Sisterhood Of Lake Alice (19 page)

Two days later, Mr. Willis appeared at Emily’s office door. He wore an expensive suit, a white starched shirt, and a silk tie. His expression was very stern. Within an hour, Mr. Willis took over one of the counseling offices and was hard at work. He handed Emily a list of all the information he would need. Emily assured him that he would have complete access into their computer system and to all data. Returning to her office, she closed her door—and then she allowed the tears to flow.

As she was entering his access information, she knew that this man would never understand the heart of the Women’s Center. She knew that he thought only in terms of dollars, spreadsheets, and bottom line. Emily was equally sure that he was the only person who might be able to save at least a portion of the programs that she had given most of her adult life to offer to those in need. Only someone without a heart could make the cuts that needed to be done. As much as she hated him for what he was about to do, she also respected him for having the courage to do this terrible task.

Her predictions were accurate. By mid-September, Mr. Willis asked to have the board of directors convene for a special meeting. Two days later, they gathered in their conference room. It was the first time that Emily had ever seen this devoted group of volunteers sit in complete silence, waiting for Mr. Willis to enter. All of them knew that the news would be extremely painful.

Mr. Willis arrived with a neat binder for each attendee. He immediately got to the task of discussing the future of the Women’s Center. No one made a comment as he read his recommendations. They included selling the donut shop, as well as cutting the day care center staff in half and going to “normal” hours of operation from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM. The fees for the day care would be increased 30 percent, with penalties for anyone picking a child up late. The Women’s Center would let go three of their counselors and cut an additional 25 percent of their staff. No one would be allowed to stay in the center for longer than thirty days. Finally, he explained that all the residents of the center would be charged a daily fee based on their ability to pay.

Emily sat in stunned silence as she watched one program after another be ripped apart. It was obvious that Mr. Willis had no idea why the day care hours were important or that the residents, for the most part, had no ability to pay. She waited for others to start fighting for the programs; however, as she looked around the table, all she saw were people with their heads bowed down. She could not bear another moment of this insanity. She rose from her chair and for the next fifteen minutes proceeded to shoot down each of Mr. Willis’s recommendations. When she was done, she again noticed that no one in the room stood to support her.

Then it hit her. This was not a debate; this was a done deal. She tried to compose herself, taking a few deep breaths, but it did not work. In his low monotone voice, Mr. Willis simply replied to her by saying, “The reason I was called into this task is because I have no attachments to any of the programs. My recommendations are based on the best possible outcome for this agency. You can put your head in the sand, Miss Larson, and be noble about all the services you offer. On the other hand, you can be realistic and attempt to save at least some of the programs. At least under my options, there will be something left to offer. By ignoring the severity of the matter, there will be no services left in a year. Which do you prefer?”

Again, there was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Emily finally stood up, took a deep breath, and said, “I cannot be a part of destroying programs that I truly believe are vital services in our community. Please accept my resignation. I will make myself available for a smooth transition to whomever you name as my replacement.” With her legs shaking, she stood and walked out of the conference room. She went back to her office, got her purse, and left the building. It was not until she closed the door to her apartment that she allowed the agony to take over. Emily spent the weekend going between pain, anger, and despair. She felt as if she had just lost all meaning in life. She felt once again like the unloved little girl in the big uncaring house on Lake Alice.

On Sunday evening, she received a call from Mr. Willis informing her that she did not need to return to work. They had arranged for a temporary manager to work through the transition. He felt that it was best for her not to be involved in the process. The papers and her personal possessions would be delivered to her within two days, including a check for three months’ salary. He thanked her for her years of service and very insincerely wished her well in her future pursuits.

Two days later as promised, a box of her belongings and a large envelope were delivered to her apartment. Emily had not showered or dressed for almost four days, nor had she left her apartment. As she looked through the box of special mementos, suddenly it all seemed so meaningless. She looked at the papers and signed wherever was indicated with an X. It was almost midnight when she walked up to the front door of the Women’s Center, a place she had grown to love over the years. She slipped the thick envelope into the mail slot and walked away.

