The Calling (39 page)

She started down the trail and Mim waited a moment to watch the eagles circle low over the creek, hunting for breakfast. Then, feeling like she had dropped a heavy stone, she ran to catch up with her mom.

23

L
adies, the quilt’s waiting for you,” Edith Fisher announced as everyone took their places and began to stitch the green sashing. They all murmured their approval at the intricate Star of Bethlehem pattern, made up of blues and yellows and greens.

“It’s pretty. Awful pretty,” Edith Fisher said.

Naomi stopped sewing and looked at her. So did Bethany. Edith Fisher had never in her life said anything was pretty.

“Well, it is,” she sniffed.

“Did you all hear that the lady preacher who was staying at Eagle Hill took the job as housemother at the Group Home?” Fannie said.

“Where’d you hear that?” Edith said as Naomi and Bethany shared a secret smile. Not only did they already know that piece of information, but Geena had already roped Bethany into volunteering to teach cooking classes for the wayward girls from the Group Home. Next summer, Geena wanted the girls to help out at the soup kitchen. She had even given the soup kitchen a name: The Second Chance Café.

“I heard it from her this very morning,” Fannie said, looking pleased she knew something before Edith did. “I saw
Geena Spencer in the Sweet Tooth Bakery wolfing down a cinnamon roll.”

“Well, that’s just dandy,” Edith Fisher said. “Teach all those young innocents how to be women’s libbers.” Now she was her old self again.

Ella was following things better that afternoon than she had in a long time. “I heard that folks throw a cat on top of the quilt as soon as the last stitch is in. If the cat jumps into your lap, then you’re the next to get married.”

Fannie snorted. “
Now
you remember the secret to catching a beau, Ella. Should’ve told us that sixty years ago.” The women all got a big laugh out of that and started vying to have the cat fall in their lap. All but Naomi.

She leaned close to Bethany and whispered, “I wish the sisters would remember that I’m not in my eighties.”

Bethany grinned. “I have an announcement to make,” she said. Her eyes moved around the ring of faces, starting with Sylvia and ending with Edith. The room was so quiet, they could hear Naomi’s needle go through the quilt. The needle squeaked as she pushed it through the cotton with her thimble.

“I’d like to visit my mother,” Bethany said. “On the rotation schedule. I’d like to go with you. Each month. She’s my mother, even if she’s sick. I want to help take care of her. The caregiver said my mother’s best days were when the quilting ladies paid her a visit.”

For a long moment, no one said a word.

“Me too,” Naomi piped up. “I’d like to go too.”

More silence. And then Sylvia smiled. “Of course. Of course.” She looked at Edith. “That’s a fine plan, isn’t it, Edith? It’s the best plan of all.”

Everyone looked to Edith. “I suppose.”

“Then count on me,” Bethany said, and her heart was suddenly too full for words as she let her gaze roam lovingly over these women: the ancient sisters whose hearts were so large; Jimmy’s mother Edith, who wasn’t nearly as tough as she liked others to think; Naomi, her loyal and kind friend. It was a wonderful place to be, nestled in the heart of these good women.

They sewed quietly for a long time, no longer feeling a need to talk, until at last, Edith Fisher stuck her needle into the quilt and took off her thimble. “Somebody tell me where’s the time gone. I forgot all about refreshments.” She placed her hands on the side of her chair and hefted herself up. “I’ll put the teakettle on. Tea always hits the spot after an afternoon’s sewing. Did I tell you I’ve got shortbread?”

She took a few heavy steps toward the kitchen before stopping to place her hand on the back of Bethany’s chair and leaning over to examine the quilt in front of her. “Well, lands sake, those are real nice stitches. You’re coming along just fine.”

She looked at Edith and smiled, and, in her own stiff way, Edith smiled back.

Summer had a few days left to run, but here and there, spots of yellow and pale orange on the trees made it clear that fall was fast approaching. A gust of wind in the branches made a rustling sound, as if the leaves were made of paper. The sun shone bright and clear in a sky of brilliant blue.

Bethany was on her way to Eagle Hill after another session of cleaning out the Sisters’ House. Today, she thought she might just be making headway in the de-clutter process. A person could walk through the living room now without having to swerve around stacks of books or bags of quilt scraps.
The sisters were still a long way from being ready to host church, but it was on the horizon. The far, far distant horizon. Especially now that the sisters had asked Bethany to supervise the Grange Hall Second Chance Café and she had said yes.

Shootfire!
How did that happen, anyhow? One minute, she’s lugging the little red wagons over to the Grange Hall just to help the sisters. The next thing she knew, the sisters smiled their sweetest smiles at her and suddenly she’s in charge of the soup kitchen. But how could she say no? What would happen to all those down-and-outers if something happened to the sisters? They weren’t spring chickens, after all. A slow grin lifted the corners of her lips. Those sisters could talk the birds right out of the trees.

Bethany had one foot on the porch step of Eagle Hill when she stopped, spun around, and strode over to Naomi’s. She wanted to see how Naomi was faring after a fierce headache that kept her sequestered in the basement all weekend.

As Bethany walked through the privet hole, she noticed Galen standing by the far edge of the barn, talking to someone, slapping shoulders the way men do when they’re glad to see each other. She stilled, realizing it was Jimmy to whom Galen was talking.

She hung by the privet, watching the two from afar. She thought of the first time she had seen Jimmy, at the farmers’ market, and he was just a stranger, handsome and amusing, eyes with a fiery sparkle that caught girls under his spell. Not Bethany, of course, but most other girls. He was still a boy, she had thought then, in a man’s body. But Jimmy seemed different somehow, taller and older than just a week ago when he had come to talk to her at Eagle Hill.

She could hear the rumble of his laugh from where she
stood. She loved that laugh of his, so kind and warmhearted. When he laughed, he reminded her of a feisty horse you couldn’t help but be fond of, full of life and spirit. With a start, she realized she had never felt happier than she did at that moment. No, wait. It wasn’t happiness she felt. It was joy. Something deep down that couldn’t be stolen.

Just then Jimmy caught sight of Bethany and snapped to attention. Galen noticed and politely absented himself, disappearing into the barn.

She waited for Jimmy to stride across the yard to come to her, as recommended by
A Young
Woman’s Guide to Virtue
. A girl must never chase after a boy.

Jimmy did cross the yard, but he stopped a few yards away from her. Merriment sparkled in those blue, blue eyes. “Something on your mind?”

“Why yes, there is.” A voice that she was surprised to realize was hers said, “Jimmy Fisher, I love you.” Her heart beat faster. “That’s all I have to say. I honestly and truly love you.”

Jimmy looked at her intently for a long moment beneath his hat brim, then his blue eyes twinkled. “I know. I knew it all along. But I’m glad you finally got around to figuring it out for yourself.” A slow smile, homey and unhurried and sweet, like syrup over pancakes on a Sunday morning, spread across his face.

Naomi was right. No one had ever looked at her the way Jimmy did. It was the look of a man in love.

He opened his arms. “Come here.”

She walked toward him and he met her halfway, their lips meeting at the same time. It felt like home to be in his embrace, familiar and safe.

Rose’s Blueberry Buckle

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar and shortening, then add in egg. Stir in milk. Sift together and stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Carefully blend in berries. Grease and flour a 9" square pan. Spoon batter into pan. Put on crumb topping before baking. Bake 45–50 minutes, depending on your oven.

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Blend together with fin,gers and drop mixture on top of batter, spreading evenly.