knew that coming to a single's bar had been such a mistake, but the guys had insisted that he join them for a night out instead of staying in with his painting. He hated loud music........music was meant to be a compliment to something ......not such a blast of noise that you had to yell at the person seated next to you. The last place he expected to find himself was at a single's dance, but he could only turn them down so many times before they got fed up and forgot about him. They were his friends, after all, and had seen him through the rough years with Margret, so he felt that he owed them something, and from time to time accepted an invitation out . He didn't suppose they actually expected to meet anyone special here. Most of the women were way too young and drinking, and in general made him feel uncomfortable with their too loud laughter and loud chatter meant only to attract attention.
After a while,the guys wandered over to a table of ladies and Dave sat alone finishing his drink, and then, deciding he had had enough, got up and threaded his way towards the door. He had to step aside and wait as another group of women crowded in talking and laughing in too loud voices. He wondered if they had any idea how off-putting it was and then wondered if they even cared. One of them turned and grabbed the arm of a small woman behind her.
"Now don't run away now that we've finally got you here!!! I tell you.....you'll have a riot. Just let go and have fun for a change. "
Dave caught a glimpse of a pale face with a pasted on sort of smile and instead of leaving, looked around and sat down at an empty table near-by. Another soul being forced by do-gooders to endure the crush of people? Or someone just too shy to brave a place like this on her own.
could hear the thump of the music before they even got the door to the club open and knew right then that the evening would be a disaster. She wanted so badly to just turn and go but then the door flew open as several people came out and her friends pushed their way inside. Someone grabbed her arm and said something, but the music was so loud that Molly had no idea what it was. It must have been funny for the others all laughed. The room wasn't well lit, and seemed fairly crowded, which was probably a blessing . They wouldn't notice if she stayed for a bit and then left.
They stopped at the bar to order drinks and she saw them look around trying to find the most advantageous table. Something near the dance floor, but not too far from the bar. At least she could be entertained by the people up dancing. She did enjoy watching people. It was an education sometimes and could be quite amusing on occasion. She had never been to a single's dance before, even during her younger years, and thought at least she would have a chance to see what went on. She hoped that no one would ask her to dance. Not that she couldn't, but it was always so awkward when the music ended and you didn't know if you were supposed to go back to the table or wait for it to start again. And what if the guy couldn't dance or smelled bad or talked too much or wanted to hold too close. "Oh Please don't let anyone ask me to dance!" she thought.
Molly took a quick look around the room. Most of the tables were full and she realized that they had been lucky to get this one so close to the dance floor. Probably the one the people leaving as they arrived had been at. Some men hanging on the bar were looking their way. Probably sizing the table up and daring each other to be the first to approach. She couldn't help a little smile. When all was said and done, men were probably as nervous as she was. By luck she had been in position to grab a chair facing the dance floor and would be saved having to make eye contact with anyone in the room.
watched as the ladies made their way from the bar to a table close to the dance floor. He noticed that the shy one took a chair facing the open space which more or less put her back to the rest of the room. It was one way to avoid eye contact with people and he wondered if it was done on purpose, or if the seating had been by accident. The problem with that, was that he could only see a slice of her profile and for some reason that annoyed him. Now he had to decide whether to find another seat or whether he should just call it a night and leave as he had been going to do in the first place. He didn't even know what had made him stay anyway. He wasn't here to pick anyone up, and didn't particularly want to spend any more time in the noise than necessary to be polite to his friends.
A couple of men hanging on the bar got up and went over to the table. After a moment, two of the women got up and the four went to dance. A man from another table approached and Dave saw the woman shake her head. The man must have asked again for she shook her head again and said something to him. The man laid his hand on her shoulder and she went very still and her friend said something and got up and the two went to the dance floor. Dave wondered if he should go over, but held back and noticed that his friends had returned to their table and went over to rejoin them. He could actually see her better from there and noticed that her hands were tight around her drink glass.
clutched her drink glass and tried to keep from shaking. She didn't want to dance and hated it when a simple "no thanks" wasn't enough . She felt uncomfortable and out of place and wished she had never agreed to come out to begin with. She nursed the drink so she wouldn't have to get up and order another or have to go to the bathroom. She didn't know which she hated worse....... having to go in the first place or the usual ritual of having to find out who also had to go and then going together. The thought of having to wind one's way through tables filled with strangers who might or might not say something was intimidating, but going with someone had always seemed such a childish thing. Well.......better not to drink too much and put off the inevitable as long as possible.
