by Terri DuLong
“That’s wonderful,” I said. “So now you have contact with your parents again?”
“It’s even better, and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. My dad asked if I wanted to come home. He said Max and I were welcome to come to New York and stay with my parents till I got on my feet. He also said he’d handle getting an attorney so I could divorce Dean and start over.”
“That is wonderful,” Aunt Maude said. “So you’ll be leaving us?”
“Well, not right away. I told my dad I hated to take Max out of school midyear, and he agreed. But yes, I’ll be going to New York in May when school finishes, and my parents are planning a trip down here next month so that they can finally meet their grandson.”
“I’m so happy for you,” my aunt said. “We’re certainly going to miss you, but how great for you and Max.”
“Gosh, I agree,” I told her. “We’ll miss you, but this is great news.”
“So I wanted to let you know right away. You know, so that way you could be looking for another cleaning girl.”
“That was very thoughtful of you,” my aunt said. “But you’re not to worry about that. I’m sure we’ll find somebody.”
“Thank you for being so understanding,” Rachel said, getting up to give my aunt a hug.
The second piece of news came that evening from my sister. My aunt had made a New England boiled dinner and insisted I join her and Chloe.
I walked in to find Chloe setting the table. “Hey,” she said, looking up with a bright smile on her face. “Could you uncork that Cabernet I just brought home?”
“Sure,” I said, reaching for the bottle. “Where’s Aunt Maude?”
“In the other room on the phone with somebody from the Garden Club.”
A minute later she joined us and I passed her a wineglass.
“Thanks,” she said, before taking a sip. “I just have to get this smoked shoulder sliced, so if one of you could start removing the vegetables into bowls, we’ll be eating shortly.”
I began spooning potatoes, carrots, turnips, and cabbage into the serving bowls.
The three of us sat down, and I noticed Chloe seemed to be unusually happy.
“How’s Cameron?” I asked.
“Oh, he’s good. He’s leaving next week to fly out to California to visit his daughter and grandchild, but he’ll be back mid-February.”
Well, that couldn’t be what was making my sister seem perky.
“I got some interesting news today,” she said, and both my aunt and I looked up with interest. “I was at the yarn shop—oh, have you seen the new sugarcane yarn that Monica got in? It’s really scrumptious. I got the prettiest shade of green to make a scarf. Anyway, while I was there, Dora told me that Monica’s thinking of selling the yarn shop.”
“What?” both my aunt and I said at once. This was the first I was hearing about this.
“Yeah, but listen,” Chloe said. “Monica feels that once the triplets arrive she really won’t have enough time to devote to the shop. But she doesn’t want to just close it or let it go out of the family. So ... she’s offered to sell it to Dora.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” my aunt said. “I think we’re really spoiled having the yarn shop here on the island.”
“Right,” Chloe continued. “So Dora was telling me about this and she said it had always been her dream to own a yarn shop, but she doesn’t feel she could run it alone. And so ... she’s asked me to be her partner.”
“Are you serious?” I said. Now I understood the reason for my sister’s perkiness. “Are you going to do it? That would be great.”
“I think I am,” Chloe said. “Maybe it’ll give me a chance to finally use that degree I got in college so many years ago. Hey, I have the money to invest in the partnership, so why not?”
“Oh, Chloe,” my aunt said. “I’m so happy for you. I agree. I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for both you and Dora. You like each other, you’re both expert knitters, and it would enable each of you to have some time off when you needed it. I’d say this is a win–win situation.”
Chloe smiled. “I think so too. Gosh, it’s hard to believe how miserable I was just a year ago, and now ... I’m going to be part owner of a yarn shop.” She held up her glass of wine and tilted it toward me and my aunt. “I’m really glad I’m here. You’ve both helped me through a really tough time.”
“I’m glad too,” I found myself saying. And I meant it.
“That’s what family’s for,” my aunt said, sending a wink in my direction. “I’m proud of both of you. You’ve both managed to walk through some difficult times and get to the other side.”
