Boxed In

by Karen Kelly

  “I can’t think of any reason why that wouldn’t work,” said Kate. “How about working up a test piece for each color combination, and then if they work, you can buy more. If you need to tweak anything, you can exchange whatever you need. Did you have a yarn in mind?”

  “Natural fiber, definitely. Maybe a merino and cotton mix?”

  “We have a wonderful forty percent merino and sixty percent linen that will be strong enough to keep the pillow’s shape but also be soft to the touch.” Kate scanned the rainbow collection of yarns. She pulled out one with the color name “champagne” and handed it to Annie. “How does that feel?”

  Annie felt the yarn, picturing herself working with it for the next month. “This feels like a winner. I knew you’d be a great help, Kate. This color even mimics the natural wood stripe of the baskets. Now I only need to pick out the accent colors.”

  “Is there anything else I can help you with, Annie?” To the casual shopper Kate was the perfect example of stellar customer service, but Annie noticed a slight tinge of something else in her voice. Glancing at her watch, she realized how long she and Alice had taken in their decisions. It was past five o’clock. Annie knew Kate probably had things to do before she went home to Vanessa. She didn’t want to hinder her.

  “No, Kate. I’ll just grab more of this champagne and some French blue and … it’s a tie between the sandalwood and cream, so I’ll get some of both for test swatches.” Annie stacked the skeins of yarn on the counter and sidled up to Alice, who had just pulled down two different shades of aida cloth to compare. She whispered, “It’s getting late. Have you found everything? I’m sure Kate needs to get home soon.” Louder she said, “We better finish so we can still surprise Mary Beth. It’ll be no fun if she comes out by herself.”

  “And you know how much I love a good surprise,” said Alice. She lifted one of the pieces of cloth to Annie’s eye level. “I think this is the one for this project.”

  Annie looked from the cloth to the floss collection in Alice’s shopping basket. “They both would work beautifully, but I like that one a touch better too.”

  Alice slid the other cloth back in its place on the display, and carried her basket to the front counter. “Kate, I’m ready for checkout.” She placed some cash next to her basket. “We’ll be right back.” Kate smiled as she watched her friends tiptoe toward the door of the shop’s office. She was ringing up the floss when Alice noticed some felted animals grazing on the kid’s craft table. Plucking up a sheep in one hand and a cow in the other, she mimed a knocking motion to Annie. Annie rapped four times on the office door.

  Mary Beth’s chair creaked. “Come in.” Annie opened the door a couple inches and then stepped back to give Alice a clear path. The sheep entered the office first, prancing on air and trilling, “How are ewwwwe?” The cow trailed behind, “I’m moooody.”

  “How udderly ridiculous!” Mary Beth exclaimed, as she removed her reading glasses. “Come in, all four of ewe.”

  Annie rescued the cow from Alice’s hand. “These are adorable. I have to round up a few for the twins’ Christmas box.”

  “That can be arranged.” Mary Beth swiveled her chair to face a computer. “Give me a few seconds to close out this program before I forget.” Several taps and a couple clicks later, Mary Beth reversed her swivel. “OK, another task done. So did Cecil have any new information for you?”

  Alice nudged Annie. “I guess we know now that Mary Beth had lunch at the same time our esteemed mayor did.”

  “And you would be wrong.” Mary Beth shook her finger at Alice. “The mayor had breakfast at The Cup & Saucer. Peggy pumped him for information and then served it to me at lunch alongside my burger. Well?”

  “Nothing really new, actually, although Cecil did confirm that the items did not belong to him, and that he had never seen them. Also, the collar was definitely for a female, like the curator thought. But he did give me the idea of posting descriptions of the box and collar on some genealogy websites.”

  Alice chimed in, “Which Annie already did before we came to shop.”

  “I was a little embarrassed to have someone almost the same age as my grandparents remind me of Internet resources.”

  Alice placed the sheep on Annie’s shoulder, nuzzling it against her ear. “Was it a wild and woolly situation?”

  “You’re so baaaaaad.” Annie snatched the sheep out of Alice’s hand too, chuckling. “It will be worth a little embarrassment if it produces an answer or helps solve the mystery.”