She glanced around as a man approached the table, but he was only going to one farther along and seemed to be rejoining some friends. She noticed that he was tall and that he reminded her of her brother with his easy walk. More as though he was strolling through a field, rather than making his way through a crowded room. He had an outdoors look about him. She caught his eye as he glanced over and immediately looked away and back to the dancers.
saw the girl look his way as he sat down and smiled at her, but she had already turned away. He couldn't tell what color her hair was in the darkened room, but at least it wasn't blond. Not that there was anything wrong with blond hair, but Margret had been a blond. He didn't want any reminders of Margret. That was a closed door in his life and he intended to keep it closed. She wasn't dressed in any sort of flashy way, and he couldn't see any rings. That was encouraging. He was thinking again of asking her to dance when he realized that Joey had been yelling something at him.
"If you aren't going to ask her to dance, then I am." Dave shrugged and shook his head. It was too much of a nuisance to yell back and he was pretty sure she would say no anyway. By the time Joey got to the other table, one of the other friends had returned, and when the girl turned Joey down, as Dave knew she would, the other one got up and grabbed Joey's arm, and almost dragged him to the dance floor. As Dave watched, a man from the bar approached the girl and this one was more insistant. He tensed as the man sat down and he could see her glance around, and almost got up. He could see her shaking her head and the man said something and she shook her head again and replied.
was relieved when Angela came back to the table. It was a little comforting to have someone there even though the music was too loud to actually carry on any sort of conversation. Someone came over and asked for a dance and again she said "no thanks". Before the man could leave, Angela jumped up and practically dragged him to the dance floor, leaving Molly alone again. Almost immediately another man came over and when she said "no" once again, he pulled out a chair and sat down. Molly clutched her glass and stared hard at the couples on the floor, hoping that one of her friends would come back. The man wanted to know what she was here for if not to meet people and Molly shook her head and tried to tell him that she was only here because her friends had asked her to come. He said he didn't think she was much fun and secretly she had to agree. This was not the sort of place she felt at ease.
She tried to ignore him, but getting up suddenly, he took her by the arm and laughing, tried to pull her out of the chair. Her glass tipped and whatever was left made a shiny spill across the table. She pulled her arm back and grabbing her purse from the table, turned away from him and made for the door. Her friends would probably not even miss her and she could not go through the whole evening fending off men. She bumped a table in passing and someone called out, but all she could think of was getting out and away from the noise and the smells and the people. Finally she reached the door and pushing it open, tripped on something as she went through. Someone grabbed her elbow and kept her from falling and when she glanced up ready to swing her purse at him, found that it was the man with the walk that she had seen earlier.
was horrified when the man grabbed the woman's arm and when he saw her trying to leave, he stood up and followed her towards the door. He got there at the same time and just managed to grab her elbow as she stumbled onto the sidewalk. For a moment he thought she was going to hit him, but she didn't and he let her arm go, whereupon she backed away and leaned against the wall behind her.
"Look....are you OK?" he asked. "Do you have a way home? I've certainly had enough of this place for one night myself. Why don't I call a cab and drop you off at home on my way?"
She looked up and he could see that she was trying not to cry. "You needn't be afraid of me." he said with a smile. "I'm not the sort to take advantage of a lady in distress." After a little hesitation, she nodded, and he stepped out and raised his arm to the next cab that passed. He held the door for her to get in the front and was careful not to touch her as she did. Climbing into the back seat, he leaned over and told the cabby to take the lady to wherever she wanted to go and then gave his address. It hadn't occurred to him to ask where she lived. It might have been Timbuctoo for all he knew and was surprised to find that she actually lived several blocks from his own home and he would have been going that way anyway.
wondered what on earth she was doing in a cab with a stranger. Granted he had helped her as she left that awful place, but before she knew what was happening here she was with a complete stranger. She had to be an idiot to have accepted the offer of a cab. Everyone knew you just didn't get into a situation like this alone and not telling a soul where you were going, but all she could think of at the time was getting home where she would be safe. She realized that he was saying something and that she hadn't caught a word. She turned slightly and appologized "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Would you repeat that?"
