The Healing Quilt (27 page)

“Let's table this for now and come back to it later, okay?” Elaine laid down the pen she'd used to take notes and glanced down the list. “Someone, somewhere will come up with something.”

“That's something we can pray about.” Teza looked up from sorting blocks.

Elaine put her files and organizer back in her briefcase. “I'll go get sandwiches at the deli. Turkey all right for everyone?” She glanced around the room. “Okay, any other drinks than the coffee and tea here?”

With no takers, she waved off their offers of money and headed out the door. “Yes!” She thumped on the steering wheel of her newly returned BMW. “If we can get national coverage, so much the better for the cancer center.
The little town that could.
Maybe we can even get those power lines moved. Easier than moving a town.”

She picked up her phone and dialed the deli to place her order. All because a couple of women decided to do something about a community problem. The PR possibilities were endless.

When she returned with her flat box of sandwiches and set them on the table, the women left off their jobs and came to eat.

“Here,” said Teza, handing her five dollars.

“No, this is my treat. You were all working so hard, I figured this was the least I could do.”

“And you've been doing nothing?” Teza raised an eyebrow.

Elaine smiled back and turned to answer a question from someone else. When all were served, she sat down next to Beth.

“So how are you enjoying Jefferson City now?”

“Better. Getting to know the women here with the quilting has helped a lot.”

“I know I'd never have made it as a pastor's wife. Have to be nice to everyone, even though you'd as soon walk away.” Elaine unwrapped her Sandwich. “And most churches expect you to do twice as much as anyone else.”

“Or they're afraid the new pastors wife is going to come in and take over.” Sue pulled open her bag of chips. “That's what happened at our church.”

“Who did the choosing here?” Beth looked around. “I mean, from all those other women at the cutting day, why us?”

“I prayed about it and felt led to ask each of you.” Teza smiled around. “I guess God feels we all have special talents or something to contribute. And with six, even with all our other obligations, we should be able to have four working at a time.”

“So when will we get together to put this up on the frame, and will that be here?” Elaine took out her calendar.

“Would Monday be all right for everyone?” Kit glanced around to catch their nods. “And I have a largely unused-at-the-moment living room where we can leave it set up. As far as I'm concerned, anyone can come at any time and quilt when you have time. I thought maybe twice a week for the entire group.”

“That would be only fourteen sessions until it would need to be done.” Elaine counted the weeks out in her organizer. “Will that be enough?”

“I doubt it, but that depends on how long we can work at a time. We can discuss that later.” Sue folded up her napkin and papers. “We better get back to work and quit gabbing. I'll take one machine.” She picked up a stack of blocks that now were in sewing order.

“I'll cut the border squares then, if you want to do the nine-patch pieces.” Kit looked to Teza.

“That leaves you and me on the other machines,” Elaine said to Elsie Mae. “You can switch off with any of us from pressing, you know, Beth.”

“I know. Kit, did you get the quilt back stitched together?”

“Yes, and pressed too. Its folded in that plastic tote over there.”

The stitchers kept Beth busy as she clipped threads and pressed seams. As soon as they had one stack stitched, they handed the long strip to her and picked up another stack.

“Make sure you keep the numbers pinned in place.” Teza stood and stretched. “I've numbered the strips according to where they go in the finished pattern.”

“Oh, I forgot that.” Sue stopped sewing and took two numbers over to Beth's backup stacks. “Here, these go on those.”

“Do you know which is which?”

“No, of course not. Teza?” Sue stood with a strip in each hand. “Help!”

Teza studied the blocks, checked against her master, and put the numbers on the right ones. “See, no problem.”

“See the dummy who got so busy sewing and talking she forgot to do it right.”

“Happens to the best of us. Praise the Lord we caught it now when it was easy to take care of.”

Elaine kept her face from betraying what she was feeling by concentrating on her sewing.
Praise the Lord, eh? How come such a good, nice, and talented woman had to go overboard on the religious side? Shame. Would Jessica be like that? I mean, after all, I go to church but I keep it in the right pUce, than all Proportion, than what is important.
She glanced around the room. She hadn't heard Beth talk like that, and she was a pastors wife. You'd expect it more from her.

She switched her thoughts back to the PR for the Jefferson City Gala. They still needed a good caption, one that would say what they were doing and say it with class. Why was everyone so leery of using the words
breast cancer?
She carried her final strip over to Beth at the ironing board.

“You want to switch places?”

“Sure.” Beth picked up a folded strip. “This really is going to be beautiful, isn't it? I love the colors.”

“Rich
is a word I would use. But IVe never hand quilted anything this huge before.” Elaine set the iron to pressing the seams in the string she brought over. “Have you?”

Beth shook her head. “But then the two quilts I did, I quilted all by myself.”

“How big were they?”

