4

SNAKE-GIRL AND OTHER ANIMALS

The door of the caravan never stayed shut for more than a minute. People kept looking in to ask a question, collect something or just call ‘Good morning’. No one noticed Gus any more than they noticed Lulu, the cockatiel that screeched ‘Silly bugger’ every time the door opened. Then a tall silver-haired man came in and started fixing himself a cup of coffee.

‘Ah, this must be our newest clown,’ he said with a thick accent.

‘What?’ exclaimed Gus, his mouth open in surprise.

‘Better shut that,’ Nance interjected. ‘You’ll catch a few flies leaving it open like that.’ She tapped Gus on the chin and he shut his mouth so quickly his teeth clacked together. ‘This is Augustus, Annie’s boy.’

‘Gus, my name’s Gus,’ he muttered.

‘Right you are,’ said Nance. ‘This is Vytas.’

‘Very charmed to meet you,’ said Vytas. His long white hair was brushed back into a ponytail but his face, though weathered, was strangely unlined. He took Gus’s hand and held it between both his own. His dark eyes held Gus firmly in their gaze. There were little gold flecks in his irises.

‘We will be great friends, little Gus,’ he said and Gus nodded in reply. ‘You must come and visit me.’ He turned Gus around and pointed out the smallest motorhome on the site.

‘My humble abode,’ he said. ‘My door will always be open to you. I am sure there is much we could discuss. I have many stories to tell that would interest you.’

‘Vytas…’ began Nance, her voice full of threat.

‘I am a creature of utmost discretion,’ he replied.

Nance pursed her lips and looked cross but when she took in Gus’s bewildered expression she suddenly smiled. For an instant she reminded Gus of his mother – something about the way two little dimples formed on her right cheek and her eyes became like laughing crescents.

‘Right you are, Vytas,’ she said.

‘Madam,’ he replied with a flourish and left the caravan, but he winked at Gus as he climbed down the steps.

‘He’s full of old rubbish, that Vytas. Don’t you listen to him too much,’ said Nance.

‘Is he Zarconi?’ asked Gus.

Doc and Nance both let out a shout of laughter and Gus blushed.

‘Well who is Zarconi?’ he muttered.

‘I am,’ said Doc.

‘I thought you were called O’Brien,’ said Gus.

‘Back round the turn of the century, when your great-great-grandfather was running this show, he called himself Alberto Zarconi. No one wanted to go and see another Irishman – the east coast was crawling with Irish showmen – so old Mick O’Brien, he cooked up Zarconi as his stage name.

‘A lot of circus folk changed their names in those days. Con Colleano, the most famous Aussie wire-walker ever, his real name was Sullivan. His dad was Irish and his mum was Aboriginal, but it didn’t pay to own up to it. The best circus performers were all meant to be Italian – seemed exotic.

‘You’re fifth-generation circus and as Irish as the shamrock, on your mother’s side anyway,’ said Doc, nodding at Gus as if he were almost proud of him.

‘What about my dad? Was he Irish too?’ asked Gus.

Doc and Nance looked at each other and said nothing. Gus knew he’d dropped a clanger. He looked at his plate and crushed the last of his toast crumbs with his thumb. Suddenly, Doc slammed his hand down on the laminex tabletop.

‘We can’t sit here yabbering all day,’ he said crossly, getting to his feet. ‘Nance will find somewhere for you to put your things – she’s the boss of this caravan like I’m the tent boss. I’ve got to check on Kali. Didn’t like the look of her last night.’ Doc slammed the caravan door behind him.

‘Who’s Kali? Is she my auntie or something?’ asked Gus.

Nance snorted and clapped her hand over her mouth as she choked on her tea. When she’d recovered, she said, ‘You go and find out for yourself. I’ve got things to do – can’t have you underfoot all day. See that little girl out there, you ask her to show you around. That’s Effie. She’ll set you straight about things around here. She’s eleven, same as you. Best little acrobat I’ve seen in years. Better than your mother, and that’s saying something.’

‘My mum! My mum was an acrobat? What sort of an acrobat?’

‘Don’t bother me with more questions,’ said Nance, suddenly clamming up. ‘That’s her – up there in that photo. Now just get yourself outside for a while. Go on.’

Gus barely had time to glimpse the photo that hung near the ceiling above the couch. It showed a dazzling pink figure flying across a dark background, her body arched, her arms outstretched to catch something.

