The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (38 page)

“Whatever,” he said with a brief shrug before heading into the house.

Cheryl looked at Terry with questioning eyes. “I just got in on the end of your conversation with Blaine. Was he giving you a hard time about last Saturday?”

Avoiding the fact that he’d been the one who’d confronted Blaine, Terry nodded. “Yeah, but it’s okay. We didn’t come to blows or anything, so no harm was done.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about Blaine. I’m not going out with him again.”

“You’re not?”

She shook her head. “We really don’t have anything in common, and I don’t enjoy being with him the way I do you. For some reason, Blaine and I couldn’t seem to connect.” Cheryl lowered her gaze, while Terry watched a blush appear on her beautiful face. “With you, I feel like I have a connection,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Terry felt ten feet tall. Yet he was uncomfortable about expressing to Cheryl how he felt about her. “So does that mean you’ll go out to lunch with me after class this afternoon?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“That would be nice. I’d be happy to go.”

Carmen entered Emma’s quilting room, feeling a bit nervous and distracted. All she could think about was how she felt forced to write a story that wasn’t true about the precious Amish friends she had made.
I don’t think I can do it
, she told herself.
I need to write the truth
,
not something that will please my editor. For now, though, I have to quit thinking about this and focus on something else
. Carmen took a seat on one side of the table. Paul would be coming by after class with his daughter, because they’d made plans to take Sophia for a carousel ride at the Davis Mercantile in Shipshewana, so that was something to look forward to.

From what Carmen had read in a brochure she’d picked up, the carousel had been fully restored and featured hand-carved farm animals. Later they’d be going to the Red Wagon, a toy store also in the Davis Mercantile. She was sure Sophia would be excited about that. Paul had mentioned that he would treat them to lunch at the Daily Bread, where several Amish-style dishes were served. Carmen hoped if there was time that they could stop by the Scrapyard, where a variety of scrapbooking supplies were sold. With all the pictures she’d taken here in Amish Country, not to mention the ones of Paul and Sophia, Carmen had decided to begin a scrapbook, as a remembrance of this special trip.

As Emma stood at the head of the table, ready to teach the class, she felt concern. Terry and Cheryl were the only ones smiling, and she figured that was because they were sitting together. It was interesting to see how their attitudes had changed toward one another from the first quilting class until now. They’d obviously set whatever differences they had aside and found some things they enjoyed about each other.

Sort of like how it was with Lamar and me
, Emma mused.

She turned her attention to the others. Blaine’s shoulders sagged, as if in defeat; Carmen appeared agitated as she twisted her finger around the ends of her hair. Anna, whose eyes were red and puffy, appeared to have been recently crying. Selma hadn’t arrived yet, and Emma hoped that when she came in today, she’d be in a good mood.

Emma was about to begin the class, when Selma finally showed up. Instead of the usual lime-green attire, Selma wore a pretty fall sweatshirt with light brown slacks. Her sweatshirt wasn’t plain, either. It had a delicate white collar and on the front was an image of a maple tree in vivid colors with a hay-filled wagon underneath. Nestled on top of the bales of hay was a cat, much like the one Selma had described that she’d taken in.

“You look nice and fallish today,” Emma complimented. “That’s a pretty top you’re wearing.”

“Thank you,” Selma answered. “Sorry I’m a little late, but my cat got into a fight with another cat, and I spent some extra time this morning getting him to eat his food.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Emma said with concern. “Is the cat going to be okay?”

Selma nodded. “The vet stitched his wounds and gave him an antibiotic, so as long as I keep him inside and quiet until he heals, Scruffy should be fine.”

“That’s good to hear,” Terry spoke up. “That little critter’s a mighty nice cat.”

Selma smiled, looking perkier than Emma had seen her before. “I didn’t think so at first, but he’s sort of grown on me.” Selma turned her attention to Emma again. “Did I miss anything by being late?”

Emma shook her head. “I was about to tell the others what we’d be doing today.”

“I hope we’re going to continue quilting,” Cheryl said, “because I’m not finished with that part of mine yet.”

“Neither am I,” Terry agreed. “And I’m all thumbs, so I’m not sure I’ll ever get it done.”

“I’ll help you with it,” Lamar volunteered. “You, too, Blaine,” he quickly added.

Blaine perked up a bit. “Thanks, Lamar, I appreciate that. And I’m really looking forward to going fishing with you after class today.”

“Same here,” Lamar said. “Let’s hope the fish will be biting this afternoon. Oh, and by the way, Emma made us some sandwiches to take along.”

Blaine smiled at Emma. “Thanks, that was nice of you.”

“I was happy to do it,” Emma responded. She was glad to see that Blaine’s attitude had improved. She’d noticed that he still seemed a bit withdrawn around everyone and hoped going fishing with Lamar might loosen Blaine up a bit. Now if she could just see a smile from Carmen and Anna.

