Sisterhood Of Lake Alice (26 page)

Lindy finally turned to Emily and told her how happy she was about her special room. She also told her that she was shocked at her wild creativity. Now it was time for Lindy to show Emily the room that she had designed just for her.

*

Emily’s door had a plaque that read, “As you enter Emily’s room, you are sure to find grace, peace, and friendship. Enjoy your stay.” Emily walked into her special room and instantly felt at home.

The color scheme was rich burgundy, royal blue, and emerald greens. One entire wall was lined with oak bookcases filled with her favorite books, and a few wonderful pieces of artwork mingled among them. A rich, emerald green silk comforter softly covered the bed, with special reading lights on each side. There was a down-filled chaise lounge, with a small table that held a CD player and stacks of soft jazz CDs. The soft gauze pleated blinds on her windows did not obstruct the view of the weeping willow tree in her backyard. The room was truly a haven for her.

Lindy giggled as she showed her the final touch to the room as she clapped her hands and the lights went out. With another clap, they came back on. They all laughed, saying they knew that Lindy had to do at least one unusual thing. Emily hugged Lindy as she told her that for the very first time in her life, she had a friend who truly understood her lifelong search for peace.

*

Emily then took them down the hall to the last room. She asked Isabel to open this door and read the plaque. The plaque said, “Isabel’s place of wisdom, love, and caring. Begin your life anew today as you enter this room.” Isabel was holding her daughters’ hands as she walked into the room.

The light was soft, and the colors on the walls seemed to blend from one shade to another as if a rainbow had been captured. There were two twin beds covered in handmade quilts just like the ones she had given to the girls so many years ago. Emily had them lovingly duplicated by a woman from church who was a master quilter. There was a large rocking chair in the corner and several large paintings of Norwegian scenes on the walls. The furniture was very rustic, and the room had a wonderful, fresh pine smell to it.

Isabel turned to Emily with tears in her eyes as she said that the time spent in Minnesota with her had truly made her into the woman who now stood in front of her. “My children have been blessed with the love that I discovered as I cared for you those many years,” Isabel said. “It is such a joy to reunite with you again as women. Even though we have only been together for a short time, I know that you are all women of substance with noble spirits and gentle hearts. I saw those qualities in you as little girls and knew the qualities would serve you well as women. Thank you, Emily, for giving me this wonderful opportunity to witness this with my family. Anna and Beata have had to listen to my Minnesota stories all of their lives. Now they see that my stories are true. Fergus Falls is a very special place with very special people.”

They once again came together with tears flowing and embraced each other in a big group hug. Isabel’s daughters looked around the room in awe at how well Emily had captured their mother’s taste and spirit.

*

As they all were about to head down the staircase, Emily said that she had one last surprise for them. At the end of the hall, there was one more door with a small plaque on it. She asked Rebecca to go over and read it. She started laughing as she read the plaque, which simply said, “When you need an extra lift, here it is.” As she opened the door, she found a small elevator.

Emily told them that she figured someday they would all be in need of this type of lift. They all laughed as Emily told Rebecca that she should be the first person to use this latest addition to the Larson house. Rebecca asked Isabel to accompany her on the maiden trip. All the rest took the staircase as Rebecca and Isabel took the elevator, which brought them to the back hall right outside the kitchen.

Chapter Twenty-Five
 

The Friendship Gifts

Isabel told the girls that it was time for them to go into the living room, where they would find cheese and crackers and, of course, a bottle of Asti. One by one, they each offered their comments about the beauty that had been created in this house. Grace said that she was sure this was how the original builder must have pictured it many years ago. The house was now a warm, welcoming home. Rebecca told Emily that she should take great pride in her accomplishments and thanked Lindy for once again bringing that extra special sparkle to the house that only she could do.

