She heard the door open, its timber humming over the newly laid carpet. The faint smells of paint and turpentine lingered in the air, overlaid by the cleanness of lake and mountain roaring in through the open window.
Josh’s hands found her waist and moved her forward a few paces. ‘Okay. Open your eyes.’
A cot stood where, until yesterday, bare carpet had been the only comfort in the room. Its sides gleamed white, its legs were turned in shaker style, and above it, spinning in the breeze, hung a mobile of gaily painted wooden animals.
Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. ‘You made this?’
He grinned. ‘Graeme lent me a corner of his shed so I could get it built on the sly.’
‘It’s perfect. So perfect.’
‘Our first family heirloom.’
She reached a hand to the mobile and sent it spinning. ‘You made this too?’
‘I cut them out. Poppy and her brothers painted them. They wanted to be involved.’
So, so perfect. ‘Josh.’
He smiled. ‘I know, I’m pretty awesome,’ he said, then he put his fingers to his mouth and blew a short, sharp whistle.
Jane Doe trotted into the room dragging a large paper sack with her.
‘We thought you might like this to go on the cot.’
She could barely make out the knots in the ribbon, the tears were running so swiftly. She gave up, and tore the paper off the heavy parcel, until a mass of dense, coloured fabric flowed out of the wrapping and landed on the mattress of the cot. Jill’s quilt!
‘I don’t understand! How did you—’
‘I put in an outrageous bid in Marigold’s community hall fundraiser. She’s been keeping it for me ever since.’
The rag quilt. She ran her fingers over the ruffled squares. Ones Jill had stitched. Ones she had stitched from material given to her around the craft table at The Billy Button Café. Every stitch had brought her further along in her journey from a confused, lonely woman to the woman she was now.
‘You’ve given me the world, Josh. You know that?’
He wrapped his arms around her, so the two of them stood at the foot of the cot, looking down to where their child would sleep. Jane Doe’s tail thumped against their legs like a heartbeat.
‘You’ve given it right back, Vera.’
