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  Sarah and Sophie continued to talk excitedly about the details and, in comparing dates, realized they were leaving from the Hamilton airport one day apart, with Sophie leaving first.

  “Okay Sophie,” Sarah responded. “How about this? I’m in the process right now of making a list of what I’m taking and what I need to buy. When I finish here and as soon as Charles gets some weather information for us, I’ll come over and we’ll go through your closet and decide what to take. If you need more clothes, we’ll run up to the mall tomorrow and do some shopping. By the way, how’s your knee? Is it ready for a trip?”

  “Absolutely. I called the doctor just to be sure and he said there was no reason I couldn’t do it. He just said to keep up with the exercises, and we both know Higgy will see to it that I do them. He can be quite a nag. …”

  “Now, Sophie. You’ll have to admit, you needed a bit of nagging when it came to those exercises, but it was worth it, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, I’ll admit it. I feel like a new person, but I miss my rhinestone cane.”

  “You can take it with you just in case, and it just might get you some preferential treatment along the way!” Sarah added with a chuckle.

  “I don’t think I’ll mind missing my cane. I like the new me!”

  * * * * *

  Later that day, as the two friends sorted through Sophie’s closet choosing items to take, Sarah started a list of a few things Sophie needed to buy. Charles had assured them she would need warm clothes; the temperature, he said, would range from the low-50s during the day to near freezing in the evening. They had chosen several outfits they felt would work along with her winter coat, a few sweaters, and a warm scarf. Sarah’s list of things Sophie needed to purchase included a couple pair of warm slacks, a raincoat, warm boots, and two flannel nightgowns.

  “And what’s wrong with my elephant pajamas?” Sophie asked looking indignant.

  “They’re torn and have a grape juice stain all the way down one leg.”

  “They’re still warm,” Sophie said defiantly.

  “You need two gowns,” Sarah repeated firmly. “Do you have warm socks?”

  As Sophie pulled socks out of her dresser drawer along with an assortment of underwear and the elephant pajamas, Sarah shook her head in defeat. She crossed out one of the flannel gowns. “When’s Tim planning to retire?” she asked rather than deal with the pajama issue.

  “He told his boss he’s retiring at the end of the year. I guess we could have waited for them to meet, but Higgy is adamant about getting Tim’s approval.” With the look of a shy young girl, she added, “He’s so cute when it comes to things like that. Sort of old-fashioned, you know?”

  “Does this mean you’ve decided to marry him?”

  Sophie was quiet and looked at Sarah with an expression more serious than Sarah had ever seen from her friend. “We’ll see. …”

  Sarah reached over and hugged her and, to her surprise, Sophie hugged her back. Hugs were definitely not Sophie’s forte.

  “So what else do we need?” Sarah asked, returning to the pile of clothes. “Shoes? You have plenty of shoes, don’t you?”

  “Sure, but they’re all old lady shoes.”

  “You’ll be walking and you need stability with your new knee. I think your shoes are fine.”

  “They’re old lady shoes,” Sophie repeated.

  “Let’s look at them.” Sarah pulled out the shoe rack and chose a brown pair and a black pair, both lace-up shoes. “What’s wrong with these?”

  “Aren’t you listening? They’re old lady shoes!”

  “Do you want to look for some new ones? I think you’ll be sorry if you do. You’ll be walking much more than you’re used to and these shoes are comfortable.”

  Sophie picked up the black pair. “They look like something my grandmother would wear.”

  “Your grandmother wore shoes laced above her ankles!” Sarah retorted. “Besides, new shoes can hurt,” she added. “I have an idea. Let me take both of these over to Charles. After all those years in the police department, he’s learned to make his shoes look like new. Let’s see what he can do with them.”

  Sophie agreed to give it a try and Sarah tucked them into a bag and hurried out the door. Without thinking, she caught herself halfway across the street heading for her old house before she remembered she had moved. Turning back, she headed for her car in Sophie’s driveway. As she passed the window, she saw Sophie shaking her head and smiling. I miss living across the street from my friend, Sarah told herself as she slid into the car.

