The Pattern Artist

by Moser, Nancy;

  Annie couldn’t take anymore. She ran away, along the promenade, bumping into people as she passed.

  “Annie!” Sean ran after her.

  She let him catch up to her and fell into his arms. “Why? Why?”

  He stroked her head. “I don’t know why they died. There is no sense to it.”

  She pulled away from him. “Not why did they die, but why did we live? If good people like Madame and Mr. Straus can die, and important people like Mr. Astor and Mr. Guggenheim, then why were we saved? Sean, tell me! Why were we saved when important people—and good people—died?”

  He led her inside where it was warm and sat beside her on a settee. He kept his arm wrapped around her, and she leaned against him, feeling as if she would fully falter without his presence.

  “I have no answers for you, Annie.”

  She sat erect to fully see him. “Why did God let this happen? What purpose could it serve?”

  Sean didn’t answer but shook his head back and forth, back and forth. Finally he said, “Only He knows.”

  Annie burst from her seat. “Why should we worship God if He causes such tragedy to so many people?”

  “I’m not sure He caused it. Perhaps there were choices other people made that caused the accident. Not having enough lifeboats was a choice someone made.”

  “He created the iceberg.”

  “But did the ship sail carelessly? There are a myriad of factors and choices that were made.” Sean pulled her down beside him again. “Just as we made the choice to help André, so others made their own choices.”

  “You’re making it too simple.”

  “The truth remains: it simply is. What happened to them, happened to them. What happened to us, happened to us. The biggest choice we have now is deciding what we do with our second chance.”

  Annie looked up and saw Maude and the Sampsons coming toward them. “Are you all right?” Mrs. Sampson asked.

  “Silly question, my sweet,” Mr. Sampson said. “None of us are all right. Lives were lost.”

  “And we were supposed to be on that ship,” Maude said.

  Annie’s mind cleared. “Actually, no we weren’t. Beyond our grief, that is what we must deal with.”

  Maude sat in a nearby chair. “Annie, do you remember what I said about not knowing the extent of our days?”

  “I do remember.”

  “That is the gist of it, isn’t it?” Maude said. “We don’t know how long we have.”

  “We are alive now,” Mrs. Sampson added.

  Suddenly Annie heard Danny’s voice inside her head. “Make the most of today!” She closed her eyes and could see him smiling at her with his impish grin. How wise he’d been for one so young. What a joy he’d been. What a gift.

  She stood and faced the others. “My friend Danny had more life in him at the age of thirteen than people five times his age. He always told me to live for today. Don’t waste a moment. That is why we were saved. To live. To grab hold of life and live it to its fullest each and every day.”

  “A commendable idea,” Mrs. Sampson said.

  “For what more can we do?” her husband said.

  With a sudden clarity Annie knew exactly what could be done—what should be done. All that had happened since her arrival in America gathered together like a crowd of events and people and conversations. The murmurings of the others faded into a dull hum as her mind attended the gathering.

  She remembered the Kidds who gave her a job and rescued her from a family where she was told she had no worth. They brought her to the United States—which was the start of everything. Without that trip, none of the rest would have happened. She thought about the lady’s maids who’d been inept at sewing. If they hadn’t been lacking that talent, Annie would never have been given the opportunity to step up and learn. And their betrayal, though hurtful, had been the impetus needed to move her out of a life as a servant into the streets of New York City. Into the American dream.

  With a start she remembered how her dream had been to be a lady’s maid. How meager that dream seemed now. And how thankful she was that God had closed that door and forced her out into the new and frightening world of New York City.

  Without that door closing I would still be a housemaid. How cocky she’d been, thinking she knew best. How ignorant she’d been about life and God.

  A wave of gratitude swept over her. Thank You, Lord, for propelling me into the world and giving me a new dream—Your dream for my life. Thank You for getting my attention and showing me how Your way is the best way.

