Monkey Wrench Read Online Free PDF Page A

people have smart phones these days. If the customers get online and tell their friends, we’ll attract even more participants. Isn’t that what we want to do?”
    Cookie ran a very popular quilt shop in Aptos. She was a businesswoman first, and quilter second. I had been hoping she would understand.
    Barbara the Damp wiped her hands on a crochet-trimmed handkerchief she pulled out of her sleeve. “We have been losing participants …” she began. Her voice faded out as she caught a glare from Barb V.
    I broke in. “You’ve been telling us that there are two kinds of Crawlers. Ones who shop and the others who rush in only to get their stamp. This would be a chance to get those customers to stay a bit longer. And spend money.”
    “What would happen at the tweeter shop?” Barb V asked.
    I ignored her mangling of the word. “We would award a special prize basket to one of the customers who got there during the allotted hour,” I said. “You’d have to be present to win, so—”
    Half Moon Bay threw up her hands. “Where am I supposed to get the money for more prizes?”
    Others joined in. Barb V held up her pen for silence, and they ceased their chatter.
    She said, “Dewey, you know that we have strict budgets for giveaways. You remember how difficult it was to negotiate a figure that everyone could afford.”
    I looked behind me. I thought I’d heard the back door open. I was so hoping Vangie would appear and get me out of this mess. But it was only a customer who moved on through to the front. My heart sank. I had two minutes to convince this group that my Twitter idea would work.
    “It won’t cost you anything. I’ll get the prizes donated and put together a special basket for each shop. The days of the Crawl, I’ll handle the tweeting. All you will have to do is greet the extra customers who come to your shop.”
    “And take their money,” Freddy said.
    “Time is up,” Barb V said. “This meeting is over.”
    “I’ll take that as a yes,” I whispered to Freddy.
    “ Vamonos ,” he replied.
    _____
    Freddy stayed behind to help me clean up. We cleared the table of used cups and plates. Most of the bagels were gone.
    “I guess that was a success, even though now I have two major new tasks. I have to set up a Twitter account for the Quilters Crawl and track down free stuff to give away, I said.”
    I cracked my neck to the right and then to the left, in an effort to relieve some of the tension I was feeling. “Can you help?”
    “I’ll call Lark and get her to give us some of her books,” Freddy said.
    “That’s big of you,” I said, hitting the sarcasm hard. Freddy could take it. “That’s a no-brainer and will take you all of about three minutes.” We both talked regularly to Lark Gordon, star of a hit quilting cable show. She was an easy touch for door prizes.
    I continued, “I’m going to talk to my scissors guy in Brooklyn. He’ll be good for a dozen mini-snips. If he hasn’t already sent my order out, we’ll get them in time.”
    Freddy rubbed his neck. I could see a new tattoo peeking out of his collar. It looked like the head of a tiger. He refused to act his age. “I can get a hold of embroidery designs.”
    “Not everyone has a machine that can handle those,” I pointed out. I couldn’t let Freddy off the hook. He had to chip in with some help. I already had too much on my plate.
    He stacked the coffee mugs precariously in the cabinet over the sink. I took two off the top and set them on a different shelf. “Okay, some high-quality thread, then. The big spools. And some stabilizer. Even the regular sewers can use stabilizer. Can you get Vangie to set up the Twitter account?”
    I shook my head and filled the sink with soapy water. “I’ll do it. She’s got a full load at school. I want her available to work on the Crawl weekend.”
    “I haven’t seen her in weeks.”
    Since opening a shop nearby, Freddy had become a bit of a fixture around my place. He sold sewing