Her numb fingers worked at stringing the beads on wire. The next craft show was Saturday, and she had had an idea for a new pattern for a bracelet. Not that she expected to sell it. Sales had been slow this year. She'd even thought of giving up the whole enterprise. Some days she lost money because renting a spot cost more than she made. 

As expected on Saturday, because of the cold weather, the crowds were thin. Sue had been assigned an area near the back, and many didn't get that far or were tired when they did. 
A woman in clothes so old they were due for the rag bag stopped and fingered the bracelet Sue had spent so much time on. 

"How much?" the woman asked, her voice barely audible. Sue detected the faintest of accents. European, she thought.

When told the price, the old lady swallowed hard, setting the bracelet down. But her eyes lingered, and Sue felt a sudden empathy wash over her.

"Take it," she said.

"What?"

"Take it. I have too many others." She waved her calloused hand over the black velvet covered table. Too much stuff. She was kidding herself that she'd ever break even with all this.

"Oh, I couldn't," the woman protested.

"You'll be doing me a favor," Sue said. She grabbed the bracelet and stuffed it into a bag. 

The old lady looked at the bag dubiously, but took it. "Thank you," she whispered and turned away, then walked quickly down the aisle, perhaps thinking Sue would change her mind.

A man Sue had only been slightly aware of stepped into the place where the woman had stood. "That was very kind of you," he said. "My mother loves bright, shiny things."

Sue looked at the man in astonishment. He was sharply dressed, and she noticed he wore an ultra-thin Piaget watch. Perhaps a fake, of course, but somehow she doubted it. He carried himself with too much authority.

"She's in the middle stages of Alzheimer's. Some days she thinks she's back in the time when she and Dad first arrived in America. That's why she dresses the way she does. And she doesn't recognize me because I didn't exist back then. So, I let her roam, following to be sure she's okay."

He pulled out a wallet and handed Sue two one-hundred dollar bills. "You made us both happy today. Thank you."

Slowly, astonished, Sue took the money. "Thank you," she said. 

As he walked away, Sue thought, Just goes to show. Never give up.

THE END