Mavis arrived at the studio promptly at eight the next morning, her quilt piece in a flowered cotton tote slung over her shoulder, a white paper bag with the Annie's Coffee Shop logo in her hand.
"Is that what I think it is?” Harriet asked as she stood aside so Mavis could enter.
"If you're thinking cinnamon twists, then yes, it is,” Mavis said with a smile.
"You're an angel."
"No, I'm just an old gal who knows how to get her project moved to the top of the list, do you want to see what I've done while the tea water's heating?"
Harriet took the flowered bag, pulled out the quilt piece and laid it on her large cutting table. She ran her hand along the seam between the cut edge of the quilt and the new border Mavis had attached.
"This looks good,” she said. “I think we should put some basting stitches between the two pieces to keep them butted against each other so they don't separate when my machine goes over them. If you have the time, you could do that while I work on Phyllis's quilt."
Harriet had put the kettle on the stove when she'd seen Mavis's car in the driveway. It whistled, and she led Mavis through the connecting door from the studio to the kitchen.
"Have you started your block for the dog quilt yet?” Mavis asked.
"No, I haven't had time. I worked on Phyllis's quilt last night."
"If you ask me, I think we gave up on the dog heads too soon."
"Some of them did look okay. I think part of the problem was we had too many styles. Jenny's appliqué block looked good."
"I know my paper-pieced version wasn't the best. I haven't done much paper piecing, so I probably shouldn't have tried it for this."
"I'll try my idea after I finish Phyllis's quilt and your border."
"Fortunately, we have a little time to fiddle with it yet. On a whole different subject, your aunt told me about the woman you met at the quilt store yesterday."
"Did she tell you about the coffee shop, too?"
"Yes, she did.” Mavis pulled the cinnamon pastries out of the bag and set them on a plate while Harriet poured hot water over tea bags. “What do you make of it?” she asked when she was settled on her stool at the bar.
"I don't know what to think. I have a hard time believing Aiden would get a woman in Africa pregnant and then just turn his back on her and go on with his life back home.” Harriet broke off a piece of cinnamon twist and popped it into her mouth.
"I think it's strange the baby's aunt would come all the way to Foggy Point, Washington, USA, without so much as a call to see if Aiden actually lived here.” Mavis took a bite of her pastry. “Mumm, these are so good."
"Maybe she did call Aiden,” Harriet suggested. “Although that's even harder to believe. If he knew he had a baby, and it was coming to live with him, he wouldn't be off in Ephrata."
"Something's going on here,” Mavis said. “And I don't think it has anything to do with Aiden being a father. I'll tell you something else. I went to the store to pick up some cat food after dinner last night, and there was a young black woman with a baby in line, two people in front of me. She was arguing with the clerk about a coupon she was trying to use, and she definitely did not have a foreign accent, African or otherwise."
"That could just be a coincidence."
"Oh, honey. You know as well as I do Foggy Point doesn't get that many strangers on a week night, and two young black women with babies of a similar age on the same day? It has to be the same person."
"I don't know what to say.” Harriet took a sip of her tea. “You can bet we haven't seen the last of her."
They finished their breakfast in silence, each lost in her own thoughts for a few minutes.
"I better get on my way,” Mavis said finally. “It's my day to make lunches for Meals-on-Wheels at the Methodist church."
"I've got a few more hours of stitching on Phyllis's quilt, and then I'll put your piece on the machine. I promised Aiden I'd look in on Randy, so I think I'll do that in between."
"Maybe I'll see you over there. I told Carla I'd come over when I finish at the church to help her get set up for tomorrow."
"Okay, maybe I'll see you later, then."