Софи Келли - Final Catcall

“Is there anything else I could do to help with the festival?” she asked.

“I’m not certain,” I said. “But Abigail might need some help with the costumes she got from the theater in Red Wing.”

Maggie made a face. “Everything probably smells like smoke.”

“It does.”

“Kitty litter’s really good for getting the musty smell out of purses and things you can’t put in a washing machine,” Taylor said. “I use it sometimes if I find a bag that’s been stored in, like, a basement or an attic for a long time.”

“Abigail could probably use you, then,” I said. I fished an elastic out of the pocket of my yoga pants.

“Do you think it would be okay to call her and ask?”

“I think she’d be very happy to hear from you.”

Taylor smiled. “I’ll call her right after class. Thanks, Kathleen.”

Maggie looked around the room. “I think everyone made it,” she said. She clapped her hands and called, “Circle, everyone.”

Just then Hannah appeared in the doorway. She was wearing gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. Since she was dressed in workout clothes I guessed she’d decided to take Maggie up on her offer to try a class.

“I’ll go,” I said softly to Maggie.

“Thanks,” she mouthed, touching my arm as she moved to take her place in the circle that was already forming in the middle of the room.

I walked over to Hannah. “Hi,” I said. “I’m glad you came. We’re just about to get started.”

“I haven’t done any tai chi in a while,” Hannah said, looking around. “My form is a little wobbly.”

I smiled. “Come stand next to me, then. My form is a lot wobbly.”

We joined the circle, Roma moving sideways to make room for us.

“Everyone, this is Hannah,” Maggie said. “She’s here to try a class with us.”

Hannah raised one hand in a little wave of acknowledgment.

Maggie worked us hard. She got Ruby to practice Push Hands with me. I was getting better, but I was still having problems shifting my weight forward and back. Maggie stood behind me for a couple of minutes, making tiny adjustments to my stance with just two fingers. I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be as fluid as she and Ruby were.

Hannah wasn’t nearly as rusty as she’d claimed. At one point I looked over to see her standing between Rebecca and Taylor, all three of them moving smoothly through Repulse Monkey.

When we finished the form at the end of class, Maggie smiled at all of us. “Good work, everyone,” she said. “I’ll see you all on Thursday.”

I walked over to her, wiping my forehead with the sleeve of my T-shirt. “What time are you leaving tomorrow?” I asked.

“Late morning.” Maggie stretched her arms up over her head. “That way I’ll have time to get lunch and get to the grant meeting early.”

I held up my right hand. “My fingers are crossed and Owen sends his love.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Kath. Give the fur ball a kiss from me.”

I hugged her. “Call me when you get back.”

“I will,” she said.

Ruby walked over to us and I went out to change my shoes. Rebecca was by the coat hooks pulling on a cream-colored sweater. She smiled when she caught sight of me. “Hello, Kathleen,” she said. She held out a canvas bag with blue handles.

“What’s this?” I asked, peering inside.

“I heard your mother is coming tomorrow. I made you some bread and a dozen blueberry muffins.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking the bag from her.

“And there’s a little treat for the boys in there as well.”

I shook my head. “You’re as bad as Maggie. The two of you are spoiling Owen and Hercules. And you’re spoiling me, too.”

Rebecca made a dismissive gesture with one hand. “A little indulgence once in a while isn’t going to hurt them—or you.” She gave me a slightly mischievous grin. “Everett says it’s not fair of me to pressure you to stay with us. So I won’t say a word about that. I’ll just say one of those loaves is cinnamon raisin bread.”

I wrapped her in a hug. “You are the nicest person I know.”

“No, I’m not. I’m turning into a nasty old woman trying to get this wedding planned.”

“You couldn’t be nasty if you tried,” I said.

She started buttoning her sweater. “I came close to it today. Everett suggested we have the wedding at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. It’s a beautiful, beautiful church, but neither one of us is Catholic.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to wear a lacy dress with a train, or have a seven-course sit-down meal or, heaven forbid, hire a choreographer for our first dance. I just want to get married.”

“So tell Everett that.”

She adjusted the scarf at her neck. “I don’t want to hurt his feelings. All of the trappings are so important to him. He has Lita looking for someone to set off fireworks after the reception. Fireworks, for heaven’s sake.”

I gave her hand a squeeze. “Rebecca, he loves you and he wants the whole world to know that. But you’re the most important thing to him. I think he’d understand that you just want something small and quiet if you explain that to him.”

She sighed. “I wish we’d eloped weeks ago.”

“You’ll work it out.” I gave her an encouraging smile.

“As long as I don’t end up in twenty pounds of handmade Belgian lace.”

I slipped my tote bag over my shoulder and we started down the stairs. “I’ll tell you what,” I said. “If it looks like that’s going to happen the boys and I will help you grab Everett and elope. I have a tarp in the basement, lots of gas in the truck and I’m very good at knots.”

She grinned and gave my arm a squeeze. “Thank you, my dear. I just might take you up on that.”

Hannah was standing outside on the sidewalk, looking at her cell phone. She looked troubled, but when she saw me she smiled. “Your form didn’t look that wobbly to me,” she said.

“Thanks,” I said. “Neither did yours.” I looked around and didn’t see Marcus’s SUV anywhere nearby. Since they’d argued, I guessed that Hannah wasn’t driving it. “Could I drop you somewhere?” I asked. “I’m just parked a little bit up the hill.” I pointed in the general direction of the truck.

She hesitated.

“Really, I don’t mind.”

She still had her phone in her hand. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with Abigail,” she said. “I was hoping I could get a drive out to Marcus’s with her.” She looked at the phone. “Could I get a ride over to the theater? Maybe I can catch her.”

“You don’t need to,” I said. “I’ll take you to Marcus’s.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to put you out of your way.”

I smiled. “Hannah, that’s one of the great things about Mayville Heights—nowhere is out of the way. Let’s go.”

I saw a little of the tension in her body ease. She smiled back at me. “Okay. Thank you.”

We started up the sidewalk. “How are rehearsals going?” I asked.

“Not that bad, under the circumstances, although I’m glad your mom’s going to be here tomorrow. Did you know Ben organized a little memorial for Hugh?”

I nodded.

“I thought it was nice, considering Ben didn’t really like him. Anyway, Chloe and I have been trying to help Ben as much as we can—the two of us have the most professional experience after him.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Have you met Chloe?”

I nodded. “I have. I like her.”

“Everyone does. She’s a genuinely nice person, even after everything. And I think she could direct if that’s what she wanted to do. She has good instincts. Chloe and I supervised a run-through of all of the short plays that are going to be performed on the street. I just felt like I was stumbling in the dark, but she knew what she was doing.”