Quilt By Association

look Mavis was giving her.

'My sister's church gave me a ticket and a small amount of money, which unfortunately is now gone,” Neelie snapped. “Things are very expensive in America.'

'Let me call Pastor Hafer at our Methodist church and see if there are any emergency funds for this sort of thing. I'm sure he can help us sort this out.'

'She can stay here,” Carla said.

Mavis and Harriet both whirled to face the younger woman.

'That baby looks exhausted,” Carla went on, “and they have all kinds of baby stuff in the nursery here for when Avanell's grandchildren came to visit. Besides, they're already here.'

'I'm not sure that's a good idea,” Harriet said.

'I can ask Aiden when he calls.'

'No!'

Harriet knew her response was a little too loud. Carla's cheeks burned.

'What I mean is, I was hoping we could save all this…” She waved toward Neelie. “…until Aiden is back. He's dealing with a very stressful situation at work, and he can't do anything about this until he comes home anyway.'

'They could stay with me at my place,” Mavis offered.

'It's kind of you to offer,” Harriet said, “but I think Carla's right. This place has a full nursery setup and lots of room.'

Mavis raised her left eyebrow as she turned and looked at Harriet. Harriet gave her a slight nod.

'Well, honey, if you think it's the right thing to do…'

'I'll show you to your room,” Carla told Neelie as she set Mavis's tea on the table. “You look like you could use some rest.'

Neelie got to her feet. She wobbled a little, then followed Carla out of the kitchen.

'Okay, why are you so agreeable about this stranger staying with our Carla? And what's wrong with that girl?'

'We need more information, and what better way to get more information than by having Neelie and the baby where we can keep track of them. Besides, from Carla's behavior, I'm guessing she doesn't think Neelie is taking care of the baby properly.'

'I was getting that feeling myself. Neelie looks like she's not doing a very good job of taking care of herself, let alone a baby.'

'She was looking pretty shaky before you got here. I asked her if she's diabetic, and she didn't answer, but she did perk up after I gave her some orange juice, so she either was starving or she is diabetic.'

'Something about her story just isn't ringing true,” Mavis said. “And by the way, she is the one I saw arguing with the checker-minus the accent.'

'I wish Aiden was here. He could clear this up in a minute.'

'No sense dwelling on that. If he's not going to be home for a week or so, we'll just have to deal with it ourselves.'

'Do you think Carla will be safe here with that woman under her roof?'

'It's a little late to be worrying about that now, isn't it? Besides, our meek little friend seems to turn into a tiger when a baby is involved.'

'I wonder what Terry's up to these days,” Harriet said, referring to Terry Jansen, Carla's new Navy-investigator boyfriend.

'I asked Carla at our last meeting, and after much blushing and stammering, she told me he is still very present. I wonder if maybe we should put a bug in his ear about the current situation.'

'Too bad I lost my contacts when my phone got crunched. I had his number.'

'Fortunately, when he was questioning us all about what happened last month, he gave me his number, too. Being the hip yet old-fashioned grandmother that I am…” Mavis smiled. “…I not only put it in my cell phone, I also wrote it in my address book at home, just in case I lost my phone or something.'

'Well, aren't you the smart one.'

'I'll call him about Carla's situation when I get home. Maybe you could give Lauren a jingle and see if she can she can find anything out about Carla's new house guest.'

'Sure. I haven't had a good dressing down by Lauren in, oh, I don't know, three days, maybe.'

Mavis smiled. “I'd say you're due, then.'

Carla came back into the kitchen, ending the conversation. She was still holding the receiver to Wendy's monitor.

'Did I just make a big mistake?” she asked Mavis as she collapsed into a chair. Her cheeks turned pink.

'No, honey,” Mavis said and patted her hand. “You were speaking from your heart.'

'She's been starving that baby. Did you see how thin her little legs are?'

'It sounded like she's only had the baby for a few days,” Mavis said. “And they did come from Africa.'

'But she's not in Africa now, and she's still not feeding the baby right.'

'Now, honey,” Mavis soothed. “She isn't a mother herself. This is her sister's child. She might not know how to take proper care of a baby.'

'Well, I do know how to take care of a baby, and as long as she's here, she's getting three squares.'

'I'm sure she'll appreciate that,” Harriet said. “As long as they're going to be here, try to find out what you can about them. Keep it friendly-don't make her suspicious, or we won't get anything-but keep your eyes and ears open.'

'I can do that.” Carla's cheeks turned a darker pink.

'Not to change the subject,” Mavis said, doing exactly that, “how are the shower preparations coming along?'

Carla stood up. “Come see,” she said, and led the way across the hall to the formal dining room.

Mavis and Harriet spent the next twenty minutes admiring the pink streamers and balloons Carla had hung from the chandelier, checking the placement of forks, knives, spoons and napkins as well as Carla's choice of china teacups and saucers. Harriet was proud of her young friend, and knew she'd had a daunting collection of china and silver to choose from at the Jalbert house. Aiden's mother had been an avid collector of both.

'This looks great,” she said.

Carla looked down at her feet. “I got a book from the library to see how to set the table.'

'You did a fine job,” Mavis agreed.

Carla lifted the lid of the delicate floral china sugar bowl. “I got that special turbine sugar.'

'Turbinado?” Harriet said.

'Yes, and I got white cubes in case people don't like the brown kind.” She lifted the lid of a cut-crystal sugar bowl.

'Seems like you're all ready,” Mavis said. “It's a good thing, too, since now you're going to be playing host to Neelie and Kissa.'

'I don't mind,” Carla said quietly. “I know how hard it is.'

'Just don't let her take advantage of you,” Harriet cautioned.

'Don't you worry,” Mavis said and put her arm around Carla's thin shoulders. “It's a good thing you're doing for that baby, and I don't believe for a minute you can't handle Miss Neelie.'

'I need to go stitch your quilt,” Harriet told Mavis. “Carla, call me if you need anything, and I do mean anything. I'll see you both tomorrow.'

She understood why Carla was reaching out to Neelie, but she didn't like leaving her vulnerable friend with a stranger who seemed to have only a passing acquaintance with the truth.

Then she prepared to endure the abuse she was sure to get from Lauren-it would be worth it if she could find out who Neelie Obote really was and why she'd come to Foggy Point.