Chapter Text
Ding, ding!
Maren glanced up from the back of the shop where she was restocking skeins of sock yarn.
“Hi, welcome! Can I help you?” she said on autopilot. She stood up all the way and was greeted by a startled blonde woman.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” the woman responded. Although she had obviously been caught off guard, her voice was smooth and mellifluous, and she spoke with a slight accent indicating that she was from out of town. “I’m just looking around.”
Maren gave her a warm smile. “Alright, well let me know if I can help you find anything.”
The woman nodded and turned towards a shelf of luxury alpaca yarn. She picked up a skein and ran her fingers over the delicate strands.
“That just came in,” Maren commented. “I would buy it all if I could.”
The woman just hummed before putting it back and moving on to the next shelf.
Not one for conversation, eh? Maren thought.
That was okay. When Maren’s grandmother had put her in charge of North Mountain Yarn Company she had been over the moon. She loved meeting new people and could talk about yarn and fiber arts forever. Her favorite part of her job was talking to the customers, who tended to be older ladies who welcomed a genuine conversation with the enthusiastic young woman. But over the past several years that she had worked at the store, Maren had noticed the demographics change. The world of fiber arts was diversifying, and Maren was more than excited at the shift. She wanted more than anything to help usher in the next generation of fiber artists, and the store reflected that passion.
So it had not surprised her when the stunning young blonde had entered the shop, but she felt something of a thrill nonetheless. The woman seemed at ease and in her element. Maybe she was just a private person. Maybe, as her accent suggested, Northuldran was not her first language and she was unused to conversing in it.
“This is lovely,” the woman breathed, cradling a skein of fine cashmere in a deep burgundy.
“That one’s my favorite,” Maren offered. “My grandma made me this shawl out of it a few years ago.”
She came to stand next to the woman and held up a knitted shawl that was on display. It was in a deep forest green and seemed to glow. The woman lovingly inspected the shawl.
“What pattern is this?”
“She didn’t say. I think she just did it by memory.”
The woman let the shawl run through her fingers, then checked the price tag on her skein. Maren was surprised when her eyes did not bulge out of her head at the price. She was even more surprised when the woman picked up a second skein and turned toward the checkout counter.
“I’ll take these.”
Maren followed her and slid behind the counter to ring her up. “Do you live around here?”
That came out a lot more forward than I intended , Maren internally panicked.
“I- I only ask because we have a loyalty program.” She held up a punch card. “For every $20 you spend, you get a stamp.”
The woman smiled. “I just moved here, actually.”
“Well, welcome to town! And...” Maren checked her total, “that will get you 3 stamps today.”
She returned the woman’s card and handed her a receipt.
“Would you like a bag?”
The woman nodded.
Maren placed her skeins in the bag and passed it over the counter.
“Have a wonderful day, and I hope to see you in here again!” Maren waved.
The woman waved back and Maren’s eyes followed her as she exited the shop. Maren only realized she had left when the bell over the door broke her from her daydream.
***
A couple of months had passed since the woman, who Maren learned was named Elsa, had first visited the store. She had started coming more and more frequently, and Maren welcomed the opportunity to chat with her whenever she visited.
Maren had told Elsa about the crafting group that met at the store on Sunday afternoons and had encouraged her to attend as a way to meet people in her new town. Elsa had given her a hesitant maybe, so Maren didn’t have high hopes that she would actually come today.
Elsa had looked a little uncomfortable at first, but she visibly relaxed as she started working on her knitting, a beautiful beaded shawl in a snowy white yarn. It helped that the other attendees were so inviting. The store was quiet at the moment, so Maren took the opportunity to join the group for a while. She brought her latest needle felting project over to the table and pulled up a chair next to Elsa.
“Oh, what are you working on there?” Elsa leaned over to inspect Maren’s work.
“It’s a reindeer. For my brother.”
“I’ve never tried that before.”
“What, felting?”
Elsa nodded.
“Do you want to learn?” Maren asked. “I have official classes here each month. But I’m happy to just teach you sometime if you want.”