The man said his name was Dave, and was she sure she was OK. "Yes", she replied. "Thanks for sharing the cab, but really, I would have been fine. It's just that I'm not used to places like that." She turned back to face the front, not really wanting to have to talk to a stranger even though he had been kind enough to help. The rest of the drive was spent in silence. She was glad the man.....Dave......didn't feel a need to fill in silence with empty chatter. They turned onto her street and Molly glanced at the fare box and dug around in her purse for money to pay.
"No......don't worry about it." Dave said from the back seat. "I would have come this way anyhow." But Molly insisted. There was no way she was going to let someone pay her share when she didn't know him.
had been wondering what sort of conversation he should be having with the woman, and finally decided not to say anything. She obviously didn't feel like talking and that was fine by him. He wasn't uncomfortable with silence and couldn't think of anything to say in any case. He wondered how some of the guys always managed to get some girl's life history within minutes of meeting them, not to mention their address and phone number by the end of the evening. Well some folk just had a way of feeling at ease with people, he suspected. When they pulled onto her street and he saw that she was looking for money to pay the cab that far he tried to tell her that it wasn't necessary, but she insisted and rather than make a big deal, he gave in. When they stopped in front of a small house, with a light on at the front door, he got out and held the cab door for her.
"I'm sorry your evening ended on a wrong note." he told her. He stood for a moment and wondered if he should offer to see her to the door, but she just looked up at him and thanked him for sharing the cab and set off toward the door, almost running. He got into the front seat, and asked the cabby to wait until he was sure she was safely inside and then went home himself.
After getting himself a cup of coffee, he took a look at the current painting in progress, but didn't feel like working on it this late and settled down with a book he was reading. He thought about the lady for a bit, and realized that he had not even got her name. Well....nothing lost....the likelyhood of meeting her again was pretty remote anyway. They obviously didn't run in the same circles or he would have bumped into her before this. There wasn't a huge distance between their houses, and the town was not that big, but he couldn't remember ever seeing her around. Probably just moved to town, he thought and tried to get interested in the book.
had a bad moment when the man.......Dave......got out of the back seat when they reached her house. She was terrified that he would want to walk her to the door and even worse want to come in. She had heard so many tales and hardly knew what to believe. What a relief it was when all he did was hold the door for her and get into the front seat. She knew that she had practically run for the safety of the house and supposed she must have looked like an idiot. She did remember that she had thanked him for sharing the cab, so her social graces had not completely fled. She had not heard the cab pull away until she was shutting the door and thought that it had been a nice thing to do to make sure she was safe inside before leaving. She thought he had said that he lived not far away and wondered fleetingly why she had never met him, but obviously they had different interests and the probability was slim that she would run into him again. He did have a nice way of moving, though, and he hadn't run off at the mouth with nothing to say. Two big plusses in her book.
She made herself a cup of tea with a big dollop of honey, and not particularly sleepy, made a nest on the sofa where she was soon joined by her big tabby cat named Toby. She told Toby all about the horrible evening and tried to read a bit, but decided that enough was enough for one night and headed for bed.
stood back and looked at the painting he had just hung on the wall of the gallery. A small adjustment and it looked better. Joey,the manager of the gallery and also his friend, looked over his shoulder and nodded. "It's good, Dave. You've really got an awsome talent there. You can make those trees look so real I can almost smell the pine sap. I don't know why you don't go on tour or have a show of your own. You know they sell almost as soon as you get them in here."
"Well....thanks Joey. But if I did that I'd be working to someone else's schedule and having to paint what someone else wanted. The timing would be off and I'd hate having a deadline. This way I can do as I please with no one setting down guide lines. It suits me a whole lot better. Besides......if I did that you'd loose out too because I wouldn't have as many to bring in here."
He finished the business in the gallery and decided to take a walk down to the park. There was always something interesting happening on the lake there and this was the season when the ducks and geese would be bringing their babies out. That was always a chuckle. The little things had no fear and sometimes swam too far out, sending the parents into fits of calling and a few ruffled feathers. He enjoyed painting small creatures. It was a challenge to get the feathers or fur just right and the colors could be astonishing. Trees and forest scenes were fun, and the different greens that showed up were often a surprise, but you could give such life to small creatures. Sometimes he brought a camera, but not today, and would have to rely on his small sketch book for anything he wanted to record. That was better anyway, because then you only drew the things that were important and didn't have to weed out the background later. It was a little too early in the season to take a trip to the forests. The snow was long gone, but he liked the summer and fall forests better than spring.