“So when do you think that you and Dora will be the official owners of the yarn shop?” I asked.
“Monica said we’re free to run it together now, but we’ll do the official paperwork after she delivers the triplets. So probably around May when she gets back on her feet.”
“Are you planning to change the name of it?” my aunt questioned.
“No. Dora and I discussed that. We like Yarning Together, and besides, yarning represents the cute word that Clarissa used to call knitting, and Yarning Together is still appropriate.”
“Oh, good,” I said. “I liked Spinning Forward, the name Sydney called it, but Yarning Together is different.”
“Oh, I have some other news,” Chloe said. “You just might finally be getting rid of me. I stopped in at Pelican Realty today to see what was for sale on the island. The Hale Building on Second Street is available ... and I think I’m interested. The two apartments upstairs are vacant, and I could live in one of them and rent the other. Tony’s Restaurant downstairs has a lease, and I’m sure somebody might be interested in leasing the small shop next door.”
“Wow! You’re just full of surprises,” I said. “So you’ll be a yarn shop owner and landlord to a couple of businesses. That’s great.”
“That is great, Chloe. I think that would be an ideal situation for you, and you could walk to work from your apartment,” my aunt told her.
“Yeah. I’m going to go take a look at it tomorrow. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up being a bona fide part of this community.”
I laughed. “This island has a way of making that happen. A lot of us come here as a retreat, but we end up settling in and never leaving.”
“Are we all set for the knitters to arrive on Friday?” Chloe asked.
“Yes, I believe we are,” my aunt said. “I think we have a great group of women coming for our debut weekend. I’m looking forward to getting to know them.”
“And the weather looks like it’ll be great for the Blue Moon ceremony Sunday evening on the beach,” I said.
Chloe got up to clear the plates from the table and begin stacking them in the dishwasher. “As much fun as I’m sure the original ones were, I’m rather glad we won’t be sleeping all night on the beach.”
I laughed as I helped her to clear the table. “Yeah, the one I attended with Monica was fun, but I agree. I think we’ll be able to accomplish what we hope to from five till seven. It’ll be a nice way to finish off the weekend.”
My aunt began wrapping up the leftovers. “And you both have chosen a quote to read Sunday evening?” she asked, sounding like a parent checking on a child’s homework.
Chloe and I both laughed. “Yes, Auntie, I have mine.”
“Me too,” I said. “And Suellen has been tuning her guitar, so we’ll have some music. Oh, do we have the candles?”
“We do,” my aunt said. “I found some nice ones in Gainesville.”
“Then the only thing left is the arrival of the ladies on Friday morning.” I had to admit that I was excited about the upcoming weekend.
26
I was up by six Friday morning, took Annie for a quick walk, got myself together, and was in the carriage house by eight, but Aunt Maude was already there preparing coffee when I walked in.
“Good morning,” she said, a huge smile on her face. It was obvious that she
was in her element and was going to enjoy these weekends.
“Aren’t you the early bird? What can I do to help?”
“I have muffins and bagels. Maybe you could start putting those out on a plate. Chloe will be over shortly to help.”
Just before nine, the table was arranged, Dora and Suellen had arrived, and soft music was playing on the CD player.
“Hello,” somebody hollered from the doorway. “Do we have the right place?”
I looked over to see two women who appeared to be in their early thirties. Both were tall and slim, wearing jeans and sweatshirts. One was exceptionally attractive with blond spiky hair that had a strip of green, a nose ring, and a tattoo of a butterfly on her lower arm. The other was more subdued, with little makeup and long dark hair that hung in a single braid down her back.
“Riley and Devon?” I asked, walking toward them with my hand outstretched.
“Yeah,” the blonde said. “I’m Riley, and this is my friend, Devon.”
“Welcome.” My aunt gestured toward the table. “Come on in. We have coffee, juice, and some muffins and bagels.”
