I reached down to switch the fan to high, and turned it to blow on my face while I sat in the back of the tent, watching the aisle in front and seeing absolutely nobody passing by. It was about 95 outside, and maybe 100 inside the tent, which was a giant solar oven. Maybe my photos weren't good enough, maybe the wrong subjects, maybe the wrong size, or maybe not priced right, but, since nobody was coming to this art fair, what did it matter? I wasn't going to sell anything because there was nobody to buy.
I stepped outside and walked to the shade under a nearby tree, but it was maybe two degrees cooler, and, in case a miracle happened and somebody came into the tent, I needed to be there, not under the tree. So I went back to my chair. My watch said 11:35. Only five-and-a-half hours more, with the heat of the day still ahead of me.
So far I had sold two matted prints for a total of $40. That was from the print bin outside the tent. Nobody had even looked at the photos on the walls or even come inside.
I sat back, stared out of the tent, and continued to feel sorry for myself. I was getting sleepy. Maybe I'd just take a nap.
Just then something caught my eye and I jerked fully alert. There wasn't a tent directly across from me, just a gap in the row of tents, so I had a clear view of the back of the tent one aisle over. And that back had just opened, to let the breeze in, I guess. There wasn't any breeze, but whomever was there was apparently an optimist.
What jerked me awake were two long, sexy legs, attached to a woman who was bent over some sort of counter at the back of her tent. She was leaning over, talking to a customer (lucky her!), and wearing shorts appropriate for the weather, which is to say very short. I couldn't see her face or her upper body, just waves of blonde hair and those incredible legs.
Whoever she was talking to left and she went around to the front of the counter and sat down, gone from my view except for that amazing hair which I could now see from the side.
I wanted another customer to come into her tent even more than I wanted one to come into mine. Anything that would get her to lean over behind that counter. That became my purpose for the afternoon, since my own activity was going to be a big fat zero, I just knew it.
Fifteen minutes later she had another customer, and she returned to the counter, treating me to a second look at those amazing limbs. This time I thought her shorts were hitched up a bit higher, but maybe that was my imagination.
I called her The Blonde Goddess.
After about an hour of watching, waiting, and hoping, she had three more customers, and I decided to put up my Back-In-10-Minutes sign, visit the restroom, get a beer, and stroll by her aisle to see what she was selling and to get a look at her face. Off I went.
Jewelry, it was, which would have been my first guess. As for her face, it was gorgeous. High cheekbones, a strong chin, and a rapturous smile. She saw me passing with my beer and smiled at me. Little did she know that I was already in love with her, or at least in love with her body. OK, maybe just lust.
Back to my chair and my tent. It was now past one, and even hotter inside. I drank my beer, actually talked to one guy who wanted to know what camera I used, never even commenting on my photographs. I hoped that what few people were attending this crummy fair would at least want some jewelry from The Blonde Goddess. Maybe another seven or eight did, which was pure joy for me. Then it was 5 o'clock, time to zip up the tent and get out of here.
I'd done a total of $40, and, aside for viewing The Blonde Goddess, it had been one of the worst days of my life. I grabbed my water bottle, cooler, and backpack and started the short walk down the road to the high school parking lot where my trailer was parked. That convenience was the best part of this fair. I knew the trailer would be hot, but at least I had cold beers in the fridge.
"How'd you do?" a voice just behind me said. I turned. It was The Blonde Goddess, catching up to me on those long legs.
"Terrible. And you?"
"Lookees. Lots of talk, but no sales. Well, just one, for a lousy $45." She was pretty honest, for an art fair, where we all generally lie. "You headed for the high school?"
"Yeah. My trailer's parked there. You too?"
"My girlfriend's, yes. She's a painter, so I'm staying with her, in her motor home."
I couldn't believe I was actually talking to The Blonde Goddess. "Mine's a trailer, just a 22-footer."
"Here by yourself?"
"Yeah, just me. I'm not inflicting this purgatory on anyone else this time."
"Can I see it?" she asked. "My name's Charlene."
"I'm Vincent, but everyone calls me Vin. You want to see my little trailer?"
"Well, not so much the trailer. Do you have a cold drink?"
"A fridge full of beer. Walk with me, and I'll give you a tour. Should take fifteen seconds at most."
She showed me that terrific smile. "OK. Thanks!"
We got to the high school, and The Blonde Goddess pointed out her girlfriend's RV across the parking lot. I started my generator so I could run the air conditioner. Good thing I'd bought that little gadget, because my trailer must have been 110 degrees. Rough estimate, since my thermostat only went up to 99. But with the air conditioner on full it dropped to 85 in a few minutes, and then we were OK.
We sat across the dinette table with our beers. Unfortunately, her great legs were tucked in under the table, so I had to satisfy myself with her lovely face, her toned arms, and her breasts, straining to break free of her tight blouse. I guessed her to be about 25. I'm a young 35.
I don't even know what we talked about, I was so taken up with her. I couldn't believe The Blonde Goddess was in my trailer, drinking my beer, sitting at my table, and talking to me. She'd grown up and still lived in Des Moines, but traveled to art fairs during the Summer, which is what brought her to Wyoming. So, I guess that's what we talked about. I suppose I told her similar stuff about me, not that I was aware of anything in the universe other than her. I did get that she was smart and funny, in addition to being beautiful.
Then she said something strange: "I'm an exhibitionist at art fairs." A strange choice of words.
I laughed. "Me, too."
"You are? Really?"