Quilt By Association

Aiden strode to the back door, running an angry hand through his hair.

'I've got to check on my patients,” he said in a low voice. “And I want everyone out of here before I get back.” He slammed the door as he went out.

The women stared after him, and then all started to speak at once.

'He's tired and stressed,” Aunt Beth said.

'And I'm sure he'll see the sense of what we did when he's had time to think about it,” Mavis agreed.

Harriet put a hand on each of their arms and nodded toward Carla. Tears were running down the young woman's face.

'What am I going to do?” she blubbered.

'Oh, honey, he didn't mean you,” Mavis soothed.

'He's exhausted and angry, so he's lashing out at Mavis and I and Harriet,” Beth said. “I'm sure he wasn't talking about you.'

'He's so angry,” Carla said, her tears slowing.

'He needs you to take care of Randy. And to cook and shop for him,” Harriet reminded her. “I'm sure he didn't mean you. He was talking about the rest of the Loose Threads. It's me he's mad at. I could have warned him, and I didn't, and I told you not to. I'll make sure he understands that.'

Aunt Beth handed Carla a tissue. Mavis held her arms out.

'Give me that baby. I'll take her up to the nursery and sit with her while you pull yourself together.'

Carla handed the now-sleeping baby to her, and Mavis climbed back up the servant's stairs.

'Connie is up in the parlor with Wendy,” Lauren said as she came in from the dining room. “I told Sarah and Jenny the meeting was over, and they should leave.'

Robin followed her. “I'm going to go over to the hospital and see what I can find out about Neelie.'

'Good idea,” Harriet said. “Let us know if you hear anything that could help explain all this.'

Robin left the way she'd come, and Harriet watched her and Sarah and Jenny get into their cars and pull out of the driveway.

Connie came down the back stairs with Wendy.

'Mavis and I were talking upstairs. We were thinking it might be a good idea if Carla and the two babies come to my house for lunch and dinner and maybe even stay the night. Just to give Aiden time to cool down and come to his senses. I have a crib and high chair, and we can bring the portable crib from here.'

'That's not a bad idea,” Beth said. “What do you think?” she asked Harriet.

'I agree. A little peace and quiet might do him some good. But what do I know? I thought keeping him in the dark about Neelie was a good idea.'

'Is that self-pity I hear?” Aunt Beth chided. “The boy is overwhelmed. Let's give him some space, let him get some rest and then see where we are.'

'I'll go up and pack,” Carla said in a small voice and stood up.

Aunt Beth put her arm around the young woman's thin shoulders.

'Don't worry, we'll get this sorted out. You're going to be fine. Aiden isn't going to put you out on the street. He was just taken by surprise with Neelie being here and all.'

'I'll go feed Randy,” Harriet said, and went out the back door without waiting for agreement from anyone. She felt like she might vomit and didn't want to do it in front of her friends.

She stopped as soon as she was out of sight of the kitchen, leaning against the back corner of the garage. She took a deep breath, trying to regain control. She'd never had a man, or anyone else, for that matter, display such naked emotion in front of her, and it had shaken her to her core. And it had never occurred to her she might cause Carla to lose her job.

Chapter 14

Harriet spent more time than she needed to feeding and playing with Randy. She wanted to give Mavis, Connie, Carla and the two babies time to load up and leave. When she returned to the kitchen, only Aunt Beth remained.

'I figured you were waiting until everyone left,” Aunt Beth said. She was loading Aiden's dishwasher with cups from the aborted meeting. “What do you say we swing by Pins and Needles and see if we can schedule a room for Monday afternoon? We can pick up some children's fabric and make a couple of baby quilts for Joseph, since we can't work on our dog blocks yet.'

'I suppose,” Harriet said.

'Would it help if we went by Tico's on the way home for some lunch?'

Harriet forced a smile. “We could try it and find out.'

They chose several pre-printed panels each, large pieces of fabric anywhere from three-quarters to a full yard with an over-all image printed on it. For larger panels, a quilter could simply choose a backing fabric, layer the batting in and start the quilting process. The panels could also be made to look more original by adding a border of simple pieced blocks. Harriet and Beth each had large enough collections of fabric in their at-home stashes they didn't need to purchase more for the pieced blocks.

'That's bizarre,” Marjory Swain said from her perch by the cash register when Aunt Beth finished telling her about the events at Aiden's house that morning. Harriet had gone to the back of the store where Marjory kept the larger spools of thread used on long-arm quilt machines. She didn't really need more thread, but she also didn't want to relive the ordeal through the telling. She brought her spools of thread to the counter as her aunt finished the tale.

'Don't you worry,” Marjory said with a glance at Harriet. “It will sort itself out. These things always do.'

Harriet tried to smile.

'Come on,” Aunt Beth said. “You'll feel better after you eat.'

The two women rode in silence for the few blocks it took to arrive at Tico's Tacos.

'Hey, chiquitas,” Jorge greeted them as they came through the door. “Are you dining in or taking out today?'

His warm smile touched Harriet.

'We'll be staying,” Aunt Beth answered.

Harriet was in front, but she was pretty sure Aunt Beth was raising her eyebrows or nodding her head or in some other way communicating silently to Jorge.

'Right this way,” he said, and led them into the large private dining room. No one was at either of the two large picnic-style tables that sat in the center of the room.

He left briefly, then returned with a basket of chips and a large stoneware bowl that contained three avocados, a tomato, a small cup of salsa and a lime. He emptied the bowl's contents onto the table and pulled a paring knife from the pocket of his apron.

'So, what's the trouble, chiquita?” he asked Harriet as he began to peel the avocados.

'There's no trouble.'

'I keep telling you-you are no good at lies. You know you'll feel better after you tell me. Besides, maybe I can help. It has been known to happen, you know.'

'Okay, fine,” Harriet said, and picked a chip out of the basket. “Do you want to hear about the unconscious woman we found, or would you like to go straight to Aiden's fit?'

'How about you start at the beginning?” Jorge suggested as he continued creating the guacamole as they watched. “I got time.'

Harriet recited the events of the morning, concluding her story just as Jorge set the finished bowl of guacamole in front of her. She buried her chip in the chunky dip.

'This is fabulous,” she said and closed her eyes.

'Do you really think Aiden would leave a pregnant woman in Africa?” Jorge asked.

'Well, not if he knew about it,” Aunt Beth said bluntly, “but the timing is such she would have gotten pregnant just before he left.'

'I don't believe it,” Jorge said. “Aiden is like a son to me, and I taught him and Julio better than that.'