Sisterhood Of Lake Alice (30 page)

To her great amazement, she was asked to run for mayor. The local bank and many prominent business owners quickly endorsed her. They loved her exciting, new ideas to bring Fergus Falls back to its days of glory. In November, she won the election and became the first female mayor of Fergus Falls. The morning she was sworn into office, her two best friends, Grace and Lindy, held her Bible as she promised to fulfill the duties of her office.

Shortly after Christmas, her doorbell rang. Emily opened the door for a long-awaited visit from the McMahons, who had easily found her on the Internet. She stared with wonder into the face of Rebecca Grace McMahon. Her name suited her well, with her curly auburn hair and big blue eyes. It did not take long for Emily to realize that although Rebecca had Danny Driscoll’s physical features, she also had the gentle and caring nature of Emily.

For most of their two-day visit, they all sat around the kitchen table and talked for hours. The McMahons brought their photo albums to show how Rebecca had grown over the years. Rebecca told Emily how much she enjoyed music and her choral group in high school. Emily shared with them her childhood memories. She told them all about the girls of SOLA and how they had reconnected as women. She told Rebecca all about her namesakes and why she had chosen those special names for her. Before they left to return to Wisconsin, Emily drove them around Fergus Falls, stopping at the newly constructed hospice. Emily asked the McMahons’ permission to take a walk with Rebecca before they left for home.

Together, the mother and daughter, separated since birth, slowly walked around Lake Alice. First, there was silence, and then Emily began to speak. “Rebecca, giving you up for adoption was the most honest act of love that I have ever committed. You need to know deep in your heart that it was because I loved you so much that I knew I had to make sure your life was filled with love and caring parents. At that time in my life, I had nothing to offer you. As soon as I met the McMahons, I knew my prayers had been answered. I am sure you might not understand my decision; however, you do need to know that I pray for you every day and you are always in my thoughts. Thank you for finding me and giving me a glimpse into your delightful life.” Rebecca simply took Emily’s hand as they finished their walk around the lake.

Just before leaving, Tom McMahon asked if it was possible to obtain a medical background on both Emily and Rebecca’s father. Rebecca had some allergy problems, and their doctor had requested more family medical history. Emily promised to get as much information as she could find for them.

Rebecca and Emily’s relationship was in the early building stage, but it held the promise of becoming a new dimension in Emily’s life. Emily was so pleased to see what a caring young woman Rebecca had grown up to be. There was something in her smile that reminded Emily of the lady she had been named after. Emily had no idea where their relationship would go, but she was so grateful that the young Rebecca had come to meet her. After Rebecca left, Emily wrote a letter to the McMahons thanking them for loving and raising this very special young lady.

Emily kept her promise to provide family medical information to the McMahons. It did not take too long for her to find out how Danny’s life had turned out. She Googled Danny Driscoll and found several articles about him. Sadly, she read stories about his arrests for drug possession. Emily sighed as she read an article detailing his standoff with Madison police and his suicide three years after she had left him. After many more hours of searching the Internet, Emily was never able to find any of Danny’s family.

That night, she spent a long time in conversation with God. She thanked God for the beautiful daughter that she had been given. She also thanked him for giving her the wisdom to leave a lifestyle that was so wrong in so many ways. Finally, she asked God to forgive Danny for all his poor choices and to give him the peace that he had never found in his life.

*

Tonight was the second anniversary of Rebecca’s death. One year ago, each of them simply tried to get through the day alone. It had proven to be far too painful. This year, they were all gathering at Emily’s for a special meal and a celebration of Rebecca’s life. Emily prepared the dinner herself with all of Rebecca’s favorite foods. Monica was invited and told Emily that she would bring dessert. Emily knew it was time to move forward. As she set the dining room table with her special Norwegian dishes, she smiled and remembered a special time not so long ago.

