Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen Read Free Book Online Page A

enclosed by chain-link fence.
    I'm searching in vain for an elephant when my eyes come to an abrupt stop on a woman. She looks so much like Catherine I catch my breath—the plane of her face, the cut of her hair, the slim thighs I've always imagined were under Catherine's staid skirts. She's standing in front of a row of black and white horses, wearing pink sequins, tights, and satin slippers, talking to a man in top hat and tails. She cups the muzzle of one of the white horses, a striking Arabian with a silver mane and tail. She lifts a hand to push back a piece of her light brown hair and adjust her headdress. Then she reaches up and smoothes the horse's forelock against his face. She grasps his ear in her fist, letting it slide through her fingers.
    There's an enormous crash, and I spin to find that the side of the closest animal den has slammed shut. When I turn back, the woman is looking
    at me. Her brow furrows, as though in recognition. After a few seconds I realize I should smile or drop my eyes or do something, but I can't. Eventually the man in the top hat puts his hand on her shoulder and she turns,
    but slowly, reluctantly. After a few seconds she steals another glance. Wade is back.
    "Come on," he says, slapping me between the shoulder blades. "It's showtime."
    S a r a G r u en
    "LADIES-S-S-S-S-S-S AND GENTLEMEN-N-N-N-N-N-N-N! Twen-n-n-n-n-ty-five minutes till the big show! Twen-n-n-n-n-ty-five minutes! More than enough time to avail yourselves of the amazing, the unbelievable, the m-a-a-a-a-a-a-rvelous wonders we have gathered from all four corners of the earth, and still find a good seat in the big top! Plenty of time to see the oddities, the freaks of nature, the spectacles! Ours is the most dazzling collection in the world, ladies and gentlemen! In the world, I tell you!"
    Cecil stands on a platform beside the sideshow's entrance. He struts back and forth, gesturing grandly. A crowd of about fifty hovers loosely. They are uncommitted, more paused than stopped.
    "Step right this way, to see the gorgeous, the enormous, the Lovely Lucinda—the world's most beautiful fat lady! Eight hundred and eighty-five pounds of pudgy perfection, ladies and gentlemen! Come see the human ostrich—he can swallow and return anything you hand him.
    Give it a try! Wallets, watches, even lightbulbs! You name it, he'll regurgitate it! And don't miss Frank Otto, the world's most tattooed man! Held
    hostage in the darkest jungles of Borneo and tried for a crime he didn't commit, and his punishment? Well, folks, his punishment is written all over his body in permanent ink!"
    The crowd is denser, their interest piqued. Jimmy, Wade, and I mingle near the back.
    "And now," says Cecil, swinging around. He puts his finger to his lips and winks grotesquely—an exaggerated gesture that pulls the side of his mouth up toward his eye. He raises a hand in the air, asking for quiet. "And now—my apologies, ladies, but this is for the gentlemen only—the gentlemen only! Because we're in mixed company, for delicacy's sake, I can only say this once. Gentlemen, if you're a red-blooded American, if you've got manly blood flowing through your veins, then this is something you don't want to miss. If you'll follow that there fella—right there, just right over there—you'll see something so amazing, so shocking, it's guaranteed to—"
    He stops, closes his eyes, and lifts a hand. He shakes his head with W a t e r for E l e p h a n ts
    remorse. "But no," he continues. "In the interest of decency and on accourit of being in mixed company, I can't say any more than that. Can't say any more, gentlemen. Except this—you don't want to miss it! Just hand your quarter to this fella here, and he'll take you right on in. You'll never remember the quarter you spent here today, and you'll never forget what
    you see. You'll be talking about this for the rest of your lives, fellas. The rest of your lives."

    Cecil straightens up and adjusts his checked