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Chapter Thirty-Two

C lover grinned as a flurry of congratulations burst from the knitting circle. Everyone leaned forward to ooo and ahh over her ring, and Darling demanded to see her wedding picture.

As she pulled the photo up on her phone and began passing it around, Sue turned to her seriously.

“As someone who’s been married for nearly thirty years, I have some important advice I’d like you to take. Remember that the man is the head of the household.”

Clover flinched at her words. Politics and religion were off-limit topics in the group, so she didn’t know where everyone stood, but she could see where this was going. “Shouldn’t it be more like a partnership?” Clover asked.

Darling shook her head seriously. “No, Sue is absolutely right. The man is the head… But the woman is the neck!”

Everyone but Sue laughed.

As their chuckles died down, Frances said, “I have some advice, too. If you ever ask your husband to do something around the house, and he takes forever to do it, go find the loudest power tool you can, and just turn it on. You don’t even have to do anything. The sound will bring him running like a squirrel to a full bird feeder.”

“The best advice I have,” Rachel added, “is if you really want him to do something, make him think it was his idea. Don’t get caught up on taking credit. As long as it gets done, it doesn’t matter.”

“What about you, Joey?” Darling asked. “You’ve survived three husbands in your time. Any advice for the newlywed?”

Everyone turned to Joey, and Clover felt the full force of the elder’s blue eyes on her. “We are all liberated women here. In our time, we’ve marched for our rights and equality. Half of us burned our bras.”

“I haven’t worn one since,” Darling chimed in.

Another chuckle from the group.

“So when I say this, I want you to keep that in mind,” Joey continued. “Give him opportunities to feel strong. It doesn’t matter if it’s asking him to open a jar or reach for something on the top shelf, even better if you can make him feel like he’s protected you in some way. Men want to feel needed. They want to feel manly—just like we want to feel needed and appreciated for our womanly qualities. So even if you can do it yourself, ask him for help sometimes and praise him by telling him he’s strong and you feel safe with him.”

“You make men sound like they’re children,” Clover said.

“Well…” Darling trailed off. Her suggestion was accompanied by more chuckling.

“It might sound simple and silly, but we all just want to feel appreciated and needed,” Joey commented. “Perhaps it’s childish, but there it is. And”—She paused for emphasis to make sure everyone was listening—“tell him what you want honestly. Don’t do the ‘you should just know’ thing. They don’t know. They need to be told clearly. So tell him what you want…especially in the bedroom.” Joey smirked.

Giggles erupted from the elders as though they were a bunch of schoolgirls talking about their first crushes, and Clover couldn’t help but join in.

As the laughter died down, the chatter veered off to other topics.

Sue and Rachel started talking very seriously about how the Rangers did over the weekend. Clover turned to the others. It wasn’t that she didn’t like hockey—she did. It was just that Sue and Rachel talked about it on another level—player stats and projections and details she didn’t much care to follow.

“Oh, I wanted to show you all,” Frances said, reaching for a USPS box beside her chair. “I finally finished crocheting that unicorn blanket I was making for my granddaughter.”

“Let’s have a look!” Clover encouraged while Darling and Joey agreed.

Frances stood and unfolded the white blanket, pulling one corner up over her head like a hood. The hood had horse ears and a crown of flowers along with a long, pink shaft standing up at the center of the forehead.

Darling burst out laughing as Joey murmured, “Oh my…”

Clover bit her lips.

“So how does it look?” Frances asked with pride. “I messed up the edge a little, so I had to rip it out and do it over. But it turned out pretty good, right?”

Rachel and Sue dropped their discussion to take in Frances’s creation.

“Um…how old is your granddaughter?” Sue wanted to know.

“She’s in her twenties,” Frances responded. “Why?”

Rachel nodded. “It looks great, Frances. But maybe just don’t share it on social media.”

Frances frowned, worry scrunching up her face. “Why not? Is it bad? What’s wrong with it?”

Clover knew how hard Frances had been working on the blanket, and she wanted to save her feelings.

“Nothing!” Clover assured. “It’s fine. Rachel is just trying to save you from the worst of people online.”

Frances looked around the group. “Do I need to redo it? What’s wrong with it?”

Darling motioned for Frances to come closer, and Frances dipped her head toward her.

Even though she whispered, everyone could still hear her. “The horn looks like a giant dick.”

Frances’s face flushed, and she let out a horrified sound. “Oh my. I didn’t even notice! I’m going to have to redo it.”

“No, you don’t, Frances,” Clover said quickly, seeing how upset Frances was becoming. “Darling just has a dirty mind. I’m sure your granddaughter will love it.”

Clover shot Darling a glance.

“I’ve been accused of worse,” Darling said. “She’s right, though. It’s fine. Your granddaughter probably won’t even notice.”

“But seriously,” Rachel said again. “Don’t share it online.”

It took more coaxing and compliments for Frances to perk up again. In the end, she decided that everyone there just had their minds in the gutter, especially after Joey’s reference to the bedroom. She said she would send it to her granddaughter the next day.

The rest of the meeting was filled with general chatter about what everyone had been up to and the state of everyone’s health.