“One was for my single bed and the other a baby quilt.” She cleared her throat. “But then I've done lots of little projects. I'm working on a wall hanging now for my mother for Christmas.”

“I see. I do like making my pillows. I did several crazy quilt tops in velvets with all the different kinds of embroidery stitches. The woman who bought them called them ‘breathtaking.’ Can you believe that?”

“Yes, I can. I have a feeling you create a lot of breathtaking pieces.”

Elaine watched as Beth took over the idle sewing machine. What a nice thing for her to say.

By the time they shut down for the day, there were only a few more strips to be sewn to the quilt body before it could be assembled.

“So we'll meet at my house on Monday?”

“I can in the morning,” Sue said, “but I have to baby-sit in the afternoon.”

“I have meetings that day.” Elaine closed her organizer. “But I'll clear Tuesday and Thursday each week for the quilting.”

“It'll be easier to set up tables at your house, then we can clip it right on the frame without folding and moving again.” Teza and Beth folded the finished portion of the quilt top.

“Fine with me. You all have my number. Let me know if Monday is a problem. Otherwise we'll meet Tuesday as planned.”

They gathered up all their supplies and, with loaded luggage carriers, headed for the cars.

“What a day.” Elaine slammed the trunk on her BMW. “Are the rest of you as tired as I am?”

“Glad someone mentioned that, thought it was just me.” Sue stretched her neck from one side to the other. “And now I have to go home and fix dinner. I'll let Kelly choose. She always asks for hot dogs.”

“Thanks, everyone.” Kit climbed into her van.

No matter how gray it is, I'm getting in the pool and the hot tub when Iget home. With a nicegUss of wine. I earned it.
Elaine honked the horn as she drove out of the parking lot.
I wonder how many thousand stitches go into a quilt like this? And all by hand.
She held out her left hand and looked at her squared-off acrylic nails.
Can I quilt with fingernaih like this? Do I even want to do this? Whyever did she choose me?

“Do you have time to take me back to Seattle?”

“Of course, why?”
The cancer is back, no other reason they would want to see her immediately like this.

“Just said they needed to run more tests.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow morning, soon as we can get there.”

Kit wished she were out at her aunt's house right now so she could see Tezas face. The phone was far too impersonal. “Do you want me to come out?”

“Not unless you want to pick beans. I hate to let them get too big, and rain is forecast for tomorrow.”

“How many rows do you have?”

“Three. I have a woman coming for forty pounds at five. And the cucumbers need picking too.”

Kit checked the clock. Three-thirty. If she could find some helpers, they could do it. “Have you asked Vinnie to help?”

“No, I just got off the phone with the doctors office. I can drive myself up there, you know, I just thought.

“Don't go there, Teza. You know I will drive and spend the night at your house whenever you need me. The real question is, how are you?”

“Me? I'm fine, why? There's no sense worrying about this. God knows what is going on, and he's in charge.” Teza paused as if waiting for Kit to respond before continuing. “So why would you need to stay at my house?”

“I figured you would say that.”
But do you mind if I panic some?
You re my only older rektive, and I want you aroundfor a goodlong while.
A hundred years or at least the rest of my lifetime.

“I'll be out picking, so don't worry if I don't answer the phone.”

Kit hung up long enough to flip her church directory open and begin calling. Within five minutes she had four pickers and was headed out the door.

“Garth, honey.” Beth draped her arms around her husbands neck as he sat in the deck chair.

He tilted his head back, the better to see her. “What?” He sniffed. “Mmm, you smell nice.”

“I know you have a meeting later this evening, but I wondered if we could go out to Teza Dennison's farm right now and pick peaches.”

“Pick peaches? Now?”

“What's wrong with now? I have dinner in the oven, and there's still plenty of light, if we hurry.” She smoothed the hair back over his ears. “I'll make you a peach pie.”

“I'm on my way.” He turned and rose in one smooth motion. The cat leaped from the deck corner and hid under the rhododendrons again.

“You think that animal is ever going to trust us?”

Beth locked her arm through his. “He'll have to if he keeps eating like he has. He'll soon be too fat to move.”

Once in the car, Garth kept turning his head to look at her on the way out of town.

“What's wrong?” she finally asked.

“Nothing, but I can't believe the change in you. Those pills must be really working.”

If you only knew.
“Maybe because I get a good night's sleep with no nightmares, I have some energy again. They say sleep deprivation can cause a person to do strange things.”

“Well, whatever it is ” He patted her knee. “I'm sure glad to see my girl is back.” He propped one elbow on the open window frame. “Did I tell you Dr. Kaplan called to see how we are?”

“No.” A sheet of clear ice dropped into place between them.

“He wants to see you alone this time.” Garth glanced her way. “Will you go?”

Her hands clenched in automatic response, the upper thumb rubbing the skin off the other.