There was a round of applause. Liz felt everyone glancing in her direction and did her best to appear calm and engaged. Because panic was just so unattractive.
“When Liz disappeared, we were left with a small scholarship,” Dana went on. “It should have been hers. The first suggestion was to simply fold the money back into the scholarship fund. But before we could do that, someone sent in a few dollars in Liz’s name. More checks arrived. As someone once told me, fifty dollars can’t change a life, but when everyone gives a little, we can change the world.”
Dana smiled at Liz. “That is how the Elizabeth Marie Sutton Scholarship was born. To date there have been nearly thirty recipients and most of them are here today.”
To Liz’s astonishment, several people stood. Then more joined them. There were exactly twenty-eight woman clapping and smiling at her. Beaming as if she’d actually done something for them.
When the women were seated, Dana invited the four women who would be receiving the money this year to speak. Each of them talked about how she wanted to go to college and how this money made it possible. They thanked Liz, which made her want to point out her big act had been to run away. But maybe this wasn’t the time.
There were a few more speeches, then the luncheon ended. Liz found herself shaking hands with people and accepting their thanks. As much as she wanted to say she didn’t deserve their praise, she was glad that her story had become symbolic of something bigger.
Only in Fool’s Gold, she thought as a teenager was explaining how her mother was sick and the girl had to take care of her younger three brothers. That meant paying for college wasn’t possible. But at Fool’s Gold Community College, she could get a start on her education. All thanks to Liz.
It took a while to work through the crowd. Liz finally made her way to the college president.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Dana said warmly. “I only moved here a few years ago, so I missed the formative years of the scholarship. However, I’m happy to tell you more women apply for this money than any other scholarship we have.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” Liz stated, pulling a business size envelope out of her purse and handing it over. “I want to make a donation, but please don’t say anything.”
“I won’t,” Dana promised, then opened the envelope and glanced at the ten thousand dollar check. “Oh, my.”
Liz glanced around warily. “Not a word.”
“But you’re being so generous.”
“I want to give back.”
A few weeks ago, Liz would have laughed at the idea of giving back. To a town that had ignored her? But things had changed. Sure, Fool’s Gold wasn’t perfect. No place was. There were good things and bad things, the same with the people. She might have slipped through the cracks, as Dana had described it, but that was as much a symptom of the time. Back then, how you raised your children was a more private matter. People looked away, rather than get involved. She realized it was more important to see that the people in town had tried to change. And in doing so, they’d helped others.
“Maybe you’d like to come speak to our students in the fall,” Dana suggested. “We have a lecture series that’s very popular. I know you’d draw a crowd.”
Liz hesitated. “I’m not sure of my travel plans this fall,” she explained, which was mostly true. “I usually go on a book tour.”
“We could work around that.”
“Maybe,” Liz said, doing her best to sound doubtful. “I’ll think about it.”
Come back here and lecture? She didn’t want to have to make a special trip. Although if she was still living here…
No, she told herself. Not here. She couldn’t let herself be lulled by a few good days. Did she really want to spend the rest of her life in a place where people felt free to judge her when they didn’t know what they were talking about?
Never, she thought with a firm nod.
“I CAN GET YOU A DISCOUNT,” Ethan murmured.
Liz stared at the dresser made entirely of twigs. Not logs, not sticks, but twigs. Lots of twigs.
“How does he do that?” she reflected in a low voice. “How is it staying together?”
“You don’t want to know.”
The book festival took place in the main park in town, but as Liz and Ethan walked with Abby and Tyler, she saw there was a lot more than books for sale.
The booths were clustered by subject. All the crafts together, the cooking across from the travel section. Novels were at the far end, but Liz wasn’t due there for half an hour.
“She has a great crowd,” Liz noted, pointing to a large group of people surging toward a booth.
“Cookies,” he told her, grabbing her hand and keeping her close. “She writes a cookbook and offers samples.”
“Great idea. I should do that.” She frowned. “Although I’m not sure what sample I would offer.”
“Blood,” Tyler teased cheerfully from Ethan’s other side.
“Or dead bodies,” Abby said with a giggle. The preteen walked next to her. Melissa had gone off with a couple of girlfriends.