“One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.”
—Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Marilee is the one who brought us this quote about shells. She and her mother had gone to the Sea of Cortez and wandered on the beach there, looking at all of the seashells that washed to shore. She wasn’t supposed to, but Marilee brought us each back a tiny shell. That was one of those rare meetings when we didn’t mention cancer once in the whole evening. It was wonderful just looking at those gems from the sea.
I feel like we have those seashells back in our hands. We are finished with the silent knitting time of our Sisterhood meeting, and, after we asked Marilee if she had heard anything and she said no, we stopped talking about cancer. We learned years ago how to escape our worries, and we have something even better than the seashells tonight. We have that wedding dress.
When Uncle Lou brought in our usual pot of tea, he asked Carly if she could help him with something in the kitchen. Marilee looked a little puzzled by the request, but she didn’t say anything as Carly stood up and followed Uncle Lou out of the Sisterhood room.
“How was your date?” Marilee asked me after the door closed behind Carly.
“It was quick,” I say. “Jake had to get back to the fire station, so he couldn’t stay long.”
I don’t mention that Jake brought a note from Rick announcing that he had confirmed a place for the wedding and he’d tell me all about it tonight. I’m relieved that we finally have a place. Rick had already told Becca to put a notice on the Web site for the wedding asking people to gather at the Pews for final directions to the location of the ceremony. Becca said that people were getting into what she called the surprise wedding location.
Marilee doesn’t have more time to ask about my lunch with Jake because Carly opens the French doors and comes back into the room carrying the big white box.
“What’s that?” Marilee asks, her voice breathless like she might suspect what it is but is afraid to assume.
“It’s your wedding dress,” I say as Carly dramatically opens the box and pulls the gown out enough so that Marilee can see it. The overhead light makes the pearls on the cream-colored satin shimmer with a soft glow.
“But how?” Marilee looks at the dress in bewilderment.
“It’s Lizabett’s doing,” Becca says from where she’s been sitting.
Marilee comes over and gives me a hug even though I’m still sitting in my chair and can’t really reach up to hug her back.
“I can’t believe it. How did you ever get something so beautiful?” she asks.
I stand up so I can hug her back. “Rick and I pulled it off. I made the arrangements, and Rick got the guys at work to help.”
After Marilee wipes a few tears away, she goes over to touch the dress. By now Carly has it completely out of the box and we can all see that the dress is beautiful.
“You got me a Vera Wang?” Marilee asks in astonishment as she lifts the dress up and sees the tag inside.
I nod, my happiness spilling out of me. “You’re only getting married once. We wanted it to be your dream wedding—at least as much as is possible.”
Marilee sets the dress back into the box, and it’s a good thing because she’s crying in earnest now. The rest of the sisters draw close and give her one of our special group hugs.
“I thought we could meet tomorrow and talk about hairstyles,” Carly says once we’ve finished the hug and separated again. Her excitement is quiet, but it makes her voice rich. “There’s a veil on the bottom of this box, and we’ll want to plan how you want to wear your hair to show it the best.”
“And we’ll need to see about shoes, unless you have some in your closet,” Becca says. She’s getting in to it, too. “That’s my department.”
“I just can’t believe it,” Marilee says as she looks at each of us.
“Well, believe it, because you’re having a wedding,” Becca says with a grin.
Just then, Uncle Lou opens the French doors. He has the diner’s phone in one hand.
“It’s for you,” he says to Marilee as he holds out the phone. “A Dr. Wells or Walls or—”
“Dr. Walsh,” Marilee says with a quick intake of breath. Her face goes pale.
Uncle Lou nods. “That sounds right.”
The sisters all look at each other. I can see fear on everyone’s face.
“Just because he called when he’s not on duty doesn’t mean there’s a problem,” Becca finally says.
Marilee nods. “You’re right.”
I should step outside to call Quinn on my cell phone, but I can’t make myself move. Oh God, please, please, please. I automatically reach into my pocket looking for something and stop myself—the Lizzie stone won’t help any of us. Instead, I put out my hand and Carly takes it. We squeeze each other’s fingers.
Marilee’s face is stony. I can tell it takes courage for her to take the phone from Uncle Lou, but she does. For a moment, she just holds the phone to her ear.
“Hello,” she finally says. “Dr. Walsh?”
I watch as the color returns to Marilee’s face. She’s listening to the doctor, and her lips start to move until she’s smiling.
“You’re sure?” she says into the phone. By now Marilee is looking at us as well. I can see by her eyes that the news she’s hearing is good. Carly and I relax our grip on each other’s hands.
“Thank you for calling,” Marilee says as she pushes the Off button on the phone and sets it down on the table. She looks around at us, and her eyes are sparkling. “He says I’m fine. I have something called a fibroadenoma—it’s just tissue. It’s not cancer at all. He says we should remove it, but it’s just a small operation and—oh, I’ve got to call Quinn.”
I need to sit down. Marilee walks out of the Sisterhood room, dialing Quinn’s phone number as she goes. I know she’ll want to tell Uncle Lou and her mother right away, too. I look over at the rest of the sisters. They look as spent as I feel.
“Thank God,” Becca says as she sits down in a chair next to me.
“Amen,” Carly says as she takes the other chair.
We just look at each other for a moment.
“I can’t believe it,” I finally say. Usually, when I worry about something, it happens. I know I’m not supposed to think that God or the Universe or Whoever causes something bad to happen when I’m too happy, but that has been what I’ve thought for so many years. “It’s really going to be okay.”
“Yeah.” Becca nods.
I feel like I’m free. And my spine is tingling a little. All of the physical reactions I thought would come upon me when I walked up that church aisle and pledged myself to God are happening now.
