“I suggested she call Pastor John. They have lots of weddings at the church and someone must have recommended a good DJ. Luckily, Pastor John gave her the name of someone he knows. Paris and Richard have driven to Polson to see if the new DJ can do what they want.”
“I hope it works out.”
“So do I. Otherwise, we might be organizing the music ourselves. Paris might have something to say if we only play Adele, Bruce Springsteen, and ABBA all night.”
Andrea laughed. “But what a night it would be.” She placed three cookies in the center of a tulle circle.
Shona helped her gather the fabric around the cookies and attach the ribbon. “It looks great. What do you think?”
“It's lovely.” Carefully, Andrea placed the table favor in a box. “One down, forty-nine to go.”
“It’s going to be a long night.”
“Which is why we need coffee.” Andrea took two cups out of a cupboard. “We'll probably need more than one of these while we're working. And talking about working, Mabel told me she looked after Adele last night.”
For most of the day, Shona had been waiting for one of her friends to call her and ask about Joseph. When that didn't happen, she wondered if Mabel had taken everyone's advice and become more discreet.
Obviously not. “Joseph and I had dinner together.”
“I gathered that much, especially when Mabel said Adele is excited about spending more time with you. Does this mean what I think it does?”
Shona handed her a tulle circle. “If you think it means we’re dating, then you’re half right.”
“Why only half?”
“We're taking things slowly. I haven't dated anyone for over twenty years. It terrifies me.”
“It terrifies a lot of people, even when they haven't lost their husband in a car accident.”
“I guess so. Did you worry about what would happen when you started dating David?”
“All the time. I’m a single mom with two boys. Before I considered whether David and I were a good match, I had to think about Charlie and Andy. They needed to feel as comfortable around David as I did. Otherwise, it wouldn't have worked. David had a lot to think about, too. Especially when he didn't know if he would permanently live in Sapphire Bay.”
“But it all worked out in the end.”
“It did, but it wasn't always plain sailing. When you're younger, you tend to overlook the things that annoy you about another person. Now that we’re older, it's the little things that matter.”
Shona smiled. “I was thinking the same thing the other day. So far, I haven't found anything I'd change about Joseph.”
“He seems like a good person,andhe's handsome. What does Adele think of your friendship with her dad?”
“When Joseph told her we're dating, she wanted to know where we're going next. She was more disappointed that she wouldn't always be coming with us than she was about seeing more of me.”
“That’s good. Andy didn't trust David one bit. Charlie welcomed him into his life with open arms.” She frowned at the table favor she was making. “We'll have to change how we’re doing this. I need another pair of hands to hold that tulle while I’m attaching the ribbon.”
“Why don’t we both cut the circles, then we can help each other?”
“Okay. And if that’s too slow, I’ll ask the boys to help.” Andrea picked up a pen. “While I'm making another template, tell me about the store. How’s everything going?”
“Fantastic. I had a meeting with a craft collective from Kalispell. They make all kinds of quilts that would look great in my store.” As she described the fabrics and patterns, she wondered if she’d ever be tired of seeing the different quilts people made.
She hoped not. No one who made a quilt did it for financial gain. The time involved in creating each one was worth far more than the money they sold for. The reward came from knowing you were designing and sewing something that would be cherished for generations.
And, that one day, someone would admire the quilt and think about the person who’d made it.
* * *
Joseph walkedinto The Cozy Quilt Shop and looked for Shona. Aimee, one of her part-time assistants, was the only person he saw.
