The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (28 page)

The cat gave a quick
meow!
Then he leaped onto her bed and curled into a tight ball. A few seconds later, seeming quite content, he began to purr, looking as if it would take more than a harsh scolding to change his mind about moving.

Selma couldn’t believe how persistent this animal was. It didn’t seem to matter how stern she was. Scruffy just wouldn’t give up. For some unknown reason, he’d decided to make this his new home, and he didn’t seem to care whether Selma liked it or not.

Should I weaken and let Scruffy stay?
she wondered. Selma figured if she put the cat out he’d just find his way back in.
Guess I could set a box or one of my bedside tables over the vent, but then he’d probably sit under the house and meow all night
.

Leaning down, so she was eye level with the cat, Selma said quietly, “Okay, Scruffy, you win—you’ve got yourself a new home.”

Middlebury

As Anna got ready for bed, she realized that in her excitement over the possibility of going to Florida in December, she’d forgotten to show Mandy the bracelet Carmen had gotten her. Anna had only been to Florida once, when as a nine-year-old, she’d gone with her grandparents for a few weeks in December. The one thing she remembered most was running barefoot on the white sandy beaches. It had been fun to look for shells, chase the seagulls, and wade in the warm water. Grandpa had even taken a kite along, and on windy days he’d shown Anna how to fly it.

The eighty-degree temperatures in Sarasota felt so good. Not having to bundle up like she would have been doing back home had been a plus, too. Summer had always been Anna’s favorite time of the year, and she recalled how different it was to sip milk shakes during the warmth of a winter evening instead of watching snowflakes. On one of those nights, she’d sat with her grandparents on their front porch, watching as lightning illuminated the sky and thunder rumbled.

The idea of going to Sarasota with Mandy was exciting, but one thing bothered Anna. How was she going to tell her folks? They’d never give their blessing, because they thought her place was at home where they could tell her what to do and keep a close watch on her. Anna could already imagine the clash, trying to convince her folks that she should go to Sarasota, while listening to them give all the reasons she shouldn’t.

Maybe I should just go and not tell them
, Anna thought as she stared at the blank wall across her room.
I could head out during the night, and leave them a note on the kitchen table
. Anna knew that would be a cowardly thing to do, but wouldn’t it be better than listening to Mom and Dad list all the reasons it would be wrong for her to go? She could already sense this would become one more wedge pushing her and her parents apart.
I don’t need to decide anything right now
, she reminded herself.
December is still two months away
.

Anna went to get her purse, which she’d placed on her dresser when she’d arrived home that afternoon. Reaching inside to get the bracelet Carmen had given her, she was surprised when she couldn’t find it. She dug around for a bit, but there was no sign of the bracelet.

Going over to the bed, Anna dumped the contents of her purse onto the quilt, but after sorting through everything, she realized the piece of jewelry wasn’t there.

Anna’s heart started to pound. What had happened to it? Could one of her siblings have sneaked into her room while she was helping Mom do the dishes and gone through her purse?

She sank to the bed with a moan.
What should I do? I can’t accuse anyone when I don’t know who did it. And what if I say something and no one admits to taking the bracelet? If Mom and Dad get wind of this, I’ll be in trouble for sure
.

Anna pondered the situation. Maybe the best thing to do was snoop around in her siblings’ rooms when they weren’t there and see if she could locate the missing jewelry. If she didn’t find it by the end of the week, she’d have to come right out and ask.

Shipshewana

As Emma followed Lamar down the hall toward their bedroom, she noticed that he was limping and walking slower than usual. Today he’d worked on one of the hickory rockers he made to sell at a local gift store. Perhaps he’d overdone it.

“Are you feeling okay this evening?” Emma asked after they’d entered their room. “I noticed you were limping and wondered if you might be in pain.”

Deep wrinkles formed across Lamar’s forehead as he turned to face her. “I’m stiff and my joints ache,” he admitted, leaning against the dresser for support.

“Did you work too long on the rocker today?”

“Maybe, but I think it’s my arthritis flaring up. These cold days we’ve been having don’t help with the stiffness.” Lamar rubbed his fingers. “My hands don’t work well when my arthritis acts up.”

Emma lowered herself to the bed as reality set in. “You wanted to go to Florida because you knew you’d feel better where it’s warm, right?”

He nodded slowly as he released the suspenders from his trousers.

“Then why didn’t you explain that to me? If I’d only known—”

“You would have agreed to go, even though you wanted to teach another six-week quilting class,” he interrupted.

“Jah, that’s right. I would have changed my mind had I known the reason.”

“Which is why I didn’t tell you.” He sat beside Emma on the bed. “I knew you were looking forward to teaching another class, and I wouldn’t have felt right asking you to give it up on my account.”

“Oh Lamar,” Emma said, tears welling in her eyes, “you’re my husband, and I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Emma.” Lamar placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.

“I appreciate you allowing me to teach another class, and I really do feel that the students who’ve come to my class have been sent for a reason. But your health and your needs come first, so…”

Lamar put his finger to her lips. “It’s all right, Emma. We have just three more weeks of teaching your students, and maybe after that, if you’re willing, we can head to Florida.”

She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m more than willing, and if you like, we can spend the entire winter there, where it’s nice and warm.”

He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m surely blessed to have a
fraa
like you.”

Goshen

Cheryl took a seat at her kitchen table and booted up her laptop. While she ate a snack of apples and cheese, she planned to answer any e-mails that had come in over the weekend.

She was about to go online when her cell phone rang. She saw in the caller ID that it was Blaine.

“Hello, Blaine,” she said, holding the phone up to her ear.

“Hi, Cheryl. How are you this evening?”

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Doing okay.” After a pause, Blaine cleared his throat a few times. “The reason I’m calling is I was wondering if you have any plans for Saturday.”

“Just Emma’s quilt class,” Cheryl replied.

“I meant Saturday afternoon, when the class is over.”

“I have no plans at the moment.” Secretly, Cheryl had been hoping Terry might ask her out. As scared as she’d been on the back of his motorcycle, she actually wanted to go for another ride. Now that she knew what to expect, she hoped she could relax and enjoy it more the second time around.

“I’d like to take you out for lunch,” Blaine said. “To someplace nice, out of town.”

“You’ve piqued my curiosity. Where did you plan to go?”

“Winona Lake. Have you ever been there?”

“No, but I’ve heard it’s beautiful,” Cheryl responded. “And I understand there’s a lot to do there.”

“Should I go ahead and make reservations?”

“Yes, it sounds nice. I’ll look forward to going.”

“Great. And I forgot tell you that the restaurant we’re going to overlooks the lake. See you Saturday morning at Emma’s then.”

Cheryl smiled when she hung up the phone. This would be a pleasant change over her boring plans to clean the apartment. She wasn’t sure yet what type of relationship Blaine was seeking from her. Did he simply want to be friends, or was he hoping for something more serious? Deep down, she hoped he saw her only as a friend. When she was with Blaine, even though she’d never had any siblings, it felt more like hanging out with a brother rather than being on a date. In any event, eating lunch at a restaurant with a view of the lake would give her a chance to get to know Blaine better. Maybe she would discover that she liked him more than she realized.

C
HAPTER
25

Elkhart

T
hank you for inviting me to join you for supper,” Carmen told Paul’s sister, Maria, when she entered her kitchen Wednesday evening.

Maria smiled. “We’re happy to have you, and we’re so glad you could join us.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Carmen asked, looking around the homey room, and feeling a twinge of envy. She’d never realized how much she longed for a house of her own until she’d come to Indiana. Thanks to her job, Carmen was on the road so much she sometimes felt like she didn’t have a place to call home.