53 Ganymede

Episode 19 - Movement

The morning air is laden with humidity, pulling beads of sweat from Claire's brow and the back of her neck. Thankfully a cool breeze blows in from the lake whenever she starts to feel too uncomfortable -- she only hopes the heavy clouds overhead aren't a sign of worse weather to come.

Hyun-Sook voices Claire's concern: "It feels like it's going to rain."

"Maybe it will blow over," Claire says, eyeing the sky skeptically, "Or at least hold off a while longer."

The two women continue walking in comfortable silence, aside from the gentle scratch and and click of Hyun-Sook's cane across the sidewalk. Already Claire can make out the banners and tables lining the street ahead, bordered by elegant brick storefronts. They pass a fluorescent orange road block as they enter Juniper Lane -- today's market is for pedestrians only and the clutter and racket of modernity will not be permitted. The ornate iron lamps skirting the sidewalk provide a welcome glow against the threatening darkness. For a moment, Claire aches to be able to show Hyun-Sook this charming scene.

The feeling passes when Hyun-Sook suddenly taps her cane against the heavy iron of a lamp post. "So, that hasn't changed."

She points ahead, indicating the three nearest shops: "Let's see: Juniper General, The Cheese Wheel, and The Bread Shoppe." She turns, indicating the shops across the street: "Herb Witch, a clock repair shop -- I can't remember the name, and The Top Shelf."

Claire reads the signs over each shop, surveying the tables as they approach. Juniper General's table is filled with a variety of goods -- fair trade coffee beans and tea leaves, handmade jewellery and pottery, along with some candies and other local goodies -- and the window behind reveals shelves filled with much of the same. The Cheese Wheel seems to carry not only cheese but serving boards and fancy knives as well as a variety of artisan crackers and jellies. Claire can smell the Bread Shoppe before she sees the table overflowing with warm breads, flaky pastries, and thickly frosted cakes. She glances across the street, mentally checking off the store names when she notices a discrepancy.

"You got it -- everything except The Last Shelf. I don't see that one."

Hyun-Sook frowns and leads Claire away from the delicious aroma of baked bread to a table across the street. She squints and lifts her head to the sign there. "It was here."

"Morning ladies," a towering hulk of a man welcomes them from behind a long wooden table. His hair and beard are golden and curled, almost disguising the familiar pout of his lips and the strong angles of his cheekbones.

"Good morning," Claire returns, surveying the carefully curated collection of antiques before her, "Would you happen to be Alice's father?"

The man -- the Mr. Hatter of Hatter's antiques Claire assumes -- chuckles, a sound so warm and full that Claire swears the cloud cover begins to thin above her. "So you know my daughter?"

"Is she working?" Claire asks, remembering the girl's insistence that she visit again soon. Peeking around the man's head into the store beyond reveals nothing but some curious shoppers and a middle-aged woman minding the counter.

"Not here. Not today. She has another job she does sometimes -- running errands for an older lady. She's a responsible girl for her age," he beams with pride, "How do you know her?"

Claire sifts through their past encounters, trying to settle on the most believable. "I came by another day when she was here. She's quite fond of my dog, Beans."

"She's always loved animals," Mr. Hatter says, before turning to acknowledge a customer waiting to ask about a large, tarnished pocket watch. Claire feels a pang as she recalls how excited Ginny would get whenever a dog walked past the living room window, and their rare neighborhood walks when she would try to entice cats to come home with her.