Sisterchicks on the Loose
Read Sisterchicks on the Loose Online
Authors: Robin Jones Gunn
rom one sisterchick to another …
“Robin understands the precious value of close friendships, and it shows in this sparkling new novel!”—Darlene Marie Wilkinson, author of the
New York Times bestseller The Prayer of Jabez for Women
and
Secrets of the Vine for Women
“Sisterchicks
by definition is a delightful thing—friendship in the raw … helping, providing, listening, laughing, and of course crying. Robin’s
Sisterchicks on the Loose
takes us inside a longtime friendship to a place where we hear and see ourselves. If you’ve never experienced a sisterchick adventure … this is one trip you won’t want to miss!”—Donna, Robin’s original sisterchick
“Get ready, sisters, this is the real thing! There is nothing ‘fluffy’ about these lively sisterchick novels! And who better to tell such delicious tales of friendship and truth than Robin Jones Gunn, a woman who’s been my cherished friend for years.”—Melody Carlson, bestselling author of
Blood Sisters
“Deliciously fun! The feel-good book of the season!”—Patsy Clairmont, bestselling author of
God Uses Cracked Pots
and
Stardust on My Pillow
“After I happily tumbled through Sharon and Penny’s story, I felt as though I’d traveled with a couple of sisters who shared my heart and knew my soul. Like a visit to the spa, the results were enriching and cleansing—and involved a fair share of giggles. I’d invite any woman who has ever dreamed of going on an adventure with her best friend to indulge in this delightful trek to Finland.”—On the Loose in California
“I stayed up till midnight reading this book, and I hated to see it end. Sisterchicks everywhere will love it as much as I did!”—Linda
“I’ve been a sisterchick for years but never knew until now what I should be calling myself!
Sisterchicks on the Loose
took me on a refreshingly madcap jaunt in my own living room. I look forward to many more such memorable journeys with MY favorite friends as we read all the sisterchick novels together.”—Jaynie
“I loved the way Sharon and Penny shared true friendship and community! I’m in my early twenties and found myself inspired to treasure the close friendships I have now and watch them grow into lifelong sisterhood.”—Natalie, a newly hatched sisterchick
“How refreshing to read something so FUN!”—Lisa
“Sometimes you have to get out of your everyday circumstances (spelled
r-u-t
) to see what God is doing in your life and the world around you.
Sisterchicks on the Loose
is a real winner, and I can’t wait to share this book with all of my friends!”—Marti
“Sisterchicks on the Loose
is a lovely, joyous book. Sharon and Penny’s experiences made me laugh and reminded me that God sometimes gives us more blessings than we ever thought to ask or hope for—including friendships that transform our lives. I’m looking forward to the next sisterchick book, and I hope there will be many more!”—Lisa
“Finally! A fresh, new novel about characters who seemed so real that I felt as if I’d made two new friends.”—Meg
“Robin’s book is so precious. It’s truly a celebration of life and shows God’s goodness to us. Don’t miss out on this wonderful treat!”—Julee
Gardenias for Breakfast
S
ISTERCHICK
N
OVELS
:
Sisterchicks on the Loose
Sisterchicks do the Hula
Sisterchicks in Sombreros
Sisterchicks Down Under
T
HE
G
LENBROOKE
S
ERIES
:
Secrets
Whispers
Echoes
Sunsets
Clouds
Waterfalls
Woodlands
Wildflowers
G
IFT
B
OOKS
:
Tea at Glenbrooke
Mothering by Heart
Gentle Passages
www.sisterchicks.com
•
www.robingunn.com
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SISTERCHICKS ON THE LOOSE
published by Multnomah Books
© 2003 by Robin’s Ink, LLC
Sisterchick
is a trademark of Robin’s Ink, LLC
Scripture quotations are from
New American Standard Bible
®
© 1960, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.
Multnomah and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.