The caravan door banged shut behind him. He lifted one hand to shield his eyes from the blinding sunlight. He felt dizzy and confused. He wanted to have a room he could go to – like at home. Somewhere quiet. He shut his eyes and made a picture in his head of his bedroom, the Chinese paper lanterns on the mantelpiece, his Star Wars posters, the glow-in-the-dark stars that his mum had stuck on the ceiling. He remembered the feel of the sheets against his cheek. He thought of his mum bending over him to tuck him up and a feeling in his chest that was halfway between a sneeze and a stab made him shiver.

The dark-haired girl had stopped practising handstands and was watching Gus. Suddenly, she spun around and disappeared behind the big top. Gus chased after her. A small black and white dog shot out from under a caravan and snapped at his heels, catching his sock with its small sharp teeth.

‘Here, get out of it!’ He kicked at the dog.

‘Don’t you kick Buster like that,’ said the girl.

‘Well, make him stop.’

‘Buster!’ she said, snapping her fingers. The little terrier instantly stopped barking and trotted over to her. When she held out her hands, he leapt up into her arms.

She stood there stroking the dog and staring smugly at Gus.

‘I’m Effie.’

‘I know. I’m Gus.’

‘I know.’

‘My grandmother said you’d show me around. My grandfather’s gone off to see Kali. Whoever she is.’

‘Who do you think she is?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said with irritation. ‘I don’t know who anyone around here is. No one tells me anything. She could be my long-lost sister for all I know.’

Effie made the same snorting noise as Nance had.

‘She probably is. Come and see for yourself,’ she said, tucking Buster under one arm.

Gus followed her around the back of a huge truck and almost bumped into a wall of wrinkled grey flesh. The elephant swayed slightly and the chain around her leg rattled.

‘Meet Kali, your long-lost sister,’ said Effie.

Gus took a step back but Effie got behind him and shoved him in closer. His mouth felt dry and he blinked. The elephant’s left eye seemed to roll back to stare straight at him, small and dark and wet.

Doc was standing on the other side of Kali, stroking her trunk and talking in a soothing steady tone. Suddenly, Gus heard a rushing sound like a small waterfall and a huge puddle began to spread beneath the animal. A sharp smell filled the air and great clods of elephant dung fell in a steaming heap at Gus and Effie’s feet. Doc reached out and roughly pushed Gus back.

‘Here, get out of the way, kid,’ he said. ‘If she crushes you to death, it won’t be her fault. Effie, you should know better than to bring him in close to Kali. Get out of here, the pair of you.’

‘We didn’t mean to upset her,’ said Effie.

‘Well, you have, so clear off,’ he said crossly.

They walked away through the long grass, little clouds of dry dust drifting up through the yellow stalks. Effie led him round to the shady side of a caravan and they flopped down in the grass. Buster climbed onto Effie’s lap and curled up to sleep. She stroked him while Gus watched enviously.

‘Seeing that elephant up close was so weird,’ said Gus. ‘I didn’t think there’d be animals with the circus.’

‘It wouldn’t be a proper circus without animals,’ said Effie. ‘Hey, you’re not one of those animal libbers, are you? My dad says the trouble with animal libbers is they don’t know nothing about animals. He reckons they should all be locked up.’

‘Take it easy,’ said Gus, putting his hands up. ‘I’ve only ever seen two circuses in my life, Circus Oz and the Great Moscow Circus, and that’s it. Circus Oz doesn’t even have any animals.’

‘Yeah, well, my dad says that you have to have people and animals performing together or it’s not really a circus at all. People and animals in a ring – that’s what my dad reckons is real circus.’

‘So who is your dad that he knows so much?’

‘Cassimer Cuelmo. He’s the animal trainer. He’s been with every big circus in the world. He can train any animal, but big cats are his specialty. Zarconi’s used to have a big cat act, ’cept we lost both our tigers up in Queensland last year. Some idiot shot them when they got onto his property.’

‘Must be pretty scary finding a tiger in your back yard,’ said Gus.

‘Zuzu and Zac weren’t scary. They hardly had any teeth left. Zuzu was just like a big pussy cat. Dad used to let her in our caravan and I used to sit on her. Anyway, Dad mostly looks after Kali and the horses now and he trains Buster and a couple of the other dogs around here. Oh, and Lily, of course.’

‘Lily?’

‘Yeah, come and meet her.’

