2 – Fishin'
Being only twelve, Mickey couldn’t see over the mass of people in the shaded lobby. This won’t do, he thought. Mickey moved to one side of the entrance where a light fixture jutted from the wall above his head. He jumped up, grabbed the fixture with one hand, planted a foot solidly on the top of one of the building’s foundation stones, and hoisted himself up. Angelo then leaned against him to help Mickey stay in position, pinned against the brick wall. From his new vantage point, he was able to look out over the pool of people filling the lobby.
“Whatcha doin’?” asked Angelo as he held Mickey in place.
“Fishin’.”
“Fishin’? For what?”
“For our way in, boy-o. For our way in.”
Mickey studied the crowd, observing the currents of movement within the pool of people. Eventually, he focused on a family with four children. Mickey figured the little girl was maybe eight and the oldest boy was probably fifteen or sixteen. The other boy and girl were about Mickey’s age. Maybe they were twins. Most importantly, they were in line to buy tickets.
“Perfect,” he said to himself as he tapped on Angelo’s shoulder then let himself down to the pavement. He signaled Angelo to follow as he waded through the crowd. Mickey approached the boy who seemed to be his own age, walking right up to him like they were life-long chums. “So, what’s your name?”
The boy looked taken aback by Mickey’s brashness. “Uh, Robert.” He quickly turned away, trying to ignore Mickey.
A nibble, thought Mickey. Try again.
“Robert, is it?”
“That’s what I said.” said Robert without looking back.
“I’m Mickey and this is my friend, Angelo.”
Robert grunted in reply.
I’m losing him. Need to stir things up somehow.
“You goin’ to see the museum?”
Robert spun about and glared at Mickey. It was a “What a stupid question!” sort of glare.
Good! An angry fish often bit. Work the bait!
“Yeah, of course you are! I meant to say, what’re ya comin’ to see? Me? I’m here to see the skeleton of the Feejee Mermaid, myself.” When Mickey saw Robert’s eyes soften, he knew he had hooked his fish. All he had to do now was reel him in. “I read about it on a wall poster. D’ya think it’s real?”
Robert leaned in close and spoke quietly, but excitedly. “My dad said it’s just one of Barnum’s humbugs, but I don’t know.”
“A humbug?” Angelo had never heard the word before.
“You know. A fraud. A fake! Dad says Barnum is the biggest humbugger of them all.”
Robert’s dad must have gotten their tickets for the little school of people that was Robert’s family started to move towards the first hall. Mickey and Angelo let the slow current carry them along through the pool of people.
“If Barnum’s such a faker, then why’s your dad comin’ and bringin’ the lot of you with ‘im?”
Robert was very relaxed now and walked between Mickey and Angelo as if they were old friends. He smiled. “Because dad said it’s fun to be humbugged sometimes. Just as long as you know you’re being humbugged. It’s fun to figure out what’s real and what isn’t. Besides, there’s the animals, the historical stuff, and the lectures. I think someone’s reading Shakespeare today.”
“Shakewhoosit?” asked Angelo.
“Some dead writer-guy,” said Mickey matter-of-factly.
“Oh-h-h-h,” said Angelo, nodding as if that explained everything.
Mickey and Angelo walked past the ticket-taker with Robert, his mother, older brother and two sisters as his father handed over the tickets.
Angelo grinned at Mickey. Mickey replied with a wink. They had done it. They were inside Barnum’s Museum.
– End Chapter Two –
