Read Monkey Wrench for Free Online

as design inspiration.
    “Whatever works. Of course, our idea of a wild animal around here is a geek separated from his iPhone.”
    Ursula laughed. “Horrors. I hear they can get might testy.”
    Ursula had a great booming laugh. I hadn’t heard it until she’d been working for QP for about four months, but now she let loose all the time. Each guffaw reminded me how lucky we’d been to find each other.
    Ursula looked prettier than she had a year ago. The death of her abusive husband had released her and freedom was better than a hundred Botox treatments. Her forehead was unlined now and her eyes were clear and bright. Watching her blossom had been like watching someone get off drugs. She’d had to detox from the stress of her old life, but once she did, she radiated good health, except for some lingering injuries courtesy of her ex-husband.
    “How’s your shoulder today?” I asked.
    Ursula had been absent-mindedly rubbing her upper arm. Legacy of having her shoulder disconnected too many times.
    With her working at QP, my business had grown. She was great with customers, a natural salesperson who could suggest tools and extra rotary blades without being pushy. She always remembered to ask the customer if she needed thread before completing the sale. And my customers left feeling happy, secure that they had everything they needed to make their new project.
    Sales were up twenty percent in the year she’d been here.
    “Any sign of Vangie?” I asked.
    Ursula shook her head.
    “I guess I had my days mixed up. I thought she was coming to the Quilters Crawl meeting.”
    “How’d that go? By the way, someone else came in asking for the map.”
    I snapped my fingers. “Thanks for the reminder. I’m going to call right now and get us some more.”
    I turned back to Ursula. “Let’s get out of here right at five. You can close out the drawer a little early if we don’t get any more customers.”
    “Date night?” Ursula asked, with a twinkle in her eye.
    “Buster promises to be home for dinner,” I said. “I plan to make the most of it.”
    My step lightened as I walked away. The idea of spending even just a couple of hours with Buster made me happy. Most of the time, he came in well after midnight and crashed. Sometimes he went to his own place and skipped my house all together. I hated those days.
    Why did it seem like I couldn’t have everything I wanted? Successful quilt shop, loving boyfriend, good gal pals. QP was booming but both my best friend and my best guy were missing in action.
    At 4:45, Ursula stuck her head in my door. “Pearl’s in the classroom.”
    My heart thunked. I hadn’t seen Pearl since she’d slammed her door in my face.
    “Is she okay?”
    Ursula’s lips thinned and she looked over her shoulder at the open door to the classroom. “She’s pretty testy. She said she wanted to work on her quilt. I told her we’d only be open for another few minutes and she told me to get lost.”
    Testy. Not what I wanted to hear. “Thanks, I’ll deal with her.”
    I took a deep breath and braced myself for what I’d find. She hadn’t been in the store for several months. Would her hair be combed? Would she be wearing a plaids and stripes combo again?
    I thought about calling Vangie, but decided I could handle this. All I had to do was move Pearl on her way home so I could go cook dinner. I pushed open the door to the classroom. The curtains on the window wall were closed up and the room was dark.
    I flipped on two sets of fluorescent lights.
    Pearl was seated at a table, her back to me. She put a hand over her eyes and turned to me.
    “You trying to blind me?” she said.
    Testy, just like Ursula said. Or maybe a return to feisty.
    She looked pretty good. She was neatly dressed in a white T-shirt and black long shorts. Her feet were in sandals and her toenails were painted bright blue. The back of her hair was smooth. All good signs. Perhaps the doctor had give her some