Robin Gilbert Luftig's Blog, page 11

Meet Eva Marie Everson

Meet Eva Marie Everson today for Sharing Tuesday, as she takes you behind the scenes of The Third Path (Bold Vision Books, 2022).

Over the years, Eva Marie has challenged, motivated, and mentored me and others through Word Weavers International, a Christian writing critique group. In addition to all that, I’m honored to call her my friend. As you read her words below, you’ll see how awesome she is.��

~~~

When I saw it, I couldn’t imagine that a folded 8.5 x 11 piece of paper could change my life, but it did.

I’d seen it for days��neatly placed on the desk in a conference center bedroom where I’d been staying. But I’d paid it no mind. Until that is, I was about to leave. It was then I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Pick it up.” So I did. I took it home and then, after a few days, I picked it up again. Looked it over and read the details of the eve located on the campgrounds.

… I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Pick it up.”
So I did.

Not really knowing a lot about prayer labyrinths, I spent the next several weeks studying them, discovering just how far back they go. A lot of people think they are “new age,” but they’re actually very” old age.” The earliest mothers and fathers of our faith walked them.

This Prayer Labyrinth

This particular prayer labyrinth had four paths to walk–the path of silence, the path of memory, the path of prayer, and the path of questions. After taking the time to dive further into the notion of silence and memory and prayer and questions. I decided to journal the paths. But I also decided to switch the third and fourth paths because, I felt, we should leave the labyrinth after prayer. I also discovered, very early on, that the questions were not my questions for God, but rather His questions for me �� and that I could find them within the text of the Holy Writ.

God Asks Questions?

God asked hundreds of questions within the text of the Bible. Questions He knew the answers to. But, as I wrote in��The Third Path,��God asks questions to reveal the heart of man to man. To converse with His children. To help us know Him (and ourselves) better.

After more than a year of my own soul searching through journaling (walking) with only a few of the questions I found in the Bible, I began to teach the concept to others �� and still others �� and others still until, one day, my friend Rachel Hauck said, “Where’s the book?”

So I Began My Journey

I began writing but was interrupted by my baby brother’s untimely death. At least,��I��wasn’t ready for it. And afterward, I didn’t have the strength (physical or spiritual) to pick the work back up until, that is, the Lord kept poking me in the ribs about it. We went back and forth for a while, but (I have learned) that when we fight God, He wins, and we walk away with a limp. So, I finished it, submitted it to my agent and, soon thereafter, I received the word every writer wants to hear:��We want to publish your book!��

First the Book ��

In August 2022, The Third Path; Finding Intimacy With God on the Path of Questioning��(Bold Vision Books) was released, hitting #1 in one of its genres at Amazon. I was both stunned and happily surprised. But then �� as months went by �� I began receiving emails and comments about how the book was changing the lives of those who read it. My heart nearly soared at that��news!

�� And now the Journal

“I wish there was a journal,” a few said. Their wish became my joy. And so, on October 3, 2023, the journal will be released.

In August 2023, one year after publication, The Third Path��won the AWSA Book of the Year. I have shed tears over this, not only because of the honor but because I almost kicked the work to the curb after my brother’s death. But God was faithful. God is��faithful. And true.

Let’s walk ��

Want to learn more about Eva Marie? Check out her website or her Amazon library. Or you can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.�� Happy reading.

What say you?

What do you wonder about?�� Are you happy �� or are you doing what you never thought you��d do? Do you see consistencies �� or are you all over the place?��Drop me a line. I��d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God��s Best During Your Worst, now in audible! And don��t forget to check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

The post Meet Eva Marie Everson appeared first on Robin Luftig.

View more on Robin Gilbert Luftig's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 03, 2023 03:00

Be a Part of the Ladies Series

As I wrap up the third book of the Ladies of the Fire series, I realize it’s lacking something. It took me a while to grasp what was missing–they needed another friend at the fire. Fiona, Lily-Rose, and Sugar need you to fill a chair at the firepit and be a part of their conversations and the Ladies series.

Then it hit me. They need another friend at the fire.

Here’s How We Can Make It Happen

Fiona, Lily-Rose, and Sugar enjoy munching their homemade goodies as much as they love sharing their hearts at the firepit, right? So how about they add some new foods?

What goodies do you like for firepit time? Do you prepare meals or snacks? Are your foods sweet or savory? The options are endless. In addition, what favorite memories have you shared at your own fire? What conversations could you bring?

Let Me Know

Some of you have told me how much you love these ladies and how you’d love to be there with them. Let me know what you like about your current fires or the fires from your past. Who knows, they may show up to Sugar’s fire in Ladies on a Mission.

