Page 1 of Elsie's Strong Shelter

1

The constant hum of the sewing machine was music to Elsie Sweet’s ears. Its steady vibration shook her hands, and her heart swelled at the pleasure of feeding fabric into the old, trusty Singer to create something beautiful out of something old and discarded.

Heck, she’d been lucky to make a career finding treasure out of things most people didn’t want to mess with.

Her fingers ached as she finished the hem of a black pencil skirt. A donation that needed altered then taken to Safe Haven Women’s Shelter, not a piece of clothing to stay in her secondhand store, Sweet Repeats. She studied her work and, satisfied, set it on the floral armchair beside her.

Not like she could see many of the colorful blooms snaking up the light gray fabric. A mismatched variety of clothing was close to toppling off the back of the chair. Time to take a break, bag up the clothes, and figure out when she could deliver them to the shelter. Then she could focus on her actual business for a while before closing time.

She sighed and studied the mess waiting for her attention. Her distressed, vintage desk was buried under boxesoverflowing with knick-knacks and accessories. Bolts of fabric leaned against her dusty pink walls and a subtle, tangy scent reminded her a half-eaten yogurt waited to be thrown away.

“Knock, knock!” The sing-song voice of her roommate, Mila Kinsley, turned her head toward the doorway. Her blond hair was pulled into a tight ponytail with a bright red head scarf and her fair skin was make-up free. Yellow smiley faces dotted her pale blue scrubs.

A tiny tornado of energy ran past Mila and into the office. Jimmy, Mila’s six-year-old son, flung his arms wide as he bounced up and down in front her. His blond hair and cornflower blue eyes mimicked his mother’s, his grin always filled with mischief. “Elsie, I’m finally here!”

Elsie struggled to keep her expression serious as she shifted on her chair to face Jimmy. The little boy had lived with her since the day he’d come home from the hospital, and she couldn’t love him more if she’d given birth to him herself. “I see that. Are you ready to work?”

He gave one big nod.

Mila grinned from her spot in the doorway. “Really? You could have fooled me when you argued about putting away your clothes before we left.”

Jimmy dropped his big eyes to the floor. “Sorry, Mama.”

Elsie tucked her thumb under his chin and lifted his eyes to hers. “You promise to listen to your mama next time?”

“Yes.”

“And help me at the store until it’s time to leave?”

A tiny smile slipped through his forlorn expression. “Yes,” he said again.

“Good, because I need a lot of help.” Elsie stood and grabbed the skirt she’d finished altering. “Can you run out and give this to Amy? She’ll know where to put it.”

Jimmy gave her a big hug, grabbed the skirt, then dashed out of the room.

Mila chuckled. “If only he was so passionate about putting his own stuff where I tell him, but he’s just so darn cute I’ll cut him some slack.”

“He’s six. He does a good enough job. I just wish I checked his hands to make sure they weren’t dirty before handing over a piece of clothing.”

“He finished some chocolate in the car,” Mila said, wincing. “You might want to check the skirt before you put it on the sales floor.”

Elsie made a mental note to double-check the skirt then stacked the rest of the tailored items from the chair over the crook of her arm. “That one goes to the shelter. I think I’ve gathered enough items for the event next week.”

She’d worked for months to promote her latest project to collect interview-worthy outfits for women in the community. Although Mrs. Collins, the owner of the shelter, agreed to let her use the little free store she’d established at the shelter for women staying there, this event was community wide. All women were welcome to stop by and browse the carefully cultivated selection to help them look, and feel, their best for upcoming interviews.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Mila said. “I have a bunch of clothes I found in the back of my closet. I put them in a garment bag and laid them across my bed for you.”

“Thanks. I’ll grab them when I get home tonight.”

“Try and wait up for me, will you?” Mila asked. “I’m craving a glass of wine and some good girl time. It’s been too long since we’ve shared both.”

“Everything all right?” Elsie studied her friend. It was true, even though they lived together, they seldom spent much time catching up on each other’s lives or talking about anything beyond Jimmy. Life was busy, and Mila often picked up extrashifts as a home health aide. Elsie never minded contributing toward extra expenses related to the boy she loved so much, but Mila hated asking for money.

“Just miss my best friend. Plus, I need to know how Dean’s doing these days.” Mila widened her eyes, attempting unsuccessfully to appear innocent in her not-so-subtle digging.

Elsie rolled her eyes. “Dean is a friend and nothing more. An acquaintance, really. That’s all.”

“That’s not what Jimmy says.” Mila wiggled her eyebrows and grinned as mischievously as her son. “He gushes about Dean anytime you take him to Jenna’s to play with Oliver and Dean is there, which seems to be more often than not.”

---