A Spicy Secret (7 page)

“They went fine,” she said. She hesitated a moment, then added, “Guess what? I ran into Ian at The Cup & Saucer when I got your sandwich, and he’s agreed to take crochet lessons from me and participate in our project. He’s also going to put the flyers up at Town Hall for us.”

“That’s awesome!” Kate joined the conversation, having checked out the customer. “I never even thought that any of Stony Point’s men might want to help.”

“I hope it’s OK, but I told him he could be a temporary member of the Hook and Needle Club. Peggy thought it was a great idea too. She said if he participated, it would make lots of other people want to be involved.”

“She’s right about that,” Mary Beth said. She shook out her blanket—it was growing bigger by the second—and eyed it critically, then began knitting once more. “Everybody in town likes Ian, and for good reason. Of course he’s welcome to attend meetings. I’m sure that he’s too busy to become an official member of the club, but we’ll need all the help we can get to make our goal.”

“I’m hoping we can get some publicity for the project,” Annie added. “I know Mike will put something in
The Point
, and I plan to contact newspapers in other cities and the TV stations too.”

“That would be so great,” Kate said. “Thanks for thinking of it.”

By now, Alice had finished her chips and eaten her brownie. She stood up, walked over to the trash can, and deposited her garbage.

“Annie, are you ready to go?” she asked. “I’m about pooped.”

“No problem,” Annie said, and she began the re-bundling process.

Once they were both in Annie’s car and on their way home, Alice turned pointedly to Annie and asked, “So, how was lunch with Ian?”

“Fine,” Annie said. Knowing where this was going, she tried to change the direction of the conversation. “Did everything go OK while I was gone?”

“Nothing exciting,” Alice said, “though I did make some progress on my blanket.”

“Well, that’s a good thing.”

“Uh-huh. Unlike some people who go gallivanting at lunchtime instead of working. That reminds me—did you ask Ian about his cat, Banana?”

“Oh, phooey! I completely forgot!”

“Annie! I give you one job, and you mess it up.”

“Don’t I know it! But don’t worry—we’re getting together one night this weekend so we can start his crochet lessons.”

“Just lessons, huh?” Alice cocked an eyebrow at her. “Nothing else?”

“Oh, OK, yes, there’s more,” Annie said, starting to blush again. “He asked me to go to Sweet Nell’s with him.”

Her friend laughed. “I knew it! You’ve got a date with Ian. You’ve got a date with Ian,” she sing-songed as Annie pulled into her driveway.

“That’s it. Get out,” Annie teased. “And take all your junk with you.”

“Fine. I’m going, I’m going,” Alice said. She got out, opened the back door and gathered her belongings. “I just want you to remember that everyone loved the cookies—the very ones you said I shouldn’t bring. I wonder which of the recipes I’ll make for next week’s meeting?”

Before Annie could reply, Alice slammed the door, waved and then hobbled up the front porch and went inside.

Annie just shook her head and drove home.

7

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday ended up being very busy for Mary Beth and Kate at A Stitch in Time—even more so than usual, especially considering the season. Winter was typically slow, but neither one got to sit down much, and Mary Beth didn’t make much progress on her blanket.

On Wednesday, Reverend Wallace stopped by the store and asked for copies of the flyer.

“How many do you need?” Kate asked, reaching for the small stack next to the register.

“Well, I’d like to put one in every church bulletin this coming Sunday,” he replied. “So, about a hundred and fifty.”

Kate’s eyes got big. “Really? You want to hand them out to
everybody
?”

“Don’t look so surprised, Kate,” he answered, a smile on his face. “This is a wonderful idea, and the least I can do is help publicize it. Plus, the donated blankets will extend our ministry to the orphanage, even beyond what we had hoped to do and how we hoped to serve.”

“Well, I figured you just wanted a few flyers to hang in the fellowship hall or something.”