Emily told them that she had such mixed feelings about ever returning to Fergus Falls because of her unloving parents. However, by the grace of God and one Grace O’Malley, now she knew that she was meant to come home. Once she arrived, she saw the house in an entirely different way. Perhaps it was because she was a woman with more of life’s experiences. She just knew that she had what it took to turn this place into a home at last. With Lindy’s lighthearted help, this was now a place with lots of living to be done. For whatever reason, Emily knew deep in her heart that she would never live anywhere else but in Fergus Falls from this day forward. The thought of selling the house was no longer an option. Now she just needed to figure out how to make a living in Fergus Falls so that she could stay here. Lindy had already made it very clear to Emily that she did not want to be repaid for any of the expenses for the house. She had money to burn, and this project had given her more joy than she had felt in a long time. Lindy did not want these feelings tarnished with any talk about money.

*

Rolf announced their Christmas dinner was ready and waiting for them. As they entered the dining room, they saw the table had been set in beautiful, hand-painted dishes, with a different Norwegian pattern at each place setting. There were tiny votive candles spread all around the table. By the doorway, they were greeted by Rolf, Isabel, Anna, and Beata, who were all dressed in their native outfits. Rolf escorted Emily to her place at the table, while Isabel took Grace to her place. Anna took Rebecca’s arm, while Beata hugged Lindy and then showed her to her special place. Then Isabel and her family sat down in the remaining empty chairs, so that each of them was seated next to the lady they had escorted into the dining room. There was an instant sense of comfort as they all admired the beautiful table.

In a matter of moments, all eight of them grew quiet gathered around the table. Rolf cleared his voice and asked permission to recite a typical Norwegian prayer of blessing for this special meal. They all said yes at the same time. They held hands as he proceeded in Norwegian first, followed by the English translation.

“I jesu navn gar vi til bords,

Spise, drikke pa ditt ord.

Deg Gud til aere, oss til gavn,

Sa rar vi mat I Jesu navn. Amen.

In Jesus’ name, we sit down.

Eat and drink on Your Holy Word.

To honor God and nourish us.

We get our food in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

At the end of the prayer, Isabel went in the kitchen and returned with a big platter filled with some very smelly and strange-looking food. She proudly announced that for this very special meal, she had brought all of the twelve place settings of hand-painted plates as a gift to Emily and Lindy for their generous invitation. However, even more important, she had also brought lutefisk, lefse, and lingonberry jam for their meal, all the way from Norway.

Lindy was laughing while holding her nose as she asked what lutefisk was. Anna proceeded to tell her that it was fish soaked in lye and in water for a long time, and you knew it was ready when it smelled this bad. Each of them took a small taste and then quickly passed on the platter. Rolf was pleased to see that he could have all the lutefisk that he wanted.

Lindy gave a toast, saying she was very thankful that lutefisk was not the main course. The dinner was filled with laughter, good food (except for the lutefisk), and memories.

*

After a wonderful meal, the girls decided to take a walk around Lake Alice to work off a little of their meal The night air was cold and crisp as they all bundled up in their heavy coats, scarves, hats, and gloves. Lake Alice had never looked more beautiful. For some reason, the colder the night, the clearer the stars in the sky seemed to be. With all the houses glowing with their Christmas lights and the stars above, it was a magical stroll. By the time they returned home, Isabel and her family excused themselves. They were leaving in the morning for their long trip back home.

After they went upstairs, Emily announced that it was time to open their gifts. Lindy said, “Well, girlfriends, I suggest we move our butts into the living room so we can begin.” As Emily looked at Rebecca, she could see how exhausted she seemed to be. She suggested that they take a little break, get into their jammies, and meet back in the living room an hour later. As they headed for the staircase, Emily gently led Rebecca to the elevator.

*

They gathered back in the living room clad in the same flannel pjs, furry slippers, and warm robes they had bought together at J. C. Penney. There were stacks of gifts for each of them. Lindy sat with Linus cuddled in her lap as he happily slept.

Emily started by saying that never in her life had she experienced a more wonderful and meaningful Christmas. She was sure that the gifts would be wonderful; however, the best gift of all was their friendship. She would forever treasure this Christmas and their time together. They agreed as they sat quietly trying to capture the moment in their memories. She had already given them her gift, but now she told them that she hoped that they would all come and enjoy their special rooms whenever they wished.

