“Hello, everybody. As most of you know, I’m Scarlett St. James. I’m the president of the Diamond Willow Festival Committee and I’m emceeing the festival’s Family Stage this year. Let’s say thank you again to the Jazz Hands Band for their energizing performance this morning.” The crowd clapped again. “They have a table set up in the Maker’s Market in the high school auditorium if you’d like to buy any of their CDs or merchandise. Next up, we are going to have the first magician ever at the Diamond Willow Festival, Dave the Magnificent. Please feel free to stretch a little while our volunteers set up the stage for him.”
Two teenagers carried out Dave’s table, already covered with a tablecloth that dragged on the ground. Attached to it was a small banner with Dave’s logo and social media handle. A minute later, Scarlett returned. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, so fresh from Grande Prairie, Alberta, that he was almost caught in a tornado on his way to entertain us, I present to you Dave the Magnificent!”
Mattie held her breath as Dave walked onto the stage, waving with one hand and pulling his wagon with the other. He began his introductory patter as he set up a pitcher of water and a plastic cup, a pile of handkerchiefs and napkins, a rubber chicken, and various decks of cards. “And now, my first trick!” he announced. With the flick of his hand, he shook out a deck of cards and it instantly formed a card pyramid on the tablecloth. Dave grabbed one card and pulled it to the side, demonstrating that it was a trick—the cards were already attached. Then he folded them back into a pile. Mattie was watching him closely because she knew what was coming, but she still didn’t see the swap where he exchanged it for a real deck. When he performed a waterfall shuffle to display a bunch of unattached cards, the audience gasped.
The oohs and aahs continued throughout the show. The disappearing and reappearing water in the glass was especially popular. Mattie recorded as much as she could. If all she could do to keep in touch with him was communicate on social media, she’d take it, no matter how much she wanted more.
Dave finished with a flourish that led to a standing ovation. Scarlett came back on stage to escort him off. He quickly repacked his wagon and suitcase so they could return to the trailer to wait for Mattie’s new truck, but they weren’t able to make a clean getaway. He was mobbed in the centre aisle between the game booths after his show. He took pictures with kids and parents, then spoke to a painfully shy teenaged girl about magic.
Once the crowd dispersed, they weaved through the crowd on their way to the parking lot. As busy as the fairgrounds had been the previous night, it was nothing compared to daytime crowds when parents were out with their children. The air buzzed with shouts and laughter, and the scents of sunscreen and fried food.
“I could get used to this.”
“Small-town festivals?” Mattie asked.
“Sure. Look around. Fresh air. Everybody’s having a good time. And”—he pulled out his phone—“I have twenty new followers. I still have another show to do tomorrow.”
“I’ll have a new video for you to post before that show,” she promised.
“You don’t have to work on it now, do you? We still have an hour before your colleague is here to collect you and the trailer.”
“No, I can do it tonight once I’m home.”
“Then let’s hit the midway so I can try to win you another bear.”
They had a fifteen-minute window before they had to return to the trailer park. It only took ten for Dave to win Mattie a brown bear in a green and red striped shirt to go with the one that he’d given her the night before. “Thank you! I love it,” she told him.
“I guess we should get back. We don’t want to leave your friend waiting.”
The road around the campground entrance was a zoo. The fifteen-minute drive took thirty. A pair of combines trundled slowly down the two-lane highway, backing up traffic, while cars on the other side waited to cross the road to turn into the Thunder Creek Family Campground. Suddenly one of the waiting cars turned, trying to beat the first combine across the road. A cacophony of horns sounded.
“I think I see a Christmastown truck,” Mattie said. “It’s about ten vehicles behind us.”
“They’ll be waiting a while.”
“They are already running late because of this traffic. Maybe I should get out and go ahead on foot. I can make sure that everything is ready to go by the time they get into the campground. Not that I mind waiting in the van with you.”
“I’d love for you to keep me company, but we could be a while. If you go now, I’ll meet you at the trailer,” Dave suggested.
“I’ll try not to take you telling me to leave personally.” She checked behind the van to make sure nobody was trying to sneak past on the passenger side, then opened the door. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Wait!” Dave leaned across the centre console and kissed her. “A pre-goodbye kiss.”
Mattie felt her face turn red. “I’ll expect a real one later.”
Then she was gone. She didn’t run in the intense noon heat. Her steps stirred up little clouds of dust as she scuffed each foot on the dirt shoulder in disappointment at the thought of her time with Dave being over.
She was still frowning when she arrived at the campsite, and it deepened when she spied someone standing on her trailer. A white-haired man was unwrapping the plastic covering from one of the lampposts. “Hey! Excuse me, what are you doing up there?”
The man looked up but didn’t move. “I wanted a closer look at your Christmas lawn ornaments before I made an offer.”
“They aren’t for sale. Please get off my trailer.”
“I’ll pay you one thousand dollars for this lamppost.”
“Sir, they are not for sale. Get down now,” Mattie said, her voice firmer.
“My wife really loves this stuff. How about two thousand, final offer?”
