"It must be kinda of weird for her, though."

"Well, the whole thing is weird. In a way, I think Ilsa gives Mavis a way to hang on to Gerald even though she's mad at the same time. And Ilsa is learning about a whole part of Gerald's life she never knew existed."

"I'm not sure I could be so buddy-buddy if I were Mavis.” Harriet rose off her stool to reach the plate with the fritter. Aunt Beth slapped at her hand as she reached for another piece.

"Don't you think you've had enough?” she scolded. “You need to keep your girlish figure if you're going to keep that man of yours."

"Aiden is not ‘my man,’ and furthermore, if he cares that much about my weight, he's not going to be ‘my man.’”

"I'll save you,” Harry said and reached for the doughnut plate.

"You help yourself,” Aunt Beth invited warmly.

"Thanks.” He took the plate to the counter and began filling Harriet's coffeemaker.

"I'll start calling the Loose Threads. Shall we see if we can meet at Pins and Needles in an hour?” Harriet asked.

"Thanks, honey, that would be good. We're all caught up in the studio, so I was going to slip one of my own quilts onto the machine and get it started,” Aunt Beth said. “I'll call Connie and Jenny, if you want."

"It's a plan,” Harriet said and went upstairs to get dressed and make her calls.

Aunt Beth and Harriet drove down the hill to Pins and Needles an hour later in Aunt Beth's new Volkswagen Beetle. She had ordered it weeks ago and had just picked it up at Fogg Volkswagen and Saab the day before.

"This thing is tiny,” Harriet said as she settled in the passenger seat. “Did you have to special-order this vase?” She referred to a flower vase attached to the dashboard.

Aunt Beth rolled her eyes.

"I don't need to be driving a tank around Foggy Point, getting single-digit gas mileage,” she said. “And I kept the pickup. I'll drive that if I need to go to Seattle.” She parked easily at the curb in front of Pins and Needles. “See? It may be small, but it's much easier to park than my old tank."

"Whatever,” Harriet said as she crawled out and onto the sidewalk. She took her quilting bag from the back seat and Aunt Beth did the same.

"You'll be in the small classroom today, if that's okay,” Marjory informed them.

"That's great,” Harriet said. “Thanks for accommodating us on such short notice."

"Glad I could be of help. Carla is in there right now showing Bebe how to braid grosgrain ribbon to attach to her suitcase so she can identify it easier at baggage claim at the airport, but they should be done in a few minutes."

"No problem,” Aunt Beth said.

"There's coffee and hot water in the kitchen,” Marjory added. “Let me know if you need anything else."

"Thanks,” Harriet told her and went straight to the kitchen. “You want anything to drink?” she asked Aunt Beth. Her aunt shook her head and went on into the classroom. Harriet made herself tea and followed.

"How's it going?” she asked Carla. Aunt Beth had taken over the task of trying to teach Bebe how to braid with four ribbons. They were sitting at four eight-foot tables that had been pushed into the center of the room to form one large island. More tables were pushed against one wall with mats for cutting fabric on top. The other walls had six-foot-by-eight-foot foam core boards that had been covered with flannel leaning up against them, providing quilters a place to pin their cut out fabric pieces and plan their arrangement before sewing them together.

"Okay,” Carla said and looked at the floor.

"Just okay?"

"Terry and I were supposed to have coffee this morning, but he canceled."

"Does he do that often?"

"Not at first, but lately, yeah."

"It might not have anything to do with you,” Harriet said. “I think he might be distracted by his search for information about his dad."

"How do you know? Did you talk to him?” She looked so hopeful Harriet had to tell her something. She ended up telling her everything.

"You followed him?” Carla asked, sounding amazed at her daring.

"We did,” Harriet said. “He said he would explain what he was doing in Miller Hill Park after he met a guy at Foggy Point Fire Protection. That was last night, and I haven't seen him yet to hear the explanation."

"Someone was at Carlton 's company last night?” Bebe asked, looking up from her braiding.

"I was going to ask Carlton about that,” Harriet said. “Do you know anything about the people who are leasing warehouse space?"

"No, I don't know anything about what goes on out there. All I know is it takes a lot of Carlton 's time, running that company."

As near as Harriet could tell, Carlton barely spent any time at the company, and he certainly wasn't the one running it, but she wasn't about to tell Bebe that.

"Pay attention,” Aunt Beth ordered, and Bebe picked up the four strands of ribbon again and tried to follow the pattern Aunt Beth had drawn on a piece of paper. A quick glance in that direction showed it wasn't going well.

"Has Terry said anything to you about how his search for information about his father is going?” Harriet asked Carla.

"Not really. He said he was trying to find a man someone else had suggested might be able to tell him something, but he didn't tell me who."

"That must have been who he was going to meet last night."

"He's not really looking for his father, is he?” Carla asked with a sigh. She'd had a lifetime of disappointment and could recognize the signs, Harriet thought. She could have spun a tale, but then looked at Carla and knew she deserved better.

"No, he probably isn't. But don't jump to conclusions. That doesn't necessarily mean he's doing anything illegal or immoral."

"I don't need any more lying, cheating men in my life,” Carla said, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Come on. Let's get you a cup of tea,” Harriet said, and felt like she was channeling Mavis or her aunt. She led Carla to the kitchen. “Let's not make any assumptions,” she continued.

She couldn't believe what she was saying. If it was her own life, she'd kick him to the curb, no questions asked, but she knew Carla didn't need to hear that right now. Besides, she was curious about what was going on at Foggy Point Fire Protection and wanted to keep Terry around until he found out.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't confront him, but give him a chance to explain."

"My momma always said men are trouble,” Carla said.

"You're way too young to be that jaded. Remember your knight in shining armor?"

When she and Carla had been locked in a basement together, Carla had told her how she'd imagined being rescued by a knight when her mother locked her in a closet, as a way of keeping the bogey man at bay.

"He's still out there somewhere."

Carla dried her tears and sipped her tea.

"We better see if your aunt needs help,” she said with a sigh. “She had her lips pressed together real tight when she was watching Bebe try to braid."

"It can't be easy with those inch-long plastic sabers she calls fingernails,” Harriet said.

Carla laughed and led the way back to the classroom.

Connie and Jenny had arrived while they were in the kitchen. Jenny looked cool in a crisp white sleeveless blouse and pale-blue linen knee-length shorts that were belted at the waist. Connie, by contrast, wore stretchy black pants, and her sleeveless top was a pink, orange and black floral print in a jersey-type fabric.

"Hi, Bebe,” Connie said. “What are you doing?"

Bebe giggled and explained she was trying to make embellishments that would make her and Carlton 's new luggage easier to identify on their upcoming trip to Hawaii.

"Do you want me to do it for you?” Connie asked.