Sea Bound, page 3
“Yes. I’ve never tried piecing or quilting with a machine,” Grace responded, fingering the lines of her quilt. “I guess I’m sort of old-fashioned,” she added.
Not knowing just what to say next, Sarah decided to stay on the topic of quilts. She told Grace about the quilt shop where she had taken classes. Grace smiled as she listened and occasionally nodded her head. She was attentive but quiet at first.
Sarah was running out of things to say, so she asked Grace where she was from. Grace told her she had lived outside Middletown all her life. “My parents inherited the farm right after they were married. I think it was mid-1920. We raised our own food: eggs and chickens, milk and beef from our cows, and vegetables from our garden. We were poor but we got along.”
“Tell me about your family. Did you have brothers and sisters?” Sarah asked. She knew the answer but wanted to hear about it from Grace.
Grace started talking about her sisters, Mary Sue and Maggie, and about her mother. “Mama was always working,” she said with a melancholy look. “She made soap out of lard, and she canned everything we grew. She made all our dresses and matching bloomers out of flour sacks.” Smiling as she thought about it, she added, “I guess that’s how I got started quilting. Mama had scraps left over and she saved them in a bag. I would take a few out and sew them together until I had a small quilt.” She laughed at the memory. “It must have looked terrible, but Mama always said my rag quilts were beautiful.”
“And my sisters!” she added proudly. “We spent our whole lives together. They both got married, but they stayed right here. In fact, they built their homes on Papa’s land and we were together until they died.” Grace smiled. “I’ll admit it’s been lonesome without them.”
Sarah wanted to know more about her sisters and their shared lives, but she decided to save something for the next visit.
“You were very lucky to have them close by for so many years,” Sarah said. “So many families end up living all over the country, rarely seeing each other.” And for some people, their families live right in town and they rarely see each other, Sarah thought, thinking of her own children, Martha and Jason.
Looking again at the quilt on Grace’s bed, she said, “I would love to learn how to appliqué. Your work is exquisite.” The two women talked for a while about quilts and quilting until the nurse came in to check on Grace.
After the nurse left, Sarah stood and picked up her purse, saying, “Well, Grace, it’s been wonderful visiting with you. I hope you will let me come again?”
“I would love for you to come again,” Grace said with a warm smile. “And I want to hear about your quilts!” Grace said, adding, “Could you bring one or two for me to see?”
With a chuckle, Sarah responded, “I will do that, but you have to promise not to laugh. Remember, I’m new at this!”
Grace had turned in the bed and had her legs hanging over the side. “Do you need help before I leave?” Sarah asked.
“No, but thank you. They have me getting up and walking a little every day. I’m just moving to that chair over there.”
Sarah waited until Grace was settled in the chair and had turned on the television. “It’s time for my stories,” Grace said with an embarrassed giggle. “Come back soon and bring quilts!”
* * * * *
That evening, Charles and Sarah were sitting in her kitchen enjoying the pot roast meal that had been simmering in the Crock-Pot all day. Just as they were finishing their dessert and coffee, they heard a ringing from the back of the house. “Is that your cell phone?” Charles asked.
“I don’t think so. It should be in my purse.” She checked, and it was right where it belonged. There were no missed calls. “I thought I heard that sound several times during the night last night, but I figured I was dreaming. I didn’t get up to check.”
Sarah and Charles walked back to her bedroom but the ringing had stopped. It started up again just as they entered the sewing room but only rang twice before it stopped again. “It seemed to be coming from the futon,” Charles said curiously.
“But there’s no cell phone here,” Sarah responded, lifting the quilts that were still laying on the futon. “Maybe it’s under the futon. Can you pull it out?”
Charles pulled the futon away from the wall and they saw a leather cell phone case lying on the floor. Charles picked it up and pulled out the phone. “This must be Gary’s phone!” he said. At that moment, it began ringing again. “Shall I answer it?” he asked, looking at Sarah. “They are certainly persistent!”