  The next day, Sarah and Sophie spent most of the day shopping. With the exception of a few things, they had cleared both of their lists. “We’ll drive over to the mall in Hamilton closer to the time we’re leaving,” Sarah assured her when Sophie expressed concern that she still didn’t have a raincoat.

  Sarah drove Sophie to her door just as Higgy was driving up. “Come help me with my packages,” Sophie called to him and he hurried over. Being only a couple of inches taller than Sophie, he easily leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before reaching for Sarah’s hand.

  “Thank you for taking care of my girl. I just didn’t know how to advise her on this clothes thing.”

  “That’s fine, Higgy. We had fun, and I think she’s practically ready.”

  “See my new shoes?” Sophie said pulling her black shoes out of the bag they had just picked up from Charles. They sparkled like new and he had replaced the inner soles and shoe strings. Sophie beamed as she reached over and hugged Sarah. “Thanks,” she muttered.

  “That was probably the first hug Sophie ever initiated,” Sarah told Charles when she arrived home. “Higgy is good for her.”

  “Love is what’s good for her,” Charles corrected.

  “Love is what’s good for everyone!” his wife responded as she kissed his cheek and headed for the kitchen to start dinner.

  “When does Sophie leave?” Charles asked one morning as they were having a late breakfast on the patio.

  “Their flight is in the evening the day before I leave. He bought tickets on the red-eye; Sophie says she can sleep on the plane. I don’t think I could.”

  “How are they getting to the airport?”

  “They’re driving. I guess they’ll leave their car in long-term parking. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, I had a thought. You’re flying out in the afternoon of the next day, right?

  “Yeah,” she said curious as to what he had in mind.

  “Why don’t we drive them to Hamilton the day of their flight? We’ll see them off and then we’ll spend the night at that swanky hotel downtown. We can have a fancy dinner, a nice brunch the next morning, and make an embarrassing farewell scene at the airport in the afternoon.”

  “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll call Sophie and see what they think.”

  A few minutes later, Sarah returned saying they both loved the idea. “Higgy’s been worried about leaving the new SUV unattended for all that time. I’ll call Caitlyn and see if she’ll take care of Barney and Boots while we’re gone.”

  Caitlyn was the daughter of their friend Andy. After a tumultuous childhood with her mother and stepfather, and a year spent living on the street at the young age of fourteen, she now had a stable, loving home with her father up the street from Sophie.

  * * * * *

  The next week flew by. As Sarah was putting the final touches on her packing, Charles sat on the bed looking like a lost puppy. “I’ll miss you,” he whimpered.

  “Stop! You’re a big boy, and I know you’ll find plenty to entertain yourself.” She knew there were lots of projects he wanted to tackle. “You could hang those shelves in the garage. …”

  “I’ll miss you while I’m hanging them. …”

  “And then you wanted to find a better table for your computer …”

  “I hate shopping without you. …” The lost puppy look was increasing with each suggestion.

  Sarah sat down next to him and
looked serious. “Are you really having trouble with me being away?”

  Charles laughed. “I couldn’t send you away without pouring on a little guilt, could I?”

  “Well, I’ll admit to feeling just a bit guilty even before your performance. It’s our first year in our new home and part of me thinks I should be here with you.”

  “Of course not, sweetie!” he protested. “You should be doing exactly what you’re doing. You love your quilting, and I’ll bet you come home with several new classes for the shop.”

  She smiled feeling reassured and continued with her packing. “I wonder if I’ll need a coat.”

  “I’d take something warm,” he responded. “It could get cool in the evenings up there in the mountains, even though Tennessee is pretty far south.”

  “I’ll take a jacket and my sweats. I can always layer.” Sarah continued to fold her clothes and check off items from her list.

  “How about fabric?”

  “I packed that in my carry-on; I’m not taking any chances with lost luggage. Do you have any plans while I’m gone?”