The minister laughed. “
That
I’ve already done. No, I want to make sure everyone sees it and shows it to their friends and neighbors. You know our membership includes people who don’t live in Stony Point.”

“Wow. That’s—to steal a phrase from my daughter— super awesome! Unfortunately, I don’t have that many copies made,” Kate told him. “Would you be able to stop by later this afternoon?”

“Absolutely,” he replied, rearranging his scarf and pulling his hat back on. “I’ll see you later.”

The bell rang as he left, and Kate sank down on the stool behind the register, shaking her head in disbelief. Mary Beth wandered in from the back room and noticed Kate staring into space.

“Uh, Kate? Is everything all right?”

“Gosh, sorry. I guess I just zoned out,” Kate said. “Reverend Wallace wants
a hundred and fifty
copies of the flyer to stuff in every church bulletin this Sunday.”

“Then I suggest you get busy copying, missy!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Kate saluted and then went to the back to get started.

****

By the end of the day Thursday, Kate had copied and given out more flyers than she thought possible. In addition to the ones for Reverend Wallace, she’d had to make more for the store—every single one had been taken. Then Vanessa had requested a few to put up at school. Katrina, the activities director at Seaside Hills Assisted Living, wanted to give copies to her, as she put it, “crafty residents.” Valerie Duffy, one of the local librarians, asked for some to hand out to library patrons. Then Alice ran out of flyers and needed more for her catalogs.

And the stream of customers seemed to be never ending. They helped people they’d never seen in the store before, as well as regulars and those who hadn’t patronized the store in a while. And every single one of them wanted to pick out yarn and an easy pattern and talk about Blanket Haiti. Kate began wishing for a clone, or at the very least, a recording to explain the project. Her jaws had started to ache.

In a rare lull that occurred late that afternoon, she plopped down on one of the chairs next to Mary Beth, who worked away on her knitting, and put up her feet.

“I … am … exhausted,” Kate said. “I had no idea my little idea would get to be so
big.”

“Aren’t you excited, though?” Mary Beth asked, pulling more yarn from her skein and turning the blanket to start a new row. “There’s really no way just the Hook and Needle Club members could have made that many blankets.”

“True, and I’m thankful that everyone is embracing the idea. But I’m worn out, and I’m going to have to order more yarn, pattern books, and colored copy paper.”

“I’d say that’s a good problem to have.”

“Yeah, it is. But I’m still gonna wait until tomorrow to do it.”

****

Kate spent most of Friday morning on the phone. She knew she could do the ordering online, but she liked talking to the sales reps. Many times they’d tell her about a new product or a discount that wasn’t available on their website, and they often had ideas for things that would be good sellers at A Stitch in Time.

But first, she called the shop’s office supply vendor to order more paper.

“Are you sure you need that many reams?” their rep, Gordon Richards, said. “I’m pretty sure that’s more than you’ve ever ordered since Mary Beth opened the store.”

Kate sighed, knowing she’d have to once again explain the club project.

She could hear him rustling papers around. “It’s OK if you do,” he said, “but it’s my job to make sure our customers get what they need and that we don’t have to deal with restocking unneeded product.”

Kate sighed again and then said, “I appreciate that, Gordon. And yes, we need it. And yes, we don’t typically use this much paper in a
year.
” She proceeded to explain the project to him, ending with, “and we probably need more toner too.”

“I’ll bet you do,” he chuckled. “Tell you what. Let me check with my boss and see if there’s anything on special we can get you. Like I said, sometimes we have to restock unneeded product, and he might be able to make you a deal.”

“That would be great,” she said. “As long as it isn’t a hideous color or something.”

Gordon laughed. “I promise. No hideous colors. Give me a couple hours, and I’ll call you back.”

Kate conveyed her appreciation and hung up.

She then called several other suppliers to order more yarn and patterns. They all assured her she could expect delivery by the end of the following week. Thankfully, none of them asked why she needed so much, so she didn’t have to explain the project yet again.