Finally, Lindy asked if they could open her gift first. She pointed to the small gift with the large gold ribbon tied around it. On cue, they all started to open the box. Inside the red velvet box, they found a sparkling charm bracelet with four charms with their names engraved. For Emily there was a heart with a ruby; for Grace a dove with a diamond; for Rebecca a musical note with an emerald; and for Lindy a clown with a sapphire. They smiled as they put on their new bracelets. Rebecca told Lindy that once again she had given them a wonderful, sparkling reminder of why they were a perfect blend of friends.

Now it was Grace’s turn to give her gifts, wrapped in two packages, to each of them. She asked them to open the smaller package first. They found an antique gold frame with a photo of the four of them playing out in the snow making snow angels. Lindy asked how she could have possibly gotten the picture. Grace told them that Warren could not resist getting the picture of four grown women having so much fun.

The second, bigger gift was the next to be opened. Again, there was a beautiful frame, with an embossed paper telling each of them that a star had been purchased and named for them. It included a map of the galaxy with a location of each of their stars, which were close to each other’s. Lindy laughed as she hugged Grace and told her that now she had written proof that she was a star. Linus licked her face as if he was also saying thank you to Grace.

Finally, Rebecca handed out her gifts. There were four boxes each, and she told them that it was important to open them together and in the order that was on each tag. The first gift was a pair of expensive sunglasses, with each of their names in gold thread on the black velvet glasses case. Everyone said thank you; however, they all wondered why Rebecca had picked out that gift for them in the middle of a dark and dreary winter. The second gift was an elegant sequined jacket, each in a different color. The jackets were stunning, but as they all tried them on, they wondered where they would wear such a fancy jacket in Fergus Falls. The third gift was a colorful terry cloth cover-up, with their names embroidered on it. Once again, they all politely thanked Rebecca for the cute gift. The final gift was a small travel bag. Once they had all opened the gift, Rebecca told them to look inside the bag. At once, they all pulled out a large envelope, which had the Princess Cruises logo on the front cover.

Rebecca quietly announced that she had made all the arrangements for them to leave in two days for a seven-day cruise. They would be celebrating New Year’s somewhere in the tropical breezes of the Caribbean, drinking their Asti and ringing in the New Year in style. They all jumped up and ran over to hug Rebecca at the same time. The frightened little puppy, Linus, didn’t know what to make out of all the noise as he quickly crawled under the Christmas tree for safety.

Rebecca looked at a concerned Grace, who was thinking that there was no way for her to leave her shop at this time of the year. Rebecca told Grace that her staff had already planned their schedules and were happy for her to take some well-deserved time away from the shop.

For the next few hours, they talked, laughed, and planned the upcoming trip. A limo would pick them up and drive them to Fargo, North Dakota. They would fly in a small private jet to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and spend a night at the beautiful hotel Pier 66. Then they would board the Star Princess for seven days of fun in the sun.

Finally, Grace asked Rebecca how she could afford such an expensive gift. Rebecca smiled and told them that with some very wise investments, she was now officially worth more than $3 million. She told them all about the money and properties she had received from the father she had never known. She finished by saying that this had been a dream trip of hers for many years. The extra bonus was that she was going to share it with her best friends.

Shortly before going to bed, Rebecca said she had one more thing to tell them. Softly, she told them that her health had taken a serious turn for the worse. She did not want them to be worried; however, they needed to know that she would be on oxygen almost all the time. Arrangements had been made to have oxygen available for her on the flight to Florida and in her cabin on the ship. Lindy would be her roommate for the cruise. With Lindy’s nursing experience and detailed instructions from her doctor, she was sure that she would be just fine for the once-in-a-lifetime vacation. As they went to sleep that Christmas Eve, each of the ladies was dreaming about the cruise and all the adventures that lay ahead of them. It had proven to be the Christmas to remember for all of them.