down.
"Let me do it," Gussie said.
Celeste hissed. "Gussie the hussy."
Pearl started to giggle, and I had to turn my head. Celeste's reaction was so over the top. The idea of a slutty Gussie just made me want to howl with laughter. Ina caught my eye.
Ina said, "Girls..."
Gussie got down on the floor to tighten a screw on the crosspiece. "Celeste thinks I'm trying to steal her boyfriend. She has it all wrong. Larry is just helping me with my finances"
"Drop it, Gussie," Celeste warned, her eyes narrowing, her long fingers trembling slightly.
Gussie either didn't see or chose to ignore Celeste's growing discomfort."I'm not interested in Larry that way."
I'd heard bits and pieces about Larry, Celeste's boyfriend, but I'd never met him. She kept him under wraps. I knew Pearl's and Ina's husbands. Pearl sent Hiro to the shop at least once a week for something she forgot. Ina's husband, Dan, was like a member of the family, hosting the store's annual barbecue each summer.
Not so with Celeste. I knew she and Gussie were widows, and before now, I'd never considered their love lives. I'd just assumed they had none. But here they were fighting over the same man. Vangie loved to tease my dad that eligible men over age seventy were rarer than hen's teeth, but I'd never guessed that Celeste or Gussie were in the husband hunt.
I had to ease the tension. I realized I hadn't shared Lark's phone call. "Guess what?" I said as brightly as a child star on Letterman.
Ina picked up the thread. "What? Good news, I hope." Her voice was faux cheerful, like she used on her grandson when she wanted him to stop touching the threads out front.
"Great news," I said. "The Quilter Paradiso segment on Wonderful World of Quilts is going to air on Friday."
Pearl clapped her hands, nearly tipping the ironing board over. She caught the iron as it headed for the floor.
I continued, "The QP Original quilts were featured, so I bet one of your quilts will be on the air."
Gussie smiled. Celeste's face eased just a little. I guess the appeal of being on TV was universal.
"I don't know if it was Celeste's or Gussie's scrap quilt or one of Ina's, but Kym told me she talked about the QPO quilts in the piece."
"Dewey, I want you to see something" Vangie was in the doorway, beckoning me. She was wiggling her eyebrows, and held a finger to her lips, like she was some sort of spy. I followed her, glad to be out of that room.
I heard Ina and Gussie speculating about whose quilt would be on air. As I closed the door, Pearl was promising that Hiro would tape the show and make them all copies.
In our office, Vangie gestured to her monitor. "What do you think?"
The new Quilter Paradiso website filled her screen. Of course with Vangie in charge, the site had a sixties flair, but she'd managed to capture my style, too. Our logo, quilts hanging on a line strung between two palm trees, had been stylized. The palm fronds were lime green, and the tree trunks hot pink. The quilts were brightly colored, with paisleys and stripes and marimekko-style flowers predominating.
"Already?" I asked in amazement. "I love the look."
She shrugged. "I had this prototype ready to go."
I moved the mouse around the home page. "I like the QP Originals section."
"Click through. A picture of the quilt and then a picture of the corresponding kit comes up." Vangie cracked her knuckles as she stared at her computer screen. She wasn't as secure in her abilities as I thought she should be. "It's not live yet. You can't hurt anything."
"Awesome" I moved around the pages, enjoying the top labels she'd used and the background. Vangie knew that quilters used the Internet, but the levels of expertise varied widely. The site was clearly marked and easy to maneuver.
I said, "I'm glad there's nothing blinking."
"Yeah, well, I didn't want any of our older customers to have a stroke," Vangie said.
"It's cool. When will the site be up and running?"
"I'm shooting for Friday morning. Right
"Let me do it," Gussie said.
Celeste hissed. "Gussie the hussy."
Pearl started to giggle, and I had to turn my head. Celeste's reaction was so over the top. The idea of a slutty Gussie just made me want to howl with laughter. Ina caught my eye.
Ina said, "Girls..."
Gussie got down on the floor to tighten a screw on the crosspiece. "Celeste thinks I'm trying to steal her boyfriend. She has it all wrong. Larry is just helping me with my finances"
"Drop it, Gussie," Celeste warned, her eyes narrowing, her long fingers trembling slightly.
Gussie either didn't see or chose to ignore Celeste's growing discomfort."I'm not interested in Larry that way."
I'd heard bits and pieces about Larry, Celeste's boyfriend, but I'd never met him. She kept him under wraps. I knew Pearl's and Ina's husbands. Pearl sent Hiro to the shop at least once a week for something she forgot. Ina's husband, Dan, was like a member of the family, hosting the store's annual barbecue each summer.
Not so with Celeste. I knew she and Gussie were widows, and before now, I'd never considered their love lives. I'd just assumed they had none. But here they were fighting over the same man. Vangie loved to tease my dad that eligible men over age seventy were rarer than hen's teeth, but I'd never guessed that Celeste or Gussie were in the husband hunt.
I had to ease the tension. I realized I hadn't shared Lark's phone call. "Guess what?" I said as brightly as a child star on Letterman.
Ina picked up the thread. "What? Good news, I hope." Her voice was faux cheerful, like she used on her grandson when she wanted him to stop touching the threads out front.
"Great news," I said. "The Quilter Paradiso segment on Wonderful World of Quilts is going to air on Friday."
Pearl clapped her hands, nearly tipping the ironing board over. She caught the iron as it headed for the floor.
I continued, "The QP Original quilts were featured, so I bet one of your quilts will be on the air."
Gussie smiled. Celeste's face eased just a little. I guess the appeal of being on TV was universal.
"I don't know if it was Celeste's or Gussie's scrap quilt or one of Ina's, but Kym told me she talked about the QPO quilts in the piece."
"Dewey, I want you to see something" Vangie was in the doorway, beckoning me. She was wiggling her eyebrows, and held a finger to her lips, like she was some sort of spy. I followed her, glad to be out of that room.
I heard Ina and Gussie speculating about whose quilt would be on air. As I closed the door, Pearl was promising that Hiro would tape the show and make them all copies.
In our office, Vangie gestured to her monitor. "What do you think?"
The new Quilter Paradiso website filled her screen. Of course with Vangie in charge, the site had a sixties flair, but she'd managed to capture my style, too. Our logo, quilts hanging on a line strung between two palm trees, had been stylized. The palm fronds were lime green, and the tree trunks hot pink. The quilts were brightly colored, with paisleys and stripes and marimekko-style flowers predominating.
"Already?" I asked in amazement. "I love the look."
She shrugged. "I had this prototype ready to go."
I moved the mouse around the home page. "I like the QP Originals section."
"Click through. A picture of the quilt and then a picture of the corresponding kit comes up." Vangie cracked her knuckles as she stared at her computer screen. She wasn't as secure in her abilities as I thought she should be. "It's not live yet. You can't hurt anything."
"Awesome" I moved around the pages, enjoying the top labels she'd used and the background. Vangie knew that quilters used the Internet, but the levels of expertise varied widely. The site was clearly marked and easy to maneuver.
I said, "I'm glad there's nothing blinking."
"Yeah, well, I didn't want any of our older customers to have a stroke," Vangie said.
"It's cool. When will the site be up and running?"
"I'm shooting for Friday morning. Right
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