Stitched Together Page 6

  Chapter 11

  It was a warm spring morning as Sarah and Charles drove to the B&H sales trailer to discuss Cunningham Village’s single-family–home project and learn what would be involved if they decided to purchase one. Charles pulled up by the trailer, and they headed toward the door just as a man was coming out.

  “Good morning, folks.” The man was dressed in a rumpled navy-blue suit and was in the process of tightening his tie as he approached the couple. He was heavy, and his hand felt sweaty as he greeted them. “I’m Bill Braxton. Ted isn’t in today—that’s Ted Harper, the other half of B&H Construction.” Sarah and Charles introduced themselves.

  “My assistant tells me you folks are interested in buying one of the new homes.”

  “We’re interested in hearing what you have to offer,” Charles clarified. They went on to explain that they both lived in the Village and were recently married.

  After discussing what they were looking for, Braxton responded, “I think you’ve come to the right place. That’s exactly what we have in mind for the community. Have you seen the model home?”

  Sarah had driven by it once but only saw it from the outside. They agreed to meet Braxton at the development site on the opposite side of the community where the single-family homes were being built.

  As they approached the area, they noticed that a sign had been added: The Knolls at Cunningham Village.

  “I didn’t realize this area would have its own name,” Sarah said in an excited tone.

  In the northwest corner of the Village, there were a few acres owned by Cunningham Village, which were at a slightly higher elevation than the rest of the community. The property was bordered on the back by a wooded area owned by the city and had been set aside for the future development of single-family homes.

  As they were getting out of the car, Charles asked, “How do you feel about having to walk uphill? Braxton said they’d be leveling most of this out, but there will still be an incline when you approach the area from the rest of the community.”

  “I’ve thought about that. Walking to Sophie’s or to the Community Center would involve a hill coming back, but I’m not concerned about it. It’s really not steep, and that slight amount of incline is excellent exercise. I’m more concerned about Sophie coming to our house.”

  Charles chuckled. “Surely you don’t think she’ll walk. She doesn’t even walk to the Center, and that’s less than a half block from her door.”

  “True. But if we buy up here, I want to make sure our lot is level enough for her to walk from her car to the front door.”

  “We’ll make sure it’s level if we buy up here,” he said in a teasing tone.

  “… if,” she added with raised eyebrows.

  “Yes. If,” he responded. “We need more information about this project and about the builders.”

  “About me?” Braxton said as he arrived. “There’s not much to know about me. I’m just a simple guy with down-home scruples.” He dropped his cigarette onto the pavement and crushed it with the toe of his boot.

  Charles’ antenna went up. He never trusted a person who found it necessary to point out his honesty, especially while littering.

  “Let’s take a look,” Braxton added.

  Facing the house, the garage was on the right and attached to the house. The house appeared small from the outside but was appealing. It had light green siding, white trim around the door and windows, and dark green shutters. The door was placed in the center, with two sets of windows on each side. There was a small porch, and someone had placed a large pot of pansies to the side of the single step.

  Looking up, Sarah noticed a window near the soffit. “This house has a second floor?” she asked, sounding concerned, but Braxton immediately responded.

  “No. That’s actually an attic with pull-down steps and a finished floor. Some people want the storage space. It could also be finished for visiting grandchildren.”

  “Kids would love that,” Sarah exclaimed, remembering the hours she and her sister had spent playing dress-up in the attic of their grandmother’s country farmhouse. She missed her sister. Mary Bell, older than Sarah, had died many years ago.

  Shaking the memory from her mind, Sarah entered the house and found a surprisingly spacious interior. The living room was open and airy, with a fireplace providing a division between the living room and the dining area.

  “Wood burning?” Sarah asked and was pleased to hear it was gas.

  “We haven’t decorated yet,” Braxton said, “so you have to imagine these rooms with furniture.” There was a card table and four folding chairs in the corner with a pile of brochures and a yellow pad. Seeing Sarah looking at the arrangement, Braxton added with a chuckle, “Excuse the mess; that’s my temporary sales office.”

  Sarah smiled her response and walked past the fireplace and into the dining area. She was surprised to see that the fireplace was accessible on that side as well. “This is cozy,” she said, looking at Charles. “We can have candlelight dinners by the fire.” He was examining the construction of the unit and nodded his head in agreement. Sarah knew men were rarely excited about candlelight meals, but she thought it would be fun all the same.

  Continuing toward the back of the house, Sarah noted that the eating area was divided from the kitchen by a granite-topped island. Sarah walked past it into the kitchen and opened an eye-level oven door, just above the smooth-top stove. She looked toward Braxton questioningly.

  “Up there,” he said, pointing to the door she had just opened, “that’s a combination microwave and convection oven. My wife loves those. That’s about all she uses anymore. Your regular oven,” he added walking over and opening the two oven doors below, “has a warming oven as well.”

  “Very handy,” Sarah replied, smiling as she pictured herself preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the family.

  There was ample counter space and more cabinets than she expected. “This is a nice-size refrigerator,” Sarah noted as she opened both doors.

