Margaret Goes Modern by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Author:Frances O'Roark Dowell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: short stories, quiltmaking, women, friends
Publisher: Milton Falls Media, Inc.
Published: 2017-12-18T13:15:30+00:00

A Quilt for Dr. Wallace

She has waited too long to begin. Lisa knows this now, although until five minutes ago she thought she had all the time in the world.

Two weeks until Christmas, a simple pattern, no special rulers or techniques needed. Just cut, pin, piece, baste, quilt, bind. She has taken two days off work, ostensibly to run Christmas errands and wrap the packages she’s sending to her brothers’ families in Chicago and St. Louis, but her real plan is to spend big chunks of each day getting this quilt made.

But when she pulls the fabric out of the dryer, she can’t remember why she liked it. Why she thought Dr. Wallace would like it. Dr. Wallace is a serious woman who wears cream silk blouses and black skirts under her lab coat. Why did Lisa think a woman like her would appreciate red fabric printed in green and white candy canes?

Lisa throws the fabric in the laundry basket and goes to search her stash. All of her fabric, she realizes, is frivolous. Is flowery, is polka-dotted, is tiny children on tiny sleds. None of it’s right for the quilt she wants to make Dr. Wallace, and the pattern she chose in October isn’t right, either. Now she can’t even remember why she was so taken by the idea of making Dr. Wallace a quilt. Some people are quilt people, some people are duvet people. A subtle but important distinction. Dr. Wallace? Definitely Team Duvet.

Everybody’s a quilt person, she hears Carolyn scolding her, and it’s almost as if Carolyn’s hand is pulling her upstairs to her bedroom, almost as if Carolyn is urging her on, whispering, Go ahead, get them. That’s what they’re there for.

The dresses are hidden on the far right side of the closet, behind the plush terry bathrobe Lisa never wears, behind the size 8 cocktail dress she’ll never again fit into but can’t bear to get rid of. The first dress she pulls out is the denim shirtwaist. “Old-school suburban mom” was how Carolyn described it, but of course she’d gotten it from Boden, so it was chic instead of frumpy, almost elegant. The second is vintage thrift shop, a cotton shift with large blue and yellow flowers. Lisa had been there when Carolyn bought it, had glanced at the dress briefly without seeing its potential. But when Carolyn tried it on, it turned out to be the perfect summer frock (it helped she was a reedy five ten and looked fabulous in anything).

Lisa picks out two more dresses — the white cotton sundress worn as a cover-up at evening pool parties and another vintage shop purchase, this one a red plaid with a tightly-fitted waist and flared skirt — and decides that’s enough for now. Carrying the dresses downstairs, Lisa realizes she’s holding her breath. The dresses still carry a hint of Carolyn’s scent, a men’s cologne called Grey Flannel, soft and subtle, no floral notes, just a hint of sweetness, and Lisa’s relieved to find that she can breathe it in without sinking to her knees.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.