“Sure. It’s probably Gary calling to see where he left it.”
“Hello?”
“Where the hell have you been?” The voice was loud and angry. “I’ve been calling for days. Did old lady Miller go for it or not?”
Charles hesitated. This wasn’t Gary calling, but it was someone obviously involved with Gary in something involving Sarah. He hated hearing his beautiful Sarah referred to as old lady Miller, but he had to hold his temper so he could find out more.
“Not yet,” Charles responded, hoping the caller didn’t realize he wasn’t talking to Gary.
“Did you give her the letter?”
“Yes.”
“Well …? Did she ask about the will?”
“No.”
“This is like pulling teeth! Talk to me!” the caller demanded. “What’s going on out there?”
Charles remained silent for a moment, wondering what he could say to get the man to give up information about what they were planning. Finally, he said simply, “What should I do?”
“You’re a fool!” the caller screamed, his voice trembling with anger. “I should have done this myself,” and he disconnected.
“What was that all about?” Sarah asked looking worried.
“Probably just a wrong number.” Slipping the cell phone in his shirt pocket, Charles said, “I’ll get it back to Gary, okay?”
Chapter 4
“May I take Barney for a walk?” Caitlyn, Andy’s fourteen-year-old daughter, had stopped by to see Sarah.
They had been looking at the quilts from Sarah’s Aunt Rose, and Sarah was beginning to see little hints that Caitlyn just might be interested in learning to quilt. She was asking many questions, and Sarah had been thinking about a project that wouldn’t be too hard. She was considering a throw for Andy’s birthday. They could make it together and Caitlyn would be learning the basics, just enough to know whether she had any interest in learning more. It would be such fun to have a young person to teach, Sarah thought.
“You sure may,” Sarah responded. “Barney would love a walk, especially with you!” Sarah started to add that she would go, too, but decided to let them have some private time. Caitlyn had fallen in love with Barney earlier that year while she was staying with Sarah.
Caitlyn had been through a very difficult time after her mother died. Her stepfather had put her out of the house, and Andy, the father she had never met, was in prison. There was no other family, and Caitlyn had no place to go. She spent a few months living on the street in Hamilton. Sarah had been instrumental in finding her and offering her a temporary home until her father was released. Yes, we should quilt together, Sarah thought with a smile as she watched Caitlyn and Barney walk toward the park.
While they were gone, Sarah went through her quilt books and patterns looking for an idea. She settled on a simple split rail fence design. It would give Caitlyn a chance to learn about the basic parts of a quilt: the pieced top, the back, and the batting. She would learn how to read the pattern, use the rotary cutter, and make a precise quarter-inch seam. That’s enough to start with, Sarah thought. She knew her friends from quilt class, Christina and Kimberly, would be happy to quilt it on their new longarm quilting machine. Perhaps they would let Caitlyn visit so she could see the machine in action.
Andy’s birthday was four months away, which was more than enough time for Caitlyn to make a quilt with Sarah’s help. If Caitlyn were interested (and Sarah hoped she would be), they would go fabric shopping soon. Sarah thought Civil War reproduction fabrics would be good since it was easy to find masculine patterns in those lines, but she would let Caitlyn choose. I hope she likes this idea, Sarah thought, eager to talk about it with her.
When Caitlyn returned, Sarah approached her with the idea. Caitlyn was reluctant, saying she didn’t think she could do it. “It looks so complicated,” she kept saying.
“Let me show you something.” Sarah pulled out her collection of two-inch strips and quickly sewed three strips together lengthwise. With Caitlyn watching, she then laid it on the cutting board and, using her ruler as a guide, cut them apart every five inches. She showed Caitlyn the six five-inch squares she had made in just a few minutes. She then laid them down on the board, alternating the direction of the strips.
Caitlyn’s eyes got big. “You mean that’s all there is to it?” she asked, looking amazed.
“Well, you need to know how to do those steps accurately, but yes—that’s all there is to it.”