So let’s do this!

Wouldn’t it be fun, while reading the banter between these three friends, to recognize a quip or story that you told … while eating your favorite firepit food?

Be Part of the Story

Sugar’s got a lot on her plate in Ladies on a Mission. Will she be snacking on one of your favorite delectibles as well?

Be a part of the Ladies Series. Send your recipe ideas and any personal firepit stories to robin@robinluftig.com. Who knows, you may recognize yourself at the firepit, munching and sharing.

Here’s a reminder as to how the ladies’ friendship began.

Can a woman on the run find herself again?

Ladies of the Fire brought us to the late 1960s as we met the newly-widowed Lily-Rose Pembrick reeling as she fled Lincoln, Nebraska, with her children. Only taking the cash from the house safe and what she could get her hands on at the family bank, she left the recently-inherited and successful Pembrick Transportation company behind. Exhausted from driving all night, she stopped in Applegate, Ohio, and decided to start a new life on Norwood Street. There, she met Fiona Kasey, an African-American no-nonsense housekeeper/companion to an elderly white woman, and Sugar Bowersox, a Southern spitfire who has lost herself in motherhood.

Together, they enjoyed Lily-Rose’s backyard fire pit, where dreams were spoken and secrets revealed. As they embraced a kinship they never would have sought, Lily-Rose began thinking her past could finally be laid to rest—until someone ended up dead.

The post Be a Part of the Ladies Series appeared first on Robin Luftig.

View more on Robin Gilbert Luftig's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 26, 2023 03:00

Sharing Tuesday with Clarice G. James

I’m excited about today’s Sharing Tuesday with Clarice G. James. Although we’ve never met face-to-face, I’ve enjoyed her presence on social media. It’s my hope you’ll enjoy her as well.

Who is Clarice?

Clarice G. James writes smart, fun, relatable contemporary women��s fiction. Her stories are woven together with colorful threads of humor, faith, romance, and surprise. She��s written five novels and one non-fiction book titled Say Grace: A Scriptural Field Guide to Weight Loss. Widowed in 2021, Clarice is blessed to have family and friends nearby in southern New Hampshire. Best known for her signature sense of humor, Clarice enjoys making people smile.

The Story Behind the Story

For The Least of These (Elk Lake Publications, 2021), Clarice shares, “I set the story in the small town of Andover, Maine because my brother has a cabin there. Bonus, the town was filled with characters! As creatives are prone to do, I often make up lives for real people I meet. Though, I seldom guess right, this exercise became the kernel of truth behind the actions of my protagonist Carley Rae Jantsen.”

And the Story Is …

Nurse practitioner Carley Rae Jantzen blows the whistle on Philadelphia physician Dr. Harrison Nichols for Medicare fraud. While waiting for the FBI to complete its investigation, she must work side by side with Dr. Nichols��without letting on what she knows or what she��s done.

So, when Carley receives an invitation to become a live-in assistant for Geneva Kellerman��a great-aunt she didn��t even know she had��she jumps at the chance to run off and hide in Andover, Maine, population 826.

Great-aunt Geneva soon learns that receiving help is not as easy as giving it. And Carley discovers the ��assistance�� her great-aunt had in mind has nothing to do with nursing but all to do with passing down a legacy of caring for the least of these.

The moment I met Carley, I was intrigued. When Geneva made her entrance, I tossed my to-do list and wrapped myself up in a story that
captivated my heart and inspired me to be my best self��no matter what life throws my way.
~ Lori Releveled, blogger, speaker, coach, and author of The Art of Hard Conversations: Biblical Tools for the Tough Talks that Matter.

Amazon Readers have comments, too

The book started well, with an intriguing concept. Then it got better. And better. After approximately 140 pages, I didn��t want to put it down. With many books, you have to wait and wait for the ending. And then, authors rarely give readers like me enough time ��and enough words�� to soak in the satisfaction of a plot resolved.

Not so this book. Plots and subplots were revealed along the way, and well before the ending. I loved that. It was a relaxing read, and then at the end came something totally unexpected and amazing�� an additional plot line I hadn��t realized existed, and one so wonderful, it has stayed with me for three days. It��s hard to imagine this author had the sheer discipline to under-promise on the book cover and info page. WOW. If you buy the book, read it to the end, and DO NOT skip to the end. You��ll get all the relaxation you seek, AND a powerful punch you were not expecting. Sweet satisfaction that will stay with you.
Enjoy. ~ Elizabeth B.

I’m ready …

Sharing Tuesday with Clarice G. James has me ready to grab a copy of The Least of These … how about you?

Want to learn more about Clarice? Check out her website or her Amazon library. Or you can follow her on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), BookBub, or Goodreads.�� Happy reading.

Want to see how The Ladies Mystery series began?

Can a woman on the run find herself again?

