“To be honest, I’m not sure. In the past, when I’ve suggested expanding our camp season into the fall, she’s been... reluctant. But things are different now. Given our financial issues, she might welcome the chance to try something new.”
“I think she would,” said Summer. “After all, it took her a while to warm up to the idea of launching Elm Creek Orchards, but now she’s all in.”
“That’s reassuring,” said Julia, though it wasn’t entirely so.
“I think it would be best if the proposal came from you, Julia,” said Summer. “Your interest in helping your colleagues perform at their best will make a very good impression on her, and she’ll definitely appreciate your concern for historical and artistic authenticity.”
“Sylvia prefers phone calls to email, but please hold off until after we launch Elm Creek Orchards,” said Sarah. “We still have so much to do to prepare, and we’re racing at top speed to finish in time for our grand opening Saturday morning.”
“Certainly.” Julia didn’t want to appear impatient, but she couldn’t resist asking, “Would Saturday evening be too soon?”
Sarah laughed. “I think Saturday evening would be fine.”
They ended the call with promises to talk again soon. Julia had nothing to do but wait until Saturday evening when she could call Sylvia. Then again, evening in Pennsylvania was really only late afternoon in California—which was the sort of calculation only an impatient person would make.
The Cross-Country Quilters’ latest block in their Harriet’s Journey challenge provided a timely distraction. That week’s assignment was called City of Spindles, a reference to the mill town of Lowell, Massachusetts, where Harriet had once lived and worked. Although it was a strikingly pretty block, with four narrow rectangles along the diagonals, four on-point squares between them and one more in the center, and an isosceles right triangle along each side pointing toward the edge, Julia realized early on that it would not be one of her favorites. The foundation paper pieced patternallowed for sharp points and accurate seams, which Megan and Donna loved, but Julia disliked removing all the paper from the back of the block afterward. No matter how carefully she would peel off the pieces, even resorting to tweezers for especially stubborn scraps, she inevitably would rip open seams that would then need to be resewn. “Just make your own pattern from the illustration and sew it by hand, then,” Vinnie encouraged her whenever she grumbled about the technique, but Julia wasn’t a fan of making her own templates and patterns either.
Still, with the same discipline she applied to memorizing lines, Julia persisted, and by Thursday afternoon she had completed the five foundation sections and would need only to sew them together to finish her City of Spindles block. She was looking forward to announcing her progress when the Cross-Country Quilters met for their weekly telephone conference call, but just as she was about to dial in on her landline from her sewing room, Nigel called her cell phone.
“You better not be calling to cancel,” she teased, then held her breath, anxious for his reply. She hadn’t reminded him it was her birthday, and she assumed he had forgotten, but she was counting on their dinner-and-a-show for her celebration, even if she was the only one who knew.
“I never would,” he said, scandalized by the very idea. “I merely wanted to ask if I might bring a friend or two along. They’re great fans of the show and they’d adore spending time with you.”
“I’d love that,” said Julia. Nigel’s friends were unfailingly witty and fun, and it certainly would feel more like a birthday party with more guests around the table, even if she’d never met them. “The more the merrier.”
“Excellent. Don’t worry about sending out for dinner either. I’ll bring tapas and sangria.”
“Your sangria?” she teased. “I’d better get both guest rooms ready.”
“A prudent measure,” he replied, and hung up.
Smiling to herself, she phoned into the Cross-Country Quilters’conference call, only a minute late. She had barely said hello when her friends burst into a rousing if not entirely in tune chorus of “Happy Birthday.” Joyful tears filled her eyes as she thanked them.
“If only we were celebrating at Elm Creek Manor,” Donna said wistfully. “All of us together, one of Anna’s scrumptious cakes on the table—”
“But no candles on it,” Julia interrupted. “Seventy open flames would be a fire hazard.”
“Seventy?” Vinnie teased. “That’s nothing. You’re still a young woman in the prime of life.”
“Maybe from your perspective,” Grace teased her in return. “But all joking aside, Julia, seventy is quite a milestone. I hope you’re doing something special to celebrate.”
“I am indeed. I’m spending time with all of you.”
“That’s it?” Megan protested. “Not that we aren’t awesome, but—”
“You should be enjoying a lavish Hollywood soiree with all your celebrity friends,” Vinnie finished for her.
“Don’t worry, I won’t be alone,” Julia assured them. “Nigel’s coming over for dinner later, he’s bringing a couple of friends. It won’t be a birthday party, but that’s fine with me.”
“But I thought—” Donna began, but abruptly fell silent.
“Thought what?” Grace prompted.
“Nothing,” Donna said. “Never mind. So, how are you all doing on City of Spindles? I’m finished with mine, except for removing the paper foundation.”
They all chimed in to comically boast about their progress or lament the lack of it. Grace had been especially busy at the De Young Museum that week setting up a new exhibit, so she hadn’t even begun. Vinnie had finished her block on Tuesday and had resumed working on her latest jelly roll quilt. Megan and Donna, like Julia, were about halfway through, still confident of meeting the deadline. They chatted for a while longer, pinning sections together or removing foundation papers or some other handwork, until Julianoticed the time and realized she’d have to hurry if she hoped to freshen up before Nigel and his friends arrived.
“We shouldn’t keep you any longer, then,” Donna said hastily. “Talk to you all next week. Take care!” She hung up with a clatter.
