Thread Reckoning

by Amanda Lee

  Next thing you know, he’ll want to install a throne similar to the raja’s in your living room! Seriously, the palace is gorgeous. Enjoy it . . . but come home soon. I miss you guys! We all do.

  I printed out the photographs to share with the other members of Reggie’s embroidery class. They’d be happy to see she and Manu were having such a good time.

  I then uploaded the wedding dress photo to my computer. The dress was a simple sleeveless A-line gown. I enlarged the picture, so I could add embellishments using drawing software. Cassandra didn’t seem to be the easiest person in the world to please, so I wanted to give her more than one example.

  In the first example, I placed pink silk ribbon rosettes and pastel green ribbon leaves at twoinch intervals along the hem of the dress. I added seed pearls to the upper portion of the skirt. To pull the skirt and bodice together—and to hide the significant yellowing on the bodice—I covered the bodice in pearls and made a more elaborate embroidery ribbon flower and leaf design at the waist that incorporated the crystals. I printed this photograph, saved the file as “Look One,” and gave the dress another go.

  With the second example, I used the pearls and crystals to make triangular shapes from the hem to about seven inches up the skirt all around. At the top of each triangle, I placed one of the sapphire gems Cassandra had mentioned. To adorn the bodice this time, I used the crystals, the pearls, and one large sapphire at the top center of the bodice. This design, of course, would depend on how many “gems” Cassandra’s mother-in-law was bringing to the table. I printed and saved “Look Two.”

  Before I could begin “Look Three,” the bells over the door jingled, letting me know someone was in the shop. I helped the customer—a middleaged woman with a cheery disposition—find the cross-stitch pattern she was looking for, and then I wandered around looking for embroidery books that might help me decide how to approach “Look Three.” The two designs I’d already come up with were about the best I could do. I was pretty pleased with them, admittedly. And I needed to keep the design simple enough that I’d be able to finish it in time for Cassandra’s Valentine’s Day wedding.

  I took two books featuring embroidery designs on clothing and sat down on the sofa facing the window. I opened the top book and began thumbing through it. Naturally, instead of seeing anything for the wedding dress, I saw things that would beautifully accentuate some of my own clothes.

  Angus got up and walked to the door—the indicator that he needed to go outside. I set the books aside, grabbed Angus’ leash off the counter, and placed the clock sign on the door that promised I’d be back in five minutes. Angus hurried down the stone walk to the wrought-iron clock standing in the shopping center square. As we jogged past the aromatherapy shop, I happened to glance inside. Nellie Davis, the proprietor, can’t stand me, so I have no idea what prompted me to peek into her shop window. But what I saw made me stop in my tracks, causing Angus to nearly pull me off my feet.

  I saw David.

  Yes, the David. David who left me at the altar. David whom I’d never have dreamed I’d see in Tallulah Falls, Oregon.

  I quickly regained my balance and followed Angus to the square. Sometimes extend-a-leashes are terrific. Sometimes not so much. I wanted to take another look into that shop or see who walked out of it without being terribly obvious. I was almost certain my eyes were playing tricks on me, because Cassandra and her wedding dress had dredged up emotions I’d been trying to tamp down for so long. But I wanted to be absolutely certain my eyes were playing tricks.

  As Angus sniffed around the grass, I watched the shop. The man who came out turned so quickly that I couldn’t get a good look at his face. But he had the same sandy blond hair as David. He was the same height . . . had the same build . . . walked the same way.

  “No way,” I whispered. “Please let me be wrong about this.”

  If it was David and his being in Tallulah Falls was more than a mere coincidence—if he was here to see me—he’d stop at the Seven-Year Stitch. Right? But this guy strolled right on by without a second glance at the shop. It couldn’t be David. It couldn’t be.

  Chapter Two

  I’d lost sight of the man by the time I’d cleaned up after Angus and started back to the shop. He and I went back inside, and I went into the bathroom to wash my hands. The bell jingled, and I looked at my pale reflection in the mirror.

  The man I’d seen was David. He was here. Or at least, someone who looked very like him—unbelievably like him—was running loose in Tallulah Falls.

