The Sticky Wicket

THE STICKY WICKET



At the corner of 5th and Cherry Street, there was a candy store owned by a woman named Mrs. Goodstuff. Mrs. Goodstuff was a very small woman. She stood only as high as the candy counter. A wooden crate was behind the counter so she could see over it to wait on the customers who came inside.

Mrs. Goodstuff may have been small, but she had a hairdo that stood 2 feet tall on the top of her head. Her hair was pink and the people who came into the shop to buy candy thought it looked like a big fluffy serving of cotton candy.

Everything about Mrs. Goodstuff was pink. She had pink cheeks and pink lips. A pink smock covered her pink blouse and pink skirt. Pink earrings dangled from her earlobes, and she had a ring on a finger with a huge pink stone in it. As you can guess, pink was her favorite color.

Anyone who came into her candy shop was greeted with a cheery "Hello!" by Mrs. Goodstuff. If this was your first time in the store, she would give you a free pink balloon with a piece of pink bubble gum tied onto the end of the string. Once someone had been in her shop, they always came back because she was so friendly and nice.

The name of her candy store was "The Sticky Wicket". Any kind of candy you were looking for you could find there. Tootsie Rolls, lollipops, gummy bears, Junior Mints, Turtles, Raisinets, saltwater taffy, Jolly Ranchers, Jelly Bellys, anything you wanted was inside the glass compartments lining the walls. There was even a 'mystery candy' in it's own special bin. For 5 cents you could choose a piece and be surprised when you put it in your mouth and found out what flavor it was.

One day a strange man came into "The Sticky Wicket".

"Hello, may I help you?" Mrs. Goodstuff asked the man. He was very tall and had on a black suit and coat. His hair was black and he had a big black mustache. Black rimmed glasses sat on his large nose.

"I am looking for the owner," said the man as he looked suspiciously at her pink hair.

"I am Mrs. Goodstuff, the owner," she said. "Would you like a balloon?" she reached up to grab a balloon floating above her head.

"I most certainly would not," the man frowned. "My name is Mr. Notso Nice. I am here to inform you, Mrs. Goodstuff, that you have 30 days to move everything out of your candy store!" He then reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a piece of paper and held it out for her to see.

"My, that's a very official looking piece of paper." She placed her pink reading glasses onto her nose. "I don't want to move out of my store. Why would I need to?"

"It's all in the document here," Mr. Notso Nice said and handed it over to her. "If you are not out in 30 days, the police will be called in and you will be forcefully removed! Good day Madame!" He turned and walked briskly out the door.

"Oh my, what is going on?" Mrs. Goodstuff sat on her wooden crate to read the letter.

To the Owner of The Sticky Wicket;

This letter is to inform you that you have 30 days to pack up all the candy in your store and leave the premises. The property managers of this building have decided that candy is not what the people of this community need. Too many cavities and trips to the dentists are not good for business. Instead, we will be leasing your space to a company that sells designer toilet paper, a very needed and useful product.
If you do not leave within the 30 days, we will have to call in the police and they will throw you and your cavity making candy OUT THE DOOR!

Have a nice day,

The Property Managers

What ninnies, Mrs. Goodstuff thought. If you brush your teeth and floss regularly and don't eat too many sweets, you won't get cavities. Who needs designer toilet paper? You just flush it away anyhow. Oh, what am I going to do? She hung her head and a little tear slipped down her cheek. I love my candy store. What will I do without it?

The next day there was a sign hanging out in the front of "The Sticky Wicket". It said "Store Closing all candy 40% off."

Mr. Waffle, the owner of the hardware store across the street, was the first person in town to see the sign. He rushed over
to find out what was going on. Mrs. Goodstuff showed him the letter.

"This is a sad day for our town, Mrs. Goodstuff," he said, shaking his head. "Where will we get treats for the Trick or Treaters when Halloween comes?"

"I don't know. I hadn't thought of that," she said.

"Are you ok? You look kinda funny," Mr. Waffle said. Indeed, she did not look her normal pink self.

"No, I'm not ok. I'm feeling rather blue."

"We will do something about this right away," he said, worried about her health.

"But what CAN we do?" she asked.

"We'll figure out something. Don't worry. I'll be back this afternoon." He stuffed her letter in his pocket.

Mrs. Goodstuff watched him go.

All morning long, people came into 'The Sticky Wicket' and asked about the sign. She told them what had happened and they were all furious. They were also worried about the way she looked.

At noon, she went into the back of the store and gazed in a mirror that was hanging on the wall. Sure enough, she was blue. Her hair had turned a bright blue, along with her cheeks and her lips. Even her clothes and jewelry had a blue tint to them.

"I suppose I will be blue the rest of my life," she said aloud and sighed. She didn't like the color blue at all.

When it was almost closing time, Mrs. Goodstuff saw Mr. Waffle hurrying over to her shop followed by a chubby bald man.

"Mrs. Goodstuff," he said as they entered, "I'd like you to meet Mr. Nosebetter. He is a lawyer friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you," she said and handed him a balloon.

"Thank you so much!" he said. "Just what I was needing, a balloon and a piece of bubble gum." He took the balloon and unwrapped the gum, putting it into his mouth. After chewing for a bit, he blew a large pink bubble, which burst with a loud 'POP!' and got all over his face. He didn't seem to mind, and laughed merrily.

"Mrs. Goodstuff, I have very good news for you today," Mr. Nosebetter said.

"Oh? And what is that?" she asked.

"Pardon me, but did you know you are blue?" he asked.

"Yes, I've been blue all day," she nodded sadly.

"Well, maybe this will make you better. You don't have to move out of your shop!" he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Yes I do. That man brought a letter from the property managers that said I have to or they will call the police."

"I have seen the letter, Mrs. Goodstuff. But I know the law and the law is on your side."

"How do you figure?" she asked with a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"I have checked out your lease that you have with the property managers. It is a lifetime lease. They can't make you leave and you will NEVER have to leave if you don't want to." He smiled at her.

"You mean I can stay here forever?" she asked, not believing her ears.

"Yes, forever." He looked at Mr. Waffle.

"Forever, Mrs. Goodstuff. Isn't this good news?" Mr. Waffle was smiling also.

"It's the best news I have ever had! Thank you so much. You have made me the happiest candy lady ever!"

She walked the men to the door and shook their hands. Waving goodbye, she locked the door behind them and ran into the back of the store and looked into the mirror. Pink hair, pink cheeks and pink lips that were grinning looked back at her.

"I'm in the pink again!" she said and danced around the room amid pink balloons and pink bubble gum.


THE END