  10

  Alice maneuvered the Mustang up the driveway, stopping about fifteen feet from the porch. “Don’t forget, I’ll be over tomorrow after my two shows, probably around four.”

  Annie climbed out of the low-slung car and pulled the bag of goodies from A Stitch in Time out after her. “I’ll be sure to butter up Boots before you come.”

  “That sounds messy!” Alice laughed and put the car in reverse. Annie waved, and then she climbed the steps to the porch. After her busy day, the cozy wicker chair and ocean sounds beckoned to her. Annie was setting her bag beside the chair when she heard the telephone ringing in the living room. Snatching the bag back into her arms, Annie jabbed the key into the dead-bolt. On the fourth ring she grabbed the handset and gasped, “Hello!”

  “Mom! Are you all right?” LeeAnn’s voice was filled with concern. “You sound horrible. Do you have a respiratory infection or something?”

  “LeeAnn, I’m so glad you called.” Annie paused for a deep breath to coax her heart rate back to normal. “I’m perfectly healthy. I had just gotten to the porch when I heard the phone ring. Alice and I were shopping in town this afternoon. She had just dropped me off, and I was about to sit myself down in a porch chair when I heard the phone.”

  Annie set the shopping bag down next to the sofa and made herself comfortable, leaning against Gram’s soft pillows and stretching out her legs.

  “That’s a relief,” said LeeAnn. “Your heroic efforts mean one less voice-mail message for you and less patience needed for me. I didn’t want to have to wait to tell you about the twins’ first week of kindergarten.”

  “I’ve been thinking about John and Joanna all week. Do they like their teachers? Did you go through with your plan to have them try being in separate classes?” Annie and LeeAnn had burned up the phone line over the previous six months as LeeAnn and Herb debated the issue of whether the twins should be in the same classroom or separated. The state of Texas had been the second state to approve legislation giving parents the deciding vote in the classroom placement of twins or other multiples of siblings, and LeeAnn and Herb wanted to use that vote wisely.

  “Yes, we did. John and Joanna actually liked the idea; it was what they wanted. They have different friends, different interests, and personalities. I think they’re hoping to make new friends who like what they like. Herb and I made sure they knew that if they changed their minds and just could not get comfortable in separate classrooms, we would approach the teachers and administration about making a change.”

  “After their first week, are they still happy with their choice?”

  “They seem to be, Mom. Not one peep about missing each other so far. But they’ve been so tired at the end of the day, maybe they just don’t have the energy!”

  Annie smiled at a rising memory. “Like mother, like children. I remember your first week at kindergarten. You talked my ear off from the second you climbed off the bus until I set a snack in front of you. Then you’d fall asleep with your braids dipping into your milk. But you adjusted quickly, and I’m sure John and Joanna will too.”

  LeeAnn chuckled. “Thank you for not taking a photo of me in that position and enlarging it for my high school graduation party.”

  “It was tempting, I tell you. You looked so adorable. Where are Joanna and John? Can I say hello to them?”

  “I made dinner early since they were so tired. They’ll be having their baths soon, but they would love to talk to you.” LeeAnn p
ulled the phone away from her mouth and called out, “Who wants to talk with Grammy?”

  Her stomach rumbling, Annie took the opportunity to carry the phone into the kitchen. She could hear the voices of her grandchildren yelling, “Me!” “I do!” Muffled at first and gradually growing louder, Annie could picture their progress through the house to the phone. She filled the teakettle under the faucet and placed it on a back burner. Just as she opened the refrigerator door to hunt for the leftover black bean soup she planned to heat for dinner, she heard Joanna’s voice in her ear.

  “Hi, Grammy! Did you hear the wish I made last night all the way up there?”

  “What did you wish?” Annie pulled a small saucepan from a cabinet and poured the soup into it. The saucepan went on the burner next to the kettle.

  “I told Jesus I wished I could tell you all about my new teacher and the kids in my class and the way bigger playground. And now I can!” Joanna’s little voice grew more and more excited until it was punctuated by a stifled yawn.

