Free Room at the Inn (Bellingwood #5.5) by Diane Greenwood Muir Page B

little straighter, looked at Simon in the eyes and said, "I can give you twenty dollars."
    Simon clutched his heart, "You're killing me. I can't go that low! I'll sell them to you for forty dollars."
    Jason looked at Polly again and she pointed her finger up and he said, "Maybe twenty-five dollars for the set."
    "No," Simon said. "You'd take out all my profit. I need to make a little bit of money. It's Christmas!"
    One more glance at Polly and she winked at him. Jason stood a little taller and said. "The very highest I can go is thirty dollars and that has to include sales tax, because that's all I've got."
    The man sighed as dramatically as he could and after exhaling loudly, said, "For someone who didn't know how to make a bargain, you did very well, young man. This is quite a deal you've made. I hope that it makes a wonderful gift for someone special."
    Andrew's eyes were as big as saucers. He'd watched the entire transaction take place with his mouth open. "It's for our mom. This is the first time we've ever bought a present for her. We work at Sycamore House and Polly pays us to take care of her animals."
    "Your mother must be pretty special to have sons who are willing to spend thirty dollars on her. Let me get two nice boxes for these. Do you want me to wrap them?"
    Jason shook his head, "No thank you. We will do that."
    "I'll be right back," Leaving the jewelry on the counter, Simon walked toward the back of the store.
    "I was so nervous," Jason said. "I didn't know I could do that."
    "You can always bargain in a place like this. It doesn't work in regular stores, but when it comes to antiques, most shop owners are willing to strike a deal. Mr. Gardner must have been ready to sell that jewelry today. You did very well."
    "Do you have the money?" he asked.
    Polly handed him the cash. When Simon Gardner returned, he wrote out a receipt for the transaction, boxed up the jewelry into two plain white jewelry boxes, and placed them in a bag.
    "Thank you, boys. Stop in again to take a look at our toys. I'm always willing to negotiate!" he had said as they left the store.
    When they returned to Sycamore House, the boys had taken the necklace and earrings in and out of the boxes several more times. They'd stayed through supper and late into the evening since Sylvie was cooking for another holiday party. Both boys helped in the barn with evening chores. The donkeys were happy to see their new friends and Eliseo continued to teach Andrew how to lead Tom. Polly had been glad to finally see them go home though, ready to simply sit on her sofa and read a book.
    Now, she sat at her desk, watching the clock. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer, grabbed her keys and cut through the kitchen for the garage. She was just going to sit in the background until she had to talk. Her heart felt like it was crawling into her throat as she pulled in. Without giving it much more thought, she made sure she had the package and walked across the parking lot.
    They were meeting in the basement of the church and she was greeted by noise and background Christmas music. She found a chair at an empty table and quickly sat down.
    "Now it is time for our poinsettia giveaway," the woman standing at the front of the room said. " Each person should take a slip of paper with a number on it from the bowl at your table."
    Rustling was heard around the room as the bowls were passed.
    "All of the numbers should be taken. If you don't have eight people at your table, someone will have to take two." She waited while the ladies at the tables sorted themselves out. "I am going to choose a number between one and eight and that person will take home the poinsettia from their table. Are you ready?"
    The women each held up their numbers and waited. "It's number four! If you have the number four, then you get to take the poinsettia with you when you leave. You can thank the Men's Club for their gift to our party today."
    "We aren't finished yet," she continued. "There