Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Perfect,” Brick says. “Privacy is exactly what we want.” Samantha’s grin grows even larger.
“Great. So, in here.” She opens up a door into a smaller space with fewer seats and higher windows. Its setup is similar to the other room, just on a smaller scale. “Right, so in here is where I’ve got your setup. Two pottery wheels, clay, and water – everything you’ll need to make something. If you need more materials, all of the cabinets and cupboards are labeled. Feel free to use whatever you need.”
I can see that she has brought two of the setups to the center of the room, facing one other.
“Do either one of you have experience working with this kind of equipment?” She looks between us. Brick shakes his head, but I nod.
“Um, yeah,” I say. “I took a couple of classes in college.”
“Awesome! I can do a demonstration if you’d like, but if you’re comfortable just jumping right into it, we can skip that part.”
Samantha and Brick look at me. I’ve never taught anyone how to work on a wheel, but I think it’s easy enough, and if we skip the demonstration, Brick and I will get to our alone time a lot faster. And that is what I am here for.
“We don’t need a demonstration. I can show Brick how it works.”
“Perfect! Our equipment does have a few quirks. To turn the wheel on and off, there’s a button on the side. It won’t actually start turning until you press on the pedal, and that will control the speed. If you make anything that you want us to put in the kiln, you can put it on the shelf over there.” Samantha points to a wall where there are rows of various ceramic pieces, all of them not yet hardened. “Just place it on one of the trays and write your name on it. We don’t fire up the kiln every day, but we’ll let you know once they’re done. If you are unable to pick them up, we do have a service where we can mail them to you. The paint and glaze are on that table next to your setups. There are two cups with brushes on the table. The paints should be restocked, but if you need more of one color, or if there’s a color that’s not there, you can check that cupboard,” she points to her left. “That’s where we keep the big bottles. I think that should be everything. Are there any questions?”
Samantha looks between me and Brick. She’s given us so much information; I didn’t really absorb a lot of it. I was busy thinking about teaching Brick how to do pottery. I turn to my date, hoping he has gotten all of what our host has said.
“Is there anything we’ll need to turn off before we go?” Brick asks. It sounds like he was paying attention, so I don’t worry about whether or not I’ve missed potentially important information.
“Yes!” Samantha exclaims. “The wheels should be off. They can be left where they are, though. And the light switch is right by the door. Flip that, and everything will be good. If you want to hang out in the bigger room, there’s a light switch by this door and one by the front door. If you turn it on, just turn it off before leaving.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“Yep, I tried to make everything as simple as possible. Once again, please don’t hesitate to call if you guys need anything. I don’t live too far away, so I can be over in a heartbeat. And I guess the last thing is I hope you have fun here at Potting Beauties.”
Brick thanks her, and then she leaves. We hear the front door close, and soon it’s just the two of us. All alone.
“So you rented out the whole space?” I ask.
“I thought you would appreciate the privacy.”
I smile because I do. I’m not ashamed to be out with him, but this is all so new and fresh, and I appreciate being in our own little bubble. Even if it’s only temporary.
I take a look around the room for a little bit. It’s so nice. It reminds me of some of the spaces where I took pottery classes when I was still in school. This one is a little nicer, though, and the space has a more thought-out design.
I still can’t believe this is the date Brick came up with. There’s no way he had any idea I took classes in college. He must have used his best deduction skills to land on the fact that I might like something like this. And he was very right.
This will be my first time making pottery since college, and I cannot wait to get the wheel spinning.
“What are you thinking?” Brick asks me. I jump because he’s suddenly behind me. He puts his hands on my shoulders, calming me down.