Missing Memories Read online

  MISSING MEMORIES: A Quilting Cozy

  Carol Dean Jones

  Chapter 1

  “Something’s wrong, Charles.”

  Sarah and Charles were returning from a two-week vacation in Colorado where they’d been visiting Charles’ two sons. “What is it?” her attentive septuagenarian husband asked, turning to help her position the travel pillow behind her head.

  “No, not my pillow,” she responded still groggy from her short nap. She waved his hand away. “It’s something with the plane I think,” she muttered. “I don’t know…I just have this feeling…”

  “You drifted off, honey. You must have been dreaming. The plane is fine, and we’re almost home,” he responded reassuringly. Spotting the flight attendant moving in their direction, he waved his arm to get her attention. “Miss,” he called to her. “Could you bring my wife a cup of herbal tea?” Although he didn’t care for tea himself, especially herbal, he knew she often steeped a pot when she was anxious or worried. And even though she’d never admit it, traveling by air always caused her to become apprehensive.

  “Certainly, sir,” the attendant responded, looking over at the man’s companion and noting a look of concern. “Are you okay, Ma’am?”

  “I guess I was dreaming,” she responded reluctantly. “It’s just…oh, it’s nothing. A cup of tea would be nice. Thank you.” She gave the flight attendant a warm smile and settled back into her seat.

  “Did you have a good time?” Charles asked his wife once she appeared to be wide awake. This had been an important trip. He and Sarah were visiting his two sons whom he’d been estranged from since their teens. Over the past year, and with Sarah’s help, he had begun rebuilding a relationship with both John and David, but this was the first time they saw one another on his sons’ turf.

  “I had a fantastic time, Charles. Your sons are such fine young men, and I love John’s wife. Donna and I had great fun wandering through the shops while you and your boys were surfing the countryside in those snowmobiles.”

  “You should have come,” he said shaking his head. “You missed a barrel of fun out there in the mountain wilderness.”

  Sarah was in excellent physical shape for a woman in her seventies, but she had vehemently refused his invitation to join them. “I had just as much fun as you did, and I was nice and warm in an elegant retail mall filled with boutiques the likes of which I’ve never seen.”

  “I know, but I wondered why you came home without the cowboy boots you said you were going to buy.”

  She gave him a sly look and said, “Don’t be so sure I didn’t buy them.”

  “Not the thousand dollars ones, I hope?”

  “We’ll see,” she teased and turned to look out the window. “Look, we’re approaching Middletown, and I think I can see Cunningham Village. Isn’t that it right over there?” she said, pointed to a community far below them. Sarah and Charles had met not long after they each had moved into the retirement village, Charles recovering from a massive stroke and Sarah at her children’s insistence a few years after her husband’s death. Charles leaned across her to look and nodded.

  “I’ll be glad to get home,” she mused, still looking down as Middletown grew larger below them. As nice as it was to be traveling and getting to know her husband’s family, she missed the home they had built together and her friends in the village. Looking over at her husband with a smile, she added, “And I know Barney and Boots will be excited to have us home.”

  “I called Andy last night and told him we’d stop by for Barney on our way home,” Charles responded. Their neighbor’s daughter Caitlyn was taking care of their pets. She went to their house daily to feed and play with their cat Boots but kept Barney, their dog, at her house for the duration.

  “How’s Barney doing?”

  “Andy said he’s having a ball. Caitlyn’s been taking him to the dog park twice a day and stopping for Emma along the way so he’d have a playmate.” Both Barney and Emma were rescues. Sarah got Barney when she first moved to the village, and Emma was adopted by Sarah’s best friend, Sophie. For the two dogs, it was love at first sight.

  By the time they disembarked and walked to the luggage kiosk, Sarah’s enthusiasm about returning home had escalated. She excitedly looked around for her son, Jason, who had agreed to pick them up but didn’t see him. Moments later she was surprised to see her best friend’s son, Timothy, and his fourteen-year-old daughter hurrying toward them.

  “Sorry we’re late,” Timothy huffed, greeting Sarah with a kiss on the cheek and offering Charles a welcoming handshake. “We got waylaid watching the planes take off and land,” he added.