  She thought of Danny and Iris, her dear friends who’d had dreams of their own. And the kind Tuttles who had taken them in and eventually provided Iris the family and purpose she longed for and so desperately needed.

  But what of Danny’s dream? Annie thought of Danny’s exuberance and love of adventure. His words would stay with her the rest of her life. She would always be thankful for his friendship and wisdom. There was no explaining his life being cut short, but she took comfort in knowing he was fully exploring the adventures of heaven.

  Her thoughts clouded with dark memories of the torment, assault, and murder caused by Grasston. Where Danny elicited all things good, Grasston was the epitome of evil. There was satisfaction in his death in that he would not bother anyone ever again. She pushed all thoughts of him into a far corner of her mind. He didn’t deserve her time. Yet even his presence had been important, for he had helped her leave her girlhood behind and become a woman.

  She returned to the thoughts that stood at the forefront. Sunny memories of Mr. Straus and working at Macy’s where she met friends she would have forever: Mrs. MacDonald, Edna, and even Mildred. She smiled when she thought of Edna, whom she loved as a mother. She would have so much to tell her about this trip and the business opportunity that was in the future.

  Annie had a sudden thought. Surely there was a place for Edna in the new business….

  During Annie’s time at Macy’s she’d learned how to sew and had met Sean, who’d brought her to Butterick where she’d learned about fashion, design, and pattern making. There, she’d met Madame, Maude, and the Sampsons, and had been given the chance to go to Paris to see couture fashion in person. Her. Annie Wood. In Paris!

  The details of the drama at the train station shot by in a flash: André, his mother, little Annie … And then the news of the Titanic, and the realization that they had been saved from death by the cry of a little boy.

  “By Me. You were saved by Me, Annie.”

  Annie bowed her head in gratitude and humility. You saved us. A thank-You is not enough. A promise rose in her heart, and she voiced it to the One who deserved everything—her everything. I give my life to You. Show me what to do.

  “You know what to do. Just do it.”

  With the blink of an eye, the moments and people that had sped through her thoughts stepped aside—but for one. And with the recognition of that one person, she knew what God wanted her to do.

  During her mental discourse, the others had been talking, and she had no idea how long she had been caught in her reverie. But the nudge to “do it” was strong and could not be ignored a moment longer. She came back to the present and interrupted them. “Sean.” She stood and held out her hand to him. “Come with me.”

  Annie led him down a corridor and out to the deck. She found a private place at the railing and faced him. Her heart pumped with a determined vigor. Her mind was clearer than it had been in months. “My darling Sean. We are alive.”

  “That we are,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her.

  She pulled back. “Let me finish.”

  He stood erect.

  “We are alive. We are together when many couples on the Titanic have been ripped apart. No matter what happens with our careers, we are a pair, you and I.” She glanced out over the sea. “What lasts beyond death is love. No matter what tragedy befalls us, love remains.” She took his hands in hers. “I love you, Sean.”

  “I love you, t
oo, Annie-girl. More than I can say.”

  “God brought us together. And saved us to be together.”

  He nodded, and his voice caught in his throat. “I know it with my entire being.”

  Annie took a deep breath, recognizing this as the pivot point of her life, the point from which she would measure the before and the after. “Ask me.”

  “Ask you?”

  “The question.”

  His face lit up, as if God’s light shone down upon the moment. Then he knelt before her on one knee. “My darling, dear Annie. Would you marry me?”

  She kissed him, saying yes to Sean, yes to God, and yes to their future together.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for entering Annie’s world! It was a delight to write about her eventful life. Even though she didn’t come to New York City to find the American dream, it found her. We probably all have such stories to tell regarding our ancestors first coming to America.

  I have sewn all my life. I didn’t have a store-bought dress until I was nearly in college. My mother made all my prom dresses and even the wedding dresses for me and my two sisters. My first job was in a fabric store where I saved up enough money to buy a Pfaff sewing machine. Just this year (after over forty years) it conked out on me! It was like saying good-bye to a friend.

