She's Not a Fan

Chapter 25

Sarah dashed into Fowler’s Fabric Shop and before she looked around, sent off a text to Danni.  Wouldn’t it be great if that worked?  If all it took was netting around the rink? 

Hi Danni Who would I contact at the rink about putting up spectator netting?

Before she moved away, she received a text back.

Spectacular netting?

 

Damn auto correct. 

 

Spectator

 

Oh lol.  That’s a good idea.  Probably the owners.  Henry Robertson or Scott Brand.  Pass on Mitch Element – he’s a silent partner (and cheap).  I’ll send you their email addresses.

Thanks!

Better than psychotherapy!  Sarah put her phone away and looked around. 

The store was quiet except for a bouncy tune on the overhead speaker.  Why was it always more fun shopping when you were playing hooky from work?  She grinned to herself.

  Look at all the colours.  Fantastic.  She hadn’t sewn anything but tablecloths and napkins in a long time.  In fact, the last time was right around the time she made a dress for an interview.  She was going for a professional, polished look.  Which was somewhat shattered when she took off her coat and the buttons on the sleeves popped open.  That’s what happened when sleeves were sewn on backward.  Pretty hard to focus on an interview when you couldn’t bend your arms. 

After that she stuck to straight seams.  She could make a lot with a straight seam and three meters of fabric. 

Today she was hunting for fabric for the napkins.  An elegant dark navy with a hint of grey to highlight the silver accessories on the table would be perfect.  

The colours were subdued and rich and already the Christmas fabrics were making an appearance.  Traditional red and green, gold and silver.  But it was the trendy Christmas colours that caught her eye.  Bronze and deep magenta.  Even if she couldn’t find what she needed, she’d be coming back for that pink.  Her black chargers would look great with it. 

OK.  Back to navy blue.  She walked along and let the fabrics run through her fingers.  Shiny and cool or soft and warm?  She imagined how they would look draped over a table, how they would work as a napkin. 

A select few made it to the wrinkle test.  Sarah crushed a corner of the fabric and let it go, watching to see if the wrinkles stayed.  If it passed, she knew she wouldn’t spend hours with an iron. 

Moving to the back of the store, she found it.  A navy fabric with a shimmer of silver.  It was soft, passed the wrinkle test and had easy to care instructions.  Lovely.

But was there enough?  How many times had she found the perfect fabric, and there was only enough left to make a hanky.  That was annoying.

She lifted the bolt.   It was heavier than a hanky’s worth.  She carried it over to the counter.

The salesclerk finished with another customer and turned to Sarah with a smile.  “How much do you need?”  She took the bolt and pulled the fabric to unroll it.

“I’m making two hundred napkins.” 

“Really?  Two hundred?  Is it a wedding?”

“No,” Sarah said hastily.  “I’m helping out with ‘Quakes Christmas gala.”

“Oh, the dinner with the players?  We’ve got tickets for that,” the woman said with a wide smile.  “This is perfect for the team colours.”  She pulled out a calculator and after discussing the size, started measuring and cutting. 

Idly, Sarah wondered if the woman had Grave’s disease.  Her cheeks were flushed and the whites of her eyes visible above the corneas.  When the woman glanced down to cut the fabric, her eyelids lagged behind the movement of her eyes. 

The salesclerk set down the scissors and with a quick flick of her wrist, ripped the width of the fabric.  Sarah cringed.  Was that really necessary?  Yes, it kept the grain straight, but jeez it made a mess of the edges.  

The fabric was folded and Sarah went to pay.   One more thing off the list.   She wondered if she could convince Claire to help her sew them.  May take a chocolate dessert.  She looked at all the fabric.  With caramel, nuts and a big whollop of whipping cream. 

Next stop was the discount store across the street.  Cheapest place for Christmas ornaments and the widest selection in Clarington.  She hoped nobody else came looking for silver balls or navy blue glass ornaments.  Cause she bought them all. 

She seriously depleted their supply of vases, and walked up and down the aisles picking candles that fit inside.  That was her clever solution for keeping the flame away from flammable napkins, in the hands of excited children and careless adults.  Wouldn’t do to burn down the conference center and the whole arena with it.  Although….she thought with a laugh.

Sarah paid and loaded everything in her car.  The afternoon sun was low in the sky and the air chillier. 

Home. 

Her stomach grumbled.  And dinner. 

This evening she would pull everything out again to see how it worked together.  The colours, the shimmer.  She loved that part of table setting.  When it all came together and she found the stuff to match the vision in her head.  She felt light-hearted for the first time in days. 

All that cleaning and all she needed was to set a table.  Go figure.