Amy
reached for her iced tea glass and raised it in a toast, “Here’s to Edna and
the greatest guild show ever.”
They clinked their glasses and then sat down to finish their chocolate cake. Of course, eating didn’t halt their animated conversation. Edna sat smiling, watching quiet Amy come alive. She was full of ideas, so many of them well thought out. It occurred to Edna that Joe might have been right, that it might have been a waste to keep Amy at home another year. But, then again, if they hadn’t she wouldn’t have her help and for that she was grateful.
As the conversation began to wind down, Edna remembered that Amy had mentioned she’d had a big day.
“So, Amy, what happened today? I’m afraid I’ve stolen your thunder. You and your mother were so excited when you got here, something big must have happened.”
“Well, it’s not so much that it was big, it’s more that it was interesting.” Amy took another sip of iced tea, then began.
“You know I was working at the shop this morning? “
Edna nodded, “Yes”
“When I arrived Sue was there and in her usual tizzy about one thing or the other. It doesn’t take much to set her off. I’ve found that the best thing to do is just get out of her way and do what she asks me.”
Mary sighed, she didn’t like her daughter working for that woman but there weren’t many jobs for girls like Amy, and she was determined to make some money of her own.
Amy looked at her mother, “I know, I know. But the strangest thing is what she was upset about. Turns out she and Belinda got into a huge fight this morning about something that happened last night.”
Edna looked worried, “That’s not good, Belinda’s the only friend she’s got.
“Wait
until you hear what it was about,” said Mary, smiling.
“I guess they left the guild meeting in a bit of a hurry due to the reception Sue’s idea got from the guild. She was pretty upset about that. So, Belinda suggested they walk over to Al’s and get a drink to calm her down. Sue was too upset to even consider going out, so Belinda took her home and headed over to Al’s on her own.”
Edna knew that Belinda was a bit of a “party girl,” at least what passed for one in their little town.
Amy continued.“Well, when she they got there guess who was sitting at the bar?”
Edna had no idea.
“Chuck Barnes from the County Inspector’s office. He’s the man that inspected the shop the other day.”
Mary piped up, “I guess she was flirting with him in the shop, you know how Belinda is!”
Amy continued, “She was flirting with him and she said something about liking him when he left the shop.”
“That’s not unusual for Belinda,” said Edna. “Of course, what Belinda does is her business. Why would that upset Sue?”
“Last night Belinda insisted that Sue go with her to Al’s. I think she was hoping Mr. Barnes would be there. He was, and Belinda basically abandoned Sue. She says they left together.”
“I’m surprised Sue stayed around long enough to find out. Why didn’t she just leave?” wondered Edna out loud.
“I wondered that myself, but in the mood she was in I didn’t want to ask,” said Amy, “besides, from the state she was in I suspect she stayed to have another drink or two.”
“She probably sat there fuming and wondering when Belinda would come back from the bar,” Mary said, “then when she realized it wouldn’t be soon, she waited to see what she’d do.”
“Well, if Sue’s anything, she’s curious,” opined Edna, “but, even I can’t believe Belinda just abandoned her. It just seems out of character.”
“Oh Edna, you and I’ve been off the market for so long we don’t have any idea. I suspect Belinda saw a chance and went for it. I really can’t blame her. Interesting, unattached men of a certain age aren’t easy to come by around here,” said Mary as she reached for a second slice of cake.
Edna was tempted by the cake but decided to forgo. Besides this turn of events with Belinda didn’t auger well for the success of the show. If Sue wanted to make things difficult, she could, and she was really good at it.
Amy poured herself another glass of tea, thinking about how much she was enjoying hanging out with Edna and her mother. She suspected that many girls her age would find it excruciatingly painful, but Amy had accepted long ago that she wasn’t like other girls. It’s not that she didn’t have friends her own age; she had plenty. The difference was that she wasn’t obsessed with the same things. Her girlfriends had a different crush every week, kept begging their parents to take them down to Reno, or even to San Francisco to shop, and they never stopped texting.
