by Olivia Swift
“Well he went into heavy machinery, so I guess demolition was his thing,” Jazz answered, and Rob protested that you had to be very careful with heavy machines. Evan went to the door separating his half of the house from his brother’s, and called that there were burgers if anyone wanted one. Dex and Carly appeared as if by magic, along with the bundle of long, brown hair and slobber that was Mungo the rescue dog. Carly shrieked when she saw Kim and came to give her a hug.
The group settled comfortably into finishing the homemade burgers, and Kim said that they had been to the shop that Jenny had found.
“And was it weird?” Jazz asked. Both Rob and Kim nodded.
“In the window, it looked ancient and dusty, but inside it was modern and light. The woman inside was called Miranda, and seemed to think that fate had brought me to find this particular quilt." Kim opened the holdall and drew out the quilts. “Four of these are normal, patchwork quilts from this era. They need a bit of work but will make up okay. But this one—” She took out the Celtic knot quilt and told them what Miranda had said. “It could easily be two or three hundred years old and it is a Celtic knot pattern.”
“It must have taken literally hundreds of hours to make by hand,” Carly remarked. “It must have been beautiful when the material was new.”
“Thing is, the woman said that it was free to the right person, and that Rob would have to help me,” said Kim.
Rob joined in to say that he was not normally spooked by anything, but he was glad to get outside, and then it seemed a bit silly to think there was anything odd. “But Kim felt the same, so I was glad it wasn’t just me.”
“Why would Rob have to help to restore an old quilt?” Dex wondered. The dog was put outside so that they could spread the quilt out properly, and Kim said that she could see the pattern at the edges. She gently lifted a torn piece, and saw that there were three layers of material forming the lining.
“I’ll have to take the top and the bottom off, and then make a new lining, and find out what the original looked like. These odd bits of repair can be removed.” She looked at her friends. “It will take as many hours as it did to originally make.” She laughed. “I won’t be able to part with it after all of that.”
“If we photograph the best bit of pattern, we might be able to find something similar online,” Evan suggested.
“That’s a great idea,” Kim answered. “Thanks. Thing is, with the building work, I cannot do much until we get to Christmas. There is so much to do.”
“You know we’ll help if we can,” Jazz told her.
“And I can deal with all of the building work. We know where we are getting the internal structures. Kim will have to deal with stock and staff though,” Rob added.
“We decided, after talking to customers, that we need a coffee shop.” She looked at Evan. “When the structure is in place, will you tell me what food and drink to bring in, please?” Evan said he would be delighted.
“And when the building is finished, we can all come and help put things in place,” Dex offered.
“I have one new assistant who loves quilting, and she is starting next week to help Cherie.” She told them about Corby Santana. “Her husband left her and apparently she was thinking about a job. She seems like a nice person, so I offered her the job. I’ll see what she says about this quilt next week.”
“What a huge lot of excitement ahead,” Carly said. “Hard work but great to look forward.”
“Rob is taking all the weight of the building work,” Kim answered. “I am not even thinking about it. Just letting him get on with it.” She smiled across at him. “Don’t think I could tackle it with somebody I didn’t know.”
“Rob the Wrecker,” Evan joked. “Perhaps he is Rob the renovator.” That drew a laugh from everyone, and Kim packed away the quilts. Before she did, Evan took out his phone and took a picture of the pattern. “We can all search for the pattern,” he added. “I’ll mention it to Jules because he has the best equipment and lots of internet ideas that are well beyond me.”
“How is the barn coming along?” Kim asked. “I have been so busy myself that I haven’t been down there.” Jazz answered that it was looking good, and they were working on advertising to get people to drive out to the edge of town.
“Jules’s name as a photographer should bring people out to see what he is doing,” Dex added. “Perhaps they will be organized, and so will the garden center, by Christmas.”
“And we can have a big get-together,” Evan finished as Kim stood up, and Rob took the satchel.
The next three days flew by as Rob made the new parking lot usable, and they redirected customers. The existing parking lot was barricaded off for safety reasons, and he marked out the foundations. On the third day, Rob, and his three employees were on-site to pour the concrete. Kim walked over a few times to see how they were making progress, and it looked very messy and very large. The foundation did not quite meet the existing building, but a narrow one was laid so that a wide corridor could join the two sections. When Rob came over at the end of the working day, Kim offered him food as usual, but then asked him if it was more sensible to make the existing building the coffee shop and toilets. He consulted his plans and nodded.
Rob said, “It’s a good idea. The plumbing is already in place. We will only need water to the houseplant area. Makes it easier and cheaper.”
“Oh, I like that,” Kim said. “So that’s decided, is it?”
“Yes, it is,” Rob answered. “Have you had time to look at the quilt, or find out anything yet?”
“I’ve picked it up a few times and then not done anything. I think I’m frightened to start in case I spoil it completely.” She reached for a piece of paper printed from the internet. “I think it’s like this.”
Rob gazed at the picture and nodded. “It is so complicated. How could anyone have done that?”