Ladies of the Fire��brought us to the late 1960s as we met the newly-widowed Lily-Rose Pembrick reeling as she fled Lincoln, Nebraska, with her children. Only taking the cash from the house safe and what she could get her hands on at the family bank, she left the recently-inherited and successful Pembrick Transportation company behind.��Exhausted from driving all night, she stopped in Applegate, Ohio, and decided to start a new life on Norwood Street. There, she met Fiona Kasey, an African-American no-nonsense housekeeper/companion to an elderly white woman, and Sugar Bowersox, a Southern spitfire who has lost herself in motherhood.

Together, they enjoyed Lily-Rose��s backyard fire pit, where dreams were spoken and secrets revealed. As they embraced a kinship they never would have sought, Lily-Rose began thinking her past could finally be laid to rest��until someone ended up dead.

The post Sharing Tuesday with Clarice G. James appeared first on Robin Luftig.

View more on Robin Gilbert Luftig's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 19, 2023 03:00

Friends

You know who they are. They’re the people you call in the middle of the night when life falls apart. Or those you want to share a well-earned victory with. And if you’re lucky, they’re the ones who know your darkest secrets and love you anyway.

They’re your people, your tribe–they’re your friends.

God Made Us Relational

We aren’t made to be happy only by ourselves. We’re to share our lives with others and be available for them to share with us.

My most happy moments always involved others. My marriage. The birth of my children.

Or sharing the secret on how to purchase the perfect avocado.

And as we come into football season, games are best shared with those who enjoy the same teams, watch the same players, or participate in some friendly rivalry. What can be more fun than spending a Friday night in the high school bleachers, cheering on your favorite team?

Friends During Darkness

It’s awesome to enjoy friends through laughter, but it can mean emotional survival when it comes to sharing with a friend during dark times.�� This particular sharing can guide you into a place of healing. Sometimes grief and despair come on quickly and without mercy. That’s when a good friend can be the hand of God, as he tells us, ��Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken��

��Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken��
Ecclesiastes 4:12

Thank God for Understanding Friends

As a writer, I spend a good deal of time alone. Thinking. Pondering. Considering scenarios. Until I understood myself, I used to think that made me selfish or non-social. But when another writer admitted they did the same thing, we realized we were just being who we were. We discovered being alone is how we process thoughts. Our challenge, however, was to be intentional and make sure we included others in our schedule outside of our writing.

That’s what I do.

I make sure I have time every day with my husband to share a cup of coffee, talk about nothing in particular, or chat about pressing issues. If one of us is traveling, we make sure to call–touch base the best we can.

We’re friends and are intentional with our relationship.

God’s My Friend, Too

I know, without a doubt, that God is holy … but he’s also my friend. I share my happy moments with him as well as sad and fear-filled ones.

And he’s always there.

In Jeremiah 29:13, God said to the exiled Jews in Babylon, “You will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with all your heart.”

“You will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13

God wants to hear from us all. We just need to seek him. We’re relational. We need friends. Isn’t that a good place to start?

What say you?

What do you wonder about?�� Are you happy �� or are you doing what you never thought you��d do? Do you see consistencies �� or are you all over the place?��Drop me a line. I��d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God��s Best During Your Worst, now in audible! And don��t forget to check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

The post Friends appeared first on Robin Luftig.

View more on Robin Gilbert Luftig's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 12, 2023 03:00

Missing Dad on His Birthday

This time of the year I get lost in missing Dad on his birthday. He would have been 94 on September 24. He’s been gone since 1979. It’s been so long. Even though I still celebrate in one fashion or another there’s a pain that never goes away.

What he’s missing

If Dad was still here, he’d have the privilege of celebrating his day with his children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. Even though he never liked anyone fussing over him, I’m certain there’d be cake for his day. I think he’d appreciate the gesture. Maybe he and I would make it together, just like we used to do. Yellow box cake with chocolate frosting. His favorite.

What we’re missing

Today, he would be a source of strength for the family as we suffer and work through other losses.�� One of his sons died too soon, as did a grandchild. He would have known what to say. He would have known how to offer comfort.

He was good that way.

I miss our hours of conversation. About what makes me happy, what moves my heart. I��m certain the talks would get around to hunting. Of course, my earliest recollection of “hunting” included a thermos of warm milk, a slice of pie, and a pocket full of Brach’s Cinnamon candies. When my goodies were gone, I was finished hunting.