  I gulped, and then went out into the shop. I sighed with relief when I saw Vera Langhorne making herself comfy in one of the red club chairs.

  “Hi!” she said. “I thought I’d stop by and stitch for a few minutes and talk with you about the masquerade ball.”

  The masquerade ball . . . right.

  Vera was a little matronly, and she was currently dieting, exercising, and looking for a beau. In that state of mind, she wanted all her single, widowed, and divorced friends—me, included, natch—to live well and to look for love along with her. That attitude could get on your last nerve, but Vera was a wonderful alternative to finding David standing in my shop.

  The latest attempt to “find us some men” was to take place at the masquerade ball next Saturday. The ball was billed as a Tallulah Falls Chamber of Commerce event to show its appreciation to all the local merchants, but in reality, anyone and everyone could come. I was having enough trouble choosing between Ted and Todd as it was without adding a huge event and expensive gown to the mix.

  “Let’s stitch.” I sat on the sofa and picked up my Kuba cloth. It would do me good to work on the quilt and forget about wedding dresses for a few minutes.

  Vera took up her latest project—quilt squares she was doing in redwork to match some pillowcases she’d made for her Victorian bedroom. “So, are you going to the ball?”

  I inclined my head. “Probably not.”

  “I knew you’d need some convincing,” she said, looking down at her belle-at-the-ball gown with fan and following the lines of the pattern with the red embroidery thread. “Why don’t you want to go?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to go,” I said, although that wasn’t entirely true. “I just don’t have anything to wear.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Finding something to wear is half the fun of going to a ball in the first place!” She grinned. “And I just happened to see the most fabulous dress and mask in a little shop just outside Lincoln City. It’s maroon and black, and it would look magnificent on you.”

  I wavered. A maroon and black ball gown with a matching feathered mask? How cool was that? “Was it very expensive?”

  “Not very.”

  I bit my lip. The other reason I didn’t want to go to the ball was that I was afraid that going with either Ted or Todd would mean I was with Ted or Todd, and I wasn’t ready to form a steady relationship with either of them. At least, not yet. Particularly because I didn’t know which one I wanted. If either. And I wasn’t a hundred percent sure which one of them wanted me. If either! So there you go.

  Besides that, Vera was loaded. Not very expensive to her could translate into very expensive for me.

  “Come on,” Vera prodded. “How often in your lifetime do you get a chance to attend a masquerade ball? I’m close to sixty, and this will be my first. It’ll be great.”

  Close to sixty? Come on, Vera, I thought. “I’ll think about it,” I said.

  “Promise?”

  I smiled. “I promise.”

  Before resuming work on my Kuba cloth, I glanced out the window. I have to admit I was still halfway looking for the man who’d borne such a striking resemblance to David. This time, though, instead of David, I saw Ted. And he was yakking it up with some woman. A really pretty woman, to be exact, who’d thrown back her head and was laughing ever so merrily at something he’d said. They’d come from MacKenzies’ Mochas and were both holding travel cups.

  I didn’t realize I
was sitting there staring at the pair with my mouth hanging open until Vera spoke.

  “Oh, Marcy, dear, don’t trouble yourself about her. She’s just some detective Ted has to train.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “He looks really bothered by this burden that’s been thrust upon him.”

  “She is striking, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, she is.” She was everything I wasn’t: tall, brunette, with an athletic build . . . and she had a position of authority. Some guys like that.

  “I suppose I’d be jealous, too, if I were in your shoes,” Vera said.

  “I’m not jealous. I’m surprised, that’s all.” I tried to examine my feelings. I wasn’t really jealous. Was I? I mean, we weren’t in high school. I wasn’t wearing Ted’s class ring or his letter jacket and telling everyone we were going steady. Even if he was dating the “striking” detective, it wouldn’t be any of my business. After all, he and I had been on a couple dates, had shared one kiss. And he knew I’d also been seeing Todd.

  “Again, I wouldn’t worry,” Vera said. “From what I hear, he’ll be training her for a few weeks and then she’ll go off to a new unit or something or other.”

