Apart at the Seams

The sixth installment in the Cobbled Court Quilts series, the novel alternates between two women whose lives intersect in the small town of New Bern, Connecticut, during a pivotal summer.

Gayla Oliver, a college admissions counselor in New York City, has been married to Brian, a British former musician turned corporate executive, for 26 years. One Friday in May, Gayla accidentally opens Brian's computer files and discovers an unsent memo from nearly a year earlier in which he confesses his unhappiness, reveals a brief affair with a coworker, and proposes an amicable divorce. Devastated, Gayla flees the apartment and drives to the couple's weekend cottage in New Bern, a property Brian impulsively purchased three years earlier hoping it would keep them connected as his travel-heavy promotion pulled them apart.

Brian calls from the airport and insists the memo was deleted, that he changed his mind after their daughter Maggie's wedding and ended the affair. Gayla refuses to see him. She phones her oldest friend, Lanie, a thrice-married real estate agent and former college roommate, who urges immediate legal action, but Gayla says she needs time to think. Over the following week, alone at the cottage, Gayla spirals into a breakdown, cycling through crying, drinking scotch, chain-smoking, and smashing dishes against a stone wall. She purges the house of Brian's belongings, sparing only his guitar.

Ivy Peterman, a 30-year-old single mother, works at Cobbled Court Quilts, a quilt shop in New Bern run by owner Evelyn Dixon. Ivy fled her abusive husband Hodge at 24, taking her two children, Bethany and Bobby, and settling in New Bern. Hodge was later imprisoned. Ivy now coordinates an internship program for domestic violence survivors while attending community college one class per semester. When caseworker Sheila Fenton informs her that Hodge will be released in 60 days and is seeking reunification with his children, Ivy is horrified. Her attorney advises her to cooperate, as the law grants Hodge visitation rights despite his history of abuse.

Dan Kelleher, a landscaper who lives next to the cottage, checks on Gayla after her nighttime outbursts wake him. He lends her his rototiller and fixes her furnace. While tilling an enormous garden plot, Gayla experiences an unexpected sense of freedom and decides to spend the summer on a self-imposed "sabbatical," trying new things.

A failed attempt at trampoline Zumba leads Gayla to meet Tessa Woodruff, a local herbalist, who brings her to Cobbled Court Quilts and introduces her to the quilt circle: Evelyn; Margot Matthews; Virginia, Evelyn's elderly mother; Ivy; Abigail Spaulding, a wealthy local grande dame; and Madelyn Beecher, an innkeeper. Tessa proposes that the group undertake its own sabbatical, with each person trying at least one new thing. Despite never having sewn, Gayla joins the circle. Evelyn introduces a group project: crazy quilts made from personally meaningful fabrics and embellished with hand embroidery.

Brian arrives unannounced and proposes that instead of divorcing, they spend the summer "dating," seeing each other regularly to get reacquainted. He gives Gayla a photo album of their family history and asks her not to pursue divorce until summer's end. Gayla reluctantly agrees. Their dates begin awkwardly but improve as they share childhood memories through a structured conversation exercise from a marriage-counseling book. One evening, however, Brian does something physically unfamiliar during an intimate moment, and Gayla realizes he learned it from his affair partner. She pulls away and locks him out.

Shaken, Gayla confides in the quilt circle. Tessa discloses that her own husband, Lee, had an affair 20 years earlier and that they worked through it. Ivy shares that she has gone on her first-ever date with Dan Kelleher after meeting him at a speed-dating event.

Ivy's children react differently to Hodge's impending return. Eleven-year-old Bethany is furious and refuses any contact, while Bobby, who believes his father has been serving in the navy because of a story Bethany invented to protect him, is innocently excited. When Ivy interviews for the executive director position at New Beginnings, a domestic violence organization, she is humiliated over her lack of a degree. This rejection pushes her to seriously consider Carrillon College, an accelerated degree program in Delaware. She asks Gayla for help finding scholarships.

Gayla's dates with Brian grow warmer. She begins making him a birthday quilt and tutors Dan's son Drew for the SAT. On their 27th wedding anniversary, Brian surprises Gayla with tickets to Italy and Scotland, including a week on the Lucia Dolce, the same barge where they honeymooned after eloping in London. They make love for the first time since Gayla's discovery of the affair. When Gayla calls Lanie to share the news, Lanie reveals she attempted suicide after her second husband's repeated betrayals, warning that a second heartbreak is far worse.

The summer's sabbatical projects come to fruition. Virginia celebrates her 85th birthday by tandem skydiving. Abigail's secret project is revealed at opening night: She has been playing Lady Bracknell in a community theater production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Gayla tells Ivy she has found a scholarship through the Floche-Meyerson Foundation that could fund Ivy's attendance at Carrillon.

Bethany takes matters into her own hands, hiring Franklin Spaulding, Abigail's retired attorney husband, after discovering legal precedents for children denying visitation to abusive parents. The judge, impressed by the 11-year-old's independently reasoned argument, exempts Bethany from forced visitation. Bobby's first supervised visit with Hodge is subdued; afterward, he quietly asks if Dan would still be his bowling partner, signaling his disillusionment. When Hodge later violates the restraining order by appearing at Ivy's house, Dan calmly defuses the confrontation. Through a mediated meeting, Hodge agrees to relocate to Pennsylvania and visit Bobby one supervised Saturday per month. Ivy reflects that she is no longer afraid of Hodge, recognizing that he has no power over her unless she chooses to give it to him.

The reconciliation between Gayla and Brian collapses when Brian says he must fly to Los Angeles on business. Gayla calls his travel agent and discovers Brian actually flew to Indianapolis, the location of his company's headquarters and his affair partner. Believing he has betrayed her again, Gayla authorizes her divorce lawyer to file papers and tears apart Brian's birthday quilt.

When Brian arrives at the cottage, he reveals the truth: He asked his boss for a demotion to reduce travel, but when the company tried to place him alongside Deanna, the woman from the affair, he refused and was fired. He is furious that Gayla assumed the worst and broke her promise. He storms off, saying her inability to truly forgive him has made the entire effort pointless.

Philippa, a pastor at the community church, visits Gayla and counsels her on forgiveness, explaining that holding on to a debt that can never be repaid only imprisons the one holding it. Gayla realizes she never truly forgave Brian and drives to Manhattan to find him. She learns from the doorman that Brian left with suitcases and discovers Lanie showing the apartment to buyers after Brian listed it for sale. Gayla confronts Lanie about her lack of genuine support, and Lanie angrily ends their friendship.

Brian returns unexpectedly, having remembered he left his phone in the freezer. He reveals he was driving to New Bern with news: He has negotiated a deal to manage and potentially buy a music store in town. He proposes they wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Gayla agrees, and they reconcile.

At a picnic following Bobby's third-place finish in a bowling tournament, Dan proposes to Ivy, offering a practical solution: If they combine households, she can afford to attend school full-time. After initial hesitation, Ivy accepts, and they plan a December wedding.

At a Labor Day gathering in Gayla's garden, all storylines converge. Ivy shows off her engagement ring, and Drew reports a 230-point SAT improvement. Gayla and Brian announce their Italy trip and his plans for the music store. After the guests leave, Brian discovers the torn birthday quilt. Gayla assures him it can be repaired because the tears are only along the seams and the fabric is still strong: "By the time I'm finished, it'll be just as good as it was before, maybe even better" (318).