  “Penny,” Sarah exclaimed, “I didn’t expect to see you here. I’m so glad you came.” Turning to Tim, she asked, “But why are you two here instead of Jason? Is everything okay?” Sarah had spoken with her son the night before their flight and had confirmed that he would be picking them up.

  “He called me this morning,” Timothy explained, “and asked if I was available to pick you folks up. He said he’d like to go with Jennifer to her doctor’s appointment this afternoon.”

  “Is she sick?” Sarah asked with concern. “Jason didn’t say a word about it yesterday when we spoke.”

  “It’s nothing to worry about. Jason said it was just a routine appointment.” Sarah saw him pinch in a smile as he turned away.

  “Are you boys keeping something from me?”

  Timothy chuckled, finding it amusing that Sarah and his own mother still called him a boy despite the fact he was well into his fifties. “I’ve told you everything I’m allowed to say,” he responded. Sarah couldn’t miss the twinkle in his eye as he hurried to catch up with Charles. He’s holding something back, Sarah thought. And I’ll just bet I know what it is.

  As Timothy and Charles were walking toward the parking lot with the luggage, Sarah hung back in order to call her son. There was no answer at home, so she dialed his cell phone. She caught him at the grocery store where he explained they had stopped on their way home. Jason sounded particularly cheerful. “Jennifer’s on the other side of the store looking for something in a box that we can stick in the oven for dinner,” he explained. “I didn’t want her to be fussing over a meal tonight.”

  “So tell me about Jenny’s doctor appointment. Is something wrong?”

  “Oh no, Mom, absolutely not,” he insisted with a lightheartedness uncommon to her rather serious-minded son. “She’s just fine. Would you like to speak to Alaina?” and without waiting for her response, he put the phone to his daughter’s ear and said, “Talk to Grandma.”

  Her two-year-old granddaughter said a few words but sounded reluctant. Sarah could picture her rubbing her eyes with her fist and looking down like she did whenever she was asked to perform in some way. “Well, Alaina, I’ll see you tomorrow when you and your parents come to my house for lunch, okay?”

  “Okay,” Alaina said barely above a whisper.

  “And Barney will be there too,” Sarah added. The child giggled and said something to her father. Alaina and Sarah’s dog Barney had been fast friends from the day they met.

  “Kitty too?” Alaina asked, returning her attention to the phone.

  “Yes, Boots will be there too,” Sarah assured her granddaughter, but she couldn’t promise Alaina that she would see the cat. Boots had taken up residence on top of the kitchen cabinets and only came down for meals and to wander the house once everyone was asleep. Boots had escaped to the top of the kitchen cabinets the previous year when the washer flooded, and she obviously liked it there. Concerned for the cat’s comfort, Charles had moved her bed and blankets up there for her, but Sarah still required that Boots come down for meals.

  Jason took the phone back, and they dis
cussed arrangements for the next day. “Okay, we’ll see you then,” he said abruptly and ended the call.

  Sarah disconnected and stared at the phone for a moment. As a smile spread across her face, she said aloud to herself, “Do you suppose…?” but she vowed to keep her suspicions to herself.

  Having reached the parking lot, Timothy and Charles were so deeply engrossed in conversation about the Colorado Rockies game that Charles and his sons had attended at Coors Field the previous weekend that the two men walked right past the car. “Hey, you two,” Sarah called out, winking at Penny who had stayed behind with her. “Let’s take the car. It’s too far to walk.”

  They both turned, looking momentarily confused but immediately realized what they had done and wheeled the suitcases back to the car.

  “Thanks for picking us up, Tim,” Sarah said once they were seated in the car. She was sitting in the front with Timothy so that Charles and Penny could continue their conversation about the planes she had seen with her father. Charles, having flown in the service, could answer many of her questions.

  “So,” Timothy began once he had merged onto the highway leading to their home in Middletown, “How was your trip?”

  “It was delightful,” Sarah responded. “I love the Denver area, and his boys treated us to all the tourist attractions.”

