The 12 Quilts of Christmas

by Arlene Sachitano

  Mavis folded her project and put it back into her bag. She stretched her hand across the table toward Robin.

  “Let’s have a look at the foundation squares for the crazy quilt.”

  Robin pulled a handful of twelve-inch squares from the pile of fabric and spread them out on the table. Glynnis had used the same irregular five-sided shape placed slightly to the right for the center block. She had then cut random shapes unique to each block from seven other fabrics to fill out the background. The centers were either pink or white satin, while the rest of the pieces ranged from wine-colored crushed velvet to pale-green cotton.

  “She’s certainly given us a lot to work with,” Harriet said, and selected a block with a pink center. “Do we want to worry about using elements that are similar to tie things together?”

  Connie chose a block and stood up.

  “Marjorie has some beads that might work well on our blocks. Let me go get one or two colors, and we can all take some of them to use. That should be matchy enough, don’t you think?”

  The others agreed, and Connie left, returning a few minutes later with tubes of pink and green glass beads and a handful of small zipper bags provided by Marjorie.

  Harriet scooped a dozen of each color into her bag and sealed it.

  “I’ll walk down to Blood Moon and see how Jade wants to hang my quilt, so I can decide whether to put a sleeve on it or something else.”

  Lauren collected her beads and tucked them into a pocket in her new bag.

  “I’ll walk with you if we can stop at the outdoor store on the way back.”

  Mavis, Beth, and Connie made a similar plan, and the group said their goodbyes, packed their quilts, and went out into the cold, damp afternoon.

  Bells chimed as Harriet opened the glass-paned door to Blood Moon Soap and Candles and she and Lauren entered the cozy shop. The scents of lavender and evergreen assaulted their noses. Neat rows of candles lined the dark wood shelves on one side of the shop, while bars of soap were arranged on top of a glass display case on the opposite side. Essential oils and diffusers were inside the case. A work counter stretched the width of the store at the back of the room. Scales, measuring spoons, and scoops littered the top, and Jade Meyers, proprietor, sat behind a row of plastic bottles filled with white lotion measuring drops of essential oil into each one.

  “Hey,” Harriet said.

  Jade finished squirting two drops into the bottle in front of her and looked up.

  “Oh, hi. I was concentrating so hard on my new blend I didn’t even hear the bells.”

  Harriet walked to the back of the shop.

  “No problem. It smells great. Is that pine and lavender?”

  “Close, it’s Douglas fir and lavender. I found a new supplier of fir-based essential oils. I thought they would be good for the Christmas season.”

  Harriet leaned toward the open bottles and inhaled.

  “That one is a winner.”

  Jade capped each bottle, wiping it with a soft cloth before picking up the next one.

  “How can I help you today?”

  “I’m finishing the quilt for your front window this week and wanted to talk about how you want to hang it.”

  Jade came around the counter.

  “Let’s look in the window and see what our options are.”

  Lauren was in the window display area using a measuring tape from her messenger bag, stretching it from one side of the space to the other then repeating the process from the window platform to the ceiling above it.

  “You might need to get a little creative,” she said as Harriet and Jade joined her. She stretched out fifteen inches of tape and used it as a pointer, indicating the ceiling over the window’s display shelf. “Notice how the ceiling is shaped, tapering on each end?”

  Harriet looked and saw the problem.

  “My quilt is wider than the tallest area of the display window ceiling,” she explained to Jade. “Normally, we add a sleeve that runs the width of the quilt then put a dowel through it that’s a few inches longer than the sleeve. We attach a wire or string to the dowel ends and run them up to the ceiling. If we do that here, though, the quilt will hang too low. Part of it will puddle on the floor.”

  “Can you turn it sideways?” Jade asked.

  Lauren laughed.

  “If you want the design to run sideways?”

  Jade’s face sagged, and tears filled her eyes. Harriet put a hand on her arm.

