by Kris Knorr
“This’ll be a hoot that’ll last about a day before you cart us to a hotel.” Aunt Ula squinted one eye and jerked her thumb at Vera. “Do you know how hard she is to get along with?”
“I want to travel,” Vera blurted out. “Jim worked almost every Sunday and holiday. We never went far when we did get away.”
“Who are you? I thought I was the one who got hit in the head.” Aunt Ula’s eyes sparked blue, and her mouth quirked into a smile. “Listen, don’t worry about me. It’s time for you to be alone. The healing starts when you cry and grieve. You can’t do that with people looking over your shoulder. Do something for you. Maybe it’d help if you’d dabble in a few clarinet lessons.”
“How about if we take it week by week, and the music lessons…” She tried to give a caw as a warning signal. Her voice cracked. She’d meant it to be humorous, but it stilled the conversation.
In the vale below them, a cemetery worker casually peeked around a tree. Seeing no mourners in the immediate area, he rubbed his smoke against the trunk, pocketed the butt, then prepped the site. He waved to another worker who drove a tractor with a front end loader and began pushing dirt into the open cavity. The women glanced at the noise.
“I need to talk to you.” Aunt Ula slid a sideways peek at her niece then looked away.
“I’ll leave you two,” Kay said, getting to her feet.
“No, stay.” Aunt Ula waved her back down. “You’ll hear much worse in the upcoming weeks, I’m sure.” Kay sat. The whine of the tractor engine stretched out for minutes before Aunt Ula spoke, her head bowed. “Do you think I killed Gus?”
Vera patted the old woman’s leg. “No. I don’t. I’ve thought about that night. No. He died of a heart attack.”
“But if I hadn’t gone over there, he could’ve lounged in the tub by himself. He’d have been stretched out, calm and relaxed, instead of trying to push his way out and impress us.”
“You can’t be sure of that. If we’d stayed at our house or he hadn’t let us in, we’d be dead. He’d finished his last job on this side of resurrection and he was done. I’m sure it was something he didn’t even consider important. I think each of us have tasks we’re created to do. We’ll be at the right place at the right time to say or do something that will make a difference in someone’s life, and we probably won’t even be aware of it. It was time for him to go.”
“What was the task? Saving our lives?”
She shrugged. “Or maybe it was the message reminding me who’s really in control. Or perhaps his death made an impact on one of those college boys who’ll create tornado-resistant houses in the future. We can’t see the design for weaving our lives together. We’ll never know.”
The tractor had left. Stillness settled over the cemetery. Aunt Ula pulled at the hem of her jacket. “I still think it’s our fault. He was lying between us. He hadn’t been with even one woman in years…much less two. He probably got so aroused, his ticker couldn’t take it.”
Vera smiled, raising her eyebrows twice as she stood. “Then he went out happy.”
Kay snorted.
Aunt Ula stared.
“I’m going to his tribute dinner. I suggested our church would do it for his family and they accepted. Do you feel well enough to go?” Vera asked. “Lorena organized it.”
A smile lilted through Kay’s voice. “After the service, Lorena began herding everyone to the church. I thought I’d have to run over her to drive up here. All she needs is a megaphone and a sharp stick to complete her ascension to queen bee.”
“I hope she enjoys the post. I’m retiring from running the hive. I’m moving to a different adventure.”
“Good. Let’s go,” Aunt Ula said as she got into the golf cart. “Because I’m starved for cake, and I want to see if LoWena hauled out those black flower vases for table decorations. You want a ride, Vera? The cemetery director got one look at me, thought lawsuit, and offered us this nifty conveyance. I may’ve helped his opinion and anchored the deal by acting like I was a little crippled.”
Vera waved them on and began walking. The cart passed her. She heard Aunt Ula suggesting side trips and watched the old woman intermittently tug the steering wheel, veering Kay off course. Snippets of their conversation floated back as they weaved down the hillside. “At least I got rid of that piano,” “I don’t think you can take credit for that…”
As Vera passed the grave, she saw a few sparrows hopping between sprays of flowers and scratching the dirt clods. She paused and gave a whistle. The birds ignored her. She didn’t know their song. There were more notes to learn than the one string she’d plucked most of her life. She stepped closer and waved her fingers, playing an imaginary chord. The birds took flight.
She stared at the grave. One part of her journey had ended. The next was beginning. A sudden thought brightened her face. She hadn’t been left alone.
This wasn’t the trip she would’ve planned, and they weren’t the companions she would’ve chosen, but she’d been gifted with travel-mates for the next part of the journey. Challenging women, seasoned by life, thrown together through different circumstances, helping one another walk into only God knew what.