Hunting was such a large part of his life. My brothers and I would remind him that once we were old enough he’d take us out, allowing us to carry our own gun. He spent hours with us, his points of pride and joy, reviewing guns and safety rules. He taught all of us not to ever point a gun at anyone because terrible things could happen and there may be no going back. He was a stickler on gun safety.

After his stories and lectures,�� I know he’d laugh and tell some of his favorite stories. He’d make sure we each played a starring role in these stories.��Then, his voice would go soft. He’d tell us, again, that he didn��t hunt much anymore. It wasn’t the same now that his kids grew up and left home.

The irony of it all.

What’s left

That��s why today is so terribly sad. When Dad was at a low point in his life �� when he felt there was no going forward �� when he felt there was more bad than good �� he ended his life. With a gun.

How could I believe life would be good after he did that?

How could I believe life would be good after he did that?

It took many years of making my own mistakes and trying to control all the bad around me to realize he was wrong. I believed him on so many topics, but this one thing��this last thing��I chose not to believe. Instead, I chose and still choose, to rely on my other father, my Heavenly Father. He tells me a different story. He says he��ll never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5) �� he has plans for me, plans for my future (Jeremiah 29:11)�� that there will be troubles but he has overcome them all (John 16:33)�� and the list goes on.

He says he��ll never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5) ��
He has plans for me, plans for my future
(Jeremiah 29:11)��
there will be troubles but He has overcome them
(John 16:33)

I��m in a good place now, but it took years of hard work. I needed to trust and then accept the baskets of grace God offered me.

What does this mean for you

Please, if you ever get so depressed that you think there��s no hope, remember my story. Today there is no cake for me. Instead, I have the memory of the day when I received the call telling me how I lost my dad. I carried heartache, confusion, and misdirected guilt for years. Thank God for my Savior. He helped me remember the good memories and put the others away for safekeeping.

Darkness visits many of us, but it will pass. Trust in that. If you��re in a dark place right now, hang in there. Love your families, love your friends, and give your situation one more day before you do something that can��t be undone.

Remember my story.

Reposted from September 22, 2015.��

What say you?

What do you wonder about?�� Are you happy �� or are you doing what you never thought you��d do? Do you see consistencies �� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I��d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God��s Best During Your Worst, now in audible! And don’t forget to check out any of my other books on my Book��page.

The post Missing Dad on His Birthday appeared first on Robin Luftig.

View more on Robin Gilbert Luftig's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 05, 2023 03:00

Meeting the Unknown World

August 1983

The cool air stirred and the long rays of morning sun greeted us as we walked the long driveway to meet the unknown world. It took everything in me not to start crying.

“Today will be a great day!” I said, with too much pep in my voice. I wanted to make sure I told him all he needed to know for this special morning. “You��ll meet new people and it��ll be terrific!”

We continued to walk, hand in hand as we always had in the past. He stopped, looked up into my eyes, and with a sober voice, “It is a great day, right, Mommy?”

Little Sis skipped along singing Great day, It’s gonna be a great day … She had no idea the somberness of this moment. But how could she? How could she know what it felt like to lose a firstborn into an Unknown World?

Soon the bus pulled up and stopped, throwing open its doors. Big Brother climbed what seemed to be oversized steps and entered the bowels of the yellow-orange bus that had been sent to take him away. I watched from outside as he found a seat by the window and settled in for the ride. The top of his head was all I could see as the bus wheezed, jerked a bit, and then drove away.

Tears washed my face all the way home. Once inside, Little Sis and I filled our morning with a lot of nothing special, passing the time until Big Brother returned. When we saw the first sight of the big yellow-orange bus turn the corner, we ran out to greet him. After he got off the bus, we smothered him with hugs and kisses. Big Brother walked differently on the way home–a bit taller, his shoulders, a bit straighter. He had faced the giant called Kindigar’n and had stories to tell!

I survived the first day of school.

Meeting the Unknown World
Click To Tweet

August 1984

Once again, the three of us walked down the long driveway. As before, I did everything I could to not start crying. This time, Big Brother held Little Sis’s hand as we strolled along.

“Today’s a great day!” Big Brother told his sister. “I did this last year. You’ll be great.”

It was Little Sis’s turn to square her shoulders when the yellow-orange bus pulled up. Without a look back, she marched up the huge steps just as Big Brother prepared her to do. She trusted him. They were together and would be fine.

There wasn’t a thought about who would walk back to the house with me.

All morning, I walked from one room to another, trying to fill the emptiness with some pretense of purpose.

