Her Enemy Protector Bear by Cynthia Wilde

Chapter 3

Zoe stared at the empty booth. It was not terrible, but she could see where it would need improvements. The biggest thing was that it was really dark inside, even though it was in the middle of the afternoon. She would have to see about getting hooked up to electricity or find several stand-alone, battery-operated lamps that she could use. It was yet another expense that she prayed she had enough money in her bank account to cover. Things were definitely tight, and she hadn’t thought electric would be added on top of the expenses she was already aware of.

The roof needed some work; the pine tree next to it liberally sprinkled its dead needles and pinecones all over the wood-shingled surface, leaving a sticky dark pitch all over the top. Zoe was sure the last occupant did not bother to get up there with a broom. It just didn’t look good; that was another payment she would have to make. Every faire had different accommodations for booths and she had hoped this one’s would be in a bit better shape. Still, she was doing her best to remain optimistic.

The booth was situated on a dead-end lane that looped around a cul-de-sac of shops. In her experience this could be a good thing, or it could be very bad for business. She had been so happy to just get a spot at the faire that she had only given the booth map a cursory look. Any issues she had would have to wait though, as it was Monday morning and the office was not yet open. Mondays were the Saturdays of the renaissance world, and the faire was largely empty as well, guests absent and vendors milling about.

As she surveyed her booth, she was happy to see there was a room in the back she had not initially noticed. The door wasn't locked, so she went exploring. When she walked through the open door, she noticed there was plenty of space for her clothing, hats, and accessories to be dry and protected when not on display. So, there was some good news after all. She would need a padlock though, but that wasn’t a big deal. This would work.

Devon sat on the steps of the booth with Furdinand, playing with a large ball of yarn they'd found at a thrift shop. The poor cat was hopelessly tangled up. She smiled to herself; that cat was another good thing in their new life. That’s two things that are already working out. She smiled.

Even though it would take a little money and a whole lot of elbow grease on her and Devon's part, Zoe felt grateful for the opportunity Ravenstone Realm afforded her.

The grounds were beautiful, in her opinion. Every building, including her little squat one, was built to replicate an authentic renaissance shop or home. Even the trees seemed like they'd been here for centuries. There was something magical about the place, even when it was empty. Zoe hoped she could make her booth presentable and beautiful, like the others around her, before Saturday rolled around.

“I think we will do ok, Mom,” Devon suddenly piped up.

“Of course we will honey,” she quickly responded. Through her own fears, she hadn’t even realized that Devon must be a little nervous too. It was just the two of them now, almost just her really to handle everything. “But it is gonna take some hard work. And we need to be smart. And maybe even a little crafty. We are gonna need every sale we can get if we are gonna make this work. And this has to work, she thought to herself. It just has to.

With renewed determination, she continued to look over the empty space that would become her main sales floor. The stained-glass window in the front might help a bit with the lighting, but it needed a good scrubbing too. Pine sap and dirt had dulled it, and didn’t allow for much daylight to filter in. The main area offered more than enough space for the racks of clothing she intended to display. There were even a few hanging fixtures left on the walls that she could use to hang and display a few of her more ornate and long dresses, so that was a plus.

As she made mental notes about where to place her items and the office table, she heard Furdinand growl and hiss. Zoe hurried out to where Devon sat. Another cat, white and black like a milk cow, sat in the middle of the lane, staring at them. Its yellow eyes appeared intensely curious. It seemed to be observing her progress. Zoe approached the cat slowly. It didn't run; it just sat watching her as she got closer.

“Here kitty, kitty,” she said quietly, as she reached out her hand to pet the cat. It didn't flinch when she finally touched it. Instead, it pushed its head against her and nudged her hand as Furdinand continued to hiss. “Oh, Furdi,” she chided. “You should make friends.” Furdi just deepened his growl into one of those high-pitched sounds that cats seemed to reserve for only the most tense situations.

Though it went against her natural love for animals, Zoe shooed the new cat away so Furdinand would stop with the yowling. Apparently he had already decided this was his territory. Next thing he would start spraying everything too. She knew she still had to get him fixed. Another expense. Knowing herself, she would put food out for the black and white kitty. She didn’t even know if it had an owner though. But for now, the new cat had to scram, or her whole booth would probably start smelling of cat pee from an anxious Furdi.

“Let's get this place cleaned up, Devon,” she said as she led them both back to the truck and trailer. “We have some shopping to do.”

