Harley and Billie strolled down the main street of Cameron which stood amidst fields of corn, wheat and sorghum. Harley waved his arms with wild abandon, describing how he always wanted to be something different from a poor dirt farmer. He explained a traveling actor made as little as the people who scraped out a living from the earth. At least he made people laugh, he said. Billie’s eyes sparkled as she absorbed every word.
“And now you’re the principal comedian for a large traveling tent show,” she said in a breathless, awe-filled voice. “My, that is an impressive title.”
Harley stopped abruptly in the middle of the town square, his eyes wide with surprise and hope. The street lamps which dotted downtown cast dewy light, softening the harsh realities of life and creating a romantic illusion.
“You think so? I mean, of course it is.” He was glad Billie could not see him blush. “It—it took years of hard work and learning my craft….” His voice trailed off when he realized how pompous he was sounding. “That was kind of silly, wasn’t it?”
“Oh no, of course not.” Billie reached out to pat Harley’s hand.
“All of a sudden I thought of Mama. She always had a way of bringing me down to earth.”
“”What do you mean?” Billie crinkled her forehead in concern and sympathy. She revealed herself to be wise beyond her years.
Harley kicked the grass and began his story.
“Right before we came here we played Avoca. You know Avoca?”
“No,” she replied softly.
“It’s my hometown. My folks run a small farm. Me and my brothers and sisters helped with the chores. One day I was hoeing the cornfield when I saw some mean dark, menacing clouds form over the western horizon. I kept hoeing and looking up at the skies. Well, finally I had had enough of this. I threw down my hoe and marched home. I called back over my shoulder, ‘You can stay out there and get struck by lightning but I’m going home, where all God-fearing people blessed with common sense are.’”
Harley paused long enough to decipher the look on Billie’s face. He did not know if she believed every word he said or decided he was verifiably insane and was figuring how she could escape his clutches. He shook his head ruefully.
“Those rain clouds never came close to us. Mama was absolutely furious, saying I must be the laziest boy this side of the Pecos River. Papa, on the other hand, thought I was the funniest boy he ever did see and told me if there was a way to make money for making people laugh, I ought to do it.”
Billie giggled, which encouraged him to finish his story which he feared was the longest story he’d told anywhere.
“The next thing I knew I was working for Mr. Fox in his tent show travelling all through Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas.” He took off his straw boater and scratched his head. “So I got my parents free tickets when we played in Avoca.”
“How nice!” Billie beamed. “Did they like it?”
Harley shifted his stance. He realized he was showing her the real Harley Sadler which made him uncomfortable.
“Mama, she just sat there after the show, tapping her foot. I walked up and asked, ‘So what do you think?’ Finally she looked up and smiled real sweet and said, ‘I guess it was pretty good. I really liked the music.’ She paused to compose her thoughts and added, ‘But Harley, don’t you think it’s about time you got a job?”
“Why, that’s a terrible thing to say!” Billie put her hands on her hips in protest. “Acting is a wonderful job. And hard work too, I’d say. But a wonderful job.”
Harley’s heart leapt. No one had ever come to his defense before. Almost everyone in Avoca agreed with Mama. He should get a real job. Except for Papa. He didn’t say much but he grinned a lot.
“You think so?” He wanted Billie to tell him more about how wonderful he was. “You really think so?”
She pointed to a white wood clapboard house with a large porch and sturdy railing.
“There’s my house. Mama and Papa left the front porch lamp lit for us. Sit on the swing with me for a while.”
They walked up the stairs and sat on the swing. The air was thick with the scent of honeysuckle. Harley, for once, could not think of anything to say. Eventually the silence overwhelmed him. He started whistling an indiscernible tune.
“Be quiet,” Billie cut him off. “Mama and Papa are already in bed. Burnie too.”
“Burnie?”
“My brother. He’s such a lamb. So gentle.”
They lapsed into another silence. Since he was not allowed to whistle, Harley went back to his favorite topic—himself.
“So you think being an actor—traveling around in a tent show—would be a wonderful life?”
“It is for you, isn’t it??” She stared at him, fluttering her eyes.
“Oh, of course.” Harley blurted. Her reply caught him off-guard. “I sometimes wonder though, um, you know, how people who live in towns, well towns like, um, Cameron here, would feel about living with a tent show.”
A smiled flitted across her full lips. “What an odd thing to wonder.”
Harley realized this evening was not going exactly the way he planned. Was she just playing a joke on him? Was entertainment so rare in small Texas towns that girls liked to trifle with young men’s affections just to watch them squirm? When he left town tomorrow night, would she tell her friends how much fun it was to break a stranger’s heart? The thought of such palpable disappointment forced him to stand and go to the railing. He leaned out to stare up into the darkness.
“Clear sky tonight,” he whispered. “Clear skies are always good for business.”
“I imagine so.”
Lying down precariously on the railing, Harley cleared his throat.
“Oh yes, I know all about these things. As principal comedian I….” His voice dried up again. Bragging on himself was not really who he was. What he was good at was making people happy. Why was he so foolish to think any woman would be interested in Harley instead of Toby? He closed his eyes to keep from crying. It had been ten years since the last time he cried. He was in high school and he tried to talk to a girl at a school dance in the gymnasium.
“The weather is unusual warm for this time of year, don’t you think?” he had asked the girl.
“The dance is beginning to smell like a basketball game,” he added. When she laughed, he thought he was making progress.
“I apologized,” she said, the giggle still in her voice. “I don’t usually laugh at boys like you. I’m a church girl, but your rubber face is too silly to resist laughing at.”
He didn’t talk to another girl for a whole year.
“Penny for your thoughts.” Billie’s voice was almost breathless yet charged with an electricity Harley had never heard before.
“They ain’t worth that much. I’ll give them to you for free.”
“That’s a bargain. What are you thinking?”
“I was just wondering—oh, nothing.”
“What do you want?” Her question was pointed but not intimidating.
“What?” He felt so confused. Harley never realized confusion was one of the symptoms of falling in love.
“What do you want out of life? Do you want to be Toby the rest of your life?”
He could not look at her. He kept staring at the stars.
“I guess. Toby’s not so bad. He makes people laugh. Don’t you think people need to laugh?”
“Of course.” Billie paused as though she were giving the topic serious consideration. “But don’t you want to go to Hollywood?”
“Why go there when I can make people laugh right here?” he asked in earnest. “I can see them. That’s right. I can see them. I can hear them.” New ideas flooded his mind. “I know right then and there I made a difference in their life, even if it was just for a couple of hours. Besides, Hollywood’s not important. It’s all about making as much money as possible and showing off with a new big house and fancy cars. Being good to real honest-to-God people, that’s what is important. And if you’re good to people, good things happen to you.”
That’s right, he told himself. Why hadn’t he thought of that before?
“You can sit next to me, if you want to.” She spoke with kindness and romance.
Harley practically sprang from the railing onto the swing, immediately leaning into her face. Their eyes intently studied each other. Their heads, slowly but with determination, moved together until they kissed. When they separated, Billie pertly smiled and stood.
“I’ve got to go in now. Good night, Harley.”
After she went into her house, Harley continued to sit on the swing. The surprised look on his face slowly changed to contentment and more than just a little bit proud. Wow. A girl really did like him. Not Toby but him, Harley.