Knit to Be Tied by Maggie Sefton Page A

from her plate as she sank back into the sofa cushions.
    â€œWhere is he again?” Pete asked, taking another bite of the rich cake.
    â€œHe’s at a thesis acceptance party for one of his graduate student friends at the university,” Lisa replied.
    Kelly glanced around the great room. Her friends were sitting or sprawled on the comfy chairs, sofa, and love seat that she and Steve had combined from her cottage and his Denver apartment. She and Steve had moved into one of the last houses in Steve’s housing development on the northeast side of Fort Connor. The same development where Lisa and Greg had bought a home several years ago. Megan and Marty had followed suit a couple of years later, as had Kelly and Steve. Jennifer and Pete had joined them the following year. Now, whenever the gang wanted to get together, all they had to do was walk around a few corners.
    Kelly checked her watch. “Yeah. I’m surprised Greg isn’t here already. He’s usually the first one to line up whenever food is mentioned.”
    â€œDon’t worry. Greg will show up any minute and immediately accuse Marty of having two slices and leaving him only one,” Steve joked, his plate already scraped clean. Not a fleck of cake or frosting visible.
    â€œWell, then, I should get another slice now. I don’t want to make a liar out of him,” Marty said with a grin and jumped up from the love seat he was sharing with Megan.
    â€œMar-
teeeeee!
Take a teeny slice. Everyone else will want another taste,” Megan warned her husband.
    â€œI’ll text Greg and tell him what kind of cake it is. Better yet, I’ll send a photo,” Pete said, slipping his cell phone from his pocket as he rose from his chair beside Jennifer’s.
    â€œAnd tell him that Marty’s circling it right now,” Jennifer added with a laugh.
    Pete walked over to the kitchen counter and snapped a photo with his phone. He scrolled through different phone screens, then clicked. “Okay. There it goes. Now, Marty, come over here and lean over the cake.” Pete beckoned.
    â€œAbsolutely,” Marty said obligingly. He leaned over the cake, holding his plate in one hand and his fork hovering directly over the scrumptious dessert.
    â€œPerfect,” Pete said with a grin as he clicked his mail program again. Electronic messages traveling through the ether faster than a single breath.
    The chorus of an old bluesy jazz song sounded. “That’s mine,” Lisa said as she reached beside the sofa for her purse.
    â€œDid Molly go to sleep okay?” Kelly asked Megan as she perched on the edge of Steve’s favorite overstuffed armchair.
    â€œPretty much. She plays so hard during the day that she usually falls right to sleep at night,” Megan said, sinking back into the love seat.
    â€œMost of the time,” Marty added as he returned to the love seat with only a small slice of cake. “Other times, she cries. It’s hard to figure out.”
    Kelly glanced over at Lisa, who was talking on the phone.
    â€œI’m Greg Carruthers’s wife. Who is this again?” Lisa was sitting up straight now.
    â€œI’ve heard that babies do that—” Jennifer started to say until Kelly waved her quiet.
    Kelly was watching Lisa, whose face had gone white in seconds. All color drained away.
    â€œWhat? But . . . but how—” Lisa blurted out, her voice higher.
    â€œSomething’s up,” Steve whispered to Kelly as he put his plate on a nearby end table.
    Kelly just nodded as she and all her friends had their attention riveted on Lisa.
    â€œOh, my God . . .” Lisa said, her voice breaking. “Where is he?”
    Kelly and Steve both stood up at the same time, as did their friends, one by one. Standing silently.
    â€œI’ll be right there. Fifth floor. I’m coming.” She snapped her phone closed and looked up at her friends with a blank