“Well,” Sophie said as she stood up to leave, “I can sure understand how that poor woman feels. I didn’t raise my son to be like this. He doesn’t seem to be at all concerned about how he’s affecting the people who love him.”
“Don’t be too hard on him, Sophie.”
“Thank you for being there for all of us,” Sophie said finally, reaching for Sarah’s hand in a rare display of affection. “I could use a fidget quilt about now,” she added with a shallow smile.”
* * *
Anna and Katie were in the storage room sorting through a new shipment of fabrics when they heard the tinkling of the bells on the door, indicating that someone had come into the shop. “I’ll be right with you,” Anna called as she placed the fabric bolt she was holding back into the container.
“Take your time,” the familiar voice responded. “I’ll just be looking around.”
“Sarah,” Anna exclaimed as she came out of the back room. “I thought that was you. What are you doing here so early? Isn’t your class at three?” She wanted to ask if Charles had found out anything about the investigation, but she didn’t want to bring up a gloomy subject first thing.
“I’ve had an idea for a wall hanging for Charles’ computer room. His birthday is in July, the fourth actually, and I got to thinking about a log cabin design in shades of blue with red centers and a white tone on tone. I was looking at these blue batiks, but I’d only need a strip of each one.” In fact, Sarah was searching for something to take her mind away from her constant thoughts about Ruth. She had awakened with a start in the middle of the night after having a horrible dream involving her friend. She couldn’t seem to stop imagining what might be happening to her.
Neither woman spoke of Ruth.
“I have just the thing,” Anna responded enthusiastically. “It just came in,” she added as she hurried toward the storage room. “I’ll be right back.” She didn’t return immediately, but when she did, she carried a small roll of fabric which she handed to Sarah. “This is a roll of 2 ½” strips, all batiks, and all different shades of blue. That’s probably more than you’ll need for a wall hanging, but it would offer you lots of variety.” Sarah noticed that when she returned her eyes were red and swollen.
“This is exactly what I need, and I’ll just add the leftovers to my batik collection. I want to make a scrappy batik quilt someday using a braid pattern.”
“That would be very striking,” Anna said, averting her eyes.
“It’s okay to talk about her,” Sarah said gently. Anna collapsed in Sarah’s arms and sobbed.
* * *
Charles had the house to himself, and he took advantage of the time to call his son. “I need help,” he said when John answered the phone.
“What can I do for you, Pop?”
“Are you still able to get information from that FBI friend of yours up in Chicago?”
“Seymour Jackson? I’m in touch with him, but he’s not in Chicago anymore. He’s been reassigned to Texas. He’s working on some big drug case. Why do you ask?”
Charles explained the situation and John listened with interest.
“You say the FBI took over the case a few days ago?” John asked.
“That’s what the lead detective told me. The department’s been totally cut out of the loop, and I can’t find out a thing. Do you think your friend might be able to find out what’s going on?”
“I’m not sure they’ll be willing to share details about their investigation…” John began.
“No, I’m just trying to find out why the FBI would be involved at all. This is a middle-aged woman who runs a small quilt shop and leads a quiet life. We just want to know why the FBI and the Marshals would be involved in investigating her disappearance…”
“Wait a minute!” John interrupted. “You say the Marshals? The U.S. Marshals Service?”
“Well, Jake, he’s the detective up there, told me that the Marshals arrived along with the FBI agents. What do you suppose that means?”
“Whew. I don’t know, Dad, but this lady is sure not who you think she is. The Marshals are in charge of fugitive operations and work out of the federal court system. This lady must be big time.”
“No, John! I can’t believe that. I know this woman. She’s Amish, for Christ’s sake!”
“Not a bad cover,” John chuckled.
Charles sighed. “There something we’re missing here.”
“Well, the only other thing I can think of is that the Marshals also operate the Federal Witness Protection Program. Could she have been in the program and gotten picked up by the bad guys?”