She went and picked up the quilt. “I have discovered one thing. The decoration is sewed onto separate squares and then the squares are stitched together. That would make it more manageable—and easier—to repair, thank goodness.”
“You’ve made progress,” said Rob. “I’ve laid all of the foundations and will leave it for the weekend to go off. Clay Craven is closed normally on a Sunday, but says he will meet us at the factory if you would like to see the sections.”
“Oh, I would love to,” Kim said with a look of pure excitement, which did something to Rob’s insides that he hoped she couldn’t sense.
“So, what about a bite of lunch and we’ll meet him at two o’clock in the afternoon?” Kim nodded and then said that she would pay this time. He let her have that rider and said he would pick her up at eleven. “Might have a long lie in bed tomorrow. The walls arrive on Monday,” Rob finished.
Kim came to the door with him and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Thanks for all the hard work, Rob. Don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You know you don’t need to do without me,” he replied with a smile and rubbed his cheek where her lips had touched. “See you Sunday.” As she watched him go, he walked to his truck with that easy stride. Somewhere inside her head there was a message tapping to get out, but she left it there and went back inside.
The quilt seemed to call to her when she came into the room, and she went to pick up the corner with the clearest pattern.
“I wonder where you came from all those years ago,” she said out loud and could have sworn that a breath of highland music played for a second in the background. “I’ll sit with coffee and then make a start to see what is inside.” The quilt seemed to settle when she laid it back down. “I really am letting my imagination run riot with this thing,” she told herself. “Have a cup of coffee, and unpick the sides, Kim.” She checked emails, drank coffee, and then took a small pair of small pointed scissors and gingerly picked up the edge of the quilt. “I hope this works and you don’t fall apart on me.” The side of the quilt unpicked fairly easily, and before long she could see
what was inside. There appeared to be three layers of a sort of linen or heavy cotton material. It had been cream when it was new but was a sort of beige color with the odd stain here and there. Kim peered into the opening but resisted pulling things apart. Satisfied with the progress, she went to bed.
5
Saturday was busy at the nursery, and although she did check the concrete to see if it was setting, there was no time for anything else. Before the day started, she called the staff together. The part-timers were in on a Saturday, along with the young man she paid on the weekend for extra help for Jamie. She had called Corby and asked if she could make it as well, and they gathered in the shop.
“On Monday, the structure for the new building is being delivered. It will be chaos, and we need to make sure the customers are not caught up in the dirt and machinery.” She asked the part-timers, apart from the youngster, if they could come in and do extra time, and they talked about the way they would organize the changeover once the building was complete. “I will need a couple of extra people once we are up and running, and then Christmas will probably be a nightmare. I hope we can make the customers enjoy it—even if we are exhausted.” They all laughed but made some good suggestions, and Jamie asked if he could tell someone he knew to apply for a job in the shop. Kim nodded.
“It is good to have somebody recommended,” she said, and it turned out to be his mother, who was an experienced shop assistant and had left her previous work. “Today is normal, but if you have time, start to package the things not on view into crates to be moved onto the forklift when we need to move. Tomorrow I am going to view the internal dividing walls. I’ll try and take some photographs to give you an idea.” The day swung into action and Kim answered a few questions from the staff and then thanked Corby for coming in.
“I can stay for some time today and just see where everything is if you like,” her newest assistant offered, and Kim told her that she was very welcome. Then she asked if Corby would like to see the quilts. “Oh, did you get to the shop? I would love to see them.” The two women walked over to the house, and Kim explained about the odd little shop and what had happened. She took out the quilts to be washed and tidied and then showed her the Scottish one. It was now lying on a table with one side opened at the seam, but the pattern was in full view.
“My word,” Corby exclaimed and gently lifted the edge with a finger. “Are you going to take it completely apart?”
Kim said that she was and showed her the photo of the pattern on the web. “The good thing is that the decoration is added onto the squares and then the squares are stitched together.”
“It must have been beautiful when it was first made,” Corby sighed. “These are called love knots, I think.”
“Really?” Kim exclaimed. “I’ll feed that into Google and see what comes up. Thanks for the extra input. What about your own quilts? Are they patchwork?”
Corby laughed. “As it happens, I have one in the car. I thought you might like to see it.”
“Yes, please,” Kim answered, and Corby hurried away to bring in the one she had recently finished. “Love knots,” Kim said to the quilt, “tell me your story please.” There was no answer and no bagpipe music, but Kim had another avenue to explore with the love knot idea. Corby came back and unrolled her own work onto the table.
“That is exquisite,” Kim cried and fingered the material. “I love it.”
“The colors are based on Native American designs and colors,” Corby explained.
“Are you prepared to sell it?” Kim asked. “We will have new quilts as well as preloved ones.” Corby smiled and nodded. “It can have the place of pride in the quilt section,” Kim added and held out a hand. “Thanks.” The price was negotiated and Kim asked Corby to keep it at home until the display was ready. “This place might well be muddy and dirty for at least a couple of weeks.”
