A Time To Reap – Episode 10
A Time To Reap by Kate Blackadder
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- 10. A Time To Reap – Episode 10
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- 12. A Time To Reap – Episode 12
- 13. A Time To Reap – Episode 13
June laid an old rug on the grass at the front of the house. It was late May and for once she thought it warm enough to sit with the baby outside. Not that Sadie could sit by herself yet – she had to be propped up with cushions.
June took her sewing bag out, then fetched Sadie, looking adorable in white bonnet and the matinee jacket June’s mum had knitted.
She, Tam and Sadie had gone into town last Saturday. It was smaller than June’s home town, of course, but the shops were better than she’d feared.
Tam bought her a pretty skirt she’d admired. She was worried they couldn’t afford it but Tam insisted.
It would have been nice to buy it for herself. She would rather be a mum than anything else in the world, but she did miss her wages from when she was a hairdresser.
Nancy, from the village shop, had told her the best place in town to buy material and patterns.
She’d picked out a colour from her new skirt to make herself a blouse with a round neck and three-quarter sleeves that had a ruffle over the elbow.
Although it wasn’t finished, she’d taken the blouse to show Nancy, who exclaimed over it and again urged June to join the SWRI.
The initials stood for Scottish Women’s Rural Institute, and Nancy was the current president. They had competitions every month for things like baking, crafts and flower arranging. There was even a drama competition between the various institutes.
June liked the idea of the drama, as she’d been in an amateur dramatics society back home, but wasn’t sure if her domestic skills were up to the rest of it.
Plus, she’d never left Sadie before. It wasn’t as if Rita would march in and demand her baby back, of course, and even if she did, Tam wouldn’t meekly hand her over. Besides, the law was on their side.
But she didn’t want to let Sadie out of her sight.
There was one good thing about the WRI, though – June’s neighbour, Isa, didn’t attend, due to long-standing feuds with almost everyone in it!
Isa had begun to tell June about them in detail one morning when they were hanging out their washing at the same time.
June had listened without comment to the petty tales until she couldn’t stand it any longer and went indoors, pretending she could hear Sadie crying.
She glanced at Isa’s house now, hoping that she wouldn’t come out to join her if she saw her sitting on the lawn, a captive audience for more gossip.
Oh, no! Isa was waving.
