Arlene Sachitano - The Quilt Before The Storm

“How did you get here?” Harriet asked Carla. “It’s almost dark.”

“I drove Aiden’s Bronco,” she said. “And I didn’t ask first, either.” Her face was livid in spite of the cold temperature outside.

“Oh, dear,” Mavis said as she and Aunt Beth heard the commotion and came to see the new arrivals.

“What’s wrong?” Harriet asked.

“Are the roads clear?” Aunt Beth asked at the same time.

“Let’s let the poor child get out of her wet coat and get settled,” Mavis said. “Go get her some tea, Harriet. And you…” She gestured at Lauren. “…go upstairs and get one of those fleece throws from the TV room.”

“I’ll take the niñita to the kitchen for some warm apple juice,” Jorge said then tickled Wendy, causing her to giggle.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Aunt Beth said in a soft voice after they had Carla settled in front of the fireplace, wrapped in the throw and with a cup of tea held in both hands.

“It’s that woman,” Carla said. “I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get out of there, even if it is bad outside. I was afraid I was going to kill her.”

No one had to ask. They all knew she was talking about Michelle.

“What’s she doing?” Lauren asked.

‘‘‘Carla, be a dear and get me some coffee. Carla, dear, could you warm my sweater in front of the fire? Carla, could you carry more wood up to my bedroom? And make the fire bigger while you’re up there, it’s getting chilly.’” Carla said all this in a voice intended to mimic the affected tone Aiden’s sister used. A blush crept up her neck to her face. “When she expected me to heat the antique iron and press her ‘favorite linen tablecloth,’ I couldn’t take it. There were three other tablecloths that were already ironed and looked fine,” she finished with righteous indignation.

“That’s just terrible, honey,” Mavis said.

“And she made Wendy cry,” Carla added.

“I’d of killed her for that,” Harriet said. She’d become quite fond of the toddler since Carla had joined the Loose Threads, and couldn’t imagine anyone mistreating the good-natured little girl.

“I know I shouldn’t have driven with Wendy in this weather, but I did put her carseat in the back seat and everything.”

“How were the roads?” Aunt Beth asked for the second time.

“They weren’t as bad as I expected,” Carla said. “People have been out clearing downed limbs. You can see lots of freshly cut wood at the sides of the road. And the power company was working at the bottom of your hill. They were letting people go off-road to get around the mess if you had four-wheel drive. Most of the way was okay, though.”

“Well, I’m glad you were able to get through,” Beth said. “That woman could drive anyone to drink.”

“That’s not the worst of it,” Carla said. “She’s playing with Aiden’s head something awful.”

“Have you heard what she’s saying to him?” Harriet asked.

“Not much-she shuts up around me, except for orders. But when she made Wendy cry, she was working on some kind of craft project. She left it on a table in the nursery, and Wendy touched her paper, and she came in and screamed at her.”

“What kind of craft project?” Harriet asked. “And why was she doing it in the nursery?”

“I don’t know. She ordered Wendy and me out of the room, and when I went back to get Wendy’s toy that she’d dropped, everything was gone.”

“I thought Aiden let you have the nursery for Wendy.” Lauren said.

“Not when Michelle’s there, I guess.” Carla said. “Whatever it was involved little scraps of paper and some sort of glue.”

“That is very curious,” Aunt Beth said.

“Last night, I heard Aiden say ‘So, you’re telling me all my work here has been for nothing?’ but I couldn’t hear what she’d said before that and I didn’t hear her reply.”

“I wish we knew more about what she was up to,” Mavis said.

“I could try to find out,” Carla offered.

“We wouldn’t want to get you in any trouble,” Aunt Beth said. “But it would sure help to know a little more about what angle that girl is trying to play this time.”

Everyone sat, lost in her own thoughts for a few moments.

“I think I know a way,” Harriet finally said.

“Well, don’t just sit there,” Lauren said. “Enlighten us.”

“Carla, do you still have the extra baby monitor you had when Kissa was staying at Aiden’s?”

“Yes. In fact, I have another one Terry made that filters out background noise so I can hear Wendy more clearly.”

“Do any of them use batteries?”

“Sure, all of them can operate on battery power. I think it’s one of those safety things.”

“Perfect,” Harriet said. “Do you think you can conceal a unit in whatever room Aiden and Michelle spend most of their time in?”

“Totally,” Carla said, her expression brightening. “That will make it a little easier to go back there, too.”

“Do any of you ladies have the old-fashioned kind of phone?” Jorge asked as he carried Wendy back into the living room, a pink sippy cup clutched in her chubby fingers. “You know? The kind with just a cord that plugs into a wall jack, but no electric cord.”

“We do,” Harriet said, excitement in her voice as she realized what Jorge was saying.

“Why didn't we think of that?” Lauren said. “Old school phones often work even when the power is out because the electrical power for the phone lines is separate from the regular power system,” she explained to Mavis and Aunt Beth. “Of course, that's if the phone lines are intact.”

“That will only help us if the people we're calling have them, too,” Aunt Beth pointed out.

“I passed several phone company vans on my way here,” Carla said.

“We've got more than one old school phone,” Harriet said. “I replaced the ones upstairs with a cordless set when I moved in. The old Princess models are in a box in the TV room closet.”

Lauren left the room, returning a few minutes later with a phone in each hand.

“These babies are museum-quality,” she said and set the two units on the coffee table.

“Perfect,” Aunt Beth said. “We can send one with Carla and plug the other one in here. There should be a phone jack in the baseboard there under the window.” She pointed to a spot on the exterior wall.

“There's probably a phone jack in either your bedroom or your sitting room,” Mavis told Carla. “Plug this in as soon as you get home.”

“Don't put it out in the open,” Harriet warned. “Until we know what Michelle is up to, we don't want to put her on her guard. From what I've seen of her, though, she'll never suspect you could be watching her or gathering evidence of whatever she's doing.”

“Still,” Mavis said, “it pays to be cautious. And don't take any chances. She's a mean one. She used to pick on Aiden something awful when he was a little guy.”

“I’m just so happy to be here with you guys for a little while, I’ll do anything.” Carla sighed. “It’s been a really long couple of days.”

“Okay,” Harriet said and picked up the watch Jorge had laid on the table for communal use. “Let's wait until nine p.m. to make contact. They shouldn't be looking for you to any chores by then.”

Carla looked at her like she had to be kidding.

“You call me so we won't have to worry about the phone ringing on your end when someone else is around,” Harriet went on. “If you can't get through, try again before you go to sleep.”

“And, honey, if it gets to be too much for you over there, you just call and we’ll get you out of there,” Mavis said.

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine now,” Carla said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I just needed some sympathy.”