Grace

Grace had wept for days after Rebecca’s death. Then she realized that Rebecca would want her to get back to her normal life, although now there would be a “new normal.” Life without Rebecca left a hole that Grace decided to fill by working as many hours as she could each day. She knew that she needed to get back to Claire’s. It would soon be time to make the annual buying trip. She had responsibilities to her staff and her customers. A week later, she was in the window putting the finishing touches on the Valentine’s Day display when she heard a tap on the window. She turned around to see Warren and his three daughters smiling back at her.

Warren invited her to join them for an ice cream sundae across the street at the Viking Café. Without hesitation, Grace accepted. From that day on, her life changed. She adored the Brooks girls, and they quickly became attached to Grace. She helped Warren with their clothes and took them to her hairdresser for stylish new hairdos. She taught them how to ice-skate on Lake Alice. On cold winter evenings, she taught the girls how to knit.

In the meantime, she also discovered that Warren was a wonderful man. They began to date on a regular basis, both with and without the girls. Quickly, they discovered that they had fallen into a very comfortable love. Grace spent many of her evenings and weekends at Warren’s house, working side by side with him on his remodeling projects. Grace often smiled as she looked out Warren’s front window to see Emily’s beautiful house next door.

In May, Warren surprised Grace by stopping in Claire’s and requesting a special outfit for each of the girls. As he was walking out of the store with new outfits and a big smile on his face, he asked if she would join them for dinner that night. Grace gladly accepted and told Warren there was no need to be so formal. He simply smiled and said, “We will see you at seven o’clock.”

When Grace arrived, she found the table in the dining room beautifully set and fresh flowers everywhere she looked. The girls were all dressed in their new outfits and Warren in his best business suit. Warren offered her a seat in the chair by the fireplace. The girls were sitting quietly on the sofa as Warren carried in a tray with five Waterford crystal champagne flutes. Two were filled with Asti and three with apple juice. Before Grace could ask what was going on, the girls jumped to their feet, begging Warren to “do it now.”

Warren handed the champagne to Grace. Then he knelt down in front of her and said, “Grace, I know you might think this is too sudden; however, I have a question for you. All of us would like to ask you if you will marry us and join our family. You have given us the love that we have been missing for such a long time. We want to begin a new life with you.”

Grace simply said, “Yes, I would be honored to become a Brooks girl.” They all had a group hug with tears in their eyes.

In August, they were married, in a church filled with friends. They took the girls with them on their honeymoon to a cabin on Ottertail Lake. When they returned to Warren’s home overlooking Lake Alice, Grace and Warren began to remodel the last of the rooms in their home. Four months later, Grace announced that their family would be expanding. To their surprise, her doctor informed Grace that she was having twins. On a beautiful spring day, Grace welcomed Claire and Dennis Brooks into the world. Grace thanked God as she softly sang “Amazing Grace” to her two miracles.

Grace went back to work after six weeks with the babies. They had created a small nursery for them at the store, and they became the center of everyone’s attention. Grace loved her new life and knew how truly blessed she was.

*

Tonight she was going to dinner next door at her best friend’s house alone. She felt deep in her soul that Rebecca was part of her life. She prayed that her daughters would grow up to be loving, caring women, just like her friends. As she stepped onto Emily’s front porch, she was overwhelmed with memories of the past. However, tonight, she also felt the warm, gentle presence of all the joy that Rebecca had given to her over the years. It was time to cherish those memories; the pain was almost gone. It had been replaced with a certainty that Rebecca was watching over them.

Lindy

Wow, what a busy day Lindy had today, but the timing seemed to be perfect. This morning, she attended Emily’s swearing-in ceremony. This afternoon, Lindy and Dr. Sal had the ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening of Rebecca’s Place. The hospice would accommodate twelve patients in their final days. The building was across the street from Lake Regional Hospital; however, you would never guess that this quaint building was a hospice. The one-story building was shaped in a large square. Each of the spacious and beautiful rooms faced a quiet courtyard that had a large statue of an angel in the middle of a pond. The courtyard would be filled with flowers in the spring and summer. During the fall, the large maple and oak trees would change colors; and at Christmas, Lindy planned to decorate the area with thousands of tiny white lights.

