“Boy, am I stuffed. Oh, look, Liv! The easel’s ‘planted’. Pete did a bang-up job while we were eating. Probably better get things set up before the other kids get here. What time is it (and I don’t want the temperature, too)? Did you say quarter to four? Oh, that’s not too bad. If we hurry, we might be able to get in a little shopping at the Sheep Shop before it officially opens.”
“Bethany? Do you notice something missing? Like, a place to sit? Okay, you go and find out, while I get the rest of this unpacked. I’m so-o-o excited! I love Street Fair food. I know we’re supposed to be working, but we’ll have plenty of time to get them done. The sign says 5-minute Portraits, you know. But it’ll only take a minute or two to do each one, so we’ll have plenty of time. Right. I’ll be here.”
“Wasn’t that pizza really good, Natalya? We need to do something special for Eliot before we leave. You know, as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for his kindness. Be thinking about it. We’ll ask Bunty what we could do for him, too. Are you as excited about tonight as I am? We’ll probably just have time to shop before Bunty opens for business. I may not have a ‘wool hobby’, but the colors make me so happy. And I like the smell in here, too. It’s so . . . natural. Okay, well, sheepy. It makes me happy to be here. I think we should come back more often. Great. We’ll compare calendars once we’re back home. Back in a minute. I want to say ‘thank you’ to Eliot before he leaves. ‘Oh, Eliot, excuse me for interrupting . . .'”
“I’m going to make one last round with the feather duster, so why don’t you girls do some pre-event shopping? Okay with you, Bunty? What– Bye, Eliot! Catch up with you later! Now, what were you saying, Bunty? Absolutely! This won’t take long at all. Why don’t the three of you go on over, and I’ll meet you there in a couple of minutes. Hey, Brighton! Where are you? Oh, there you are. Bunty wants us all to take a quick walk and check out Toni’s Boutique. Sure, we’ll still have time to shop. Besides, we can shop even if there are customers in the store. Yep, I’ll be there in a minute. See ya . . .”
“Where can I leave these, Bunty? I wanna go to The Boutique with you, but I don’t want to lose my packages. Okay, but I hate to crowd you behind the counter. If you really don’t mind . . . Boy, you have a lot of souvenir mugs back here. Let’s hope so. I’m ready . . .”
“Hey, Jill and Silver are here! Didn’t I tell you? Oh, boy, I must be losing my mind . . . They came up with this fabulous idea to offer Gift Wrapping to the Wool Week shoppers. This is the first I’ve seen of their rolling cart, though, and it’s adorable! Yoo hoo! Girls! Look who’s here to say ‘hello’!”
“Hi, Girls! Jill, look! It’s the redheads! Are you having fun? No, we haven’t been in any of the stores, yet. We’ve been working on this for days and just got here to ‘claim our space’, so to speak. I expect it’ll be a big crowd tonight, and it wouldn’t do for us to be stuck on the beach with a wheeled cart.” Giggling.
“We heard about your wardrobe crisis, Brighton. Glad to see you’re dressed more, um, appropriately for a beachside Street Fair. So, what do you think about these crazy colors? I know, but they’re all the rage right now. We have the best Christmas wrapping spotlighted as our ‘Wool Week Special’. That one on the display rack, the red and gold box. Jill’s sure that everyone’s going to want the real Christmas-y stuff, so we bought a ton of red paper and gold ribbon. The rest is just here to appeal to the shoppers who want . . . shall we say, non-traditional colors? I agree, but don’t tell Jill. The geodesic mylars in the different colors are pretty cool. But Jill’s stuck on the red and gold. ‘Something for everyone’, that’s our motto. Right, we’ll see you later. Bunty, your window display looks so professional. You should consider doing that for a living. Yeah, in your spare time, I know. Later . . .”
“Here’s the last of it. I think I’ve got everything cut up now. Where do you want me to put this? Okay. Let’s go and see what Bethany and Liv are up to.”
“Liv, It’s okay. Pete’s going to get everything fixed up for you. Bethany, take your sister to Sun-Ho’s for a drink while Pete gets the seats in place. It’s going to be all right. Yes, Liv, we’ve got it covered. Pete, go and get George to help you. I think he’s nearly done with his stall.”
