Free The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society by Beth Pattillo

need more notice.”
    Merry sighed. She was disappointed, but she was also partly relieved. Now she had an excuse to put off the unwanted trip. “You don’t have to push so hard, Jeff. We’re doing well. I hate to see you work yourself this hard.”
    “Did you remember to get my dry cleaning?” he asked, changing the subject. “I need my gray Burberry suit for a meeting on Monday.”
    “It’s in the closet.”
    “What about my shoes? Did you pick them up at the repair shop?”
    “Done.” In between two trips to the grocery store and a run to the post office. A fairly light day errand-wise, truth be told.
    “Thanks, sweetie. You’re great.” He didn’t move but puckered his lips, his signal for Merry to twist around and contort her body until she could lean over and give him a good night kiss. In another couple of months, she wouldn’t be able to do that.
    “ ’Night, Jeff.”
    Some nights, like tonight, she was particularly grateful for the dark because it hid the expression on her face when she kissed him. The one that said she’d rather not be kissing him at all. The one that gave away the secret she was still keeping from him. The one that said she was lonely, even though she’d gotten everything she thought she ever wanted.

Maxine’s Dress Shop was wedged in between two larger storefronts on the downtown square, its more modern design setting it apart from the high Victorian facades of Sweetgum Savings Bank on one side and Hartzler’s Insurance on the other. The crisp late October day demanded a sweater, and Esther had left her black cashmere cardigan hanging in the closet at home. To be honest, she had left it there on purpose so she would have a reason to be seen entering Maxine’s. And she would definitely need a sweater at Letha Askew’s house. The woman had suffered from one long, continuous hot flash for months now. Consequently she kept her thermostat somewhere in the subzero range.
    Looking at her, an observer would never guess at Esther’s distress over Frank’s health problems. At least he hadn’t dropped dead of a heart attack in the last month, but he wasstill stubbornly refusing to schedule the bypass surgery. For the first two weeks she’d nagged. Then she’d cajoled. She’d even asked her son, Alex, to speak to his father, but their rather desultory conversation led nowhere. Finally, she’d resorted to the icy silence that had ruled the house since.
    The old-fashioned bell over the door to the shop rang to announce Esther’s entrance.
    “Esther. Good morning.” Camille St. Clair rose from a stool behind the counter near the front. “How are you today?”
    Esther would have preferred that Camille address her as Mrs. Jackson as Camille’s mother had always done, but she supposed those days were gone. The informality of the Knit Lit Society meant that Camille was free to call her by her first name.
    “I’m fine, thank you.” She looked around the shop, attractively arranged she must admit, with its stylish mannequins and jewelry displays. “Do you have a plain black cardigan? I’d prefer cashmere, but cotton would do.” Perhaps she should have returned Camille’s greeting more warmly, but some sense of distinction needed to be preserved in Sweetgum.
    Camille’s smile didn’t waver. “I have a wraparound in cashmere,” she said, moving around the counter to stand near Esther. “Or a more traditional style in a cotton-silk blend.”
    “I need a size 2,” Esther said. “Or perhaps a 0. Also I’m in a bit of a hurry.” She glanced at her watch to emphasize her words.
    “Of course. Follow me,” Camille said as pleasant as could be, but Esther could tell from the way the girl’s smile dimmed slightly that she’d gotten the message.
    “Would you prefer to take them back to the dressing room to try on?” Camille asked. She plucked the sweaters from the freestanding racks as they moved through the shop.
    “Here will be fine.” Esther paused in front of the