Charles was speechless. “That hardly fits with what I know about her.”
“You may not know this lady at all, Pop.”
“I just don’t know. Let me think about this. In the meantime, would you talk to this Seymour and see what you can find out?”
“I’ll ask, but I can’t guarantee anything. If this goes as deep as it sounds like it might, he’s not going to be able to talk.”
“I understand.”
After a short silence, John changed the subject saying, “We sure enjoyed having you and Sarah here last month. I hope we can do that again.”
“We plan to make it an annual event if that’s okay with you folks.”
“We’d love it.
After they hung up, Charles sat rubbing his forehead and trying to make sense of what he had just learned. He wondered how much he should share with Sarah and decided he would, at least for now, keep this disturbing information to himself.
Chapter 12
“Good afternoon class,” Sarah began very formally, and her two students laughed.
Sarah knew that Allison was familiar with the concept of trapunto, but since she was practicing for an actual class, and since she wasn’t sure how much Caitlyn might know about it, she started by defining trapunto and passing around the sample she had made in her own class. “My instructor called it ‘stuffed quilting.’”
It became immediately obvious that Caitlyn had no idea what she had signed up for once she saw the sample. She gasped with amazement and exclaimed, “I had no idea you could do this.” Sarah saw her turn it over and examine the small hand stitches on the back and smile.
She gets it already, Sarah thought. Caitlyn, she knew, would be a fantastic quilter one day.
Sarah then passed out the fabric packets she had prepared. She had used a twelve-inch piece of fabric which featured a large rose with a stem and two leaves. The rose was red on a white background with green leaves and stems. To save time, Sarah had placed a piece of muslin behind the fabric square and had outline stitched around the rose, the stem, and the leaves with her machine. She went over the process so her students would know how to do this part themselves in the future.
She then gave each of her students a small bag of polyester filling and stilettos she had borrowed from Anna. Using the fabric packet she had made for herself, she illustrated how to cut a small slit in the middle of the rose on the muslin side. “Be very careful not to cut your rose.”
Allison and Caitlyn pinched their muslin and carefully snipped.
“Now, you just want to start stuffing the polyester filling inside until it’s stuffed as tight as you want it. Just look at the front and stop when you’re happy with the way it looks,” she added.
“Now what?” Allison asked once she was finished stuffing.
“Just whip stitch to close the slit. She handed Allison a needle and thread and another set to Caitlyn, who wasn’t quite ready.
“How about the stem?” Allison asked, seeing that Sarah had also stitched the length of the stem on both sides.
“Let’s do the leaf next," Sarah said, "and go ahead and do that one by yourself.” Once they had finished, Sarah talked about several techniques for stuffing the stems, and then they practiced on the stem that Sarah had outline-stitched.
“This isn’t as easy as the rose,” Caitlyn commented.
“It will be eas
ier with practice, or at least so my instructor said,” Sarah assured her with a chuckle. “Just try several techniques at home until you’re comfortable.”
The sun was shining into the room and across Caitlyn’s face. Her hair glistened, and she had a gentle smile. She was wearing a pale pink blouse and new jeans. She looked happy. Sarah couldn’t help but compare the picture with the same young girl two years ago, living alone on the street, sleeping in crowded shelters and alleys, learning from the homeless how to survive. Thank you, God, she said under her breath, and she turned her back to the class to hide the emotion she was feeling.
“This is such fun,” Caitlyn exclaimed. “I can’t wait to try it out on the pillow I’m making for Papa’s chair.”
Sarah chuckled when Caitlyn’s comment yanked her back to the present. She then pulled several types of stuffing from her tote bag and talked about the advantages of each. She also showed them how they can draw their pattern on a solid piece of fabric, back it, machine or hand stitch the lines, and stuff it to form the a pattern. “That makes a stunning quilt. I saw one at the show with an all-over pattern of feathers. The texture and depth were breathtaking.”
