The Healing Quilt (16 page)

“That won’t be necessary,” Emma was quick to say. “Our living-room couch pulls out into a bed, so one of you can sleep right there.”

“We’re gonna bow for silent prayer now,” Lamar said when Emma set the platter of sandwiches on the table and took a seat. “But if you’d rather pray out loud, Jan, that’s fine with us, too.”

Jan shook his head. “Naw, that’s okay. I’m a believer, and I go to church whenever I can, but I ain’t really comfortable prayin’ out loud. So I’ll just bow my head and say a silent prayer with you and Emma.”

“That’ll be just fine,” Lamar said, casting Emma a smile.

All heads bowed, and when they’d finished praying, Emma jumped up and said, “Oh dear, I forgot the iced tea.” She hurried across the room and returned a few minutes later with a tray that held a pitcher of iced tea, three glasses, and several lemon slices. She also placed a bag of potato chips on the table.

“I don’t really need those.” Lamar thumped his stomach. “Just a sandwich and the tea will be enough for me.”

Emma sat down and scooted the bag of chips close to Jan’s plate. “I’ll bet you’d like some, though, right?”

With an eager expression, he grabbed a handful of chips. “It sure is great to see you folks again. How have you been anyways? Are you happy being here for the winter?”

“We sure are,” Lamar said. “I love spending time on the beach, and the warm weather has been good for my aches and pains.”

“That’s great news.” Jan grabbed a sandwich and took a bite. “So what do you enjoy about Sarasota, Emma? Do you also like to spend time on the beach?”

“It is nice,” she admitted, “but I think Lamar enjoys it more than I do.”

“Don’t forget to tell Jan about the excitement we had here not long ago,” Lamar said, stirring a slice of lemon around in his tea.

“Oh Jan, wait till you hear this.” Emma leaned forward, eager to share with Jan. “You won’t believe it, but we had an alligator in our backyard. Lamar should probably be the one to tell you about it, though, since he was out back when the gator was discovered.”

Jan’s eyes widened. “Wow, really? What happened?”

Emma watched Jan’s expression as Lamar described the incident, including that he’d been thinking it was a robbery in progress. Hearing about that morning all over again made her feel as though it had happened to someone else instead of right in their own yard. Emma smiled as Lamar ended his story by telling how Jake and Rusty captured and relocated animals for a living.

“I’ll give it to those two men,” Lamar said, shaking his head, “because they sure knew what they were doing and handled the situation with ease. I could never have done that.”

“Wow!” Jan exclaimed. “You were lucky those guys showed up when they did, and doubly fortunate it wasn’t a robbery.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Emma said. “Everything turned out fine for all of us. Even for the alligator, since it was removed safely and relocated.”

“You’ll have to show me where the alligator was,” Jan said. “I’d like to go out and look at your fruit trees, too. Never saw a lemon tree before.”

“Neither had we till we came to Florida, and we have an orange tree, too.” Emma took a handful of chips and placed them on her plate. “Oh, and that’s not all the excitement, either. The other day one of our neighbors told us that the robbers had been caught, so that was a big relief.”

“I’m glad you’re both safe,” Jan said, gulping down the rest of his tea.

“So are we,” Emma agreed.

“We’ll take a walk outside after lunch,” Lamar said. “So, what’s new in Shipshe, Jan?”

“Not a whole lot, really. Terry and Cheryl are still going out, and…Well, I probably shouldn’t say anything since nothing’s official, but Terry’s planning to ask Cheryl to marry him.”

Emma clapped her hands. “Oh, that is good news! I hope they don’t get married this winter, though. We’d love to be there for the wedding.”

“Since he hasn’t even asked her yet, it’s not likely they’d tie the knot before spring, or it could even be summer or fall.” Jan grabbed a few more chips.

“What about some of our other quilting students?” Emma questioned as she poured Jan more tea. “Do you have news on any of them?”

“Yep. Paul and Carmen got married a few weeks ago.”

“We knew about that, because we got an invitation to their wedding,” Emma said. “I just hope they understood why we couldn’t be there.”

“I’m sure they did.” Jan swiped his napkin over his mouth where some mayonnaise had stuck to his lip. “Oh, and another bit of news. Blaine got engaged to Sue, and he’ll soon be opening his own fishing tackle store.”

Emma looked over at Lamar and smiled. “It’s good hearing such happy news about people who have come to our classes, isn’t it?”

“Jah, it sure is,” Lamar agreed. He pointed to the potato chips. “If you don’t mind passing me the bag, Jan, think I’ll have a few, after all.”

“Have you heard anything from Stuart and Pam Johnston?” Emma asked.

Jan shook his head. “But I did see Ruby Lee a week ago, Sunday, when Star and I went to church.”

“How’s she doing?” Emma asked.

“Great. Things are going well at her husband’s church, and they’ve been getting even more new people.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Emma got up from the table and returned with a plate of raisin molasses cookies. “Are you ready for dessert?” she asked, placing the cookies in front of Jan.

“Sure thing!” he took three and plopped them on his plate.

“Did Emma tell you that we’re teaching another quilting class?” Lamar asked.

Jan’s mouth formed an O. “Really? Here in this house?”

“That’s right,” Emma said. “This place is much smaller than our home in Indiana, but we’ve been hosting our classes in the dining room, and it’s working out just fine. We’ll be having our third class this Saturday.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to make myself scarce,” Jan said after he’d eaten the cookies. “Sure don’t wanna be in the way while you’re teachin’.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Emma said. “You’re welcome to join us if you want. You could share your own quilting experience with our new class.”

