Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
We all agree, then give each other one final look before going back to work.
Ihave a small cottage just off Goosebeak Alley and right behind the blacksmith that I use to keep my Bishop life separate from my Disciple one. It was a necessity at first because if you wanna work in the Bishop downtown historical district, you gotta look the part. Which means I have myself a nice little collection of eighteenth-century dresses that need to be kept in a certain condition.
When my son, Cross, and I were still living in our Disciple trailer, there wasn’t any room to store these dresses properly. Of course, there’s plenty of room now because we’re living in Lowyn’s house. But driving home in a traditional gown without ruining it is a chore so I decided to keep the little cottage behind the blacksmith instead of giving it up.
This cottage is basically just a ten-by-ten square and doesn’t even have a proper kitchen, just a countertop to plug in small appliances, a tiny sink, and a little bar fridge to keep a few snacks. There is a bathroom, but it’s just a tall rectangle that hangs off the cottage like maybe it was an outhouse before modern plumbing renovations.
I only use the cottage as a dressing room but it’s the most perfect space a girl could ever wish for. The floors are gorgeous wide-plank dark wood, the walls are a cream-colored plaster that looks so soft, ya just wanna pet it, and there’s a French chandelier hanging down from the center of the ceiling that originally used wax candles but now has electric ones.
Bishop is a stickler for everything eighteenth-century authentic, but the town makes exceptions for electricity. Fire, it turns out, is a fire hazard. And insurance premiums in the twenty-first century will break the bank even if you’re not lighting hundreds of candles every night, let alone when ya are.
I have three vintage armoires that I scored from McBooms because Lowyn didn’t think they’d be worth restoring after she got them home from her picking trip. They line the walls of the small space and together they are big enough to store my seven dresses and collection of aprons, stays, and petticoats.
In between two of the armoires I have a vanity, which is new, but it’s custom and Amish-made, so it still has the whole Bishop vibe. The last thing along the walls is the dresser that stores my various undergarments.
Right underneath the chandelier in the center of the room is my most favorite piece of furniture ever. A chaise longue covered in light blue silk velvet, authentically restored by Lowyn McBride herself, and gifted to me several Christmases ago after it had sat in the McBooms showroom for over a year and she saw how I longed for it. It’s got to be worth ten thousand dollars, at least, but I would never sell it. Aside from my child—who doesn’t count because he’s not an asset, he’s a human being—this chaise is my most prized possession, the best gift I’ve ever received. Again, aside from my child, who, in retrospect, was definitely a gift, but also wasn’t, since I was fifteen at the time when I had him.
My little cottage is full up with gorgeous, frilly, feminine things and every time I walk through the door, I sigh, it’s that cozy and comfortable.
A second home for me, actually. I only use it on Tuesdays and Wednesday when I’m in Bishop takin’ care of my Busybody duties. It’s kinda wasteful to spend so much money on such a small part of my life, but it makes me happy. And I think I deserve this happiness.
Besides, Cross has not gone without anything due to the expense of my life here in Bishop. Aside from a father, of course, but that’s got nothing to do with Bishop. In fact, I would say Cross benefited from my second life because you really can’t buy happiness. Sure, it’s fun to try. But after the spending spree is over there’s nothing left but the truth. Happiness is a precious thing—it’s not for sale nowhere.
Of course, I don’t even pay rent in Disciple these days. I’m living at Lowyn’s house and she refuses to take money from me. She considers her contribution to my easier, less-stressful life a pay-it-forward gift. And the job of a recipient of such a gift is to appreciate it, which I do. And take advantage of it, which I’m trying to do. I’m just not sure how, aside from saving money, living at Lowyn’s helps me get to the next step in my journey.
Philosophical musings aside, I am a very lucky woman and even though the Revival is nothing more than a carnival sideshow when you look too close at it, I sit in that tent every single weekend and count my blessings. Every single ‘amen’ I shout is honest. I mean it with my whole heart.