The Sisterhood of the Dropped Stitches

  My dad and Uncle Lou even led us all in singing some old songs from the sixties. I had no idea either one of them could sing that well.

  Because of the party, I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t hear from any of the Sisters during the day. I was certainly busy enough myself that I didn’t have time to e-mail them. I had three, count them—one, two, three dates.

  Quinn had the day off and so he began with breakfast. He knew I was planning to go to Pastor Engstrom’s meeting so he went with me. I don’t mind telling you that the meeting was an eye-opener for me. There’s more to being a Christian than I ever imagined, and I’m going to talk with my mom about it more before next week.

  Anyway, the meeting was over by nine, and Quinn took me to Marston’s for their crunchy French toast topped with fresh berries and real maple syrup.

  Of course, Quinn had to kiss me when he brought me back to my office. He said he didn’t want me to have any doubt that we had just been on a date. I could barely concentrate on ordering supplies in the two hours we had until lunch.

  For lunch, he came back and took me to the Tea Room at the Huntington Gardens for scones and little watercress and salmon sandwiches. That time, Quinn kissed me in the middle of the bamboo grove down between the Japanese and the desert gardens.

  He didn’t even bother to take me back to The Pews after lunch. We just strolled around the gardens until it closed at five.

  Then it was time for an early dinner, he said, which had to be special so he took me to the new French restaurant that opened up just over the bridge in Eagle Rock. That time he kissed me in the parking lot before we drove back to Pasadena.

  If I didn’t need to be here for the Sisterhood meeting, we would still be sitting in that parking lot. I told Quinn I was okay with missing the meeting, but he insisted I be here to officially record that I had met my goal.

  Lizabett is the first one to show up for the meeting and she squeals and hugs Quinn when she sees him sitting at a table in the main part of the diner. They talk for a minute and I know he’s told her about the dates, because her face is all rosy when she comes into the Sisterhood room.

  Carly is the next Sister to arrive and, between you and me, she still looks as though things aren’t going well for her. Lizabett and I both give her hugs and I ask how it’s going, but she just shrugs.

  Then Rose and Becca come in together. I wonder if Rose and Becca have been having a talk about how important, or unimportant, it is that we were able to meet the goals we set a year ago.

  I’m reassured that Becca is okay with us not all meeting our goals when I see that she has brought four candles so that we can light a candle for each successful goal reached.

  “But a candle will keep,” she says. “We’ll just wait and light it when that goal is reached.”

  “Marilee reached her goal,” Lizabett says. “Three dates with my brother, Quinn. Lunch, breakfast and dinner.”

  I get three surprised looks and then three big grins.

  “Way to go,” Becca says as she rushes over to give me a hug.

  “So it’s Quinn,” Rose says as she hugs me, too.

  “That’s wonderful,” Carly says, and her face looks happy.

  We light the three candles for Carly, Lizabett and me and turn off the overhead light in the room.

  I must say I look around at my friends sitting here with a feeling of extreme satisfaction.

  “It’s a good time tonight to turn over the journal to someone else,” I say after we’ve all had a few moments of quiet reflection.

  “But it’s your journal,” Lizabett protests.

  I hold up the journal. It’s no longer a smooth notebook—instead, it’s worn and lumpy with all those folded and clipped pages. “You can see it’s not just one person’s journal. The story of the Sisterhood belongs to all of us.”

  “Carly should go next,” Becca says suddenly.

  “Oh, I don’t—” Carly protests.

  I nod. Maybe having the journal will help Carly figure out what is wrong. I know it helped me think through my problems with my father and with God, too. I think some of the bitterness drained away when I wrote it down on these pages.

  We all agree that Carly will take the journal next.

  “I don’t know if I’ll say the right things,” Carly says.

  “There is no wrong thing to say.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll add our opinions here and there, too,” Becca says. “Just to be sure you’re on track.”

  “I’ll hand it over as soon as I finish writing about today’s meeting,” I say even as I get my pen out.

  I can’t write too well by candlelight, but I don’t have too much to say before I pass the journal on anyway so I will keep it simple. I am a blessed woman. I no longer think that God dropped any stitches when He made me. I haven’t quite wrapped my mind all around it, but I think Pastor Engstrom might be right about God loving me. Isn’t that something?

  Added to that, I am just getting used to the fact that my dad might care about me more than I had thought and that maybe Quinn even has feelings for me that are a little bit more than friendship—if you had been there for the kissing parts, you would know that’s true.

  Well, you can see why I say I am blessed. I can look through the windows and into the main part of The Pews where Quinn is sitting, waiting for me. He’s a good man. I know I only needed three dates to meet my goal, but I’m wondering if Quinn might not like to go a little further and have a fourth date today. A stroll down to the Colorado Bridge would be romantic. We could even have another kiss or two under the stars. Now, that would be nice.

  Dear Reader,

  The reason I wrote The Sisterhood of the Dropped Stitches is that I wanted to write about a group of young women who have become friends—sisters, even—in the hard times of life. These are the kinds of friends you can call on no matter what. I’m sure many of you have (and are) friends like that. I hope this book encourages you in those friendships.

  As I wrote this book, I found myself constantly asking myself what a good friend would do in a certain situation. Would she be nosy? Yes, sometimes. Would she be too pushy once in a while? Yes, probably. Would she be perfect? Maybe—for brief periods of time. What she would be, I decided, is by her friend’s side—whether or not she agreed with her friend, whether or not it was easy, she’d be there.

  The American Breast Cancer Foundation recommends women over:

  Age 20: Should perform self breast exams each month. Have a clinical breast exam at least every two years.

  Age 40: Should perform self breast exams each month. Have a clinical breast exam and a mammogram at least every year.

  I hope you enjoy The Sisterhood of the Dropped Stitches. And may you have many good friends.

  Blessings,

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  1. The four main characters each responded to their cancer in different ways. Think of a time in your life when it seemed like you were singled out for hard times. Which Sisterhood character’s response is closest to your response? (see below)

  Becca—She believed in telling it as it was, no matter how unpleasant the “it” might be.

  Carly—She knew what she faced, right down to the numbers on her blood test. She just always thought everything would be okay.

  Lizabett—She was too shy sometimes to even find out what she needed to know from the nurses or the lab techs.

  Marilee—The resentment about how unfair her life had become festered in her. She used to wonder if God had been watching some landmark football game on television when He made us and that was why He missed the stitches that ended up letting cancer into our bodies.

  2. Extreme hardship (such as cancer) can also bring blessings along with the pain. What blessings did you find for the members of the Sisterhood, both during and after their battle with cancer? What blessings have you found in your own life in hard times?

  3. Have you ever been in a tight-knit, small group like the Sisterhood of the Dropped S
titches? If so, what was your experience?

  4. Marilee struggled with her relationship with her father and felt he did not care enough about her cancer. How did this affect her relationship with God?

  5. Lizabett also struggled in the opposite way with her oldest brother, “The Old Mother Hen.” Have you ever had someone worry too much about you? Do you think that would affect someone’s relationship with God, as well? In what ways?

  6. Thinking about your own struggles in life, have they drawn you closer to God? How?

  7. The Sisterhood decide to share their story with others. Do you share your struggles with others? Where and how do you do this? What is the result of this sharing?

  8. Do you think churches do enough to help people who are sick deal with their spiritual questions? What more could we all do?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7196-2

  THE SISTERHOOD OF THE DROPPED STITCHES

  Copyright © 2007 by Janet Tronstad

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.

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  *Dry Creek