The Dream Peddler by Martine Fournier Watson

Author:Martine Fournier Watson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2019-04-08T16:00:00+00:00

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Toby was holding court on the back steps behind the store. The dream peddler had changed everything for him, and now the boys who had so often laughed at him were listening while he spoke. Toby had always been popular in his way, wanted for shooting or fishing expeditions, but he’d never garnered any respect for his words or ideas. He wasn’t quick-witted enough to say much when the boys gathered and joked. He laughed loud when he heard others laugh, even if he didn’t understand. And when he talked, he kept his voice low. That way he felt like he was a part of things but didn’t have to worry the fellows might hear and laugh harder at what he said.

Now they were all paying attention. There was a taut, stretched respect for what he’d discovered. Of course it was not right to give details, but a few were enough: where, how long, how many times. What color the dress, before she removed it.

They leaned against the porch rails or sat on the steps, and Toby regaled them with talk of how lucky he was to have money set aside, how relaxed and easy he’d become around the girls. Robert Owens was a man you could trust, he told them. A quiet man. Discreet.

“Sounds about right,” said Ansen Smith. “But I’m saving up just now. Wouldn’t spend my money that way.”

“Saving to marry Jenna?” asked Barto McBryde. The group hollered as if it were funny, and Ansen was clapped on the back.

“I might think about it,” John Shaw said. “Not guilty like Ansen here, if you know what I mean.”

“I wonder some of the married men don’t give it a try. That’d be the ticket. No getting tired of just one. Great solution if the wife’s feeling poorly.”

They all laughed again.

“What about you, Rolf? You gonna try it?”

“He figures he’ll wear Christina down one of these days. Get her to kiss you, that right?”

Rolf went scarlet to his ears.

All too soon they were bored, and tired of Toby’s big talk. Most of them stood and jumped down off the steps, pushed off the wood and away. They all had chores to do, and they were all hungry.

Jackson lingered behind the rest. He leaned at the porch rail, resting his forearms on it and looking out at the greening land behind the store. With his eyes on the horizon, he asked, “Those dreams work for you every time? For sure?”

“Haven’t failed yet,” said Toby.

“That’s something.” He pushed back and forth as if testing the wood. “You got any to spare?”

“Well.” Toby jammed his hands into his pockets. “As a matter of fact, I do have one I’ve been saving. Got it the other day.”

“Oh, yeah? You could do that? I mean . . . what if it isn’t fresh?”

Toby licked his lips. “Don’t think it makes any difference. I done it before. I have to buy them on the sly, whenever I can, and that isn’t so often.

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