"The Amish have a tradition. They make a deliberate mistake in every quilt as a way of acknowledging that only God makes things perfect." Nancy walked in and pushed me slightly toward the strip of fabric.
"So I'm the deliberate mistake."
Nancy laughed. "I think it's kind of nice. Every time I screw up, I say I did it for God. Makes me feel better."
"Fair enough. But you have to leave the room and stay out until I'm ready." Nancy did as she was told and I turned back to the border.
Using Nancy's flower template as a guide, I lightly painted flowers on one of the border sides. I made dark purple, pink, and yellow flowers, with light and dark green leaves and stems, holding my breath the entire time. When I was done, I called Nancy and Eleanor back into the room. Together we put the painted border next to the quilt.
"That was it," Nancy said. "That was exactly what it needed."
So I painted the other three sides while Nancy and Eleanor cleared back out of the room so, as they put it, they wouldn't disturb an artist at work. As I finished each side of the border, I put it back on the flannel wall next to the interior of the quilt. Stepping back, I had to admit it was beautiful. The painting echoed the garden feel of the blocks without taking away from their impact.
"I'm done," I called out.
Nancy and Eleanor came back in. Nancy praised me repeatedly, but Eleanor just leaned on her crutch and stared.
"What do you think, Grandma?"
She shook her head. "It works."
The doorbell rang, and I knew it was time to open the makeshift quilt shop for the day. Eleanor sat in her chair and rested her leg on a small footstool while Nancy went out to great the customers.
"I should check on the shop," I said.
Eleanor nodded; she was still staring at the quilt. "You'll have to do something like that for the shop wall."
"One of these days," I said, and headed for the hallway before I got too caught up in the moment. Nancy headed me off as I reached for my coat near the front door. "I'm going to check on the shop," I told her.
"I'm sure you like your job in the city, Nell," Nancy said, suddenly serious. "But you have real talent. I know your grandmother said that you dabble in painting, but you should really think about getting some training. I wanted to when I was your age, but… well, I got a little caught up in getting married, having kids. I just didn't get around to it. I always thought there would be time."
I nodded. "Thanks. It's really sweet, especially from you, with all your quilts and everything." I hesitated because I knew it wasn't really my business, but she had sort of opened the subject matter. "I was in New York the other day, at a gallery, and I saw your quilts."
Nancy took my arm and led me outside. It was a cold morning and she was shivering in her turtleneck sweater. "I haven't told Eleanor yet," she said quietly. "I haven't told anyone."
"Maggie knows."
Nancy nodded. "It's her daughter's shop. It doesn't matter that you know. Everybody's been telling me to sell my quilts, so I thought I'd give it a go."
"I'll bet you're doing well."
Nancy took a deep breath. "I haven't sold any yet, so who knows if anything will come of it."
"Are you kidding? Those quilts were amazing."
She blushed. "Please don't say anything. I want to keep it to myself for now, in case nothing happens with them. I don't want people being disappointed for me."
I hugged her. "Not a word."
"Art school." She wagged her finger at me. "There's one in Nyack and one in Peekskill. I'll get you brochures."
I'd like that, I thought. Then my phone rang, and it was Ryan again. I put the phone in my pocket and headed into town.
CHAPTER 53
I stopped by the bakery for coffee and a muffin on my way to the shop. As I was walking out, I saw Carrie up the street heading toward the pharmacy. I was about to say hello when I noticed she wasn't going into the pharmacy. She was hovering by the door that led to the apartments above it. She took a key out of her purse and unlocked the door. As she entered the building, I ran to catch her and put my foot in the door just as it was about to close. I waited for about a minute. I wanted her to be in Marc's apartment when I walked in and caught her doing… I wasn't really sure what she might be doing, but it was clear she had lied earlier.
I thought, just briefly, about calling Jesse, but I knew he would ask me to wait outside, and I was way too curious to do that. I walked up the stairs to Marc's apartment. The door was slightly opened.
"Hi," I said. Carrie spun around and went white.
"What are you doing here?"
I laughed. "I think I'm supposed to ask you that."
Carrie grabbed my arm and pulled me into the apartment, slamming the door behind me. "Please don't tell anyone you saw me here."
"You lied to me."
"I know." She sat on Marc's unmade bed. "I don't know what's gotten into me lately."
"You were having an affair with Marc."
She looked confused for a moment, then lowered her eyes to the floor. "No, I wasn't. I actually wasn't."
"Then why do you have his key? And what are you looking for in his apartment?"
"I left an earring here."
I walked over close to her. It felt like she might bolt at any minute and I wanted the whole story. "You left an earring in his apartment, but you weren't having an affair with him?"
"I know how that sounds, but it's true. I just didn't want to say anything before because I don't want my husband misunderstanding what happened."
I sat next to her on the bed. "You weren't having an affair, but you wanted to have one."
"No." She teared up. "I love my husband. He works twenty-hour days and I feel like a single mom, but I love my husband. I didn't want to have an affair with Marc." She shuddered. "The guy was a little sleazy, don't you think?"
That was a bit of a slam, intended or not. "I'm not the person who left an earring here."
Carrie nodded. "Do you think it might be here?"
"Carrie, focus. You want me to believe that you came to a man's apartment and left your earring behind, but you weren't romantically involved. So, how exactly did you leave your earring?"
"I gave it to him." She got up and started looking around the room.
"What did it look like?"
"Diamond, a half carat."
"Jesse was here the other day. He took things like that as evidence, " I lied.
She sat down again, defeated. "I wanted to open my own business. My husband thinks I'm overwhelmed with the kids and shouldn't take on anything else. I didn't want to get into another argument about what a waste of money it was, so I figured I'd just go through with it and tell him later. Your grandmother once said to me that sometimes it's better to apologize than get permission."
"It sounds like something she'd say."
Carrie smiled a little. "I wanted to take over the diner, turn it into a coffee shop, but you got there first."
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. But there was this place for lease down the street. Marc said he'd help me fix it up, he said he'd make it look like the kind of coffee shop I used to hang out in in Greenwich Village." She laughed. "In another life."
"How does the earring figure in?"
"I didn't want to dip into our savings to put down a deposit, so Marc said I could sell some jewelry. It's stuff I bought myself years ago. Marc said he knew where I could get good money for it, very quietly. I wanted to go into the city myself and sell it, but when would I have the time?"
"So you gave Marc one earring? How much would that have been worth?"