“You can learn more online by simply doing a search on trapunto tutorials,” she added. “When I do the actual class, people will leave with a finished wall hanging, but I know you two don’t want to spend that much time here today.”
“Sarah, before we go,” Allison said, reaching into her tote bag, “I brought my panel. Can you help me decide what parts to stuff?” She pulled it out and the three spent time deciding what parts would befit from trapunto. “I want the bird to stand out the most,” she said.
“You could actually put extra stuffing in the birds head and peak,” Sarah suggested, “and make those parts stand out even more than the body.”
“And I think one of those flowers over here would look good stuffed and, of course, the limb,” Caitlyn suggested. “The fabric I’m using for Papa’s pillow is something like this, only it has a peacock. He loves peacocks. I’m glad I haven’t sewn it together yet because I want to use trapunto on parts of it, maybe the feathers.”
“I hope you’ll bring it to our meeting when you finish,” Allison commented.
Allison wasn’t much older than Caitlyn, but was married and had children. Sarah knew her mother and knew that Allison had gone from her parent’s home to her marriage. The two girls were worlds apart and yet they sat, heads together, planning their projects and giggling.
Looking at her panel, Allison said, “This is going to be phenomenal. I can hardly wait for my mother to see it. I’m sure this isn’t what she had in mind when she said I could ‘finish it off.’”
Sarah saw a moment of sadness cross Caitlyn’s face at the word mother.
* * *
The next afternoon there was a light tapping on the front door that Sarah could hardly hear. She pulled the curtain aside and saw Caitlyn looking worried. Sarah opened the door and greeted her enthusiastically, but the girl’s first response was an apology.
“I’m so sorry to come by without calling, Aunt Sarah.” Sarah was in no way related to the young girl, but both Caitlyn and Penny had started calling her Aunt. Sarah liked it. Being from a small family, she didn’t have nieces and nephews. Her only sister had died in her early twenties not long after her marriage. Caitlyn and Penny, for that matter, didn’t have but a few relatives and Sarah understood their need for family.
“You never have to call, my dear. I love opening the door and finding you there,” she responded as she hugged the child fondly. At that moment, Barney came galloping into the room and right out the front door.
“Oh Barney,” Caitlyn cried. Turning to Sarah, she said, “I’ll get him,” but it wasn’t necessary. He was so happy to see Caitlyn that he was immediately by her side, smiling and panting.
“Come on in, Caitlyn, and have refreshments. I was just getting ready to have my afternoon snack.”
“You have a snack in the afternoon?” Caitlyn said somewhat surprised. She always had a snack when she got home from school, but it never occurred to her that an adult might do that as well.
Sarah put two glasses of milk on the kitchen table along with a platter of cookies, but they remained untouched as Caitlyn sat quietly rubbing Barney’s head. Sarah sensed that Caitlyn had something on her mind. “Was there something you wanted to talk about, Caitlyn?”
“Oh, Aunt Sarah, I don’t know if I should be telling you this, but I just don’t know what to do. I wanted to talk to you about it after our class yesterday, but it didn’t seem like the right time.”
“What is it, Caitlyn?” Sarah asked, becoming concerned. She rarely saw the girl without a smile on her face.
“It’s just that Penny is so upset about moving to Altoona. She doesn’t want to go.”
“Well honey, sometimes parents have to move with their jobs. The kids never want to do it. It means leaving their school and their friends, but Penny is a smart young lady, and I know she’ll adjust well. Has she told her father how she feels?”
“She doesn’t want to tell him. She wants to ask her grandmother if she can go live with her.”
Sarah didn’t know how to respond. It made her very sad to think that Penny was faced with losses again. She’d gone through many changes in the past year, and she had made many adjustments. It seemed like she had finally found her place in her new life. From the day Timothy made his announcement about moving, Sarah had wondered how it would affect Penny.
