Good morning all. Sleep was an illusive creature last night and today coffee is my best friend. I suspect it will remain my friend for the better part of the day. Still it is time to get this day rolling, so while the coffee brews, let’s jump into the morning prompt.
Huh, just like yesterday, I felt that I was just starting to get a handle on it when the timer dinged. It is a bit frustrating, but it could be something to go back to at a later point in time. Maybe.
Tuesday, October 26th: The bell over the door dinged.
The bell over the door dinged. It was a loud and sharp sound, electronic. Susan looked up at it, startled. Every other shop in town she went to had been delightfully old fashioned. They had bells suspended on loops of metal that jingled merrily as the door was opened.
The electronic ding seemed demanding and somehow out of place.
Susan looked around as she stepped inside. The store was cluttered, cramped with shelves and small tables taking up every available space. The walls were lined with shelves, there were low book cases creating shorter partition walls and the tables were of varying sizes, mostly round. Some were the size of night stands and covered with marble tops. Others were dinner tables with feet carved to look like lion’s paws.
The sign out front said antiques, but the words Junk Shop seemed more appropriate. There were cups and glasses festooned with older cartoon characters and decorative spoons from around the world. A large cabinet with jewelry caught her eye and she moved forward. She still had several Christmas presents to pick up and with her Aunts jewelry was always a good choice.
Her path was not a straight one as she navigated around the rounded tables. She found the roundness of the tables to be a good choice as she was certain that if there were any hard corners she would have run into them and been bruised before she reached the counter.
As it was by the time she reached the counter, she felt as though she had just completed some sort of obstacle course. She almost felt as though she deserved some sort of blue ribbon or at least a participation certificate. What she got instead was a tall display case of various jewelry pieces and a long low counter filled with more questionable treasures. Behind the long low counter a man sat. He was older with gray hair and a face wreathed in heavy lines.
One look told Susan that these were not lines carved by laughter. The look he favored her with was suspicious and vaguely angry.
“Hello,” Susan said. She smiled brightly. “You have a lovely shop.” She said. He grunted something that she wasn’t certain was a word and then turned back to his book, dismissing her.
‘I suppose it means I don’t look like a shoplifter,’ Susan thought. After another look to the older man, who now appeared to be absorbed in his book, Susan turned to the upright display case. Much of it wasn’t worth more than a second glance. Old coins vied with monogrammed lighter and tie clips.
Her eyes stopped their quick scan when they alighted on a set of cuff links. There were red stones, garnet she thought, surrounded by what looked like polished black metal beads. The metal of the links was tarnished, but she thought for certain that with a little polish they would make a decent gift for her Uncle Roger. He was the only person she knew who still wore cufflinks on a routine basis and these looked unusual enough to earn a place in his collection.
Ten til Midnight 