“I can do that!” she said enthusiastically. “Will you help me make Papa a quilt?”
They talked about the idea of a throw, but Caitlyn was determined to make it a bed quilt. Sarah laughed and said, “Sure. We can do that.” She figured she could put some of the long strips together for her while she was in school.
They decided to go to Stitches that afternoon to buy fabric. “How much will this cost?” Caitlyn asked.
Sarah knew the cost of the fabric would be way too much for Caitlyn to pay out of her allowance, so she didn’t give her an amount but simply responded, “I’ll buy the fabric as my birthday gift for him and you make it as your gift, okay?” Caitlyn smiled and nodded her thank you. They decided to get together after school when Caitlyn didn’t have other activities.
“What will I tell Papa I’m doing?” Caitlyn wondered aloud.
“How about we tell him I’m giving you sewing lessons? Actually, that’s exactly what we’ll be doing. We just won’t tell him what we are making during those lessons,” she added with a smile.
“Great idea!” Caitlyn responded excitedly as she walked toward the door. “Call me when you’re ready to go to the fabric store.”
“Wait.” Sarah hurried back into the sewing room and grabbed a cloth measuring tape. “Put this in your pocket, and when your dad isn’t looking, measure across his bed so we’ll know what size to make the quilt.”
After Caitlyn left, Sarah fixed herself a cup of tea. She decided to sit down in the living room and look through her new quilting magazine.
“Appliqué again!” she said aloud as she looked at the peacock in the center of the quilt on the cover. The bird’s head was cocked to one side, with one curious eye expertly created with black and white fabric. The head and body appeared to be one solid piece of a striking ultramarine blue. The feathers had been laid in and appliquéd individually using bright and bold shades of blue, yellow, and turquoise. The bird was appliquéd on a dark blue panel and surrounded by squares of complementary colors. A dark blue border caused the squares and the peacock to float across the quilt.
As she thumbed through the magazine, Sarah turned down pages whenever she saw a quilt or an idea she wanted to come back to. Toward the back of the magazine, Sarah was struck by an ad for a quilting retreat center in the Poconos. Pennsylvania was at least a ten-hour drive, but the idea really appealed to her.
Sarah first heard about quilt retreats when she attended the local quilt guild. A group had returned from a week in the mountains, where they sewed practically around the clock and swam in the cool mountain lake. That particular group had all done the same quilt but in their own choice of fabrics. They brought their finished quilts to the guild meeting, and Sarah was astonished when she saw how different each one looked depending upon the fabric and placement choices.
To go away for a weekend or even a week and stay with quilters really appealed to her. Generally the costs weren’t prohibitive, and they usually included meals and a place to stay. What a lovely way to spend a vacation, she thought.
Beginning to get excited about the idea, Sarah turned the page and saw an ad for a weeklong quilting retreat in Santa Fe. The colors of the desert and the mountains and the Spanish influence in the architecture in that part of the country had always fascinated her. She knew Santa Fe was a cultural center, and she thought that quilting in that environment would be an inspiring experience. Most of the classes, though, seemed to concentrate on fabric art rather than the old-fashioned piecing of her grandmother’s time. Sarah was developing a preference for the more traditional patterns and fabrics.
That caused her to think of the Appalachian mountain states, and she wondered if there might be something more to her liking in that part of the country. But then there is appliqué, which I’m also very interested in learning.
Laying the magazine aside, Sarah walked toward the kitchen with her empty teacup. She heard the magazine slip off the couch where she had placed it precariously. She crossed the room to pick it up and noticed it was open to a picture in the middle of the magazine. An enormous cruise ship graced half the page, and “Join Our Quilting Cruise!” was scrolled boldly across the ship’s hull from bow to stern. Quilts were haphazardly hanging over the railing, and the deck was packed with women waving pieces of fabric. Sarah laughed as she examined the picture. She sat back down to read the article.