  “You have boys?” Penny asked, suddenly attentive to what Sarah was saying and waiting with anticipation for Charles’ response.

  Timothy quietly moaned in the front seat and mouthed the words, “Oh no. Boys!” Sarah laughed and whispered. “Don’t worry. We’re all here for you, Timothy. We’ll get you through it.”

  “Well, yes, I have boys,” Charles was saying, “but they’re grown men in their forties.”

  “Oh,” Penny responded, sounding disappointed. “That’s really old.”

  Charles laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess forty is pretty ancient. I probably shouldn’t point out that I’ll be twice that old in a couple of years.”

  Penny looked at Charles in awe. “Really?”

  Timothy and Sarah rode in silence for the next few miles, each lost in their own thoughts while occasionally tuning into the chatter in the back seat. After a while, Sarah said, “I’m glad you brought Penny. She’s a delightful young girl. How’s she doing in school?”

  “She’s doing just great,” Timothy responded. “I know she misses her mother, but she’s made friends, and she loves being with all of us. She’s coming right along,” he said with a proud smile. “I’m still hoping I can do this…”

  “You’ve become an excellent father, Tim,” Sarah responded, squeezing his arm and glancing back at the young girl who was excitedly telling Charles about the progress her new puppy was making.

  Timothy had been a bachelor all his life. The previous winter he had retired from the Alaska pipeline and was making plans to return to his home in Middletown when he received a call from his old girlfriend, saying that she needed to talk to him. He and Betsy had gone their separate ways many years before when she insisted on living off the grid in Alaska, and he knew he wanted to return home to a more comfortable life. What she hadn’t told him at the time was that she was pregnant with his child.

  When he arrived at her isolated cabin, he had been greeted by a shy teenager named Penelope, whom he later learned should only be addressed as Penny.

  As it turned out, Betsy had wanted to see him because she was dying of cancer and was eager to make a plan for her daughter. Their daughter.

  Timothy didn’t have to think twice about it. He had immediately arranged to get Betsy moved into a hospice facility and moved Penny into the spare room in his Anchorage apartment. Betsy died a few weeks later, and soon after the funeral, the two had flown to Middletown -- Timothy’s home, and what was soon to become Penny’s home as well.

  They had been greeted warmly by his mother and her network of friends, all of whom assumed responsibility for guiding Timothy into his new role as a father. Timothy and Penny lived with Sophie for a few months but soon moved into their own home and established themselves as a family of three: Timothy, Penny, and an adorable puppy named Blossom.

  “Colorado is a beautiful state,” Charles said, abruptly bringing Sarah out of her reverie. “I think we should plan to vacation there more often, don’t you dear?”

  “I agree,” she responded turning in her seat so she could see him. “And I loved getting to know your family.” She and Charles had only been married a couple of years and were still finding their places in each other’s family.

  “You’d already met Charles’ sons, hadn’t you?” Timothy interjected.

  “Yes, they’ve both been here, but I hadn’t met John’s wife or his son, Jimmy.”

  “Is his other son married?”

  “David? No, but we met the lovely woman he’s been seeing and it wouldn’t surprise me if we’re back in Colorado within the year attending their wedding. They seem to be very much in love.”

  “John’s the attorney, right?” Timothy asked.

  “Yes, you met him when he was here helping Charles with that legal matter a couple of years ago.”

  “Legal matter?” Charles exclaimed. “Legal matter?” he repeated a little louder, pretending to be offended. “Aren’t you trivializing the significance of my plight? Don’t you mean that he was here saving me from a lifetime of incarceration?”

  Sarah laughed. “Now I think you’re exaggerating the significance of what you call your plight.”

  “Well, whichever it is, we couldn’t have gotten along without him,” Charles responded.

  “True. And it was a turning point in your relationship with both of your sons.”

  “Absolutely,” Charles replied with a satisfied smile. “Absolutely.”

  Chapter 2

  “So, tell me all about your trip,” Sophie, Sarah’s best friend and neighbor, was saying as she joined Sarah at the kitchen table where she had placed a freshly baked coffee cake and a steaming pot of coffee. “And did you go to any fabric stores?” she added eagerly.

