I sauntered down the sidewalk, feeling cute in my floral summer dress, wide brimmed sun hat, large sunglasses, and simple sandals. I went past the nickel and dime store and into the large parking lot converted to an open market on the weekends. Most of the booths sold produce and preserves, but a few sold hand crafts and art. I made my way through the market slowly admiring the goods and then spotted a new stand run by a woman I had never seen before. She looked Asian and there weren’t many Asian women in town. The only Asians were just the mother, father, and son who owned the Lucky Star Chinese takeout restaurant in town. I couldn’t remember their names. But she was not them and she stood out like a light in the darkness.
She looked at me when I approached and smiled. “Hi!” she said. I was expecting an accent, but all I heard was plain old American.
“Hi! You’re new to the market!”
“Yes I am. I just moved into town a month ago.”
“Really? How exciting! Where are you living?” I watched her face enchanted by her exotic looks. She was gorgeous, and I had never been attracted to another woman before. A quick image of Leanne crossed my mind, unwanted. But this woman had a face I was sure I could stare at all day.
I gasped when she told me where she lived. “That’s two houses down from me! You bought the Cooper place!”
“I did!”
“Wow, that house was on the market for over a year.”
“It’s a little run down. And I think vacant for over a year?”
“Sadly, yes. Old Man Cooper lived alone in that house. His wife passed a long time ago.”
Her eyes grew larger, and I loved how that happened with her gorgeous, slanted eyes. Her pupils were dark brown and had a wonderful depth. “He didn’t die in there, did he? Oh my God! I never thought to ask the realtor!”
I laughed a genuine laugh, and it felt good. “No! No! He died in town. Heart attack in the post office. Just dropped dead. No ghosts or anything! At least, I don’t think.”
“Whew!” laughed the woman. “That’s a relief!”
“I’m Jessica, by the way. Jessica Smith.”
She put out her hand to grasp mine. I felt a shock when she touched me. Her hand felt so small in mine, and I didn’t want to let it go. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Jennifer Kimura.”
I suddenly needed to see more of her. “You’ll have to stop by my house. So I can welcome you better. You and your husband.”
Jennifer laughed, and I loved the sound of it. Her face was so animated. “Single. No husband. Are you married?”
“No. Divorced. My husband left me twenty years ago.” Inside I was so happy she was single.
“Twenty? You look so young!” She was looking at me in an unexpected way. Closely. Intimately. The electricity I had felt in the air seemed more charged. Focused.
“Um, thanks,” I said. She looked far younger than me. She looked to be in her early twenties. She was slim, extraordinarily so, but with breasts that seemed too large for her frame. Her hair was jet black, perfectly straight and falling to the middle of her back and shone in the morning sunshine. I had to admit she was beautiful. She was exotic looking to me and I felt plain in her presence. “But I’m forty. Don’t tell anyone!” I laughed at my own stupid humor.
She laughed with me. “Well, I’m thirty-five.” She leaned toward me and whispered. “Don’t tell anyone!”
I laughed then, instantly warming completely to this woman. I looked down at her display, seeing it for the first time. It was mostly scarfs and small artwork. It looked like hand-painted silk. I asked, and she nodded.
“Yes, all pure silk. I hand-paint them. It’s a hobby, really. I’ve been making them all my life. I sell quite a lot online. I have an Amazon store. I do pretty well.”
“They’re beautiful.” I said and meant it. My eyes spotted something strange on her table, placed in the back corner. I picked one up and examined it. It looked like a twisted unicorn horn, except it had raised circles like tentacle suckers. It was squishy like rubber or silicone. “What’s this?”
Jennifer grinned at me. “Are you sure you want to know?”
I looked at her confused. “Yes?”
She giggled. “It’s called a Takoyaki. I make them, too. My biggest seller online.”
“Taco? Taco yacky?”
“Takoyaki,” she repeated and spelled it out. “It’s a play on the word in Japanese for octopus balls, a food delicacy. The word plays on another use of tentacles.”
“What’s it for?”
“For stimulation.”
“Stimulation?”
She looked at me and grinned wider. Her teeth were so white and perfect. God help me, but I wondered right then what it would be like to kiss her. To kiss a woman. A feeling so foreign to me I had no idea what to do with it. But there it was forefront in my head. I tore my eyes from her face and studied the strange object in my hand. And then it dawned on me. I looked up at Jennifer. “No way!”
She nodded, smiling, and laughing at the naughtiness of it.
“And you just…” I moved it a little in my hand in up and down motions.
She laughed. “Yup.”
“And people buy these?”
“Yes. A lot of people. My best seller. Those are the, um,” she glanced around, but we were alone. The market wouldn’t get busy for another hour. “Those are the smaller ones.”
I stared the object and tried to imagine using it on myself. I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. “Oh my God.” I looked up at Jennifer and suddenly I wanted to know more about her. This was the most exciting thing that had happened to me in years in this small town. “Oh, now you simply must come over to my place. I need to hear more.”
Jennifer looked surprised. “Come over to your place?”
“Sure. Why not? Tonight. I have wine. Food. Music. Come over and we’ll just talk. I can answer any weird questions you might have about this town. I’ve lived here my entire life. I know everyone. There are reasons to get to know me.”
Jennifer hesitated and then nodded. “You know what? I think I would like that. What time?”
“Six? Seven? Come right from here if you want. It’s just me and my son at home. He’s an adult now.”
Jennifer’s eyes lit up. “Does he do repairs?”
“Oh yes. He’s quite the handyman. He can do anything. What do you need?”
“The house is quite run down. I need a lot of work done. Walls, plumbing, everything. I had one of the men in town come round to look but he was more interested in looking at me, if you know what I mean.”
“I do, sadly. The men around here aren’t like in the city. They don’t have boundaries. It’s like going back in time about fifty years.”
“Can I meet your son? And ask him to have a look?”
I reached out and took her hand. Her hand was so dainty. “Hon, I promise you, he’ll love to help you out. I know my son. He loves helping people.”
“I can pay him. Money’s not a problem.”
“You discuss it with him. He won’t want anything though.”
Jennifer and I chatted for a little while. I bought a small eight by eight-inch frame with a piece of silk inside it under glass. A beautiful Japanese dragonfly was painted on it. Jennifer explained to me dragonflies are the national emblem of Japan. I asked her if she was Japanese, finally getting the nerve to ask. She nodded but added her parents were born in America and so was she. I understood what she meant. She wasn’t Japanese. She was American just like me. She wrapped up the frame behind the table and handed me the bag, smiling at me.