The Aloha Quilt (43 page)

“We know that you sold your share out of selfless concern for us,” said Sylvia. “We
believe such generosity deserves a reward. We would have acted earlier, but we had
to wait until it was safe, until Craig couldn’t claim one single thread of Elm Creek
Quilts.”

“We didn’t think it would be safe even to mention it,” added Sarah, “just in case
later Craig accused you of holding out on him.”

Bonnie looked from one friend to another as their voices tumbled over one another’s
in their eagerness to speak. “You
want to sell me your share of the business?” Bonnie asked Judy, trying to conceal
her dismay. Even if she could have chosen between the partnership in Elm Creek Quilts
or in Aloha Quilt Camp, it was too late. She had already spent most of her insurance
settlement and auction proceeds buying into the Hale Kapa Kuiki. Now her friends were
presenting her with the chance to regain all she had lost, and she must refuse them.

“That’s exactly what I intend to do,” said Judy.

“You’re so generous,” Bonnie stammered. “All of you. But I’m afraid I can’t accept
your offer.” A chorus of surprise and dismay went up from her friends, and Bonnie
raised her hands to silence them. “My circumstances have changed, and I couldn’t afford
to pay you what it’s worth. I’m sorry, Judy. Thank you, but I can’t manage it.”

Anna set down her long-handled wooden spoon on the counter with a clatter and shot
Bonnie a look of pure astonishment. “You mean you’ve already spent that five thousand
I paid you?”

“We thought you’d put it aside for a rainy day,” exclaimed Sarah, “not go on a shopping
spree.”

“Wait,” said Bonnie. “Five thousand?”

Everyone nodded. “I understand that’s the going rate for ten percent shares of Elm
Creek Quilts,” said Judy, feigning innocence.

“You know it’s worth much more than that,” said Bonnie. “I accepted Anna’s offer only
because it was an emergency, and because it was Anna.”

“You were more than generous,” said Anna, “and what goes around comes around.”

“If that’s what you were willing to sell your share for in order to save Elm Creek
Quilts for the rest of us, then it’s the most you should have to pay in order to restore
what you sacrificed.”
Judy regarded her with fond amusement. “I want to sell, and I’ve named my price. If
you don’t want it, I suppose I could see if Craig’s still interested—”

“Absolutely not,” declared Sylvia. “Bonnie, I’m afraid there’s no stopping Judy once
she makes up her mind. She’s going to sell one way or another. It’s up to you to save
us from her reckless behavior.”

Everyone laughed, and as Bonnie gazed around the room at the faces of her beloved
friends, her heart felt full to overflowing.

“I’d love to buy your share of Elm Creek Quilts,” she said, blinking away tears of
joy. “It just so happens I have enough left over to meet your price.”

As Judy smiled and took a folder of paperwork from the satchel on the floor beside
her chair, Bonnie gratefully accepted the congratulations and fond hugs of her friends
and colleagues. “Aloha,” she said to each friend as they embraced, not out of habit
but from true feeling. She couldn’t wait to share the rest of her happiness with them,
to tell them that she was both an Elm Creek Quilter and an Aloha Quilter, that she
had left them broken and dispirited but had returned whole. She would no longer define
herself by her losses, for she had discovered that when inspired by the aloha spirit
she could create her own unique pattern for her life—seamless, beautiful, and enriching—full
of love to give and to receive.

“Aloha,” she told her friends, both near and far, knowing they would understand it
in the warmest and most loving of its definitions.