Midnight in Brussels Read Online Free PDF Page B

Paula. I’ll buy my own. I’ve been saving my money. It won’t take me much longer to get the money with what I got for the trailer and all. I make pretty good tips.”
    “Now, you know how Drake is when he sets his mind to something, there ain’t nobody gonna change it. And you know we got tons of money, what are sisters for if not to help each other when we can? So you just put that money in your travel fund. How much have you saved up for that trip you want to take?”
    “Well, with the money that’s left from the sale of the trailer and what I’ve saved from paychecks and tips, I’ve got a little over $6000 for the trip and $600 in my car fund.”
    “Well I’ll be damned! That’s nearly $7000, girl! How much do you figure you’re gonna need for that trip anyway?”
    “I’m figuring on about $10,000.”
    “Whew! That’s a lot of money, girl! I don’t how you do it. Figuring out all that stuff. But then you’ve always been good with numbers.” Paula continued with a mouthful of sandwich. “I sure couldn’t do all that figuring.”
    Amanda placed another half sandwich on Paula’s plate. “Well, I figure if I take that much, I can stay longer if I want. I’ve been reading up on Belgium at the library, the costs and everything. And I got on the computer last time I was there and found the Bruges website. There’s a lace-making school there, Paula. They give classes that last a week for beginners.”
    “You’re thinking about taking a lace-making class?”
    “Yes, I am. It’s fascinatin’ how they make those intricate designs. Here, let me show you some pictures.”
    Amanda went to a book case and pulled out a book on lace making. “I got this here book at Goodwill, it has everything in it. I figure I can just take a basic class and see if I like it or not first, or if I can even do it. There aren’t many lace-makers out there anymore.” She handed the book to Paula. “They’re even offering free classes to school children so the art won’t die. Bruges was one of the first originators of lace.”
    She went back into the living room and picked up a throw pillow from the sofa. “I’d like to learn how to do tapestry, too. Look at this here.”
    Paula took the pillow and felt it, unzipped the cover and looked on the back side of the tapestry. “I would imagine you wouldn’t have to go all the way to Belgium to learn how to make lace and weave tapestry, if that’s all you want.”
    “But it’s not all I want. Here, let me show you this magazine I bought yesterday. It’s all about Belgium, a travel magazine.” She went to the table in front of the love seat and picked up one of the travel issues that were stacked high on it. “Look at this.” She opened to a pictorial spread of Bruges.
    “Oh, my goodness!” Paula exclaimed. “Will you look at them waterways right up against the buildings? These pictures look like paintings, don’t they? Something you’d see in a museum.”
    “That’s the main reason I’m going. It looks so beautiful and peaceful. And all the streets are cobbled - you know, made of stones, like in medieval times. Did you know that’s what cobbled meant?”
    Paula frowned. “No I didn’t. You’re sure learnin’ a bunch of stuff these days.”
    “Well, I don’t know about that.” She giggled. “Actually most of the architecture there is medieval. It says that right here. I looked up ‘medieval’ and found out what it means. It means the same as the Middle Ages. Did you know that?”
    “No, I didn’t. I thought middle ages was when people get to their fifties and sixties. I sure didn’t think it had anything to do with that … that medieval stuff.” Paula gulped some water.
    “Well, it says it was a period of time way back between the fifth and the fifteenth centuries. Can you believe that? Here we’re living in the twenty-first century and a century is made up of a hundred years.”
    “You are so smart, Amanda. I had no idea you knew so much