Arlene Sachitano - Quilt As You Go

"I don't think that's exactly what I said. Besides, Carla is a big girl. She can decide who she sees. And we don't know that Terry did anything. Let's not forget that he disappeared first."

"I hate this,” he said and pulled her back to him. He cupped her face in his hands and gently kissed her. “You better go. I don't want you to, but you need your rest."

Harriet knew he wouldn't sleep. She also knew that, short of finding Carla, nothing she could do or say would make a difference.

She was almost out the door when she remembered she hadn't driven.

"Let me tell Beth I'm leaving, and I'll take you home,” he said.

"How about you tell her I'll pick her up at ten, and I'll take her car."

"That's fine,” Beth said from the stairs. “I was just coming down for a second brownie."

She might fool Aiden, but Harriet knew her aunt was making sure she went home and got some rest. She took Beth's car keys from the kitchen counter and went out the door.

Fred exhibited his uncanny ability to wake Harriet before her alarm went off. If she didn't set her alarm, he had his own idea about when she should get up; but if it was on, he would start bothering her fifteen minutes before whatever time she set.

"Would you go away, please,” she said, and pushed him to the end of her bed. “I had just finally gotten to sleep."

It had been a restless night. She'd fallen asleep sometime after three. Fred didn't care. She pulled the sheet over her head, and he started pouncing, using just enough claw pressure to ensure she couldn't fall back to sleep.

"Okay, you win,” she said, and threw the covers back awkwardly with her good arm.

Gerald's funeral was scheduled to begin at eleven. She had two hours before she needed to pick up Beth. She went downstairs, fed Fred and poured herself a bowl of cereal. There were no signs of life from the Willis boys. She wasn't sure if they were still sleeping or had gone out for an early breakfast.

She picked up her cell phone and could see the telephone icon indicating she had a message. She set the phone on the counter and pressed the buttons to play the message on speaker phone.

"I had to pull in a few favors, but a couple of people are searching real-time satellite photos for Carla's car. Unless they get lucky, it's going to take some time.” The message ended as abruptly as it had started. If her associates came through, Harriet decided she could forgive Lauren's brusqueness.

"At least that's something, Fred,” she said. Fred lifted his fuzzy face from his dish of kibbles but didn't say anything.

She chose the black pants from her three-piece suit and a charcoal gray sleeveless blouse for her funeral outfit. After showering and dressing, she refilled Fred's bowl then went into her studio to check her stitching schedule to be sure she wasn't expecting anyone to drop off a project while she was at the church. Her next quilt wouldn't be coming until Monday, which was a relief.

Juggling a purse when one arm was strapped to your side was harder than it looked. She pulled her license, debit card, car keys and cell phone from hers and put them in her pants pockets. In a last-minute move, she picked up the black mystery square and slid it into her back pants pocket. Aunt Beth would probably chide her for the bulges, but it couldn't be helped. She took a last look around the kitchen and headed to Aiden's house.

Aunt Beth had a cup of tea steeping for her when she walked into the kitchen. “I heard you coming up the drive,” she explained. “Aiden paced all night while Wendy slept like a log. Poor little thing,” she added, and looked at the little girl, who was chasing Cheerios around the tray on her high chair. “She has no idea what's going on."

Beth was wearing black jersey pants and a black tone-on-tone blouse. Wendy was dressed in a pink sundress. Beth wet a washcloth at the sink and wiped the child's face and hands.

"I think we're about ready to go,” she said. She looked out the window at the driveway. “Oh, good thinking-you brought your own car. It will be easier to put the carseat in yours."

Harriet hadn't thought about it at all. It just never occurred to her to drive her aunt's car again. Beth was right, though. The seat was difficult to install in the middle row of seats in Harriet's Honda SUV. It would have been impossible in the tiny back seat of the Beetle.

The carseat finally settled in, and Aunt Beth lifted Wendy into it, carefully buckling the maze of straps.

"Gosh, you just about need a trade school degree to operate one of those things,” Harriet commented.

"Tell me about it,” she said. When you were small your carseat was little more than a booster seat and a lap belt."

They carefully avoided mentioning Carla, or their concerns for her whereabouts while her daughter was in the car, even if she was too young to understand.

Connie and Robin were waiting on the steps to the Methodist Church when Harriet guided her car into the parking lot.

"DeAnn's inside finding us an empty room,” Robin said as they approached.

"I'm going to take the little one here to the kitchen to meet up with her minder,” Beth said. “I'll meet you back here."

"Have you heard anything?” Harriet asked Lauren, when she, too, joined the group.

"Thanks for broadcasting,” Lauren said. “I'm sure my friend at NOAA will appreciate everyone knowing what she's doing for us.” She was dressed in black twill pants and a silk khaki tank top. A black-and-tan silk scarf was draped artfully around her neck and onto her shoulders.

"Sorry,” Harriet replied. “But have you heard anything?"

"Don't you think I'd say something if I'd heard any news?” Lauren turned her back on Harriet.

"I was just asking,” she said as Lauren retreated.

"Okay, we can meet in the preschool classroom,” DeAnn announced a few minutes later. Aunt Beth had returned, and Jenny and Sarah arrived.

"Mavis is with her sons and their families,” Connie said. “Do I need to go get her?"

"No,” Harriet said. “I just wanted to review our assignments and talk a little about Carla. Mavis doesn't need to be here for that."

The women squatted awkwardly on the tiny preschool chairs, and one-by-one, they told the group what they would be doing during the funeral. Robin and DeAnn would mingle with the employees of Foggy Point Fire Protection. Robin had done some legal work for the company before she'd gone into semi-retirement. DeAnn rented movies to most of them on a weekly basis, so she, too, would fit in.

Harry had agreed to introduce Harriet to his friend Nick's dad. Pete was likely to be putty in Connie's hands, and Aunt Beth would be there for reinforcement if needed. Jenny had spent time with Ilsa when the flowers arrived, and they had bonded over their mutual love of gardening. Lauren would be watching for Terry, but more important, she would keep her cell phone on silent and let everyone know when she heard anything about Carla's car. In a stroke of genius, Aunt Beth absolved Sarah of any responsibility because of her role as vocalist in the funeral ceremony.

With their assignments clear, the group struggled to their feet and went to lay the groundwork with their subjects.

People were taking their seats when Harriet and Aunt Beth entered the sanctuary and sat down behind Mavis, who was surrounded by Ben and Harry and the rest of her family. Harriet glanced at her watch and realized an hour had passed.

Pastor Hafer outdid himself. He wove the service seamlessly between Gerald's past and present families. He encouraged all the people left behind to embrace each other and make peace with the fact they might never know what caused Gerald/Gerard to live his life as he had. Once again, Sarah sang, and once again Harriet marveled how such an annoying person could have such a beautiful voice. Carlton had insisted on doing a eulogy, and Pastor Hafer managed to keep him from rambling on unduly.