  “Hey, don’t worry, we have other options.” Harriet glanced over Jade’s head at Lauren. Jade’s reaction was way out of proportion to the minor problem of hanging the quilt. “I can put triangle-shaped pockets on the corners, and we’ll cut a dowel that’s just long enough its ends tuck into the pockets. Most of the dowel will be exposed, so we just attach the hanging wires from the tallest part of the ceiling down to the dowel. It will be fine and is easier than doing a full-length sleeve.”

  Jade dabbed at her eyes with a crumpled tissue.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve been under a lot of stress, and I’m not dealing with it very well.”

  The phone rang. Jade returned to the back counter and answered it. Harriet watched as Jade’s eyes grew wide and the color drained from her face. She sank into her chair.

  “That doesn’t look good,” Lauren whispered.

  They strolled to the back of the store. The person on the other end of the line was still doing all the talking.

  Finally, Jade said “I understand” in a quiet voice and hung up. She folded her arms on the counter and laid her head on them, her long dark hair covering her face. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.

  Harriet stepped around the counter and rubbed her on the back. Lauren went to a water dispenser in the back on the candle side of the store, drew a cup of water, and brought it back.

  “Here, drink this,” she said and held it out. When Jade looked up to take the cup, Harriet handed her a tissue from a box on the shelf behind the counter.

  “I’m sorry,” Jade blubbered. “It’s just…”

  “Take your time,” Harriet said.

  Jade snuffled and wiped her nose again.

  “I’m sorry,” she said again and stood up. “Do you need anything else from me?” She tried to smile; but her lip began to quiver, and tears slipped down her cheeks again. She sat down.

  “Don’t worry about the quilt,” Harriet told her. “Is there anything we can do for you?”

  Jade looked up at her.

  “You want to buy a horse?”

  Harriet raised her eyebrows.

  “A horse?”

  Jade sighed.

  “If I don’t have the best month my store has ever had, I’m going to lose the place. If I lose the place, I can’t pay my stable fees; and if that happens, I can’t keep my horse.” She began crying again.

  “Do you have family who can help you?”

  “My parents are in South America with a vision team doing eye surgeries. They’re in a remote area and can’t be reached. They wouldn’t bail out my store in any case, but they would pay for Becky if they knew.”

  “Have you told the stable?” Lauren asked.

  Jade dabbed at her nose and shook her head.

  “They have a waiting list. And they’ve raised prices three times since Becky moved there. New people pay the new prices, old people get the old rates. They’d love to kick her out so they can make more money.”

  “What sort of horse is Becky?” Harriet asked.

  Lauren rolled her eyes.

  “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about it.”

  Harriet glared at her and turned back to Jade.

  “Tell me about Becky.”

  “She’s really sweet. She’s a Swedish Warmblood.”

  “Nice,” Harriet said with a smile. “Do you ride dressage?”

  “I’m learning. Becky’s learning, too. Her original owner was going to use her as a broodmare because their daughter didn’t ride, but they figured when she decided to start, she could u
se Becky to learn and, in the meantime, they could get a colt or two. They got into money trouble and gave me a good deal.”

  Harriet stared at the floor and paced a few steps away.

  “Do you think you’ll be able to have that good month you need here?” she asked without looking up.

  Jade thought a moment.

  “If we don’t have any weird weather or anything else that keeps shoppers away, I’d give it a fifty-fifty chance.”

  “And how much is a month’s-worth of stable rent?”

  “We pay four hundred-fifty a month.”

  Harriet strode to the far side of the room and gestured for Lauren to join her.

  “It’s the Christmas season, right?” she said in a quiet tone.

  Lauren shook her head.

  “If we go halfsies, it would be two-twenty-five apiece, and we could be paid back in soap and candles,” Harriet continued.

  “I can’t believe I’m even considering this,” Lauren said. “But it is Christmas next month.”

  They went back to the counter where Jade sat watching.

