The Surprise was on Me

I'd been looking forward to last night for a few weeks. Ever since I received an email from Bonnie saying that she was going to be in Pennsylvania teaching for the better part of a couple of weeks in October and it had been SOOOO long and BTW how far was Near Philadelphia from Altoona? Not that far, it turns out, and since she had a free night between gigs, I invited her to come and stay with Joe and me for that night. And, that free night was just one night after my regular monthly hand-sewing group. A flexible crowd of women (just call us Gumbies), they were all too happy to delay our meeting by one night.

I've mentioned our little friend Turbo in previous posts, I believe. She's a mid-20s gal who discovered quilting while in college where everyone else is knitting. She took to it like wildfire and turns out top after top after top, managing at the same time to be precise and prolific. We tease her about liking to hang out with old ladies (the rest of us being in our mid 50s to early 70s) and she just smiles that big ole smile. She comes to the Saturdays we spend sewing in Fellowship Hall. She goes along our our weekend retreats to White Oak. And more than anyone else I know, she is wont to preface a comment about quilting with, "Well, on Bonnie Hunter's website . . . "

So of course I had to invite her to join us. My email read something like, "Darling Turbo, please pencil in the night of October 8 for handsewing at my house. Be there! If you are supposed to be at school [she's a teacher], develop a highly contagious virus. Trust me." She trusted me.

So my plan was that when she arrived, I'd say to her, "Turbo, you know most of these women. This is Emily who teaches chemistry at my school. And this is Bonnie Hunter." What a great surprise it would be!

Bonnie arrived soon after I got home from work and we spent a couple of hours catching up. She was right; it had been too long. I told her about our group and the great fun that we have together. I told her about Turbo and the Big Surprise. Feeling a tad awkward with her new-found fame, she was amused.

7:30 came and the quilters began to trickle in. From my chair I heard Turbo in the hall and got ready for the introductions. Into the doorway she came, stopped dead in her tracks, dropped her bag and exclaimed, "Holy [cow], that's Bonnie Hunter!!!!"

It was more wonderful than a wedding shower. I sought to surprise my friend. Little did I anticipate, she'd turn it around and surprise me!

Pictured above: Helen, seated. Standing, from left: Emily, Marsha, Kathleen, Turbo, Bonnie, Judy. Photographer: N, NP.