“This is really between Timothy and his daughter, Caitlyn,” Sarah began. “I don’t know what we can do. They need to be talking to each other so that her father knows how she feels and can help her adjust to the idea of moving. In fact, Sophie also needs to know what Penny has in mind.”
“Would you talk to Sophie?”
“Me?”
“She’d listen to you. Someone has to help Penny.”
Sarah thought about it for a minute and reluctantly agreed to talk to Sophie. “But please talk to Penny and make sure it’s okay with her for me to get involved.”
“It is,” Caitlyn responded, looking relieved.
“It is? How do you know that?”
“She’s the one that suggested it.”
Sarah laughed, remembering how her own children could always maneuver her into doing exactly what they wanted. “Okay, I’ll talk to Sophie, but you let Penny know that what I’m going to suggest is that they all three sit down together and talk about this.”
Caitlyn nodded her agreement and reached for a cookie and took a big bite out of it. She immediately made a face and took a large gulp of milk to wash it down. “Oh, sorry,” Sarah said, removing the dish and replacing it with chocolate chip cookies. “Those are Charles’ special cookies.”
“Charles likes those?” she asked, looking skeptical.
“Not really, but that’s all he gets. His doctor wants him on a low-fat diet, and I found that recipe online the other day. Not so good, huh?”
“I guess they’re okay,” Caitlyn responded still holding what was left of the original cookie. Glancing up to see that Sarah wasn’t looking, she quickly offered it to Barney who was not so particular.
“Would you like to see the pictures from our trip to Denver?” Sarah asked.
“Oh yes. What did you do there?”
“Well, we spent a couple of days in the Rocky Mountain National Park driving through the mountains. We walked around in an old mining town from the 1800s, and it looked just like they look in those western movies. Oh, and I saw my first moose!”
“A moose?”
“Actually, a whole herd grazing in the valley.” As she talked, Sarah pulled out the appropriate pictures which Caitlyn studied in great detail. “And of course, we saw eagles and elk. Once we got into the higher peaks, the sign said we were at 12,000 feet, and the scenery was breathtaking. Here’s a picture of the landscape. See how the mountains in the distance look purple?”
“Oh, that’s beautif
ul! But wasn’t it cold?”
“Sure, but it was April, and you could tell spring was coming, at least in the valleys. Wildflowers were beginning to bloom at the lower elevations, and there was snow when we traveled higher. It was a spectacular trip that I’ll never forget.” She laid out another three or four pictures.
“Didn’t his sons go with you to the park? I don’t see any pictures of them.”
“No, they were working. It was just the two of us. We spent the night at a mountain lodge just outside the park and drove on back to Denver the next day.”
“What else did you do while you were there?”
“Well, let’s see.” Sarah opened the second package of pictures that Charles had picked up the previous day. “We all signed up for a walking tour of Denver, but that turned out to be a mistake. It was the coldest day we had there, and the wind was howling. We went to the top of the state capitol building for a spectacular 360-degree view of the city. Here are several pictures Charles took up there. We abandoned the tour after that and spent the next few hours in a cozy restaurant just getting to know one another. David is the principal of an inner city school, and he had some incredible tales to tell.”
“I guess those schools can be pretty rough. We’re lucky here.”
Sarah scattered the rest of the pictures out, mostly of his sons and John’s family, and Caitlyn asked about each one. “How old is John’s son?”
“Jimmy’s nine and smart as a whip. I think he’ll be a lawyer like his father. You should see that boy argue until he gets his way,” she added with a loving smile.
“What’s this?” Caitlyn asked, holding up a picture of two men who appeared to be racing through the snow in a vehicle of some kind. Sarah laughed as she reached for the picture. “That’s John and Charles on snowmobiles. I guess David took that picture. I hadn’t seen it.”
“You had snow while you were there?”
“Only in the mountains. The men drove up there, but I stayed home and went shopping with John’s wife. They came home wet and nearly frozen – I was glad I didn’t go.”
Missing Memories Page 9
