by Molly Macrae
“There was never really enough between us,” she said. “That’s the way I saw it, anyway. I loved this town more than I loved him. So I stayed and he went, and I’ve never been sorry. But I think he was. That tune he played on the courthouse lawn that afternoon was “Mairi’s Wedding.” He played it at our wedding. And the tune he played at midnight is played at funerals. I think it was his farewell to Blue Plum. He’d sold the house and had nothing else to tie him here.”
She said she had a couple of confessions to make, too.
“My feelings for Hugh weren’t so completely indifferent after all. Being out there that night, and being so near where he died, was too much for me. I pretended I’d twisted my ankle. I should have been honest.”
And because she was friendly—and had always been friendly—with Olive, she’d spilled the yarn bomb beans to her several weeks earlier, and recruited her to crochet a few strips for the cause. When she saw Olive on Tuesday afternoon, she’d told her about Hugh selling the house.
“She acted as though the yarn bombing was an affront to Handmade Blue Plum,” I said.
“Distancing herself from it,” Rachel guessed, “so people wouldn’t know she’d made strips, too.”
* * *
Shirley and Mercy Spivey also came into the shop one morning. They rarely bought anything when they came in, but this time they piled the counter high with skeins of pink baby yarn.
“You’ll never guess,” Shirley said. “We’re going to be grandmothers!”
“I’m going to be a grandmother,” said Mercy with a glare. But then a remarkable thing happened—she threw her arms around Shirley and said, “We. You’re right. We’re going to be grandmothers. Angie’s having a baby.”
And they both burst into tears.
But they pulled themselves back together, and after they paid for the yarn, I asked them, again, where they’d gotten the information they’d passed on to me about Hugh’s movements on that Tuesday.
“Olive,” Mercy said. “We were duped.”
“Duped by a disgraceful excuse for a cousin,” said Shirley.
“Why did she give you that information?” Ardis asked.
“We aren’t sure,” said Shirley. “But we think she wanted our help to frame Al Rogalla.”
“And we want you to know, Kath,” Mercy said, “that we will never act toward a cousin the way Olive did.”
“I believe you.”
* * *
Ardis started wearing her braided bracelet again a few days after Olive’s arrest. She didn’t announce it, but I noticed and then Geneva did. They were wary of each other, but each was obviously on her best behavior.
They were both absorbed in the pieces of stories people brought to us. Geneva usually lay curled around the ceiling fan, chin propped in her hands. When the twins came in, she floated down to the counter and nestled in their pile of pink wool. Ardis had to pretend a sneeze to cover her urge to laugh. When the twins left, Geneva wafted over to the mannequin and perched on its shoulder.
“This talk of disgraceful cousins made me think of a question,” she said. “Is it easier to be friends than relatives?”
Ardis looked at me.
“Be my guest,” I said.
“Okay,” she said. “Here’s what I think. I’d say being relatives is unavoidable. Those are knots that are tied the moment you’re born. Being relatives is an accident, and not always a happy one. Liking your relatives and actually being friends with them is hard.”
“Olive and Hugh were relatives,” Geneva said, “but not friends.”
“And she felt she had no choice. But here we are, only aware that we’re relatives by the strangest of circumstances.” Ardis touched her braided bracelet. “But also by choice.”
“What do you choose?” Geneva asked.
“Relatives,” Ardis said, “and friends.”
Tunnel of Fudge Cake with Ginger
Ingredients
CAKE
1 cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1¾ cups butter, softened
6 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2¼ cups unbleached white flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons vanilla
1½ cups chopped, crystallized ginger
GLAZE
¾ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
4–6 tablespoons milk
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Gradually add the 2 cups of powdered sugar, blending well. Stir in flour and remaining cake ingredients. Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread evenly.
3. Bake at 350ºF. for 45 to 50 minutes or until top is set and edges are beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 1½ hours. Turn out onto serving plate and cool completely.
4. Combine glaze ingredients in small bowl, adding enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Spoon over top of cake, allowing some to run down sides. Store tightly covered.
