My stomach is fragile enough that even though the lot is well beyond the stockyards, I stay inside the stock car until everything’s been set up. Afterward, seeking the company of animals, I enter the menagerie and tour the perimeter.
It’s impossible to describe how tenderly I suddenly feel toward them—hyenas, camels, and all. Even the polar bear, who sits on his backside chewing his four-inch claws with his four-inch teeth. A love for these animals wells up in me suddenly, a flash flood, and there it is, solid as an obelisk and viscous as water.
My father felt it his duty to continue to treat animals long after he stopped getting paid. He couldn’t stand by and watch a horse colic or a cow labor with a breech calf even though it meant personal ruin. The parallel is undeniable. There is no question that I am the only thing standing between these animals and the business practices of August and Uncle Al, and what my father would do—what my father would want me to do—is look after them, and I am filled with that absolute and unwavering conviction. No matter what I did last night, I cannot leave these animals. I am their shepherd, their protector. And it’s more than a duty. It’s a covenant with my father.
One of the chimps needs a cuddle, so I let him ride on my hip as I make my way around the tent. I reach a wide empty spot, and realize it’s for the elephant. August must be having trouble getting her out of her car. If I were feeling at all kindly toward him, I’d see if I could help. But I’m not.
“Hey, Doc,” says Pete. “Otis thinks one of the giraffes has a cold. You wanna take a look?”
“Sure,” I say.
“Come on, Bobo,” says Pete, reaching for the chimp.
The chimp’s hairy arms and legs tighten around me.
“Come on now,” I say, trying to pluck his arms free. “I’ll come back.”
Bobo moves not a muscle.
“Come on now,” I say.
Nothing.
“All right. One last hug and that’s it,” I say, pressing my face against his dark fur.
The chimp flashes a toothy smile and kisses me on the cheek. Then he climbs down, slips his hand inside Pete’s, and ambles off on bowed legs.
There’s a small amount of pus flowing down the giraffe’s long nasal passage. It’s not something I’d find alarming in a horse, but since I don’t know giraffes I decide to play it safe and fit her with a neck poultice, an operation that requires a stepladder with Otis at the bottom, handing me supplies.
The giraffe is timid and beautiful and quite possibly the strangest creature I’ve ever seen. Her legs and neck are delicate, her body sloped and covered with markings like puzzle pieces. Strange furry knobs poke out from the top of her triangular head, above her large ears. Her eyes are huge and dark, and she has the velvet-soft lips of a horse. She’s wearing a halter and I hold on to it, but mostly she stays still as I swab out her nostrils and swaddle her throat in flannel. When I’m finished, I climb down.
“Can you cover for me for a bit?” I ask Otis, wiping my hands on a rag.
“Sure. Why?”
“I’ve got somewhere to go,” I say.
Otis’s eyes narrow. “You ain’t moping off, are you?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
“You better tell me now, ’cuz if you’re moping off, I ain’t covering for you while you do it.”
“I’m not moping off. Why would I mope off?”
“On account of . . . Well, you know. Certain events.”
No! I’m not moping off. Just let it drop, would you?”
Is there no one who hasn’t heard the details of my disgrace?
I HEAD OUT ON FOOT and after a couple of miles find myself in a residential area. The houses are in disrepair, and many have boards over their windows. I pass a breadline—a long row of shabby dispirited people leading to the door of a mission. A black boy offers to shine my shoes, and while I’d like to let him, I don’t have a cent to my name.
Finally I see a Catholic church. I sit in a pew near the back for a long time, staring at the stained glass behind the altar. Although I want absolution dearly, I am unable to face confession. Eventually I leave the pew and go to light votive candles for my parents.
As I turn to leave, I catch sight of Marlena—she must have come in while I was in the alcove. I can only see her back, but it’s definitely her. She’s in the front pew, wearing a pale yellow dress and matching hat. Her throat is delicate, her shoulders square. A few curls of light brown hair peek from beneath the brim of her hat.
She kneels on a cushion to pray, and a vice grip tightens around my heart.
I retreat from the church before I can further damage my soul.
WHEN I RETURN to the lot, Rosie has been installed in the menagerie tent. I don’t know how, and I don’t ask.
She smiles when I approach and then rubs her eye, curling the tip of her trunk like a fist. I watch her for a couple of minutes and then step over the rope. Her ears flatten and her eyes narrow. My heart sinks, because I think she’s responding to me. Then I hear his voice.
“Jacob?”
I watch Rosie for a few seconds longer and then turn to face him.
“Look here,” says August, scrubbing the toe of his boot in the dirt. “I know I’ve been a bit rough on you the last couple of days.”
I’m supposed to say something here, something to make him feel better, but I don’t. I’m not feeling particularly conciliatory.
“What I’m trying to say is that I went a bit far. Pressures of the job, you know. They can get to a man.” He holds out his hand. “So, friends again?”
I pause a few seconds longer, and then take his hand. He is my boss, after all. Having made the decision to stay, it would be stupid to get myself fired.
“Good man,” he says, grasping it firmly and clapping me on the shoulder with his other hand. “I’ll take you and Marlena out tonight. Make it up to you both. I know a great little place.”
“What about the show?”
“There’s no point in doing a show. No one knows we’re here yet. That’s what happens when you blow your route and wildcat all over the damned place.” He sighs. “But Uncle Al knows best. Apparently.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “Last night was kind of . . . rough.”
“Hair of the dog, Jacob! Hair of the dog. Come by at nine.” He smiles brightly and marches off.
I watch him leave, struck by how very much I don’t want to spend any time with him—and by how very much I’d like to spend time with Marlena.
THE DOOR TO THE STATEROOM swings open, revealing Marlena, gorgeous in red satin.
“What?” she says, looking down at herself. “Is there something on my dress?” She twists, inspecting her body and legs.
“No,” I say. “You look swell.”
She raises her eyes to mine.
August comes out from behind the green curtain, wearing white tie. He takes one look at me and says, “You can’t go like that.”
“I don’t have anything else.”
“Then you’ll have to borrow. Go on. Hurry up, though. The taxi’s waiting.”
WE ZIP THROUGH a maze of parking lots and back alleys before coming to an abrupt stop at a corner in an industrial area. August climbs out and hands the driver a rolled bill.
“Come on,” he says, extracting Marlena from the backseat. I follow.
We’re in an alley surrounded by large redbrick warehouses. The streetlights illuminate the asphalt’s rough texture. On one side of the alley trash is blown up against the wall. On the other are parked cars—roadsters, coupes, sedans, even limousines—all flashy, all new.