It Started With a Scarf (The Decker Family #1)

Prologue

Marley Mathews

~

Chandler, Texas

Fourteen years ago

I was having the best day of my life.

I was finally double digits, and I happened to be experiencing the birthday party of my ever-loving dreams. It didn't start out that way. At first, my party was a real dud. I had three friends over from school, and we ate some chips and a slice of birthday cake, but there was no plan or party games. My mom didn't have time for all that. My dad worked evenings at the hospital. It was only afternoon, but he had gone to work already, and he wouldn't be home until past my bedtime. The party was my idea and my responsibility. I was expected to entertain my friends while my mom kept my little sister busy.

But then, like a beacon of hope, my grandma, Nessa, showed up unexpectedly and saved the day. She really shook things up. She was the one who had made it the best day ever. She asked what we were doing sitting around like bumps on logs, and then we got into the car and went to the mall in the next town. Nessa drove my friends and me, and there was no room for my mom or sister in her car, so they followed us.

My grandma was the best. We walked an entire lap around the mall like we owned the place. We went into three stores, and my grandma bought each of us our own stuffed animal. We did as we pleased at the mall for a while, and then she took us to a fancy, sit-down Mexican restaurant. My mom didn't want to go eat at first, but she relented on the condition that we settled for appetizers only.

Nessa ordered us virgin daiquiris with little umbrellas. My friends loved the whole experience, and they treated me like I was their favorite person in the whole world. My tenth birthday party had been one big change of plans, and it was amazing. Everything was my grandma's idea, and I caught myself at the restaurant, sipping on a tropical frozen drink and smiling at her, thinking about how great it all was. Her eyes were the same greenish color as mine, and there was a twinkle in them. I hoped I looked like her when I was old.

"I have something for you, Marley," she said to me. "It's in the trunk of my car… I'll go get it."

"No, Mom, that's going to take forever. We're going to the car when we leave here. Just give it to her then."

"Aw, come on, Torrie. It'll be nice to give to her now," she said to my mom. Nessa stood from her spot.

She and my mom had an exchange. I was only vaguely aware of it because my friends said something to me. My mom was annoyed, but I didn't care. Ultimately, Nessa walked out to get whatever she wanted to give me. I talked to my friends while my grandma was away.

Nessa had let us have a dream day at the mall, and I easily ignored my mom's disapproval. I was unaware of how long it had been, but soon, my grandma came back, carrying a ball of knitted yarn. I knew what it was. It was her special scarf. I had seen her wearing it before, and I had heard her talking about it. She smiled and stared right at me as she approached the table with it. As she got closer, she extended her hands, giving it to me. She sat down next to me after I took it from her.

"Go ahead and try it around your neck, and let your friends see."

"Mom, what are you doing? Don't give her that."

"Shhh, let me talk to my granddaughter for a minute, Torrie," Nessa said sternly to my mom. She turned to me and smiled. "You're getting older and becoming a young lady, Marley." I nodded at her, which made her smile widen. "I want you to have Nessa's famous scarf for your tenth birthday, okay?"

"What? No!" I insisted even though I wanted it. I glanced at my mom who nodded like I did the right thing by denying it.

"Now listen, I am a grown woman. I know it's your job to listen to your mom, Marley, and look to her for approval, but I’m your mom's mom. And sometimes, I get to do what I want and treat my granddaughter on her big tenth birthday. Try it on," she said, urging me.

I did so reluctantly.

Nessa watched me try it on and then she looked at my friend who was sitting next to me. "Now, this isn't just any scarf, it's a very special scarf, indeed." She wore an intriguing expression, settling into her chair in just the right way so that I knew she was about to tell a story.

My mom sighed, but my grandma was unfazed.

"Mariam Waterson gave me this scarf. Do you girls know who that is?"

I nodded, but I heard one of my friends say, "No," from behind me.

"Well, she is a very famous actress," Nessa said. "She's been in movies with Robert Redford and Marlon Brando. Mariam Waterson made this scarf herself, back in the early nineteen eighties, when she was still making movies. She has red, curly hair. It's white now, but then it was red. And she was always such a bright, colorful person—that's why there's all the bright colors in the scarf." Nessa reached out and touched the scarf, pulling it toward her and inspecting it closely. "She made each of these little knots by hand. And Mariam was explaining to me that this reddish section was done while she was in India. She said she didn't plan on putting that much red into this part, but she bought the yarn from a street vendor, and then the red section ended up being her favorite. Do you girls know where India is?"