Elsa gave a gentle smile, one that Maren was growing accustomed to. “I would like that.”
Maren did an internal happy dance but managed to stay calm on the outside. “Great, when are you available? I’m basically here all the time. I’d just need to work it out with my grandma.”
“Let me check my calendar.”
Ding, ding!
“Looks like I’m needed,” Maren groaned. “But come see me before you leave so we can plan something.”
Elsa nodded as Maren made her way out into the main room of the store.
About an hour later, Elsa found Maren before leaving.
“How about next Saturday?” she suggested.
“Works for me!” Maren replied. “How’s 2 sound?”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”
***
Saturday arrived all at once and not soon enough.
The store was busier than usual, keeping Maren on her toes. She still had to eat lunch and set up before Elsa arrived in less than an hour.
“Hey sis!”
Maren felt relief wash over her as her brother entered through the back door.
“Ryder, thank goodness, it’s crazy today!” Maren wrapped her brother in a tight hug.
“Aww, how bad can it be?”
“We’ve had more customers than usual because of the Pear Blossom Festival, which wouldn’t be a problem on its own, but then Gale decided to have her babies and I’ve been running back and forth all morning.”
“About time,” Ryder said, “She was huge!”
“Count on that goat to give birth at the worst possible time.” Maren shook her head.
“Sorry I couldn’t be there to help. Things were pretty busy at the shelter too.”
“Hey, we made it through, didn’t we?” Maren lay a reassuring hand on Ryder’s shoulder. “And I can’t thank you enough for covering for me today.”
“No problem, sis. Now go eat something!”
***
By some miracle, Maren managed to run home to check on the goats, grab something to eat, and get back to the shop to set up for her felting lesson by 2.
She and Elsa fell into easy conversation as Maren began their lesson. It was evident that Elsa was artistic. She just needed to loosen up a bit.
“Now remember, you have to stick the needle straight in.” Maren coached. “You can’t bend it or it will break. But you already learned that the hard way.”
Elsa groaned.
“Try to relax a little,” Maren encouraged the woman, “It will be easier, I promise.”
Maren watched Elsa make an honest effort to drop her tensed shoulders.
“There you go! That looks great!” Maren handed Elsa another piece of colored wool. “Now, take this piece and wrap it around here.”
Soon enough, Elsa had successfully completed her felted penguin.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Maren congratulated her, “And you only broke 4 needles!”
Elsa held up her creation to inspect it. “You know, he reminds me of this stuffed penguin I had as a kid.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Sir Jorgenbjorgen.”
“I never really had stuffed animals growing up,” Maren said. “I just had a bunch of real animals instead.”
“You have a lot of pets?”
“I guess you could say that. We have goats,” Maren explained, “And a cranky old llama.”
At this, Elsa’s face cracked into a wide grin and she let out a soft laugh.
“We used to have horses. My sister and I would go riding together.” A look of - was it sadness? - flashed across Elsa’s face so quickly Maren almost missed it. She debated for a moment whether to press for more or change the subject. Fortunately, Ryder answered that for her.
“Hey Mare, I just went to check on Gale and the babies and they’re doing great.”
“Hey Ry, thanks!” Maren smiled at her brother. “By the way, this is Elsa. Elsa, this is my brother Ryder.”
Ryder offered his hand to Elsa. “Nice to finally meet you! Maren’s told me all about you.”
Maren cringed.
“Well it’s almost time to close up. Mare, can you come help me when you’re done?” Ryder disappeared behind the checkout counter.
Maren leaned towards Elsa. “He hates closing on his own because he thinks the back room is haunted.”
They chuckled to themselves as they gathered up their things. Maren carefully disposed of the broken needles. It wasn’t unusual for beginners (and even experienced felters) to break a few needles, but it was evident that Elsa held a kind of deep stress, and she didn’t know why, but Maren wanted to ease that in whatever way she could. So she did the next right thing and invited her for another lesson. Nothing could help manage stress like felting in Maren’s opinion. And, selfishly, maybe she also just wanted to spend time with the mysterious woman again.