She gazed at the golf cart wheeling on and off the path. Beyond them, the last of the sunlight bladed the horizon. Above, sparrows sang and swooped through the sky.
She began walking, a smile curling the corner of her mouth. The world turned just fine without any help from the Manager of the Universe—Retired.
***
Acknowledgements
THE SEEDS FOR this story were planted when a bitty girl. I’d hide under the quilting frame whenever the cantankerous German women gathered to gab and sew. Years, longer legs, and straight stitches finally allowed me a chair at the frame.; I learned more about “how things really worked” from them than all the bucks I paid for college degrees.
My thanks to those ladies for teaching me a spiritual woman can be strong-spined, open-minded, and most of all—intelligent
To the Chrysalis Writers for gladly sharing their inside tips and including me in the school of support-ology.
I appreciate the line-by-line inspection of Kelly Wigmore and Enna Grahmer. I owe you a new set of eyeballs. To Lisa Nowak, who held my hand or kicked my backside, depending what was needed at the time.
A note of apology to the gang at Zion Lutheran and the town of Stillwater as a whole, which shares a geographic location but bears no resemblance to the environs of this novel. (But thanks for the memories.)
Most of all, thanks to my husband, who took the greatest gamble and made the greatest change to both of our lives long ago by getting in that boat with me.
About the Author
KRIS KNORR IS author of the humorous blog and book series: The Lutheran Ladies Circle.
Her droll wit can also be found in a more western-genre described as: stories of stupid cows, wise people, and small-town life. (Under Author name: B. Froman)
She lives in an eye-blink of a town in Oregon with 14 moles and 34 mounds of dirt in the yard.
For those of you who want to experience additional entertaining insights, here’s a path to both of her worlds
Before Morning Breaks: Barb Froman
Lutheran Ladies Circle: Kris Knorr
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review or checking out the other books in the Lutheran Ladies Series.
Lutheran Ladies Circle: Plucking One String
Lutheran Ladies Circle: Through The Knothole
Lutheran Ladies Circle: Thanks for Leaving
And now…Marshmallows and Gelatin—“It’s a Lutheran Thing”
Lorena’s HEAVENLY PEACHY SALAD
1 large pkg. peach gelatin
2 large bananas
1 can crushed pineapple (drain and save the juice)
1 cup mini-marshmallows
Follow direction on gelatin package. Add drained pineapple and bananas. Pour into an oblong dish. Arrange marshmallows on top of mixture. Chill u
ntil set.
CREAM CHEESE TOPPING
1 small pkg. cream cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. pineapple juice from drained pineapple
1 tub of whipped topping
Use a small saucepan and low heat to mix egg, flour, sugar and juice. Stir well. Bring to bubble, add chunks of cheese. Cook and stir until smooth. Let cool. Gently fold cooled mixture into whipped topping. Frost gelatin with topping. Chill until topping is set. Avoid ducks & geese when carrying this dish to a potluck.
Enjoy and good reading.
Discussion Questions for Book Groups
1) DO YOU think there was a defining moment, a turning point, in Vera Henley’s life? Consider her early crossroads as well as later. If she had made different choices how do you think it would have affected her life?
2) Lorena and Vera have strong reactions to change. Were their reactions the same or different? Why?
3) Walt has figured out a system to endure the constant changes within a church (or organization). How do his actions affect others? Do you think a similar set of “unwritten rules” exists within your group?
4) The women understood that the church was a hospital for sinners, so why was it difficult to live in the simple, yet complex understanding of grace? In what ways do you see “unmerited love” in your life?
5) Kay’s divorce was some time ago, so why did she react so deeply when she heard of her ex’s summer plans? What did she learn about herself?
6) Do you see a parallel between the characters’ participation in projects and your own? If so, discuss both the positive and negative responses.
7) How do such different women manage to work together when they disagree so often? What do you think unifies them?
8) Why are the characters reluctant to confront Vera? How do you handle confrontation in your group? family? church?
9) What rituals (repeated practices) or symbols do you have in your group, company, school, church? How are they comforting? How are they discomforting?
10) Can you think of a biblical parallel to people expressing anger about altering rituals?
11) Aunt Ula extracted a vow from Kay to help change Vera. Would you have made it? Why or why not? Is there ever a time we should relinquish a vow we have made?
12) Vera, Lorena, and Kay had experienced changes in their lives. How did others support them? Did they accept or deny the support?
13) The women show their love in different ways. What character do you most identify with and why?
14) Do you think God has a sense of humor? Why?
Enjoy plucking new strings—K.