Part 14 (1/2)
”All right. Next week it is.”
Chapter 23.
Susan swept the living room while Julie and the girls pulled out all their quilting supplies. They were chatting and laughing, and with every single word, Susan's blood pressure crept a little higher. The stack of mattresses against the wall looked haphazard at best-far from the Amish standarad of neatness. Just because it was Sat.u.r.day and the kids didn't have school didn't mean they could just goof off. There were always things to be done-certainly more pressing things than quilting.
”Aunt Susan, I don't know why you're sweeping the floor now. It's just going to have strings and thread all over it by the time we're done.”
Susan wondered if her face and neck were bright red, the way her mother's used to get when she was about to have an explosion. Susan stopped sweeping so she could look Whitney directly in the eye. ”Why make the bed if you're just going to sleep in it again tonight? Why wash the dishes if they're just going to get dirty again? For that matter, why even cook the dinner, if you're just going to have to do it again the next night?” Her voice gained volume with each repeated question.
”Susan.” Julie set down a pile of fabric and walked across the room. ”Are you all right?”
”I'm fine. But I'm sick and tired of being the only one who does anything around here. If it weren't for me, nothing would ever get accomplished. Why can't all of you take a little more initiative instead of just counting on me?”
”I . . . uh . . .” There were tears in Julie's eyes as she looked from the girls back to Susan. ”Girls, why don't you put that fabric up on the chairs. Angie and Whitney, go get the supplies and sc.r.a.pe another sill. I'll just go get another broom and help Susan.”
A silence so heavy had descended on the group that the sound of each footstep across the wood floors sounded painfully loud. The swoos.h.i.+ng of the broom against the floor, the sc.r.a.pe of metal against wood, grew louder with each pa.s.sing second. n.o.body was speaking or even glancing up, and certainly none of them were looking anywhere near Susan. She looked at the group silently involved in their ch.o.r.es, faces set, and knew that she had been too abrupt. But everything she'd said had been the truth, too. She was tired of having to push and prod to get anything done around here.
Julie stepped out of the room for a second, returned with a rag, and began dusting around the firelplace. Susan finished sweeping and went to get her own rag. At least she could help Julie, perhaps build a little bridge between them. She walked over to the mantel. ”Have you done this side yet?”
”No.” Julie's voice was soft and low.
From the corner of her eye, Susan saw Julie's hand go up to her face, and she glimpsed tears on her cheeks.
Susan ran her rag across the mantel, and just as she'd expected, it came away dusty. It had been two days since they'd done this, and since they were leaving the windows open all the time this week, a fine covering of dust and pollen had spread throughout the room. She hoped that Julie and the kids were noticing this and realizing that this had indeed been necessary.
”My, my. Aren't you all a bunch of worker bees today?” Rosemary stood outside the screen door of the living room, since the wooden one was propped open. ”You're about as quiet as I've ever heard ya, too. We'll have to see if we can't do something about that, now won't we?” She came inside, then stopped and fanned herself. ”It's a tad stuffy in here. What would you ladies think of taking our work outside on the porch?”
”I'll . . . just go clean off the table and chairs real quick.” Whitney disappeared into the kitchen, reappeared with a rag and bottle of cleaning solution in her hands, and headed to the porch.
”I'll help.” Angie went out the door, never looking back.
”What's the matter with everyone around here? You'd think your last cow had just died or something.”
Julie walked toward the older woman. ”Oh, sorry, we're not being very hospitable, are we? Rosemary, would you like a nice cold water?”
”Sounds wonderful.” She picked up her large bag and started for the door. ”I'll just go see if the kids need my help.” As the door swung closed behind her, Susan heard her say something that included the words ”p.r.i.c.kly” and ”uptight.”
Well, someone around here had to be. Nothing had changed from their life in Santa Barbara, only the setting. Once again, she carried the full burden of making certain that things were done correctly.
Julie breezed past her, three gla.s.ses full of water in her hands. She used her hip to push open the storm door. ”Here you go, ladies. A round of water on the house.”
There was faint laughter from the girls before Julie said, ”I'll just go get some for Susan and me, and then I'll be back and ready to st.i.tch.”
”I'll get it.” Susan set the dust rag aside and went about preparing a couple of gla.s.ses of ice water. She carried them outside, put one gla.s.s beside Julie's chair, and brought the other with her to the last chair on the porch. She picked up a couple rows of fabric and began lining them up, just like Rosemary had taught her. She hated this. It was tedious, and boring, and a complete waste of her time. There were so many other things that needed doing.
”I've been thinking,” Julie said, looking up from her work. ”I know that everyone in this town is well aware that we are out here filming, and they are all more than a little intrigued by that. So, I'm thinking, maybe if we actually finish a quilt that is good enough, we could auction it off to the local residents. The money could go to help with that Kids' Club Whitney worked with the other night, or maybe the hospital here, or some other local charity that needs help.”