Amy cared little for clothes, keeping to her standard jeans and t-shirt when she could, and swapping out a handmade skirt for the jeans when she needed to dress up. When most of her friends went away to college in September, she’d been sad for a few days. But then she felt a wonderful sense of freedom. She enjoyed her classes at the junior college, her afternoons doing research at the library, even her long walks with her dog Sadie. Her job at the Piece of Work was more enjoyable than her mother thought. Granted, Sue was difficult and sometimes brought her to tears, but she loved working with fabric and helping the customers.
She was excited about the show, and about being treated as an adult by the other women in the guild. It was a first tentative step out of her self-imposed shell, but as she watched her mother and Edna’s easy rapport, she realized that she wanted to have that level of confidence.
Her mother was the kind of woman who was comfortable everywhere, and more importantly put other people at their ease. Her personality was more subdued than some, but Amy knew what a quick wit her mother had, and how much patience she exercised in not letting it loose on more people.
Mrs. Chambers, on the other hand, was an entirely different kind of character. She was kind and generous like her mother, but there was a stubborn streak there that Amy admired. When everyone had mocked her and Sue had attacked her, Edna stayed true to herself and what she knew was the right path for her. Now it seems, it had paid off.
“Amy,” her mother said, snapping her out of her reverie, “Tell Edna about Sue’s reaction to the news about the show.”
“Well,
I did what you told me and told her that mother was reconsidering the idea and
had assigned a few people to do some exploratory work on it.”
Edna leaned forward, “Yes, and then?”
“She seemed pleased and started telling me all about her plans for the way the show would be staged, all in ways that would increase business for the shop.”
Edna grimaced, “I knew that would happen, she thinks this is going to be all about her. Without Belinda, how are we going to get through this? I see a nightmare coming.”
“Not necessarily Edna,” said Mary. “Odds are that she and Belinda will patch things up. I hear they fight all the time. Besides, Henry pointed out to me that we hold all the cards. If Sue doesn’t want to cooperate, the guild can contact other quilt stores to set up booths and compete with her. She’ll have to bend or deal with the consequences.”
Amy slurped up the last of her tea, “I think we should invite other quilt stores to participate.”
Edna and Mary turned to her, stunned.
Amy smiled, “All the other shows have more than one store represented, why shouldn’t we? Besides, Sue’s stock is so old and out of date, we need some fresh blood to draw more quilters.”
“But, Amy, you work there! Don’t you have an interest in the store’s success?” Edna had been shocked by Amy’s comments. Were they out of character, or did this girl have more depth than she thought?
“Belinda has been trying to get Sue to do something about the shop forever. Business is way down and she’s already cut my hours down to mornings a couple of days a week. She’s hanging on by a thread, and this latest setback is just one more in a long line of them.”
Edna should have been surprised but wasn’t. People shopped at Sue’s because it was the only place in town, and because they either felt sorry for her, or were too intimidated to go elsewhere.
“But Amy,” said Edna, “wouldn’t the competition put her under once and for all?”
“It’s possible, but it could also save her.”
“How so?”
“Remember when the shelves fell and she had to put a bunch of her stock in her store room?”
“I didn’t know she had, but I suppose she would have had to,” responded Edna.
“Well, Belinda finally convinced her that she needs to have a sale and get rid of her old stock. Sue was working on marking everything down this morning.”
Edna was shocked by this turn of events, Sue never marked anything down. “I’m sorry Amy, I’m just not following you. How does this help Sue?”
“When Sue went home to get lunch, the day the inspector came, Belinda told me about a wonderful idea she had that she was going to talk to Sue about. The idea is to turn Sue’s shop into a fabric ‘bargain basement’ during the guild show. They could clear out all of the old stock, and Sue could use the money to upgrade her stock and reopen with a whole new look.”
“… and the larger the crowd the more likely she is to sell out?”
“Exactly!” exclaimed Amy, pleased that Edna saw it the same way she did.
“But wouldn’t the other shops’ booths be hurt by the sale at Sue’s?”
Mary stepped in, “We thought about that too, but they’ll have the new stuff everyone is looking for, and the crowd at Sue’s will feed them and vice-versa.”
Edna sat quietly thinking, it could work, but how to get Sue to agree?
Next: Plan A
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