  “Lauren and I were thinking perhaps we could pay Becky’s rent for a month, and you could pay us back in soap and candles after the new year.”

  Jade looked from one of them to the other and back again.

  “You would do that?” she asked in a shocked tone.

  Lauren shrugged.

  “’Tis the season.”

  “I promise to pay you back every cent plus interest.”

  Jade went to her desk at the end of the counter and picked up a tablet and pen. She wrote on the pad, ripped the sheet off, crumpled it, and threw it in the wastebasket then started writing again. She crumpled this one, too.

  “What’s wrong?” Lauren asked.

  Jade leaned back in her chair.

  “Everything. If my parents are delayed getting back to the city, we’re back where we started. And if I don’t make enough money this month and have to shut down, Becky is all I have besides my inventory. If I lose her anyway to pay off my debts, it’s all for nothing.” Fresh tears began to fall.

  Harriet though for a moment.

  “How about this. Sell me Becky.”

  Jade stopped crying.

  “How would that help anything. I mean, I know you’d take good care of her and I’d be able to pay my debts, but my horse would still be gone.”

  Harriet smiled.

  “I don’t want to take your horse away from you. But hear me out. Sell her to me for a modest price, and I’ll pay her stable rent this month. That separates your horse from your business. I’m assuming your business isn’t a corporation, or you wouldn’t be worried about losing your horse in the first place. At the end of the month, after your business situation is sorted, I’ll sell her back to you or your parents, depending on which way things go.”

  “You would do that?” Jade asked, incredulous.

  “She’s a pushover,” Lauren said.

  “I spent a Christmas in Sweden one year, and the only comfort I had was the horse that was assigned to me that year. So, yes, I’m a sucker for a horse story.”

  The door bells jingled, and a woman with a small child holding her hand came into the shop. Jade swiped at her eyes, swept her hair off her face, and put on an Oscar-worthy smile.

  “Hi, Jenna, I have your soap all ready.” She turned and went through a doorway into the back room. She returned holding a square package wrapped in silver paper and tied with a blue ribbon.

  Harriet stepped toward the counter and leaned close so only Jade would hear.

  “Let me run this past our attorney friend, and if you still want to do it, I can have her write up a contract.”

  “Thank you,” Jade said and turned to ring up her customer’s order.

  Lauren shook her head and the pair went out the door and into the cold.

  CHAPTER 3

  “Have you lost your mind?” Lauren asked as soon as the shop door had closed behind them. “I get it that you want to help Jade keep her horse, and I’m fine with donating funds that we may or may not get back in future soap and candles, but to buy her horse? That’s a whole other story.”

  “Hear me out.”

  “This better be good.”

  They started down the block.

  “Jade said Becky is a Swedish Warmblood.”

  “Whatever that means.”

  “A Swedish Warmblood is not just any old horse. If that’s truly what Becky is, and even if she’s completely untrained, she’s still worth somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen thousand dollars. I’m guessing the fact Jade’s parents have been willing to pay for the mare but not for the soap-and-candles business means the horse is worth that or more. I’d hate to see her fall into the hands of Jade’s creditors, whoever they are. Unless they know horses, they could end up selling her for pennies just to get what they’re owed.”

  “Why doesn’t Jade just sell her? She obviously knows how much she’s worth.”

  “Given her parent’s absence, I suspect the horse is her family. Jade would probably live on the streets if that meant she could keep Becky.”

  Lauren stopped and turned to face Harriet.

  “On a related topic, I’m surprised Jade isn’t doing better financially. I mean, there are always customers in her shop when I go there. And she’s been teaching classes in all kinds of stuff—soapmaking, candlemaking, something to do with essential oils. Aroma therapy, maybe. I know she opened an online store, too.”

  “Now that you mention it, I am, too. Even if she’s paying all the expenses for her horse. I know she used to donate money to pay for holiday meals for the people in the homeless camp.”

  Lauren started walking again.