Rosemary nodded. ”That's what I call a terrific idea. I have a friend who's an auctioneer. I bet he'd help us with it.” She rocked back and forth. ”You've got a true gift, Julie, a true gift.”
”I may be good for a beginner, but even I know enough to know I'm not great.”
”I wasn't speaking of sewing. You think that one over for a while.” Rosemary turned her attention to Susan. ”So . . . you're looking a little stressed over there. Needin' some help with your st.i.tching?”
”No, thanks. I'm fine.”
”I see.” Rosemary leaned forward, her elbows on the arms of the rocking chair, her watery blue eyes fixed on Susan. ”Don't look so fine to me. You carry a lot of burdens that you really don't need to carry.”
Susan did not have the time or the patience for another Rosemary-the-shrink session. ”I carry the burdens I have to carry in order to make certain my daughter and I survive in this world.”
”You think?” Rosemary stared at her, completely still, just waiting. Julie and the girls all sensed it too and looked up, as if waiting for this grand revelation. ”I think you have a lot in common with Martha in the Bible. You can choose to either drive yourself crazy, striving for that unattainable perfection, or you can remember what you're doing it all for.”
”That all sounds very wonderful, but I don't think my goals are unattainable. They just require discipline and hard work. That's my job . . . and I know what I'm doing it for-my daughter-who needs my example so she can learn to apply herself fully to have the kind of future she wants to have.”
”What kind of future do you want to have, young lady?” Rosemary turned her attention to Angie.
Angie's face turned bright red, and she suddenly became very interested in her st.i.tching. She shrugged. ”I don't know. A good college and good job, I guess.”
Rosemary nodded. ”I see. Well, it seems to me like the two of you have it all figured out, then.” She went back to rocking.
Susan waited for her to say more, but she just rocked and stared. Somehow, she knew there was an indictment in that silence. But it didn't matter what some small-town woman whose life was sewing quilts thought. She knew nothing of the real world.
The day did not get any cooler, and even as the sun began to dip, the heat remained unbroken. Worse, the stove still radiated warmth from dinner, and now steam rose from the sink as Julie and Susan finished was.h.i.+ng the last of the dishes. Neither had talked about the morning's spat, and Julie hoped it was behind them.
Handing over the evening's final plate, Julie wiped sweat off her brow and said, ”Well, on the bright side, think of how much money people pay for a steam room. We're getting the spa treatment for free here.”
”Somehow I'm not feeling the rejuvenating effects one would expect from such treatments.” Susan chuckled and put the plate in the cupboard.
From outside came a shuffle of footsteps. ”Evening, ladies,” said Gary, appearing at the screen door. Susan waved him in, but he said, ”As I can feel the heat coming off the stove from here, I think I prefer to stay outside. That should start cooling down soon, but I thought I might offer an evening ride. Feel the wind on your faces. It's the least I could do after this morning's wonderful breakfast.”
”That does sound nice.” Susan closed the cupboard door and leaned against the countertop. ”But I'd feel guilty going out for a ride, with the kids all down at the observatory working on their school project.”
Julie had been pondering Brian, and the observatory, and all of the kids' reactions since breakfast this morning. Something was up. Brian should have jumped when Gary asked to see it, and Whitney had certainly never before been in a hurry to spend time with her brother. Yet all of them-including Angie-were all suddenly overwhelmed by a mysterious school project. Whitney had volunteered, ”Since Brian has to work on the telescope for his project, Angie and I will go there and do our work, too. That way we're all together if anyone needs help.”
The whole thing was extremely suspicious.
”Oh, I'm sure they won't mind if you get out for just a little. They all know how hot it is in here after you've cooked a meal. In fact, if it would make you feel better, we can swing down that way and see if any of them want to go for a quick ride with us.”
”I don't know. It sounds wonderful, really, but there are things . . .” Susan's voice trailed off and she stared into the distance, as if thinking intently.
Something about the way Susan and Gary were looking at each other made Julie wonder whether it was the ride in the evening air or the company that sounded so wonderful to Susan. ”I think a ride is a splendid idea. Let's get out of here and give this place a chance to cool down.” She grabbed Susan by the arm. ”Come along, now.”
Susan was laughing more than protesting, so Gary went into the barn to get the wagon and horse. He emerged a few minutes later. ”Ladies, shall we?” He offered a hand up, and Julie discreetly took a step backward so Susan would be the first in. It was probably a juvenile thing to do, but whatever it took to get Susan back into life, she would give it a try.
Gary clucked to the horse, and they took off down the road in the general direction of the creek and the observatory. No one spoke, but an overall feeling of well-being and peace surrounded Julie so closely, she wondered if they all felt it. When was the last time she'd felt this way in her old life?