Chapter Two

       
                                                                                                         CHAPTER TWO


    I awoke rather late, choosing to sleep in before taking on the evening shift at Royal Curmudgeon’s Haberdashery, as I had exactly one year and one day ago.
New Year’s Day had been on a Thursday last year and was a Wednesday this year.  I wanted to be sure to begin my journey on a Thursday to visit my friends as this was the only way I knew to get to them.  You see, the entrance was through an armoire in the back of the haberdashery and the exit was out onto the green grounds of Thursday.
I wasn’t certain if I would be able to access Thursday from Wednesday, this side of the armoire so waited until Thursday to offer to work the evening shift.  Mr. Curmudgeon readily accepted my offer so that he and Ms. Ledger could enjoy a night out together before bogging down with the final wedding plans and ceremony itself.

Once I’d eaten a breakfast of blueberry muffins and sliced peaches, I set about packing the largest hand bag I owned.  It had large leather handles that I could sling over my shoulder if I needed use of both hands.
I carefully selected the items I would be taking as gifts for my new friends as well as the cinnamon buns I’d baked and an apple, an extra muffin and a small thermos of tea for myself.
In my dressing room, I pulled on my chocolate brown leggings with the black polka dots, my brown, pleated skirt and pale pink, ruffled blouse with the red and white tiny beads sewn onto the shoulders and down the sleeves to look like sprinkles on a cupcake.  Pulling my hair to the side and fastening with elastic, I then placed the cherry to the top of my ensemble.  Or more accurately, my red beret with the emerald green ‘stem’ coming out the top in place of a button. 
Remembering all of the walking I’d had to do last time through, I’d gone shopping some months ago,  for some sturdy hiking boots and had managed to find some quite comfortable ones in my size with small zippered pockets on the sides which would be perfect for storing one of the tinier gifts I would be taking along.  I put these on now, laced them up and gathered up my bag, a little heavier than I would have liked, but I would be removing items as I went along so the weight didn’t concern me much.

The evening shift at the haberdashery was quite pleasant, and as it wasn’t New year’s day, but just an ordinary Thursday, I had only a few customers and passed most of the time by organizing the aisles.
Mr. Curmudgeon had received a rather large shipment of buttons resembling coins and although there were several boxes already emptied, there were still a heap of them to unpack and place on the shelves.
The evening ended and after turning the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ on the shop door and tidying up a bit, I headed to the back room where the ice box that held our lunches was kept next to an old upholstered chair and small wooden table, piled with the past weeks newspapers Mr. Curmudgeon perused between breaks in customers.
Behind both of those stood the tall armoire which held our aprons and coats and just like it had one year and a day ago, it was shining as if lit from within.
This time however, I knew better than to go searching for the switch to turn off the light and instead, grabbing hold of my hand bag laden with gifts and slinging it over my shoulder, I stepped into the armoire and pressing my way through the aprons, went right on out into the green, grassy hills and blue skies of a place called ‘Thursday.”