An hour or so later and a few drawings tucked into the sketch pad, Dave decided to walk home. The weather was lovely and after a winter indoors, he just wanted to be out in it. It would be a fair jaunt, but he was in no hurry. Halfway down a street, he realized that he was approaching the house where he had dropped that girl off a few weeks ago. He had thought about her several times, but had made no effort to see her. He had driven past the house a couple of times, on his way to the gallery, and told himself that it was only because it was on the way, but now he had to admit that he was curious.
The house was in the middle of the block and as was often the case, there was a lane running down the middle giving access to the yards on both sides. Well, there was no harm in looking since he was here, and he turned down the lane. There was a tidy cedar hedge inside the privacy fence, broken here and there with bare trellis, and part way down, a gate leading into the yard. He didn't really mean to stop, but as he drew abreast of the gate, he could see the roof of a small greenhouse and curiosity got the better of him. He wouldn't go in, of course, but just lean over a bit to see what it looked like. As he leaned a hand on the gate to see better, it swung open and he stumbled into the yard, and landing ungracefully on his knees, found himself face to face with the very girl he had been thinking about.
woke early and, after doing a few chores around the house, took a coffee to the small patio outside the greenhouse. Toby woke up as soon as he heard the door open and followed her out. It was still too early do any planting outside the shelter of the glass house. She took stock of the day and since it was so mild for the time of year,she decided to spend some time cleaning out the garden beds and getting ready for transplanting. It was lovely to be out in the garden again, feeling the earth and smelling the sun on the leaf mold left over from the winter. She could see the tips of crocus and daffodil bulbs, and smiled.
Her grandfather had kept this garden blooming for years, and as a child, she had visited as often as possible and worked here with him. She thought of how his hands had carressed the soil and how he had made little offerings to the Gods of plants and soil creatures. How pleased and surprised she had been to be left this little house when he had died last year. She missed him and the little stories of how he had come by all the different plants in the gardens. She made a vow to keep them all as well as he had. She had loved the garden all her life and it had been a dream to have one just like it when she grew up, never supposing for a minute that it would be this very one. Now, here she was in her own house and garden with enough money to be able to enjoy it only needing a part time job to fill in. She felt so lucky and wondered again why it was that her friends thought she should have someone in her lfe again, when everything she needed and wanted was right here. She didn't mind being on her own. It was much more peaceful than trying to accommodate someone else's whims and ideas, while trying at the same time to be a person in her own right. Men tended to be so controlling and she had no intentions of falling in love again after the fiasco of the marraige to Ted. Though, to be honest, she had thought a few times about the man who had come to her rescue that horrid night at the single's club. Well.......other than remembering that he had said his name was Dave, and the fact that he had a nice walk and was tall and had seemed very calm, she knew nothing else. It was probably better that way.
Molly dug about a bit with the trowel to loosen the earth around the little green tips, trying to be careful not to get too close and break them off. She dug her fingers into the earth and felt the warmth from the sun. If the weather held, the plants would be blooming before she knew it. A commotion at the gate leading to the access lane startled her and looking up, she saw a man fall through onto the path, and before she could even move, he landed on hands and knees on the grass beside the garden. She scrambled backwards, and let out a little squeek of fright and only then recognized him as the man from the club. He looked as startled as she felt and embarrassed as well, and as he tried to get to his feet, he slipped again and before she knew what she was doing she started to laugh.
tried to stand, and only succeeded in slipping on the grass and landing again in a heap as her heard the girl cry out. How embarrassing !!!! It served him right for being so nosey !! He had no business being down the lane in the first place let alone looking into someone else's yard. Then he heard the girl start to laugh and stopped trying to get to his feet. Sitting on the grass, he looked over at her to find her holding her sides and laughing so hard she was almost in tears.
"I must look a total idiot." He said. "I'm so sorry......I didn't mean to intrude........I only .......that is ......I saw the greenhouse and just wanted have a quick peek." Even to himself it sounded lame and he was embarrassed all over again and could feel his face go red. He had to admit he must look a sight and with that thought, he started laughing himself. Eventually, she got control and asked if he was alright, to which he replied that as far as he could tell nothing was damaged except his pride and that sent her off again. He couldn't help but think what a change from the frightened girl he remembered from the club and paused to have a good look at her.
