Kali and Jo eased through the crowded street with applied
effort as they held on firmly to each
other’s shirt sleeves, and whilst Jo pushed Kali, Kali
pulled Jo in return. Giggling with childish intent
they neared the town statue.
‘They will spot us
immediately’ Kali laughed.
‘And? That’s part
of the thrill, and if they don’t, we have the best view in town’ Jo replied.
‘I’m scared I’ll
fall or someone from work will see me!’
‘You silly cow,
stop fretting’.
The carnival was
due to arrive at 7:50 in the centre of town but watching it was difficult due
to the
influx of visitors and the local turn out. This made Jo
realise that an old childhood viewing point
was their only option; Sir Robert Blake’s statue. The fact
they were both in their thirties did not seem
to dampen her ardour for such an adventure; she was even
immune to Kali’s persistent worrying.
‘It’s about to
rain’ Kali looked skywards, ‘We’ll slip’.
‘STOP!’ Jo barked
with frustration as a large drop of rain hit her forehead.
‘Ha! See, I told
you so, and…’ the sound of her sentence became muted as the downpour began.
Within seconds
moaning and shouting erupted from the sea of mouths around them and
spectators tried to shelter in the doorways of shops only to
be battered by the wind that carried the
rain like a blanket to all retreats. Jo and Kali flung their
arms around one another and ran with their
heads down towards the blue awning of a coffee shop that
periodically flapped and slapped water
down on its refugees. No matter where they sought sanctuary
the rain stalked them. But as quickly
as the precipitation started, it stopped.
‘They’ll cancel
now’ a faceless voice mused.
‘Nah, they won’t,
you’ll see’ another voice interjected.
‘I want to go home’
Kali grumbled to Jo.
‘Ok moaning Mertyl
let’s go’.
The throng of
expectant viewers had increased and their progress became treacle-like. The
sound
of music, dulled only by the surrounding voices, carried on
the damp tepid air and the sky seemed to
hint of coloured brightness.
‘It’s coming, I can
hear it, look you can see the lights in the sky’ Kali pointed with child-like
glee
back towards the statue that now was a multi coloured
shimmer.’ Rock Around the Clock’ boomed
out crudely from a loud speaker that had been attached with thin cord to the tractor that pulled a
brightly lit carnival cart. Semi-clad males dressed in
cave-man garb whooped and whirled with other
costumed people from throughout the ages.
‘Look at those
men!’
‘What you fancy men
now’ Jo teased.
‘No silly’ Kali
kissed the end of Jo’s nose and the response was an affectionate head bump.
Jo realised that
Kali had stopped to watch the first cart go by. The music blocked their
ears with its volume and shook their teeth. Jo stood behind
the smaller frame of her companion and
wrapped her arms around her. Their brown and blonde locks
intertwined on Kali’s shoulder and she
began to unknowingly stroke and then plait their hair
together. People looked.
‘They’re watching
us’
‘I know’
‘Are we more
interesting than the carnival?’
‘Looks like it’
As they mused over
their situation one of the carnival entertainers began leaning towards them
from the cart. His fixed, grinning mask loomed in and for a
moment everyone thought he would fall
into the spectators.
‘Ahhhh’, screamed
Kali before realising he was wearing a harness.
The crowd began to
laugh at her mistake and she sunk her embarrassment into Jo’s embrace.
Ignorant eyes flicked in their direction accompanied by
unknowing smirks that split judgemental
faces. Overwhelmed Kali turned to Jo for reassurance.
‘Let’s go home now
sweet, they haven’t come here to see us’.
Kali nodded her
approval and with a sense of unwillingness they left.
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