The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (39 page)

W
hy don’t we take your car when we go out to lunch?” Terry suggested as he and Cheryl left Emma’s house. “You probably wouldn’t want to ride in my truck.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Cheryl said with a shake of her head. “I don’t mind riding in a truck.”

“Okay, but I’ve gotta warn ya, my truck’s kinda noisy.”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to talk a little louder,” she said with a chuckle.

Terry grinned and opened the door on the passenger side for her to get in.

“Your truck’s not so bad,” Cheryl said as she climbed in and looked around. “In fact, you keep it pretty nice inside compared to some I’ve seen.” She ran her hand over the leather seat.

“Well, you haven’t heard the engine yet. And to be honest, the inside of my truck doesn’t always look this good,” Terry admitted.

“You could have fooled me. Even this bench seat looks brand new.”

“Actually, it is. I had it replaced a few weeks ago, which is what prompted me to clean out the truck.” Terry chuckled. “Couldn’t have a cluttered truck with a brand-new seat.”

Cheryl smiled. “I know what you mean. When I get something new for my apartment, it almost always triggers me into buying something else. Guess I get that from my mom. She used to drive Dad crazy every time he did some kind of improvement or repairs to the house. I remember the time she asked him to paint the living room. After it was done, Mom wanted all new furniture and pictures for the room because the walls looked so clean and nice.” Cheryl giggled, as she reminisced. “She said the old stuff just wouldn’t do.”

As they drove out of Emma’s yard, Terry glanced at Cheryl and said, “Speaking of nice—I think you’re pretty nice, and easy to please.”

She smiled, feeling the heat of a blush erupt on her cheeks. “I try to be, but I’m sure my parents might say otherwise. When I was a little girl, my dad said I was spoiled.”

“How come? Did your folks give you everything you wanted?”

Cheryl shook her head. “Far from it. But my grandma sort of spoiled me. Not with gifts so much, but by giving me lots of attention—something I didn’t get much of from Mom or Dad.”

“I’m surprised at that. Didn’t you mention when we went out to lunch last week that you’re an only child?”

Cheryl nodded.

“Everyone I know who grew up without brothers and sisters pretty much had their parents all to themselves.”

“Well, that wasn’t the case for me. Dad kept busy at work, and so did Mom. And when they weren’t working, they were involved in some activity that took them away from home. If they could work it into their schedule, which wasn’t very often, they’d try to spend some time with me. But even then, I never felt special. I think they were just trying to fulfill their parental duty.” Cheryl sighed. “That’s why I spent a lot of my childhood with Grandma, and it’s how we became so close.”

“Is this the same grandma who owns the quilt you’re having Emma fix?” Terry questioned.

“Yes, it is. Grandma Donelson is my mother’s mom, and when my grandpa passed away ten years ago, Grandma moved in with us. We became even closer after that. She’s in a nursing home in Portland now, not far from where my parents live.”

“What about your dad’s parents? Are they both still living?”

“Yes, but they live in Idaho, so I don’t get to see them much.” Cheryl nodded at Terry. “What about you? Are your grandparents alive, and if so, do they live nearby?”

“My dad’s folks are both dead, and my mom’s parents live in Oklahoma. I know I should, but I don’t keep in touch with them much.” Terry pulled into a gas station. “I hope your stomach can hold out for lunch a while longer, ’cause this old truck needs some gas.”

She smiled. “I think I’ll make it.”

Terry turned off the ignition and hopped out of the truck. While he pumped the gas, Cheryl reached into her purse, pulled out her cell phone, and turned up the volume. She’d had it muted during the quilting class, not wishing to disturb anyone should it go off. As she was putting the phone back into her purse, a package of mints fell out. When she leaned over to pick it up, she discovered a pack of cigarettes on the floor of the truck.

“That’s just great,” Cheryl mumbled. “Terry’s obviously started smoking again.”
Or maybe he never quit and just managed to hide it well
.
I can’t date a guy who smokes, not with my allergies
.

When Terry got back in the truck, Cheryl held the cigarettes out to him. “What’s this? I thought you said you’d quit smoking.”

His eyebrows shot up. “I did. Those ain’t mine. They’re not even the brand I used to smoke.”

“Oh really? Whose cigarettes are they, then?”

“I picked up a hitchhiker on the way to class this morning, and the guy tried to light up, but I told him, ‘Not in my truck.’ I’m guessing he must have left his cigarettes when I dropped him off. You do believe me, don’t you?” he asked, looking anxiously at Cheryl. “By the way, I didn’t explain this before, but that’s why I had to put a new seat in this truck. Because of my smoking, I burned a hole in the old seat. That bad habit was a costly one, and I found out the hard way that it’s expensive in more ways than one.”

Cheryl sat trying to process all of this. She wanted to believe Terry and hoped he was telling the truth, because she would never get involved with another man who wasn’t honest with her.

Terry reached for her hand. “I’m not lying, honest.”

“Okay,” she said, relaxing a bit. “I’ll take you at your word.”

“Sure is a nice day to be at the lake,” Lamar remarked as he and Blaine sat at a picnic table, eating the lunch Emma had prepared for them.

Blaine nodded eagerly as he bit into his roast beef sandwich. “Like I said before, for me, there’s nothing like being in the fresh air near a body of water, where the fish are just waiting to be caught. Even if I don’t catch any fish, there’s nothing I enjoy more than being out here like this. It sort of helps clear my head and allows me to put aside any problems I have.”

Lamar chuckled. “I like to fish, too. It’s very relaxing, but I’d give it up if Emma asked me to.”

Blaine’s forehead wrinkled. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. Nothing and no one is as special to me as my dear wife.”

