Chapter 24

 

Gabe was standing, looking out the window, waiting for Thea. He smiled. “Parade day. I used to love that.”

“You enjoyed almost everything,” she teased.

“Yeah, life was good.” He came to stand beside her when she sat in front of the loom.

“Any news?” she asked, readying her fingers.

“Someone started to drift in last night, sensed that I was here, and took off.”

“I’m glad you were here. Who knows who else wouldn’t be around today if it weren’t for you.” She frowned. “I wish you could have seen her, though.”

“I thought of chasing her,” Gabe said, “but I was afraid if she doubled back, I might be too late.”

“We can’t risk it,” Thea said.

They were going to discuss it more when they heard Rachel flying up the steps.

“See you later,” Gabe said and evaporated from sight.

Rachel hurried to her mother’s side. “It’s already stepped on the scales. Sorry I’m so late. We had friends over.”

“You’re here,” Thea said. “That’s good enough.”

The needle settled in place and Thea’s fingers flew over the threads. The bookmark started with strong shades of red--crimson, scarlet, cherry-red, and fushias. “Oh boy, this girl’s going to be a handful. I hope her mother’s ready.”

“Why?”

“Red stands for passion and power, strength and force. This girl has willpower to spare. And she loves drama.”

“That can be good, can’t it?” Rachel asked.

“Wonderful, but she’s going to go at everything full force and be furious when she doesn’t get her way. She’s a born leader, but God help anyone who gets in her way.”

The threads tangled, and Thea wove a series of small knots.

“Look how many there are,” Rachel worried. “I’ve never seen that many.”

The knots varied in size, from tiny to large. “Bound to happen,” Thea said. “It’s part of her personality. For this girl, struggle and challenges are only stepping stones or hurdles, part of the fun.”

“You mean, she’ll like it?”

“Maybe not like it, but she’ll look for it. She wouldn’t be happy if life were too easy.”

Rachel sighed. “Why would anyone choose challenges?”

“To each, his own,” Thea said. “This girl craves action, and she’d be bored if everything fell into her lap. I wonder what her mother’s bookmark looks like. This might be when she has a big knot.”

“Babies shouldn’t be knots,” Rachel said. “They should be bright yellows and happy colors.”

“That’s easy to say till you have one.” Thea smiled. “I bet this mother is crazy about her little girl, and she’s overjoyed to have her, but it’s not going to be easy. This girl’s going to push her all the time.”

“I want an easygoing baby.”

Thea laughed. “Who wouldn’t? I hate to tell you, but you take what you get. What are you going to do, send it back if it has cholic or temper tantrums?” The bookmark was nearly finished, all of it in bright, strong, vivid shades. Right at the end, there was a huge knot, then the life was finished.

“What does that mean?” Rachel asked.

“She’s going out with a bang, probably some kind of newsworthy accident. She’ll like that. She’s not the type who’d want to go with a whimper.”

Rachel watched the bookmark float to its place on the rafters. “I want to die in my sleep.”

“Wouldn’t most of us? Who’d choose to be senile and tied in a wheelchair in a nursing home? But hate to say it, it’s not our choice.”

“That stinks! It all stinks!”

Thea looked at her daughter. Rachel’s face was flushed, and her eyes worried. “Life isn’t fair,” Thea said. “Some people never get any breaks, or the breaks come too late. There’s nothing we can do about that.”

“What would happen if we changed their weave?” Rachel asked.

“Look at your brother. We can’t fix things. It’s not our decision, and you can’t tamper with fate.” Thea gently touched her daughter’s arm. “Besides, you’d lose your job. Or worse, be punished.”

Rachel’s face crumpled. “I hate this! There should be a better way. What kind of destiny can be so cruel?”

“You’re asking me for answers I don’t have,” Thea said. “But I do believe that everything happens for a purpose.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have one knot after another in your bookmark.”

“Okay, you’re right. I don’t always see any purpose in life, like Tillie’s baby. I just don’t get it. But maybe we’re not supposed to.”

Rachel turned to the stairs. “I have to go. Isak and I are painting the rest of the rooms today, so we can move in and call it home.”

Thea stood for a long time after Rachel left, fretting. How was Rachel going to be a good weaver if the destinies she wove constantly upset her? Was there some way to help her distance herself from the bookmarks she’d weave? And if she couldn’t, what then?

Gabe came to stand beside her. He put an arm around her shoulders, and Thea felt some of her burdens lift. They didn’t talk, just took pleasure in each other’s company, until he began to fade.

“Sorry, out of power,” he said.

“Thanks for being here,” she told him.