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CHAPTER TEN
Sally moved in a weeklater, bringing joy and chaos and myriad knitting projects in various stages of completion.
She didn’t have a car either, but it seemed like she had a never-ending stream of friends and relatives willing to pick her up on their way somewhere. Iris envied howconnectedthe older woman seemed to be. She had clubs and lessons and lunches. Hopefully, Iris would be that engaged and busy when she got to a certain age. Henry Dale wasn’t thrilled with the noise and energy Sally brought with her, but he spent so much time in the shed or in his room that it shouldn’t become an issue.
For the next few weeks, Iris worked on her shop, following Eli’s tips and strategies, and she was definitely seeing an uptick in page views. She’d even gotten a couple of orders, and she wassoexcited to pack and send them. Tiny steps toward success, but they counted. She hummed as she worked, turning her dreams into reality.
If I worked with a witch, we could sell magical jewelry. That would be amazing.
But she didn’t know any witches well enough to suggest it, and—
“Iris! Are you home?” That was Sally.
Eli would often text, even if they were both in the house, and Henry Dale didn’t communicate much. It amused her to be summoned with such urgency, especially when the issue wasn’t usually that critical. But she still put aside her tools and headed downstairs.
Sally met her in the hall and grabbed her hands. “Now you know I’m not one to meddle…”
“Right,” she said, somehow keeping a straight face.
The opposite was true. Sallylivedto meddle. It was her favorite hobby. Well, that and knitting, though she’d been taking samba lessons at the senior center lately.
“But my granddaughter Megan—you remember Megan?”
“You’ve spoken of her before, yes.”
“I need to invite her over sometime so you can meet her. But that’s not the point.”
“Whatisthe point?” Iris asked.
“I’m getting there! Megan told me that her friend Mira needs a place to live urgently. I guess she broke up with her girlfriend and for some reason had to be the one to move out. Well, she had a sublet lined up, but the original tenant decided not to travel after all, and now Mira has all her things in storage and nowhere to go!”
“Wow, that’s awful.” Iris could relate to the perfect storm of seeing all plans fall through. Immediately she felt for Mira. “We have two rooms left, so if she’s interested, I’m happy to meet her.”
“You’re a lifesaver! Megan never asks for anything, so it means a lot that her Sallygram can come through when it counts.”
Iris laughed. “Sallygram? That is the cutest nickname I’ve ever heard.” With Sally’s personality, it was like she was a cheerfulsinging message. Actually, that was completely on point when Iris considered it.
Sally grinned. “The grandkids would always answer the phone when they were at my house. They loved it even when they were little. And my friends would ask for Sally, so the babies started calling me that, but my daughter, Kim, said it was disrespectful. ‘You can’t call her that. She’s your grandma, not your friend!’ I didn’t mind, but the books say I’m not supposed to argue about parenting. So then Megan said the cutest thing. ‘If she’s Sally and she’s my grandma, then she’s my Sallygram,’ and—”
“That’s how you became Sallygram. Love it.” It wasn’t that she didn’t want to hear the rest, but she wanted to finish that necklace before the end of the day. “You can give my contact info to Megan to pass to Mira. Since I work from home, any time works.”
“Two retirees, two self-employed,” Sally noted. “I wonder if Mira has a day job… I’ll ask Megan more about her. And thanks again. You’re a gem.”
“What kind?” Iris asked, unable to resist.
It was the sort of silly, speculative question that made her an oddball among her own family. This would earn her that look from any one of her sisters and her parents too. But Sally paused, considering the matter with great concentration.
“Citrine or carnelian,” she said eventually.
“Why, in particular?”
“Citrine attracts good fortune,” Sally told her. “And you’re pure luck for me, Iris. For everyone in the house, really. We were all in a pickle, but things got better as soon as you said we could stay here. I can honestly say I’ve never been happier.”
“Wow. I feel like I want to hug you,” she said.
“Go for it. Hugs are free.” Sally winked at her then. “Kisses require more thought, and you’re too young for me.”
Oh, hey, Sally is flirting.She grinned. “It’s my loss. Maybe we’ll be born closer together in our next lives.”
