by Marti Attoun from the July 18, 2022 issue
Tagline: Thrifting with her best friend, Jackie isn't looking for anything special...until she finds herself face-to-face with a fascinating find she can't resist.
Observations: I usually go straight to the byline to see who wrote the story, but this time I didn't do that. I just jumped right into the story. I really enjoyed it and wasn't surprised to see who wrote it.
Lenora was a hilarious secondary character. I loved the humor the friends shared--it makes the characters more realistic. Anytime you have two people who have been friends for a long time, they laugh together. They probably order each other around like Lenora does with Jackie. They help each other with projects, like furnishing a new house.
I loved the misunderstanding in the story even though I saw it the moment she spotted the plant stand inside the garage.
Attoun did some great foreshadowing.
She shows you in that little mini-scene that some sellers didn't have time to price their merchandise so that it makes sense later when Jackie mistakenly assumes the owner of the plant stand was in a similar situation.
He's wearing a T-shirt from the Prairie Kitchen restaurant, one of Jackie's favorite eateries and then we find out his daughter is the owner, which gives them a talking point.
I also loved how she didn't overdo the physical attraction, limiting it to a shiver and a fluttery feeling. To me, these understated reactions are more natural, less purple prose-y. But your mileage may vary. :)
Photo by Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose via Flickr Creative Commons License