That afternoon, the yellow-orange bus pulled to our stop. Big Brother and Little Sis came bounding down the steps. My arms ached just a bit for the babies who had grown up so quickly. But I’d made it.

I survived my second first day of school.

August 1995

My baby �� Youngest Boy �� and I sat on the front steps of our new home and waited for the yellow-orange bus. Youngest Boy’s older siblings were already arguing about getting the best seats on the bus. But Youngest Boy and I stayed apart, getting a sense of what was in store for each of us.

“Today’s a great day,” I bumped his shoulder with mine, hoping my peaceful demeanor would give him confidence.

“Really Mommy, a great day?”

“One of the greatest ever!” I hugged Youngest Boy close.

Too soon the yellow-orange bus stopped in front of the house and my three gifts from God rambled up the steps, with Youngest Boy needing some assistance. Tears flowed once again as I watched the bus round the corner and drive out of sight. I sighed, went back into the house, and drank my coffee.

I had survived my last first day of school.

August 2012
Driving to work this morning, I watched from my car as mommies walked their young ones to the different bus stops along my route. I saw them wipe tears away as they did their best to ready their precious babies to meet their own Unknown World. I reflected on my own firsts. Then it hit me: Today I am facing the first day in twenty-nine years when I didn’t have a child experiencing some kind of school.

Elementary, middle, high school, or college–they were all behind me.

For a fleeting moment, I longed for just one more shopping trip to pick out the perfect backpack, the most awesome outfits, or the most confusing calculator ever.

In a blink

It doesn��t seem all that long ago that I watched a big yellow beast carry my sweet ones into a new season of their lives. I can still see the top of Big Brother’s head through the bus window, the squared shoulders of Lit

tle Sis as she marched into her future, and the tenderness of Youngest Boy as he struggled with mastering the bus steps.

I think I��m going to text my three children and let them know that I��m very proud of them. They have met their Unknown World and survived ��

And I did, too.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens
Ecclesiastics 3:1

��
Reposted from August 22, 2012.��

What say you?

What do you wonder about?�� Are you happy �� or are you doing what you never thought you��d do? Do you see consistencies �� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I��d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God��s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

The post Meeting the Unknown World appeared first on Robin Luftig.

View more on Robin Gilbert Luftig's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 22, 2023 03:00

Sharing Tuesday

Another Sharing Tuesday brings us to Britt Mooney’s book, We Were Reborn for This: The Jesus Model for Living Heaven on Earth. (Bold Vision Books, 2023)

The Purpose?

In the face of tragedy and hate in the world, Christians have the answer.

What if we were born again for more? What if we were reborn to enter the brokenness of others with peace and hope?

Through inspirational stories, practical experience in the US and overseas, using the resurrection of Lazarus as a narrative framework, Britt Mooney explores why and how we can follow Jesus�� model for discipleship, entering the broken and desperate lives of others with scandalous compassion, supernatural power, and radical transformation.

What Folks Are Saying

After reading the back of a book cover, my next go-to’s are the endorsements. Here are a few:

From Bill Myer, Author of a ca-zillion books … one being Rendezvous with God:

“Reborn should be required reading for all Christians.”

Not that my writing is in the same league as Bill Myer’s, but here are my thoughts on the book:

“I love when Christian Living books bring ��Christian Living�� down to earth. That��s what Britt Mooney does with, We Were REBORN for This: The Jesus Model for Living Heaven on Earth. Grab a cup of coffee, a highlighter, and paper & pen. Not only will you want to ponder the powerful one-liner that sneaks up on you, but you may find yourself jotting notes in the margins as you go. Excellent read!”

Should I buy this?

People buy books for several reasons. They might want to support the author. That’s a good reason. Or they might be interested in the book’s message. That’s another excellent reason. However, in my opinion, the best ever reason to buy a book is to know you have the ability to go back and read it again. That’s what you’ll find with We Were Reborn for This.

Your Thoughts

If you like reading about other authors, let me know. Sharing Tuesday may become a special feature!

What say you?

What do you wonder about?�� Are you happy �� or are you doing what you never thought you��d do? Do you see consistencies �� or are you all over the place? Drop me a line. I��d love to chat.

Struggling to find good in your life? Check out my award-winning book,��God��s Best During Your Worst, or check out any of my other books on my��Book��page.

The post Sharing Tuesday appeared first on Robin Luftig.

View more on Robin Gilbert Luftig's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 08, 2023 03:00

Repost – Ladies on a Mission … a taste

While I needed to step away from writing for a season, it was time to get close to my good friends … Lily-Rose, Fiona, and Sugar again. Oh, how I missed them. Here’s the prologue of the third installment of the Ladies series, Ladies on a Mission. Here’s a taste.��

