Sister's Choice by Judith Pella Page A

her head to get help from Grandma. But maybe she understood that Maggie’s case was hopeless enough to warrant outside help.
    Before they had a chance to discuss Maggie’s request further, Ellie returned from town, Dad and Georgie came in from working in the fields, and the house was full of bustle. Grandma fit into it all very easily, as if she had always been there. Indeed, Mama would love nothing more than to have Grandma come live with them, but she feared if that happened Grandmother Newcomb would want the same arrangement, or at the least she’d have her feelings hurt by being left out. The irony was that Grandmother and Granddad Newcomb would have jumped at the chance to live with their son and his family, while Grandma Spooner steadfastly insisted on keeping her own home. Mama had once said, when she didn’t think anyone was listening, that Mother Newcomb only wanted to live with them in order to make Mama’s life miserable.
    When dinner was cleared away and the dishes done, Grandma sat at the kitchen table and asked Maggie to join her.
    “Shall we talk a bit about your request to learn to sew?” Grandma asked.
    “What do you mean?” Maggie was suspicious. Now the questions would come.
    “I just want to get an idea of what you want to learn, of where you’d like to start.”
    “From the beginning, I guess.”
    “I don’t think we have to go that far back, do you?”
    Maggie glanced over at her mother seated in her rocking chair by the hearth, a sewing project in her hands, her concentration on her work. She didn’t appear to be listening to the conversation at the table.
    “Mama has tried hard to teach me,” Maggie said, just in case her mother was listening. “I probably know the basics, but I never paid close attention.”
    “Who’s to say you will pay attention now?”
    “Ellie said I would because I am more motivated.”
    “That is a good start. It will certainly make a difference. May I ask why you are more motivated now than you were before?”
    That, of course, was the very question Maggie didn’t want to answer. But maybe she should be honest, get it all out in the open. It was still no less embarrassing. Perhaps a version of the truth would suffice.
    “I am all grown-up, Grandma. I am going to have a home and family soon. It is just time I learned, don’t you think?”
    Grandma smiled, a small smile, more a twitch at the corners of her mouth. It was as if she was restraining a big grin so Maggie wouldn’t feel silly.
    “Would you like to make clothing, or knit—”
    “I want to make a quilt,” Maggie replied emphatically. “Not some simple nine-patch, either, but something spectacular. A Feathered Star or Mariner’s Compass or Rose of Sharon.”
    “Eventually, yes.”
    “I need to make it now, before you leave!”
    Maggie heard a noise by the hearth, and her head jerked in that direction. Mama was looking at her. She had been listening. But she quickly glanced away, and Maggie chose to ignore the moment, as well.
    Now Grandma made no pretense of a smile, instead letting one bend her lips unrestrained, showing the gold tooth she had in front. “There is one thing a teacher loves, and that’s an enthusiastic student!”
    Ellie strolled over to the table. “My first quilt was a four-patch.”
    “You were five,” Maggie said.
    “No matter a person’s age,” Grandma said, “you simply can’t get ahead of yourself, Maggie. If you bite off more than you can chew, you could become discouraged and give up.”
    “I won’t give up, Grandma.” Maggie’s tone was full of solemn determination. She was grateful Grandma didn’t smile this time but took her words seriously.
    “Why don’t we take a look at some of your previous work?” Grandma suggested. “Then I can get an idea of where you are in your skills.”
    “I don’t know if I can find anything right off,” Maggie hedged. In truth, she didn’t know where any of her unfinished projects were, and she certainly had