"A lot of it was stumbling around in the dark, honestly."

  "Honestly," the other woman assured everyone.  

  In considering whether or not to live in a neighborhood some work friends had come for a weekend.  There was the opportunity to eyeball, ogle only! some antiques.  The shopping ladies were raring to go.  The men were pawing around in the kitchenette hungry bears.  Finally a gangly kid, all tube socks and soccer cleats, braces and cooler, another woman was delft about where everything goes.  She was going to repack it in their family vehicle, but then thought out loud, "I'll just rinse it out here." She unscrewed the lid and all the orange wedges prepared for the game were in there.  

  What's this?

  Down below the bakery, someone held up a strange garment and asked.  It wasn't exactly below the bakery but old world seamen called any place closer to the water than them down.  Down East thar, the son of an "old worlder" imitated the way "they talk".  But the father took it as mocking or being mocked, took the tall boy out on a three-step stoop and backhanded him in the face.  This caused all age kids to run out from resting around the house to parts unknown.  

  The man straightened the bent screen in the fly door and it became obvious why he tried, since the Mrs bean gone, kids running all over the place, WHAP! guy nailed a fly to the counter with a dozen or so others.

  Us visitors looked at each other but quickly recovered composure and looked around nonchalantly.  A kid even started whistling.  "Drop the act and I'll tell you what you need to know." It felt like we'd been fly swatted.  "Who do do you?"

  "We're here to see about

  "You vant to adopt them?"

  A ceiling fan on a slant made a ticking sound.  One of the ladies put a hand on a stool to smoothly sit down but the group decided, not staying, so foot quickly blocking stool sit.  "I'm on blood pressure medication and due at hospital soon."

  "What time?" One of the women looked at a specific watch, a knock off of a rare piece, designed to let an antiques dealer know what interests.  The person either didn't notice or didn't care to sell.  The woman walked about four feet from the island to scrutinize "a coppah".  A man pulled a folded newspaper from a picket and pointed at a specific ad announcing metal objets in a sundry of offerings.  All prices negotiable.  But when they pointed and read aloud each category in the listing and then turned the paper to the person to ask if this still available, person can't see a thing without spectacles.