"What will the auditors do?"
"I don't know. Fudge it, probably. Create some kind of miscellaneous adjustment account. We'll see. Oh, we got a package from IBM—looks like another operating system release."
"No sweat," Oliver said. "I'll install it after the month-end run—midnight, the 31st."
"I'll put it in the cabinet in the computer room," Dan said.
Oliver took care of loose ends until noon and waited for Suzanne to drive away. Half an hour later, she met him at her door. They clung to each other silently and then stepped inside. Oliver hung up his coat.
"So, what are you going to show me?"
She pointed to the living room. "Come see."
He followed her into the room where a quilt in the making was spread out on the rug. A roll of white cotton batting leaned against the couch. Rectangles of brown and faded gold were stitched to a neutral backing—some were small, some large, some nearly square, others long and thin. Short irregularly curved stems cut from cloth—mostly black, a few reddish brown—were sewn randomly over the rectangles, crossing over and under each other, separate, yet interlocking. He saw it suddenly. "The field! Looking down."
"Bingo!" Suzanne said. "I make a different quilt every year for the hospital benefit auction."
"Wow, I love it. What goes on the bottom?"