The day passed in a flurry of normal work and trying to start changing things around to make it easier when the actual move happened. Kim sat in the evening and looked at what she was now thinking of as love knots. She switched on the laptop and started to find out more. She found a site, after some searching, and bookmarked it in case she lost it again. This was part of a site claiming that magic spells worked and that wands made of crystal were the thing you needed to increase your power. Kim was skeptical of most of this as it was obviously geared to selling crystals and other items. The website had pages given over to the history of aspects of the magical world. She almost flicked over the page but caught a glimpse of a Celtic pattern that looked identical to the quilt.
The writer claimed to have discovered that each particular knot was a letter, and messages were written into the quilts. The letters were unique to each quiltmaker, although there were some designs that came up again and again, and there was usually a small heart at the center of the design. Kim leapt up and ran her hand over the pattern on her quilt. She found the middle and peered down. It was faded and very worn, but there was undoubtedly a tiny heart embroidered in the very center of the quilt. She went back to the screen to find out more, and it told her that it was not necessarily a quilt. It could be a picture, artwork, or even a rug for the floor. Quilts were very much thought of as being on the marriage bed, and that is why they were chosen to bear the message.
“Just the same, the work involved must have been huge,” she said out loud and looked at the quilt. “Maybe you can talk to me after all.”
She looked at one of the squares that was clear to see and went back to the website. By scrolling carefully, she found an almost identical match and the letter it showed was an L. She picked up her phone and called Rob.
“Got some news on the quilt,” she told him and explained what she knew so far.
“So, it has got some magic after all,” he surprised her by saying. “I knew that place felt odd.”
“I’ve been telling myself not to be so fanciful, and you go and say it out loud.” She smiled into the phone. “Do you fancy coming and seeing if you can see any letters—two heads being better than one.”
“Thought you’d never ask,” he answered and hung up. Kim went to see what cake she had in the house and decided it would have to be chocolate fudge cake warmed in the microwave. It was only fifteen minutes later when she heard his car and went to open the door.
“Mom sent you this,” he said and handed her a simple snow dome. “She says it is the start of your Christmas grotto, and can she please help out when the time comes.”
“That is so sweet,” she said and shook it so that the snowflakes fell over a chubby-faced snowman in a blue hat. He was holding a bunch of blue flowers and she looked up at Rob. “She liked the salt and pepper set and chose this to match them, didn’t she?”
“I guess so,” he told her. “There is an awful lot to do before Christmas.”
“That’s the practical Rob I am used to,” she grinned. “Chocolate fudge cake?”
“The way to a man’s heart.” He smiled and took the plate. “Anyway, explain this knot thing.” Kim showed him the website and the pattern that matched her printed square. She pointed with her finger, and they were able to see a curvy line that—if separated from the rest of the design—could be the letter L.
“So, is the rest of the design meant to confuse you into thinking it is just a pattern?” Rob asked. He found the site on his own tablet and bookmarked it as well. “We need to photograph all of the squares and just keep on searching.”
“Maybe it is jumbled as well, to make it harder to find the message,” Kim suggested. They spread the quilt flat and both took photographs with their tablets. Kim sent one of them to her laptop and brought it up to a larger size. “You know, it might be easier to see the shapes on the screen instead of on the actual quilt. Look, that is another L.”
He leaned over her shoulder and squinted at the screen.
“Yes, it is easier to see. It’s brighter for one thing.” He had one hand resting on the table and the other on her shoulder. Kim
found that her heart was beating a lot faster than it should have been when she was just looking at a picture on a screen. He felt her stiffen a little and eased away.
“I’m sorry, Kim. I didn’t realize I was leaning on you.”
“No. No. It was okay,” she stuttered. “Maybe this magic stuff has really gotten to me.” She attempted a laugh that wobbled a bit, and Rob did what he had done many times over the years; he gathered her into his arms and held on. Her reaction was one that he had never expected. She turned into his embrace and put her arms around his neck.
“Thanks for always being there,” she was saying when he stopped the words by kissing her on the lips. There was a second when she was taken completely by surprise, and the apology was forming in his head when something happened in Kim’s head and she kissed him back. The message had been sitting in there waiting to come out, and it burst forth with abandon. He felt her body against his own, and her hands twisted into his hair. He had held Kim in his arms many times but never thought that she would return his feelings. She didn’t know how or why or even if it was right to be kissing her best friend and enjoying the sensation, but her mouth responded of its own accord. The sensation of something rushing through her bloodstream took her far away from quilts, letters, and the garden center building. He ran his hands up and down her back and felt her melt into his arms. It was something he had dreamed of and wondered if maybe it was all a dream. They pulled apart at last, and he pulled her down onto a seat. She rested her head on his shoulder and tried to find something normal to say, but nothing came to mind.
“That was something new,” he whispered into her hair. She simply nodded and didn’t speak. “Do you want me to go?” he asked, and she turned and kissed his lips again.
“I kissed you as much as you kissed me,” she said.
“But what do we do about it?” he asked.
“I am always frightened I will lose my best friend,” she whispered. “I don’t want that to change.”