Ying Li was so tired. The flight from Shanghai last night was 3 hours late and they lost all of her luggage. It was somewhere in Australia instead of Iowa. Plus she had not slept well because of the 12 hour time difference. Why did her daughter have to go to university in Iowa?!
It was 10am which was 10pm back home but Ying knew she should try to stay awake or she would be unable to get adjusted to the new time. Her daughter (19) would be at class until at least 5pm and had left her small, old car for Ying to use. Ying's problem – she had no clothes other than what she wore on the plane and those were sweaty now. She was wearing her daughter's spare pajamas but she needed proper clothes to go out.
Ying (43) was a conservative and proper woman. She must be properly and modestly dressed before going out. That was the problem – her daughter was one size smaller in all proportions. Nothing would fit right. Well she wasn't going to stay in all day waiting for the airline to find and deliver her bags. That might take all week. So Ying decided to go through daughter's closet until she found something she could wear. What she found: a red sheer bra stretchy enough to get on even though it did press her breasts together too much ; red panties she could squeeze into even though they were too tight at the crotch and rode up on the bum; a brown, plaid schoolgirl style skirt that was long enough to reach her knees and had an elastic waistband; a white blouse that she could fasten even though some of the buttons threatened to pop; and, finally, a brown suit-style jacket that must have been left by a bigger friend of her daughters (it fit just right). This was tolerable because no one would see the tightest clothing. They would only see the skirt and jacket – no embarrassment. The outfit didn't look good but not real bad.
Before getting in the car, Ying noticed an advertisement for "Billy's Farmer's Market" and decided to go there and see how it compared to the ones in China. The ad had an easy to read map so by 11am she set out in the old car to see the sights including the farmer's market.
Billy Jr. was looking after his father's farmer's market and telling some friends from nearby farms about his adventure last night at Kelly's Bar. He was sipping a beer hoping to meet a girl, any girl, when he overheard a biker at the next table boast about a new drug he'd stolen from a medical researcher. It was strictly experimental and apparently a single drop would make a person totally obedient to any spoken word while being unable to remember anything afterward. It was so powerful that people would unhesitatingly do things they would never do in real life. Billy Jr. had stolen it from the biker's jacket when the biker went for a leak. His friends had lots of opinions:
Clem: "You're crazy! You know what bikers do to people?!"
Joe: "You fell for that pile of B.S.?"
Sam: "Maybe we can try it on Sally Mae?"
"I tell you, the biker was serious and I have the bottle right here. Maybe it will work. Tell you what, I'll try it on the next customer that comes here and we''ll see what happens."
Clem: "How'll you get them to take it? Anyway, you haven't had any customers all morning."
Sam: "Make it a lady customer OK?? Maybe we can get her to take off her shirt?"
"OK. I'll try it on the first lady customer. I'll give her some apple cider with a drop of the drug in it. We might have to wait a while cuz Wednesdays are usually real slow. That's why my folks went to town for the day. Meanwhile let's have some beer."
It was almost noon. Ying Li had underestimated the distance to the farmer's market but she finally found the right road. It was a dirt road well off the highway and reached by turning off several minor county roads. Up ahead, a sign "Billy's Farmer's Market". She pulled into the parking lot (a grassy clearing) and looked dubiously at the old weathered market stand. There was a young man behind the stand and a few other young men lounging around drinking beer. But the stand had lots of fresh looking fruits and vegetables. She got out and went to the stand.
"Morning ma'am," Billy Jr. said as he looked at the tired, sleepy looking foreigner wearing slightly odd clothes. Then he remembered the plan and grinned.
Ying Li examined the veggies and picked some red radishes which the young man said were carrots. She also picked a dozen cobs of corn, some lettuce and apples. The other young men had come closer and were looking expectant. That made her anxious to pay and leave planning to go home for a rest.
"Would you like a cup of apple cider ma'am?" asked Billy Jr. politely.
"No. I done."
"The cider is free with each purchase. Take a cup?"
"Free? OK."