A week later, she had donated her furniture and packed up her car. Her last stop was the bank. She wrote two checks—one to herself for $2,000 and the balance of more than $10,000 to the Women’s Center. She enclosed a handwritten note stating that this money was to be used only for keeping the day care center open twenty-four hours for as long as possible. She mailed the envelope and started her drive back to Fergus Falls.

For the eight hours as she drove toward Fergus Falls, she remembered how battered she felt when she had first arrived at the Women’s Center. She remembered the beautiful baby girl who was never a part of her life. There was a flood of faces of the women she had helped to understand that they were women of honor and value. For miles, she drove through tears; but as she crossed over the Mississippi River, for some unknown reason, she started to smile. It felt as though Fergus Falls was calling to her, telling her it was time to come home. A peaceful calm come over Emily as she neared Fergus Falls. She believed that God had some new plans for her. She knew she had enough courage and faith to meet whatever new challenges God was ready to hand her. Emily knew deep in her soul that she was going to survive another day. There was some new purpose, and it was just a few miles away.

*

The summer passed by quickly for Grace. Claire’s was filled with the latest in fall fashions by early August. This year, Grace had arranged to sell the girls’ uniforms for Our Lady of Victory along with their approved sweaters and blazers. She sat behind the counter watching the little girls try on their new uniforms. She smiled as she remembered her happy days at Our Lady of Victory. As she sat there, she could almost smell the school on the first day, when the floors were all polished with a sweet-smelling wax, the blackboards were without a spark of chalk dust, and all of the desks were shining clean. Grace had come a long way from that little girl who ran across the street, eager for each new school year to begin.

The first sign that fall was truly here was when the baskets of free apples began to appear outside the stores along Lincoln Avenue. Everyone was welcome to grab a few to take home. With the kids back in school, the moms were free to get back to their volunteer work at the hospital, museum, and nursing homes. They often stopped by Claire’s to meet for a cup of her special blended herb teas or coffee with peppermint sticks. Grace’s shop continued to be a great success. Her staff enjoyed the world of high fashion, Fergus style.

During her last trip to Minneapolis, she had ordered some reunion gifts for all the attendees. Then she spent hours looking through catalogs until she found the perfect gift to give to Emily, Lindy, Rebecca, and herself. Each day she grew more excited about the reunion. She daydreamed about all the wonderful memories they would share while they were together. She truly hoped that she would be able to talk them into singing at the reunion dance.

Grace was anxious to have them visit her shop and see all that she had done to make it her own. There was also a bit of anxiety, wondering if the four of them had changed so much that they would not be able to recapture the sisterhood they had developed over their years together. Somehow, Grace knew that they would find a way to reconnect as women. Perhaps it would bring them a more meaningful friendship. Only time would tell.

Chapter Sixteen
 

Reconnecting

As usual, Grace was the first to arrive at her shop each morning and the last one to leave each evening. There was a
Welcome Back to the Fergus Falls High School Reunion
banner hanging in front of Claire’s. The shop had been busy the past few weeks with the homecoming dance at Fergus Falls High School, the newly opened Fergus Falls Junior College celebrating their first homecoming, plus the twentieth class reunion. Kelli was frantic trying to process all the special orders for the formal gowns and special outfits. Jodi had been exhausted trying to keep peace and order in the dressing rooms as the teenage girls arrived at the same time to try on their gowns for the dances. The reunion was now only a few days away.

Grace had not been this excited about any event in a long time. She had even bought herself a few new outfits for the weekend. As she was getting down from the ladder in the storage room, she heard a laugh that could only come from one person. As she jumped off the ladder, she fell right into the arms of Lindy. As they both tried to catch their balance, they were hugging and laughing. Lindy said, “Lordy, Lordy, Fergus Falls has treated you well. Have you been stored away in bubble wrap, girl? You are prettier than ever, and not a wrinkle on that perky little face. How do you do it? I guess you can tell by my size and wrinkles that I have been living life to the fullest!”

