Mr. Barlow’s whistle shrieked inside the tent, the band began to play, and the grand parade began moving forward. Lilly took a deep breath and gripped Pepper’s bejeweled headpiece with one sweaty hand. With Hank beside them in case anything went wrong, Lilly and Pepper and Cole and JoJo entered the big top in front of Flossie and Petunia. Having never been inside the big top during a performance, Lilly couldn’t believe how many people lined the bleachers. Sunlight filtered in through the bale rings and canvas ceiling, illuminating thousands of faces and heads and hats and hands. When the audience saw Pepper and Lilly, there was a collective gasp. Everyone clapped wildly and stared with open mouths.
As the parade made its way around the hippodrome, Lilly smiled and waved at the audience, every sense on high alert, her skin tingling with a strange mix of euphoria, disbelief, and fear. The trapeze artists and tightrope walkers, the Bally girls and lion tamers, the acrobats and stilt walkers, all strutted their stuff while the jugglers juggled and the clowns skipped and danced and played tricks on one another. It seemed as if the parade itself was mirroring her thoughts and feelings, a hundred colorful pieces all jumbled up and jumping around, making it impossible to know where to look and what to think.
Every once in a while, she glanced at Cole for reassurance, and he winked at her. He had told her once that as a third-generation circus performer, for him the traditions were keener, the lights a bit brighter, the pull of the ring stronger than nearly anything else. He was never interested in anything but performing. And now she understood why. The excitement of the audience felt like electricity running through her body, and instead of the fear of ridicule, she felt nothing but adoration from the rubes. Who wouldn’t want to be the girl in the sparkling costume riding the beautiful elephant?
After the parade and the rest of the show, it was time for Lilly and Pepper’s act. Two clowns carried a red pedestal covered with white stars into the center ring, and Mr. Barlow hushed the crowd to make a special announcement.
“Ladies-s-s-s-s-s and gentlemen-n-n-n-n-n!” he shouted in a deep voice. “Now it’s time for the act you’ve all been waiting for! This is the act you’ve seen on the posters, folks, the one I risked my life to get in a jungle in Thailand, the one you’ll be telling your grandchildren about! And now I introduce to you, for their first ever performance in the Barlow Brothers’ Circus, Lilly the Albino Princess from Siam and her Albino Elephant, Pepper!” He raised his arm and looked at the back end.
Lilly swallowed and glanced down at Cole standing beside Pepper. Cole winked up at her and gave her a nod. She brushed her feet against Pepper’s side and urged her forward, past the trapeze artists making their way out of the hippodrome after their act. When she and Pepper entered the big top, she raised one arm and, despite her nerves, smiled at the audience. The band played “Jungle Queen” as Pepper carried her into the center ring, her trunk curled in salute. Then Pepper lifted Lilly from her head and placed her on the pedestal. The crowd clapped and whistled.
Lilly raised her arms in a V and turned to address each section, a smile glued on her face. Then she jumped down from the pedestal and faced Pepper, who waited patiently. Lilly nodded once and Pepper rose on her hind legs, her front feet in the air, and trumpeted loudly. The rubes laughed and applauded.
Lilly made a downward gesture with her hand and Pepper dropped down on all fours. Then she nodded again and pointed at the ground, and Pepper leaned forward, tucked her head toward her chest, pushed her back feet into the air, and did a headstand. With a dramatic flair, Lilly smiled and extended her hand, inviting the audience to adore Pepper. They cheered and roared with applause. Then Lilly lay on the ground in front of Pepper’s trunk, directly beneath her raised haunches, and little by little, the crowd grew quiet in breathless anticipation.
Ever so slowly, Pepper dropped her hindquarters and sunk lower and lower, until her massive bulk covered everything but Lilly’s head. Women gasped and covered children’s eyes. Pepper waited a moment, then pushed herself into a sitting position and rested a front foot on Lilly’s skull. A smattering of small shrieks burst from the audience. Pepper raised her trunk in triumph, then, ever so slowly, lifted her foot. Lilly got up, waved to the audience, and, smiling in delight, rubbed Pepper’s broad belly. The whitewash felt hard and dry and for a terrifying second, Lilly thought she had rubbed it off. Still smiling, she glanced at Pepper’s belly and breathed a silent sigh of relief. The whitewash was still there.
She skipped toward the other side of the ring and glanced over her shoulder as if expecting Pepper to follow. But Pepper got down on her knees and rolled over on her side as if taking a nap. The bandmaster signaled the band to play a lullaby and laughter rippled through the crowd. Lilly put her hands on her hips and went over to Pepper, frowning and pretending to be frustrated. Pepper lay still as a stone. Lilly shrugged, climbed up on Pepper and lay on her side, her hands folded beneath her head, her eyes closed. The lullaby played on and the audience grew quiet again. Then Lilly sat up and stretched, pretending to yawn. The rubes laughed. Lilly stood, shook her head, made her way along Pepper’s side, jumped down from her neck, and started walking away.
Pepper sat up and caught Lilly around the waist with her trunk. Lilly opened her mouth in mock surprise. People chuckled nervously, unsure if it was part of the act. Pepper got to her feet, still holding on to Lilly, and pulled her toward her. Lilly put her hands over her mouth and pretended to be afraid. The band started a fast number, then moved into a waltz. Pepper let go and Lilly strolled away, smiling and dancing around the perimeter of the ring, moving her arms in time with the music. Pepper followed, her head and trunk swaying back and forth. The audience laughed and clapped.
Lilly danced around the ring one more time, then led Pepper over to the pedestal and climbed on while Pepper lowered her massive bulk to the ground. Lilly stepped onto the back of Pepper’s neck and remained standing, her knees slightly bent, her arms out for balance. Pepper pushed herself up and promenaded around the ring, her trunk held high while Lilly smiled and blew kisses to the audience. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Cole watching from the back end, a wide grin plastered on his face. After several times around the ring, Pepper took Lilly back to the pedestal and waited for her to slide off.
Everyone clapped and started to stand, but Lilly put up a finger to let them know there was more. A drum roll started, and she raised her arms and nodded once. Pepper stood on her hind legs again and Lilly lowered her arms. Pepper bent forward, wrapped her mouth around Lilly’s head, and lifted her from the pedestal. The crowd gasped and a woman screamed. Lilly extended her arms, palms up to let everyone know it was part of the act, and the rubes went wild.
With Lilly still hanging from her mouth, Pepper climbed onto the pedestal and stood with her back arched, all four feet crowded together. She curved her trunk around Lilly like a swing and released her from her mouth. Lilly hooked an arm around Pepper’s trunk, smiled, and pointed her toes. Pepper raised her trunk, holding Lilly aloft, and stood on her hind legs. The audience exploded with delighted cries.
Then Pepper deposited Lilly on her head, climbed down from the pedestal, and departed the big top to the cheers of a standing ovation.
CHAPTER 24