just had to have?"
"I'll get them back," he muttered.
"I hope so. We can't afford to just go giving away our props to pretty girls who bat their eyelashes at us."
"And yet here we stand, spending the money we earned today on booze to impress a few ladies," Zac murmured.
"Hey," Taylor butted in. "We're allowed to have a little fun once in awhile, too."
"Sorry," Zac said regretfully. "I just really want to impress this one. Is that a bad thing?"
Isaac and Taylor shrugged. "I guess not," Isaac said.
At that, they heard the roar of an approaching car and Taylor trotted to the edge of the building and leaned his tall, slender frame around it to see what he could see. Looking behind him, he whispered, "It's the girls!"
Zac took a deep breath as he rounded the corner behind Taylor and watched the girls get out of the car. There came Millie from the driver's seat...Judith from the passenger's...where was the third one? Ah, yes. There she was. Warily climbing out of the backseat.
Suddenly, something about this didn't feel right. It felt...wrong, almost. This wasn't the way he had imagined talking to the girl for the first time. Not in an illegal night club full of smoke and drink. That was no way to treat a lady on the first date. But still. She had agreed to come along and his brothers and his dates were going in, so--what else could he do?
As the girls giggled and generously greeted his brothers, showing displays of affection that made even Zac blush a little, the third girl crept up to them and was very quiet. She seemed meek, but she was so beautiful, even under the moonlight, in her long-sleeved, polka-dotted dress with the belt at the waist and the turned-down collar. Her white, cloche hat nearly hid the beautiful pair of hazel eyes that had mesmerized him earlier and her white gloves covered the delicate fingers that had accepted his trick flowers.
In that moment, much to his dismay, Zac determined that she was so far out of his league that he didn't even know what he was doing there.
Before Zac even had a chance to greet the girl, his brothers were already talking to the guard at the door. As Isaac and Judith went inside, it was Taylor's and Millie's turn, until Zac's date finally spoke up. "I'm not going in there."
His heart skipped a beat for a moment. Her voice was gentle and light and the moment she opened her mouth, all was right in the world. He could happily let her voice comfort him for the rest of his life.
All eyes were on her all of a sudden and her eyes were wide as saucers. Millie looked mortified and she hissed at her, "Yes, you are! Come on!"
The girl shook her head and stepped backward. "No. I'm--I'm not going. I'll just--I'm gonna go home..."
"You can't go home!" Millie hissed. "If you show up at your house without me, you're going to get us both in trouble!"
"Well, then I'll just sit out here until you guys come out. Or I'll just--I'll sleep in the car. That's it. I'll sleep in the car. I'm tired anyway."
"I swear, of all the--"
"Millie, you told me we were going to a party. You didn't tell me we were going to a--a speakeasy!"
"SHH!" Millie hissed loudly. "Are you trying to get us all arrested?"
"Millie, come on," Taylor said, his arm wrapped around her waist. "If she doesn't wanna go in, don't make her go in. Zac will stay out here with her."
Zac wasn't sure if this was his brother throwing him a bone or not, but he graciously took it and ran with it. "Uh, sure. Yeah, I'll stay out here with her. If--if that's okay."
The girl looked at him and shook her head. "No. It's okay, really. You--you go have your fun--"
"You can't be out here alone," he objected.
"I agree with Zac," Millie said eagerly. "You can't be alone."
"I can most certainly be alone if I choose to be," the girl said defiantly.
"Oh, stop being so difficult," Millie said.
"Being out here by yourself at this time of night ain't proper," Zac said to her. "Not to mention, it's not safe. I'll stay, it's okay."
Millie smiled at everyone. "Well, then. That sounds settled. Come on, Taylor, let's go inside. I could really use that drink right now." And in an instant, they disappeared, leaving Zac alone with the girl.
Suddenly, she turned on her heel and stormed off in the other direction. Confused, he walked fast to follow her and he caught her around the corner of the building with the car door open, violently peeling off her gloves, one-by-one, and taking her hat off of her head. She muttered curses at everything as she went along, tossing each item forcefully
into the car. "Stupid gloves," she muttered. "Stupid hat, stupid--stupid Millie. Stupid speakeasies and liquor that makes people just...stupid..."
