Prompted Fiction Contest Entry

"The Comeback Clown"

It was on a bright, starry night that the traveling circus rolled into town.
I had wondered when he would come back into my life. I just hadn't realized it was going to be five years later. Almost five years to the day that he'd walked out of my life and broken my heart.
And nothing had changed.
He knew I'd buy tickets to see the show. Even though he knew I hated clowns.
I'd always hated clowns. And I most especially hated this one.
The one that had promised me the moon and then ran off chasing rainbows with this traveling side-show.

I stood outside Leary's Grocery staring at the huge red & yellow poster. "Circus".
Tonight.
I'd known it was coming for weeks, and yet somehow the reality of seeing him again didn't hit me until I saw it emblazoned across the front of the store.
The town was already deserted. Most of them already standing in line to see the tigers & elephants. Buying popcorn and cotton candy. Stuffing themselves on corn dogs & funnel cakes.
I hated funnel cakes too.

I thought about not going. But I knew just like he did, that I'd be there.
Suddenly I realized I was just standing on the street in a daze, staring at the huge clown face on the poster.
I shuddered and walked to my car. Whatever was compelling me to go this circus, was strong. A lot stronger than my years of resolve to never set foot anywhere near one again.

Maybe I would run into him. I’d give him a piece of my mind that’s for sure. I wasn’t that innocent little girl he’d dumped in the rain. I’d grown up a lot and I had a few choice words for that clown.

I decided I’d better get home and change into something a little more "circus friendly"... whatever that was.

Two hours later, I had bought a ticket and was pushing my way through the throng of townsfolk, trying hard not to look for him.
Every time I saw a big red nose, I got flashbacks of the night he abandoned me.
He had left me crying in the rain as the huge trucks thundered off into the night, leaving a trail of smoke and the scent of diesel.
Yes, I hated him.
I had cried for weeks after he left. I had been virtually inconsolable. And then, after about six months, I was finally able to smell popcorn again without breaking down into a sobbing heap.

I'd had a sandwich before I left the house, but now amidst all the smells of popcorn and fried food wafting through the air, I found myself suddenly hungry. I turned to look for a vendor that was selling anything other than funnel cakes.
I suppose I really wasn't watching where I was going, and it was at that very moment, that I ran into him. Literally almost knocking him over.

There it was. The red nose.
My first inclination was to punch him right in that red nose. I wanted to hurt him like he'd hurt me.
But in an instant, that feeling was gone.
He held me. He held me tightly.

I struggled to pull away from him, as the old feelings from five years past flooded my brain and without wanting to, I found myself holding him back. And suddenly, I was kissing a clown.
A clown I'd never stopped loving.

I've always loved clowns. Most especially this one.