  I grew up making garments from multiple patterns and improvising. The true perk of home sewing is being able to create something unique. In many ways, all home seamstresses are pattern artists.

  It was fun to incorporate moments of history into Annie’s story. I hadn’t planned on having her work at Macy’s, but when I discovered an old book (1943) called History of Macy’s of New York by Ralph M. Hower I was hooked. The book painstakingly details the store (including charts of operating data and photos). Discovering that the store she would have worked in on Thirty-Fourth Street was the store that still exists—and is the store in one of my favorite movies, Miracle on 34th Street, it was a done deal.

  When I discovered that the New York Giants were playing in the World Series in 1911, and that crowds gathered across the street at the Herald offices to hear news of the games, it was an added bonus—and games four and five were delayed due to rain. I love when history falls at my feet and begs to be used in the story.

  I hadn’t planned on the Titanic being a part of the story, either, but when the dates worked out, and when I discovered that Mr. and Mrs. Straus (he was the owner of Macy’s) lost their lives on the ship when she declined to get into a lifeboat, I had to share that bittersweet fact. There are memorials to the love of Isidor and Ida Straus. If you watch the James Cameron movie Titanic, they are portrayed as the older couple embracing each other in bed as the ship sinks. I urge you to do an Internet search for them, where you’ll find many stories about their amazing love. Brett Gladstone, their great-great-grandson, says, “I have their letters. They spent only ten days apart from each other during their marriage, and then they wrote each other every day.” The couple even gets a duet in the musical version of Titanic—which leaves the audience weeping. I tear up just thinking of them.

  The initial words of the captain of Annie’s ship, describing the Titanic‘s accident, are taken from actual newspaper accounts—that obviously gave false information, and false hope.

  The address of the Sampsons (451 Madison Avenue) still exists and is called the Villard House. In 1978 it was altered into Helmsley Palace (remember the notorious Leona Helmsley?).

  I also slipped in a reference to some characters from my Manor House series. The love story of Lady Newley (Lila) is shown in Love of the Summerfields and Bride of the Summerfields, and Henrietta shows up in Rise of the Summerfields. I like to intertwine story lines when I can, as it makes the characters seem more real, as if life goes on after the last page. I hope you agree.

  So if I didn’t plan on Macy’s, the World Series, or the Titanic being a part of the story, what was my story supposed to be about? In a single word: patterns. Ebenezer Butterick changed the world by developing sized patterns. Before his invention, women would have to buy a one-size-does-not-fit-all pattern and try to adapt it. What started out as a home-based business became one of the largest companies in the world. Again, the American dream triumphs! I wouldn’t be a home seamstress if not for his invention. Butterick did have special pattern shops in Paris, London, Vienna, and Berlin. The Paris shop sold more Butterick patterns than anywhere in the world. There are a few old photos of this shop and the one in London on the Internet and on my Pinterest board for this book.

  I stretched for the sake of story in having Annie and her contingent go to the fashion shows in Paris. From what I could determine, usually the fashion representatives from the couture houses came to New York to show their wares, which were then copied. Forgive me for my creative license. It could have happened the way I wrote it. It might have happened that way.

  The Le Grand Hotel in Paris, across from the opera? My husband and I stayed there in the nineties (it’s now InterContinental Paris Le Grand Hotel), and the Café de la Paix is still serving fabulous meals. It’s interesting how life experiences can sometimes be resurrected and used. Actually, all life experiences are fair game to a writer.

  I hope you enjoyed The Pattern Artist. Please let me hear from you!

