Jam

Adelyn looked at the rain dripping off the white and blue stripped plastic roof cover. The sound of it was quite nice, but it dulled her mood. Having a quick glance at the sky, she could see the weather wasn’t going to change any time soon. Sighing, she settled back on her chair.

Behind her jam stall, she watched the corner of the market she could see. All the other stall holders were huddled down and wrapped up, so only their heads or hair could be seen behind their items. Further down, a few people were either hurrying past the stalls or sometimes pausing to look. No one was buying though.

Adelyn took out her notebook and looked at the scrawl of products and little lines against them. Yesterday had been okay, but today she had sold less then ten jars.

‘Damn this weather,’ she muttered.

Putting the notebook away, she got out her flask of tea and lunch box. Eating and drinking made her feel better, but the lunchtime rush she had been praying for didn’t arrive. A few more people joined the handful that had been milling around and whilst the neighboring stalls, which were selling bedding, toys and books got some interested, Adelyn’s homemade jams did not.

Putting her things away, she dug out a very worn paperback book and began reading. The rain beat down more heavily, the wind picked up and somewhere in the distant came the rumble of thunder. Adelyn raised her head and saw that the closest stall holders were starting to pack up.

Nodding to herself, she slipped the book away and began pulling the plastic boxes out from under the stall. A flash caused her to search the sky, but she saw nothing but the darkening clouds. Quickly, she tried to pick away, but the jars took time to stack and there seemed to be so many of them.

Finally and after a few trips back and forth to her small car, Adelyn was able to sit behind the wheel and catch her breath. Running her fingers through her short dyed brown hair, she tried not to think about the possible money shortage this month. Starting the car, she hoped there was some online orders waiting for her.

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