Although it had been a year since I’d last stepped foot on those hills, once I was actually walking across the cushiony grounds again it felt as if not even a day had passed.
I began to look around for where I might find Perry Moppins, the woman who had first met me on my previous visit the instant I’d stepped out the door.  This time she was no where in sight and I paused, as I hadn’t thought about what I would do if she didn’t pass by straight away.  Should I sit and wait or go off in search of her fluffy, arm chair like form rolling across the hills dotting her tees?
As I pondered this I noticed I could just make out the rising sun peeking above one of the green slopes.  I watched and saw that it was indeed rising, much more quickly than I’d ever seen before and slightly swaying from side to side.
It was also growing larger.  I stood on my toes to catch a better glimpse and after a moment, saw that it wasn’t so much growing larger, but coming closer to me.  But of course, the sun would also be strange and different in this place as everything else was, why shoudn’t it come up more quickly and draw closer in each passing second?  I thought to myself.
After watching another minute or so, I noticed the sun also had a face perched right on top of it .. a face that was looking more and more like ... Perry Moppins!  “Perry!  Perry!  Hello!”  I called out to the woman wearing a bright yellow dress lined with vivid orange rolling towards me.  It wasn’t the sun at all but Perry, on her roller skates, gliding across the hills!
She noticed my waving arms and rolled in my direction coming to stop in front of me. 
“Well I say!  Is it Miss Justa Smidge coming to dot tees with me this Thursday?!”  Perry exclaimed in her shrill voice.
“Hello Perry!  Yes, I meant to come sooner but work got in the way and well, here I am.  It’s so lovely to see you!  My that’s a vibrant dress you’ve got on!  Like the sun itself.”
“Thank you dear, I do like a bit of color to wake up the day.”  At this she glanced at my feet.  “Justa dear, you’ve come again but not worn your roller skates!”
“Oh!”  I ducked into my handbag and came out with the roller skates I’d had made just for this occasion. “I’ve brought them Perry!  I had them made with all terrain wheels, see here how the little tires have large tread on them to grip the grass better?  I’m anxious to try them out!”
“How very clever!  I’ve never had need for more tread myself but as you are new to tee dotting, I can see how that might give you a little edge.”
“I’ve also brought along a little something for you ... not everyone is so brave as to use live bugs as a fashion accessory as you’ve so cleverly done but you might be able to convince almost anyone to adorn their hair with  jeweled insects.”  I explained to Perry as I handed her five hair pins I’d made with different jewels representing different bugs.
I looked to Perry’s shoulder for her little tick friend and spotted him sitting there trembling as he had before.  “Oh, hello Tock!  Remember me?”
Perry took the hair pins and examined each one. 
“You are so very creative Justa and how kind of you to think of me!  These are some of my favorite insects!  Very hard to train to stay content on one’s head so you’re brilliant to think of using jewels to create their likeness, what is this one?  It looks to just be a small branch of leaves.”
I looked at the one Perry was holding - a hair pin that was indeed to look like leaves and pointed out to her the tiny jeweled green dots, clustered on each leaf, meant to replicate aphids.
“Ah aphids!  Yes, fascinating creatures.  The cattle to ants everywhere.  I shall wear this one right now.”  And she stuck it into her short brown curls.
“Justa, Dear, if you plan to dot tees with me this morning, we must get on it.  I’ve got a busy afternoon ahead of me as I’m making plans for the moth ball.  I like to throw them now and then to liven the place up.”  said Perry as she began digging in her pockets and pulling out paint brushes and a small pot of black ink to dot the tees with.
“Moth balls?” I questioned “Getting a head start on Spring cleaning?  I’m always anxious myself after the holidays to get things cleaned up. 
“Oh, I couldn’t imagine having time to do cleaning while I’m so busy with throwing the moth balls along with tee dotting.  No, I just like to do a little something to make the moths feel special.  They always seem to come in second to butterflies if you’ve noticed and it’s not their fault they’re born less colorful.  Throwing them a ball in their honor gives them a chance to really shine and be the center of attention for a bit.  You really should come and see for yourself Justa!  Yes, you must come.  It will be after the sun goes down.”
I admit it was a struggle to follow her line of thinking but once I understood that it was a ball in honor of the moths she was throwing, I did think it was a fascinating idea and would love to see the event for myself.  I started to tell Perry just that but we were interrupted by a loud buzzing and a brush of wings around our heads and I was thrilled as I knew exactly who it was that had just swooped in and graced us with his presence. 
“Lord Horrid!”  Exclaimed Perry “What a surprise.  You’re looking well and Oh! -”  Perry turned to acknowledge the presence of another large fly “Lady Horrid as well!  Wonderful to see you both out for a flight together!  How are the children?”
Both flies buzzed away near Perry’s face and she nodded her head intently at them.  “Yes, yes, they do grow up so fast.  Have you both met Justa?”  she turned in my direction and I felt I should bow.  I had met Lord Positively Horrid as he visited Mr. Curmudgeon’s shop occasionally but had never seen Lady Horrid. 
“Nice to make your acquaintance.”  I held out my hand as the large fly darted down and brushed it with her wings.
  Both flies buzzed around Perry for a minute more and she seemed to understand what they were saying and replied in kind and then they were off, flying over the hills. 
“You can understand what they say?”  I asked Perry in awe. 
“Oh, I’ve spent most of my life studying insects.  Once you take the time to pay attention, it’s not that hard.”  she explained.
“How nice to get to see them both here today.  I heard so much about them on my last visit and was quite curious about flies having such an esteemed status among people.  Please tell me Perry, when you asked them about the ‘children’ ... you didn’t mean, well, did you mean ... maggots?”  I whispered wrinkling my nose.
“Of course I did!  They are just innocent young flies.  Nothing to wrinkle your nose over.  Besides, did you know, flies are just as repulsed by human babies as some of us are at fly larvae?  It might have something to do with all the bathing and powdering we do to ours.” 
At this Perry picked up her skirts and started rolling across the hill, bending to dot some of the tiny white tees in her path.
I hurried in my new skates to keep up, crossing my eyes so I could properly see the tees in front of me as this is how it was done.
“Perry, I was hoping to see some of the things that I didn’t have the chance to see during my last visit.  I’m very curious about the Gardens of Gnome and was wondering if you could tell me how to get there?”
Perry stopped suddenly, leaving a divot in the green lawn with her wheels.
“Justa.  No one wants to see the Gardens of Gnome.  Oh, they used to be quite nice, the Gnomes are the best gardeners anywhere, but the whole place is almost in ruins, destroyed, nothing but large brown mounds of dirt and debris.  It’s all very sad, most of the Gnomes have fled to the outskirts.  The ones that survived the moles that is.  You should keep away.” she warned.
“I’m not afraid!” I call out ahead of me as she starts rolling again.  “I want very badly to see them for myself.  I’ll be careful.  Maybe just go around the edges?  I feel so bad for the Gnomes.  What will they do?”
“Oh, I’m not sure, we just don’t know how far the moles will go so it’s unsafe to get anywhere near ... of course, there might be a way for you to see them, although I wouldn’t waste my time, but there is the habit.  If Dashing isn’t too busy, he could possibly take you.”
“Oh you mean Dashing the operator of the well in Friday?”
“Yes, that’s the one.  Doesn’t hurt to ask when you’re there but really, nothing worth seeing as far as the Gardens are concerned.”  Perry called back over her shoulder.
I was not as used to this type of activity as Perry was, all this skating over hills and bending to dot tees.  I was gasping for breath and my legs were starting to ache. 
“I think I’ll head to Friday right away Perry.  Thank you for visiting with me and letting me roll along with you this morning.”  I sat down to take off my skates.
“Always welcome Justa!  You come by anytime!  You would be a welcome guest to our Moth Ball, I do hope you’ll come!”  Perry’s voice faded as she rolled over the next hill and was out of sight.
I skated off to the edge of the lawn and the start of the dirt path that led to Friday.  I tucked my skates into the base of a red leafy tree off the side of the path so I wouldn’t have to carry them and replaced my hiking boots on my feet.  The tree was bright enough I figured I’d recognize it and retrieve my skates before going home.