"I do."

"No ma'am."

I nodded since I did remember seeing it on a map at school.

"It's on the complete opposite side of the world. The scarf has been all over the Lord's green earth, literally. It's a truly famous scarf that I'm giving to you, Marley. It has been touched by famous hands and worn by famous people. It has traveled all over the world and probably even been in movies."

"How did you get it?" my friend, Bethany asked.

"I'm glad you asked me that. I was just about to tell you. My husband, Marley's grandfather, is a famous archaeologist. Before he retired, he did research in sixteen countries all over the world. He's written seven books, three of which are used at almost every university in America. Frank is a well-known archaeologist, and Mariam Waterson, being the astute person she is, well, she was a fan of his work. He had met her before we got married, and they've been friends and been in touch since. She went on a few expeditions with his team years ago. She and I became friends when Frank was working in South Dakota. He had some exciting things happening during that time with a Sioux tribe, and we were all there visiting the site. She told me all about the scarf, and then she ended up giving it to me. We got to know each other quite a bit on the trip and got to share life stories. I told her all about my family—my children—Marley wasn't born at that time, Mariam has heard about her since then. I think she knitted this section while she was in South America. I remembered that because those colors are so lush and tropical, see that? I just love the stripes and the colors. I've never seen anything like it. I'll have to try to remember all the stories she told me about it now that I'm passing it along to a new owner."

Nessa tilted her head, regarding me and smiling warmly as she touched the end of the scarf.

"I've worn this quite a bit over the years, Marley, especially when I'm visiting somewhere cold. I get compliments on it every time. It's one of a kind, and people are so impressed to learn that Mariam Waterson knitted it herself."

"I like the colors!" Sadie said.

"Oh, thank you, honey! I know, it's just gorgeous. She was a true artist. It has never gone out of style and it never will."

The server walked up with our food just as she was finishing that statement.

We ate and drank the rest of our drinks, and within minutes we were on our way back to our home in Chandler. My mom and sister went straight home from the mall. She gave my grandma my friends' addresses and made her promise to get them all home safely.

Nessa let us listen to loud music and lean out of the windows on the way home. It was September in Texas and not cold out, but I kept on the scarf, and I felt like a movie star. My friends treated me like I was just that. Things this wonderful didn't normally happen to me.

It was quite literally the best day of my life.

Until a couple of hours later when my mom told me to go play with my little sister so that she could visit with Nessa and clean up. I had been in the bedroom for about ten minutes when I heard something. My mom was yelling, and I told my little sister to wait in the bedroom while I went to see what was going on. By the time I opened the door and stepped into the hallway, I could clearly hear her words.

" You come in here, and you just do and say anything you want with NO CONCERN about who you're affecting! "

My mom was yelling loudly, and it scared me. I approached them cautiously thinking I would find a stranger in our house with her and Nessa once I walked down the hall. I thought she and my grandma were in some kind of trouble.

But it was Nessa who replied to her. "Calm down, Torrie!"

" Don't tell me to calm down!

I was supposed to be done with this birthday party hours ago, Mom! I have a life! I have things to do! "

"Listen, just lower your voice and we can say all these things to each other in a normal tone, like reasonable adults."

"Don’t give me reasonable adults! You drove me to this, Mom!"

My mom's voice was quieter, but it was shaking, and I stopped in my tracks in the hallway. My sister came up behind me. I knew she wasn't going to leave me alone, so I settled for giving her a warning glance. I told her to be quiet by putting a finger to my mouth.

"What's the matter, Torrie?"

"What's the matter? Don't give me what's the matter! You didn't even tell me you were coming here today."

"I called you this morning."

"You said you might stop by, Mother! Ever since you and Frank moved to Dallas, you just show up here without asking! "

"Stop screaming, Torrie, the girls are going to hear you and get scared."