  Charles opened the door on the side of the kitchen that led to the garage, and Sarah walked over to take a look. “I like coming directly into the kitchen from the garage,” she said. “That’s really handy with groceries.”

  Closing the garage door, Charles walked across the kitchen and opened the back door. He stepped out and Sarah followed him. “A patio would be nice out here,” Charles commented.

  “Yes, but there’s already a small patio over there,” Sarah said pointing a few feet away. “What’s that for?” she asked, turning to Braxton.

  “You’ll see in a minute,” Braxton replied with a mischievous smile as they returned to the kitchen.

  Braxton remained in the background, watching the couple. He could always recognize a potential sale. These folks are interested, he told himself with a nod. At least the wife is. They had already begun work on the twenty units and, so far, only three had firm contracts.

  “How about bedrooms?” Sarah asked, turning to Braxton.

  “There are three.” Braxton led them from the kitchen through an archway that led to a hallway running toward the front of the house. “All the bedrooms are off this hallway,” he said. First they looked at the spacious master bedroom, with its French doors opening onto the small patio on the back of the house.

  “Ah! Now I see. What a wonderful place for our morning coffee,” Sarah said, looking at Charles for his reaction.

  “Nice,” he said simply as he checked out the large master bath. There was a shower as well as a large soaking tub.

  “Great for those aching joints,” Braxton chuckled when he noticed Charles examining it. “And big enough for two,” he added with an impish smile, which he quickly dropped when he realized the couple didn’t appear to be amused. Maybe I should save that remark for younger folks, he thought.

  From the master bedroom, they continued down the hall to the other two bedrooms, both small but adequate as a sewing room and a combination guest room and computer room for C
harles. There was a second bathroom in the hallway that could be used by their guests.

  Arriving at the second archway, this one leading into the living room, Braxton turned to the couple and asked, “So what do you think?”

  “I like it,” Sarah responded, “but we’re still looking in town as well.” Braxton started to tell them about the senior services available in the community, but Sarah reminded him they lived in the Village.

  “Oh, right. Well, have a seat and let me make a few notes,” Braxton said, pointing toward the card table. Sarah sat down, but Charles continued to stand.

  “How are you connected to Cunningham Village?” Sarah asked.

  “We’re contractors. We’re developing this part of the community for them.”

  “Did you build the attached homes over on Azalea, where I live?”

  “No. That was all completed before we got involved. The Village contracted with us for this expansion.”

  While Sarah and Braxton talked, Charles walked back through the house, examining the walls, light fixtures, and how the doors were hung. He opened the electrical box and looked at the connections. In the kitchen, he looked under the kitchen sink and turned the water on and off. When he came back into the living room area, he asked, “May I take a look in the crawl space?”

  “Sure. Come on back.” Braxton led him back to the kitchen and opened the door onto the small backyard. “You lookin’ for anything in particular?” Braxton asked.

  “No. Just looking.”

  Frowning, Braxton asked, “I assume you’re retired. What’s your profession?”

  “Police officer.” Charles replied gruffly without looking at Braxton.

  About that time, Sarah arrived at the back door as well and asked about fencing. “Sure, you can put in a fence but talk to the homeowners association first. They have a list of approved fences.”

  “Probably the same ones we use in our section,” Sarah responded. She walked around the back of the house while Charles checked out the crawl space.

  When they got in their car to head home, Sarah asked, “You were pretty quiet. What did you think?”

  “I’m not sure, Sarah. It’s a nice house as far as that goes. I like the size and the design. And I like the knoll area. It’s somewhat secluded yet part of the community.”

  “You sound hesitant. Is there something you don’t like about it?”

  “Well, I’m not sure about the quality of the construction. Some of the work seemed a little shoddy.”

  “I didn’t notice that,” Sarah said, not sure what he was referring to.

  “It wasn’t obvious. It’s all on the inside. Under the house, inside the electrical box. I don’t know. I just didn’t have a good feeling about the workmanship. I’m pretty fussy, though. I might be overreacting.”

  “Do you want to consider it?”

  “Yeah. I think we should consider it, at least. It’s a good location for us. If we decide to do it, I’ll keep an eye on the construction as it goes up.” Charles appeared to be deep in thought but then added, “Yeah, we should certainly consider it.”

  They had looked at a dozen houses in Middletown and none seemed right. The biggest problem was that they were all older homes and would require work. Most had yards to maintain. “Oh, we forgot to ask about lawn maintenance.”

  “I read about that in his brochure,” Charles responded. “These homes include all the amenities of the Village, including security, road and lawn maintenance, and use of all the facilities.”

  “That’s excellent,” Sarah replied. “I liked the layout of the house.”

  “We can probably ask for changes. Would you like the master bedroom to be in the front?”

  “Absolutely not!” Sarah responded emphatically. “I loved that little private patio off the bedroom. I wouldn’t want that out front! I want to go out there in my robe for morning coffee. And I want to put a bird feeder out there. We can sit and watch the birds, maybe have breakfast …”

  “Don’t forget there will be neighbors …”

  “Oh. I forgot that. But doesn’t The Knolls property run all the way back to the woods?”

  “It sure does. Are you suggesting we look for a lot in the back? That’s even farther from the Community Center and Sophie.”