“Today we’ll finish the quilting part of your wall hangings and then get the bindings pinned in place,” Emma said. “Next week we will sew the bindings, and your wall hangings will be completed.”

With Lamar’s help, Emma handed everyone’s project to them, along with pins, needles, thread, thimbles, and large embroidery hoops. While everyone worked, she went around to make sure the women were doing okay, while Lamar supervised the men. After each of them finished quilting, Emma showed how to cut and pin the binding. Following that, she suggested they take a break for refreshments.

“That sounds good to me,” Terry said, rubbing his hands together. “What have you got for us this time, Emma?”

She smiled. “I made some apple crumb bread. And if any of you want the recipe for it, I’ll gladly share.”

Cheryl and Selma’s hands shot up, but the others just sat there. Well, maybe after they tasted it, they would change their minds.

During their refreshment break, Emma told Cheryl that she was making progress on her grandmother’s quilt. “I’m sure I’ll have it done for you by next week,” Emma said.

Cheryl smiled. “I’m looking forward to seeing the quilt and anxious to give it to Grandma when I go there for her birthday.”

“How long will you be gone?” Terry asked.

“Probably just a few days,” Cheryl responded. “Unless my boss gives me some extra time off, I can’t be away from work too long, so I’ll fly to Portland on a Friday morning, and return to Indiana Monday or Tuesday of the following week. I don’t have my plane tickets bought yet, though. I’m waiting to hear from my mother about the date for Grandma’s party. We may have it on a different day than her actual birthday in order to work around my parents’ busy schedules.”

“I hope your grandmother appreciates you coming for her birthday,” Selma spoke up. “I didn’t even get a phone call or a card from my daughter on my last birthday.” She sniffed and blinked a couple of times, as though trying to hold back tears. “Cora hates me, and it’s probably my own fault.”

The room got deathly quiet. Emma glanced at Lamar to get his reaction, but he said nothing. Since everyone looked so uncomfortable, Emma felt she had to say something. Placing her hand on Selma’s trembling shoulder, she quietly said, “Would you like to talk about it?”

Selma drew in a quick breath and released it with a shuddering sigh. “Cora left home after she graduated from high school, and the only time’s she’s been back was for her father’s funeral. She never calls or writes, and whenever I’ve called her, she’s always cut me off, saying she’s too busy to talk.”

“Why’d your daughter leave home?” Lamar asked.

Selma’s voice quavered. “For years, my husband and I didn’t think we could have any children, but then in my late thirties, we were blessed with a daughter.” She dabbed at her tears. “Everything was wonderful when Cora was little. We did lots of fun things together. But as time went by, we started to disagree about things. Cora excelled in the business courses she took during high school, and John and I thought she should go to college to better her skills, so that one day she might get a job in management. I managed a flower shop during that time, and I loved my job, but Cora was satisfied with just doing office work.” Selma paused again and blotted her tears with the tissue Emma handed her. “Cora said I was hard on her and expected too much and that I wanted her to be just like me. All I really wanted was for my daughter to reach her full potential.” Selma drew in a deep breath and continued. “I’m afraid Cora was right. I didn’t listen to what she wanted, and there were other issues, too. Even with my husband, I looked for the negative instead of the positive. I’ve wished so many times that I could go back and change things.”

“That’s what my folks do with me, too,” Anna interjected. She pursed her lips. “They don’t really listen to my feelings or hopes for the future. I talk, but they don’t listen, if you know what I mean. That’s why I’m planning to…” Her voice trailed off.

“What are you planning to do?” Emma questioned.

Anna shook her head. “Nothing. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Standing at the head of the table, Emma looked at each of her students. “In 1 John 4:12, it says: ‘If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.’ ”

“That’s a good verse,” Lamar added. “It reminds us of the importance of loving others—and that includes our families, whom we often take for granted. Just because we don’t always see things the same way doesn’t mean we should give up on someone in our family or shut them out of our lives.” He smiled at Selma. “In hindsight, I think we all wish we could go back and do things differently. But then, if we’ve learned something from the experience, that’s important, don’t you think?”

Selma nodded slowly.

“Would you like a piece of advice?” he asked.

Selma nodded once more.

“Get in touch with your daughter as soon as possible and let her know how much you love her. If you’ve done something to offend her, apologize and ask if you can start over.”

“That’s excellent advice,” Emma agreed. She turned to face Anna. “You might need to think about that as well, where your parents are concerned.”

“You don’t understand,” Anna said, choking on a sob. “Nothing I do pleases Mom and Dad. They want to keep me a little girl forever, never letting me make my own choices. Well, I have made my choice, and today I’m going to start doing what will make me happy!” She jumped up, grabbed her sweater and purse, and raced out of the house, leaving everyone in the room with their mouths hanging open.

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