She saved her favorite sales rep, Jenn Gracie, for last.

“Hi, Jenn, it’s Kate Stevens,” she said.

“Kate! How are you?” Jenn said. “What can I help you with?”

“Well,” Kate began, and she proceeded to explain the project, actually happy this time to do so. She wished Jenn lived closer; they had immediately hit it off and had such fun during the few times Jenn had visited to show them new products.

“Wow, Kate, that’s awesome! I know I’ve said this before, but you totally are my favorite customer.”

“Aw shucks,” Kate said. “And you totally are my favorite sales rep.”

“Oh, stop,” Jenn replied, laughing. “I mean, do go on!” Kate imagined Jenn’s long red hair tied up in a disheveled bun as she walked around her messy office to pull out catalogs. She’d never actually seen Jenn’s office, but she had seen Jenn and her mussed-up hair and her messy car, so she figured her office looked similar. By the end of the conversation, the order had been placed, and Kate felt like singing.

She’d just hung up the phone when it rang.

“A Stitch in Time, this is Kate, how can I help you?”

“Kate, it’s Gordon.”

“That was quick! Thanks for calling me back.”

“No problem,” he replied. “Listen, I told my boss about your project, and apparently we’ve got ten cases of colored paper—none of them hideous—that we can give you.”

“Give—” Kate started to say, but he kept talking.

“You don’t happen to have nonprofit status, do you?” he asked. “It’s no big deal if you don’t, but it sure would help us out if you do, since this will be a pretty substantial donation.”

“Uh, well, no, the store isn’t nonprofit, but the Stony Point Community Church is, and we’re working with the church on this project. You could donate the paper to the church and get the tax write-off that way. I’m sure Reverend Wallace would be thrilled!”

“Wonderful. Be on the lookout; we’ll ship them out as soon as we can, along with some toner. Have a great day.”

Kate sat there, stunned, as Mary Beth came in.

“You will never believe this,” Kate said, “but Gordon Richards’s company is going to donate ten
cases
of paper to us to help promote Blanket Haiti.”

Mary Beth’s eyes got big. “Really? Ten
cases
! That’s what—a hundred reams of paper? Wow! Where will we put it all?”

“Well, technically they’re going to donate it to the church for the tax write-off, so we’ll just use what we need to print the flyers, and the church will take the rest. But still …!”

The two couldn’t help it; they jumped up and down and squealed like teenagers.

****

“Mom? Mom?!” Vanessa called as she ran into A Stitch in Time that day after school. The bell almost fell off with the force of her shove, and it continued to ding frantically for a few seconds after the door had closed.

“Mother! Where are you? Mom!” she hollered again.

Kate emerged from the back room, wiping her hands on a paper towel. She was surprised when her daughter barreled into her and gave her a big hug, coat, backpack, and all.

“Guess what?” Before Kate could even say “wha—,” her daughter stepped back and continued, the words spilling over each other in a frantic effort to get out. “Mackenzie and I got an A on our project! And Mrs. Petersen had everyone get up in front of the class and explain their project, and then everyone in class voted on the best idea. And ours got the most votes! And a bunch of the girls—you remember Taylor and Lily, right? Well, they want to help, and so do Holly and Hannah and Avalee and Danielle, oh, and Tessa! Anyway, we all want to have our own teen Hook and Needle Club, but meet after school, of course, and all make at least one blanket, and I told them you and Miss Brock would be more than happy to let us meet here and that you would teach crochet or knitting. And then I realized that maybe I shouldn’t have said that, like maybe it wouldn’t be OK, so I ran over right after school to ask. But if it’s OK, I’m supposed to find out what day we could have our meetings. We think Tuesdays, ’cause most of us have clubs and band practice and stuff that meet on the other days. And you guys have your regular Hook and Needle Club meeting that day too. But if it won’t work, that would be cool too. You just have to tell me so I can let all the girls know.”

