Sunrise on Cedar Key (18 page)
26
I
was up by six Friday morning, took Annie for a quick walk, got myself together, and was in the carriage house by eight, but Aunt Maude was already there preparing coffee when I walked in.
was up by six Friday morning, took Annie for a quick walk, got myself together, and was in the carriage house by eight, but Aunt Maude was already there preparing coffee when I walked in.
“Good morning,” she said, a huge smile on her face. It was obvious that she was in her element and was going to enjoy these weekends.
“Aren't you the early bird? What can I do to help?”
“I have muffins and bagels. Maybe you could start putting those out on a plate. Chloe will be over shortly to help.”
Just before nine, the table was arranged, Dora and Suellen had arrived, and soft music was playing on the CD player.
“Hello,” somebody hollered from the doorway. “Do we have the right place?”
I looked over to see two women who appeared to be in their early thirties. Both were tall and slim, wearing jeans and sweatshirts. One was exceptionally attractive with blond spiky hair that had a strip of green, a nose ring, and a tattoo of a butterfly on her lower arm. The other was more subdued, with little makeup and long dark hair that hung in a single braid down her back.
“Riley and Devon?” I asked, walking toward them with my hand outstretched.
“Yeah,” the blonde said. “I'm Riley, and this is my friend, Devon.”
“Welcome.” My aunt gestured toward the table. “Come on in. We have coffee, juice, and some muffins and bagels.”
“Great. I'm starved,” Riley said. “We left Tampa at five this morning.”
“That was Riley's idea,” her friend replied. “I told her I'd pay for the extra night to come yesterday, but she wouldn't hear of it. She's been frugal since kindergarten.”
Suellen and I looked at each and laughed. “Ah, yes,” she said. “Being childhood friends allows you to really know each other.” She went on to explain that we'd also been friends since we were little.
A minute later the final four women arrived.
“Everybody help yourselves to some coffee and food. I'm Maude Stone,” my aunt said, and then introduced the rest of us. “Find a nice cushy seat and then we'll all get to know each other.”
After we got seated, Riley and Devon introduced themselves first.
“I'm Tara Lesley, and this is my cousin, Julia Beecham.”
Both women looked to be early sixties, with dark hair and a resemblance that bordered more on sisters than cousins.
“Oh, that's right,” I said. “Julia, you're from England, aren't you?”
“Yes. I flew to Boston last week to stay with Tara for a few days before we drove down here.”
We looked at the other two women sitting on the love seat.
“I'm Martha Bellingham, and this is my sister, Rebecca Chase. I live in Washington State but flew to Tampa last week to stay with Rebecca before we drove up here yesterday.”
“Well, how nice that all of you could join us for the first knitting retreat weekend,” my aunt said.
“I hope I'll leave here knowing how to knit better.” Riley got up to refill her coffee mug. “I'd sure love to know how to knit cables.”
“I'd bet anything that by the time you leave here on Monday, you'll be an expert,” Suellen said. “How long have you been knitting?”
“Only about three months.” She paused for a moment. “My ... ah ...”
“Her mother passed away last August,” Devon continued. “I thought it might be good for her to learn how to knit, so we both signed up at a local yarn shop in Tampa.”
What a caring thing to do for a friend,
I thought.
I thought.
“Knitting can be excellent therapy for many things,” Dora said. “Well, don't worry, Riley. Suellen's right. You'll be making cables before the weekend's over.”
Chloe and I got up to remove the empty plates and coffee cups. “Okay, ladies,” I said. “Time to begin knitting. Let's see what everybody's working on.”
Julia produced a few rows knitted in gorgeous self-striping colors of pale yellow, blue, and melon. “I just started this yesterday. We went downtown to Yarning Together to get some new yarn. This will be a jumperâwell, in American terminology, a sweaterâand is being done in mohair and wool from Plymouth Yarn Company.”
“Gorgeous,” I said, reaching over to touch the soft fiber. “And what do you have there, Tara?”
“A tunic that I began working on last month. The yarn is Cotton Fleece, and I just loved this shade of blue. As you can see, it has cables so I'd be more than happy to sit with Riley and teach her how to make them.”
“That would be great,” Riley said, reaching in her bag to produce a beautiful shade of soft pink yarn. “I was hoping to make myself a scarf.”
“And I'm making a fairly simple afghan for my sister. She's getting married next year,” Devon said, holding up a lovely piece of work done in blues, purples, and various shades of green. “The pattern is just knits and purls and easy to follow.”
“I'm working on some mock cable dishcloths,” Rebecca said. “No cable holder is required because it's not a proper cable stitch. It's fairly easy to do. You just skip the first stitch on the left needle, knit in front of the second stitch, then knit the first one and slip both stitches off the needle at the same time.” She held up squares in blue, beige, and yellow. “I donate these for different organizations and bazaars.”
“How clever,” Suellen said, getting up to take a better look. “I'd love a copy of the pattern.”
“I donate preemie beanies to our local hospital,” Martha said, holding up two that were done in a soft cotton yarn using three different colors. “The new moms really love these, and of course they keep the tiny heads warm.”
“Oh, I like that idea,” Chloe said, taking one of the caps to inspect it. “I'd like a copy of this pattern. This might be a nice project for our knitting night at the yarn shop.” She removed a half-finished sweater from her bag in a deep navy color. “This is for one of my sons. It's done in a basket weave pattern, which tends to be masculine.”
“And I'm working on some lacy socks for my daughter, Marin,” Dora said. “She loves wearing hand-knit socks.”
Aunt Maude held up a gorgeous afghan in a rippled pattern done in shades of brown, tan, and beige. “This is going to be a raffle item for our Women's Club fund-raiser.”