“Does Emma ever go fishing with you?” Blaine asked.

“She has a few times, but she usually keeps busy making the quilts she sells to one of our local quilt shops. When I go fishing, it’s most often with my son-in-law or one of his boys.”

Blaine was about to comment, when his cell phone rang. “Drat! I forgot to turn that stupid thing off.” He glanced at the caller ID and blinked when he realized it was Sue calling.
I wonder what she wants
.
Guess I’d better answer it and find out
.

Flipping his phone open, Blaine said, “Hello.”

“Hi, Blaine, it’s Sue.”

“Yeah, I knew that when I saw your name on my caller ID.”

“Are you busy right now?” she asked.

“I’m eating lunch with a friend.”

There was a pause. “Are you on a date?”

“What? No. I’m with Lamar Miller, and we’re at Lake Shipshewana.”
Not that it’s any of your business
, Blaine thought with irritation.

“Oh, I see. Well, I won’t keep you, but there’s something I wanted to say.”

“What’s that?”

“I ran into Stuart and Pam at the mall last night. They were shopping with their kids, and Stuart mentioned that you’d been taking some quilting classes. I never pictured you doing something like that.”

“It’s true. Stuart got me into it with a bet we stupidly made.”

“Yes, he mentioned that. Stuart also said you’ve been seeing a woman you met there, and I…I was wondering if you’re getting serious about her.”

“At this point, I can’t really say. Cheryl and I have only gone out a few times.” Blaine wasn’t about to admit to Sue that he wasn’t planning to see Cheryl anymore. No point in giving her the satisfaction. Besides, why did she care? Their relationship was over.

“Oh, I see.”

Blaine wasn’t sure how to read Sue’s tone of voice. Was she jealous? Did she wish that she and Blaine were still dating? Did he dare to ask? No, that would be setting himself up to get hurt again.

“Look, Sue, I really can’t talk anymore.”

“Okay, sure. I’ll let you get back to your lunch. Good-bye, Blaine.”

“Bye, Sue.”
Please don’t call again; it hurts too much
. Blaine turned off his cell phone and stuffed it in his shirt pocket. Then he grabbed his can of soda pop and took a drink.

“Sorry for the interruption,” he said, setting his empty can down. “That was my ex-girlfriend, Sue.”

“You still care for her, don’t you?” Lamar asked.

“What makes you think that?”

“I can see it on your face.”

Blaine didn’t know why, but he ended up telling Lamar all about Sue and how she’d turned down his marriage proposal, and they’d broken up.

“Would you like a piece of advice?” Lamar asked.

Blaine shrugged. “I guess so.” With the eager expression on Lamar’s face, he figured the elderly man was just waiting to give his opinion.

“Sue must still have some feelings for you, or she wouldn’t have questioned you about Cheryl.”

“You really think so?”

Lamar gave a nod. “If you love this woman, then maybe you shouldn’t give up on her.” Lamar reached into the picnic basket for another sandwich and handed it to Blaine. “You know, when I first started caring for Emma, she wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

“So what’d you do?” Blaine asked, his interest piqued.

“I kept pursuing her—did nice things for her and hung around till she couldn’t say no.” Lamar snickered. “It was a challenge at first, but well worth the wait. Now Emma and I are quite happy together.”

Blaine smiled. “That’s obvious. You two seem like you were made for each other—as some might say, you’re soul mates.”

Lamar bobbed his head. “But we wouldn’t be married today if I hadn’t made an effort to win Emma’s heart. So I’m thinking maybe you gave up too soon on winning the hand of the woman you love.”

“Maybe so, but I don’t think pursing Sue is a good idea because she might turn me away, and I don’t want to be hurt again.”

“Well, you’ll never know unless you try, and since Sue called, my guess is she misses you.”

“I’ll give it some thought,” Blaine said. “But we came here to do some fishing today, so why don’t we get to it?”

“Hey, Anna, come with me to the women’s restroom,” Mandy said when Anna met her at the 5 & 20 Restaurant after she’d left Emma’s quilting class. She held up a paper sack. “I want to show you something.”

Curious to know what her friend had in the bag, Anna followed Mandy into the restroom.

Once inside, Mandy opened the sack and pulled out two pairs of jeans, two knit tops, and a pair of lightweight jackets. She gave one set of clothes to Anna. “Put these on, and take down your hair. We’re gonna spend the rest of the day as English girls.”

“Doing what?” Anna asked, her heart beating with excitement. Here was a chance to see what it felt like to look English, but even so, she was apprehensive.

“Let’s start by having a couple of burgers for lunch, and then we’ll go shopping for some makeup and jewelry.”

Anna’s eyes widened. “What if someone sees us? As much as I’d like to do what you suggested, I don’t want my folks to find out. It was bad enough they found out about the bracelet Carmen gave me. It would be a hundred times worse if they learned that I was walking around Shipshe wearing makeup and dressed in English clothes.”

Mandy laughed and poked Anna’s arm. “You worry too much. With our hair down and wearing these clothes and some makeup, no one’s gonna know who we are.”

“They might, and I’m not willing to take that chance. Especially when we’re so close to home.”

“No problem. We’ll go to Elkhart or Goshen and have a fun day there.”

“How are we supposed to get there, Mandy? Either of those towns are a long ways for us to ride on our bikes.”

Her friend nodded. “You’re right, which is why I thought we could hitchhike.”

Anna shook her head vigorously. “No way! Hitchhiking could be dangerous.”

Mandy pulled a cell phone out of her purse. “Okay, worrywart, if you don’t want to hitchhike, then I’ll call my brother, James, and ask him to give us a ride.”