The Invite

Ruechari had said nothing

To Jacob's earlier love confession

Stood with crossed arms and a neutral expression

Then she walked inside and disappeared.

Only Ronan and the rest of the employees

Were left inside to laugh and cheer.

Now was time for the evening show

Quite the crowd had gathered round

Jacob's act was the hit of the town

He pulled out all the stops

Gave it his all

Breathing fire into the night had his audience in awe

Rue's earlier slight did nothing to dim Jacob's grin

He walked over to her, while Monty set up to begin

"So Miss Rue did you like what you saw?"

"You full of hot air? I was quite enthralled."

"Miss Rue you ain't seen nothing yet."

"Yeah, I bet. Jacob, I'm not so easy to impress."

"I accept your challenge. I'm a man of many talents."

He gave her a wink

"I'll see you inside. Prepare to be amazed."

But Rue looked unmoved and unfazed.

"Aren't you going to watch Monty's act?" asked Rue

Jacob shook his head no.

"I'm needed inside. I have lots to do."

A woman in a short dress

And black hair approached Rue

"I'm Monty's wife Liza. Thanks for letting us put on this show for you."

"The pleasures all mine. I'm Rue."

"Jacob is a piece of work. But he has a good heart."

Rue snorted, "I'm sure he plays the part."

Rue stuck around

To watch Monty throw his knives

With expert skill, he missed his wife.

But that was not all

Next Monty covered his eyes

And Rue watched that knife fly

She held her breath

But had no reason to fear

The knife sunk into the wood above Liza's ear

Inside the casino

Iron Pete was working the crowd

The men were getting rowdy and loud

As Iron Pete lifted the dumbbells

And held up two full grown men

Asking if anyone wanted to challenge him.

He had a taker or two.

The men strained to raise the same weight

Their arms did tremble and shake

But the weight was far too great.

Next up was Samson the giant

And the smallest man Tiny Tim

They went around the room making comparisons.

A woman giggled

As she stood near the big man

Her head was the size of his hand

No man in the room even came close

Though many sure liked to boast

But Samson towered above them all

While Tiny Tim was less than his knees tall

Next came Fatima

The charmer of snakes,

Around her neck, a python was draped

Jacob scanned the room for Rue

He longed to show her what he could do

As he placed the flute to his mouth and began to play

Fatima's body began to sway

Her hips matched the tempo, nice and slow

She handled the snake like a pro

The men did cheer

She wore little

The snake wrapped around her middle

She finished her dance

And snake began to hiss

She calmed it with a kiss

Next up was Josie

She tumbled into the room

As Jacob continued to play a tune

Josie was all smiles,

Flips, twists and bends

She folded her body like an accordion

The crowd cheered and clapped

For the dimpled girl

She gave a bow and final whorl

Jacob gave his sister a wink

As she dropped to her hands

Used them to walk from the room much to the delight of her fans

Now was time for Vincent the Great

But Jacob found it hard to concentrate

As the magician made his miraculous escape

From a straight jacket

And chains heavy and thick

Vincent was able to get the locks picked

Usually, Jacob enjoyed his act,

As the magician pulled a rabbit from his hat

And sawed his assistant Dolly in half

The clowns ran around making the crowd laugh

But Rue was nowhere to be found

Normally Tony was the one who swallowed the sword down

But Jacob had arranged to do it in his stead

He wanted to impress Rue, take her to bed

Even though Jacob was a bit blue

He knew exactly what he had to do

He swallowed the sword and gave a bow

Then decided to find Rue somehow

Sweet Bella sat upfront with two pretty girls.

They looked on with amazement

As the wonders unfurled.

At the final curtain, Jacob gave them all a smile,

 and for Bella a special wink

Earning him a frown from Deputy Buck

But he could care less what he may think.

He found Rue in her office

"I wondered where you went.

I'm not used people disappearing

Unless by the Magician's hand

Under the big tent."

"I'm sorry. There was a matter

I needed to attend to."

It wasn't hard to see

Something was seriously

wrong with Ruechari.

She was dampened somehow.

The fire within her was dimmed now.

"Are you okay?"

Rue went to answer that question

But realized she didn't know what to say.

Jacob frowned.

"We still on for our dinner tonight?"

It had completely slipped her mind.

"I'm not certain now is the best time."

She pulled out an envelope of money.

"For you and your crew."

Jacob knew she was backing down

And he wasn't sure what to do.

Jacob took the envelope

Shoved it in his vest

"Thank you for this opportunity

I meant a lot to me, and the rest."

Rue went back to work,

He knew he was dismissed.

But the sadness in her demeanor

Jacob just couldn't have this.

Rue had done so much for him

since he came to BG.

He stood there at her desk and said,

"Rue, sorry you're coming with me."

Jacob saw her words about to form

He knew she would protest.

He grabbed her hands,

pulled her from her chair.

"Come see the circus with me.

Come and be my guest."

This felt like the last thing

Ruechari wanted to do

But on the other hand

it felt rude not to.

With a heavy sigh,

She said okay.

Jacob shook his head in dismay.

"You are in desperate need of fun, I'd say.

Best part about a circus

It's a great place to runaway.

Even if it's just for a little while."

He said with a wink and a smile.