~~~~~~~~~~

Prologue

July 1945

��Sug, you stay close, ya hear?�� Zinnie Mae��s bellowing voice rang in four-year-old Sugar Thompson��s ears. She raised her head above the grass and blew a puff of air moving blonde hairs away from her blue eyes as she looked toward the shanty. Her corralled grasshoppers would wait. She watched as Zinnie Mae cuffed momma across the head. ��What��s wrong with you, Betty Mae, letting your baby girl go traipsing off so far?��

��I��m okay. Playin with bugs.�� Sugar smiled as she rolled onto her back and looked at the puffy clouded sky. This was how hot Kentucky days moseyed along in the Appalachian Mountains. The stillness was so thick it was like being wrapped in a sweater. Even the birds stopped singing after they��d welcomed the day. Critters had long burrowed themselves in their holes to stay cool until evening. Away from the clearing, leaves from the oaks and hickories barely let any light touch the ground.

Not much ever changed. Miles up the hill from Trotter, their two-room shack Sugar called home sat in a small parcel of land that had housed the Thompson clan for more years than anyone remembered. There lived three generations of Thompson women. Zinnie Mae, the grandma of the clan, Bettie Mae��Sugar��s Momma��then Sugar. Inside, a splintering plank floor held a table surrounded by four chairs that served as the family��s sitting place. In the corner close to the potbelly stove ��for both heating and cooking��sat a raggedy stuffed chair where momma��s pa used to sit. A flimsy curtain cordoned off a corner of the room for sleeping. The door off the back of the shack was close to all the necessities�� the fruit cellar and path to the two-seater outhouse. A tarred roof with only a few holes covered it all.

