Free A Slender Thread by Katharine Davis

all about them. Ryan really pays attention to me. Older guys are so much better.”
    â€œI guess your mom wonders why he’s interested in someone younger,” Margot said.
    â€œWhat about Oliver? You’re ten years younger. So what does he see in you?”
    â€œToni, that’s different.”
    â€œHow?”
    â€œWell, when you’re older, age sort of blurs.”
    â€œExactly. Ryan treats me like a real person, not like some high school girl.”
    â€œSo it’s pretty serious?”
    â€œGod, Aunt Margot. He’s totally hot. But he’s smart, too. He reads poetry.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œI can’t stop thinking about him. From the minute I wake up, he’s sort of with me—it’s like I’m different too, just from knowing him.”
    â€œThat’s wonderful.” Margot reached over and patted Toni’s arm. “It’s just that you have so many important things going on right now: your senior year, college applications, lots of decisions ahead. You need to keep your mind on that, too.”
    â€œYou sound like Mom.”
    â€œI understand her concern.”
    â€œI thought you’d be on my side.” Toni pursed her lips into a little-girl pout and sighed.
    â€œWe all want the best for you.”
    Toni leaned toward her aunt. “Yeah, yeah.” Her face softened. “Since I’ve known Ryan, it’s like everything is clearer. I’m more focused on things, not less.”
    â€œWell, I’m glad.”
    â€œIsn’t it like that with Oliver?”
    Margot nodded. Life with Oliver was focused. In the last five years with him her life had taken on more meaning. “I need you, Mags,” Oliver often said. “Painting uses me up. I couldn’t do this without you.”
    â€œPlease talk to Mom,” Toni said.
    â€œWhy don’t you talk to her?”
    â€œBut I do. I talk and talk and all I get is the silent treatment.” Toni got up from the table. She lifted the hair off her neck and arched her back. “God, Aunt Margot, don’t you remember the first time you fell in love? It’s like so impossible. You can’t help it.”
    Margot stood and gave Toni a hug. “I don’t know what to tell you.” She rocked Toni for a moment in her arms. What could she say to her niece? It didn’t seem all that long ago when she was almost the same age, when she had experienced for the first time the very same thing—swamped with feelings, overcome that summer at Bow Lake. Had it been a crush, or had she really been in love with Alex? Margot grew still. What a ridiculous question. She hadn’t allowed herself to think of that for years. She stepped away from Toni. “Give it time, sweetie. Things have a way of working out.”

4
    Warp: Threads running vertically in weaving.
    T he next day Margot surveyed her bedroom, or what she thought of as her bedroom, across the hall from Lacey’s studio. Her suitcase was packed and she had put fresh sheets on the bed. The pillowcases, old linen ones that required ironing, had embroidered sprigs of lavender along the edges. Lacey collected antique linens and textiles, and actually used them. Now the bed was ready for the next guest, or for her, when she returned, whenever that might be. The bittersweet berries had started to fall from the branches on the dresser, so she had carefully carried the arrangement to the kitchen trash.
    She was leaving today with a heavy heart. The time with Wink and Toni, the family meals, the hike in the woods—all the makings of a happy family Thanksgiving were now tinged with sadness for Margot. She likened the last few days to a brilliant painting that had been covered over with a thick varnish, rendering the colors dull and joyless. The way she saw the world had changed. As Lacey had asked, she pretended nothing was amiss, yet in her mind the apparently perfect Thanksgiving had been a