* * *

Two hourslater and Zoe had removed at least the first layer of grime that had accumulated from the last tenant. She'd also evicted a family of mice because she couldn't have them gnawing at her wares. Her love of animals did have limits. Finally, they had started unloading the merchandise into the back room. Setting up for a festival was a labor of love for her. She'd done it for so many years that it was automatic and easy. It was even easier now that she didn't have to set up an entire booth tent by herself. For the first time she had a real solid building to sell from. Also, knowing she had at least a semi-permanent spot was comforting. At least she didn’t need to break it down after only one weekend! Of course, she still needed to get the sales, but she was pretty confident.

Zoe called the office again to let them know she was setting up and to ask some questions, but the voicemail picked up once again. Sighing, she left a message, then looked at Devon.

“Let's go see what's around town while we have some time to kill. I think I noticed an ice cream shop near the grocery store,” she said, smiling down at him. “Maybe we can get some ice cream.” She knew they would be seeing plenty of the faire itself soon enough. Might as well explore the neighboring town a bit.

Devon smiled up at her excitedly. Furdinand had been a welcome addition to their little family, such as it was. She took his hand as they walked to the truck together. On the way, she noticed a few more cats hanging out around the booths as they passed. Their golden eyes watched her movements intently. The alertness in their gazes was almost a little uncanny. Zoe shrugged off the odd feeling she got from the animals. They're just cats, she thought. I'll pick up some extra cat food on the way back. Food makes friends of any animal.

The town was small, but it had everything they needed: a well-stocked grocery store, a pizza parlor, an ice cream shop, an open park with a playground, a small diner, a Chinese takeout, and even a little street of quaint boutique shops. She was also delighted to see a little animal shelter. I wonder if it’s connected to the veterinary clinic next door?

After buying their icecream, they walked outside to sit at one of the two tables on the tiny shop patio. No one was around at one o'clock on a Monday, so they had the tables to themselves. Devon ate a double dip of mint chocolate chip on a huge sugar cone, while Zoe picked at her dish of rocky road and thought about all the changes happening to them in the last few weeks.

“Mom,” said Devon as he meticulously licked at the drips around the cone, “Is Dad coming back?”

“I don't know,” said Zoe, being as honest as she could.

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, I miss him, but it is kind of easier without him.”

She was always shocked at how adult he could be. And she had been so wrapped up in her attempts to improve the relationship that she had lost sight of the fact that maybe the best way to improve it had been to end it.

“Can we go over to check out the animal shelter?” He seemed to have said all he wanted to for the moment about his dad, and she decided to let it lie. If anything, she was relieved to see they were more or less on the same page on that score anyhow.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” she said.

The shelter was across the street from the ice cream parlor. Zoe had already been eyeing it and formulating her own plan as it were. Perhaps they could volunteer there once a week? Maybe it would help us to settle in, she thought. At least she could find out if they needed any help.

The place was pretty small, and the animals went wild when the two of them walked in. There were so many of them, Zoe didn't know where to turn first. A short, round-faced man with graying hair wearing a white lab coat came out to greet them.

“Good afternoon,” he said, smiling warmly. “I'm Doctor Bently. Welcome to my little rescue.”

“Thank you,” said Zoe, extending her hand. “I'm Zoe Miller, and this is my son, Devon. We are new in town and was wondering if you’re looking for any help.”

The man looked at them both with his steady eyes. “Well, I can't afford to pay, but I am always open to volunteers. And I have had a few people drop off lately.”

“We would love to help you,” she said, placing her hands on Devon's shoulders. “On weekdays, that is, we work weekends. Oh, and volunteering is what we had in mind,” she added hastily.

"You work the faire then?" he asked, looking at her flowing skirt and peasant shirt. "I guess I should have put two and two together. You'd have to wear clothing you can get dirty."

"Of course," Zoe laughed. "I wouldn't dress like this if I'm cleaning cages. To tell you the truth had I realized, I would have changed to come into town," she added, more than a little embarrassed. “I guess I get so used to dressing like this I forgot,” she laughed a little nervously.

"And what about you, Devon?" Dr. Bently's kind eyes looked down at him. "Is this something you'd like to do?"

Devon smiled at Dr. Bently. "Yes, sir," he said. "I love animals. We rescued a cat at a truck stop a few weeks ago. His name is Furdinand. Now that my dad's not around, we can have as many animals as we want."

The doctor looked at Zoe curiously but didn't ask any questions. "Well, then," he said, with his previous smile back in place. "Let's show you around the place. When can you start?"

