Inherit the Wool

by Betty Hechtman

  “Okay,” Vanessa said, capitulating, “We’ll go to your workshop. But in the meantime, let’s get some lunch. Where’s the restaurant?”

  “It’s more like a dining hall,” I said. “And I’m afraid that lunch is already over. There’s a café next to the registration desk.” I gave them a rundown of what they served, which was really just some premade sandwiches and salads along with coffee drinks.

  Vanessa’s moment of good cheer ended. “There has to be some other choice. That manager said he was willing to help. I’ll go talk to him,” she said.

  “No, no,” I said. “Don’t say anything to him.” The last thing I wanted was for Kevin St. John to have any inkling my friends weren’t happy with the arrangements. “I have an idea. All of you meet me in fifteen minutes where you were dropped off. I know you’re going to like this.”

  Only Lauren seemed enthusiastic.

  Chapter Four

  “This is more like it,” Vanessa said as I held the door to the Blue Door restaurant and she walked inside. Lucinda Thornkill was waiting and led us to a table in the back room. As soon as Vanessa was seated, I went back to find the others. The three of them were still standing on the sidewalk at the bottom of the stairs. They were so immersed in the screens on their phones I had to physically touch them to get their attention.

  “This way,” I said, taking them up the stairs. Because they’d barely looked up from their phones, it was a slow process and I had to keep turning back to make sure they were still following me and hadn’t tripped. I took them through the restaurant, which was almost empty since lunchtime was over. Lauren snagged her jacket on a chair and snapped to attention long enough to free herself. Courtney kept stopping every few steps as she apparently read something upsetting. Elizabeth took up the rear and thankfully had slipped her phone in her pocket.

  I hadn’t planned a trip to downtown Cadbury until later in the retreat, but when Vanessa mentioned going to Kevin St. John to see what he could arrange, I freaked. I didn’t want him to know that my group was unhappy about anything. Not only would he torment me with the information, but he might pass it along to the Delacorte sisters, which could affect my deal.

  I’d been able to throw together this outing in just a few minutes. All it took was a call to Lucinda and one to the van service. It had never been my intention to make a profit from this retreat, and I’d only charged them the actual costs with a little padding for errors. But I also didn’t want to lose money on the weekend either. This trip would just about wipe out that padding. But what else could I do? I thought getting them some time with their electronics and a good meal might calm them all down. Or at least I had my fingers crossed, hoping so.

  “The food is great,” I said. I introduced them to Lucinda when she came to the table with menus. I referred to her only as a friend, never letting on she was also sort of my boss since I made the desserts for the restaurant.

  The Blue Door was on the main drag of Cadbury and had been a residence at one time. Most of the dining area was in the former living room, but Lucinda had taken us to a table on what had been a sunporch. I’d been a little frantic when I called her, insisting she remove the sign that said Desserts by Casey on the counter by the front door. It was crazy. I’d never cared what they thought about me in college and now I was so concerned they not know how pieced together my life was. As it turned out, it was laughable that I’d been worried. Vanessa had gone by the counter with the pound cake iced with buttercream frosting and the apple pie with the crumb crust, forcing herself not to look, and the rest of them had been barely aware of their surroundings.

  I waited until they all ordered and then followed Lucinda back to the front. She handed the order to the cook and turned to me. “What can we get for you?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “Maybe a glass of ice tea. There’s too much going on for me to want to eat.”

  The group was out of sight and out of earshot from where we stood and Lucinda gave me a knowing nod as she poured me a glass of the amber liquid. “They’re not happy with Vista Del Mar, right?”

  “What are you, a mind reader?” I said.

  “No, I just put a few things together. First, there was the call about coming here, and your brows have looked like they were glued together since you got here, and the one wearing that gorgeous Pierre-François jacket took ten minutes to tell me exactly how she wanted her cob salad, right down to the size of the blue cheese crumbles.” Lucinda laughed. “Someone wearing a designer jacket who is that fussy about her food would never be happy with one of those cots they call beds at Vista Del Mar, or the sheets, or the towels, and certainly not a dining hall where it’s this is the food, take it or leave it.”