He supposed she had meant to be quiet enough where nobody could hear her. Or he supposed maybe she hadn't expected for him to follow. But he couldn't help himself as he stood there and smiled at her, amused by her anger. She was adorable, even when she was angry. And he still didn't even know her name.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he approached her nervously, as if one wrong move would send her running into the night. "Hey," he said gently. "I'm, uh, I'm Zac. Zac Hanson. I don't guess we've been formally introduced yet."
She looked up into his eyes briefly before she glanced at the ground again, and then slowly closed the car door. "I'm Bessie Harlow," she said, meekly. "How do you do?"
In spite of himself, he smirked at her. "My family had a cow named Bessie, growing up."
Bessie furrowed her brow at him and raised her chin. "Well, I'm no cow. My name is short for Beatrice. Beatrice Elizabeth Harlow. And it would do you good to learn it."
Zac was taken aback by her sudden tone. He wasn't expecting that out of her in a million years. Maybe he'd misjudged her. "What is that, a defense mechanism or something?"
"Is what a defense mechanism?"
"All that sass talk."
"I wasn't sassing you."
"If you and I are gonna get stuck out here together, let's get one thing straight, sister. You're no better than me, even though you might think you are. You got that?"
Her mouth hung open and she blinked at him out of shock. And then, her expression changed and her face fell. "I never said I was."
Resisting the urge to scoop her into his arms and comfort her innocent frame was extremely difficult. They were already starting off on the wrong foot and he didn't want to scare her and run her off entirely. "Look, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to be so rude."
"I know you don't want to be out here with me," she said. "I know you'd rather be inside. But I just don't think places like that are for me. Maybe someday, but not right now. And--and I'm sorry that I ruined your evening. But if you want to go in, you can. It's okay, you don't have to worry about me."
"Bessie," he found himself saying softly. He liked her name. He liked the way it felt rolling off of his tongue, and he liked the way it sounded coming out of his mouth. "I'm out here because I want to be. I've been wanting to meet you ever since this afternoon before our act."
She looked up into his eyes and he caught a twinkle in them from the moonlight. "Really?"
Zac nodded. "Yeah. Really. Say, you wanna go for a walk or something? We could walk and talk. No big deal."
"Okay," she agreed quietly.
They began their walk along the sidewalk, slowly strolling past the dark, empty storefronts in the middle of downtown. They walked in silence, Zac's hands shoved in his pockets and Bessie's arms crossed nervously over her chest. He was glad that she'd discarded her hat and her gloves. Now he could see more of her.
The silence had grown awkward until Bessie took him by surprise and said quietly, "So, um, what are we supposed to talk about?"
The way she posed the question threw Zac off guard a little bit. He'd heard the phrase, 'what do you want to talk about?' and even, 'what should we talk about?' but never, 'what are we supposed to talk about?' It was almost as if she expected there to be some kind of script or program they were supposed to be following.
"Whatever we want," Zac said. "We could talk about anything. We could talk about the weather or the fair...or about you or me...or us..."
"Us?" She asked curiously.
Zac shrugged. "Eventually."
"Oh," she replied quietly. And then they continued to walk on in silence.
After a few more minutes, Zac couldn't take it anymore. "I'm not gonna bite you, you know."
She glanced over at him and she tucked her hair behind her ear, turning her eyes to the ground again as she fidgeted with her thumbs. "I know. I just--I mean, the truth is, I've never done this before."
Zac chuckled, in spite of himself. "We're just walking. Everybody's done that."
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "No, I--I've never been anywhere with a boy before. I've, um, I've never been on a date."
His eyes widened and he blinked into the air in front of him. He felt like he'd been blindsided and he couldn't get over his disbelief. "I don't think I believe that."
Finally, she looked up at him. "I wouldn't lie to you. I'm being honest."
He looked back at her, into her kind, sincere eyes. In that moment, he knew that she would never do or say anything to deceive him. He found comfort in her eyes, something he hadn't felt in quite some time. "You're so beautiful," he muttered under his breath.
"What? I'm--I'm sorry, you'll have to speak up."
His heart pounded and the nerves came back. He hadn't meant to say anything out loud. Searching for a recovery, he pulled his hand from his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, you know, pretty little rich girl like you, probably got them all eating out of your hand..."
She stopped in the middle of the street and looked up at him, staring hard into his eyes for the first time that night. He reviewed his words in his head. Oh, no. That was bad, too.