  “It’s a few blocks farther—that’s all. We can always take the car, but I intend to keep walking as long as I’m able. I think it would be fun to stroll over to the Center for lunch or for a class.”

  “And Barney will love having longer walks,” Charles said thoughtfully. “It’ll be about a mile to the park.”

  “We have lots to think about,” Sarah said as they pulled into their driveway. But she knew she didn’t have much thinking to do beyond where she would place the furniture. She loved the house and the idea of staying in the Village.

  “I wonder if they would do a two-car garage,” Charles speculated. With that question, Sarah knew her new husband was giving The Knolls serious consideration.

  Chapter 12

  Over the next few weeks, Sarah led her students through the process of squaring up their four-patches, alternating the four-patches with the six-inch squares of focus fabric and sewing them into rows, and ultimately adding the borders. Sarah agreed to add an extra class because everyone wanted to learn straight-line quilting.

  Everyone was delighted with the results, and they all pleaded with Sarah to teach a second class so they could each make a bed quilt. Sarah said she would discuss it with the shop owner.

  Doris had brought in a picture of a Double Irish Chain and asked Sarah if it would be too difficult for her to do. Sarah pulled a pattern book from the rack and showed her the steps. Sarah told her that it would probably be considered an intermediate level but that she felt Doris had all the skills to make it. Doris remained doubtful.

  “You might want to look at the Single Irish Chain.” Sarah turned to the less advanced pattern and pointed out how similar it was to the throw they had just made. “It’s very similar to what we just made but with nine-patches instead of four-patches. It’s the arrangement of colors that makes the difference.”

  Doris was excited when she realized she could make the quilt. She took the book and began looking through the fabrics.

  * * * * *

  “Are you free for lunch?” Sarah asked. She had called Martha at work, which she rarely did. But it was such a beautiful day, and she really wanted to spend it with her daughter.

  Martha hesitated for a moment and then said, “Sure. That would be great. Where shall we meet?”

  “How about that café in town, Le Petit Bonjour?”

  “That sounds very appropriate,” Martha responded, “since I haven’t had a chance to hear much about your trip to Paris. I’ll meet you there in about forty-five minutes, if that’s okay.”

  “Perfect. I’m leaving home now, and I have a couple of stops to make.”

  An hour later, Sarah and her daughter were seated at a large plate-glass window overlooking traffic. “I wish we had more sidewalk cafés in this country,” Sarah was saying. “I think that’s one of the things I liked best about Paris. Charles and I walked or took the metro everywhere, and we often stopped at an outdoor café just for coffee and to rest our feet. I loved watching the people and just soaking up the atmosphere.”

  Sarah had brought a small packet of pictures. She didn’t want to bore her daughter but wanted her to see their hotel, some of their favorite spots, and particularly the midnight cruise on the Seine, which had been the highlight of the trip. “They were playing music; we danced, drank wine, drifted beneath the bridges we’ve all seen in the movies, and passed by the most beautiful architecture you can imagine.” She then dropped her eyes and added with a slight blush, “It was very romantic.”

  “That’s what a good honeymoon should be,” Martha said with a chuckle. “Romantic.” She had never heard her mother giggle before.

  “Charles took this picture of me standing under the Arc de Triomphe.”


  “I can hardly see you,” Martha responded, trying to pick her out of the crowd under the enormous arch.

  “Did you go up in the Eiffel Tower?”

  “No, but we walked around in that area and went into the gift shop.” She searched around in her purse and pulled out an Eiffel Tower key chain. “This is for you.”

  “Another gift?” Martha said, laughing as she looked at the typical souvenir-shop item. Sarah had brought both the girls, Martha and Jennifer, a beautiful silk scarf from a fancy boutique on the Rue de Passy, billed as the most chic shopping district in Paris. Jennifer, her daughter-in-law, had vowed to treasure the scarf (and the bag it came in) forever.

  After their lunch, Martha said she would love to hang out with her mother and enjoy the nice weather. Sarah said she was completely free for the rest of the day. Martha called her office and announced that she was taking the rest of the day off. “Are you okay?” her assistant had asked, not being accustomed to Martha taking time off on the spur of the moment.

  They decided to go to Sarah’s house and pick up Barney for a walk at the park. Once Martha dropped her car off in front of Sarah’s house, Sarah asked her if she would like to see the model at The Knolls first. Martha was excited about it, and Sarah drove them to the other side of the Village, stopping at the sales office first to ask if she could show the model to her daughter. The young woman in the office called over to the construction site and asked the foreman to unlock the model.

  Martha loved the house, and she and Sarah talked about where the furniture could go and what Sarah might like to buy new. Martha especially liked the patio off the master bedroom and the idea of stepping outside for morning coffee. Sarah realized she loved it even more this time. They strolled up the freshly paved road to the three lots at the end of the cul-de-sac. “This is the lot I would like,” she told Martha wistfully.

  “It’s perfect,” her daughter responded. “Do you think you’ll buy it?” Martha asked as they were walking back to the car.

  “I really don’t know, but I think Charles is coming around. We both love the house, and I think Charles just wanted to know what else was out there.”