The Special Exhibit

The Museum was unusually deserted that morning, Mr. Grant thought, as he led Mrs. Grant across the marble-floored lobby. Which was just as well, under the circumstances.“Good morning, sir,” said the red-cheeked old museum attendant.“Good morning, Simmons,” Mr. Grant said. “This is Mrs. Grant.”Mrs. Grant nodded sulkily, and leaned against a Central American war canoe. Her shoulders were on a level with those of the papier-mache paddler; but broader by far. Looking at them, Mr. Grant wondered, for a moment, if the Special Exhibit would work. Could it succeed on a woman so large, so strong, so set in her ways?Robert Sheckley (1928-2005) was a Hugo and Nebula nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist, and broadly comical. Sheckley was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001.