The Fairy-Tale Matchmaker by E. D. Baker

colored, sea-smoothed bits of glass in their windows.
    Hearing sounds from the bigger building, Cory walked around to the front and saw that the area under the porch roof was a shop filled with items made fromseashells. There were seashell necklaces, bracelets, earrings, anklets, rings, and brooches. There were seashell belt buckles, headbands, nose rings, tusk rings, and tentacle bands. Seashell-decorated halters hung on a wall, while a large table was covered with seashell-decorated book covers, hats, vases, and lamps.
    A green-haired mermaid who had dried off enough to turn her tail into legs was examining the jewelry. Two human women were exclaiming over the more unusual items and had already set aside a pair of lamps to buy. Cory waited while a selkie carrying a bulging shopping bag over one arm and his sealskin over the other nodded to her and stepped off the porch, heading for the ocean.
    It wasn’t until Cory stepped onto the porch that she noticed the person behind the counter. She was an older woman with a slight build and long gray hair hanging loose down her back. The tunic she wore had been woven in the blues and greens of the sea, and around her neck strand after strand of seashell necklaces clinked when she moved.
    â€œAre you Suzy?” Cory asked her.
    â€œI sure am,” the woman replied. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.”
    While Suzy helped the two women decide between two vases, Cory wandered around the shop. She was holding a string of shells the same blue as her eyeswhen the two women left and Suzy came over to help her.
    â€œThat’s the last one of those I’m going to make,” Suzy told her. “I’ve quit making jewelry altogether, actually. I plan to close my shop and retire soon.”
    â€œIs that why you’re doing inventory?” asked Cory.
    â€œYou must have seen my help-wanted ad!” said Suzy. “Are you here to apply for the job?”
    â€œYes, I—”
    â€œGood! You’re hired! I’m going to take inventory so I know how much stock I have left. I have a buyer who wants most of it and I’ll take the rest with me when I move to Greener Pastures. I’m going halfsies on a cottage there with my sister. Just a minute. I think Algina is almost finished.”
    Cory waited while the mermaid made her final choice and bought all the jewelry she’d selected. When Algina left, Suzy began to pull down wall-size shutters, closing the shop off from the outside. Cory caught a glimpse of the mermaid stepping into the waves. A moment later, her legs grew together and she disappeared into the water with a swish of her long, scaled tail.
    Suzy pulled the last shutter down and turned to Cory. “We’ll work in here today and tackle the storage room tomorrow. Here,” she said, taking leaves and ink-plant stems from a drawer under the table and handing one ofeach to Cory. “You start at that side of the room with the lamps. I’ll do the jewelry. List how many I have of each color lamp. Tell me when you’re finished.”
    Cory worked diligently throughout the morning, listing everything that wasn’t jewelry. At noon, Suzy went through the back door, returning a few minutes later with cooked shrimp rolled up in seaweed. After they’d eaten, Cory started helping Suzy with her list. They finished by late afternoon and Cory left, promising to return the next day.
    That night, Cory’s band set up at Sprats’. Its owners, Jack Sprat and his wife, Jillian, were known for their fine food both for people who liked fattening treats as well as those on diets. The restaurant had a bar on one side and a dining room on the other. Cory’s eyes swept the crowd as she tuned her drums and was surprised to see that every seat was filled. Zephyr had played there before, but never to such a large crowd. Humans and fairies took up most of the tables in the dining area. A group of ogres seated at a table