When Bobbie Sang the Blues by Peggy Darty

teased back. It was a secret joke between the two that they both could shop until they dropped—literally.
    Other ladies stepped forward to welcome Bobbie and Christy, all dressed in various types of decorative red hats and purple outfits.
    “Okay, girls,” Joy called out, “give the server your orders. And don’t forget, today Miz B made blackberry cobbler. Then I’ll introduce you to a very nice, very creative lady.”
    Bobbie and Christy placed the disguised object in the corner of the party room and took a seat at the table. Christy smiled across the table at her aunt Dianna, whose eyes glowed with curiosity.
    Joy tapped her water glass with a spoon. “Okay, ladies, quiet down. What do you say we leave business until later and let our distinguished guest show us how she made whatever that mysterious thing is in the corner.” She gestured over her shoulder. “And to adda little mystery to her charm, let me tell you that Bobbie can sing the blues like you wouldn’t believe.”
    Upon hearing this, Miz B stuck her head through the doorway and yelled to the crowd, “Can that lady ever sing the blues! I’ve heard her, and she’ll put goose bumps on your skin and tears in your eyes! Now go on with your introduction, Joy.”
    The questions flew as the Red Hats stared with glee at the mysterious black-shrouded object.
    Joy looked at Christy. “Would you like to introduce your other aunt?”
    “My pleasure,” she said, standing. “This is my mother’s sister, Bobbie Bodine, and she has an amazing talent for restoring old things. She’s just moved to Summer Breeze and soon will be opening a shop where she’ll carry all sorts of interesting treasures. I think she plans to offer classes as well.”
    “Hear! Hear!” a new arrival from England called out.
    Christy watched the ladies squirm, whisper to one another, and stare at the black object as though something live might burst through the packaging. She didn’t want to keep them guessing.
    “Please welcome Bobbie Bodine, a lady of many talents!” she said.
    A round of applause followed as Bobbie stepped to the podium, looked around the room, and flashed a million-dollar smile. Her big blue eyes glowed with a passion for people as she began to speak.
    “Hello, everyone. Thank you for inviting me to talk about my favorite subject: finding treasures. I have an obsession for restoringthe beauty in old objects or family heirlooms that have been cast aside. I call it looking beyond the flaws and finding the promise.
    “For example, I found an old post from the Castleman farm in Beth and Grant’s garage. It was sentimental to Grant, so he kept it, although Beth kept saying, ‘What do you plan to do with that splintered old post?’”
    Bobbie motioned to Christy, and she stepped forward to help. They carried the black object to the center of the room where everyone could see. Christy peeled away the garbage bags, and a purple coatrack appeared. The gold pegs held four red hats, varying in size and shape. Bobbie turned on the buttons, and dozens of tiny red hats attached up and down the post began to twinkle.
    “That’s the neatest thing I’ve ever seen!” a woman named Valerie said, standing up so quickly her red cowboy hat slid over her forehead.
    Everyone was talking at once—“How did you do that” and “Tell us what to do” and “What made you think of it”—when a door slammed behind them and Deputy Arnold entered the room. He did not appear to be in a party mood.
    “Hey, Deputy Arnold,” Joy called out. “Are you going to join us?”
    Everyone laughed at first, but the laughter died away as a grim Deputy Arnold looked back. He marched down the side of the room and approached Christy. “Which one’s Mrs. Bodine?”
    Christy felt her heart sink, like the ball dropping on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. She grabbed a breath and tried to smile as shelooped her arm through Bobbies. She made the introduction, and Bobbie turned on the charm, but