Page 79 of P.S. It’s Always Been You
* * *
But love? True love is when he does it for all your friends. He made enough money to free all of us from our debts.
* * *
We call that train ride the Folklore Ride.
* * *
Do you want to know why?
* * *
Because our disappearance will become folklore. The missing circus performers. The trapeze artist who escaped, the strong man who ran away, the target girl who was a target no more. We’ll become merely tales.
* * *
We’ll change our names, start new lives, free to begin again.
* * *
Our old lives, our old debts, will simply be folklore.
* * *
I cannot wait to see you again. But for now, I am here with Edward.
* * *
And when I finish this letter, I shall turn to him, place a hand on his cheek, and say thank you.
* * *
It will never be enough for what he did.
* * *
He didn’t come only for me. He came for everyone.
* * *
And that’s how I know I’ll love him madly for the rest of my life and beyond.
* * *
But right now, I will be kissing him.
* * *
And kissing him.
* * *
And kissing him all night long.
* * *
My love,
Greta
40
Presley
I clasp my hand to my heart. “Oh. My. God.”
“Yes.” Wonder paints his tone. “That’s the . . .”
“That’s the real deal.”
“That’s the biggest gesture I’ve ever heard of.”
“And it makes such perfect sense.” My voice cracks. “What she said in the last letter about how the ending isn’t what you expect. Yes, it was an escape. Yes, it was a rescue. But he didn’t just rescue her.”
“That must be why Baron Z’s shut down a few months later. Remember?”
“Yes.” I nod quickly. “Edward liquidated his indentured servant circus.”
“That’s why they changed their names. So Baron wouldn’t know who did it. Jack was the cover, and Edward paid all their debts. So he could free her.”
I snap my fingers as the next realization strikes. “That’s why the other letter said it’s not the story of ‘our’ daring great escape, ‘our’ midnight ride. Because it wasn’t.”
“It was everyone’s great escape.”
His voice. It’s so rich so full of passion and admiration, and I still can’t believe that he feels as strongly as I do about their story. But he does, and it feels like ours. We’ve discovered it together.
But there are details—like how and why—that don’t add up. “I still don’t understand how you found this in Vik’s pocket.”
“I don’t either, but there’s one more letter.”
We open it and read it together.
* * *
Dear Children,
* * *
So now you have the full story.
* * *
But you may have questions. What happened next?
* * *
Well, you know the basics. Jack finished his nightcap with Baron, bid him adieu, went to his car, and drove as fast as he could to meet us on the train when we crossed into Indiana.
* * *
As for Baron, I can’t say. I imagine he returned to the grounds to find the performers’ quarters ransacked, only his people left—and the notes. Your father left the banknotes for Baron, the ones saying we were free and clear of our debts. Baron no longer had a hold on any of us.
* * *
His circus limped along for a few months, maybe more, until it was picked over on the side of the road, a carcass of a creation.
* * *
Beanie went home, glad to be with family.
* * *
Same for Tommy.
* * *
No more debts.
* * *
No one to lord over them.
* * *
They’d been freed.
* * *
And so had I. I was free to return to Claudia, to take care of her. But she didn’t need much because as soon as she met Jack, they fell fast in love.
* * *
Your father and I changed our last names. Took on a new one to celebrate the day we were reunited, against all odds.
* * *
Valentine’s Day.
* * *
We became the Valentinas.
* * *
It was such a good performer’s name. It called to us. With a last name like that, it was a fait accompli—we had to perform again.
* * *
Though not right away.
* * *
We were too busy raising a family, and your father continued to build businesses. Did he miss performing? Sometimes, but he was happier to be with me, to take care of you, and to know that the others had their own fresh starts.
* * *
But don’t worry—his thirst for adventure took him to South America with Jack. Such explorers. Such men who loved to conquer the world.
* * *
You know the rest of our story. We raised you, we supported the arts, and your father went on expeditions.
* * *
And yes, it is true, your father and I could not resist the call of the circus.
* * *
When we invested with Jack in the theaters, we would sometimes moonlight at The Folklore.