Jan shook his head. “Think I’ll pass on that, but I will have another cookie. These are sure good.”

Emma smiled. “Thanks. They’re one of Lamar’s favorites.”

Jan thumped his stomach. “I can already see that I’ll have to go on a diet after this trip. You’re too good of a cook, Emma.”

She felt the heat of a blush on her cheeks. “You’re just being nice.”

“No, it’s the truth.”

Emma looked forward to having Jan stay with them over the next couple of weeks. It would be like old times, even if he didn’t sit in on any of their quilting classes.

Randy had spent the morning job hunting again, this time in Bradenton, with no prospects at all. The longer he went without a job, the more discouraged he felt.
Maybe I should call my brother and see if he can help us out
, he thought as he thrust his hands into his pants pocket and ambled down the sidewalk.
But if I did that, it’d be like admitting defeat. I’ll find something soon; I just have to
.

As Randy turned the corner, heading back to his pickup, he spotted a baby crib in one of the store windows. Pink and blue balloons waved in the breeze, as if welcoming customers inside. A big banner hung above the store’s entrance, advertising a sale, including some merchandise at 50 percent off.

Think I’ll go in and take a look around
, he decided.
Maybe I’ll find something nice that’s been marked down
.

Entering the store, Randy meandered around, checking out all the baby things—several styles of cribs, playpens, car seats, strollers, and even some musical mobiles. Their baby girl would need all of those things.

He walked over to study the cribs. He’d never realized there were so many types. There were convertible cribs in all different wood grain selections. Some even had changing tables attached. There were also portable cribs, mini-cribs, and the usual standard crib.

Randy stood there smiling. He really liked the convertible crib, crafted in a deep cherry, like it was made for a princess. But that one was way overpriced. Another crib caught his eye, with a big “half price” sign attached. It was all white, and he realized it would work just as well as the more expensive one. He could just picture his beautiful baby girl lying in that crib, sleeping soundly and sucking her thumb.

While contemplating the different cribs, Randy came to the conclusion that a convertible crib would be more cost effective. When needed, the crib could be switched into a toddler bed. That way they wouldn’t have to buy another piece of furniture when the baby was old enough to go from a crib to a bed. It was like buying two beds in one and would save them money in the long run.

Once he’d decided on the white crib, he spotted a matching dresser that could also be used as a changing table. A pink teddy bear sat in the crib, just beckoning him to buy it. After Randy put the bear in his cart, he wrote the item numbers down for the crib and dresser so he could tell the sales clerk after he’d finished shopping.

As he made his way around the store, Randy saw many other neat things. He picked out two sets of sheets for the crib—one with teddy bears and the other a plain pink. He spotted a mobile with different animals dangling from the center, and that also went into his shopping cart. Then he found a car seat, stroller, and a wind-up swing to put the baby in.

What kid wouldn’t love that?
Randy thought before he noticed a clerk and told her the item numbers of the furniture he wanted to purchase. He was going to love being a daddy, and no matter how hard he had to work, he’d make sure his daughter wanted for nothing. Of course, that would all depend on him finding a job.

Randy’s hand slipped into his pocket, and after pulling out his wallet, he removed a credit card and approached the checkout line.
I may not have a job or any extra cash right now, but I can charge all the things our daughter will need. Maybe by the time the bill comes, I’ll have found a job
.

F
or the past hour, Jennifer had been sitting at the kitchen table, going over their bills and trying to balance their checkbook. Even with the small amount they had left in their savings plus Randy’s unemployment check, their money wouldn’t last long. It was a good thing they hadn’t charged anything lately, because their credit card was close to being maxed out.
If Randy could just find a job
, she thought.
This is not a good time for us to be bringing a baby into the world. If I’d only known eight-and-a-half months ago that we’d be going through financial struggles like this…

“Come see what I bought today, honey!” Randy shouted from the living room.

Jennifer jumped. She’d been so busy fretting about their finances that she hadn’t even heard him come in. If he’d bought something, maybe that meant he’d found a job.

When Jennifer stepped into the living room, she halted, barely able to believe her eyes. There was baby stuff everywhere!

“What did you do, win the lottery?” she asked, with her mouth gaping open.

He grinned widely. “‘Course not, sweetie. I’m not that lucky. I never win anything.”

“Then how…”

“I used my credit card to buy these things for the baby.”

“What?” Jennifer shouted as her hands started to shake. “How could you do something so foolish? Don’t you care that we’re already in debt up to our necks?”

Randy dropped his gaze to the floor. “I want our child to have new things, and I just thought….”

“Well, you thought wrong. I’ve spent the last hour trying to juggle our bills and pay the ones that are overdue, and we certainly can’t afford to add anything more to our credit card. As nice as all this looks, you’ll have to take everything back.”

“But Jennifer, the baby will be here in a few weeks, and we need to be ready. Don’t you want to see what all I bought?”

“No, I don’t, and we can’t afford any of it. As I said the other day, we can look for some used furniture and other baby things and only get what we absolutely need.” Jennifer’s tone softened when she saw the look of disappointment on her husband’s face. “Even if you found a job tomorrow, we wouldn’t have enough money for all this. We have too many bills that need to be paid.” She moved closer to Randy and touched his arm. “I’m sorry, but these things really do need to go back.”

Randy shuffled his feet a few times, and he finally nodded. “You’re right. I made a hasty decision and got carried away. I’ll load the stuff into my truck and head back to the store right now.”