  “That’s one of my favorite kinds of wishes.” Annie selected a wooden spoon from a bouquet of utensils blooming from a stoneware crock and stirred the soup, adjusting the flame so it would heat slowly. “Tell me all about it.”

  The next ten minutes were filled with colorful descriptions of the new school building and Mrs. Bop, the teacher, and why Joanna thought Morgan was going to be her newest good friend. Joanna concluded by informing Annie that a magician was going to perform at school the next day, the last day of the first week, and that John kept tugging on her arm so she had to go.

  “I loved hearing about your first week of kindergarten, Joanna! And I love you very much. Good night, sweetheart!”

  “I love you too, Grammy. I miss you more than a bear misses honey.” Joanna passed the phone over to John.

  “Grammy, I thought Joanna would never give me a turn! Guess what? My teacher, Mrs. Ensign, asked us to bring in our favorite toy animal tomorrow, and she’s going to take our pictures with them to put on the bulletin board.”

  “What a fun idea, John. Which animal are you taking?”

  “The gray whale you gave me, of course! Whales rule.”

  John’s comment reminded Annie of her recent conversation with Ian. “Whales are amazing creatures, for sure. A friend of mine here tells me there is a maritime museum not too far away with all kinds of displays about boats and whales. I’m going to send you a brochure in my next letter.”

  “Awesome! When can we come? Do you know what kind of boats they have?”

  “You’re just going to have to come and see for yourself. And make sure you read the brochure with your mom.”

  “Grammy, send it right now.”

  “The post office is closed for the night, but I promise to send it tomorrow. How do you like your classmates?”

  “I like them so far, ’specially Tyler. He’s funny and didn’t even get mad when he couldn’t eat the cupcakes Sara’s mother made for us. He has celery disease.”

  “That’s an illness I don’t recognize.”

  “Tyler’s dad talked to us about it. Celery disease is when you can’t eat anything made with wheat stuff. It makes Tyler really sick if he eats any.”

  “Oh, Tyler has celiac disease.”

  John spoke with a consciously polite tone. “Yes, Grammy, that’s what I already told you. Anyway, when Tyler heard I had a twin sister, he gave me his cupcake for Joanna. She liked that a lot.”

  “How thoughtful of Tyler. Your other classmates didn’t mind you getting the extra cupcake?”

  “Nah, none of them have a twin. They think that’s neat, even though Joanna’s a girl, so we can’t switch places and play tricks on people.”

  LeeAnn cut into the conversation. “John, it’s bath time. Daddy’s waiting for you upstairs. Say goodnight to Grammy.”

  “I have to go get clean, Grammy. I love you. Don’t forget to send the museum thing.”

  “I won’t, John. Tell Daddy I said hello. Love you!”

  “Bye.” Annie heard his small legs charging up the stairs and his holler. “I have to get my whales, Daddy. They’re dirty too.”

  LeeAnn was back on the line. “They miss you so much, Mom, even though you were here just a couple of weeks ago.”

  “What more can I do to convince you to come to Maine for Thanksgiving vacation?” Annie asked. “I found a maritime museum that is perfect for John. And the weather will actually be cool enough for a fire! All of you will love Stony Point, I just know it.”

  “John and Joanna are already doing a good job of convincing me. During nightly prayer they keep asking Jesus if they can go to Maine, and if He’d help them get there. Herb is a little concerned that the travel will be too tiring for the twins, but I think he’ll realize they can handle it once they get more used to school and aren’t so tired all week.”

  “I’m joining John and Joanna in their prayers. You know the Bible says that the Lord works and who can hinder it? There’s a special surprise I’m cooking up for when you come.” Annie couldn’t wait any longer. She ladled the soup into a bowl and cut a piece of corn bread. She would tell LeeAnn about the mystery next time when she wasn’t so hungry. Maybe she’d have more answers by then from the website posts.

  “Stop! You have me wanting to hop on a plane tomorrow, and then Joanna would miss seeing the magician,” LeeAnn protested with laughter in her voice. “I need to go, Mom. If I’m not there at bath time, Joanna will leave soap in her hair, and it will look like straw all day tomorrow. We’ll talk soon.”