Then, to his surprise, her face softened. "You think I'm pretty?"
And then he just stopped overthinking his words. "I think you're beautiful."
Even in the darkness, he could see her face turn red and she smiled shyly, ducking her head and tucking her hair behind her ear. "Um, um, thank you," she said meekly.
"You're welcome." He cleared his throat and they started to walk again. "So you've, um, you've really never been on a date before, huh? How, uh, how old are you?"
At this question, she raised her chin with the first sign of confidence he'd seen since he first laid eyes on her. "Eighteen," she announced proudly. "Eighteen, soon to be nineteen."
"Oh," Zac said, taken aback a little. He knew she had to be young, but he didn't expect her to be quite that young. It explained a lot, actually.
"How old are you?"
Zac cleared his throat to stall her question. He didn't really want to tell her now. "I'm older than you."
"Well, I gathered that," she said, a smile creeping across her face.
"I'm twenty-six."
"Wow. You are older than me."
"Thanks for the reminder."
"Well--it's not so bad, I guess..."
"Bessie--what are we talking about, here?" Now it was his turn to stop in the sidewalk and face her.
She looked at him, confused. "We're talking about how old we are..."
"Why?"
"Because you asked me."
He glanced at the ground in thought as they prepared to cross the street to come down the other side. He needed to control himself. He seemed so anxious, so ready to--to start a relationship with her. And he barely even knew her. However, he didn't need to. He'd already decided he would be spending the rest of his life getting to know her. He wanted to learn something new every day, he wanted to--he wanted to fall. Every single day. Was any of this even natural?
He had to cool things off. He had to take it slow. And--and damn it, he had to get his trick flowers back. Suddenly, he thought of Isaac, and if he didn't come home with those things tonight, Isaac would be angry for sure. And he guessed he had right to be. Except that the trick flowers belonged to Zac and if he wanted to let Bessie keep them, he could. But Isaac was right. They needed to hold on to what they had.
As they started down the other side of the street, Zac cleared his throat as he attempted to ease into the question. Unfortunately, the question came off a little more gruff than he'd intended. "So, uh, you got those flowers I gave you earlier?"
She looked up at him, confused. "What?"
"The flowers. I need them back."
Her jaw dropped and she looked at him as if he'd just kicked her puppy or accused her of having a contagious disease. "You can't just--take them away..."
"Yes, I can. They're mine. I need them for my act."
"But--they were a gift..."
"They weren't a gift. It's part of the show."
"But that's not fair..."
"Actually, it is."
Her chin hit the air once more. "No. They're my flowers. They're pretty and I'm keeping them."
"Look," he suddenly barked at her. "I can't afford to buy more! Okay? I need them back."
All of a sudden, their differences hit him like a ton of bricks. What was he even doing? Who was he to think she might even be remotely interested in him? She was the daughter of a wealthy judge and he--well, all he did was perform hokey carnival tricks without so much as an address to claim. He should have never started this. He should have never given her his trick flowers at the fair or even agreed to come out tonight. He shouldn't have let things get this far already.
Except that there was no way he could turn back now. Not even if he tried.
Bessie's face fell now and Zac instantly regretted his tone. "Well--um--what do you do with all the other acts? I bet you have to buy more every single time."
"I don't usually give them away."
"You gave them to me."
"Temporary lapse in judgment."
Stopping mid-stride, she clicked open the clutch that hung from her wrist and pulled out the small bouquet of trick flowers, smoothing them out as she revealed them. The fact that she was even still carrying them around was enough to knock the wind out of Zac's chest. "Well. Okay," she said hesitantly, holding them out to him. "But they're--they're very pretty."
"Thanks," he said, taking them from her and shoving them in the pocket inside his jacket. "They're fake."
"So?"
"Look, princess. I'll pick you some real ones. Wildflowers. All colors. Those are free. And they're prettier and they smell good. Okay?"
She looked up at him, her eyes wide with wonder, much as they were at the fair earlier that day. "You'd pick me flowers?"
A smile crept across his face, his heart melting at a moment's notice. "I'd grow them just so I could pick them for you."
She smiled back at him, biting her lip shyly, and then ducking her head once more as they started to walk again. She was so bashful, so innocent. He was glad he didn't take her inside the speakeasy. She was right, it was no place for her. Her place was safe in his arms, smelling the fresh flowers he wished he could be picking for her right now.