  “Like I said, I don’t mind donating money to pay the stable rent for a month, but you’re nuts getting any more involved than that. Especially without knowing more.”

  Harriet blew out a breath.

  “I’ll talk it over with James and see what he thinks.”

  “And Robin?”

  “Yeah, her, too.”

  CHAPTER 4

  “Is your quilt ready to hang?” Harriet asked when they reached the Outdoor Store, two doors down in the next block.

  “That will depend on what they have in mind. I put a sleeve on it, but I guess we’ll see.” Lauren pulled the door open and entered the shop.

  A fit-looking man with thinning dark brown hair met them in the center of the room.

  “Hey, Lauren. Are you ready to hang our quilt?”

  “That’s the plan. You know my friend Harriet, right?”

  “Sure, she’s a regular customer these days.” He turned to Harriet. “How did your young man do with his new boots?”

  “They’re great, Vern. He really enjoyed working on the reservation, and I think his clothes all worked fine.”

  Vern rubbed his hands together, and Harriet noticed the shop was a bit chilly.

  “I’m not sure how you want to hang it,” Vern said, “but I suspended a shower-curtain rod from the ceiling using climbing rope.”

  He led the way around a display table sparsely filled with aluminum water bottles of various sizes to the front window.

  “If the rod isn’t too thick, it should work fine.” Lauren set her tote bag on the floor and pulled the quilt out. She located the side with the sleeve and held it up while Vern lowered the shower rod using a pulley system he’d rigged up.

  Harriet browsed while they worked on threading the rod into the sleeve. She’d expected to see new inventory since she’d last been in before Thanksgiving, but that wasn’t the case. It was surprising, given that Christmas was only a few weeks away, but maybe Vern had a big order coming that hadn’t arrived.

  Lauren stood at one end of the quilt holding a piece of climbing rope, while Vern held the rope on the other side.

  “Harriet, can you go outside and let us know when the quilt is as high as it can go and still be visible from the sidewalk?” she called.

  “Sure.
” Harriet went outside, directing them with hand signals until the quilt was in place. “It looks great,” she said when she came in.

  Lauren and Vern went outside to check for themselves, returning quickly.

  “It’s perfect,” Vern said. “It’s so nice of you ladies to do this for the business community. I wish there was something we could do for you-all.”

  “It’s our pleasure,” Harriet said. She was interrupted by her cell phone playing her aunt’s ringtone. “Excuse me,” she said and stepped away to answer. Vern was explaining the pros and cons of frameless backpacks to Lauren when she rejoined them.

  “I’ll leave you two ladies to your business. If you need anything, holler. And, Lauren, thanks again for the beautiful quilt.”

  He returned to the back of the store, where he began rearranging water shoes, spreading the remaining pairs over the shelf space.

  “That was Aunt Beth,” Harriet said. “She wanted to know if we could meet for coffee at the Steaming Cup. I told her I could, and you probably could.”

  Lauren shivered.

  “Sounds good to me. I’m freezing.”Beth, Mavis, and Robin were seated around the large table in the middle of the coffee shop when Lauren and Harriet arrived. Harriet carried her mug of hot cocoa to the table and slid out of her jacket.

  “Just who we wanted to see,” she said to Robin.

  Robin smiled at her. “That sounds a bit ominous.”

  Aunt Beth held her tea mug in both hands and peered over the edge as she took a sip.

  “Are you in legal trouble?”

  Lauren slid into the chair next to Harriet, piling her tote bag, messenger bag, and coat onto the chair on her other side.

  “Oh, it’s much worse than that.”

  Mavis raised her left eyebrow but said nothing.

  Harriet shivered and took a sip of her cocoa.

  “Well, don’t keep us in suspense,” Robin prompted.

  Harriet explained their encounter at Blood Moon. The table was silent when she stopped speaking.

  Robin leaned back in her chair and blew out a breath. “I understand your desire to help, especially this being the holiday season and all, but…”