Unraveled - Part 9

Patricia flicked her hair so that she could inconspicuously look over at Yarnell, and said " it just needs to be thrown in the washer" and leapt out of the chair to grab the by- now mortified Yarnell before Howard got any ideas. She scooped up the ratchety-looking mess of yarn and strode purposefully toward the laundry room. " if you say a word, I swear I'll put you in the washing machine on 'deep water wash" she whispered. Howard looked over at her and said, " are you talking to the yarn? Are you okay?" Now he was staring at her and she laughed as she held the nasty nest at arm's length. " No, silly! I was smelling it to see how stinky it is!" Samuel looked the other way to avoid looking at Patricia in a valiant effort not to laugh, and Howard leaned in to him, still looking at Patricia as she walked down the hall toward the laundry room. " Samuel, is she OK? I mean, that yarn needs to be thrown away and she acts like it's knittable..." Samuel looked at Howard as he desperately tried to think of something rational. " Um yeah, she's OK. I just think that the yarn was expensive and she's feeling the pressure of being a beginner knitter and not having anything to show for it, that's all."

" OK, well I was worried about her for a minute." Meanwhile, Patricia was in the laundry room picking the twigs and leaves out of Yarnell's ridiculousness, and whispering with the door closed. And locked. " Yarnell, what on earth.. how am I going to get this stuff out of you?"

" Well, that's easy. I'll shake it out," he said, and with that, he turned into a blue hurricane/ tornado, spinning so fast that the twigs and leaves were jettisoned out of his fibers and all over the laundry room. He quietly giggled as he settled down, and he looked like new again. " I just didn't want you putting me in the dryer, that is totally not a good look for me." Patricia gave him a look and then set about twig and leaf cleanup in the laundry room.

Howard and Samuel were discusssing what to make for dinner ( best to get an early start on ideas) when Howard's phone rang. " Oh, it's Carl. Let me see what's up."

" Hey Carl, how'd it go? The balloon did Ok? Oh good, I was worried about those wires but whew! That's some good news! What?!?! The squirrels did what? They what?!?! Where?? Landed on women's' heads? How did they get loose!?!? Oh my gosh, Carl, are you okay? Do you need me to bring you anything? Are you sure? Well if you change your mind, let me know. Ok thanks so much, Carl. Let me know when you get the balloon back to the hangar, and thanks so much !" Howard hit the END button with a flourish and spun around to face Samuel, his eyes as big as saucers. " Oh my gosh, the squirrels broke out in the gondola and landed on a bunch of women's heads downtown while they were getting their pictures taken! This is unbelievable!" Samuel looked at him and envisioned a thought bubble up above his head saying, " If you only knew, Howard, if you only knew..."

Then Howard sat back down to finish his coffee when Patricia emerged with the yarn which looked weirdly like new, and was fresh off a serious lecture about what would happen to him if Howard found out he could talk... Yarnell was crestfallen that he wasn't allowed to have a battle of wits with Howard- he was confident he'd win ( he had no idea lol how wrong he was )

Patricia and Samuel looked at each other and then they both looked at Yarnell, who was on the table. Howard was inspecting the yarn, wondering how it came so clean., and he commented on how soft it was. The yarn moved and a little giggle slipped out. Patricia immediately cleared her throat and coughed to make it look like it was her , but Howard was now staring intently at the yarn, his hand still on it. " So.... was anyone hurt when the squirrels fell from the sky?" Samuel asked to distract Howard. " No, Carl said there was a lot of screaming and a lady fell into the fountain, but that the mayor got everything under control quite quickly." Howard paused and then he sat there as if pondering something. " Carl said there was someone at the sanctuary that was telling him about a balloon that came back from France that looked like ours, and they had heard a story about two mice in that balloon. " What did Carl say to that?" Samuel asked. Howard looked at both Patricia and Samuel, and almost busting at the seams with laughter, said, " Carl told him it's a small world after all."

Meanwhile, at the squirrel sanctuary, Carl had unloaded all of the squirrels and the volunteers were putting the cages in the quarantine area to open them up and keep the squirrels contained for thirty days before they were given the run of the 150- acre farm. Carl had to sign a non-disclosure form stating that he would not divulge the co-ordinates to anyone, and that he would not return uninvited, which he did with pleasure. He got the balloon prepped and WHOOSH WHOOSH he lifted off and became airborne. As he floated by a huge lake, he saw a bird off to the side flying with a fish in its clutches, toward a cave near the water's edge. He closed one eye to get a better look. Was that fish smiling?!? It sure looked like it. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Oh yeah, definitely smiling...

Back at Patricia's house, the familiar rumble of the Amazon van jerked her out of her chair and the guys laughed. " Her and that Amazon van... "

" yeah, she sure has a thing for big blue vans..."

The driver hopped out with the package while Patricia greeted him and he handed her the box. Yarnell was tucked under her arm, behaving surprisingly well. Acting like a ball of yarn... Not able to wait, Patricia ripped the box open. Yarnell gasped. There, in the box, was a bundle of yarn the same color as Yarnell. Patricia held Yarnell up by the box and she waited for the new yarn to react. Nothing. Yarnell whispered, " Wilson, it's okay. she knows." Nothing. Patricia felt bad for Yarnell, she bought this new yarn because it was the only one she thought was like Yarnell.

She walked back toward the house with the open box and the blue yarn nest in her arms, wondering why she even bought the yarn in the first place.

She walked inside, and Howard smiled and said, " aw, you bought more. Are you going to try to knit something else?" Patricia looked over at Samuel and he smiled at her. She sat down and took a gulp of her now-cold coffee with the peppermint mocha creamer. It was delicious. She smiled at Howard and then, looking at Samuel, said , " yes, I'm going to try and make a sweater." A giggle erupted from Yarnell, and then a giggle snuck out of the box. Patricia jumped up, eyes big and a smile accidentally popped out. She looked at Samuel, who had a look of possible dread on his face. They both looked at Harold, and he was quietly sitting there , his eyes wide and his mouth open.

Part 10 will be written by the great story teller Rowan Finley, so let's see what adventures lie ahead!