Sisterhood Of Lake Alice (17 page)

It seemed so ironic that today she held the reunion invitation in her hands. It was the same day that the cardiologist had reviewed the test results and called her for an immediate appointment. Rebecca already knew what Dr. Norton was going to tell her. However, she still was not prepared when she actually heard the words spoken. Congestive heart failure combined with poor pulmonary function was an incurable disease. Her health issues had already progressed to the point where serious treatment was required. The doctor had recommended that she be on oxygen and limit her daily activities. There was nothing to stop the disease from rapidly growing worse at this stage. Only a complex combination of medications would help keep her comfortable.

The doctor’s final comments were startling: “Given your current poor physical condition, I would say that without a miracle, you have no longer than a year to live. If it were me, I would enjoy every day as much as I can. Try to live with as little stress as possible. In time, the medications will cease to be effective in your treatment. I am sorry to give this news; however, I believe it is always best to be honest with my patients.”

Rebecca left his office with a fistful of prescriptions and a schedule for weekly breathing treatments. Upon her request, Dr. Norton had given her a lot of information that detailed how the disease would progress and what she could expect to have happen along the way.

As Rebecca left the medical building, she looked around at the busy streets of Minneapolis. She wondered why everyone was in such a hurry. Against the doctor’s recommendation, she had decided to take one last student tour to Europe. She had reluctantly agreed to cut back her teaching schedule for the rest of the school year. Rebecca assisted in finding her replacement at Holy Angels Academy. The nuns were deeply saddened; however, they also understood. Rebecca knew that her life had just made a dramatic change of course. She also knew that her new priority was to make the best of each day she was given from now on.

She called Grace and left a message that she was coming to the reunion and that she was thinking about moving back to Fergus Falls. Then Rebecca went to bed. She cried all night for the life that she would never have, for the children she would never hold in her arms. Tears flowed for the husband she would never love. As the sunrise came up, she simply decided to live each day to the fullest. Rebecca knew that Fergus Falls was going to be her safe haven. The reunion was going to be very important.

*

The reunion invitation took almost three months before it finally reached Emily. After it was returned several times, Mrs. Klein was finally able to track down Dr. Larson in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was traveling with his new wife in Europe and was not expected back for several months. In his absence, his mail had been forwarded to his attorney’s office. After another few weeks, the unopened envelope was finally mailed with several other documents to Emily’s address in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

A cover letter from the firm of Kelly, Harris, and McGraw reminded Emily that she had inherited the Fergus Falls residence upon her mother’s death six months ago. The house with all its furnishings was vacant and in need of immediate repair. If she wished the house to be sold, she needed to advise him. He would arrange for the repairs to be made and then contract with a local real estate agent to put the house up for sale.

As Emily read the legal wording, a chill ran through her body. She thought it was so fitting that this was how she discovered that she had any inheritance from her mother: just a cold, impersonal packet of legal documents. It seemed a very fitting way to end this part of her life. As much as Emily gave to others in need, there was still no one to care for her when she was in need.

Emily mourned for the wasted life her mother had lived. She had wasted her days always trying to impress people. Those same people simply did not care about her enough to attend her funeral. Emily had flown to Arizona after receiving the call from her father that Joyce had passed away suddenly. Although she was never told, Emily assumed the years of drinking had finally taken their toll on her mother.

It had been almost eight years since she had seen either of her parents. She stayed at the Hyatt in Scottsdale for her brief two-day stay. There was a simple memorial service, with no minister or religious service. Joyce Larson had left this world with an elegant ending; however, there was not a tear shed for her.

While she sat reading the boring legal forms, she found another envelope. She opened it and found an engraved invitation to her twentieth class reunion. Emily sat in amazement. How was it possible that twenty years had already passed? Then she smiled. She thought that perhaps the two pieces of information coming together was a sign. It could be that it was time to return to Fergus Falls. It would be the last time she would walk through the house that was never a home except for when she was there with Isabelle, Grace, Rebecca, and Lindy. Yes, it was time to return for one last visit.

Emily smiled as she remembered the beauty of Fergus Falls in autumn. She filled out the reservation card and mailed it with a check the next day.

*

As Grace made her to-do list for the reunion, she wrote down that her first task was to find the girls of SOLA. Convincing them to come home for this special reunion was her top priority. After she had accomplished that, she would try to talk them into performing once for their classmates. Rebecca had already agreed to the plan. She told Grace that she would help in any way she could. They both knew the challenge was going to be to find Emily and Lindy. In her heart, she knew that somehow they would all be together again.

Grace was also in the midst of a major expansion of Claire’s shop. After she leased the empty space next door, which had been vacant for several years, the work began. She had just made the last payment to Claire, and Grace was now the sole owner of Claire’s Dress Shop. It was time for her to take a little risk. An idea came to her that Claire’s should carry clothes for everyone from babies to women in their eighties. She bought everything from baptismal gowns to dresses with Velcro closures instead of buttons. She found a new high-energy level that she had not felt for years. Soon she had drawn up new floor plans for the shop. The racks of clothing, new special display windows, and an outdoor sign were scheduled to arrive within six weeks. She had spent all of her savings, as well as taken out her first business loan, to pay for all the new improvements.

Grace spent every night and all Sunday working on the new shop’s look. She discovered how to paint murals on the walls by using a projector and outlining the figures. The shop was divided into six very different areas.

In the infant area, she painted angels and pixies on the walls in soft shades of pink and lavender. She draped a soft gauze fabric on the ceiling to soften the lights and create an interesting effect. She had a corner for the little girls to play with a giant dollhouse and stuffed animals. She finished the area with two hand-painted benches with soft cushions.