It��d been said Zinnie Mae was purdy in her day, but that day was long past. Her once crazy red hair held back with a bandana is now grayed and bunned tight, held away from the deep lines on her face. Momma��s smile crinkled her eyes and lit her face like a star in the night��s sky. But that didn��t happen very often. And she never smiled during trips ventured into Trotter. People often stepped back, giving a wide path and peering from side-eye glances as gawkers spoke to one another in hushed voices.

Sugar raised up on an elbow and looked toward the porch. She saw Momma wave. Her mouth gaped when Zinnie Mae knocked her in the head again. ��Stop hitting me. What you talking ��bout? She ain��t traipsing off.�� She pointed with a hand still gripping several green beans. ��She��s right there. I can see her. Yonder. Look for yourself.�� Her voice raised. ��Sweet girl, give me and Zinnie Mae a wave.��

��Hey Momma, hey, Zinnie Mae.�� Sugar smiled and waved.

Zinnie Mae harumphed. ��You know how easy it is to get turned around in them hills. Two steps off the paths and you��d be lost forever. Today��s not a day I want to go off lookin�� for her. That��s all I��m sayin��.��

Momma dropped her hands into the basket of untrimmed beans. ��For the last time, will you please allow Sugar to call you Granny �� grandma. Somethin�� other than the name your momma gave ya? Besides, she ain��t going off a path she ain��t even close to.��

Zinnie Mae worked her mouth then spit a straight shot of tobacco juice, clearing the porch��s edge. ��If you��da waited to have a baby ��til later, maybe you��d know better how to take care of a youngin��. I can��t help it if you done gave yourself and got in the family way too soon.�� She brushed hair from her face with the back of her hand, then muttered. ��Besides, I ain��t old enough to be a granny. When I am, I��ll let you know.�� She picked up another bean and snapped its ends off. ��It wasn��t what I had in mind for me��or you.��

Sugar stretched out again in the grass. She had heard this conversation more times than could count, though Momma saw to it that her counting was real good. She returned her attention to the grasshoppers and scooped one carefully into her cupped hands. Peeking through her loose grip Sugar watched as the bug offered up its defensive spit that looked like Zinnie Mae��s tobacco juice. The brown liquid pooled on her already dirty palms.

With cargo in hand, Sugar stood and made her way toward the porch. Before arriving at the edge of the broken stoop, she crouched in a low cluster of grass, opened her fists, and watched as the grasshopper launched from her grip. After wiping her hand on her coveralls, she climbed her way onto the side edge of the porch��greeted by the women��s never-ending bickering.

��How many times do I have to tell you he took me. I didn��t offer nothin��!�� Momma turned from her grandmother, smiled her way, and spoke in a louder voice. ��But you, little girl �� are just like your name, right? Sweet as sweet can be.��

��How many times do I have to tell you he took me. I didn��t offer nothin��!��

Sugar smiled, climbed onto the porch, and gave each woman a kiss on the cheek. In one jump, she returned to the yard and played with her found bugs, making sure to stay within earshot. She learned long ago once these women started talking about her, everything was always better. That proved to be true this time as well.

Zinnie Mae nodded. ��That we agree on, for sure. I ��bout had a fit when you didn��t name her the way you was suppose to, though. Not addin�� Mae�� to her label like the Thompsons been doin�� since I can remember.�� Zinnie Mae sighed and waited a beat. ��But that lil�� slip of a thing makes life worth livin��, that��s for sure.�� She dropped her snapped bean in the basket of finished produce. ��Mighty glad she��s here.��

Momma stopped for a moment with her beans. ��Zinnie Mae. Betty Mae. What��s Mae matter? Sugar��s part of us, right Ma? Besides, if she��s gonna be her own person, she don��t need the label to hold her back. Besides, we��re raisin�� her just fine, ain��t we?��

Zinnie Mae nodded. ��Your pa��s missin�� out on the only goodness this shack��s seen in years. He shouldn��tve run off like he done.��

Momma shrugged. ��His loss, I reckon. We��re makin�� it just fine.��

Sugar continued listening as she looked back to the porch and grinned. Momma smiled back. ��Little pitchers got big ears? You don��t miss much do you, Sug.�� Sugar knew no harm was done. They were all best friends in the whole world.

