The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini

Author:Jennifer Chiaverini
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

“Did you notice the return address? It was some agency in Burbank. I don’t remember the name offhand, but I know it was wasn’t the mailing address she gave us.”

Megan hadn’t noticed. “Do you think she isn’t getting our mail? Maybe she just doesn’t want to write back.”

“Nonsense. She enjoyed herself at camp with us, I’m sure of it. And I don’t think she has so many friends that she can afford to ignore the four of us.”

“What makes you think she doesn’t have friends?”

Vinnie shrugged. “Instinct, I suppose. The way she hung around the outside of our circle and never seemed quite comfortable with us, as if she expected us to send her away at any moment. I think our Julia is a bit lost, the poor girl.”

Megan pondered this in silence. Via E-mail, she and Donna had decided that Julia’s silence was intentional, that the Hollywood superstar had forgotten them as soon as her plane left Pennsylvania. Now she felt ashamed of their assumptions. “What should we do?”

“I suppose we’ll have to wait to hear from her,” Vinnie said. “But if she thinks we’re ignoring her, we might be waiting a long time.”

Just then, a young woman wearing a Meadowbrook Village name tag stepped to the front of the room and announced that it was time to award prizes for the best costumes. Robby and Adam returned to the table, discussing strategies for the rest of the games. They had come in third from last in the three-legged race, but were determined to stage a comeback. As prizes were announced in two divisions, one for the residents and one for the children, Megan watched Robby and smiled to herself. His eyes lit up as he and Adam whispered their plans, and he had looked so delighted as he played with the other kids. She wished he could have that joy every day of his life, the pleasure and security of knowing he was liked and wanted. He deserved that much, after what his father had put him through.

Vinnie and Robby won prizes for their costumes—Vinnie for Prettiest, and Robby for Most Heroic. In fact, Megan realized, every resident and child was awarded something, which meant that near the end of the list, some of the categories became rather far-fetched, such as Most Scientific and Biggest Mask. Vinnie’s prize was a gift certificate to the residents’ holiday craft sale, which would be held in December, and Robby, like all the children, won a small plastic jack-o’-lantern filled with candy.

It was near Robby’s bedtime by the time the party began to wind down, but since it was a Friday and Robby didn’t have school the next day, Megan agreed to Robby’s request to stay until the end. Afterward, Vinnie invited them back to her condo for coffee—or hot chocolate, in Robby’s case—and some of the brownies she had baked. At first Megan begged off, citing the drive back to Monroe and the piles of treats Robby had eaten already. “I only had two cookies and a popcorn ball,” Robby protested.

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