Read Courting the Clown for Free Online Page A

“Whoa. I sense that you’re a tiny bit upset.”
    “ Tiny bit?”
    “Was it the juggling act? Mrs. Panati told me about that. You know, if you don’t know how to juggle, it probably isn’t a good idea to start with five snowballs.”
    Susie was enjoying this, wasn’t she? “How could you do this to me?” Sylvie shrieked, fighting the urge to throw the nearest Santa belly at her friend. “Dumping me like that? Alone? With those... those... kids ! You know kids terrify me. I stayed there for two hours! Two hours! It felt like two years . Do you have any idea what I just went through?”
    Susie put down her bags, and pushed one of them behind a chair with her foot. “Don’t look! Your present is in there. You know, considering I do this for a living, I probably do know what you just went through. I do this almost every day.”
    “That’s totally different, and you know it. You’re... you. I’m not you! I don’t have your knack with kids. I don’t have any knack with kids! And you know the little monsters pounce on that. They can sense it.” She shuddered. “They smell fear.”
    “Well, we had a deal, didn’t we? You needed a slight push out of your comfort zone. I gave it to you.” Susie whistled a cheerful tune as she started sorting the laundry. “Sheesh, the new costumes really bleed color, don’t they?”
    Sylvie gulped down air. “A slight push? Is that what you’d call it? Don’t you mean a huge shove? Off a thirty foot cliff? Into a pool of man-eating baby sharks?”
    “Oh, come on, now you’re exaggerating. They’re just children. It can’t have been that bad!”
    “They tied me to a tree. Shoved snow inside my clown’s nose. Pushed me into the snow and jumped on my back. Grabbed my--”
    “ You lost control, didn’t you?” Susie shook her head. “I told you – you call the shots. You have to. They’ve got to know you’re the boss, or you’re in trouble.”
    “Gee, really?”
    “You have to get them to respect your authority or they’ll run all over you. Especially when it’s a big group of kids like this – you have to stand firm.”
    “A bit late for advice, isn’t it?”
    “I told you all this before! Sounds like you weren’t listening.”
    “Knowing the theory and putting it into practice are two very different things,” Sylvie said with gritted teeth. “That’s where practice comes in. And I have none.”
    “Hey, it’s over. And you ventured out of your comfort zone. Experienced new things. Expanded your horizon. That’s good, isn’t it? It’s what we set out to do.”
    Sylvie grabbed her purse, ready to bolt out the door after she’d screamed a bit more at her cousin. “I did not want to go this far out of my comfort zone!” she hissed. “Babysitting one of your brother’s kids for half an hour while you stayed within shouting distance would have done the trick!”
    Susie studied her. “You’ve still got some paint under your chin and on your neck,” she said amicably, and Sylvie dropped her purse and returned to the sink with a sigh.
    There was no point in shouting at Susie. They did have a pact after all, and Susie would get her turn. Sylvie almost cackled at the thought, smiling evilly into the mirror. Oh yes, Susie would get her turn. And so would Helen. Now that she’d been through purgatory herself, she’d have no compunction in torturing her friends. In fact, she had every intention of enjoying it thoroughly.
    She scrubbed of the last vestiges of paint, and carefully scrutinized herself in the mirror, grabbing a hand mirror to check the back of her neck. All traces of paint were gone. The suit was gone, the red nose was in the dishwasher along with a dozen others, the donkey’s tail had been furtively fastened to the back of Susie’s jacket. It was over. She’d never again have to dress in a clown suit. Never have to cake white make-up all over her face.
    “ Daddy, I want the clown for my birthday party...”
    The tiny voice squeaked