Chapter 9: Amy's Ideas

 Chapter 9: Amy's Ideas

Joe didn’t sleep very well that night.  Edna was tossing and turning in her sleep, and he could tell she wasn’t herself.  Mary’s idea of making Edna head of the show committee might have been a good one politically, but he could see that the next few months weren’t going to be easy.

When Edna finally settled in and slept soundly it was nearly dawn.  Joe had given up on sleep and lay in bed racking his brain, trying to come up with some way to make Edna’s job easier. Finally, he decided there was no point staying in bed and quietly got up and got dressed.

He wasn’t much help around the house.  He could make coffee and heat up a can of soup, but he was the first one to admit that his mother and Edna had spoiled him.  In many ways, he was typical of the men of his generation.  Raised to be a breadwinner, not a bread baker, he counted on Edna for just about everything. 

Over the years she’d tried to get him to be more self-sufficient.  He remembered the cooking lessons she’d given him before Joey was born.  She wanted to make sure he could take care of himself if something happened to her, but although he tried to be attentive, he usually wandered off to do something else.  It embarrassed him now, that he hadn’t taken her more seriously, but he knew Edna knew him better than he knew himself.  He was terrified that something really would happen to her so he avoided the lessons, convincing himself that he wouldn’t need them.  It wasn’t until after Joey was born he found out that she had several of the local women on call to check on him, and a freezer full of casseroles just in case.

Now he had a chance to do something for her.  He was determined to help but didn’t know how.  Shaking his head in frustration, he stepped out on the porch to pick up the paper and then headed into the kitchen and turned on the coffeemaker.  He smiled as he did it, grateful that Edna always filled the machine the night before.  Ever since they bought their first Mr. Coffee years ago, she’d always had it set up so all he had to do was push the button.  It was like all the other things she did for him, so much of which he took for granted.

With Joey away at college she had more time for herself, and his inheritance meant he had more time too.  Joe’s confidence grew as he thought of all of the things he could do.  He was the one who’d designed the hanging system they’d used for the quilts at the fairgrounds.  They might be able to use part of the system, but he knew he’d have to make adjustments to make it work in the old five and dime.  Moving the show downtown meant that there would be a whole lot of work that would need to be done, and he was probably the best in town at figuring things out.  He was also friends with just about everybody in town, maybe he could set up his own committee.  If they were going to put something on at the fairgrounds, (and God knows what that will be, he thought!), there’d be plenty of work to share.

He’d just finished his second cup when he heard Edna moving around upstairs.  It was only 7am, and he knew she hadn’t slept for more than a few hours.

“Good Morning Joe,” said Edna cheerfully as she entered the kitchen, pausing to give him a peck on the cheek.  “Wonderful!  Hot coffee!  Gee, I really need a cup.”

Edna filled her cup and poured in a little of the French Vanilla creamer she’d gotten out of the fridge. 

“Rough night?”

“I’m sorry if I woke you, I just kept thinking about the committee and then when I fell asleep I dreamt about it.  What a nightmare!”  Edna blew the heat off her coffee, took a sip and sighed.  

“I guess there’s no way you can get out of this?”

“I gave my word, and besides, Mary is right, I am the only choice that makes sense.  Actually, I think the work might be kind of fun, you know how I love to plan things.”

Joe nodded in agreement, Edna was great at getting things organized.

“I’m more worried about the personalities involved.  Sue’s the main problem, but I think Belinda will help with that.  It’s more dealing with everybody’s little quirks.  Everyone has them and I’ve been able to work around them for most of my life.  Now I’m going to have to figure out how to plan this thing without everyone ending up hating me.”

Edna got up and put on a pot of oatmeal, and while she was cooking and they were eating they discussed what they’d both been thinking about.  She loved his idea of getting the town together to help, and a central committee would be a great way to keep things organized. 

“It’ll be a lot of work, Joe, are you sure you want to get so involved?”

“I think we can manage just fine, and besides it will be fun to work together on something so important for the whole town.  Who knows, we may end up being local heroes.”

Edna laughed, “Or we may have to move!”

It was nine on the dot when Joe pulled up to Mary’s house.  Edna had planned to go on her own but decided to bring Joe along since he was so willing to help.

Mary met them at the door and only hesitated a moment when she saw Joe.

“Good Morning Mary, I’ve brought Joe along, he’s volunteered to get help get the town organized.”

Mary and Joe greeted each other and Mary smiled at him.  “Thank goodness!  I tried to convince Henry but he wanted nothing to do with it.  You’re a brave soul, Joe Chambers!”

The Sims’ lived in what had once been the grandest house in town.  The family had been the major landowners in the area but over the years their holdings had shrunk, and the depression had pretty much done them in.  Fortunately, Mary’s father-in-law had finished his law degree so they were able to keep going, and when he became a judge he was able to send his son off to school as well.  Now Henry Sims was a judge in the municipal court and the family still lived in the old house.

Mary was an excellent housekeeper and clever as well, but nothing could hide the fact that the floors needed to be refinished and the foundation was crumbling in places.   Joe didn’t think it was a matter of money, after all Henry made a good living.  It was more like he’d gotten used to things the way they were.  Joe’d had many a late night call when a pipe burst or something that could have been avoided with a little maintenance finally broke down.

Amy was waiting for them in the dining room with a pot of hot coffee and some freshly baked muffins.

“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Chambers, I hope it wasn’t inconvenient for you to come over so early?”

“Miss Amy, we’re old folks, we’ve been up for hours already!” Joe sat down and immediately reached for a muffin while Amy poured the coffee.

“Edna, I’m so glad you agreed to this.  It’s not going to be easy but if we can get the whole town on board you’ll have plenty of help.” Mary seemed relieved when Edna smiled back at her.  “Amy, tell them your idea.”

“Well, I got to thinking about the history of quilting,” she turned to Edna, “I remembered how much you enjoyed my presentation, so I thought we could make this into a historical themed event.  You know, like a pioneer day celebration?”

Edna and Joe reacted immediately, “That’s a great idea!” they said in unison.

Mary spoke up, “I thought if we could find a good safe spot we could show off our family quilts, and the quilts of other area families.  They all have such wonderful stories.”

“We could dress up in period clothing,” Edna thought out loud, and turning to Joe, “Just think, we could use the fairgrounds and get everyone to show off their antique tractors and farm equipment, and set up booths with period games…”

“This is a great idea, Amy!  With the right publicity we could draw a huge crowd, maybe even make it a two day event. I like the idea of a pioneer celebration, even non-quilters will come. If we can get enough old tractors to show, there's a whole lot of folks that would make the trip just to see them. We could even have a tractor parade!" Joe’s mind was racing, there'd be a lot to do, but it would be well worth it.

Next:  Getting Started