When Vanessa finally stopped talking, Kate was surprised her daughter didn’t have to bend over and grasp her knees to catch her breath, like runners do at the end of a race. She felt unsure how to respond—so much information had been thrown at her, and she couldn’t quite remember the question. Plus, it would be her boss’s decision, not hers. Just then Mary Beth came in the front door.

“Hey Kate! Oh, hi Vanessa,” she said, unwinding her extra-long multicolored scarf from her neck, removing her matching hat, and pulling off her gloves. She then took off her favorite winter coat—a raggedy old peacoat that had belonged to her grandfather, complete with navy insignia and a patch with his last name—and hung it on the rack. “What’s going on?”

“You just missed a speech of epic proportions from Vanessa—”

“Mom!” her daughter interjected.

Ignoring that, Kate continued, “—which I can summarize in about two seconds. I gather that a bunch of girls in her class want to launch a teen chapter of the Hook and Needle Club to help with Blanket Haiti, and they would like to meet here on Tuesday afternoons after school and get our help with crocheting and knitting. If it’s all right with you.”

Vanessa stood beside her mom, her face aglow with excitement.

She’s so much like her mother,
Mary Beth thought.
Same enthusiasm, same brightness of spirit.

She pulled Vanessa into a hug and then walked over to the small display of Monster brand crochet hooks and knitting needles from indie crafter Yarn Rescue. Vanessa had been eyeing one particular hook ever since it had arrived. Mary Beth had discovered the artist online and loved her hand-spun yarns and whimsical one-of-a-kind needles with cute faces made out of hand-sculpted polymer clay. Yarn Rescue was a one-woman operation, and she didn’t make the Monsters very often, so each item in stock was extra-special.

Mary Beth picked up a hook with a pink head, spiky purple hair, and one big blue eye—she was glad that no one had purchased it—and walked back over to Vanessa.

“I dub thee ‘Queen Boss’ of the Teen Chapter of the Hook and Needle Club,” Mary Beth said solemnly, touching the girl’s shoulders with the hook like the old kings would do when knighting someone. Of course, she didn’t plan on conducting all the rituals and vigils involved in a true knighting ceremony, and her black leggings and pink sweater hardly counted as special vestures, but her intent was the same. Mary Beth placed the hook in both of Vanessa’s hands and bowed to her.

The girl bowed back, clutching the hook, and said, “Thank you.” She looked at the two of them and then said, “So, does that mean yes? We can meet here on Tuesdays after school?”

“Of course, sweetie,” Mary Beth said.

Vanessa squealed, jumped up and hugged Kate, and then pulled out her cellphone to call Mackenzie.

****

On the way home after the shop closed, Kate stopped at Sal’s and picked up baked ziti and meatballs and an order of his divine garlic cheese bread.

Vanessa didn’t even complain that she had to hold the boxes and bags on her lap as she sat in the front passenger seat of the car, or that it wasn’t a pizza.

“Mom, this smells soooo good,” she said, “and it feels great on my legs.”

“I thought we could use a little treat to celebrate your A and your new status of Queen Boss,” Kate responded with a little laugh. “Plus, there’s nothing like a whole lot of calories to make a girl feel really good about herself.”

“I know! And I can’t believe Mary Beth
gave
me this hook,” she said. She’d put the hook in her shirt pocket with just the head sticking out. “I love it, love it,
love
it!”

“That was sweet of her,” Kate responded, glancing over at her daughter. On days like today she could hardly believe that she had birthed the almost-woman sitting next to her. It made her heart clench a little, seeing a part of herself walk and talk and have opinions and do such good things in the world.

“Can we watch a movie while we eat? I wouldn’t mind seeing
The Princess Bride
again.”

Kate smiled. Normally the answer would be no. She didn’t allow eating in the living room, and she refused to have a TV in the kitchen; she wanted them to eat at the table like civilized people. But
The Princess Bride
was one of her favorite movies of all time.
And
they were celebrating.