Rain at the Market

Hanne sells cheese on Saturdays. She stands at the end of the row, between the man with the bread and the woman with the flowers. In summer she sells almost everything by noon. In November it is different.

That morning the rain started before the market opened. By nine there was water under the table and very few people between the rows. Piet, the man with the bread, had sold four loaves. Hanne had sold nothing at all.

At eleven a coach stopped on the other side of the square. Thirty people got out and walked quickly towards the market, because it was the only roof they could see. They bought bread, cheese, flowers and hot soup.

In twenty minutes Hanne sold more than on a good day in August. She had no small change left, so Piet took the money and she took the bread. Nobody counted anything until the coach had gone.

At two the rain stopped and the square was empty again. Hanne and Piet sat on a wet bench with the last of the soup. "How much do I owe you?" she asked. Piet thought about it. "One loaf," he said.