Roasted Beet and Radish Salad à l’Orange
Ingredients for roasted vegetables
1 bunch red radishes cut into wedges ½ inch at wide end
4 beets (tangerine to orange in size), peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
2 carrots, peeled and cut into ¼- to ½-inch slices
½ red onion, sliced into ¼- to ½-inch rings, then rings into quarters
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. fresh thyme
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
Ingredients for curried pecans
1 tsp. olive oil
⅓ cup pecan halves
½ to 1 tsp. curry powder
¼ tsp. salt
Fresh ingredients to finish the salad
3 to 4 cups mixed greens (spinach, romaine, etc.)
1 seedless orange, segments cut into bite-size pieces
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450ºF.
2. Toss prepared radishes, beets, carrots, and onion with olive oil. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, turning once or twice, cooking until the vegetables are tender and the edges are beginning to caramelize. Roasted vegetables are good—caramelized vegetables are superb.
3. When you think the vegetables are 3–5 minutes away from being perfect, stir in the balsamic vinegar and finish roasting.
4. Let cool while you prepare the pecans, the greens, and the orange.
5. Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add pecans, curry powder, and salt. Stir until pecans begin to brown. Remove from heat.
6. Put greens in a large salad bowl. Add the roasted vegetables. Top with the orange and the pecans.
The salad doesn’t really need a dressing, but an oil-and-vinegar Italian is nice, and Asiago peppercorn is great.
Yarn Bomb Bunting
Designed by Kate Winkler, Designs from Dove Cottage 2015
Designed for Molly MacRae’s Knot the Usual Suspects
Almost any knitting or crocheting can become a yarn bomb. Swatches (I am sure you always work a gauge swatch) can be joined together in strips to wrap poles, trees, etc., or attached to i-cord or crocheted chain to make bunting.
The easiest knitted yarn bomb is a simple length of garter stitch. You can use any yarn available, but using up odd bits of yarn in various colors and textures makes the result even more fun. Use a needle one or two sizes larger than you would normally use for a garment made with the yarn; in the case of mixed weights of yarn, go with the size you’d use for the heaviest yarn in the mix. Vari
egated yarns add extra interest. You can join as you go, or make up a “magic ball” by knotting yarns together with a simple overhand knot. Don’t trim the tails—they’ll add to the impact of your yarn bomb.
Bunting Pattern
This pattern uses short rows to shape the pennants. There are many ways to avoid a hole at the short row “turn”; consult a knitting reference work or search for “short row tutorial” on the Internet. I prefer German short rows, which do not require a wrap.
Materials
Worsted-weight yarn in a variety of colors
Size 9 (5.5mm) needles
Crochet hook, size G or H
Tapestry needle
Abbreviations: (crochet terms are US usage) K=knit, SR=short row, ch=chain, sc=single crochet, sl st=slip stitch, rep=repeat
Knitted Pennant
Cast on 31 stitches.
Row 1: K28, turn
Row 2 and all even-numbered rows: K to end
Row 3: K24, turn
Row 5: K20, turn
Row 7: K16, turn
Row 9: K12, turn
Row 11: K8, turn
Row 13: K4, turn
Row 15: K7, incorporating SR stitch or wrap when you come to it; turn
Row 17: K11, incorporating SR stitches or wraps when you come to them; turn
Row 19: K15, incorporating SR stitches or wraps when you come to them; turn
Row 21: K19, incorporating SR stitches or wraps when you come to them; turn
Row 23: K23, incorporating SR stitches or wraps when you come to them; turn
Row 25: K27, incorporating SR stitches or wraps when you come to them; turn
Row 27: K31, incorporating SR stitches or wraps when you come to them
Bind off all stitches. Knit as many pennants as desired.
Crocheted Cord
Ch 50, *sc in every ridge across top of pennant, ch 25; rep from * until all pennants are attached to chain, ch 25.
Turn, skip first ch and sl st in every ch and sc across. Fasten off.
Weave in ends.
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