A Lesson in Herstory - The Loose-Ended Cloth

I looked up as she stumbled in, her clothes soaking wet from the rain outside. Her hair was matted against her head in big wet clumps, and I could tell she was shivering. Instead of helping her with the big brown grocery bags, I sunk back into the sofa chair and watched as she struggle to keep something green, celery, from what I could tell, from falling out from one of the bags. She heaved the bags on the counter and glanced around the room until she spotted me, sitting where she had left me two hours ago.

"I thought you'd be home. The weather is getting pretty rough outside," she said, taking out a packet of fresh strawberries from the bags. "Are you still working on that?" she asked, motioning with her head to my lap.

I looked down at the tangled mesh, saffron and crimson threads consumating in complex patterns. When I looked up, she had moved from the kitchen and was fiddling with the light switch. "The power went out about an hour ago," I said. "But the good news is that I found this kerosene lamp in the basement," nodding to my right. It was sitting on the window sill, and holding up surprisingly well, considering how hard the windows were rattling from the strong winds.

"Oh, I didn't know we had one. The power has been gone for an hour, you said? Wonderful." She went back to unpacking the groceries. "You know, you shouldn't be working on that in such dim light, it's bad for your eyes..."

She continued lecturing me as she pulled out a bottle of milk and some lemons, oblivious to the annoyed grimace that had taken over my face. I ignored her and touched the soft material in my hands. It had a peculiar feel to it, perhaps due to the inadvertent bumps and knots that I had managed add to the pattern. I touched the loose-ends, wondering how on earth I had managed so many and if I would be able to tie them back together. Would they fit into the pattern? Or should I leave them as they are, a flaw masked under the name of art? I flinched as she shrieked in that high-pitched voice that roused the kitty from under the table.

"Oh my god, look at this mess! I swear, those boys don't know how to package anything...Oh shit, they got on everything," she cried. Evidently the eggs had been at the bottom of one of the bags and brought with them the end of civilization as we knew it. "Quick, hand me the towel before this shit spreads everywhere," she ordered.

I got up and helped her clean it up, as the kitty lapped up whatever had fallen on the floor. Thunder boomed outside, and the wind shrieked through the cracks in the door. We worked silently for the next five minutes, putting everything away. I washed my hands in the sink as she went to examine my work.

"Well, this looks..." I could hear her going through words in her head. I took the material out of her hands.

"Just let me deal with it, ok? I have time and I'll work on it." And with that I sat back in the chair and started sorting out the threads. She left me alone and looked out the window. The rain was coming down hard, and the wind was howling in my ears. I discarded the pattern I had started out with and began working on a new one. It really was hard to see with barely any light, but I continued to struggle, for I couldn't bear leaving it unfinished.

Lightening struck again, and this time the wind knocked open the porch door. She ran to close it, the rain rushing in like an angry uninvited guest. The kitty hid inside the pantry, and I prayed that the kerosene lamp would survive. She locked the door and propped a chair infront of it for good measure, and proceeded to wipe the wet floor with the towel. My lamp survived, and I looked at it almost lovingly before I got back to the weaving.

"When will this end," she wailed. "I'm so sick of the rain. Do you know what time it is?"

It was one of those moments when I already knew before I glanced at my watch. Sure enough, it was 3:15. "Quarter past three, and can you please find your own watch?"

"Fine, fine, I'll go look for it once the power is back. I forgot to ask, did anyone call while I was out?"

I gave a sigh. I knew what her reaction would be to my answer and I was in no mood to deal with her right now. "The phone rang right after you left, but I don't know who it was because by the time I got to it, the line went dead. And incase you didn't notice on your way in, one of the poles was struck by lightening, so I doubt the phones in this area are working."

"What? The phones aren't working? Are you sure?" she scrambled to pick up the reciever. "Let me check...Oh crap!" She slammed it down angrily. "God only knows when this storm is going to end and until then, I'm going to go upstairs and lie down for a bit."

I thanked the lord for bestowing this mercy upon me, and quietly giggled to myself as I heard her swearing up the stairs. I looked over to my sewing box and picked out an apple-green colored thread and began adding a new pattern into the old one. This should work, I convinced myself, this will add a new twist. I worked deligently for about twenty minutes, and I suddenly looked up and realized how quiet it was. The rain had finally stopped. I peered out the window, surveying the damage. Pools of water had gathered all over the front lawn, and the telephone pole was on the ground, the wires still crackling. The clouds had started to move east, and the sun was coming out slowly. I was mesmerized by the scene before my eyes, and the cloth slipped from my hands. I looked down to pick it up and saw that kitty had grabbed the crimson thread in her mouth and was yanking it out.

"No! Go away! Stop!" I yelled frantically, trying to save my work. The kitty jumped up to the window sill, knocked over the kerosene lamp which fell on the floor and set fire to some of the loose-ends. I watched helplessly as it burned up, choking me with the smoke. I looked up the stairs and heard nothing. I walked towards the door as the fire got a hold of the curtains and sent them up in flames. I could hear the kitty pawing at the closed door as I walked out to the drive way. I didn't turn around as the flames engulfed the house, and only looked back once I got to the bus stop.

It was as if my saffron and crimson cloth had covered the entire house. I kept on walking, avoiding the big puddles that were filled with debris. I wondered if the store would be open so I could buy some thread.