Her hair was loosely tied back in a short pony tail and she was dressed in an old plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans that had definitely seen better days.She was a little older than he remembered, but then the room at the club had been dark and he had only really seen her briefly by the street lights. Her face was red with laughing and there was a streak of dirt down one cheek where she had brushed back a stand of hair.She wasn't exactly pretty, but her eyes had a sparkle as she looked over at him and tried to stop laughing. She had obviously been digging about in the garden and in an effort to get the attention away from himself, he asked what sort of things she was growing. Between giggles, she told him about the daffodils and crocus and pointed out a patch of snowdrops that were already blooming through the leaf mulch. He looked around the garden and saw several flower beds, with a few plants just beginning to put in an appearance, surrounding the greenhouse that had been the cause of his disasterous entry. One of them had a fountain where he could see a couple of chickadees taking a drink, and he spied a large orange cat giving them the eye and twitching its tail, but making no attempt to jump at them.
"I always wanted one of those." he said.
"Do you mean the fountain, the cat or the greenhouse?" she asked, following his eye.
He laughed. "I meant the greenhouse. I often thought I'd like to build one, but just never got it started."
"Well it's certainly nice to have for starting plants early. The house isn't big enough to set up a light table big enough to start all the seeds and my Grandpa built this instead."
,sitting cross legged on the ground, was surprised to find that she was having no trouble talking to this stranger . Well ..... strictly speaking he wasn't a total stranger, but none the less, it was a surprise. He seemed interested in the garden and as long as the subject was plants and things, she felt quite comfortable. Maybe because she was used to talking to strangers about plants and gardening through her work with the horticultural club. She had a chance to have a better look at him while he was looking about the garden. Tall.....she already knew that, dark blond hair, just beginning to go grey at the temples, and blue......very blue......eyes. He had a pleasant voice, and didn't mind laughing at himself. Important things. He wore jeans and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up a bit, but no tie. Interesting combination. Not sneakers or dress shoes, but something like a loafer that could go either way, and were comfortable for walking. He looked as though he did a lot of that when he wasn't falling through gates, and the thought almost set her off again. He didn't seem to mind sitting on the grass either, since he had made no further attempt to get up after the last tumble and Molly smiled again at the thought.
She was just wondering what to say next when the first big drops of rain started to fall and Toby made a dash for the open door of the greenhouse. She scrambled to her feet and looked down at Dave still seated on the grass. "Better take cover til we see if it's going to pour." she said and led the way after Toby. Grandpa, with his usual far sight, had taken sudden showers into consideration when he built the greenhouse, and had made room for a small table and a couple of chairs against one wall. She was glad of the shelter, since she had no intentions of inviting him into the house.
"Can I offer you a cup of tea while we wait for it to let up?" she asked and was pleased that he looked surprised. "Grandpa thought of everything." she said as she plugged in the old kettle and got the tea and two cups from a little cupboard under the potting table. "Sorry, normally there'd be cookies, but I've eaten them all up. I hope you can drink it black."
"This is way more than I deserve." Dave said looking around. "I'm sorry again about the intrusion. I don't go about falling into people's gardens as a rule." he said ruefully. " Really, I had no business looking in at all. Listen , this is a little awkward......but I don't even know your name."
"Oh.......I'm sorry.......it's Molly. I never thought......that is......I do remember yours from the other night. It's Dave, isn't it? I'm not sure I even thanked you at the time for coming to the rescue. That was a horrid night. All those people crowded in and the noise. I'm sorry, but I'm no good at all in those places and I'm afraid I panicked a bit when that man grabbed my arm. I should never have gone in the first place, but the girls insisted.They called me the next day to find out what had happened to me. I guess it took them awhile before they realized I'd gone. I should have let them know, but things happened so suddenly." The water had boiled and she handed a cup to Dave and sat down waving her hand at the other chair, but instead of sitting, he wandered down the middle of the greenhouse and stopped beside Toby. She was on the virge of calling out to say that he wasn't friendly to people he didn't know, but stopped in surprise when Dave reached out and ruffled the big cat's head. Instead of taking a swipe at the hand as he normally would, Toby stood up and arching his back rubbed against the man's arm while Molly watched in amazement.
took the cup she held out, but instead of sitting down, walked down the length of the greenhouse. The cat had jumped up on the potting table and was looking out at the rain and Dave reached over to rub his head. He started to purr and arching his back rubbed against Dave's arm. He was certainly no light weight, this cat, but not fat either; just big and solid.