The article was written by Stephanie Anderson, who was introduced by the magazine’s editor as being well known in quilting circles for her meticulous appliqué and piecing. Being new to quilting, Sarah wasn’t familiar with Stephanie, but she read the article with interest. She had never heard of a quilting cruise. As she read on, she learned it was a very popular activity among quilters. Instructors would provide instruction, patterns, and sewing machines (even project kits!), as well as a full agenda of classes, activities, and entertainment quilters would enjoy.
She wondered if the cruise lines could really fill a huge cruise ship with quilters, but as she read on, she learned that the ship would also be carrying tourists, as well as the friends and families of the quilters. There was a sample list of classes, but the article went on to give the web address and phone number for specific information and reserving a spot on one of the next six cruises. This could be it, Sarah thought excitedly. This could be it!
* * * * *
Forty miles away in downtown Hamilton, Matilda and Elwood Knowles entered an insurance agent’s office, Matilda with her head held high and her back straight. She had the look of a determined woman on a mission. Elwood lagged behind, looking reticent. “Why do we have to do this? You know we can never pull it off,” he said in a whiney tone that Matilda found repulsive.
“Will you just shut up!” she ordered. “We talked about this.”
“You talked about it,” he responded in a voice just low enough for her to miss most of the words.
She stopped and looked at him with her arm bent and her fist on her waist. “Would you prefer to do this on your own?” she asked with a smirk that clearly suggested she knew he couldn’t do it without her.
He dropped his head and lifted his hand in a dismissive gesture, which implied he would do it her way.
They were there for over two hours. Matilda and the insurance agent worked out the details to her satisfaction.
“Two million in insurance,” the agent marveled as he walked them to the door. “Here’s to hoping you never need to collect it.”
Matilda smiled and said, “It never hurts to be prepared!”
Chapter 5
Sarah thumbed quickly through her mail, tossing any junk into the recycle bin and placing a couple bills in the basket she kept on the kitchen counter for that purpose. She had originally planned to set up an office in the guest room, but instead she had converted it into a sewing room the first year she was living in the Village.
Sarah had intended to arrive at the nursing home midmorning so she wouldn’t interfere with Grace’s afternoon television programs, but she was running a little late. She had trouble falling asleep the night before because she was filled with excitement and apprehension about her tentative decision to sign up for the quilting cruise. Can I really afford this?
Remembering that Grace wanted to see a couple of her quilts, she hurried to the living room and removed the throw that was neatly folded on the back of the couch. Sarah had made the throw in one of the first classes she took at Ruth’s shop. It was a Log Cabin pattern in shades of peach, pale yellow, and sage with touches of brown, which exactly matched her couch.
She also took one of her aunt Rose’s quilts, knowing that Grace would appreciate the fine workmanship. Hurrying out the door, she remembered that she had wanted to call Sophie and invite her to dinner that night. She had already locked the front door and didn’t want to stir up Barney by going back in, so she put the quilts in the car and hurried over to Sophie’s door.
“Sophie?” she called when Sophie didn’t respond to her knocking. “Are you home?” There was still no response, but Sophie’s car was in the driveway. Since Sophie rarely walked anywhere, Sarah decided she might be in the kitchen and couldn’t hear the door. She tried the doorknob, but it was locked. She knocked again, very hard this time.
Sarah was getting worried and decided to use the key. She moved the flowerpot aside and, using the spare key hidden there, opened the door and went inside. Again, she called out. “Sophie? Are you here?”
Sarah thought she heard sounds coming from Sophie’s bedroom but hesitated to walk in since her door was closed. She tapped on the door and said, “Sophie, it’s Sarah. Are you in there?” She was sure she heard a response but couldn’t make it out. “May I come in?” she asked. This time there was a clear response.
“Go away.”
“Sophie, I can’t go away. I’m worried about you. I’m going to open the door.” Sarah apprehensively pushed the door open and found Sophie lying on the floor. She rushed to her and started to help her up, but Sophie let out a yelp, and Sarah realized she was hurt. “What happened?” she implored, feeling helpless. “How can I help you?”