"I don't care," she said. But she was talking quieter. She continued with quiet intensity, speaking angrily through her teeth. "You don't come in here and take over my daughter's birthday party. You had no right to come to my house and do that! You can't show up here, unannounced, and just hijack our afternoon. You come in here, acting all high and mighty—putting on a big show, with your speech about how many famous people you and Frank know. And the scarf, Mom. What was that about? What were you thinking?"

"What do you mean? It's one of my favorite things I own, and I wanted to give it to my granddaughter on her tenth birthday."

"What's more accurate was that you didn't have a gift, because you forgot it was her birthday, because you've been traveling—and you came here at the last minute to crash this party. And then somehow, unbelievably, Mom, you do the least effort and you get the most credit! Everybody loves Nessa! "

"Do you want my granddaughter and her friends to not like me?"

"Oh, of course. Just turn it all around like you're some kind of victim."

"Torrie, now you're just saying things you're going to regret."

"How is it that you think you can get away with coming in here and looking like the hero of the day when I'm the one who has to work every day to make this family happen? My husband hates his job. He's in and out of that X-ray room all night for next to nothing, and we're barely making it by with these two girls."

"Do you need money?"

"You already give us money, Mom."

"Do you need more?"

"Don't do that. Don't try to buy my approval. What you did was wrong."

"How was it wrong?"

"Because why that scarf? Why would you give it to a ten-year-old? She's a baby. She doesn't know how to take care of something like that."

My sister started to snicker, and I put my hand over her mouth. It didn't matter. My mom and grandma were being too loud to hear us, anyway.

"I don't need her to take care of it. I didn't give it to her with expectations."

" You shouldn't have given it to her at all! "

"Stop yelling, Torrie. Say what you need to say to me, just don't yell."

"Okay, Vanessa. Here's what I need to say. You never gave me squat for any of my birthdays. All you did was leave Dad and me."

"That's not true. I hope you don't actually think that's true. I left your father because I felt like I needed to. I didn't leave you. I asked you to come with me."

"To a different state with no money and no plan? You couldn't even take care of yourself, much less me."

"That's your father who told you that. You were sixteen, Torrie, and you made your own decision to stay with him. I told you to come with me. I asked you to."

" You were glad I stayed! "

"That's not true."

"You moved to New York and worked as a waitress in a diner, Mom! You're lucky you met Frank. Don't pretend you had time for me. You certainly never brought me and my friends to the mall. I never once got a birthday with strawberry daiquiris in the mall with my friends—much less the scarf, Mom. You never gave me anything important to you."

"Is that what it is? Did you want the scarf?"

I felt sick to my stomach, waiting to hear how my mom would answer my grandmother's question. I just knew she was going to agree that she wanted it and I was going to have to give it up.

"That's not what this is about. Yeah, sure I would have loved for you to think about me and give me the scarf. It doesn't matter because you never consider my feelings, do you, Mom?"

"I'm sorry you feel that way because I do consider your feelings very much. I love you. I love my granddaughters."

"Exactly! You have two granddaughters. What are you going to do for Ada when she turns ten? Where's your second scarf? What if you happen to be off in Paris with Frank doing some lecture when Ada turns ten—what if you can't just come by and crash her party with some priceless heirloom? How's she going to feel? Do you ever think about that? Do you ever think about how others feel?"

"I should've asked you if it was okay for me to give her the scarf, Torrie. Now that I think about it, I should have asked you. I'm sorry. An-and I'll do something nice for Ada when she turns ten."

Mom let out a long frustrated sigh. "Thanks. I guess. Thanks for making everyone's day. I'm sure she'll really use your lovely used scarf even though we live in Texas and it doesn't get cold here. Thanks, Mom. Thanks so much. Real thoughtful gift."

My mom was clearly still mad, and my sister held onto me.

"Shhh," I said, in her ear.

"Torrie, what can I do to make it right?"

"Nothing. You've already done enough. Just get out!"

"Let me help you with the dishes."

"Stop! Don't touch me! Just get out! I'm serious. You shouldn't have come here today! "

The last sentence was ear-piercing. The scream was intense, and the silence that followed was deafening. My heartbeat was thudding in my ears as I waited to hear what would happen next. But nothing happened—all I heard were footsteps and doors closing. My grandmother left our house without another word.