It took a lukewarm shower with the bathroom lights off to get Thom’s breathing back to normal, then another half an hour staring into the bathroom mirror, trying to visualize the part of him that made him so different, before he could convince himself he’d be able to continue with the day.
His original intention had been to make it home early, change, and get to the open-air market before the post-school, kids-in-tow, cranky-parent, crankier-kid crowd descended. In Thom’s experience, early to mid-afternoon was just about the best time to avoid people, short of not going at all. But the market was one of those places that Thom couldn’t stay away from, regardless of his fears.
The open-air market on the corner of Esposito and Pine had been operating in his town on Fridays for as long as he
