Page 21 of The Wonder of You

“Elle the elephant? You do speak some bullshit, my Beau,” Nan giggles and Grandad shakes his head with a laugh.

“And that’s what I’m going to win! One of those giant teddies!” Phoenix sounds so determined. Henry walks closer to him, eying him up like it’s a battle to the death. His expression is sinister, as if he’s trying to see if Phoenix can really out beat him. It reminds me of those wrestling matches where they do a brief stand off to get the crowd riled up. But Henry breaks out into a smile.

“I’ve missed you, you know,” he says and he pats him firmly on the shoulder, then moves out the way. Phoenix takes the toy gun and aims quickly and swiftly at all six cans. They fall instantly, no wobbling suspense, just gone like the wind.

“Wow, you haven’t played for so long and yet you come here and destroy me,” Henry chuckles.

“Well, I have a woman to impress all over again,” I hear him say quietly in return. I drop my head as I know a blush is taking my cheeks. I want to tell him he doesn’t have to try impressing me. He impressed me the minute I set my eyes on him.

“Which one do you want, my lady?” Henry waves over to wall of prizes.

“The lion,” I pick out.

“As always,” he laughs as he grabs it down and chucks it gently at me. I look at the cute lion stuffed teddy and run my hand through its orange mane. Have I chosen something like this before?

“Thank you,” I embarrass myself by bowing, but both men seem to enjoy my short performance. Henry leans over the stall and kisses Phoenix on the side of his head.

“Told you it would all come back together, my good friend, I told you.”

As Henry and Phoenix chat, I spin slowly in a circle, taking in the circus once again. I see Maudie running towards me.

I drop to my knees as if I’ve known her for years and invite her in for a cuddle. Her eyes widen happily and she holds me so tight that I think she might fix all my broken parts.

“You won a teddy! Henry never lets me have a teddy!” she squeals.

“Well, I’m not a charity,” Henry huffs light-heartedly.

“Phoenix won it for me, but I think he’ll need a good home, are you up to the task?” I offer out the lion, wondering how I’ve suddenly become so good with a child when usually communicating with them terrifies me.

Maudie claps her hands and jumps in glee. She takes the teddy and holds it tight to her chest. I see her notice her father and run to show him.

“You’re not getting another one,” Henry tells me as I stand back up and turn to them. I raise my middlefinger to him and he jokily gasps as if I’ve offended him greatly.

Phoenix has that expression again, the one that looks like he might break into tears any minute, but instead he wraps his arm around my waist and leads me onto somewhere else. We walk away to the sound of Henry’s voice.

“Roll up, roll up!”

Chapter 15

“Would you… would you like to join me in my cabin for a coffee? The lady I’d like you to see isn’t ready yet, so we could wait… only if you want? Or we could sit near one of the coffee stalls.” Phoenix runs his hand through his hair. He looks frustrated with how nervous he is to ask me to be alone with him. I feel for him. To me, this all feels fresh, a familiar, but still new world. Yet to him, I am apparently his long-lost love who he has never forgotten and yet he has to ask me things he probably never thought he would. I probably shared this cabin with him before. Is this really all true?

“Yeah, that sounds great, I could do with sitting down.” I smile at him as I see the relief take his eyes. He reaches for my hand again and leads me to the cabin near the painted rocks. Yesterday feels like five minutes ago and five hundred years ago all at the same time.

Am I crazy to believe I can be in love with a man I met just yesterday? Is this my loneliness catching up on me or is it really a past life finally coming back to life in my mind?

I would never have reacted like this to anyone else. What I felt with Phoenix was in my bones, like it had always been there, just looking for its moment to force its way into my heart.

Phoenix turns on the light in his cabin. It’s larger than what I expected, as if the outside is just an illusion. He has a kitchen, a bathroom, a comfortable looking sofa and coffee table. Right at the back is a double bed. It’sthe perfect set up. I walk further into the room as I hear Phoenix turn on the kettle.

My eyes settle on the photo frames by the sofa. My heart slams into my stomach at a speed I’m not ready for.

The photos show Phoenix and a woman smiling at the camera.

The woman is me.

In one photo I look as if I’m wearing Victorian clothing. Is it a costume or is it the actual time period the photo was taken?

Then there is me and Maudie with an elephant.

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