The Clown, part 5

I awoke to a cool cloth on my face. It felt nice. I slowly opened my eyes to find Brad looking down at me with panic in his eyes.

"Thank God," he whispered.

"What happened," I asked, unable to remember anything prior to our arrival.

"You fainted, gave me a heart attack."

"Oh, is that all? Maybe I'm just hungry or something?"

He nodded slowly, then smiled shyly. "Is it possible you could be pregnant?"

I stared at him in shock. Would he be happy about it if I was? We had never discussed children before. "Um, I don't think I am...but what if I was? What would you do? Out of curiosity, that is."

Brad sat back as I tried to move into a sitting position against the headboard. How did I get in bed? I suddenly remembered I had been standing. Did he carry me? Whoa. He was stronger than he appeared. That made me feel good. Such a big strong, sweet lovable guy would make a great daddy. Wait, why was I suddenly thinking about kids?

"Huh, ya know I never really thought about it before. I mean the idea was floating out there like some far off maybe someday fantasy, but I hadn't really considered it seriously. Me, a father? Of course, you would be an awesome mother, no question. But if you were pregnant I think I'd be really happy."

I smiled, feeling such a glow of love in my heart for this man. "Good to know. I think you would be an exceptional father. I should know, right? I had the best."

"Yeah, he was a great man. I still miss him."

"Me, too." My dad had been so funny and kind and had brought joy to so many people as a clown until the circus closed down... "Oh, god." I just remembered what I had seen outside the window.

"What is it?"

"You're gonna think I've totally lost it, but I thought I saw a clown walking out in the cemetery."

"Really? That's creepy! Do you think the hotel does that just to freak out the guests? It is close to Halloween."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that. Maybe you're right!" I laughed. That had to be it. Right?

"Let's get some sleep, so we can go exploring in the morning."

"Yeah, good idea." We didn't bother to undress. I could barely move, so Brad just put his arms around me and we slept.

I dreamed of my father. He was dressed in his old black and white clown costume, patiently teaching me how to juggle. We started out with bean bags, then moved to balls, then pins. When he handed me a knife I was shocked. I looked up at him to ask him why, but it wasn't him. It was the evil looking clown from the lobby! And he was handing me another knife, but this one was covered in blood.

I woke up screaming!