The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (20 page)

“I’m sorry, Cheryl.” Emma put her hand on Cheryl’s trembling shoulder. “It’s hard to understand, but some people don’t appreciate their family like they should. For me, though, I’ve always been close to my family. I’m grateful that my daughter Mary lives right next door. I can pop over there anytime I like, and it’s always a joy whenever Mary or any of her children drop by here to see us.”

“That must be nice,” Cheryl acknowledged.

“If your family lives in Oregon, what brought you here?” Emma asked.

Cheryl clasped her fingers tightly together. “My ex-boyfriend is the reason I decided to move. I hoped we’d be married, until Lance admitted that he’d been secretly seeing my best friend, April, and wanted to marry her.” She sniffed, struggling not to break down. “I needed a new start, so when the opportunity to work for a lawyer in Goshen came up, I took it.”

“You’re still hurt by your friends’ betrayal, aren’t you?” Emma asked. “I can see the pain in your eyes.”

Cheryl nodded. “It does hurt, but thanks to my pastor and his wife, Ruby Lee, I’ve come to realize that I need to forgive Lance and April. In fact, I sent them both an e-mail, saying I’d forgiven them and moved on with my life.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I know Ruby Lee, and she’s a wise woman,” Emma said. “God’s Word says a lot about forgiveness. It’s the only way we can truly find peace when someone hurts us.”

“Ruby Lee thinks I should start dating again,” Cheryl said. “But I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

Emma smiled. “You know, after my first husband died, I convinced myself that I’d never fall in love or get married again. Then Lamar came along, and it wasn’t long before he won my heart.”

“Do you think I should start dating again?”

“It might be a good thing,” Emma said. “Of course, that’s up to you.” She gave Cheryl’s arm a gentle squeeze. “Before the others get here, there’s one more thing I’d like to say.”

“What’s that?”

“I have a good ear for listening, so if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m here.”

Cheryl smiled. “Thanks, Emma. I appreciate that.”

C
HAPTER
17

C
armen was relieved when she pulled into Emma’s yard and saw Anna parking her bike. Since Anna’s father hadn’t brought her this time, maybe she’d be free to go shopping after class. Carmen needed the extra time to visit with Anna, in order to find out more about her time of running-around—or perhaps the lack of it. She’d been surprised to learn that Anna’s parents were so strict. The bitterness this young woman felt might make a good storyline, and maybe at the same time, Carmen could offer some suggestions to Anna. After all, she remembered her own teen years—those times when she thought she knew more than her parents, while her mom and dad struggled to keep the upper hand.

Now that Carmen was older and looking back, she realized how hard it must have been on her folks, remaining authoritative yet not wanting to let go. But at the same time, Carmen remembered her desire to start doing things on her own and make decisions without needing parental approval. It was a difficult adjustment for any parent and young adult.

For a few years, she and her parents had argued frequently. But once Carmen had proven that she could be trusted, they’d given her more freedom. Looking back on it, she realized that Mom and Dad had done a pretty good job of raising both their daughters. Since Carmen was the youngest, it had been harder for them to let her go, but after some time had passed, they slowly relented and came around to treating her like a responsible adult.

Carmen got out of the car and headed for the house. Anna met her on the porch. “It’s good to see you, Anna. Will you be free to go shopping with me after class?” Carmen asked.

Anna bobbed her head. “I told my mom I’d be getting home late and that I had some shopping to do, but she doesn’t know I’ll be with you.”

“Would she disapprove?” Carmen questioned.

“If she knew I planned to try on English clothes, she’d be very upset.”

“If you’d rather not do that, I totally understand. I don’t want to cause any difficulty for you. If you like, we could just grab a bite of lunch somewhere and visit awhile,” Carmen suggested.

Anna shook her head vigorously. “No, I want to go shopping. We can have some lunch when we get to Goshen, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s fine.” Carmen motioned to Anna’s bike. “There isn’t enough room in my rental car’s trunk for that. Do you think Emma would mind if you leave the bike here while we’re gone? I can drop you back off when we return from Goshen.”

Anna rubbed her chin, looking thoughtful. “I suppose that would be all right. Maybe I could leave it on her porch until we get back. I’ll tell Emma that you and I are going out to lunch. That’s all she needs to know.”

By ten o’clock, everyone but Selma had arrived at Emma’s.

“I wonder if something came up for Selma and she couldn’t make it today,” Emma said to Lamar. “It’s not like her to be late.”

“Should I check our answering machine and see if she left a message?” Lamar asked.

Emma glanced at the clock. “If she’s not here in the next ten minutes, you can go out to the phone shack. In the meantime, would you mind passing out everyone’s projects, while I explain what we’ll be doing today?”