Candice was in charge of the infants, toddlers and small children’s area of the shop. She often brought her three-year-old daughter named Taylor and her son, T. J., with her to work. They dressed them both in the newly arrived outfits and took photos of them for their catalog. This way the grandmothers could see how darling their granddaughters and grandsons would look in the clothes. Taylor would spend hours playing with the dollhouse and often sleeping on top of the huge soft teddy bear, which was several inches taller than she was, while T. J. worked on his homework. She had officially become the shop’s mascot.

Next to that was the preteen section. Here the walls were painted deep lavender and rose. On the walls, she painted a screen of girls on bicycles, ice-skating, and playing. The racks of clothes were sorted by color and then size, so if a girl had a favorite color, she could easily find it. She hung twinkling white lights to add a whimsical feeling to the area. There were wicker baskets filled with socks that matched each outfit and ribbons and hair accessories. On what looked like a tree, she hung little purses, hats, and belts. She painted the floor with patterns of hopscotch and tic-tac-toe.

Grace promoted Jodi to manager of the preteen and teen section of the shop. Jodi’s teenage daughter, Adriana, quickly pointed out what was the latest fashion trend. She stopped at the shop at least one day each week to advise her mother on what to buy and how to display the latest fads. Adriana hoped that when she turned sixteen, she could work in the shop. Photos were taken with her in her favorite outfits for the catalog.

In the teen area, with its bright purple and raspberry swirls, there were beanbag chairs scattered around. Instead of display racks, Grace put together cubes that held the latest jeans and T-shirts. She decorated one wall by nailing up old 45 records and hung them from the ceiling as well. Right outside the dressing rooms, a platform was built to resemble a model’s runway, with a huge three-way mirror at the end of it. The lighting around the mirrors gave the appearance of being on a stage. Jodi hung belts and accessories on a unique pulley system so her customers had to work a little to reach their favorite items. Since this area was in the far corner of the store, Grace installed a separate music system; however, Jodi had full control of the volume from her desk.

Grace painted the original section of the shop in soft shades of pink, green, and lavender with the same soft gauze for a special lighting effect. She purchased comfortable, overstuffed floral chairs and hand-painted an English garden scene on the brick wall. For the final touch, she created a small make-believe garden that appeared to extend out of the wall painting by arranging baskets of the same silk flowers. There was a casual clothing display area and another for better suits and dresses.

JoAnn had been with Grace and Claire for many years. She was in charge of assisting the senior women in their selections. She often would call one of the regulars to tell them about a new sweater or dress that would be just right for them. When a customer walked in the front door, JoAnn could greet them by name. She often had a dressing room reserved for her favorite ladies, with a selection of clothes waiting for them to try on. Each of the four dressing rooms was large enough for a three-way mirror and one comfortable chair.

In the back corner of the shop, there was a section with a counter holding many catalogs. This was the place where a woman would order a wedding and bridesmaid dresses, a formal, or a special outfit. Kelli was in charge of taking and tracking every special order. She also maintained all of the “regulars’” information, which included their current size, preference in colors, and styles. If a customer mentioned that she liked a certain outfit, Kelli quickly entered it into her computer.

Most of the men in Fergus knew that Kelli would help them pick out the perfect gift every time. There was a running joke in town that the first stop after a couple became engaged was to see Kelli at Claire’s shop. She created a database for their birthdates and anniversaries as well. Kelli made sure to mail a postcard to the husband’s or boyfriend’s office, reminding them it was time to come in to purchase a special gift for their wife or girlfriend.

For the final welcoming touch, Grace put a small coffee and tea serving area with five little tables in front of the beautiful new display window. This was where the women could come to slowly sip cups of coffee. Each table had a linen tablecloth and a small vase with fresh flowers. Tea and coffee was always served in a china cup and saucer, accompanied with two small butter cookies. The shop had a wonderful, cozy, and inviting quality to it. When it was done, Grace knew it was now truly her shop.

At the grand opening ceremony, her new sign was undraped. It read
Claire’s Shop for Girls of all ages
and underneath,
with Grace.
As the mayor cut the ribbon, unveiling the sign, the crowd that had gathered applauded. Claire gave a little speech about the joy of watching Grace grow into an elegant, stylish lady. She handed Grace a small envelope and told her to open it later when she had some quiet time. Then double purple doors swung open and the crowd rushed in to admire all that Grace had done. Grace had never felt more fulfilled.

That night, when she finally went back to her apartment, she opened Claire’s envelope. The note read:

My Dear Grace,

I have come to love you as a daughter. I respect you as a very creative and gifted businesswoman. I want you to accept this gift for the love that it represents. Use it to keep the shop as lovely as it is today. I feel honored and blessed to have been a part of your life. You have filled my life with your wonderful energy and creativity. You truly are my “Amazing Grace.”

Love always,

Claire

As Grace unfolded the check, tears ran down her cheeks. The check was for $75,000, which was all of the money that Grace had paid to Claire for the purchase of the shop in the last four years. She knew that this was Claire’s way of telling her to keep the shop of her dreams open and ready to serve the women of Fergus Falls for many years to come.

*

Two weeks later, Grace stopped over at the high school to apologize to Mrs. Klein for neglecting her duties in organizing the twentieth reunion. She was shocked to learn that more than 70 percent of her old classmates had already mailed their reservations in to her. As Grace looked down the list of those who had registered, she found the names of Lindy, Rebecca, and to her surprise, Emily. Grace took this as a sign of good times to come. The reunion was going to be a time to remember. She was anxious to share this time with her childhood friends.

Fergus Falls in the fall was the perfect place to renew their friendships. As Grace walked home that night, she thought to herself, “Life is good.” Then she started singing “Singing in the Rain
.
”

Chapter Fifteen