  “That’s Vanessa and you’re right.” I hit my forehead in consternation. “Did I forget to introduce you?”

  Lucinda pulled my hand away from my head. “Relax. You introduced me. My mind is like a sieve when it comes to names.”

  Maybe names of people but not designers. It seemed like everything Lucinda wore had a famous fashion person’s name connected with it. She favored the stark simplicity of Eileen Fisher’s designs, Ralph Lauren’s western look, along with clothes from some lesser-known designers. Today she was wearing a sunny yellow shift I knew was a LaLa Lafoush design. She always looked put together and I suspected she put on lipstick to get the mail.

  We’d become friends right after I moved to Cadbury. She was the one to give me the job as dessert chef for the restaurant and allowed me to use their kitchen to bake my muffins. She usually came to my retreats but had decided to sit this one out.

  “I don’t know why you don’t want them to know about your baking. I’m sure they’d be impressed to know that people are so worried about your desserts running out that they order something set aside before they’ve even decided on an entrée.”

  “Maybe,” I said, “but I’d still rather let them think my business is just the retreats.” I shook my head with dismay. “You should have heard them when they saw the rooms. I know I told them what Vista Del Mar was like. It’s not my fault they didn’t pay attention.” I heard myself and realized I was doing what I’d done with Frank. I sounded whiny, which was not my style. “Never mind. We’ll get through the weekend, one way or another.”

  “What sort of work do they do? The one with the big nose seems very self-important,” Lucinda asked.

  “I don’t know any of their professions, but you’re right about Courtney. She does seem very wrapped up in her own importance. The only thing I know for sure is that Elizabeth—she’s the one with the pale complexion and prim expression—is on a man hunt, well, a husband hunt, and you’ll never guess who the object of her desire seems to be.” Lucinda shrugged and said she gave up. “Kevin St. John. She’s worse at flirting than I am. And at least I know I’m funny. She’s all serious about it and so obvious.” Lucinda had started to laugh.

  “Bad flirting with Kevin St. John. That has to be quite a show,” my friend said. We heard the chef say the order was almost ready.

  “I better get back to them,” I said, giving Lucinda a thank-you hug before going to join the group.

  I let out a sigh of relief when I got back to the table and no one was complaining. But then no one was talking either. Courtney had moved herself to a nearby table and had papers spread out in front of her. She was wearing earbuds, listening to something while her fingers were busy texting, and judging by the pings coming from her phone, she was getting a lot of answers. Lauren had her phone to her ear, listening to someone go on and on. Vanessa’s seat was empty and Elizabeth was staring down at the menu.

  “Look at this sweet story,” Elizabeth said, showing off the back of the menu. Lauren glanced up with a blank look. Courtney didn’t respond at all and Vanessa wasn’t there.

  I nodded and said I knew it by heart and began reciting my version of it. “Lucinda and Tag were high school sweethearts but had gone their separate ways until years later they reconnected at a high school reunion.
He was widowed and she was divorced and it was love at second sight. They got married and fulfilled the lifelong dream they’d shared of opening a restaurant and lived happily ever after.” What the story left out was that they weren’t exactly the same people they’d been in high school. Tag had become fanatical about stupid details and was really borderline obsessive-compulsive. And one of the ways Lucinda dealt with it was by coming to my retreats and getting some time away.

  “Where’s Vanessa?” I asked and Elizabeth appeared surprised.

  “Maybe the restroom,” she offered. But I’d passed it on the way back to the table and it was empty.

  Lucinda and the server brought the food and Lauren hung up her phone. “Maybe it’s not the worst thing to be incommunicado for a while.” She let out a tired sigh as she put her phone on the table. Courtney didn’t notice that her sandwich had arrived until Lucinda held it in front of her face. Even then she barely ate while she continued with all the papers, texts and calls.

