PART 1
Jo muttered to herself as she pulled the next item from the mending basket. Surveying the ripped sleeve, she shook her head in dismay. “I fixed a different tear on this two weeks ago!” She debated delaying the repair until after the upcoming camping trip. “I’m sure that Emil will manage to rip out the stitches before dark.” Wondering how the boys managed to wear out their clothes so quickly, she searched her basket for darker thread. Amy’s entrance into the parlor interrupted her rummaging.
“Amy, what a surprise!” she exclaimed. “We didn’t expect you again until Sunday.”
“I was out making some calls, and thought I’d stop by.”
Jo set her work basket aside and excused herself to ask Asia to make some tea. Returning to the parlor, she made polite conversation with her sister. Hearing Amy prattle on about her previous visits, Jo controlled the desire to laugh. As youths, Amy had once prevailed on her to come along, with disastrous results. Perhaps mending the boys’ shirts wasn’t so terrible, if she had escaped a visit to the very formal Mrs. Montgomery.
Amy gave her a quizzical look, and asked, “Are you even listening to me, Jo?”
“Oh, sorry,” Jo apologized. “I was remembering the day we went calling together, and how much I scandalized you.”
Amy giggled. “I have to admit, you did a great impression of May Chester.” The two reminisced for several minutes. “Anyway, it looks like the children are keeping you busy.”
“When don’t they? Look at my mending pile--I think the boys secretly seek out ways to ruin their clothes. And Nan isn’t much better. I’m afraid that my basket will be overflowing again after we go camping in a few days.”
“Camping? With that many children?” Amy responded. “Jo, you take too much upon yourself!”
“I’ll have help--Nick and Asia will come. I’m just wondering what to do with the boys, because they won’t all fit into one tent. They can be wild enough with adult supervision, and Nick can’t stay in two tents at the same time. I was considering putting Dan in charge of the other tent--he can be very responsible.”
Amy made a polite comment on Jo’s dilemma, and then saw a sly grin forming on her sister’s face. Amy cringed inwardly, knowing Jo’s penchance for trouble.
“Perhaps Laurie would like to come,” suggested Jo.
Amy controlled an urge to shudder, and offered, “I know he’s had a lot of work lately--business is doing well.”
“Well, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I asked him. He’ll let me know if he can’t come. Would you be a dear and ask him for me when you get home?”
Amy racked her brain for protests, and couldn’t find a legitimate reason to not ask her husband. “I’ll do it tonight,” she promised.
The two sisters continued to chat over their cups of tea, and Amy made her escape as soon as possible. She gave the driver instructions to return home, and wondered if she could simply “forget” to ask Laurie. But with sober reflection, she realized that Jo’s persistence was unending, and that Jo would make the request herself if necessary.
PART 2
