Segment 3

I Hook By Night -- a Crochet Soap
© Copyright 2000, 2001 by P. June Diehl

Segment 3

Janice stretched as she stepped out of the car. Unlocking the trunk she removed her bag along with some of the bags left in the trunk from her last shopping trip. "Now's the perfect time to stash all this stuff," she said aloud to herself, setting the bags on the ground to close the trunk. Tom would be late coming home from work as it was his day to pick up Rebecca from his mother's house.

Picking up all the bags, she went into the house and into her sanctuary. Sitting on the floor with her treasures she emptied each bag in turn, picking up each item and finding a special place for each. Glancing at the computer, she wished she could get online now, but she needed to get dinner started.

******

"Seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-three," Janice counted as she found a few minutes of quiet time in the bathroom. Tom was "relaxing" by watching TV and Rebecca had fallen asleep once she had her milk. Janice knew she had about 10 more minutes before Tom would call, wondering where she was.

"One hundred twelve, one hundred thirteen, one hundred fourteen," the numbers continuing as Janice brought her concentration back to her crocheting, least she miss count. Her fingers flew through the yarn and her hook would be a blur to other eyes. She did not always have to watch her hands and hook while crocheting. She was creating a small drawstring bag and matching hair scrunchie to go with the outfit she wanted to wear tomorrow to work.

"Later," she murmured, "I must get to work on Grammy's afghan. Another few hours and it will be completed. I am giving it to her this weekend when we visit her."

Stopping her work, her hook stilled, she listened. No movement from Tom yet. She still had a few more minutes.

Planning the next several lessons for Alicia, she continued crocheting and her counting. The field trip on Wednesday would be fun, but she must remember to call the shop tomorrow from work to set up a time with Randy, the store owner, for their visit. Another item for her to-do list for Tuesday.

Movement from the family room caught her attention. Stuffing her crochet into her bag, she flushed to toilet and left the bathroom. She left her bag on the chair at the kitchen table. Tom would not even notice it there or wonder what it contained.

******

Janice finished her two hours of straight crocheting on her Grammy's afghan. She held up her work and it pleased her. Looking at the almost completed afghan, she was filled with a warm light. Tomorrow night she would finish it. Placing the afghan back into it's bag she turned to the computer.

She had about an hour left to get online. She checked her bids on the various online auctions she used. She had lost one but was still the top bidder on four others. Browsing the used bookstores she searched for crochet items.
Nothing new or exciting tonight. Finally, she read her crochet email.

She was a member of four different email groups. Reading the email was relaxing, informative, and fun! She did not have a lot of time to post, but she did respond whenever she had the time. She had initially met Alicia through email, with Alicia begging her to teach her the art of crochet. Janice had been cautious at first, making sure that Alicia was sincere about learning this ancient needlecraft art.

Making a list of things she needed to do on Tuesday Janice emailed this to herself at work. She stretched in the chair, yawned, and shut down the computer for the night.

Lying in bed next to Tom, the last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the thought of seeing her Grammy's face when she gave her the cherished afghan.

******

Across town, Alicia was lying in her bed, awake, but not restless. Her mind was replaying her meeting with her teacher. She could feel her hands wanting to move in the rhythm of the crochet she was learning. She smiled, let her body and mind relax, and her last thought was knowing that she would dream of her new passion tonight.