  Lucinda hung by the table and Elizabeth wanted to hear more of the romantic story, and it became clear pretty quickly that it was really about reassuring her that even though she was single at thirty-five it didn’t mean it was hopeless for her to find true love.

  I was ready to pay the check when Vanessa finally returned. By then I’d figured that she’d slipped out to do some shopping and expected to see her arms laden with packages. But she wasn’t carrying anything and slid into her chair without a word. “We packed up your food,” I said, expecting that to get her to explain, but all she said was thank you. Finally, I asked her where she’d gone.

  “Here and there,” she said in a dismissive manner before taking out her phone and tapping something in. All I could do was to let it go, but it didn’t sit well with me.

  I took the check up to the front and thanked Lucinda for the huge discount she’d given me. “I know this wasn’t a planned expense,” she said, handing me the receipt.

  “Why don’t you come to the retreat. One of our people canceled at the last minute. You could come in her place,” I said hopefully.

  Lucinda smiled. “Need an ally, huh?” I nodded. “Okay, but maybe you should check with them first.”

  We went back to the table together and I floated the idea of Lucinda taking Blair’s place. Vanessa looked at the yellow dress. “Anybody who wears a LaLa Lafoush is my kind of people.”

  “It’s okay with me,” Lauren said. “It’s better than wasting the spot in the retreat.”

  Courtney gave me a blank look when I tried to ask her, which I took as a yes. Elizabeth was the most enthusiastic.

  “Yes, you should come,” the prim-looking woman said. “We need someone to take Blair’s place in the ball routine.”

  “Don’t pay any attention to her,” Vanessa said to Lucinda and then turned to Elizabeth. “We’re not doing that stupid ball routine.”

  When they’d finished lunch and we got ready to leave, Lucinda said she’d be there later in the afternoon. Courtney stopped in her tracks when we got to the sidewalk. “Just a little while longer,” she pleaded. The rest of them all agreed. I couldn’t fight the lure of some more time with their phones and we sat parked in the van for fifteen minutes before heading back to Vista Del Mar. They continued to stare at their screens on the ride home and only put their phones away when we drove onto the grounds and the signal disappeared.

  The sun had made a brief appearance while we were in town, but it was nowhere to be seen as we pulled up to the Lodge. Vanessa looked out the window of the van with a vexed expression as she got up to get off. She’d still said nothing about where she’d disappeared to. I groaned inwardly when I saw that Kevin St. John had just come outside and stopped next to the van. He smiled at my four retreaters. “Everything still going well?” he asked. I sensed Vanessa was about to say something and Elizabeth was going into flirt mode. I stepped in front of them to block them both.

  “Of course,” I said as I quickly guided them inside.

  Chapter Five

  I’d dragged them into the Lodge as a way to get them away from the manager, but once inside I needed to give them a reason for the move. “I wanted to show you some of the grounds,” I said quickly. “I thought we’d cut through here.” I indicated the door on the other side and explained the boardwalk and the proximity of the beach.

  But all that changed when we passed a man standing near the phone booths. He’d turned to face us and was staring. “Can it be? The Baller-rinas in person?” he said with a chuckle.

  We all stopped suddenly and l looked at him intently. He appeared familiar and strange at the same time.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me,” he said. He had a deep melodious voice with a touch of a laugh in it. “I know, it’s the beard. He pointed to some scruffy growth on his face. “Beard might be overstating.” His lips curved into a grin. “It’s more like not shaving for a couple of days. It seemed to go along with the idea of a retreat.” Now I was completely confused. What did he mean go along with the retreat?

  Elizabeth pushed forward. “Zak Stevens,” she squealed. “I can’t believe it’s you. I saw you on WNN. I don’t remember what the story was. I was just so excited to see an actual person I knew from Clayton on TV.”