“Sure, no problem.”

While Lamar gave each of the students the patterned pieces they still needed to stitch, Emma explained that they would finish sewing today, and if there was time, they’d cut out the batting. “We may need the entire time to finish sewing the pieces of material you have cut out, though,” she added. “And we’ll want to take a break at some point, to enjoy the doughnuts and maple bars Lamar bought at the bakery this morning. I also have some cookies to set out.”

Terry smacked his lips. “Sounds good. Sure won’t turn any of that down. I’ve always had a thing for maple bars.”

“Same here,” Cheryl agreed. “Of course I never overindulge on sugary desserts.”

“It’s nice to know we have something in common.” Terry winked at Cheryl.

Blaine cleared his throat real loud. “Can we just get on with our lesson?”

“For a guy who stuck himself with a pin last week, you’re sure anxious to do it again,” Terry said with an undignified snicker. “Oh, and I’m surprised you’re not smelling like fish this morning.”

Blaine glared at him. “It’d be better than reeking of cologne. What’d you do, take a bath in it to try and cover up that horrible smell? What is that smell, anyway? Are you smoking a different brand of cigarettes these days?”

Terry sneered back at Blaine. “No, I’m not! Fact is, I’m not smoking at all anymore.”

“Oh yeah?”

There they go again
, Emma
thought. I really need to put a stop to these snide comments before the situation gets out of control
.

“Terry, Anna, and Carmen, why don’t you use the sewing machines first? While you’re doing that, Cheryl and Blaine can take turns using my iron to press out the seams on the pieces of material they’ve already sewn.”

“How are we going to do that when you don’t have electricity in your home?” Blaine questioned. “Is your iron battery-operated like the sewing machines?”

Emma shook her head. “It’s heated with a small propane bottle. I’ll fire it up and show you how to use it.” She glanced over at Lamar and said, “Maybe you should go out to the phone shack now and see if Selma’s left a message for us.”

“Jah, I’ll do that.”

When Lamar left the room, Emma set up her ironing board and lit the propane bottle on the iron, while Terry, Carmen, and Anna took seats in front of the sewing machines.

A few minutes after Emma showed Cheryl how to use the iron, Lamar returned. “There was no message from Selma,” he said, “but as I was walking back to the house, her car turned up the driveway, so she should come inside any minute.”

A short time later, Selma entered the room, red-faced and looking a bit disheveled.

“Sorry I’m late,” she apologized, “but that stray cat I found on my porch last week came back.” Selma’s thin lips compressed. “Only this time Scruffy got into the house, and I had to chase after him.”

Terry chuckled. “Scruffy, is it? Since you’ve already named the critter, maybe you oughta keep him. That way, you won’t have to worry about chasing him off anymore.”

“No way!” Selma shook her head. “I can’t be bothered with a pet.”

“A cat makes a nice companion, and they’re really not that much work,” Emma said.

“That’s right,” Cheryl agreed. “The nursing home where my grandma lives has a cat for the residents to enjoy. It’s actually been proven that holding or petting an animal can bring down a person’s blood pressure.”

“My blood pressure’s just fine,” Selma said with a decisive nod. “Had it checked a few months ago when I had a physical.”

“I’d have a cat if I didn’t have to be gone from home so much for my job,” Carmen interjected.

“We have cats, too,” Anna said, “but they stay outside or in the barn because my younger sister, Becky, is allergic to cat dander. I do like to go out and talk to our kitties, though. They always seem to listen.”

Emma was pleased that Anna had contributed so much to the conversation. It was a sign that she felt more comfortable with the class.

“Well, I’m not interested in having any pets,” Selma said with a note of conviction. “I don’t need cat hair all over everything.”

Clearly Selma was not in a good mood, so Emma quickly gave her the material she still needed to sew. “Would you like to use my treadle machine again?” Emma asked. “You seemed to enjoy it last week.”

Selma gave a quick nod. “That’s fine with me.”

While everyone worked on their projects, Emma went to the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on the stove. Once it had perked, she would lower the propane level to keep the coffee warm until it was time for refreshments.

Emma rubbed her temples and sighed. She felt like a failure with this class—not in showing her students how to make a quilted wall hanging, but in helping them work through their personal problems. Of course, other than Cheryl, most of them hadn’t really opened up to her yet. But Emma suspected that each of them had something they were hiding. She hoped that within the next three weeks they would share their burdens with either her or Lamar. After all, Emma had felt from the very beginning that part of teaching these classes involved mentoring her students emotionally and spiritually. In the meantime, though, she needed to be patient and try to set a good example for all.