“Right-o, Harold. Whatever Pete needs. I’m ready here. Let me just finish lining up my butter dip. No, not for the popcorn. Kelly eats it by the gallon with the pretzels. So, what can I do for ya, Pete? No problem. Ha! Yeah, I should’ve looked at the gauge. Eliot was a good sport about it, but I had to push it about 500 feet before he got there with a gas can. Good thing I had my walkie talkie on me. Boy, that scooter is heavier than you think. Nah, Eliot was fine. He even said I can ride it whenever I want to. Hey, Harold! Help yourself to the popcorn. Pete and I are off now to get those seats. Hi, girls!”
“Hi, George. Hey, Pete. Oh, Nat! She’s got new note cards! Now that’s something even I could use. And that little sheepy figure next to them is just about the cutest thing. Aren’t you funny? All you think about is a drop spindle. Make sure you get one while there are still any to be had, or you’ll never get over it. Hey, wait a minute! Bunty’s got SHEEP MILK SOAP this year! And I need a Lanolin Cream refill, too. Help me to remember to buy them once we’re back inside. Isn’t it funny? I think the three of us must be Bunty’s best customers. Well, you know what they say, “All for one and one for all!” I don’t know, but it sounds good. Let’s go find the others . . . Hi, there! Sure do. Hey, Bethany, someone’s looking for you!”
“Hi, everybody! I’d like you to meet my new Skype friend. She’s on her way home and has just enough time to meet you all and check out your new Sheep Shop, Bunty. That’s Brighton over there with all the shopping bags. Natalya’s the one with the feather duster, and that’s our dear Bunty wiping down the counter. And over there, digging through the yarn balls, is Georgiana. Friends, meet Carlotta!”
“Hello, everyone! It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you all. This is just the dreamiest shop I’ve ever seen. We don’t have anything like this back home. I sure am glad I stopped here to see Bethany! What a sweet little shop!”
“Georgie, is that you? Georgie? It is you! What are you doing here? Come over here and give me a hug! Oh, girls! This is my dear friend, Georgie, who is my next-door neighbor back home! What a coincidence! How are you, darlin’?”
“So, let me get this straight. You are Natalya, and you’re Brighton. I’m so glad to make your acquaintance. Now, just give me a minute. Brighton has a . . . BLUE hat. And Natalya, um, reminds me of my friend Natalie who knits. B for B, N for N. Do you both do wool, too, or are you just here for the fun? Well, it doesn’t really matter. I’m just so glad to meet you all. Now, what do you think I should look at first? Oh, don’t bother with me, I’ll just find my way around. Oh, look at that . . .”
“Natalya, don’t you think this would be just dreamy as a scarf for this dress? Brighton? Oh, I am sorry. Please forgive me, but I’m just awful with names. Guess my little exercise didn’t work.” Giggle. “Well, Brighton, don’t you think this is just radically perfect?!”
“Absolutely! But before you start on that scarf, you’ll want to take a look at this. It’s the latest issue of the Jane Austen Knits mag, and it’s filled with patterns you’ll love. Oh, listen to me! I sound like one of those late-night infomercials. Really, though, this is just what you need with that yarn. Bunty, just look at the color-match to her dress. And make sure she sees the souvenir mugs before she leaves.”
“Here you go. I am so glad that Bethany brought you over. You’re right, Georgie, she does have a hint of red in her hair. We just might have to make her an honorary member of the Redhead Club. Shall we take a vote? It’s unanimous, Carlotta! Welcome to the club!”
“I’d like a photo of the four of you together, if that’s all right. Everybody stand over there, near Bunty. Now, say CHEESE. No that isn’t good. Georgie, you closed your eyes. Let’s try again. 1-2-3 CHEESE! Oh, just perfect! Now, I really must go, or I’m going to be late.”
“Bethany, time to go. This is such a treasure of a shop, and everyone on Islandshire is so friendly. Maybe I’ll come back with Georgie next time. Bye, girls! Bye, Georgie! See you back home . . . Bethany, do we have time to grab some pizza from that cute boy in the diner? I’ll hurry . . . Oh, Pizza Boy!”