  “Right.” I pointedly resumed stitching on the Kuba cloth.

  “Besides,” Vera said, absolutely refusing to let it go, “if Ted develops an interest in the lady detective, you’ve still got Todd on the string.”

  I did not have anyone on a string, and I didn’t want to discuss my romantic life with Vera any more today. “The most interesting thing happened this morning,” I said in order to change the subject. “I was passing by Nellie Davis’s shop and saw someone who looked like a guy I used to know in San Francisco. Isn’t that odd?”

  She lifted and dropped her shoulders. “I dunno. They say everybody has a twin somewhere in the world. Do you believe that?”

  “After this morning, I’m thinking that just might be possible.”

  After Vera left, I went back into the office to work on the third design for the wedding dress. I was still staring at the photograph and wondering what else I could do when the shop bell jingled and my best friend, Sadie, called out, “Marce, where are you?”

  “I’m in the office. Come on back.”

  Sadie, also a tall brunette with an athletic build, sat on the chair beside my desk and peered over at my computer screen. “Is there something you’ve been neglecting to tell me?”

  “Ha-ha. Do you know a Cassandra Wainwright?”

  “Um, yes, I do,” Sadie said. “It’s rumored that she once died and went to hell, but the devil brought her back because she was too darn mean.”

  I chuckled. “That’s encouraging. She’s commissioned me to embellish her mother′s vintage wedding gown for her wedding on—ready for this?—St. Valentine’s Day.”

  “Cancel. Tell her you can’t do it,” Sadie said. “I’m telling you, the woman is bad news.”

  “Maybe you’re right. All this looking at wedding dresses has me reliving a very painful part of my past. I even thought I saw David this morning as I passed by the aromatherapy shop.”

  “Oh, Marce, I’m sorry.” Sadie blinked back sudden tears. “Call Cassandra Wainwright and tell her to forget it. Don’t put yourself through this.”

  Sadie had been the matron of honor at my wedding. She and Blake had been happily married for five years. Lucky them.

  A lump formed in my throat. “I thought I was completely over him, Sadie. I thought all those feelings were behind me. But then she came in this morning and brought the dress . . . and I started thinking about my dress and how gorgeous it was and how Mom had worked so hard on it and then . . .”

  Sadie hugged me, and we both shed a few tears.

  “What a jerk,” she said after a couple minutes. “He didn’t even have the guts to confront you face-to-face.”

  “I think that’s part of the reason it was so hard to let go,” I said. “There was never any closure. I mean, there we were one evening, laughing and talking about our future . . . and then the next day he just didn’t show up. He didn’t call. He didn’t send an e-mail . . . nothing. And then Tony came and basically told me good-bye from David.”

  She sighed. “I know. Blake and I drove around looking for David. It’s probably good we didn’t find him. Blake might not have been able to hold me off him.”

  I laughed as I took a tissue and then handed the box to Sadie. “I don’t think he could have. You were so mad! But you looked beautiful. You have to admit, Mom didn’t design tasteless bridesmaid dresses.”

  “No, indeed she did not,” Sadie said, drying her eyes with the tissue. “Black taffeta with a white satin sash. I’ve worn that gown to a couple black-tie affairs since . . . you know, since then.”

  “I don’t blame you. It’s a classy dress.”

  “It is. And Beverly will come up with something even better for the next wedding.”

  “If there ever is a next wedding,” I said glumly.

  “Come on. Let’s get you out of this funk. Are you going to the masquerade ball?”

  “I don’t know. Vera was in here talking about it earlier. She even said she saw a maroon and black gown and mask in a store outside Lincoln City that she felt would be perfect for me.”

  “Ooh, that does sound pretty,” Sadie said. “My gown is royal blue.”

  “So you and Blake are going, then?”

  “Uh-huh. We’re catering, but since the Chamber of Commerce is generous and really because they want all the local business owners enjoying themselves at the party, they’ve included enough money for us to hire a wait staff and leave all of our staff in place at the shop. So we can oversee but still enjoy the ball.”

