Wallflower Girl

Chapter 50

Hand in hand, they strolled past the little booths set up in the grassy park, looking at vendors selling clothing, food, and other miscellaneous items. Nick bought them each an ice cream cone, one chocolate, one pistachio, and they licked them as they walked along, occasionally trading bites. The refreshing treats didn't last long in the heat.

Tossing their napkins in a trash can, they looked consideringly at a display of rainbow coloured tie-dye tee shirts.

Nick scratched his head. "I don't get it."

"Neither do I," Anne admitted, "but Ethel loves them."

"Don't take this wrong, baby, but Ethel is strange."

"Oh, she is," Anne agreed fervently, touching the string of rose quartz beads. "She'd be the first to admit it too."

"Well there's that, I suppose. I'm tired of this booth. What's next?"

Next was sunglasses, and Nick picked out a pair with elongated white frames, setting them on Anne's nose and holding up a mirror that was sitting out on the little counter. Anne laughed. It was a strange style, but it suited Patricia's face. For himself he found a pair of huge brown ones, in a drooping circular shape, with a heavy band across the top. Paying for the sunglasses, they moved on again.

The next booth was full of beaded jewellery, and sure enough, when they looked up, there was Ethel, sipping a little shot glass of wheat grass juice. Off to one side of the display was a bed of the stuff, next to a battery operated juicer.