Shadows at the Fair Read Online Free

giving it a season’s trial. So far it’s working even better than I thought it would.”
    “And who’s watching your shop while you’re out gallivanting?”
    “Aunt Augusta’s Attic is in good hands. My sister is keeping an eye on it. I can’t afford to close down for a couple of days when I do shows. You’re lucky to have a full-time job with a steady income!”
    “And you’re lucky not to have to commute to a full-time job every day!”
    They both smiled. It was an often revisited exchange.
    “Having Ben help out is a terrific solution. But I thought maybe you’d brought Jim along so I could meet him!”
    “Not this time. Rensselaer County is too far from his law practice for a long weekend this time of year. Too many real estate issues with the summer people. You’ll meet him when you do the Provincetown Show in July. You are coming up this year?”
    The Provincetown Show was a good one; it was a lively community to visit, and usually a profitable show. And Cape Cod certainly beat the New Jersey suburbs as a great place to be in July. “Wouldn’t miss it. I sent in my contract six months ago. And then I’m heading Down East to do a couple of shows in Maine.”
    “Well, Jim will be on the Cape this summer, I promise.”
    Ben appeared at her shoulder.
    “Ben, you remember Dr. Summer? She has the booth next to ours.”
    “Glad to meet you again, Dr. Summer.” Ben grinned and pumped her hand.
    “I’m Maggie, please, Ben. Welcome to the antiques business.”
    “Did you have any trouble getting us registered?” Gussie asked.
    “No problem, Aunt Gussie. Here’s the envelope the pretty lady asked me to give you.” Ben handed her a white envelope like the one Maggie had picked up earlier.
    “Pretty lady, huh? Watch it, young man.” Gussie shook her head, turning to Maggie. “I guess Vince has another one this year.”
    “I haven’t had the pleasure. When I checked in, Vince was by himself. Obviously a temporary situation.”
    The sky darkened and they heard thunder in the distance.
    “See you when we get this stuff unloaded,” Gussie said as she and Ben turned back toward their van while Maggie hurried toward hers. She lifted a large blue plastic carton from the van onto her dolly. Next year definitely a porter.
    Maggie had decided to feature Currier & Ives prints on the side panels of her booth, and Winslow Homer wood engravings on the back wall. The rest of the prints were arranged in categories (botanicals, fruit, anatomy, ships, shells, butterflies, children, maps, sporting) along the tables, and on two easels near the aisles. It took a lot of climbing up and down to hang the framed prints evenly, to ensure that customers could easily read the sign and price on each print, and to arrange the matted prints so customers could browse through them easily. Maggie was up on her ladder for the fifteenth time when she heard Gussie’s voice from the next booth.
    “Ben? I have plenty of coffee. You don’t have to get any more.” Maggie saw Ben heading back toward the Show Management area.
    “Maggie, I think Ben is enamored. That’s three cups of coffee in the past hour.”
    “Youth!” Maggie shook her head.
    She rearranged the anatomy prints so that the skeletons were in front of the more clinical cutaways of eyes and ears and decided to separate the prints of dogs from those of other animals. People would patiently sort through a stack of dog prints trying to find one that “looks just like our Ebony.”
    She put the Nast and McLaughlin Santas in back of a large collection of prints for children. Santas were popular all year among dealers and collectors, but May was not the time to feature them for general-interest customers. In the spring people were more interested in selecting botanical or fruit prints for recently redecorated kitchens or dining rooms.
    She stood back and looked at the booth. Not bad. And definitely time for a break. Preferably a liquid one. And preferably not cola. She