“I should write it down in the journal,” I finally say as I reach behind me for my knitting bag. “Not that I know the words to describe it.”
“I do,” Becca says.
I hand her the journal when I pull it out of my bag. She takes a pen out of her purse and, before I know it, is writing in the journal.
This is Becca. Today our friend and sister Marilee was told she is free of cancer. I can only praise God for this. I know that she would have accepted God’s will in this, no matter what He wanted. I also know that sickness, like health, can bring glory to Him. But I am so very happy that He continues to keep Marilee free of cancer. Now, when she promises to love Quinn in sickness and health, she can hope for many years together to do that.
When Becca gives the journal back to me, I read what she has written.
“That’s beautiful.” I stand up and put the journal back in my bag.
“I figure their wedding day will be really happy now,” Becca says as she stretches and stands up herself. “I’m glad you got that dress for them. I think they’ll want to celebrate.”
“I couldn’t have done it without Rick and the guys at the station,” I say. Looking at Becca and Carly, I notice how tired they both look. I doubt any of us have slept much in the past few nights.
“I think we should make it an early night,” I say. “Marilee’s going to be on the phone for hours.”
Carly nods. “Sounds good to me.”
We walk out of the Sisterhood room together. We see Marilee sitting at one of the side tables in the main part of the diner. She is talking on the phone to someone, so we wave as we walk toward the door. She smiles back and whispers my brother’s name to us.
The air is cool on the sidewalk outside of the Pews and we stop a minute to pull our sweaters closer to us. Becca is parked in a different structure than Carly and I, so we say good-night to her and begin the walk down the street.
“Quinn must be working tonight,” Carly says as we come to the old fire station.
I nod. “I can’t think of anything else that would keep him from hanging up the phone and driving over to be with Marilee.”
Just then we see a figure come out of the side door of the old fire station. Even in the dark, I can tell it is my brother. He has his cell phone to his ear, and he’s got his regular clothes on instead of his firemen gear, so I figure he was given permission to leave work early tonight.
He’s so intent on his phone conversation that he doesn’t even notice Carly and I are on the street along with a dozen other people who are passing by. I don’t say anything until he’s walked by, but then I turn to Carly.
“I think I envy my brother,” I say with a smile.
“Your day will come,” she replies.
I nod even though I’m not sure if I agree or not.
Carly and I go separate ways in the parking structure, and I drive home. I know one thing I’m going to do when I get there. Now that God has answered our prayers for Marilee, I am starting to feel really disloyal that I have my old Lizzie stone sitting on my nightstand at home. It’s not that I’m keeping the stone, exactly; it’s just that I haven’t thought of what to do with it. That needs to change, though. It’s time I put that old stone out of my life. And there’s no time like tonight.
For some reason, I’m not surprised when I see Rick sitting on the top step of my mother’s porch. I park my car on the street and walk up the sidewalk to the house.
“You heard?” I say when I get close enough.
He nods. “One of the guys from the station called me.”
“So you’re waiting up for Quinn?” I sit on the step next to him. “I’m not sure when he’ll be home.”
Rick is quiet, and I hear the rustle of the wild parrots in the trees beside us.
“I was waiting for you,” he finally says.
“Oh.” My heart skips a beat.
And then he continues, “There’s some things about the wedding we need to go over.”
“Of course,” I say. Being friends with Rick is going to take some getting used to, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it. Maybe after the wedding I’ll find a place of my own again. If I’m not living right next door, I don’t think he will be so intent on being friends.
“I found a violinist today. Pastor Engstrom knows an older man who used to play some professionally. I mentioned him to Quinn, and he thought the guy would be just what Marilee would want. He even has a tuxedo he can wear.” Rick grins at me. “I know how you like those tuxedoes.”
“I hope you have the ones for you and Quinn rented.”
“I pick them up on Saturday,” Rick says as he pulls a small notebook out of his jacket pocket. “I’ve got the list you gave me over the phone right here.”
“Marilee is going to be so happy,” I say. “And the upstairs of the old fire station is a perfect place to have it.”
I should have thought of it myself. The wood floors have been polished so often they have a deep, elegant gleam. And the rustic brick walls and high-beamed ceiling will be a natural for the occasion.
“We make a good team—you and me,” Rick says, and I hear the satisfaction in his voice. “One of the guys down at the station was even saying we should get this wedding written up in one of those bridal magazines. How many couples get married in a fire station?”
“None that I know of,” I say. “And we’ll have to take pictures.” I look down at the list I gave Rick. “Oh, I see you’ve already checked that off.”
“Like I said, we make a good team,” Rick says. “I wouldn’t have a clue what to do without your list.”
“Great,” I say. I know I did most of the planning, but I didn’t really expect to have so much help from Rick. He organized the other firefighters and my brothers to help.
“I haven’t told Marilee or Quinn about the arrangements,” Rick says. “I thought I’d let you decide if you want it to be a surprise.”
“I don’t know that it needs to be a surprise, but I just don’t think we need to worry them with the details. I know they want to just savor the fact that Marilee is well.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Rick says.
Rick slips his notebook back into his pocket and we sit in silence on the porch for a while. I hear some soft cooing coming from the wild parrots and I wonder if there are a couple of birds in love up in the trees.
After a bit, Rick stands up and then bends down to give me a kiss on my head again. I hope the parrots don’t see him giving me such a brotherly kiss; it’s enough to discourage romance in any species.
After Rick leaves, I walk into the house and go upstairs to my bedroom. I notice my rose is almost wilted. I’ll need to throw it out tomorrow. I wonder if I should bury the rose and my Lizzie stone in the backyard. They were both gifts from Rick, and neither one of them meant what I’d hoped they did.