Carnival of Secrets

CHAPTER ONE It was the last night of work in Amarillo, Texas, and he was physically tired but mentally revved. After he'd secured his area for the night, he retreated to his motorhome, shuffling along and muttering to himself to maintain his carefully constructed public persona. The ruse was highly successful - most of his co-workers gave him a wide berth, which was the way he preferred it. Once the narrow door was closed and locked behind him, he drew himself up to his full height and straightened his shoulders, rolling them to dissipate the tension they'd built up from maintaining a defeated posture all night. With the change in position came an altered expression - no longer a slightly vacant stare, but clear, sharp eyes that missed nothing. Not much more of this, and then I won't have to hide, he reassured his reflection in the tiny mirror perched over the equally tiny bathroom sink. When the idea had first presented itself, he'd been intrigued. After all, enduring so many years without being able to openly flaunt his superior intellect had been physically painful. The same affectations that kept him off the authorities' radar had also stifled his creativity. He threw a quick sandwich together then retrieved the thick reference book he'd stolen from the public library four towns over. Making himself as comfortable as he could on the dinette table's u-shaped bench seat, he opened the book to the section holding the slip of paper as a marker and continued his reading from the previous evening. *** * * * * "Pretty!" Charlie Thomas exclaimed again from his car seat's perch in the back. "Yes, honey, they were very pretty," Bella agreed as she buckled her seat belt for the ride home. She and Nathan had taken Charlie to a Sunday afternoon Texas Rangers game, then enjoyed a spectacular fireworks show once the ninth inning was done. Bella glanced back at their son, who was already rubbing his eyes. "Betcha he's asleep before we even leave the parking lot," she whispered to her husband. "I do believe you're right," he said, and grinned at her. "Especially with this line of cars waiting in front of us. But that just means he's gonna be easy to put down for the night. And when we get there, I'll carry him inside and get him situated, if you'll grab the wine and two glasses and meet me at the garden tub." She reached over and took Nathan's hand. "With or without bubbles?" "Are you crazy? With, of course," he quipped, and raised her hand to his lips to kiss it. *** * * * * "So, how much notice do you need to give Nathan about time off?" Lizzie pondered it as she chewed. "Not sure, really," she said once she'd swallowed the bite of pasta. "Did you find some good cruises?" "That I did," Donny answered. "I think the one we'd like the best sails from Seattle on October first. And I was shocked to discover that there are spaces left on that one, so we need to get it booked quickly before they're all gone." She smiled at her fiancé as she pulled out her cell phone. "Well then. Sounds like I need to let him know as soon as possible. Might as well do it now. What are the dates again?" "We'd need to fly to Seattle on September thirtieth sometime, and the cruise returns to Seattle on October sixth, then we'd fly home, so, eight days total," Donny confirmed. She rapidly typed Nathan a text, then hit 'send.' ***