Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 122097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“Oh, it’s not over yet.” She turns her face to mine, looking up at me with a smile. “This night is just getting started.”
When we get to the Bishop Inn I realize what she meant. We come in on the back side, the driver pulling the carriage up along the outside of the hedge maze. And since the hedge maze is only four feet tall, I can see that in the middle of it is a tent, strung up with garden lights, with at least a dozen people here already.
“What is this?” I ask her.
“Your Easter dinner, Mr. Creed. Complete with a spiral ham, a couple of sides, and family. Maybe they are not blood family, but they are found family, which is even better because it’s fate.”
There is someone standing guard at the hedge maze entrance and a little velvet rope with a sign on it that says ‘Private Party.’ But as we approach, the attendant removes the rope and lets us pass.
Amon is calling at me from the middle. “Hurry up, Collin. The fuckin’ ham is getting’ cold.” And I’m sure everyone is Bishop is cringing when the f-word comes rolling out of his mouth like it’s nothing.
Amon doesn’t care, though. And no one likes him less when he acts like a heathen, so why should he?
We join the party and everyone from our dancing square is here. Rosie, Jacob Wonder, and April Laver, and Ethan Sardis. Even Bryn is here. She’s wearing her chef’s jacket, like she’s working, but she’s drinking a white wine too.
Ryan and Nash are here too. Sitting down, all stretched out, still wearing their Revival clothes like they are one of us. And maybe now they are. It’s not every day that Disciple, West Virginia, invites outsiders in. And I think it’s probable that Jim Bob did this on purpose too.
It’s a way for him to tell me that my friends are welcome here, without actually telling me.
Even though the hedge maze is not tall, it is quite long. So it takes us almost ten minutes to make our way to the center where everyone is waiting, sitting under the tent around a long wooden table that was probably handcrafted locally by a talented woodworker. The table is set with pewter plate chargers, and fine china, and wine glasses that reflect the garden lights, making the whole place sparkle.
There is ale in the pewter tankards and much more on the table than just a ham and two sides. It’s a feast.
Every bad thing that has ever happened to me suddenly ceases to matter. Every strange place I’ve ever been where I’ve felt like an outsider fades like a distant memory.
And this is when I realize how much I gave up when I walked out twelve years ago.
It’s a nice evening. The perfect evening, actually. Right at the end of a perfect day. And all the little things that have happened in the last week are starting to add up to something bigger. It’s me, living in my childhood home, with the woman I loved but walked out on, and gettin’ a second chance pretty much without consequence. We even have a fuckin’ dog.
It’s a lot. Even when it all feels comfortable and right, it’s still a lot.
Not to mention I spent the entire day at the Revival and I actually had fun.
I want to see it as… I dunno. A gift. From who though? It’s certainly not from Jim Bob. He’s not a bad guy—at least, I don’t think he is and I’m a pretty good judge of character. But he’s… I mean, it’s kinda cliché because of the circus he’s been running for the past forty years, but the term ‘carnival barker’ fits. He’s a fast talker and he’s spent his entire life in this little town taking care of this little show. He’s much more than a mere salesman and does more than just entice people to take a peek past the tent flap. He enchants them. He charms them. And if that doesn’t work, he’ll just bring the show to them.
Which is exactly what he did to me.
I like the thought of money, but I cannot be bought. If it were that easy to buy me, I’d be working for Charlie Beaufort. Because he has offered me fuck-you money to take that position.
But I don’t wanna work for anyone. I wanna work for me, and Amon, and Nash, and Ryan.
Jim Bob has figured this out, obviously. Because he didn’t offer me more money today, he offered me the one thing he had that no one else did—family.
Because I lost mine. Maybe I walked away, maybe it was always gonna end up like this, doesn’t matter, because the truth is, until I came back to Disciple, the only person I had left from home was Amon.