“Great. I’m starved,” Riley said. “We left Tampa at five this morning.”
“That was Riley’s idea,” her friend replied. “I told her I’d pay for the extra night to come yesterday, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She’s been frugal since kindergarten.”
Suellen and I looked at each and laughed. “Ah, yes,” she said. “Being childhood friends allows you to really know each other.” She went on to explain that we’d also been friends since we were little.
A minute later the final four women arrived.
“Everybody help yourselves to some coffee and food. I’m Maude Stone,” my aunt said, and then introduced the rest of us. “Find a nice cushy seat and then we’ll all get to know each other.”
After we got seated, Riley and Devon introduced themselves first.
“I’m Tara Lesley, and this is my cousin, Julia Beecham.”
Both women looked to be early sixties, with dark hair and a resemblance that bordered more on sisters than cousins.
“Oh, that’s right,” I said. “Julia, you’re from England, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I flew to Boston last week to stay with Tara for a few days before we drove down here.”
We looked at the other two women sitting on the love seat.
“I’m Martha Bellingham, and this is my sister, Rebecca Chase. I live in Washington State but flew to Tampa last week to stay with Rebecca before we drove up here yesterday.”
“Well, how nice that all of you could join us for the first knitting retreat weekend,” my aunt said.
“I hope I’ll leave here knowing how to knit better.” Riley got up to refill her coffee mug. “I’d sure love to know how to knit cables.”
“I’d bet anything that by the time you leave here on Monday, you’ll be an expert,” Suellen said. “How long have you been knitting?”
“Only about three months.” She paused for a moment. “My ... ah ...”
“Her mother passed away last August,” Devon continued. “I thought it might be good for her to learn how to knit, so we both signed up at a local yarn shop in Tampa.”
What a caring thing to do for a friend, I thought.
“Knitting can be excellent therapy for many things,” Dora said. “Well, don’t worry, Riley. Suellen’s right. You’ll be making cables before the weekend’s over.”
Chloe and I got up to remove the empty plates and coffee cups. “Okay, ladies,” I said. “Time to begin knitting. Let’s see what everybody’s working on.”
Julia produced a few rows knitted in gorgeous self-striping colors of pale yellow, blue, and melon. “I just started this yesterday. We went downtown to Yarning Together to get some new yarn. This will be a jumper—well, in American terminology, a sweater—and is being done in mohair and wool from Plymouth Yarn Company.”
“Gorgeous,” I said, reaching over to touch the soft fiber. “And what do you have there, Tara?”
“A tunic that I began working on last month. The yarn is Cotton Fleece, and I just loved this shade of blue. As you can see, it has cables so I’d be more than happy to sit with Riley and teach her how to make them.”
“That would be great,” Riley said, reaching in her bag to produce a beautiful shade of soft pink yarn. “I was hoping to make myself a scarf.”
“And I’m making a fairly simple afghan for my sister. She’s getting married next year,” Devon said, holding up a lovely piece of work done in blues, purples, and various shades of green. “The pattern is just knits and purls and easy to follow.”
“I’m working on some mock cable dishcloths,” Rebecca said. “No cable holder is required because it’s not a proper cable stitch. It’s fairly easy to do. You just skip the first stitch on the left needle, knit in front of the second stitch, then knit the first one and slip both stitches off the needle at the same time.” She held up squares in blue, beige, and yellow. “I donate these for different organizations and bazaars.”
“How clever,” Suellen said, getting up to take a better look. “I’d love a copy of the pattern.”
“I donate preemie beanies to our local hospital,” Martha said, holding up two that were done in a soft cotton yarn using three different colors. “The new moms really love these, and of course they keep the tiny heads warm.”
“Oh, I like that idea,” Chloe said, taking one of the caps to inspect it. “I’d like a copy of this pattern. This might be a nice project for our knitting night at the yarn shop.” She removed a half-finished sweater from her bag in a deep navy color. “This is for one of my sons. It’s done in a basket weave pattern, which tends to be masculine.”