"He's a lovely big fellow, isn't he." and turning to Molly caught the look of surprise on her face. "Sorry.......I should have asked first."
"No it's fine."she relpied. "I'm just surprised he didn't take a swipe at you, since he doesn't like strangers much. He was Grandpa's cat and I inherited him along with the house."
"Tell me about your Grandpa and the garden." he said. "He sounds like quite a wonderful man and the garden must be lovely when it's all in bloom."
He noticed how Molly's face lit up when she talked about her Grandfather and the garden and was glad that he had fallen through the gate after all. He was glad that he had been curious enough to wander down the lane and as Molly talked he was glad that he had come to her rescue that night at the club. It was nice here in the greenhouse with the rain falling on the glass and a cup of tea in his hand. It was a long time since he had felt this at ease with a woman and was surprised. He wondered why it was that they had never met since the distance between their houses wasn't all that great.
"How long have you lived here?" he asked when she seemed to be running down.
" Well......off and on over my life.Grandpa died last year, and I'd been staying here as caregiver for a couple of years. I really miss him sometimes. I used to come over a lot when I was growing up and help in the garden , and then while I went to college I stayed here. He loved to go for walks in the park, and after Gran died he wanted someone to go with him and I used to bring my dog over and take him with us."
He suddenly remembered passing an older man walking with a girl and a big dog when he had been flying along in his jeep in the days when he had been a little less responsible. "Was that you with the English sheep dog?"
She laughed and said it was, and then looked a little sad. "The dog's name was Waffles. Then things happened and I didn't get over to see Grandpa as often as I should have. It was wrong of me, but life just sort of got in the way for a bit. Those last few years Grandpa couldn't get out much, but he managed to do a bit of gardening, though he couldn't walk very far. How did you know about Waffles?"
"I used to pass the three of you sometimes. I drove a blue jeep then, though you won't have noticed that. I was usually in a hurry to go someplace."
" That was you? Well I certainly noticed the jeep. It was awfully loud I remember. Grandpa used to complain that young people didn't know the meaning of taking life easy and that you'd probably loose your hearing with the music so loud." she smiled, remembering.
"Look......." he said."Did you notice that it had stopped raining? I really must be off........I didn't mean to take up so much of your time. Actually I had no intention of taking up any of your time, but it has been pleasant."
Molly made apologies for talking so much and went with him to the gate. He walked down the lane and wondered if she was still at the gate. No reason she should be waiting, but he turned before stepping out to the street, just in case, and was pleasantly surprised to see her there. He waved and she waved back and he turned and went on his way home thinking of how very nice it had been meeting her again under such different circumstances.
was surprised to look out at the garden and realize that it had stopped raining. She hadn't noticed it letting up. She was surprised that she had been so at ease talking to Dave and wondered if she had been boring him with her talk of Grandpa and the garden. "Oh......I am sorry......I didn't mean to ramble on like that about the garden. How boring for you!"
She went with him to the garden gate and watched as he walked off down the lane. At the end he turned and waved and she was glad that she had waited. She wondered if she would see him again and then gave herself a shake. There was no reason whatever for him to come back and that was that. She returned to the greenhouse and gathered up the tea things and took them back to the house to wash them up and then return them to their place in the greenhouse cupboard. She picked up the trowel she had left by the daff shoots. There wasn't much point in thinking of any more gardening today with the earth so wet now, but there were all kinds of things to keep her busy inside.
Toby was in the kitchen howling for food and she had to laugh at him. What a traitor making up to a perfect stranger like that. Imagine!! Normally he couldn't wait to sink his claws into an unsuspecting hand and then jump down and pretend it had all been a terrible mistake. You couldn't stay mad at the big goof and Molly picked him up and gave him a hug.She wondered if he missed Grandpa as much as she did. Animals did have feelings too no matter what people said, though after this afternon she wasn't sure about loyalties. It would be nice if she ran into Dave again some time, she thought. After putting some food in Toby's dish she got out her latest cross stitch and settled in for a few hours of stitching. It was one of her main hobbies next to gardening and she loved the way the colors, properly chosen, went together and how the picture came out bit by bit from an empty piece of material.
