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Writing Contest
2023 Flash Fiction 2 nd Place
Granny Mitchell ’ s Quilt
Sharon Gladman
Granny Mitchell lay straight and still under the patchwork quilt ; looking down the narrow hospital bed she could see her bony knees and feet humped under the squares .
She ’ d had a battle with Carol , her daughter , about bringing the quilt in the first place . “ You don ’ t want that old thing , Mom . It ’ s starting to get tattered around the edges and some of the squares are losing their stitching . Let me get you one of those nice fleecy blankets .”
But Granny had won and here she was , nestled under the quilt she ’ d started when she ’ d first married , pieced together over the years from old bits of fabric salvaged from family clothing . On her right knee was a patch of bright red velvet from the dress she ’ d worn when she first met Jack at that Christmas dance where he couldn ’ t take his eyes off her and told her she was the prettiest girl there . He always said that , until the day he died , when she leaned over his bed to kiss his cheek and he whispered , “ Milly , you ’ re the prettiest girl here .” She was over 80 and knew she wasn ’ t but she cherished his words .
On her left knee was one of many white flannel squares cut from the tiny nightgowns her three babies had worn . She ’ d loved them in those nightgowns , their toes poking out the bottom like rows of little pink beanies . She imagined she could smell the baby powder when she stroked the soft flannel .
She wriggled her left toe under a patch of one of the plaid skirts her girls had worn to elementary school , her right toe under a denim square of her son Jeff ’ s overalls . Overhauls , he ’ d called them when he was little . She hardly saw him anymore ; he was a prominent Toronto lawyer now who sent elaborate bouquets on her birthday and Mother ’ s Day . Today there was a showy mass of lilies and roses on the windowsill .
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