7. Mattie
Mattie
Mattie floated on air all the way home. The highway might have been full of potholes, but she didn’t remember a single one. All she could remember after getting back to the camper van the night before was laying on the narrow bench, listening to Dave breathe in the other bed.
Her brain refused to co-operate with the dreamy feeling in her heart though.
Their first date had gone so well that she couldn’t wait for their second.
But would they even have a third if Dave was off being the best magician ever?
If he was based in Grande Prairie, she’d be lucky to see him every few months when he was in Manitoba.
Mattie desperately tried to come up with a way to talk him into coming to December the next day after his show so their road trip didn’t have to end. She wanted more date nights with him.
Now it was morning, and she was still without a plan.
They could have had breakfast at Ruth’s Place in town, but Dave insisted on cooking her something special on the Magnificent van’s propane stove to mark the end of their travels together.
He did a good job with scrambled eggs and the package of croissants they’d bought back in Drumheller.
Mattie finished the last of her orange juice box, then flattened it for the recycling bin.
“Are you ready for your show, Dave the Magnificent?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “I got a text from the booking organizer. Apparently, there has been a spike in interest over the last couple of days, and all their posts tagged with my social media handle have been getting a lot of engagement. Any idea why @DaveTheMagnificent has four times as many followers as it had last week?”
Mattie rolled her eyes at him. “I don’t know.
I’m sure it wasn’t successfully performing at a birthday party in Drumheller.
Or driving a bright yellow camper van with your logo on the side across three provinces while towing a Christmas village.
Or putting on an impromptu magic show in a restaurant to distract kids while their parents were watching to make sure a thunderstorm didn’t turn into a tornado.
I have no idea what you could have done to draw attention to yourself. ”
“Ha ha, very funny. You don’t think that all the posts you made me do had anything to do with it?”
“Nah. What do I know?”
“Right. You’re just a seasoned social media professional. If only I had somebody useful helping me.” He handed her the last mini croissant. “Here. Although you haven’t done anything to deserve it.”
“I’ll do better after your show this morning. Speaking of which, you need to get ready.”
Mattie took a walk around the campground while Dave changed into his performance costume.
Mei Chen texted her to let her know that the company truck would leave December at nine o’clock and arrive at the campground at approximately noon to pick up her and the trailer.
That gave Mattie four more hours with Dave.
They were on morning three of the longest non-date in history, and it was the best date she’d had in years. But it was coming to an end.
No matter how things worked out, she wanted to do something to thank Dave for all the help and reassurances that he’d given her about her almost-criminal Santa’s Village.
She knew exactly what she had to do. She’d give his magical future one last blast of support by ensuring that he had excellent social media content from his last show.
She dropped her portable charger into her purse to make sure her phone wouldn’t die with all the filming she intended to do.
The still August air was already oppressively hot by nine o’clock, beating down on them from a cloudless sky.
Dave drove down the highway with the windows open so they could pretend there was a breeze.
A volunteer waved them into the cordoned-off area of the high school parking lot that was designated for performers.
Dave loaded his canvas-sided wagon with props while Mattie grabbed his rolling suitcase.
When Dave rubbed his palm on his pantlegs, Mattie paused. His cowboy hat shaded his clean-shaven face, making his wide green eyes pop. “You aren’t nervous, are you? You’re going to do great.”
He shrugged. “I’m a little nervous. This is a lot bigger than a birthday party.”
Mattie took a breath. “Would you like a kiss? For luck?”
“I’m feeling like I need a lot of luck. Could I ask for two?”
“For you, sure.”
Dave leaned forward and placed his hands on the sides of Mattie’s face. His first kiss barely brushed her lips. His second kiss lingered a few seconds longer. Then he broke away slightly and leaned his forehead against hers. “That was pretty magical all on its own. I don’t know if I can top that.”
“Don’t kiss anybody at your show and let’s let this record stand. You can wow your audience with sleight of hand instead of kisses. I don’t think they’ll be upset by that.”
Dave took her hand. “Walk me to the stage?”
“I’ll be your crowd control.”
Mattie squeezed his hand behind the stage, then fought her way past the organizers and volunteers to stake out a spot where she had a clear view of the platform. The children’s music group finished up to a small but enthusiastic round of applause. Then a woman with strawberry-blonde hair came out.
“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.”