The Healing Quilt (40 page)

Mr. Robin hopped about on the lawn, his beak wide as he heralded the joy of a new day. His mate returned to search for more worms.

Teza closed her Bible and sat to watch until he found his worms and the two flew off. Then she rose and walked back into the house. On the way she stuck her finger in a pink-and-white fuchsia basket to see if it needed water. It did. One more thing to get done before she left.

Vinnie was coming to man the farm. She'd pick corn to order and knew where folks should go for U-pick. She and Kit would return to her house for quilting. One of the girls would bring her home if need be, but she could nap there too. And Ryan was home. Ah, it had been a long time since Spring break. All those years of the children running in and out of her house like they did their own, their bikes parked beneath the mountain ash trees. Since their own grandparents had lived in Seattle, Teza and Karl stood in for them, attending all the recitals and ball games, speech contests, and 4-H events. After Deliah died of breast cancer, Kenneth had remarried and moved to St. Louis where he was closer to his new wife's grandchildren than his own.

Teza continued pondering the changes life brought as she fixed herself a soft-boiled egg and toast. Maybe it was time she talked with Mark. Interfering, that's what he'd think, but hey, aunts could sometimes get by with more than wives or mothers.

After eating, she watered all the pots and hanging baskets that graced the porch and its nooks and crannies. She set up the cash register for Vinnie and gathered what she needed to work on one of the blocks for the new fruit quilt. The pan in a quilted carrier held a still-warm peach cobbler for lunch.

“Hey, Vinnie, thanks for taking over,” Kit called and waved when she got out of her car.

“No problem. You take good care of her now.” Wearing faded overalls and a red shirt, Vinnie looked every inch the farmer as she greeted the first customer of the day.

“I think she would help you more often just because she loves your customers,” Kit said as she opened the rear door of the van. “That and her tractor.”

“I know, but I don't want to be a burden.” Teza set her carrier on the floor. “You think some of the quilters would like peaches?”

“I'm sure they would, and they can come out and buy them. We dont want to be late.”

“I know.” Teza climbed in the van and buckled her seat belt while Kit did the same.

“Oh, that cobbler smells heavenly. Ryan has already said he hoped you would bake one while he's home.”

“I'll make one just for him. Is he glad to be home?”

“We played ball with Thomas for an hour, and then I worked on the quilt while he caught me up on all his news. My little boy grew up while he was away.”

“That's the way it is supposed to be.”

“I know”—Kit flashed her a sort of smile—“but he's still my baby and will be as long as he lives.”

“He's been grown up for a long time. All three of them matured so quickly when Amber was diagnosed with cancer. I've seen other families fall apart, but those three stood by and for one another. You raised them well, Kit. I'm proud of you, always have been.”

“Now you're going to make me blubber.” Kit sniffed, this smile a bit watery.

“I know. Going through this again is real hard on you.”

“The first time I went back to the hospital, I thought my insides were falling out, and I couldn't keep them together. But I've visited people there enough that it's not so bad now.”

“Have you been back to radiology?”

“Sure, mammograms are right down the hall. I might go see Marcy, if she's free, while I wait for you. Maybe get a cup of coffee.”

“Good. Did you bring something to work on while you wait? Because if you didn't, I brought two blocks for my fruit quilt, one for each of us.”

“Did you use freezer paper?”

“Of course. Do you want the pear or the cherries?” The two shared a smile and climbed out of the van. Together they traversed the halls to the radiology waiting room, and Kit took a seat while Teza stepped to the window to tell them she had arrived.

“It will be just a few minutes, Mrs. Dennison. Have a seat.” The receptionist, who looked barely out of high school, smiled and motioned toward the maroon, padded chairs.

“Looks like a different place, doesn't it?” Teza indicated the fresh paint, carpet, and furnishings. A fifiy-gallon saltwater fish tank bubbled in a divider in the middle of the room, so all the patients could see the colorful Moorish Idols, damsels, and trigger fish. Anemones and shrimp moved gracefully on the bottom and along the rock formation dotted with live coral. “Now that must have cost a pretty penny. And so necessary too.”

Kit glanced at her aunt. “You have to admit it is beautiful and, maybe to some people, very calming.”

“Are you saying I'm uptight?”

Kit raised her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly. “Let's applique.” They'd just taken out their separate Baggies with hoops, ten-inch squares of fabric, and various colored bits already folded over the fruit-and-leaf-shaped freezer paper. Embroidery floss and needle and thread completed the kits.

“Hard time getting to sleep last night?” Kit held up her bag.

“I figured I'd sleep on the table.” Teza handed Kit a small, pointed scissors. “I did get in a couple of hours though. How about you?”

“Like a baby.”

“Good.”

“A cranky, colicky baby.”

Teza chuckled “Sorry. I thought perhaps you and Ryan sat up half the night talking.”

“No, he crashed by the time I quilted one diamond. Said he hadn't slept much for the last week.”

“Mrs. Dennison?” a young woman announced in the open doorway.

