Quilts, Tacos & Tattoos

The Answer

That night, Bud, Pa and Poncho arrived with all the macho energy you would expect from a trio of Texan men arriving to rescue their damsels in distress. To be honest, we all felt better having the men around. They really didn't have a lead; they just wanted to come because they couldn't do anything to help from Marble Falls.

For most of the day they just walked all around the quilt show looking for the red or blue boots, and taking turns sitting in the booth with us. But despite all of our vigilance, we never saw Mitchell Goose.

We worked hard and made all of our sales quotas the last day. It was such a relief to know that our hard work had saved Mom's shop - and our jobs! The crowd had thinned out, so we packed up a little early.

There are certain windows of time to load and unload your gear and your truck and people better be there on time with the proper badges to identify themselves. Another booth had problems with their truck, so we were able to use their loading time. With Bud, Pa and Poncho helping, we were done in record time. I was looking under the fabric display for any fallen fat quarters and could see under the space dividers. I was not really paying attention until I saw them - the red boots - walking away in the distance. The floor was crowded with people, but those boots were unmistakable in a sea of sneakers.

I stood up quickly and could hear the rattle of his skull key chain fading away.

"Mom!" I yelled. She turned suddenly and could tell by my face.

She alerted everyone, "He's here!" Looking directly at Bud she ordered, "Go find him." He started running one direction. Then she looked at Pa.

"I'm too old to run. I'll stay here," Pa said. "Bea, go get Poncho."

Mom did not even pause. She started running straight for the loading dock. I followed her. The Dallas Quilt Show was massive and teardown was always a huge mess. There were so many people we could not see or hear him.

We reached the loading dock, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Mom, where did he go?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but let's go back to the booth and regroup," she said.

Everyone was in the booth. Despite looking high and low, no one had seen him. Mom was leaning on Bud trying to catch her breath and holding her side when a man with a clipboard walked toward us all.

"I'm looking for Candy."

"That's me, "Mom panted.

"We're here for your 6:15 load."

"We've already loaded," she said. Then, the color faded from her face. "Damn it!"

Mitchell Goose had just driven off with all the machines, fabric and displays for the store. He had all of Marmie & Me.