The ladies laughed. “I’ve never seen anyone quite so excited about a nine-patch square,” Mrs. McGuire admitted.
As the ladies gathered their things and the quilting party broke up, Susanna set her squares aside and helped Lia clean up.
“Where are your boys tonight?” Susanna asked. She couldn’t help but wonder if Owen might be with them.
“Owen and LeRoy took them fishing. I’m hoping if they caught a mess, they’ll have them all cleaned before bringing them into the house. I don’t mind cooking them—fish fries up fast—but cleaning them will take much too long.”
“I’ll stay and help—but you’ll have to teach me how.” Susanna laughed. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve never learned anything useful. Growing up, I was taught piano and embroidering, but nothing practical.”
“Well, piano can be very useful for church, and embroidering is just fancy sewing. If you can do that, you can learn to make clothes. Just look at what you accomplished tonight.”
The sound of the boys returning caused both women to stop what they were doing and head for the kitchen. Lia was there first as the men entered with the fish. They had thoughtfully cleaned each one.
“These are ready for the skillet,” LeRoy declared. “And I think we’re all hoping for a bite tonight.”
“I’ll put them on right now,” Lia said, taking up the large cast-iron skillet. She put lard in the pan and added wood to the stove. “I kept the stove warm all night, so it will heat right up.” She looked over her shoulder at Susanna. “Want to stay and have some fish?”
“Please do,” Owen said from behind LeRoy. “I’ll walk you home afterwards.”
“Well, with a reward like that, how can I say no?”
They all laughed, and Susanna joined in.
Emilio took her hand. “You can sit by me, Miss Susanna.”
John was not to be outdone. “No, she can sit with me.”
“I have two sides,” Susanna told them. “I will sit in between you both. How’s that?”
The boys grinned. “Then we can both have you.”
“What about me?” Owen asked.
“Oh, you don’t need to sit with her,” John explained. “You and Papa can sit side by side. You’re friends, and we’re friends with Miss Susanna.”
“Aren’t I Miss Susanna’s friend?”
Susanna looked at Owen and noted his raised brow, as if questioning her on the matter. She smiled and gave a shrug. Owen only grinned.
“Right now, Miss Susanna is going to help me fry fish. So you boys go sit down and let us work. We’ll have this fixed up muy rápido—very fast.”
Susanna watched as Lia used several spices to enhance the flavor of the fish but mainly kept it simple with salt and pepper. There weren’t that many filets to fry, so the cooking went quickly.
“Susanna, do you see that crock over there?”
She glanced the direction Lia pointed. “Yes, of course.”
“It has tortillas. Would you bring it and that jar of salsa beside it? LeRoy likes to eat his fish like that. You might like it as well. It’s not too spicy.”
Susanna laughed. “I’ve already learned that when a Mexican says it’s not too spicy, I’d better be ready for fire. Your idea of not being too spicy is different from mine.”
“Then I will bring some cold milk for you to drink. It helps to cut the burn.” Lia flipped the last of the fish onto a plate. “You’ll see.”
They sat down to the late snack, and Susanna couldn’t remember when she’d had such a pleasant time. The fish was delicious, and putting it in the tortillas with salsa was a perfect way to eat it. She was grateful for the milk, because as she’d suspected, the salsa was a bit spicier than she was used to. Owen laughed at her as she fanned her tongue, and Emilio and John mimicked her several times before the meal was complete.
“I know two little boys who need to get washed up and put to bed,” Lia declared as soon as the children finished their food.
Susanna could see they were starting to droop. Sitting still to eat had brought out all the exhaustion in them.
“I’ll wash your dishes.” Susanna got up and began gathering the plates. “And you can wash your boys.”
“I’ll dry,” Owen offered, then added with a grin, “The dishes, not the boys.”
“That lets me off the hook altogether,” LeRoy said, sounding quite pleased with himself.
“Oh no.” Lia shook her head. “I’ll wash and you can dry boys.”
He laughed and got to his feet, grabbing first John and then Emilio. “Let’s just throw them in the river and then put them to bed.”
“No, Papa,” they squealed, suddenly finding energy again to resist.
LeRoy laughed and carted them off to another room while Susanna grabbed the last of the dishes and headed to the kitchen.
Owen already had the hot water from the stove’s reservoir ready and was filling the dishpan with soft soap.
“I thought I was going to wash and you dry,” Susanna said.
“You are. I just was getting things ready for you.” He stepped aside and grabbed a dish towel. “I don’t know about you, but I’m beat and ready to hit the hay.”
“Yes, it has been an exhausting day, and I’m sure my father is more than ready to return home from the hotel. He was good enough to stay there and work this evening so I could come here. I think Mother has been particularly taxing since my uncle’s visit, and Father was happy to distance himself.”
“Was it that bad?”
Susanna washed and rinsed the first plate, then handed it to Owen. “It was, but you don’t want to hear about that. Tell me how things are going with Gary.”
Owen frowned, and Susanna couldn’t help herself.
“That bad?”
“You don’t want to hear about it.”
“But I do. I’ve seen a real change in him. One that I didn’t expect at all.”
Owen nodded. “He just doesn’t seem to understand instructions. They’re simple enough, but something about it eludes him. He makes mistakes—the same ones over and over. I can’t seem to get through to him.”
“He had trouble in school that way too.” Susanna shook her head. “It’s like something is missing in his ability to reason. I feel sorry for him because he honestly seems to want this to work out this time. I’ve never seen him more dedicated.”
“I’ll keep doing what I can to help him, but if he can’t do the work, I’ll have to turn him over to someone else.”
They had the dishes done in short order and found that LeRoy and Lia were still busy with the boys. Owen told them he and Susanna were leaving and would see them later, then took Susanna’s arm.
“I’ll see you home.”
“Thank you,” she said, reaching for her two quilt squares. “These are what I made tonight. I’m so pleased with them.”
“And to think, from these two will come a mighty quilt.” He grinned. “I look forward to seeing the finished product.”
“Well, it will take a while, I’m sure.”