For information:
MULTNOMAH BOOKS • 12265 ORACLE BOULEVARD, SUITE 200
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80921
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gunn, Robin Jones, 1955-
Sisterchicks on the loose / by Robin Jones Gunn.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-56445-0
1. Americans—Finland—Fiction. 2. Women—Finland—Fiction. 3. Female friendship—Fiction. 4. Finland—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3557.U4866S57 2003
813′.54—dc21
2003000710
v3.1_r1
For Donna,
my original sisterchick,
who has been with me to Finland and back.
Next time we’re buying more chocolate.
For Merja,
my favorite Finnish editor,
who opened her heart and home to us in Porvoo.
Kiitos
, my friend, for letting me borrow your childhood
memories of Porosaari and for the night of the
unforgettable sauna in Hinthaara.
You sing the high notes better than any sisterchick I know.
And for Meg and Jaynie,
my dear PPCs,
who faithfully grabbed a booth at Branches
every Monday night where we met for months.
Thank you for patiently going over every word of
this story until we got it right or until
Jennifer started mopping under our feet.
Sisterchicks forever!
“We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ ”
P
SALM
126: 1
B
– 2
Prologue
Kiitos Cottage
Maple Leaf Lake, Washington
October 12, 2003
W
hen my husband, Jeff,
tells this story, he says it started the day I dyed my hair green. He likes to tell how he found me on the bathroom floor with an airline ticket in one hand and a can of root beer in the other, crying my eyes out.
I prefer to start this story where it actually began—more than a decade before the green hair incident. One hot August night in 1982, my dearest friend of all time, Penny, and I were on duty in the church nursery. Seven of the sweaty children in the nursery that Sunday evening belonged to the two of us.
I was rocking my wailing daughter when Penny, in the middle of a diaper change, turned to me. “Let’s make a deal, Sharon. When they graduate, let’s go somewhere. Just the two of us.”
“Where would we go?” I asked.
“Finland!” she spouted.
I stopped and stared to see if she was serious. She was.
I suppose I should back up this story to when Penny and I first met. Penny and Dave were married and expecting their first child. That’s when they started to attend our conservative little church in Chinook Springs, Washington. They joined our home Bible study and pulled up that first night on a motorcycle, wearing matching suede jackets with fringe on the arms—but with no Bibles. Penny left her muddy boots by the front door and settled on my tattered couch as still as a tiger concealed in the brush. I’d never had such a potentially wild person in my house before.
The next week, Penny showed up with a burlap sack stuffed with freshly dug-up iris bulbs. She asked if I had a Bible she could borrow, and our friendship was off to a tender, unconventional start. That was twenty-four years ago.
Penny and I were in each other’s everyday lives while raising our children. Our husbands swapped tools and went fishing on Saturday mornings. Penny and I never had a fight.
Then Dave landed the job he always had wanted at a big computer company, and the Lane family packed up and moved to San Francisco.
I was lost.
For a month I cried when no one was looking. Our phone bill went into triple digits. Penny kept saying we would get together, just the two of us, but nothing ever worked out. My separation anxiety lasted for two embarrassing years.
This is where my husband picks up the story. Jeff says that out of the blue, Penny decided to go to Finland. He doesn’t remember the part about the church nursery where the idea was hatched more than a decade before Penny put wings to her plan. Jeff says he found me curled up against the bathroom wall, staring at the ticket and guzzling root beer.
I wasn’t guzzling root beer. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t drinking anything.
Jeff says I was sobbing because I was in shock.
I wasn’t sobbing. I was sighing really loud. There is a difference.
Jeff likes to add a punch line here about how I dramatically pulled the towel off my head and—ta-da!—my hair was green.
That part, unfortunately, is true.
For almost eleven years now I’ve listened to my dear husband’s account of the once-in-a-lifetime trip Penny and I took to Finland in February 1993. He loves to embellish, so every time he tells it, the story morphs into something that only vaguely resembles our real adventure.