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Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters belong to WB and Shoot the Moon Productions. No infringement is intended. This is written for entertainment purposes only. Please do not redistribute or reproduce this story without my permission.

Thanks: To Sue for finding my boo boos and ignoring the fact that I have Amanda finding a perfect parking spot in Brooklyn. Also, a huge thanks to Sue for giving me the idea for this story.

Note: This story is part of my series of five-second meetings. In the ‘Magic Bus’ Amanda mentions that she once drove to New York City for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, this is my take on when she took that trip.
I Love a Parade

November 22, 1979

“Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.”

Amanda reached over, and pushed the button to turn off her alarm clock.

If anyone had told her she’d be waking up at 3:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, she’d accuse them of being crazy.

All that changed yesterday when she received a call from one of her sorority sisters. Sue had phoned to wish Amanda a Happy Thanksgiving, and catch up with everything that had been going on in their lives since the last time they’d talked. When she’d found out that Amanda and the boys would be alone for the holiday, she’d invited them to come up to New York City, and spend a few days. They’d go to the Macy’s parade, sightsee, shop and gossip.

Immediately she’d said yes. With Joe out of the country until the week of Christmas, and her mother and her best friend, Gloria, driving to Williamsburg to spend the holiday, and going to a wedding on Friday, she had no family obligations.

It felt good to be spontaneous.

A sense of giddiness had filled her. It would be an adventure into the unknown.

Since she had no idea what the holiday traffic would be like, she decided the earlier she began the trip the easier it would be. If all went well, it would take her about four hours to get to their destination.

Time to wake her sons.

After tossing the two small suitcases in the back of the station wagon, she secured Jamie into his safety seat. He immediately fell back to sleep. She helped Phillip with his safety belt, positioned the pillow for him to lean his head on, and covered him with a blanket. Soon, he too, drifted back into the land of slumber.

On the road, Amanda turned on the radio softly to keep her company on her journey. The night sky became lighter as the sun crested the horizon. The crisp evening air began to warm.

It would be a beautiful day for a parade. Not a cloud in the sky.

Around 7:00 a.m., Amanda turned into the neighborhood in Brooklyn where Sue and her husband, Angelo, had purchased a brownstone. Her directions had been perfect and Amanda soon pulled into a parking spot in front of Sue’s house.

Amanda gently woke her sons. “We’re here.” She carefully unbuckled them from their seats.

Just as she was about to climb the steps to the front door, it flew open and Sue and her five-year-old daughter, Lucy, ran down the steps.

“You’re here.” Sue grabbed her in a bear hug. “I’m so happy you could come.”

The smell of bacon wafted through the open doorway. “Thank you for inviting us.”

Within minutes, Sue had everyone sitting around a large dining room table, eating a hearty breakfast. Vinny, Sue’s two-year-old son toddled around the room munching Cheerios.

“We’ll take the train to Columbus Circle; we’ll be able to get a good view of the parade there.” Sue picked up her son, and wiped his hands, and face with a napkin.

“Are you sure we aren’t intruding?” Amanda didn’t want to put the family out, adding three unexpected guests to a dinner could be disastrous.

“Never. My family loves having company. The more the merrier they say.”

“But it’s last minute.” Amanda bit her lower lip.

“Don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of food. You know how we Italians love to eat.” Sue laughed.

A half hour later Sue kissed her husband, and son goodbye. Angelo had volunteered to stay home to take care of Vinny and watch the parade on TV.

As they rode the subway, Sue told Amanda the things she had planned for the next few days.

Tomorrow they’d go back into the city with all the kids to see Santa at Macys, and have their pictures taken sitting on his knee. Then on to FAO Schwartz where the kids could play on the dance-on piano, and marvel at the toy displays. On the way home, they’d stop at Junior’s for slices of cheesecake. They made the best in the world in her opinion. Melt in your mouth. A creamy delight.

Sue told Amanda she’d arranged for her sister to watch all the kids on Saturday so they could have a day in the city without having young ones to look after and some adult only time. They’d spend the day window-shopping enjoying the festive sights. Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor, Bloomingdale’s and several other stores were renowned for the holiday displays they had in their windows.

By the time they found a good viewing location, the parade had started. Amanda could hear the sounds of drums, horns and other musical instruments in the distance. Soon a marching band passed by, followed by a drill teams, cheerleaders, men and women on horseback and celebrities riding on beautifully decorated floats.

The children were dazzled by the immense size of the balloons that seemed to float in the sky. They’d point up, their eyes wide with wonderment.

When Miss Piggy rode past in a Rolls Royce, Jamie and Lucy jumped up and down yelling, the rest of the cast followed in the Electric Mayhem Bus. Amanda had taken the boys to see the movie when it’d opened in the spring and Jamie had been enthralled with anything and everything to do with the Muppets ever since.

“Look Amanda, they have a bunch of clowns working both sides of the streets making balloon animals, hats and things for the children.” Sue pointed to a bunch of clowns working their way toward them.

Before she had a chance to respond, a clown popped up in front of her. “Hi there.”

The man manipulated several balloons, and before she knew it, he’d made a sword. “This ones for you, partner.”

He handed it to Phillip.

“What do you say?” Amanda prodded her son.

Phillip mumbled, “thank you.”

Amanda noticed the other clown, who inflated the balloons, stood back from the crowd, as he handed them to his partner.

Something about him seemed off.

Odd.

Covertly she studied him; his suspicious actions drew her attention. His eyes darted back and forth, as he scanned the crowd. He bounced on the balls of his feet as if ready to sprint at any moment. He didn’t interact with the children like a normal clown. Didn’t interact with anyone. Was he looking for trouble, or was trouble looking for him?

“Here ya go, Princess.” He handed Lucy a balloon shaped like a dog.

Moments later a hat made from balloons perched on top of Jamie’s head.

“Where’s Santa?” Jamie asked the clown.

“Soon, buddy. He’ll be coming soon.” He tweaked his nose.

“That’s right sweetheart, Santa will be here soon.” Amanda picked up her youngest son, the odd clown forgotten.

****

“Did you see that babe?” Leatherneck whispered to Lee as they walked down the street.

“What babe? Where?” He scanned the area hoping that one of the Rockettes had gotten lost from her group.

“The brunette just now.”

“The one with the two boys? That was a babe?” He looked back and saw a tall, thin brunette in profile. Not bad. Definitely not a babe. “You’ve seriously lost it if you think a housewife with kids is a babe.”

Lee would give Roxi a call later to see if she could arrange a double date for tonight. Leatherneck really needed a refresher course in what a ‘babe’ looked like and a tall, sexy Rockette would do the trick. “Come on our contact should be on the next block. Once he passes us the information, we can sneak away. I don’t know about you, but I plan to have some fun before heading back to DC in the morning. Stick with me pal, I’ll show you the exotic sights of New York City.”

“That’s the Scarecrow we all know and love. Always ready to have a good time.”

“That’s my motto. Love 'em and leave 'em.”

The End
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