retirees had sat down with beers and chosen people they liked.
Elaine had stopped that favoritism and made the process more fair. So now they had a cross section of sellers, all of whom wanted the best spots.
Terri ran from one place to another, repairing things and trying to solve arguments. But she wasn’t very good at diplomacy. She found herself muttering, “Where is Nate?”
She’d seen him often, but every time she got near him, he said he had to go somewhere else. Behind him trailed the usual chorus.
“Nate fixed it”
“Nate solved it.”
But she knew that today something was different.
“Are you all right?” she asked when she caught him running from one disaster to another.
“Fine. I need to...” He waved his hand in a vague way.
“I know. You have to go solve some problems.” Yesterday she’d had to miss lunch with him. “Want to try for lunch today?”
“No!” he nearly shouted. “I mean, I have too much to do. I’ll see you... Whenever.”
As Terri watched him leave, she was frowning. What was wrong with him?! She was the one who was being left behind. Last night she’d stayed in her dad’s office until after ten. Anything rather than go back to her empty house. The night before she’d found one of Nate’s socks stuck in the dryer and she’d almost started crying. Again.
She’d angrily wiped at her eyes and told herself to get a grip.
Nate was with the woman he loved and probably spending fabulous nights of joyous sex with her. He had everything he wanted in life, so why did he look like he was miserable?
Three times she’d tried to talk to him, but he always ran away. Some friendship, she thought. They’d gone from sharing bottles of beer, sharing their lives, to not even speaking.
By about two, she was beginning to see some progress. The past participants had their booths up and were arranging their displays. Best was that they were generously helping the newbies.
Smiling, flexing her sore shoulders, Terri walked along the road. Nearly all the cabins had something set up in the front. Sometimes the owners used their porches to display things they’d made during the year. Candles were a popular item. The photo school—the one Nate had started—was advertising for students and displaying their shots.
She was near the bridge when she stopped to look at Stacy’s tent. It was magnificent: pristine white, a tall, slender, pointed section in the center. Like the petals of a flower, the wings spread out and were held up by tall poles. It was a piece of art!
Inside were beautiful rugs and furniture, nearly all of it upholstered in white silk. Exquisite little pillows in brightly colored silk were scattered about.
Whereas many of the booths looked like the homemade items they were, Stacy’s was professional. Glamorous. Anyone walking past would stop and gawk.
As Terri gazed in awe, she heard a short scream and saw what appeared to be a foot flying up in the air. She ran.
Stacy was hanging from a steel brace for the tent roof, her feet dangling, and the ladder was on the floor. Terri picked up the ladder, helped Stacy get her feet on it and held it.
“Thank you so much!” Stacy said. “I thought the thing was secure but it wasn’t.”
Now that she was inside the tent, Terri saw about twenty boxes that hadn’t been unpacked. “Do you need some help?”
“Would you? Could you? Please? I have so much to do and everyone is so busy.”
Terri pulled her knife out of her belt and began slicing tape on the boxes. “So where’s Nate?” She hadn’t meant to ask that, but it had come out.
“I have no idea.” Stacy pulled what looked like an Aladdin’s lamp out of a box. “Do you know what’s wrong with him?”
“Not a clue,” Terri said honestly as she unwrapped a white ceramic lamp. The decor seemed to have Moroccan overtones.
“May I vent? I know you and I have never been close, but right now I have no one to talk to and Nate is driving me insane.”
“Vent away.” Terri reached for the scarves Stacy was unpacking.
“When Nate and I lived together in DC, he was the most wonderful man I ever met. You should see him in a tuxedo! He’s big but if his clothes fit, he can look quite elegant.”
Terri was just glad when Nate took a shower. How many times had she told him, “You stink”?
“We went to dinner parties and galas. It was all like a dream. We