Pleating for Mercy Read Online Free PDF Page A

Josie home?” Mrs. Sandoval called from the door.
    Nell sat on the couch looking pensive, her hand on her bandage. “No problem.”
    Mrs. Sandoval nodded. “Gracias,” she said as she left.
    Karen came out of the workroom frowning and wiping her brow. She held the broom and dustpan in one hand, a loaded plastic grocery bag in the other. Her frown vanished when she saw me. “I found this in the cupboard,” she said, indicating the two-handled bag. “Wasn’t sure what you wanted to do with it all. I can take it out to the garbage—”
    “Oh, no. They’re my grandmother’s buttons. I’ll sort through them. After the wedding,” I added with a wink. I slipped my hand through the handle, taking the bag from her. Relief flowed through me. Karen was a pioneer woman. She’d dug in and had gotten to work, simply doing the job that needed to be done. “I can’t thank you enough.”
    “No problem,” she said. Watching her walk off to the kitchen to put the broom and dustpan away, I could envision how the dress I’d make for her would swish as she walked.
    I quickly set the bag of buttons and glass in the corner behind the couch, then snapped up my sketchbook from the coffee table. Time slipped away as I drew with precise strokes of my fine-tipped pen. Karen’s dress needed to soften the hard edges of her jaw and draw in the thickness of her middle, giving her more of a waist. If it hit just above the knee, it would give the illusion of height. A little flare at the hemline would make it flirty. I could see the completed picture in my head like a snapshot of a finished piece.
    I paused at the details of the bodice. Pleats or tucks? Pleats, angled in a V, would work, but I hesitated. My pen hovered over the paper. No. Pleats weren’t right for Karen. Tucks would bring the eye down, making her look slimmer and taller. I added the vertical lines to the sketch.
    The back door slammed and Josie appeared right behind Ruthann, two bricks in her hands. I hadn’t even realized they’d gone outside. How long had I been in my creative zone? “I found these on the side of the house,” Josie said. “Maybe they can hold up the shelf? For now anyway.”
    “Brilliant!” I closed the sketchbook and went to help her. Ruthann joined us and together we lifted one side of the shelf while Josie slid the bricks under the corner. It wobbled slightly, but was stable enough to work until I could get it fixed properly.
    We chatted for a while longer until I felt sure I knew enough about how Josie pictured her dream gown. Time was short. I’d be able to dig out swatches of sample fabrics to show Josie when she and Nell came back.
    After they’d all gone, I went back to my sketches. I’d envisioned Ruthann’s bridesmaid dress the moment Josie said she needed dresses for her bridal party. A simple, elegant sheath with darts to give shape to her thin body, cut above the knee, a V neck in the front and a lower V plunging halfway down her back. I’d seen the allure of the wraparound concept she favored, but I kept coming back to the sheath. I filed both away for now, unsure which direction to go.
    The other mystery was Nell. Her Gucci purse, her jean shorts and plaid shirt, her diamond earrings and her haphazardly pulled-up hair all puzzled me. I couldn’t put my finger on her style. I wondered if she knew her style.
    Next to me on the couch was the pile of swatches she’d been looking at. They were all silks and taffetas. On top was a square of plaid cotton, the edges zigzagged with pinking shears. The colors—rust, blue, and offwhite—were masculine. I picked it up, turning it over as if there’d be a message on the back telling me how it had gotten mixed up with the dress fabrics.
    Of course there was no such message. Finally, I tossed it into the old embossed tin box sitting in the middle of the coffee table and went back to my designs. I still had time to think on Nell’s dress. I had to start with Josie’s gown anyway, making