Zinnie Mae rattled on as she continued trimming beans. ��The garden��s real good now. Beans comin�� on strong. The corn��s gettin�� good and tall. The squashes and other viney ones are filling out their hills just as God designed ��em to do. Keep up with the weeds and the crop��ll be ready to store up just fine.��

Oh no. Garden talk. That meant they might start saying she needed to work more there since she was so low to the ground. Sugar watched from the grass as Zinnie Mae removed the basket of trimmed beans from her lap and stood, stretching her back. ��Can you get the rest of these beans, daughter? I can��t sit like I used to. Guess I��m just an ol�� tired woman.�� Zinnie Mae started for the front door then stopped. ��How��s rabbit sound for dinner? I could go out and get a couple, no problem.��

��Don��t let the game warden catch you. You know they��ll skin you for hunting early.��

The screen door creaked as she entered the shack, and it bounced off her backside. ��I don��t think this once will be a problem.��

Moments later Zinnie Mae came back out, shotgun broke open and across her arm. She walked to Momma and put a hand on her shoulder. ��I spit n�� sass at you, but truth be, you��re a good daughter. Thank ya for that.��

��Momma? What��s��

Zinnie Mae waved her off as she stepped off the porch. ��I��m heading out for those rabbits, now.�� She set off toward the woods, passing Sugar playing with another newly found grasshopper.

��Look Zinnie Mae, it��s chewing tobacca, just like you. Ain��t that funny?��

Zinnie Mae stooped down and watched as Sugar carefully handled the grasshopper. Zinnie Mae��s voice came on soft. ��Not everything is as it seems, Sugar. ��Member that.�� She kissed the top of her golden hair. ��And here��s somethin�� else to think about. ��Be not afraid of sudden fear. Do ya know where that sayin�� comes from?��

Sugar knew her grandmother talked about the Almighty often, so she ventured a guess. ��Sounds like Bible stuff. Am I right?��

��And here��s somethin�� else to think about. ��Be not afraid of sudden fear. Do ya know where that sayin�� comes from?��

Zinnie Mae smiled and cupped Sugar��s chin in her hand. ��Yes, it is. From the wisdom of Proverbs. Do yourself a favor and folla what��s in that-there book, ya hear?��

��Yes��m.��

��Alrighty then. Time to go.�� Zinnie Mae stood and walked toward the thicket at the front of the woods.

Hours passed. When Zinnie Mae failed to return, Momma set Sugar on the porch with strict instructions not to move. It was Momma��s frantic voice calling out for Zinnie Mae that lasted past sundown. When momma returned, her face was drawn. ��Another one��s left us, Sug. Guess it��s just you and me now.��

There was no rabbit for dinner that night. Zinnie Mae had plum disappeared, never to be seen again.

That��s how it seemed, anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~

No exact date for publication has been set, but know I haven’t forgotten you and the ladies from Norwood Street.

Want to see how��The Ladies Mystery series began?

Can a woman on the run find herself again?

Ladies of the Fire��brought us to the late 1960s as we met the newly-widowed Lily-Rose Pembrick reeling as she fled Lincoln, Nebraska, with her children. Only taking the cash from the house safe and what she could get her hands on at the family bank, she left the recently-inherited and successful Pembrick Transportation company behind.��Exhausted from driving all night, she stopped in Applegate, Ohio, and decided to start a new life on Norwood Street. There, she met Fiona Kasey, an African-American no-nonsense housekeeper/companion to an elderly white woman, and Sugar Bowersox, a Southern spitfire who has lost herself in motherhood.

Together, they enjoyed Lily-Rose��s backyard fire pit, where dreams were spoken and secrets revealed. As they embraced a kinship they never would have sought, Lily-Rose began thinking her past could finally be laid to rest��until someone ended up dead.

The post Repost – Ladies on a Mission … a taste appeared first on Robin Luftig.

View more on Robin Gilbert Luftig's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 02, 2023 03:00

Ladies on a Mission … a taste