“Someyarn? More like a warehouse full.” Bea’s heavy gray eyebrows lifted over her small eyes. Bea Farnsworth wasn’t conventionally attractive by any stretch, but she was as loyal a friend and as sweet a person as one could find. Riley remembered spending several nights at her house when she was fourteen and Mimi had left to visit her cousin in Missouri. Bea was an excellent cook and taught Riley how to make bourbon balls—minus the bourbon of course. Riley hadn’t made them since, but she suddenly had an urge to taste them again.
“It looks like all the inventory is on the floor,” Bea added as Riley balanced skeins of ugly yarn on one of the shelves.
“Don’t forget all that stuff over there.” Riley gestured with a skein of scratchy mauve wool to the other side of the store.
Bea waddled over. “Ah, right. This could have been worse. Let me help you pick up.”
Riley held up her hand. “It’s my mess. I’ll clean it up.” She tilted her head toward the back of the store. “What’s Mimi doing back there?”
“Trying not to ram into anything with her leg.”
“I wish she hadn’t insisted on coming in today.” Riley had surprisingly gotten a good night’s sleep in her old bedroom. With the exception of a new bedspread and sheets, everything in the room was exactly how she’d left it. She had intended to tell Mimi first thing that she was going to clean up her house. Her grandmother had never been the tidiest woman, but Riley could see she had let the housework go.
Her plan flew out the window when the first words from Mimi’s mouth were, “After breakfast we’re going to Knots and Tangles.” Riley had no choice but to comply.
“You know your grandmother,” Bea said, dabbing at her forehead with a handkerchief, then sticking it in the pocket of her purple-and-white flowered skirt. “She’s gonna do what she wants to do.” She glanced back at the entrance to the back room. “I’d better go check on her. We were talking about snacks for tonight’s BB meeting.”
Riley had forgotten today was Thursday. Every Thursday night, except for holidays and illness, the Bosom Buddies met at Knots and Tangles. She was glad her grandmother hadn’t canceled the weekly mainstay on her account.
A slightly less catastrophic crash sounded from the back of the store.
“Mimi?” Riley called out.
“Erma?” Bea said at the same time.
“I’m fine! Just a little mishap.”
Bea sighed. “I’m sure it was more than a mishap.” She leaned closer to Riley. “We’ve all been trying to get her to organize the place, but she insists it doesn’t need it. She knows where every ball of yarn and every knitting needle is, but the disorganization makes it hard for new customers to browse. Some take one look at the craziness and walk right out.”
“Really?” Riley frowned. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not.” Bea stood back. “Hopefully while you’re here you can talk some sense into her.”
She thought about her scheme to convince Mimi to sell the store. It was becoming clearer that her grandmother couldn’t handle Knots and Tangles and take care of her home, even when she wasn’t laid up.
With a smile Bea gave Riley a hug. “It’s good to see you, darlin’. I know the rest of the BBs are excited that you’ve come back.”
“I haven’t—”
But Bea was already headed to save Mimi from whatever had happened in the back cavern of the shop.
Riley shook her head. She stepped around the yarn scattered on the floor and set her purse on a wooden chest next to the orange laminate countertop, then went back and attacked the mess. She organized the spilled yarn by brand, then by color, and by the time Mimi and Bea made it to the front of the store over an hour later, Riley had filled one of the shelving units.
“That looks nice, sugar.” Mimi grinned and rested her forearms on the wheelchair arms. “But how did you manage to knock over five shelves?”
Both Riley and Bea faced her. “It’s impossible to move in this store,” Bea said.
“It’s not impossible,” Mimi muttered. “A tad challenging, but not impossible.”
As Bea sighed, Riley placed several hanks of cream-colored alpaca wool on another shelf. The crowded shop wasn’t the only reason she’d knocked over the shelves. She’d been focused on the way she abruptly ended her conversation with Hayden and hadn’t been paying attention. Erma and Bea didn’t need to know that tidbit of info.
“I’m not getting into this argument with you again, Erma, so I guess I’ll be on my way.” Bea picked up her black patent leather purse off the front counter and slung it over her shoulder. Riley was convinced the bag had come straight from the same decade that produced the hideous seventies-style yarn she’d picked up earlier. “Those cheese crackers aren’t going to make themselves,” she said, turning to Riley. “Maybe we can make some bourbon balls soon. This time we’ll add the bourbon.” She winked at Riley and then said to Mimi, “I’ll see you tonight.”
Mimi waved at her, then sat back in her chair, shifting in the seat. “You’re welcome to join us, Riley. We’re knittin’ some knockers tonight.”
“You’re what?” Riley asked, peeking around the second full shelf.
“Knitted knockers. I’m crocheting mine, but the rest of the girls prefer to knit them. They’re for breast cancer patients who have had mastectomies.”
