It's Better This Way(22)

Where her bookcases had once been was a large rack that contained spools of thread of every conceivable color. A rainbow didn’t have this many colors. A cutting table had replaced her bed, and a monster of a sewing machine covered up one entire wall. Out of curiosity she opened her closet doors, and, sure enough, the entire space was stacked with fabric from floor to ceiling.

Where her mother had stored this volume of fabric before Carrie moved out was a mystery. She must have had it tucked in every room in the house, under beds, in boxes and drawers. Hidden. This was unbelievable.

Closing the door, she stepped back, unable even now to believe the evidence staring her in the face. Her room was gone. The one place in the house where she belonged. Seeing it completely converted this way was a jolt.

A few years earlier her mother had joined a quilting guild. Carrie hadn’t paid much attention. A smaller version of her current sewing machine had been set up in the laundry room, and her mother had attended classes and seminars. The quilts she made were works of art. She made them for friends and relatives, for homeless shelters, and for nursing homes. Her mother had always been generous with her gifts and talents. No way would Carrie begrudge her this space.

Her mother joined her, looking guilty. “Are you upset?” she asked.

    Putting on a brave smile, she shook her head. “I have my own place now, so no worries. I’m grateful you’ve put my room to good use.” How her mother had managed to do all she had from a tiny laundry room before was amazing.

“Has Dad seen your stash?” she asked, gesturing toward the stuffed closet. Her father would have a conniption fit if he was to know how much money her mother had spent on fabric.

“He knows,” she said, lowering her voice.

Carrie couldn’t imagine her dad not being appalled at the huge investment her mother had made in her passion for quilting. “Did he look inside the closet?”

A smile wiggled at the edges of her mother’s mouth. “He did.”

“And what did he say?”

The smile grew until it covered her mother’s entire face. “He was aghast and claimed all that fabric must be worth over a hundred dollars.”

Carrie burst out laughing, and her mother joined in until tears rolled down their cheeks.

“And what did you say?” Carrie prompted, knowing her mother.

“I looked at your father, gasped, and said, ‘Do you really think I spent that much?’?”

The comment told her how often her father went shopping. He probably believed bread still cost twenty-five cents a loaf.

Her mother grew serious. “You meant it, didn’t you? About not being upset I commandeered your room?”

“Not upset as much as surprised. No wonder you wanted me out of the house. You needed the room for all this equipment and for your fabric stash.”

    The two hugged. “Now, where did you say my biking gear was?”

“In the garage. I’ve got it tucked away in boxes. Come on, I’ll help you find it.”



* * *



—

A half hour later, Carrie was at Green Lake straddling her bike, patiently waiting for Justin, who was notoriously late. She should have known he’d be thirty minutes behind schedule. Normally, she’d tell him an earlier time to compensate for his lateness.

When he finally rode up and joined her, she looked pointedly at the time.

“Don’t give me grief. You know I’m always late,” he said, charming her with his smile. He looked great, another bonus. They’d met in college in a study group and dated off and on through the years. The relationship had never been serious. Not on her end. Justin seemed to enjoy the chase, and the connection had never been strong enough for Carrie to take it seriously.

Carrie set her feet in the clips and glanced his way. “You ready?”

He laughed. “I’m always ready. You’re the one holding things up.”

That smile of his was far too convenient, and he used it effectively.

“Come on,” she said, adjusting the strap on her helmet as she prepared to join others circling the popular lake. The summer day was perfect for biking, the weather in the midseventies. Justin was good company. For all his faults, and they were plentiful, she enjoyed being with him.

    The one serious drawback with Justin was his complete lack of ambition. He was content to work for a few weeks, then collect unemployment for as long as it lasted, while living at home.

To the best of her knowledge, he had never lived on his own. His mother was a soft touch and his father was out of the picture. Justin made it sound like he was doing his mother a favor by living at home. From short conversations she’d had with his mother, Carrie knew that wasn’t the case.

At the end of their ride, they were both sweaty and in need of a break.

“How about grabbing lunch?” Justin suggested.

“Sure.”

“Hot dogs and soda?”

“Perfect.” It’d been a month or longer since Carrie had enjoyed her guilty pleasure. Frank and Mustard’s was a favorite stand of hers, with their specialty hot dogs. No inside seating, although there were plenty of tables with umbrellas for alfresco dining. Carrie liked her hot dog piled high with jalape?os and coleslaw. Justin preferred chili dogs.

They parked their bikes at the stand provided and located an empty table. Carrie waited for Justin to place their order and reached for the money to pay for her own meal.