Lindy was truly impressed as Grace showed her around the charming shop. Of course, she always had known that Grace would do well in whatever she decided to tackle. Grace made Lindy a cup of her special blend of peppermint tea. When she joined Lindy at the table, she laughed saying, “Will you look at that monster RV out there. It must be taking up five parking spaces. Can you believe the paint job on it!” As soon as she finished the sentence, she knew who the proud RV owner was.

Typical of Lindy, she simply laughed and said, “As soon as I saw it on the lot, I knew it had been created just for little ol’ me. I guess even my vehicles have to make an entrance. My driver is out getting a rental car for me. If I drive that thing, I am sure to wipe out half of Fergus Falls. I must admit after living for years in New York and never driving, I seem to have a problem making turns these days.”

Both of them wanted nothing more than to sit and catch up on their lives. However, it soon became obvious that the shop was getting busy and Grace needed to get back to work. They promised to meet for dinner that evening at the Mabel Murphy Restaurant. As Lindy was leaving, she turned around and gave Grace one more big hug. Then Lindy proceeded to stop all the traffic both ways on Lincoln Avenue as she finally moved the colorful RV out into the street. As Lindy pulled away, she started singing an old Patsy Cline song, and she was suddenly aware of how good it felt to be back in Fergus Falls. Somewhere deep inside her, a feeling came over her that made her giggle. Fergus Falls was a good place to come home to.

*

Rebecca arrived just as the movers were pulling in behind the house. When she got out of the car, she was pleasantly surprised at how nice the new addition looked. As an afterthought, she had had the entire house painted in a soft shade of yellow, which was Monica’s favorite color.

As she walked from the alley to the house, she saw her old neighbors, the Newtons, running across their backyard to greet her. They proceeded to tell Rebecca that even though they were older and slower these days, they still went square dancing every Friday evening and sang in their church choir every Sunday. They were thrilled to know that Rebecca was moving back home. They invited Rebecca to join them at church on Sunday and become part of their choir once again. Monica came running out the back door, smiling from ear to ear. “Rebecca, I need you to come tell the movers how to arrange that beautiful new bedroom of yours.”

Within a few hours, all of Rebecca’s things were in place. She joined her mother in the kitchen for some homemade apple cider. Mom had made her favorite meal of Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, green beans, and of course, lefse with butter and sugar. The smells in the tiny home brought back years of good memories. That evening she was shocked at how much she ate for dinner. She had not felt this good in a long time. Rebecca knew that she would soon have to have a painful conversation with her mother about her failing health. However, today was not the day. She had planned on calling Grace and trying to get together with her after the shop closed. Instead, she fell sound asleep, feeling safe, loved, and at home.

Fergus Falls was a gentle place filled with good people and warm memories. In a few days, she would be going to the reunion. She looked forward to seeing all of her old friends. Rebecca wanted to just enjoy her friends and her life. She could wait until after the reunion to discuss her health crisis with her mom. There was no hurry.

The next morning, Monica woke Rebecca up to tell her that Grace had called to invite her to dinner. Grace would be picking her up around 7:00 PM. Rebecca was sitting on the front porch when Grace pulled up and honked her horn. As Rebecca walked down the stairs to the car, memories of the old days flashed before her of her girlfriends all piling into Emily’s VW convertible for another evening of fun and laughter. Their nights often ended back at Emily’s beautiful house overlooking Lake Alice. As she walked to the car, Rebecca gave a prayer of thanks for all the wonderful memories she had shared with her high school friends.

*

It was after midnight when Emily drove into Fergus Falls. At the truck stop she had bought enough food to last her for a day or two. As she slowly drove down Lincoln Avenue, she was shocked by the many changes that had taken place over the twenty years since she had last seen it. She drove past Claire’s shop and wondered if Grace was still working there. As she passed Our Lady of Victory, she admired the beautiful new church and a school addition. It was just a short drive up the hill, and within minutes, she was pulling into her old driveway.