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)
It’s a requirement. It doesn’t matter if they rent their attire from a shop just outside downtown or have them specially made by one of the seamstresses and tailors in the Trinity County area, but they must show up in period-appropriate attire or they do not get through the door.
I’ve never actually been inside the Ordinary because… well… I dunno why. I guess no man ever thought to take me there.
Until now.
“Sound like a good plan?”
I nod my head at Amon, feeling a little bit like a lovestruck teenager. Which is a foreign feeling to me since it’s been twelve years since I’ve felt that way. “Sounds like a perfect plan, Amon.”
He holds his arm out for me and I come around the counter and take it. Then he leads me out the door and we walk through downtown Bishop looking like a piece of history.
I’ve seen Rosie Harlow dressed up many ways now. Retro flower girl from the Seventies, sassy diner waitress from the Fifties, and, of course, Twenties-era garden-party socialite. But I like how she looks in these Colonial dresses the best. She’s… different. More demure. Maybe even a little bit shy.
Not that I don’t like her more typical bigger-than-life personality, I do. But it’s nice to see her in a different light.
The dress she’s wearing today is a combination of silver and pink and obviously made of some kind of luxurious fabric. Probably silk. The bodice is pink and it’s got laces holding her breasts in like a corset. But she’s wearing a dress underneath this corset as well, and this one is silver. The sleeves stop at her elbows and are trimmed in pink lace, matching the corset. There are at least two skirts, one over, one under, and they are contrasting colors so the whole thing is very… feminine.
Which Rosie is. But she doesn’t typically show it off this much and I really like it. I think she likes it too. I mean, why else would she spend so much time and money in Bishop if this wasn’t her thing? She doesn’t have a place in Revenant, as far as I know. It’s not like she’s got a little flophouse above a pool hall and a closet full of biker jackets down there.
Bishop is romantic. I mean, it’s all bullshit, just like Disciple, because I doubt people had much time to think about romance in Colonial times. Life was hard and the work was endless.
But Trinity County is selling a fantasy. That’s why people come here.
The reason Rosie Harlow has a place in Bishop filled with period-appropriate dresses that probably cost a small fortune is because time is something you make for things you like doing.
And this is something she likes doing.
At least, that’s how I put it all together. And maybe I’m wrong, but the look on her face when I walked through that door and she saw me making a fashion statement—well, it was a combination of amazement and joy. So I think I got it right.
As Rosie and I walk arm in arm down the main street here in the historical district, no one really pays us much attention. If they think it’s weird that I’m dressed up in Justin Carter’s clothes, they don’t much care, I guess. Because no one seems to be staring or chuckling behind my back as we pass.
Something Ryan and Nash would probably do. Though I feel like they have both accepted the weirdness of these towns without much protest. Ryan is even dating a Disciple girl, though it’s a relatively new thing and whether it lasts or not remains to be seen.
When we get to the Ordinary there is no wait and we are taken right to our table. It’s hot outside, but in here it’s on the verge of frigid because they keep the AC cranking. Hot people wearing ten layers of clothing aren’t happy customers, after all. And if there’s one thing Trinity County understands, it’s happy customers.
Rosie and I are seated at an intimate table in front of the window so we can see everybody outside, adding to our experience.
There is no menu, you eat what they cook and today it’s turkey, duck, and fixin’s. Once our server leaves, Rosie smiles at me. “OK. I give.”
“You give what?”
“What is this all about?” She waves her hand in the air, gesturing to me and the restaurant at the same time.
“Why did I choose this place for our first date?”
Rosie nods. “You have to admit, it’s a little bit out of character for you.”
“But not for you. And the only reason a man has a first date with a woman is to make her happy. I figured this would make you happy. Have you ever been here before?”
Rosie shakes her head. “No. Never.”
“Have you wanted to come?”