"So, um, I know who you are," she said quietly.
"Oh?"
"I know my daddy put you in jail a few times."
Zac sighed and shoved his hands back in his pockets, looking at the ground as they walked. "Yeah...that was--that was a few years ago..."
"I know. You--you know who I am, too?"
He smiled. "Your last name's Harlow."
"Oh," she nodded. "So it is. Anyway, I, um, I want you to know, I don't--I don't judge you for that. I mean, earlier I did, but--"
He had to scoff a laugh. "Earlier you did?"
"Yes, but--but that was before I knew."
"Before you knew what?"
"How kind your heart is."
Speaking of Zac's heart, it was pounding. Hard. He racked his brain to remember at what point he'd said something to make her think that. Nobody had ever told him he had a kind heart before. Now he needed to know what he'd done to deserve it. "Um, I feel like all I've done is smart off and be forward."
"You have a little," she admitted. "But mostly, I can tell you're kind. You have kind eyes. And your volunteering to stay out here with me when you could be inside having fun was very nice of you."
"Who said I'm not having fun?"
"Oh, no," Bessie sighed with displeasure all of a sudden. Zac followed her gaze across the street. "Millie's swacked."
And, apparently, so was Isaac. They watched across the street as the two couples sauntered from behind the corner and towards the car. "Shit," Zac said under his breath, hoping Bessie didn't hear him. Then he said to her, "We gotta get them out of here. Nobody can see how drunk they are."
"Guess this means our night is over," she sighed.
Zac's heart broke. "I'm afraid so."
As they crossed the street, the two couples saw them coming and Judith hissed as loud as she could, "Bessie! Bessie, hurry!" Crossing the street and meeting up with them, the blonde bombshell then grabbed Bessie by the arm. "Bessie, she is completely swacked. We gotta get her home. Do you know how to drive her car? I don't know how to drive it!"
Bessie nodded. "Yes, I can drive her car. Just--just put her in the backseat. And don't let her vomit, I hate vomit."
As Judith and Bessie put a babbling Millie in the backseat, Zac took one look at Isaac and he knew that he and Taylor had their work cut out for them. Interrupting his thoughts, Bessie suddenly asked, "Where's your car?"
"What?" Zac asked, coming out of his trance.
"Your car," she repeated. "Where is it?"
"Oh. Uh, we didn't bring it. We don't live far away from here. And, uh, besides, Ike probably needs to walk this off, anyway." What he didn't want to tell her was the truth--that their car had been sitting, broken down for over two months now, with barely any means of getting it fixed.
"Oh," she said. "Well, okay, then." She quickly closed the gap between them and placed her hands on his shoulders for support as she let her lips lightly graze his cheek. "Thank you for being so nice to me tonight," she said before she dashed away to the car.
Zac took in a breath and chills ran down his body, from his head, right out through his fingers and toes. She'd kissed him. Hot damn, she'd kissed him!
______________________________________________________________________
It hadn't taken long for Millie to fall asleep in the backseat of the Pontiac once they had started down the road toward her house. Judith sat in the front seat with Bessie, only just barely inebriated, with the window rolled down, enjoying the summer night air.
Breaking the silence, Judith asked Bessie, "So, what do you think of Zac?"
Bessie could barely concentrate on the road at the sound of his name. She didn't even know where to start. "He's so nice," she said. "A little cocky at times, but still nice. He made me give the trick flowers back."
"Give them back? They were a gift, he can't do that."
Bessie sighed. "Well...I was wrong to think they belonged to me, so. I was rude in taking them."
"No, you weren't."
"I don't think they make a lot of money doing what they do."
"That's not exactly a secret, Bess."
"What do you mean?"
"They live over at the gypsy camp in their carnival trailer. It's a known fact all over Tulsa. How did you not know?"
Bessie stared ahead in thought as she drove. Her heart broke in an instant. It explained everything, especially the way he acted over the flowers. It wasn't that he was being mean--it was because he was ashamed and he hadn't wanted to say anything. Bessie wished she could turn the car around right now and go back and tell him that he didn't need to be ashamed. She liked him anyway.
Then she remembered something he said in the exchange and she smiled. "He said he would pick me flowers."
"Pick you flowers?"
