The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini Page A

reimbursement rather than let the guild’s accounts slip into the red.
    She should have known that approach would work only so long.
    Eight months before Quiltsgiving, when the Cherokee Rose Quilters had recovered from the previous year’s charity fund-raiser retreat but weren’t quite ready to begin planning the next, the catering manager of the Château Élan phoned Pauline with an enticing offer. In appreciation for their longstanding relationship, the Château Élan offered to reduce their usual fees by 25 percent if the quilt guild would pay half up front at least six months before the date of their event.
    The offer was enticing. The Cherokee Rose Quilters could contribute the money they saved on resort expenses to the home-less shelter, or the museum endowment fund, or additional supplies for their charity quilts, or scholarships to defray the costs of their retreats for quilters facing financial hardship, or any number of good works. But could they pay half up front as the Château Élan required? Usually the guild paid a nominal fee when they booked their reservation, followed by a larger percentage of the total cost after registration fees began coming in, about three months before the retreat. They had already paid that year’s booking fee, but half up front would be a rather considerable sum, more than what remained of their annual budget.
    Pauline promised to get back in touch with the catering manager as soon as she discussed his proposal with the rest of the guild.
    First she examined their accounts to see what she had to work with. By taking a little from this fund and a little from that, and shifting some surplus from here to there, she figured they could scrape together enough cash if each guild member contributed an additional two hundred dollars. It could be considered an early payment of their annual membership dues, and when the retreat tuition checks began rolling in, they could replenish the guild’s account. No one would have to pay a dime more than usual; they would simply have to pay earlier.
    Pauline knew that some of the Cherokee Rose Quilters were quite well off; others, like herself, belonged to households that managed to get by fairly comfortably on two modest incomes. A few struggled, supporting themselves on their artist’s commissions without the benefit of a spouse’s salary. Pauline realized that especially for these few, an early payment of their annual dues might not fit within their tight budgets, and she was tempted to forget the whole plan rather than ask anyone to pay more than they could afford. But when she thought of all the good they could do with that 25 percent savings, she knew it was her responsibility to tell the guild about the Château Élan’s offer and what they needed to do to accept it.
    She outlined her proposal in an e-mail, which she sent out to the guild’s mailing list. Within minutes, several members replied to the list, agreeing that the challenges of paying their dues earlier than usual were outweighed by the benefits of saving such a large sum. A casual vote conducted by e-mail a few days later was unanimously in favor of accepting the catering manager’s offer. No one abstained from the vote, not even Brenda, who typically did not bother to respond to any of Pauline’s messages.
    The day after the vote, Pauline called the catering manager to confirm and sent out another e-mail to the guild asking them to pay her at the next meeting. Nearly everyone remembered, and of the three that forgot, two apologized and promised to put a check in the mail the next day. The third was Brenda, who looked past Pauline’s shoulder, shrugged, and said, “Oh, I’ll get it to you in time. Relax. You’re fine.”
    Pauline felt her hackles rise, smiling through clenched teeth as Brenda turned and wandered off. Nothing was less likely to make her relax than Brenda’s command that she do so, and she