“And I’m working on some lacy socks for my daughter, Marin,” Dora said. “She loves wearing hand-knit socks.”
Aunt Maude held up a gorgeous afghan in a rippled pattern done in shades of brown, tan, and beige. “This is going to be a raffle item for our Women’s Club fund-raiser.”
“My daughter, Ashley, love shawls,” Suellen said, holding up a work of deep purple lacy stitches. “So this is for her.”
“As for me,” I said, reaching into my tote bag. “I’m making a sweater ... for the man in my life.” I held up the beige sweater with diamond stitches. “It’s actually fairly easy.”
“Ooh, I love that!” Riley said. “How did you get those diamonds in the pattern?”
“With cables,” I told her. “See what you’ll be able to do as soon as you learn how to do those cables?”
Riley laughed. “Yeah, and I can’t wait.”
“Okay,” Maude said. “Then let’s get started. Dora, you’re teaching the intarsia class, and I believe Tara and Julia signed up to take that. So perhaps the table will be the easiest place for you gals to sit. And Grace, maybe you can help Riley with her cables since Tara is taking the class.”
“Great,” I said, getting up to sit next to Riley on the sofa.
“And the rest of us can just relax and knit.”
I was shocked when I glanced at my watch and saw that it was already twelve-thirty. The soft buzz of conversation had filled the room for over three hours as all of us got to know each other better.
“Well, ladies,” Aunt Maude said. “We’ll be breaking for lunch shortly. I’d say it was a very productive morning.”
“I’ll say.” Riley got up and stretched her arms above her head. “I think I’m getting the hang of these cables.”
“You certainly are,” I told her as I walked to the kitchen area to begin helping Aunt Maude, Dora, and Chloe set out plates, silverware, chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad, and coleslaw.
“Oh, Riley,” Devon said, as her friend held up a few inches of her new scarf. “It’s gorgeous. Now you’ll have to teach me how to do those cables.”
“If you have extra yarn with you,” Chloe said, placing a pitcher of sweet tea on the table, “we could get you started while you’re here.”
“I d
on’t. But I can leave here a bit early this afternoon and run downtown to the yarn shop.”
“Who’s covering the shop today?” I asked Dora.
“Sydney’s there. She was the original owner,” Dora explained to the group. “She’s my niece, and now her daughter, Monica, owns the shop.”
“But not for long,” I said, laughing.
Chloe nodded. A smile covered her face as she explained about the upcoming plans for her and Dora.
“Isn’t that great,” Martha said. “Keeping it in the family. I really like that.”
“Oh, me too,” Rebecca piped in. “And how nice that you all live here near each other. Martha and I have to resort to visiting a few times a year.”
“But it sounds to me like you really make those visits meaningful. Why don’t you tell everybody why you planned this visit to Cedar Key,” I said.
“Well,” Martha explained, “my sister and I are both breast cancer survivors. And once a year we plan a trip somewhere together—to celebrate life.”
“Oh, that’s so cool,” Riley said, reaching for a sandwich. “With my mother gone, I really don’t have any family left. I’m an only child and my father and I ... well, we don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. He didn’t approve of me leaving Florida five years ago to pursue my acting career in California.”
“Oh, you’re an actress?” Suellen asked.
Riley shook her head. “Nah, just a wannabe. I tried. Had some auditions, but ... they didn’t lead anywhere. Trying to get a break is downright impossible. Then my mom got sick with cancer and I came back home last year. She always supported me though. She was always my strongest ally—when I put the green strip in my hair, she laughed. When I got a nose ring, she said, ‘On you, it looks cute.’ And when I got my tattoo”—Riley skimmed her fingers across her forearm—“she said ‘Ouch!’ So I really miss her support. My dad thinks I’m a complete screwup, but he’s never taken the time to understand me.”
