Nate was with the woman he loved and probably spending fabulous nights of joyous sex with her. He had everything he wanted in life, so why did he look like he was miserable?
Three times she’d tried to talk to him, but he always ran away. Some friendship, she thought. They’d gone from sharing bottles of beer, sharing their lives, to not even speaking.
By about two, she was beginning to see some progress. The past participants had their booths up and were arranging their displays. Best was that they were generously helping the newbies.
Smiling, flexing her sore shoulders, Terri walked along the road. Nearly all the cabins had something set up in the front. Sometimes the owners used their porches to display things they’d made during the year. Candles were a popular item. The photo school—the one Nate had started—was advertising for students and displaying their shots.
She was near the bridge when she stopped to look at Stacy’s tent. It was magnificent: pristine white, a tall, slender, pointed section in the center. Like the petals of a flower, the wings spread out and were held up by tall poles. It was a piece of art!
Inside were beautiful rugs and furniture, nearly all of it upholstered in white silk. Exquisite little pillows in brightly colored silk were scattered about.
Whereas many of the booths looked like the homemade items they were, Stacy’s was professional. Glamorous. Anyone walking past would stop and gawk.
As Terri gazed in awe, she heard a short scream and saw what appeared to be a foot flying up in the air. She ran.
Stacy was hanging from a steel brace for the tent roof, her feet dangling, and the ladder was on the floor. Terri picked up the ladder, helped Stacy get her feet on it and held it.
“Thank you so much!” Stacy said. “I thought the thing was secure but it wasn’t.”
Now that she was inside the tent, Terri saw about twenty boxes that hadn’t been unpacked. “Do you need some help?”
“Would you? Could you? Please? I have so much to do and everyone is so busy.”
Terri pulled her knife out of her belt and began slicing tape on the boxes. “So where’s Nate?” She hadn’t meant to ask that, but it had come out.
“I have
no idea.” Stacy pulled what looked like an Aladdin’s lamp out of a box. “Do you know what’s wrong with him?”
“Not a clue,” Terri said honestly as she unwrapped a white ceramic lamp. The decor seemed to have Moroccan overtones.
“May I vent? I know you and I have never been close, but right now I have no one to talk to and Nate is driving me insane.”
“Vent away.” Terri reached for the scarves Stacy was unpacking.
“When Nate and I lived together in DC, he was the most wonderful man I ever met. You should see him in a tuxedo! He’s big but if his clothes fit, he can look quite elegant.”
Terri was just glad when Nate took a shower. How many times had she told him, “You stink”?
“We went to dinner parties and galas. It was all like a dream. We had the most beautiful apartment. Everything was white. Carpet, curtains, upholstery, even the dishes. We were the color in the place.”
Terri remembered their worry of dropping pizza on white furniture. “Did you cook?”
“Oh yes. My mother taught me and I’m rather good at it. I believe in healthy and fresh. Nate and I went to a farmer’s market every Saturday morning and chose all our vegetables. I steamed everything. I made some rather nice sauces—nothing too spicy, but delicious.”
Terri was holding the ladder as Stacy stapled up some big, handwoven cloths. Nate’s many jars of spices were still in her kitchen. “I tend to live on pizzas and barbecue. And beer. That doesn’t sound like you and Nate.”
“Not at all. He’s quite good at choosing wine. We had red and white at every meal. Nate knows which glasses to use for every course.”
“Does he? I guess you know that he worked here while you were away. I never saw him drink anything but beer.”
“And I never saw him with anything but wine.”
The two women looked at each other.
“Which one do you think is the real Nate?” Terri asked.
“Mine,” Stacy answered quickly. “He was so smooth with all those politicians we met that I’m sure he’s learned to adapt to wherever he is. So, at the lake he dresses and eats like them. Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean any offense.”