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It was the last weekend of April, and the Fentons were gearing up their station wagon. This could only mean one thing.
It was time for the Amity Park city-wide garage sales.
That one glorious time of year for the Doctors Fenton had arrived once more. That chance for cheap metal and working mid-grade electronics which fueled their crucial work.
Funding had long been low for the two ectologists, seeing as most of the wider world still clung to the belief that ghosts weren't real. So, money was set aside whenever it could be spared throughout the year. Then, when the sales opened for the weekend, the Fentons would haggle like their lives depended on it.
The children had even gotten into the spirit of it all, though Danny hadn't quite grasped the worth of items yet at the tender age of 7. The two of them had been brought along on so many sales trips over the years that they had developed a keen eye for small electronics.
They would race back and forth from table to table, picking up old handheld mixers, vacuum cleaners, and anything else they deemed of value. The children would then hand them off to their parents, happily receiving a bear hug from Jack and the promise of an ‘extra special dessert’ after dinner for their efforts.
This year, the family had so far made a successful run of the sales. They had found numerous microwaves, a few old TVs, and an ungodly amount of tamagotchis to pull parts from, among other things.
The evening was starting to come to a close, and the car was packed to the roof. Maddie was digging around in a bin marked ‘25¢’, content to pick through the last scraps of the weekend before going through the arduous process of sorting and breaking down all the treasures they had found.
She had pulled out a broken desk clock from the lot and was studying its back panel when the patter of small feet on grass met her ears.
“Mommy, Mommy!” Came the excitable cheers of her youngest. Smiling, Maddie crouched down as the boy barreled into her legs. He was panting from exertion, but with a gap-toothed smile that gave away his joy.
“What is it Danny? Did you find something?” She poked his stomach teasingly, eliciting a giggle from the boy.
“Yeah! Somthin' BIG!” He cried, throwing his hands wide for emphasis.
“Oh?” Maddie glanced around, she hadn't seen any larger items at this house. There had mainly been kitchen gadgets and the odd set of golf clubs. Still, maybe Danny had seen something she'd missed.
“Come on, come on, you gotta see it!” Danny impatiently grabbed at her hand, pulling with all his might towards the driveway. With a chuckle she let him lead the way.
The two weaved through tables of shoppers, Danny waving at Jazz as she picked through a box of her own. Doing a quick scan of the area as they went, Maddie found her husband admiring a baseball bat. Satisfied that he was near enough to Jazz, she continued on from the driveway to the garage.
Not satisfied with her speed, Danny pulled away from his mom and popped around the side of the building. When she had finally turned the corner, he stood there with his hands out, presenting his find.
“Ta-da!”
Sitting there was a mud streaked golf cart, its tires nearly bald with wear.
“Oh, and look, it's five whole dollars!” Danny held out five fingers, looking incredibly proud of himself. Maddie couldn't help but give a chuckle.
“Close sweetie, it's $500. Those zeroes are dollars, not pennies.” She gently corrected him. Danny's head whipped back to the small paper sign taped on the hood and squinted in confusion before turning back to her.
“That's still good, right?” He asked, hope in his eyes. Maddie smiled, stooping over to pick up her boy and hug him tight.
“It's very good Danny. You know what, I think you've earned something even better than dessert tonight.”
The boy gasped, wiggling with excitement.
“What, what?!”
“How about rocket ship pancakes for dinner?”
Danny squealed with joy and squeezed her tight in his little arms.
“Thank you Mommy! Thank you, thank you!”
As soon as the hug was over, he was wiggling out of her arms and racing across the lawn to tell Jazz of his accomplishment. Maddie, on the other hand, cracked her knuckles. She was already imagining the gadgets she and Jack could create with the cart.
Grabbing the sign off the cart, Maddie strode over to the homeowner with a grin. She was ready to haggle, and whether the owner liked it or not, she'd manage to get that clock she was looking at thrown in for free.