The Girl with the Butterfly Eyes

She walked into the shop with a little boy on her hip.  He was about 2, sporting a little Mohawk. 

Her eyes went directly to the art that is currently on display.  The artist Patricia Arroyo from Asbury Park, NJ does a whole series on the The Palace Amusements and Tillie.

Tillie - by Patricia Arroyo

 

Along with Tillie, Patricia's also paints various clowns and the woman was just staring at them.

 

"Are you enjoying the art?" I asked her.

 

She walked over to me, sort of in a daze...she kept looking at the clowns.  I thought perhaps that she is one of those people who are afraid of clowns, but they don't usually stare at them.

 

"My father was in the circus all of his life", she told me.  "He just passed away recently.  When I was a little girl I used to dress up as one of the clowns and paint ....butterflies.....around....my.....eyyyyyyyyyyyesssssssssss."  She drew out the words like she was in a trance.

 

"I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad, but how cool that you got to be a clown!"  I said trying to snap her out of her trance.

 

She snapped her head around to look at me in the eye and said: "After he died, I looked everywhere for a little girl clown with butterfly eyes.  I looked....and I looked and then one day....there it was!!!"

 

 

All of a sudden she became very animated!

 

"I was so excited!  I couldn't wait to get it!  Do you want to see it?"  She asked me in a rather manic manner.

 

Now, I'm thinking it's on her back or shoulder...maybe her stomach so I said "Sure!" 

 

She maneuvered the little boy to the opposite hip and then she reached down and unbuttoned her shorts and pulled them down to her knees exposing not only a little girl clown with butterfly eyes on her thigh, but also a black thong and more flesh than I cared to see from a complete stranger.

 

"Oh wow, how about that.  Very nice!"  I replied...what the hell am I supposed to say to someone who just strips in front of you?

 

"It's not finished yet", she said as she struggled one handed to pull up her shorts while still holding the boy on the other hip.  "I still have some more coloring to do."

 

"Oh...OK.  It will look great when it's all done."  I replied slowly back to her as I watched her struggling to pull up her shorts that were a bit tight.

 

It was obvious that she was going to need two hands to accomplish this task.  She put the little boy down and before she could say anything to him, he darted towards the front door.  She followed him with her shorts down to her knees where I was treated to more flesh and a thong that disappeared into it. 

 

She managed to snag him about 10 feet from my front door, but every time she let go and tried to pull her shorts up he would run again. 

 

I'm thinking this woman is about to run out my door, chasing her son with her shorts down to her ankles and people are going to start wondering what kind of store I have here!!!

 

Finally she gave him a stern warning and he stayed put long enough to put herself back together again. 

 

You can't make this stuff up!