The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club (8 page)

Star leaned forward, waiting to see who would land the first blow, but before either man could raise a hand, Ruby Lee left her seat and stepped between them. “I think you both should calm down. We came here to learn about quilting, not watch the two of you act like a couple of silly schoolboys trying to one-up each other.”

The men, both red-faced, stood a few more seconds looking peeved, but finally returned to their seats.

Emma, talking fast and appearing to be quite shaken, began explaining more of the things they’d be learning over the next several weeks. Everyone listened, and thankfully there were no more nasty comments from either Stuart or Jan. Star really felt sorry for poor Emma.

I’ll bet she never expected anything like this would happen during her quilt class
.

By the time class was over, Emma had given each person some material and a template for their star-shaped pattern, along with instructions on how during the week they should mark, cut, and pin the pieces together.

Everyone told Emma good-bye, and as they headed out the door, Jan looked over at Paul and said, “You’re a lucky man to have such a cute baby.”

Paul smiled and nodded. “Yes, I feel very blessed.”

Star glanced at Stuart and Pam, who were arguing again about the goat escapade as they headed to their car.
I’ll bet that man’s wishing he didn’t have to come back here again. Maybe he’s wondering what sort of excuse he can make up to get out of learning how to quilt. It’ll be interesting to see whether he shows up for the class next week. Bet he doesn’t. Bet prissy Pam comes alone.

I
can’t believe you,” Pam said through tight lips.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Stuart asked as he directed his SUV onto the highway.

“The way you acted during the quilt class was absolutely inexcusable!” She narrowed her eyes as she stared at him, hoping he’d realize how angry she was. “Emma Yoder seems like a very nice lady, but after today, she’s probably wondering why she ever agreed to teach us quilting.”

“If you’re talking about the goat escapade, I was only trying to help. It wasn’t my fault that crazy critter thought my baseball cap would make a great morning snack. Besides, if you’ll recall, Emma thanked me for helping out.”

“I wasn’t just talking about the goat or your stupid cap. I was mostly referring to the fact that throughout the entire class you were either nodding off or saying something rude.”

His thick eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about, Pam? I never said anything rude.”

“You most certainly did.”

“Such as?”

“For one thing, the way you talked to the biker was terrible. When he introduced himself, it wasn’t right to make fun of his name. Why did you have to insult him like that?”

Stuart gave a nonchalant shrug. “Well, what can I say? Jan’s a dumb name for a guy. Besides, he had it coming, the way he was ribbing me about how I chased after the goat.”

“When you made an issue of his name, you had no way of knowing he was going to say anything to you about the goat. And even if you think Jan’s name is dumb, you didn’t have to make a big deal about it and say it sounded like a girly girl’s name.” Pam gripped the straps of her purse tightly, trying to keep her emotions under control. “Then getting on his case about staying in the house with the women while you were trying to round up the goat made things even worse. In fact, the way you acted today made you no better than him.”

“I was only stating the obvious. Do you have a problem with it?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t gonna let some tattooed bully push me around.”

“Jan hardly seems like a bully. I think he was just defending his pride.”

“Oh, and I wasn’t?”

She sighed. “You’re impossible, Stuart.”

“Give me a break. I’m no more impossible than you.” He glanced over at Pam and frowned. “I can’t believe you’d expect me to learn how to quilt or sit in that boring class with a bunch of weird people.”

“They’re not weird; they’re just different. And you need to get over your prejudices.”

“I’m not prejudiced.”

“Whatever you say.” Pam knew she should stop right there, but she couldn’t. “So, let me ask you something, Stuart. How does it feel to be Mr. Right twenty-four hours a day?”

He stared straight ahead. “I think we should find something else to do together. Something other than quilting.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Anything that doesn’t involve sitting in some dimly lit room, listening to an Amish woman bore us about the history of quilts. I’m surprised everyone wasn’t sleeping.”

“Emma was only giving us some background on quilting so we’d have a better idea of what makes up the different quilt patterns. We’ve got homework to do this week, and next Saturday she’ll be teaching us the next step involved in making our wall hangings, so I’m sure the class will be more interesting.”

“For you, maybe,” he mumbled. “Wish now I’d never taken you fishing!”

“You know what?” Pam shot back. “That’s one thing I can agree with you about. I wish you’d never taken me fishing either!”

Soon after her quilting students left, Emma went to the kitchen to fix some lunch. The morning hadn’t gone at all the way she’d planned, and she couldn’t get the thought out of her mind that God had sent her some very unusual people to teach.

Am I really up to the task?
Emma asked herself as she removed a loaf of whole-wheat bread from the bread box.
Is there more than quilting I should teach these people?
With the exception of Ruby Lee, who’d appeared to be fairly bright and cheerful, the others in the class seemed to have some serious issues they were dealing with. She was concerned about Star and Paul because they’d both recently lost a family member, although, from what Emma could tell, Paul seemed to be dealing with his wife’s death fairly well. Perhaps he’d found comfort in his baby girl, and maybe he had a strong faith in God. When he’d leaned forward to pick up a toy the baby had dropped, Emma had noticed a silver chain with a cross around his neck. She figured he probably wore it as an indication of his religious beliefs.

