Midnight in Brussels Read Online Free PDF

house, and now for her own little home.
    “I love my cottage!” she exclaimed aloud and began laughing. “I do love my little cottage, I do.” She poured another glass of wine for herself and then began eating her salad. “I love my cottage.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    A month had passed since Amanda had moved into her quaint cottage—as she continually referred to it. The exterior walls were covered with grey, weathered redwood shingles from the foundation to the roofline, and the steep roof was covered with slate shingles - just like she’d seen in one of the travel magazines.
    Her landlord had given her permission to plant climbing pink and yellow roses around the lattice work on the front stoop, and ivy along the street side of the building. Although it was co-joined to two other cottages to the right of it, it felt like a detached unit to Amanda. She had a front and back door with shingled porch covers and stoops, a lawn, and windows on three sides. The west side of her place bordered the sidewalk that ran along the street, the front faced north onto the courtyard, across from the units looking back at her.
    She’d added bargain accessories in her three cozy rooms that she’d found at vintage, used, and antique stores in Bakersfield. She spent hours browsing and finding items she wanted that appeared to cost more than what they did.
    Paula couldn’t believe how dazzling the small one-bedroom haven had become. “It’s incredible, what you’ve done here,” she said as she came through the door held open by Amanda. “Oh, look at that!” She went over to the mantle and touched a lacquered porcelain orange and white Chinese dog. “Where the hell did you find this?”
    “At that place over there on Eighteenth Street. You know, where we got the love seat. Are y’all hungry yet? I’ve made us some sandwiches.”
    “You know me, I’m always hungry. This baby eats as much as I do.”
    “Okay, I’ve set it all up for us.” She walked towards the tiny kitchen as Paula waddled behind her.
    “You sit over there.”
    “Oh, hon! This is so pretty. Flowers in a vase. And look at these plates. They’re new, ain’t they?”
    “Look on the back; they’re genuine bone China from England. Found them at the Ross store.”
    “I just can’t get over the change in you in just this short time.” Paula picked up half a sandwich from her plate. “I mean, you have a job, and Frenchie says you’re really good at it. She loves you, too, you know. Says you remind her of herself when she was young and stupid about men. Ain’t that funny? I don’t see Frenchie as ever being stupid about anything. I wish I had one-tenth of her clothes and jewelry, she’s a dang fashion plate, ain’t she?”
    Amanda’s face brightened. “One of these days I’m going to make her a pretty dress.”
    "Now that would be downright nice of you to do, Amanda. Anyway, like I was sayin’, here you’ve got this place to live in with all these pretty things. It just blows my mind how you’ve adjusted.” She bit into the sandwich and kept talking as she chewed. “I don’t think I could pick up and start all over again like you did if something happened to Drake and I lost everything. I couldn’t do it. I’d just die. I know I would.” She reached for her wine glass. “Let’s make a toast to your new life.”
    Amanda happily reached for her glass.
    “To women all over the world: may they be as happy and as lucky as we two Conroy sisters are, Amanda.”
    “Well—”
    “No, I mean it. What more could you want, Amanda? You’ve got everything you need. Well, maybe a car would be nice, but that’ll come next.”
    “I was just going to say, I’ve been looking at cars.”
    “Now, hon ... I wasn’t supposed to tell you this, but Drake is going to give you a car for your birthday. So don’t y’all go out and get into any debt. Just wait till your birthday.”
    “I don’t want Drake to buy me a car,