  Sarah burst out laughing. “Sophie, I can hardly believe that’s you.” Sophie had shown no interest in learning to quilt despite Sarah’s encouragement. At least not until the past winter when she discovered that quilts could be made by hand. She had shown no interest at all in buying a sewing machine nor in learning to use one at the quilt shop, but while reluctantly attending one of Sarah’s quilt club meetings, Sophie had met a woman who offered to teach her how to piece by hand.

  Sophie, being a knitter herself and very competent with handwork, had taken to it immediately and had begun piecing a table runner for herself. She later signed up for several applique classes at the quilt shop and was able to complete a very intricate wall hanging which featured a vase of flowers in the center surrounded by intertwined vines of ivy.

  “Well, to answer your question,” Sarah began, “I did get to two fabric stores in Denver and another one on our day trip to Colorado Springs. In fact,” she added reaching into her tote bag, “I brought you something.”

  Sarah pulled the kit out of her bag and handed it to her friend. Sophie’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she exclaimed, “Oh my! That’s beautiful.” But moments later Sarah saw her excitement begin to fade as she looked at the gift more closely. The kit contained all the materials and instructions for making a lap quilt. The blocks were eight-inch squares of neutral fabrics. There was a very pale green sashing between the blocks and an eight-pointed star in each intersection as cornerstones. The stars were pictured in soft pastel colors. What made the quilt spectacular were the beautiful, vividly colored flowers appliqued in each block: rosebuds, tulips, carnations, and peonies, each with a stem and leaves, one with a small blue bird resting on the stem.

  “But Sarah,” Sophie objected. “This is way out of my league. There’s no way I could make this quilt.”

  “Here’s my plan,” Sarah began. “We’ll cut out the eight-inch squares -- all the fabric is in this kit. Then
you’ll begin appliqueing the flowers onto the fabric squares while I cut the sashing and make the star cornerstones. When you’ve finished your applique, you and I will put the quilt together, and I’ll do all the machine sewing. You can pin and press. What do you think?”

  Sophie looked like she was about to weep with excitement. “Oh Sarah, I love the idea, and I love it that this quilt will be made by the two of us. Who would have ever thought it?” she marveled, looking again at the picture on the front of the kit. “You really think I can do this?”

  “I know you can. You’re very skilled with the needle and your appliques are beyond perfect.”

  “And you don’t mind doing the machine work for me?” she asks almost timidly.

  “I want to do it. This will be fun, and I’ve hoped that you and I could make quilts together, but I didn’t really think it would ever happen. Grab your calendar and we’ll schedule our first sewing bee.”

  “I don’t need my calendar. How about right now?”

  Sarah laughed and started to suggest another time but, realizing how excited Sophie was, she agreed to start it today. “Let’s head over to my house,” she responded, “so we can use my cutting board and rotary cutter. We’ll get the backgrounds cut, and you can start your applique anytime you want. In fact, why don’t you bring it to the club meeting tonight? I know the girls would love to see it, and you can work on it there.”

  “Good idea. Delores can give me pointers. I might need a refresher course for those thin stems.”

  They took Sophie’s car back to Sarah’s house. Although she’d had her knee replacement, it was still difficult to walk uphill, and there was a gentle incline all the way from her house to Sarah’s. “Hey,” Sophie said suddenly. “You never got around to telling me about your trip.”

  “Stay for dinner tonight and Charles and I can tell you about it together. We’ll be eating early since the quilt club meeting starts at seven.”

  * * *

  “Welcome home, Sarah,” several members of the Friday night quilting group called out in unison as Sarah walked into Running Stitches, her local quilt shop. Most of the regular members were already there when Sarah and Sophie arrived: Christina and Kimberly, sisters and long-arm quilters; Allison, the newest member of the group; Delores, a very experienced quilter and occasional teacher in the shop; Caitlyn, Andy’s sixteen-year-old daughter and youngest member of the group; Ruth, the owner of the shop; and Ruth’s sister Anna who had moved to Middletown to be near her sister and to work part-time in the shop. Anna’s husband, Geoff, was also in the shop working on the computer.