“My daughter, Ashley, love shawls,” Suellen said, holding up a work of deep purple lacy stitches. “So this is for her.”
“As for me,” I said, reaching into my tote bag. “I'm making a sweater ... for the man in my life.” I held up the beige sweater with diamond stitches. “It's actually fairly easy.”
“Ooh, I love that!” Riley said. “How did you get those diamonds in the pattern?”
“With cables,” I told her. “See what you'll be able to do as soon as you learn how to do those cables?”
Riley laughed. “Yeah, and I can't wait.”
“Okay,” Maude said. “Then let's get started. Dora, you're teaching the intarsia class, and I believe Tara and Julia signed up to take that. So perhaps the table will be the easiest place for you gals to sit. And Grace, maybe you can help Riley with her cables since Tara is taking the class.”
“Great,” I said, getting up to sit next to Riley on the sofa.
“And the rest of us can just relax and knit.”
Â
I was shocked when I glanced at my watch and saw that it was already twelve-thirty. The soft buzz of conversation had filled the room for over three hours as all of us got to know each other better.
“Well, ladies,” Aunt Maude said. “We'll be breaking for lunch shortly. I'd say it was a very productive morning.”
“I'll say.” Riley got up and stretched her arms above her head. “I think I'm getting the hang of these cables.”
“You certainly are,” I told her as I walked to the kitchen area to begin helping Aunt Maude, Dora, and Chloe set out plates, silverware, chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad, and coleslaw.
“Oh, Riley,” Devon said, as her friend held up a few inches of her new scarf. “It's gorgeous. Now you'll have to teach me how to do those cables.”
“If you have extra yarn with you,” Chloe said, placing a pitcher of sweet tea on the table, “we could get you started while you're here.”
“I don't. But I can leave here a bit early this afternoon and run downtown to the yarn shop.”
“Who's covering the shop today?” I asked Dora.
“Sydney's there. She was the original owner,” Dora explained to the group. “She's my niece, and now her daughter, Monica, owns the shop.”
“But not for long,” I said, laughing.
Chloe nodded. A smile covered her face as she explained about the upcoming plans for her and Dora.
“Isn't that great,” Martha said. “Keeping it in the family. I really like that.”
“Oh, me too,” Rebecca piped in. “And how nice that you all live here near each other. Martha and I have to resort to visiting a few times a year.”
“But it sounds to me like you really make those visits meaningful. Why don't you tell everybody why you planned this visit to Cedar Key,” I said.
“Well,” Martha explained, “my sister and I are both breast cancer survivors. And once a year we plan a trip somewhere togetherâto celebrate life.”
“Oh, that's so cool,” Riley said, reaching for a sandwich. “With my mother gone, I really don't have any family left. I'm an only child and my father and I ... well, we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. He didn't approve of me leaving Florida five years ago to pursue my acting career in California.”
“Oh, you're an actress?” Suellen asked.
Riley shook her head. “Nah, just a wannabe. I tried. Had some auditions, but ... they didn't lead anywhere. Trying to get a break is downright impossible. Then my mom got sick with cancer and I came back home last year. She always supported me though. She was always my strongest allyâwhen I put the green strip in my hair, she laughed. When I got a nose ring, she said, âOn you, it looks cute.' And when I got my tattoo”âRiley skimmed her fingers across her forearmâ“she said âOuch!' So I really miss her support. My dad thinks I'm a complete screwup, but he's never taken the time to understand me.”
“That's a shame,” Aunt Maude said. “Family is very important. People might not always agree and see eye to eye ... but in the end, family is what sustains us.”
I glanced up to see my aunt's gaze on me, a smile on her face.
“And sometimes one doesn't even realize the family they have,” Julia said.
“What do you mean?” Dora asked.
Tara laughed. “Do you want to tell our story or should I?”
Julia's laughter joined her cousin's. “I think it's your turn.”
“Well,” Tara began, “my father had a brother and they both served in World War Two at the same time, stationed in England. I grew up always hearing my mom tell the story that my dad was actually engaged to a woman in England during the war, but he came home, met my mother, ... and ended up sending a telegram to this other woman saying he'd changed his mind. He was marrying somebody else.”
“Oh, that's sad,” Chloe said.
“Yes, except if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here telling you this story,” Tara said, causing us all to laugh.
“His brother, who is my uncle, was married before he left for the war. Now fast forward to over sixty years later, and I receive an e-mailâfrom a girl in England asking if I'm the daughter of so and so, from Salem, Massachusetts. I was. The e-mail went on to say that she had reason to believe we were related and from the same family.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Devon exclaimed. “What an amazing story.”
“It gets better,” Tara said. “Come to find out, the girl writing the e-mail was Julia's daughter, Sally. I wrote back right away, and pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. But for a little while, I questioned if perhaps Julia was my
sister
and not my cousin, because of that woman my father had been engaged to.”
sister
and not my cousin, because of that woman my father had been engaged to.”
“Oh! Wow!” Riley said, leaning across the table fully engrossed in the story. “But you're cousins, right?”
Tara nodded. “Yes, and the evidence that proved it was due to the fact that Julia's father had to have been in England in November of 1944, because she was born in August of 1945. My father was part of the Normandy Invasion and therefore left England late May 1944, according to a diary he had kept. So of course, he wasn't there when Julia's mother became pregnant. But my uncle was, and it was his name on Julia's birth certificate anyway. Julia never saw the official copy of her birth certificate until a few years ago when her son and daughter began working on a family tree and genealogy, after her mother died.”
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