Before she knew it, Zoe made a deal with the jovial Dr. Bently for Devon and her to volunteer twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Much like her booth, she realized with a little amusement, the place was in need of a good scrubbing. Of course, she wasn’t joining to find more things to clean. Being around animals always helped her get present and connect to her heart, and she realized that was something she was in dire need of at the moment. It was too easy to get caught up in the whirling thoughts. Animals calmed her and somehow she always felt almost more herself around them. It was hard for her to put into words.

As Dr. Bently finished giving them the tour of the front and back rooms, Zoe's cellphone rang. The faire office let her know someone would be on-site to answer all her questions in about an hour if that worked for her. They also explained that the office opened late on Mondays.

Zoe thanked them and took Devon's hand. "Thank you, Dr. Bently," she said, smiling sweetly at him. "We will see you tomorrow then!"

"Call me Chuck," he said, extending his hand again to shake. "I have a feeling this is going to work out just fine."

As they left the shelter, Zoe felt a surge of energy. She'd be able to work with animals again, and she knew it would serve to both strengthen and her relationship with her son, as well as provide some necessary healing for them both as they started this new chapter.

They hurried back to the faire site; she didn't want to be late to meet up with whomever they had sent to meet her. First impressions were everything in her book.

The woman waiting in front of the booth was very happy to see them as well, although Zoe thought she felt a bit of impatience coming off her. She glanced at her watch as soon as Zoe and Devon arrived. She was a small, curvy woman with a lovely face and wavy, sandy-brown hair, holding a clipboard, and making notes.

"Hello," she said, giving Zoe and Devon what looked like a slightly forced smile. "I'm Samantha Wells, Nicholas Barrett's assistant. He's the merchant coordinator here. He sends his apologies for not being able to meet you today. Since this was all last minute, he already had a meeting scheduled. We just have a lot going on."

"I understand," said Zoe. Nicholas was he was probably just very busy. The faire was enormous by any standards.

Samantha pursed her lips. "How long do you think you'll be staying?" she asked. "The last vendor in this booth left in the middle of a busy weekend. That kind of left us in a difficult situation, so if you do decide to pull out..."

"Of course," said Zoe, wanting to make it clear she was grateful for the opportunity. "I mean no, we won’t be pulling out. We plan on staying here for a while, if you will have us." Zoe put on her best smile. She definitely didn’t want to be characterized as another problem. "I've cleaned it all up and started setting things in order already. The booth is great. It has good bones and a spacious back room. And I assume it is okay if I do a few little upgrades? I was thinking of some electricity. It was a little dark in here in the middle of the day."

Samantha nodded her head and marked on her clipboard. "It's all set for electric; I'll get Red out here tomorrow to hook you up. You will have to pay for whatever you use, of course."

"Of course," smiled Zoe, inwardly trying not to worry about the expense. "So what kind of shops are down this way anyhow?"

"The usual," Samantha said. "We have all kinds of vendors in the 'circle.' I would have to check to remember all of what they sell, but you have hand-made clothes right? I am sure they will do well. How many passes do you need?"

Zoe almost said three and then caught herself. "Just two, for my son, Devon, and myself. I might need someone to work for me once things get going, so please let me know if you hear of anyone looking for a job."

Samantha made another mark on her clipboard. "We have a waiting list for potential workers and an online Help Wanted section on our website. Would you like me to add your booth to the listing?"

"If you wouldn't mind doing that after our first weekend, I'd appreciate it," said Zoe, watching Samantha tick off another box on her sheet.

"Okay, then," said Samantha, looking up from her form. "You've already paid for the next two weekends. I'll have you hooked up by tomorrow afternoon, and I think you're good. Do you have any other questions?"

Zoe realized the woman had sort of skipped over her inquiries about other shops in the immediate area, but figured she would meet her neighbors soon enough. "I don't think so," said Zoe. "Can I call the office if I do?"

"Sure," answered Samantha. "Leave a message if you don't get anyone. Those phones ring off the hook during the day." Then Samantha placed the pen on the clipboard and extended her hand. "Welcome to Ravenswood Realm. Have a good week," she said before walking away.

After a moment, she made a quick about face and returned, and quickly added, “Sorry if I seem a bit abrupt. We really do just have a lot going on. I am sure your business will do well, and we are happy to have you.”

“Thank you,” Zoe said, somewhat relieved. “We are happy to be here.” With that Samantha made her exit.

Zoe realized she'd been holding her breath. She wasn't sure what impression she had given that woman, but she was at least grateful for her parting words. She reminded herself of something her grandmother used to say to her when people were unkind. Remember everyone has their own journey and you never know what they may be dealing with.