  Now that I had a name, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t recognized him. His tall frame had filled out a little, but mostly he looked the same. He still had wavy black hair, though it was cut in a short style now. His dark eyes still sparkled with intelligence and his distinctive crooked smile was as adorable as ever. All together his features gave the impression of someone who cared about everything and had a sense of adventure.

  “What are you doing here?” Vanessa asked before I could.

  “I got a rather mysterious message that if I came to a retreat here I’d get to see all of you and would get a lead on a great story. It all came in a letter—yes, a real letter—with plane tickets and everything. How could I resist that?”

  I was listening to him but at the same time thinking back to when we’d all first met. Zak had been in the boys’ class who got to watch our original Baller-rinas performance. He’d won us all over when he’d stopped his weight lifting and actually applauded our routine. Actually, he hadn’t won all of us over. Courtney had been mortified to realize he’d been watching us. Even then she’d taken herself far too seriously and was way too concerned about her image.

  Zak had ended up hanging out with us a lot and never got tired of teasing Courtney about her ball bouncing. He told us he was going to be a journalist from practically the first time we met. He wrote a column for the school paper and then had a regular program on the student TV station. Summers, he talked his way into intern jobs at local TV stations.

  He had an illusive quality that was like trying to catch a moonbeam, which I found charming. I’d thought he was exciting and fun and had a huge crush on him. I’d never let on how I felt to the others, and the crush never went beyond group coffee dates and help with a speech class we were in together—well, except for once.

  It was a rainy spring night and I didn’t have an umbrella. Clayton University was in the South Loop and a long walk to our apartment in the Hancock building. I’d been considering my options when Zak had appeared and offered to share his umbrella.

  I’d taken him up on his offer and we’d headed out into the rainy night huddled together under his umbrella. The street was a shiny black from the rain and reflected the lights of tall buildings along Michigan Avenue. We crossed the bridge over the Chicago River, splashing in the puddles and laughing as we did our rendition of “Singing in the Rain.” On the other side of the river the graceful trees were decorated with tiny white lights, making it seem very magical. It had all been crazy romantic and then out of nowhere we stopped on a street corner and he kissed me. It had lived up to my fantasy and I’d hoped it was the beginning of something. But in the end it had turned out to be just that one kiss in the rain. As I looked over at him, I doubted that he even remembered.


  “I got an equally mysterious message,” I said. “Mine was a letter, too. No name or return address, simply instructions to register someone for our retreat. There was a gift card with cash on it in payment. I didn’t know what to make of it. I booked the room but wondered if anyone was really going to show up. And now here you are,” I said, hoping that my voice didn’t give away any of what I’d been thinking about.

  His arrival had knocked me off-kilter. It had never occurred to me that the mystery guest would be a guy, and certainly not that it would be him. I was left with all kinds of questions. Who’d invited him? Why be so secret? What was the story he was promised? I was trying to pull myself together. “So, then you will be taking part in all of our activities—including the knitting workshops.”

  “Of course,” he said, sounding more enthused than the rest of them. “You never know where you’ll find a story. And I did some research and found out that sailors used to knit, and they’re certainly manly men.” He struck a pose as if to show off his biceps.

  “You got here just in time. We were just about to have our first workshop. I have a tote bag for you in our meeting room.” He still had to check in and I offered to help him and laughed in a good-natured way.

  “Thanks, but as a field reporter I’ve checked in all kinds of places. I doubt there’s a situation I haven’t encountered,” he said.

  “Has your reservation ever been listed under Guess Who,” I said.

  “That’s a first,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

  I was glad that somebody saw the humor in it. Kevin St. John certainly hadn’t and had wanted to list the reservation under No Name. We went outside and waited in the driveway while he checked in and then we all walked him to the Sand and Sea building. He was like the shiny new thing and they were all clustered around him. I was relieved to take up the rear. I stayed on the path while they went into the building. “Workshop starts in half an hour,” I said in a confident voice. Far more confident than I felt.