Free Knot Guilty by Betty Hechtman

said when Adele was gone. Not only was I not as nuts about knitters, I felt for Rain after I’d seen the location of her booth. Though after Rain left I did push it over to the side so it was at the very edge of our spot. Things had begun to quiet down as the vendors finished setting up. I did a little rearranging of our area. I made sure the supplies were ready for the granny square pin venture, along with a sign to put up when we were featuring the activity. I did take out the sign announcing free crochet lessons before I opened the tin of Bob’s Oatmeal Power Squares and made sure the café menu was visible. I did a little rearranging of the yarn and the crochet tools, and then the booth was ready for the opening.
    When I looked around, I noticed the aisle was empty. Apparently everyone else had finished setting up and left. I had lost all sense of time and was surprised to see that it was almost four. The kickoff of the show was at six thirty.
    Although Adele and I along with the other Hookers were all sleeping at home, we’d gotten a mini suite to act as a place for us to take a break during the weekend and to keep some extra stock. Mr. Royal had taken care of checking us in and provided keys for Adele and me. It had already been arranged that the rest of the Hookers would meet up in the room and I’d hand out their badges. I left a note for Adele and went there to freshen up.
    I walked through the lobby and took the elevator. The carpeted hallway was silent and empty as I looked at the room numbers. I expected an empty room and was surprised to find Adele already there redoing her makeup. I quickly discovered the operative word in the suite was
mini
. It was really one large room with a seating area in addition to a bed.
    I was going to castigate her for not coming back to help, but she was all discombobulated.
    I asked if she’d talked to K.D. and Adele gave me a funny look.
    â€œLet’s just say it’s taken care of. The banner and the crossed hooks are staying. I’m even thinking we should add another banner that mentions the free crochet lessons and the granny square pin,” Adele said, but she seemed somehow preoccupied.
    â€œIs there something else?” I asked.
    â€œIt’s Mother Humphries,” she said. “She’s staying in the hotel for the whole weekend. I know she is going to be watching me. I know she wants to mess things up with me and Eric,” Adele said. She seemed close to tears, and I was glad she didn’t give the usual speech about how he was the yin for her yang—her soul mate.
    Adele took off the crocheted sweater with all the flower embellishments and said she was going to wear it again on Saturday. She had brought something else for the show opening. She took out a long white vest that was embellished with hearts in different sizes and shades of red and pink, many of which had a lot of sparkle. Adele was crochet crazed, but she certainly made some stunning items, though I’m not sure I would have been comfortable wearing the vest. Something like that guaranteed you the spotlight—her favorite location.
    The Hookers began arriving and it was hugs all around. Rhoda and Elise came together. Elise had a carrier on wheels with the crochet kits for the booth. She’d brought the one to make her vampire-style pieces and the ones she’d helped Sheila put together. This was the first time Sheila had assembled a kit to make a scarf in her trademark style of muted blues, greens and lavenders. Eduardo made quite an entrance. He’d done as we asked and dressed in the pirate outfit from his cover model days. The leather pants and billowing white shirt unbuttoned most of the way down along with his abundant black hair tied into a ponytail would definitely attract attention to our booth.
    Dinah came in a few minutes later. I was so glad to see my best friend and wanted to tell her about seeing Mason, but there was too much