  Nancy Moser

  www.nancymoser.com

  Annie’s Borrowed Dinner Dress

  Chapter 19: “It was created from a peach-colored dupioni silk with a high waist and a daring scooped bodice that gained modesty with a dark brown chiffon covering the upper chest. The neckline was adorned with a wide flat collar of brown satin, with matching cuffs on the three-quarter sleeves. The shorter overskirt was edged in the brown satin that curved from the center front to the back, ending in a short train. Annie had never worn anything so beautiful. To go from wearing the uniform of a housemaid to this?” The Delineator, March 1911

  Iris’s Wedding Dress

  Chapter 20: “The high-waisted dress of gray-blue moss cloth had straight three-quarter sleeves, a scooped neckline, and a straight overskirt with a diagonal hem, edged with a twelve-inch band of satin. The overskirt was short enough to reveal the soft drapery of the crepe underskirt. There was little trim, just some braid at the cuff of the sleeve and neckline.” The Delineator, May 1911; Butterick Pattern #4639

  House of Paquin

  Chapter 28: “The girl wore a gown of ecru silk covered with delicate lace. The neckline crossed, forming a V, and the sleeves had no seam at the shoulder but were draped from the same piece of fabric as the bodice. The back bodice was the same as the front, but the back of the dress sported full-length pieces of blue silk embroidered at the bottom with mauve roses and green leaves. The blue was pulled around the sides at the empire waistline in the front, and culminated in a pink rosette bow.” House of Paquin, 1912

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THE PATTERN ARTIST

  1. What do you think about Annie’s decision to leave her job as a house-maid? What would have happened if she’d stayed?

  2. Grasston becomes a threat to Annie and all who know her. Annie stealing his gloves does not seem to be enough to get him sacked. Why do you think he was sacked?

  3. Danny’s death in Chapter 12, defending Annie from a bully, is a blow to all who knew him. How does his death change Annie and Iris?

  4. Chapter 13: Edna talks to Annie about her newly discovered gift to draw. “A talent uncovered is a talent recovered … it’s always been there. You just didn’t know it was there. It’s a known fact that God’s gifts can’t be returned.” What talent have you recovered unexpectedly?

  5. Chapter 13: God tries to get Annie’s attention, flooding her mind with promises of love and care if only she will choose Him. But she does not. Why do you think Annie hesitates about surrendering to God?

  6. Chapter 15: Annie talks about her parents being negative people, bringing everyone around them down. Do you know anyone like that? How do you deal with them?

  7. Chapter 15: Sean suggests that
Annie doesn’t take compliments well, because, “To accept compliments means someone else has seen into your world and has judged it.” How is this statement true?

  8. Chapter 16: Before Annie calls Butterick to interview for the job she realizes if she doesn’t call, the answer is automatically a no. She has to risk it. What time in your life did you accept a “no” rather than take a risk? If you could do it over again, would you handle it differently?

  9. Chapter 16: Sean tells Annie: “The old Annie is dead and a new Annie has risen in her place.” Name a time in your life when you closed the door on the past and started fresh. Did the new life live up to your expectations? If you haven’t done this yet, should you?

  10. Chapter 17: Annie took a leap of faith in staying in NYC and not catching the ship back to England with the Kidds. Hebrews 11: 1 says that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” What leap of faith have you taken, a no-turning-back leap?

  11. Should Annie have borrowed the dress? Do you think she got the punishment she deserved?

  12. At her dinner party in Chapter 19, Mrs. Sampson tells Annie, “Just be who you are, Annie. Who you are is enough.” Is that good advice, or bad? Explain.

  13. In Chapter 20, Edna and Annie are stronger from forming a three-strand cord with God. Who in your life creates your cord of strength?

  14. Chapter 24: On the Brooklyn Bridge Annie and Sean talk about their dreams. Sean explains his this way: “I dream of knowing I made a difference. I dream of knowing there is a definite reason I was born, a reason I exist now—not a hundred years from now. I dream of knowing that a portion of God’s greater plan gets fulfilled through me.” Do you have an inkling about why you were born—your purpose? Have you asked God to show you His purpose for you?

  15. Chapter 24: Sean’s mother encourages Annie to go after her dreams and her career goals. As we know, opportunities for women were lacking in 1911. What woman do you know who gave up their dreams or a career for the sake of getting married? What would you have done in a similar situation? Was it worth the sacrifice?