  “Enjoy your weekend, Honey. Good night!”

  “Love you, Mom. Bye!”

  Annie clicked the “end call” button and placed the cordless phone on the kitchen table. After taking a quick bite of the corn bread, she carried the plate and bowl from counter to table. She turned back for her tea, sipping the decaf Earl Grey. Boots padded her way down the hall and into the kitchen, stopping for a brief drink at the water bowl.

  “I guess I’m not the only thirsty one in the house,” said Annie. “Boots, you’ll be happy to know I’m staying home tomorrow. It’s looking more and more certain that we’ll be having company over Thanksgiving. I need to get the baker’s rack down from the attic and get everything set up for making the rose-hip jelly. It’s almost picking time.” Boots swished her tail and twitched her ears before slipping under the table and settling herself on top of Annie’s feet. Annie smiled at the thought of having a Boots blanket over the winter months, albeit a blanket with an ornery mind of its own. She turned her attention to the nourishing and delicious meal, replaying her conversation with Joanna and John in her mind. “Thank you, Lord, for keeping us free of celery disease so the twins can experience toast with rose-hip jelly this autumn.” Annie allowed herself the laugh she had suppressed during her conversation with John.

  After dinner was finished, and the dishes cleaned and put away, Annie settled on the living room couch to begin her first pillow. She laid the copy of the poem fragment and her notes from the museum on the arm of the couch where she could see them for inspiration and guidance. Pulling the skeins of yarn from the bag beside the couch, Annie decided to start with the champagne and French blue colors, and put the sandalwood and cream colors away for later.

  Selecting the right-size Tunisian crochet hook from the stash in her tote, Annie began chaining the champagne yarn. When the chain was the right length, she skipped the first chain, inserted the hook in the back horizontal bar of the next chain, wrapped the yarn over the hook, and pulled up a loop. As Annie pulled up loops in each of the chains, she murmured the words of the poem. The first two lines reminded her of a day almost twenty-five years before, when LeeAnn was young enough to be content in a stroller for a day at the zoo. They had wandered along paths lined with habitats for bears, lemurs, big cats, and gibbons until they came upon a miniature river populated with otters. While Annie had, as always, appreciated the power and grace of the black leopards, ocelots, and Sumatran tigers, she couldn’t st
op watching the river otters as they slipped from the riverbank to dart through the water, and then flipped off the sides to change directions. Water dancing, she thought, just as the writer of the poem had said. Annie had been entranced by the otters’ dance too. She suspected that if she lived in a place where she saw otters often, she would feel a keen kinship with them also.

  Annie pulled up the last loop on the hook and then turned her work to begin crocheting with the French blue yarn on the return pass. “Where would you dance?” She would have mourned for the one who was so obviously taken out of her natural element, if not for those four little words. “If love took you” changed everything. Annie had not always loved being the bookkeeper for the car dealership in Texas. While she pursued her studies at Texas A&M, she hadn’t been dreaming of a career in bookkeeping. But she did love Wayne, and their lunches together, quick moments of laughter, or even the flash of a smile across the showroom as she came out to refill her coffee mug, infused the hours of balancing, tallying, and recording with meaning. Had the poem’s author ever come to the place in her heart where she felt in her element again, even if she was never restored to her natural habitat? Where had that natural habitat been? How did Stony Point fit in her life history, if it did at all?

  Annie began a forward pass of Tunisian purl stitch with the French blue yarn; she liked the effect of the contrasting colors. Boots entered the cozy room, jumping onto one of the chairs facing the couch. She curled up in a loose ball, tucking her paws into her chest. “Ah, Boots, what am I going to do about this project? The colors are perfect, but I’m not so sure this pillow is going to end up anywhere near doing justice to those gorgeous urchin baskets.” Boots turned her eyes toward Annie for a couple of seconds, and then closed them and lowered her head to settle in for a nap.

  “It’s a good thing Alice is coming over tomorrow. You’re no creative help.”