  Forgetting to look despondent about her being away, he responded enthusiastically. “I’ve set up a card game with the guys, and I’m thinking about talking to Matt about working on his new case. It involves some door-to-door interviewing over on the east side, and I’m sure he could use extra people.” Matt Stokely was Charles’ lieutenant when he was with the local police department and would outsource pieces of his investigations to retirees from time to time.

  “So all that pouting was just to get my sympathy, huh? You’re not only going to be fine, you’re actually going to be having a great time.”

  “I guess so,” he said looking guilty. “But I really will miss you.”

  “And I’ll miss you,” she told her new husband, still marveling that they were able to fall in love and make a life together at their age. After the children’s father died and she sold their home to move into a retirement community, marriage was the last thing she would ever have predicted for herself. But here she was, in love and feeling like a youngster, at least when her arthritis wasn’t reminding her that she was, in fact, getting older by the minute.

  Charles suddenly jumped up and announced that he had completely forgotten to pack himself a bag for the overnight trip they were taking. It took some rushing around, but they were ready by 1:00 and drove first to Andy’s house, picked up Caitlyn, gave her the key, and dropped her off in front of their house. Since it was the weekend, she had asked if she could spend the night with Barney and Boots. Andy agreed to the plan but told Charles he would be checking in on her that night. They then picked up Sophie and Higgy and the two couples left for Hamilton, an hour north of Middletown and the nearest airport.

  Sophie was so excited, she couldn’t stop talking. Charles asked if they would like to go to dinner with them since their plane didn’t leave until late, but Higgy said they had already planned to get checked in and have dinner at the airport restaurant.

  Sarah was somewhat relieved. As much as she loved her friend, she wanted to spend her last night in town with Charles. They had spent a romantic weekend at the same hotel the previous year and she thought it would be a nice send-off.

  After they dropped Sophie and Higgy off at the airport and were checking into the hotel, the manager said, “Oh, Mr. Parker, you have a message.” He pulled the note out of their reserved box and handed it to Charles along with their room key.

  Call home right away, the note read. It was signed Andy.

  “Home? Whose home? Our home?” Sarah asked apprehensively. They hurried up to the room and called their house. Andy picked up the phone right away.

  “What’s happened?” Charles asked anxiously.

  “Sorry to worry you folks. Did you leave your washing machine running?”

  Charles had the phone on speaker and Sarah gasped. “Oh no! I forgot that I was running a load of towels. Is it …?”

  “It’s pretty bad,” Andy responded. “When Caitlyn walked in she noticed the dining room rug was squishy. She tracked it down to the washer that was still running with water flowing out. She called me and I told her how to turn the water off, but the kitchen is flooded and it’s spreading into the other rooms. Do you want me to get the flood damage people out here? There’re a few in the phone book here. …”

  “Wait,” Charles responded. “The water’s off, right?”

  “Yep, the water’s turned off.”

  “I’ll head on back to deal with it,” he said, looking at Sarah questioningly.

  “Of course. You need to go deal with this,” Sarah responded. “I can take a cab to the airport tomorrow. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault; I never leave appliances running. I just got so caught up in …”

  “Honey, please. Don’t blame yourself. This was an accident that could happen to anyone. It can all be fixed.”

  “But our beautiful rugs …”

  “That’s what insurance is for. …”

  A questioning “Hello?” came from the cell phone. Charles had forgotten Andy was waiting on the line.

  “Oh, sorry, Andy. I’m coming on back but, in the meantime, I have a water vacuum in the garage. If you don’t mind, would you just slurp up what you can so it doesn’t spread any farther? I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”

  “Okay,” Andy responding, opening the garage door. “I see the water vac over in the corner, but don’t you want me to go ahead and call one of those restoration companies?”

  “Those places have 24-hour service. I’ll call when I get there. I’ll contact the insurance company from here and give them a heads-up. They might even want me to call a specific outfit. By the way, how’s Barney taking all this?”

  “He’s almost as upset as Caitlyn. Now, your cat’s a different story. She’s asleep on top of the kitchen cabinet.”