Kit squeezed her aunt's hand. “I'll pray for you.”

Teza smiled. “Then all this is worth it.”

When they returned to Kit's house, all the other women were chattering and quilting away until Kit and Teza stepped through the door. Silence greeted them for only a moment, but the intensity of it felt like a wall. Then Beth leaped to her feet and came to stand in front of Teza.

“Are you hurting? Hungry? Exhausted…?” She reached for Tezas hand. “Can we hug you?

“Of course, I'm not blown glass that's going to shatter. Let me get a drink of water, and while I lie in that recliner for a bit, you can tell me all that has gone on.”

A collective sigh greeted her announcement.

“I'll get the water. You want ice in it?”

“Please.”

“That good-looking son of yours let us in, not that the door was locked or anything.” Elaine waggled her eyebrows. “What's the term they use now for hunks?”

“I heard some girls giggling and throwing flirty looks at a couple of boys and calling them ‘hotties.’ ” Sue rolled her eyes.

“ ‘Hotties’?” Elsie Mae put a hand over her mouth to stop a sound more like a snort than a chuckle.

“But that's most likely passe by now.”

“Or a long time ago. Not that we ever used language even remotely like that.” Kit set her and Tezas bags by the closet door and met Beth returning from the kitchen, tall glass of ice water in hand. Beth fussed around Teza until she was sure everything was comfortable and returned to her chair.

“So what did we miss out on?” Kit sat down and smiled her thanks at Beth, whom she was sure had been the one to leave a threaded needle in her place. When Beth nodded, Kit smiled again. “What a nice person you are.”

“You wouldn't have thought so the other day.”

“What happened?”

“I had to go down to the Detention Center—they no longer call it a jail—to bail my husband out after the protest at the abortion clinic.”

“You mean the one that turned violent? I saw it on the news.” Elaine looked up from her stitching.

“Yes, but none of the protesters threw the rock. We're sure of it. Garth always gives strict instructions to do nothing to impede traffic or to be rude, crude, or destructive in any way.”

“What if someone wanted them to get in trouble?” Sue asked.

“But who? We are within our rights as citizens to protest publicly. Garth had the permit, and everything was done legally and in order.”

“So you had to bail your husband out?”

Beth shuddered. “It was awful…a really terrible day. I had to break a window in our door, since I'd left the keys on the counter and.

“So Garth had broken windows all over the place.”

“He was really upset.”

“I told my kids if they ever get caught for drinking or bad driving and they get hauled in, I wasn't coming to bail them out.” Sue's sigh of disgust could be heard clear to the other room. “They could just stay there.”

“But what if it were your husband?” Beth tucked her hair behind one ear.

“I'd like to say same rules apply, but I'm not stupid. Thank God I never had to live up to my threat.”

“Wait a minute. Let's go back to the rock thrower.” Elaine waved her hand for attention. “Now, who would get the most out of the situation if violence started?”

Shrugs and confused looks were her only answer.

“Not Garth, that's for sure. Nor me. And our church board is really unhappy,” Beth volunteered.

“No, but if those hot-headed, crazy pro-lifers get a bad rap…” Elaine motioned outward with her hands.

“The abortion clinic comes out smellin like a rose.
Their
rights are being trampled on by those narrow-minded, legalistic Christians who think they know what's good for everybody,” added Elsie Mae

“You sing it, sister.” Sue smacked her palm to her forehead. “Why couldn't I figure that out without someone drawing me a picture?”

“You really think this was planned?” Beth looked from one to another of those around the quilting frame.

“Most likely no way to prove it, but I'd bet my.

“Bootsie on it?” Kit raised both eyebrows and tucked her chin.

“I was going to say BMW, but I'd rather bet Bootsie anytime.”

“Surely if the police started questioning, someone might have noticed something.”

“There will be no investigation,” Elsie Mae said with a heavy sigh. “They have what they want. There'll be fines and rhetoric, the judge will yell at, no, rather, severely admonish Garth and his people, the abortion clinic owners will go on television piously touting the rights of women to choose, and it will be all over until the next time.”

“And with my husband's dedication to the cause, there'll be a next time.”

“What kept you from being there too?” Sue asked.

Beth stared down at her frozen fingers.

When Beth didn't answer, Kit intervened. “Someone has to stay home to go bail the protesters out.”

“Uh oh, sorry.” Sue grimaced and looked to Kit for help.

“Excuse me.” Beth pushed her chair back and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

“That child has a mountain of hurts she is carrying around inside her,” Elsie Mae said, taking two more stitches. “ ‘Less she gets help, she's goin to crumble down into little bitty pieces. Dear Lord, give us the best way to help her.”

“Amen to that.” Sue looked over to Kit. “And we thought all we were doing was sewing a quilt.”

“So what's happening with the Bootsie saga?” Kit asked after lunch while they were settling back at the quilting frame. Teza took Sue's place, since she had to go home to take care of Kelly.

“He hasn't done his business in my yard for the last couple of days. Maybe Doodlebug ran him off for good.”