Star, on the other hand, had been dressed almost completely in black. Was it because she was mourning her grandmother’s death, or did she just prefer to dress that way? With the exception of the goat incident, when nearly everyone had been laughing, Emma hadn’t seen Star laugh or smile during the two-hour class.

Emma paused to chuckle, thinking how funny Stuart had looked, running around the yard chasing Maggie after she’d grabbed hold of his hat. For Pam’s sake, Emma had tried not to laugh, but with everyone else laughing as they watched out the window, she just couldn’t help herself.

“A day without smiling is a wasted day,” Emma murmured as she took a can of tuna fish from the pantry. That used to be one of Ivan’s favorite sayings, and he’d lived up to it by looking on the brighter side of life and having a cheerful smile and a good sense of humor. Emma tried to be cheerful, too—especially since Ivan died. Laughter was good medicine for the soul, and looking for things to be joyful about had helped Emma through the worst of her grief.

Turning her thoughts to Star again, Emma wondered if the somber young woman might be angry with someone. Or perhaps she was just unsure of herself. Whatever the reason, Emma hated to see Star or anyone else look so sad.

It touched Emma’s heart to know that Star had come here because her grandmother had wanted her to learn how to quilt as a remembrance of her.

Emma knew all about things that made a person remember a loved one. She thought about Ivan and how he’d died a few weeks before her sixty-fifth birthday. He’d made something special for Emma—a finely crafted quilt rack, which she’d found three days after her birthday, hidden in the barn behind a stack of hay. Ivan had attached a note to the gift, telling Emma how much he loved her. The love and respect she and Ivan had felt for each other would always be with her, and every time she looked at the quilt rack he’d made, she would think of him fondly.

Knowing she needed to finish making her lunch, Emma removed a jar of mayonnaise from her propane-operated refrigerator, letting her thoughts go to the muscular man with the black leather vest and tattoos who’d come to her class to learn how to quilt. With the exception of his encounters with Stuart, Jan had seemed nice enough. And he’d certainly looked content when he’d held Paul’s baby. However, Emma had a feeling the man with the girl’s name had a painful and perhaps shameful past.

Then there was the married couple, Stuart and Pam. Not once during the morning had they said a nice word to each other. Stuart seemed to have a need to prove his manhood, and he’d obviously been bored and probably felt forced to come to the class.

I wish Stuart could have met my Ivan and heard how kindly he spoke to me. Emma grimaced. Of course, Pam wasn’t very kind to Stuart either. Those disgusted looks she gave him, not to mention her unkind words, makes me wonder if she loves her husband at all
.

Perhaps after a few weeks of getting to know each of her students, Emma could get them to open up and share what was on their hearts. If she knew more about these people, she would know what things from her own life she could share that might help them, too.

With her sandwich made, Emma took a seat at the table and bowed her head. Dear Lord, she silently prayed, if I’m supposed to do more than just teach this group of people how to quilt, then please give me wisdom, a sensitive heart, and of course, Your direction
.

The back door opened, and Mary stepped into the room just as Emma finished her prayer.

“Wie geht’s
?” Mary asked.

“I’m a little tired but otherwise fine.”

“How’d the class go?”

Emma motioned to the chair beside her. “If you’d like to take a seat while I eat my sandwich, I’ll tell you about it. And you’re welcome to join me. I can make another sandwich for you.”

“No, you go ahead. I had a bowl of soup before I came over here.” Mary pulled out a chair and sat down. “So how’d it go with the class? Were you able to teach that … uh … rather unusual group anything today?”

“I’ll admit I was taken aback when I saw the people who’d come to my class. From the phone calls I’d received, I’d really thought I would be teaching all women.”

“And I bet you didn’t expect one of them to be dressed all in black with a ring in her nose.”

“No, I sure didn’t.”

“When I answered the door for you this morning, I was more than a little surprised by the group waiting on your porch.”

Emma took a bite of her sandwich and sipped some water. “I was, too. And I certainly never expected someone like Jan Sweet to join the class.”

Mary tipped her head. “Jan Sweet?”

“Jah. He was the big, tall, muscular man dressed in biker clothes.”

“Oh, so his name is Jan?”

Emma nodded. “One of the other men, Stuart, teased Jan about his name. Said it was a girly girl’s name, and Jan didn’t take that too well.”

Mary’s eyes widened. “What happened?”

“Jan pretty much told Stuart to keep his opinions to himself.” Emma frowned. “For a minute there, I was afraid Jan might hit Stuart or something.”

With a worried frown, Mary placed her hand on Emma’s arm. “Ach, Mom. Do you really think you ought to be teaching these people? I mean, what if—”

Emma held up her hand. “As you well know, God made everyone, and we’re all uniquely different.”

“Jah, some more than others.” The worry lines in Mary’s forehead deepened.

Emma chuckled. “Be that as it may, God cares for them just as much as He does you and me. I’m sure that He looks beyond what people are to who they can become, and I have a feeling way down deep in my heart that God brought the people who came here today for more than just learning to quilt.”

“What other reason could there be?”

Emma took another drink of water and blotted her lips with a napkin. “Well, after just one meeting, I could sense that most of them are dealing with some kind of a painful or distressing issue. And with God’s help and His words of wisdom, I hope I’ll be able to say or do something that might help them all spiritually or emotionally, in addition to teaching them how to quilt.”