They walked across the hot, windy paddock, Buster trotting at their heels At the far end was a battered old caravan hooked up to a four-wheel drive. Effie pulled the door open and jumped onto the first step of the caravan. She was a little taller than Gus. Looking up at her, he got a sense of her being older too. Her eyes were black, her skin golden and she had a knowing smile which annoyed him a lot. He felt she was laughing at him.

‘This is my place,’ she said, flinging the door open.

The Cuelmos’ caravan was nothing like his grandparents’. There were piles of dirty clothes everywhere and the kitchen sink was cluttered with unwashed dishes. A hazy light filtered in through yellow curtains. Effie pushed a kitchen chair aside and reached out for something that was lying across the windowsill. Gus thought it was just another piece of clothing but as his eyes adjusted to the light, it came to life, a thick and shining coil.

Effie lifted up the long snake gently and wrapped it around her neck.

Gus took a step backwards.

‘This is Lily,’ she said, beaming. ‘It’s okay, she’s just a carpet snake. She can’t hurt you. I do an act with her sometimes – snake-girl stuff. Sometimes we charge people to have their photo taken with her. You can have a hold if you want.’

Gus moved closer and Effie lifted the snake over her head and laid it across his stiffly outstretched arms. The feel of the scales against his bare skin made his flesh creep, but he wasn’t going to let Effie know that.

‘She’s beautiful,’ he said breathlessly.

‘Most snakes are. She’s really old. Dad’s had her longer than me!’

Gus felt a bit shaky so he moved towards the windowsill and let the snake slither out of his arms into the sunshine that streamed through the glass. He pushed his hair back from his face and grinned at Effie. She smiled back.

‘C’mon,’ she said. ‘I’ll show you around the place.’

There wasn’t a lot to show off: a handful of caravans and trucks and the ‘big top’ circus tent which wasn’t really big at all; the ring – it was tiny, smaller than he’d imagined any circus ring could be. Effie seemed proud of everything. She didn’t seem to notice how grubby and knocked around it all looked.

‘So where’d you live before you joined the circus?’ asked Gus.

‘I’ve always been with a circus, but not always Zarconi’s. Dad came out to Australia to work with Wirth’s but then they folded and he shifted around a bit. We were with Perry brothers when I was really little, but then they folded too,’ said Effie.

‘Do circuses do that a lot? Fold up?’

‘Well, not really. They sort of change shape. I mean, everyone joins another circus and sometimes it’s all the same anyway, same people, same everything – just with a different name.’

‘What about school?’ asked Gus.

‘What about it?’

‘Don’t you have to go?’

‘Sometimes, if we stay a few weeks somewhere – but mostly we only stop a couple of nights at each place. Dad teaches me and I have to do this correspondence stuff too. But it’s not so important. I know what I’m gonna do when I grow up anyway.’

‘What?’

‘Fly,’ said Effie.

‘Like a pig.’ Gus laughed.

‘Trapeze, stupid. I’ve been doing it since I was six. One of these days I’ll do a triple somersault and then I’ll be set. Everyone wants you when you can do a triple. I’ll get a job with a real circus. Ringling or some really big American mob. I’ll tour the world, get in the circus hall of fame – all that stuff.’

‘Isn’t this a ‘real’ circus?’

Effie looked uncomfortable.

‘Sort of.’ She avoided looking at Gus as she spoke.

‘Well, I don’t reckon it looks like much of a circus. Nothing very incredible about this set-up. Pretty crappy, falling-apart kind of circus if you ask me,’ said Gus.

Effie flushed and turned on him. ‘Well, who asked you?’ she spat. ‘What would you know about it, anyway?’

Gus stood up slowly and brushed the grass from the seat of his pants.

‘I better get back to my grandmother,’ he said.

‘And that’s another thing. Do you have to keep saying, “my grandmother, my grandfather”, like you own them or something? They’re Doc and Nance first.’

‘Yeah, I know that.’

Effie screwed her face up as she looked past him to the parking lot.

‘Dad and Hannah are back,’ she said, pushing Buster from her lap and racing towards a man and woman who had just pulled up and were unloading something from the back of a ute. Gus reached out to Buster cautiously and tried to scoop the small dog up into his arms. Buster bared his teeth, turned and trotted after Effie. Gus pulled at a stalk of grass and stuck it in his mouth as he watched the girl and dog disappear into the big top. He wasn’t sure whether he’d just made a new friend or an enemy.