Page 13 of Finding a Melody

I grabbed Toby’s hand and tugged it, getting his attention. He finally stopped talking long enough to actually listen to me. “Okay, Toby. That all sounds fun. I’m game.”

He didn’t seem like he believed me. “Really?”

I shrugged. “What else am I going to do?”

Toby broke out in a huge smile. “Perfect. This is great. I need to think of outfits for everyone this year that will blow your mind. Make this unforgettable.”

“I thought the winner decided outfits,” I challenged. “You haven’t won yet.”

He waved his hand. “It’s only a matter of time.”

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that,” I teased.

A table caught my attention looking like it had some interesting items. A guy maybe a couple years older than me was there but he moved when I got to the table, giving me a better view of the offerings. The table was full of treasure puzzle boxes. I lifted up one that looked like a penguin, the dark wood smooth, the details perfect, each feather carved out nicely.

I messed around with it until I realized one of the eyes came out, unlocking more pieces and making it so I could open it. Inside was a small space big enough to hide jewelry in.

“These are cool,” I said.

“Enough for you to win your competition?” Seth asked. He was still with me while Toby was running off to find his item and Bryan was a table over looking at what looked like wallets.

“No. He wants ridiculous. This is far from it.” I moved on, checking out each table. The whole area was set up in a park, half of it the stereotypical farmer’s market full of fresh veggies and fruits, meats, cheeses, breads. Everything. Then the other half was more like a flea market. Clothes, jewelry, artwork, animal toys, kids toys, books, and other more craftier items like the puzzle treasure boxes. I moved from table to table.

Then I found it. A medium size alcove of what looked like antiques under a tent. These spots always had weird things in them. I went inside, Seth still following me. I blinked as we entered the shade of the large tent. The smell of wood was strong inside, an almost comforting scent. I walked slowly through the carefully created maze-like aisles, taking in the choices. They had everything from tables, lamps, and chairs, to clocks, silverware, and older looking toys. Tucked in the corner, an item grabbed my attention.

I stopped and stared at it and then snickered.

“What?” Seth asked, resting his hand on my hip as he stopped behind me.

I had to work hard to get my head out of the gutter as I pointed to the item. Lately, ever since we kissed, every time he touched me, I became all too aware of him. It was distracting, even now.

“There,” I said, needing to break away from my thoughts.

In the corner, behind a small, black leather ottoman was a three-foot tall wooden figure. It was black wood, wearing only a bottom light brown cloth, but it didn’t do anything to hide the goods, letting me know it was carved into one happy male. It had a big head with ears sticking out, tufts of rough frazzled light brown twine on the head to make it look like hair. It even held a spear. It was obviously African made, I was just wondering why it was here and what the story behind it was.

“Holy shit. That’s real?” Seth carefully picked his way through the items and picked it up, bringing it back to me.

It was cool, but in that hideous, what am I looking at way.

“I guess I found what I wanted,” I said, lifting it up. It surprisingly had weight to it.

Seth laughed. “I think you did.”

We quickly bought it, even got it wrapped so that Toby couldn’t see what it was right away. It wasn’t long after we stepped out that the other two found us.

“I found Paxon’s dad,” Bryan said. “He’s over by the food trucks. One of the trucks has really good desserts.” He handed me over a small container. When I flipped it open, there was a brownie with a scoop of ice cream next to it and a small spoon.

“Thank you,” I said, ignoring the way Toby eyed my large, black bag.

“What did you get?” Toby tried to sound nonchalant but failed miserably.

“My winning weird item,” I said casually before trying the dessert. It was really good and I could tell the brownie was homemade. I glanced around, trying to see more of everything as we ate.

This place was busy, most everyone looking like they were having fun. Dogs were being walked all over, some of the stands even having water bowls out for them to drink from. I even spotted the older boy with the sandy brown hair again. He was the same one who was by the puzzle boxes. He was a little cute. His gaze flickered to me and then he whipped around quickly, giving me his back.

I frowned at the weird reaction.

“Candy Pop, let’s go find Paxon’s dad. Maybe we can get him to buy us more food.”