Emily and Lindy also decided that Emily’s spare bedrooms would be offered to family members as a place to go and rest from their daily sorrow and pain at the hospice. Lindy had moved to the third floor of Emily’s house and created a delightful loft, where she spent hours painting and creating wonderful pieces of art, which had now found a home at Rebecca’s Place.

As the crowd passed through the hospice, people commented on the feeling of peace that seemed to surround them in each of the rooms. Dr. Sal and Lindy proudly greeted everyone as they arrived. After Rebecca’s funeral, Sal had told Lindy that although Chicago was where his family was, he knew that Fergus Falls was where his heart was. They fell into a comfortable relationship. They worked side by side to design the special hospice. They were committed to working with a staff of dedicated and caring people.

Lindy had learned a week after Rebecca’s death that she was named the executor of Rebecca’s multimillion-dollar estate. Rebecca had written each of the girls a letter. In Lindy’s letter, she told her to make sure that her mother, Monica, was always cared for; the balance of the money should be used to do something for others. She told Lindy that she was sure that she would find the right project and then do it with her special flair. As Lindy watched the people coming to see the finished dream, she knew that Rebecca was happy with her choice.

Once the last of the crowd left, Sal and Lindy were in a hurry to prepare for their first patients. A forty-year-old woman in her final days after a long battle with breast cancer was scheduled to arrive in two hours with her husband and two teenage girls at her side. They knew they were prepared to give this family a comfortable place to stay.

Sal found Lindy putting away the punch bowl in the community room. He turned her around and held her in his arms, giving her one of his wonderful hugs. Then he said, “My precious Lindy, we have completed one project today, and my wish is to begin a new one before sundown. Will you give me the honor of marrying me?”

Lindy fell to her knees as she screamed
yes
so loud that the staff came running to see if there was a problem. She proudly announced that she was
finally
going to be a doctor’s wife. Lindy had felt Rebecca’s presence all day, and she knew that her beloved friend was happy with how her money had been spent. Because of Rebecca’s life, others will find peace and comfort in their last days. Now Lindy also had a chance for some true happiness and joy, which was long overdue. It all felt so right.

And so in typical Lindy style, she called Emily and Grace to inform them to change any plans they had for the next weekend. With all the arrangements made, they flew out to Las Vegas. Lindy and Sal were married by an Elvis impersonator, who was dressed in a white satin jumpsuit with a gold cape and sunglasses. Lindy wore the sequined jacket that had been Rebecca’s Christmas gift to her. Lindy laughed as she told the girls that the minister was prettier than the bride and there ought to be a law against that. After an expensive dinner at the Wynn, they flew back home.

Sal and Lindy were now living on the third floor of Emily’s house while their new home was being remodeled. It came as no surprise to anyone that they purchased an old house, which was on Lake Alice and in walking distance to Grace’s and Emily’s homes. Lindy always laughed about what a hoot it was that they all ended up with the same view of the peaceful little lake that had been such a big part of their childhood memories.

*

Lindy was now on her way to Emily’s for a special dinner in memory of Rebecca. She felt proud of what she had created to honor Rebecca’s short life.

Monica

After Rebecca’s death, Monica felt pain like she had never experienced. The girls all gathered around and seemed to pop up whenever she needed a shoulder to lean on. Lindy came to her and asked for her approval on the idea of building a hospice in honor of Rebecca. Lindy kept her busy and very involved in all the stages of planning and building at Rebecca’s Place.

Now that it was completed, Monica was going to be there every day. She would coordinate the volunteers and help in any way she could. Just before the grand opening, Sal, Lindy, and Monica took their own private walk-through of the beautiful building. Monica knew that sorrow would fill the rooms, but she prayed that some joy and peace would also be present for the people who came to Rebecca’s Place. When they entered the courtyard, she saw a large, covered object in the middle of the small pond in the courtyard’s center. Lindy and Sal led her up to the object and asked her to pull off the cover.