  I smiled. “That’s great.”

  “Hasn’t Todd spoken with you about it yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  “He will,” she said. “He’s just been busy.”

  I nodded. “I saw Ted Nash and his new partner leaving your shop this morning. Did you get a chance to meet her?”

  “Yeah. She seemed okay. A little reserved, though, if you ask me.” She looked at my face. “Does that bother you? That she’s Ted’s new partner, I mean.”

  “No. After this morning and my sudden hallucinations of David, I’m thinking I’m really not ready to even date anyone,” I said. “Friends are enough for me right now. They don’t rip out your heart and grind it into hamburger. That’s why I don’t know if I’ll even go to this stupid masquerade ball.”

  “Come on. It’ll be fun. And it’s not an engagement party. Go with Todd. Dance, nosh, and kiss him at the midnight unmasking.”

  “We’ll see.” I jerked my head toward the shop. “Come on. Let’s get out of here and stop looking at this depressing wedding gown.”

  “So, you’re going to call and tell Cassandra you can’t do the work?” Sadie asked as we stepped over Angus and walked to the sitting area.

  “I don’t know,” I said, expelling a breath of frustration. “I mean, I can’t let my past interfere with my present and my future, can I?”

  Sadie pursed her lips but didn’t say anything.

  “I doubt she’ll be happy with any of my designs, anyway,” I said. “And you should’ve seen how she reacted to Angus. You’d have thought he was a two-headed dragon that went charging at her.”

  Sadie laughed and called Angus to her. He ambled over to sit at her feet. “I’d have given a hundred dollars—make that a hundred doggie treats—to have seen that,” she told him as she scratched behind his ears. “Could you do it again when she comes back? Could you?”

  He barked his consent.

  “Good boy! You’re a good boy! Yes, you are!” She noticed my face had frozen. “What’s wrong?”

  She followed my eyes to the door. My ex-fiancé, David Frist, was stepping through it.

  “Hello, Marcy.”

  I couldn’t find my voice. All I could do was stare. He looked pretty much the same—sandy blond hair falling over his forehead and into his green eyes à la Redford
in The Way We Were, perfect smile, hands placed casually in his front jeans pockets. I noticed he was wearing a scarf I’d given him—it was green-and-white-striped, and it played up his eyes.

  “Hi, David,” I said.

  “What are you doing here?” Sadie spat the words out as if they tasted as bitter as her voice sounded.

  “Hello to you, too, Sadie,” David said with a smile. “You’re looking well.” He nodded at Angus. “Nice dog.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I felt paralyzed.

  David gave me a bemused frown. “He’s yours? I always thought if you ever had a dog, it would be a little long-haired lapdog.”

  Angus couldn’t quite understand the underlying vibe in the room. He looked from me to Sadie and back again in confusion before realizing the tension was the newcomer’s fault and uttering a low growl at David.

  “Sadie, would you mind taking him for a quick walk?” I asked.

  “I’ll make it very quick,” she said. She got up, hurried to the counter, and retrieved Angus’ leash. “Come on, baby.” She brushed by David, giving him a scathing look. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t hurry back on my account,” he said. He turned and watched Sadie march Angus down the street.

  I noticed she went in the direction of MacKenzies’ Mochas. She was going to tell Blake.

  David turned back to me, took his hands from his pockets, and held out his arms. “Come here.”

  I hesitated.

  “Just a hug,” he said. “Please.”

  I slowly rose from the sofa and went to stand in front of him. At five feet tall, I barely reached his chest.

  He enfolded me in his arms and lowered his face to the top of my head. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  Part of me wanted to yell at him, to scream and cry and tell him to get out of my shop. But somehow I allowed my arms to encircle his waist. He felt so familiar. I used to love for David to hold me. He’d made me feel so protected . . . secure . . . loved. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t do this to myself. I couldn’t let this man come in here and hurt me all over again. I’d thought I was completely over him. I was completely over him. I took a firm step backward. But I couldn’t just kick him out. This was a chance to get the answers I needed.