"You know, since I can't keep the trick ones. He said he would pick me wildflowers."
"Oh, Bessie," Judith said softly. "That's so romantic."
Bessie grinned and glanced over at Judith. "You think so?"
"Oh, yes. I think he's crushing on you."
Bessie giggled. "But we've only just met."
"So? You were crushing on him today after the fair and you hadn't even spoken to him."
Judith was right. Bessie was falling fast.
_____________________________________________________________________
Zac was more than perturbed at his eldest brother. How could Isaac let himself get drunk like that? How could he be so irresponsible?
Mostly, Zac was perturbed because his night with Bessie had been cut short because of Isaac. Bessie's cousin, Millie, was in no shape, either, but Bessie was able to hide her in the backseat of a car. Zac and Taylor had to work together to not only make sure Isaac made it home on two legs, but to make sure they stayed out of sight and kept Isaac quiet.
The last thing they needed was for him to get arrested and for them to run the risk of getting arrested by association. No. Zac was finished going to jail. Starting tonight, he was turning over a new leaf. Watching his back. Staying out of trouble.
After they'd gotten Isaac safely to the trailer and in his bed, Taylor and Zac sat outside on the trailer steps. "So, how was the club?" Zac asked.
Taylor shrugged. "Same old. Nothing special. I think their batch was watered down this time, though. They like to tell you it's the same stuff, but I can taste the difference. Millie seemed to like it, though, so I didn't say anything."
"Why do you stay with her?" Zac asked. "And why does Ike hang around with Judith? All they seem to like to do is have a good time."
"Well, that's exactly it," Taylor smiled. "They're fun girls. They're not shy. And we have an understanding, so it's not like we have any obligations to each other."
Zac nodded in understanding.
"I don't think Bessie's that kind of girl, though," Taylor continued.
"She's not," Zac agreed. "And I'm glad for it."
"You, uh, you really like this one, huh?"
"She told me I had a kind heart, Tay." Zac turned to look at his brother. "Nobody's ever told me that before."
"Maybe she's sees something in you."
Zac hung his head and retrieved the trick flowers from his jacket pocket. "There's nothing worth seeing in me." He twirled the fake bouquet around in his hands. "You should have seen her face when I told her I needed these back. I hurt her feelings. And I didn't want them back, anyway. I gave them to her on purpose." He sighed and he shook his head. "She's a good girl. And she's so young and innocent--maybe a bit naïve. I don't deserve a girl like her."
"Everyone deserves someone," Taylor said quietly. "I might not be, you know, keen on settling down or anything. But I still believe there's someone for everyone. And sometimes it's not always with the kinds of people you expect. And, you know, maybe...maybe that's what makes love so special."
Zac smirked in disbelief and looked over at his brother. "When did you get so wise on the subject?"
Taylor chuckled, amused. "You think I didn't get something out of all that Shakespeare and poetry Ma made us read as children?"
Zac smiled as he looked out into the darkness. "I sure do miss them," he sighed, a memory of their parents causing his heart to grow heavy. "They were good parents to us, weren't they? Made sure we were educated...grew up proper."
"As proper as they could," Taylor agreed.
Then Zac shook his head in defeat. "And now look where we ended up. Homeless and broke, doing nothing with anything they taught us. We failed them."
"We're not homeless. We each have a bed to sleep in and sufficient shelter over our heads. We didn't fail them. We chose to stick with what we love to do, no matter what. They'd be real proud of us, I bet."
Twirling the fake bouquet in his hand once more, Zac turned and handed it over to Taylor. "I need you to teach me how to do this with real flowers."
Taylor's eyes widened in alarm. "Real flowers? You can't do that with real flowers."
"Come on, Tay. You're better than either of us at these illusions. I know you can think of something. I really need you to help me do this."
Taylor turned the bouquet over in his hand and examined it in thought. "Um...maybe I could figure out how to spring load the wand...the bouquet of real ones would need to be thin, though..."
"That's okay. As long as they're real."
"Okay," Taylor said, standing up. "Yeah, just...just give me a couple of hours..."
He took the bouquet inside, leaving Zac out on the steps below. Maybe he wasn't good enough for Bessie. That was the truth. But he could at least keep the one promise he made to her--he'd give her real flowers. He just hoped she came back to the fair tomorrow.