  They talked a few more minutes and as they were hanging up, Andy said, “Hold on a second, Charles.” Obviously turning to speak to Caitlyn, Andy asked, “What is it honey?” After a brief period, Andy returned to the phone. “Caitlyn says Boots is just fine, but she doesn’t think we should leave Barney here. He’s really stressed. Is it okay if she walks him back to our house?”

  From the background, Sarah spoke up saying, “Of course, that’s fine. Thank you Caitlyn for taking care of him, and Boots will be fine right there. She would be more upset if you tried to take her out. Charles will be on his way soon.” Turning to Charles, she again said, “I’m so sorry about all this. …”

  He told Andy he was on his way and pulled Sarah to his side, gently kissing the top of her head. “No worries, sweetie. I don’t want this to ruin your trip.”

  “The trip!” she exclaimed. “I shouldn’t go. I should go back with you and …”

  “No! Absolutely not! These are all things I can handle, and if I have any questions, I’ll call you. If we need to buy new rugs, I’ll file the claims and we’ll go out and do that when you get home. And the washer is under warranty. If we need new tiles, I’ll go ahead and have the same ones installed. Okay?”

  “I feel terrible about leaving you with all this,” she said apologetically.

  Charles hugged her and with a chuckle said, “And you were afraid I wouldn’t have enough to keep me busy!”

  “Are you on your way to Ten Oaks Lodge?”

  Sarah, sipping coffee in the Knoxville airport lounge, looked up to see a trim woman with salt-and-pepper hair approaching her table. She was carrying a quilted tote bag and wearing a jacket that had been pieced with squares of pale pastel. This woman is a quilter, Sarah thought as she smiled and responded. “Yes, I am. Are you my ride?”

  Sarah’s plane had arrived in Knoxville earlier than expected, and she was waiting for a representative from the retreat center. They were offering shuttle services for their participants to and from the airport. “No, I’m waiting as well. Actually, I just guessed that you might be a quilter. I noticed your Caribbean-style tote bag and it looked simil
ar to one I made on a quilting cruise several years ago.”

  “That’s where I made mine,” Sarah exclaimed. The woman introduced herself as Holly Harper and Sarah invited her to sit down. The two women compared notes about their quilting cruises and both agreed it was something they would love to do again.

  “Have you been to any of this company’s retreats?” Sarah asked. “I really have no idea what to expect.”

  “You’ll be very pleased with it, I’m sure,” Holly responded. “Last year I went to one in Lancaster County. We were a small group and we stayed in a lodge, but they had rented a house and barn from an Amish family for the quilting during the day. We were without electricity and other conveniences. We used treadle machines to make small quilts and then we grouped around quilting frames in the barn and hand quilted our projects.”

  “Was it hard to get used to the treadle machine?”

  “At first it was. I had trouble getting a steady rhythm going, but once I caught on, I got pretty good at it. It made me think about my grandmother and all the sewing she did on hers. I still have it up in the attic. I keep thinking I’ll get it down and use it, but you know how that is. Anyway, we had a good time at the retreat.”

  “What did you make?”

  “I was working on a baby quilt for my granddaughter. The friend I went with made an exquisite wall hanging. She and I worked together to do the quilting. I really got a feel for the camaraderie the Amish women must feel when they’re quilting together. While we worked, local women came in and talked to us about their quilting and their traditions. The whole experience was fascinating and I learned so much!”

  “You were experiencing quilting the way it was for our grandmothers.”

  “True, but when I got home I really appreciated my computerized sewing machine and Judy, my long-arm quilter,” Holly confessed looking a bit guilty.

  “From the brochures and comments from previous participants,” Sarah said, “it looks like this retreat will be similar. It mentions that local musicians and artisans will be coming in. I’m very excited.”

  About that time, a fit-looking man appearing to be in his mid-sixties walked up to the table. Holly turned to greet him and said, “Sarah, this is my husband, Drew. Drew, this is Sarah Parker. She’s on her way to the retreat as well.”