Page 1 of Follow Your Bliss

Chapter 1

The Time Capsule

Rose

Few things pissed me off as much as running out of water-soluble embroidery stabilizer while sewing a fuckton of tulle after midnight. And on a borrowed sewing machine, no less.

I lifted my foot off the pedal and stared with bleary eyes at where the stabilizer ended, mocking me. This last completed seam would’ve earned me the right to go to bed, according to the taskmaster in my brain who desperately worried I wouldn’t finish Becca’s wedding and bridesmaid gowns by next month. But no, as with all things since I’d moved home three days ago, the stabilizer was against me, too.

To hell with it. I was an expert. Even on Mom’s sewing machine, surely I could finish without the seam slipping out of the tulle. I gently pressed the pedal and went six inches before the seam pulled out all the way back to the stabilizer.

“Motherf—”

The “Sisters” song fromWhite Christmasemanating from my phone drowned out my cursing. At least my sister’s shitty timing kept me from rage-ripping $200 worth of silk tulle I couldn’t afford to replace.

I took a deep breath. “Hey Lily, did you get home yet?”

“Rose! Thank God.”

So much drama in three syllables. I huffed a laugh. “Are you having a real crisis, or a Lily crisis?”

“A real crisis! Do you remember the time capsule we buried at St. Dorothy’s summer camp?”

“Girl, that’s so random…” While my brain searched back fifteen years, I pushed my chair back three inches until it hit the side of my childhood bed. I bit back a choicefuck. I had to find my own place before I lost my mind. “I’ve traumatically blocked most of middle school, but yeah, I remember it. Why?”

“I need you to go dig it up.”

“Lily…what?”

“I need you to dig it up.”

I laughed. “No, you want me to trespass on Archdiocesan property and vandalize it. Not happening.”

“The church was deconsecrated, and it’s for sale, so no one will even notice. Becca called earlier, insisting I wear my half of the ‘best friends forever’ necklace she gave me to all her events and the wedding, but it’s in the time capsule, and I need it for the couple’s shower tomorrow night.”

I scoffed and picked my work back up. “Lily, that’s a ridiculous ask. No way.”

“Please, Rose, Ineedit for tomorrow night. And I’m stuck in Portland till tomorrow. My flight got canceled, and they can’t get me on another one till morning.”

This was definitely a Lily need, not a normal one. “Just…tell Becca the truth.”

“No, no, no,” she said forcefully. “She loses her shit if every wedding-related thing doesn’t go exactly the way she envisions it.”

“I get it. I’ve dealt with more bridezillas than I want to remember, but she’ll have to hold onto her shit like a grown-up. Or do it when you get back. You have to call 811 before you dig. What if I hit a water main or something?” Why was I thinking through the logistics?

“Please, Rose? Can’t you go do this one small thing for me? It’s in the middle of the garden at the foot of the St. Dorothy statue. They wouldn’t have buried it near pipes or wires, and it’s already nighttime there, right? Nobody’ll even see you. IpromiseI’ll pay you back big time. I said I’d help you find an apartment, right?”

“Lily, no. I have enough problems without being slapped in handcuffs or with a million-dollar fine.”

“Oh, I know,” she went on, completely ignoring me. “I can talk to my friend who works at Chateaux Marseilles. Maybe she can—”

“That new luxury apartment building on Metairie Road? Honey, you know I left New York City because I’m broke, right? And besides, you already promised to help me find the termite-infested shack in my price range. No takesy-backsies.”

“We’ll find you something that’snottermite-infested,” she huffed. “I’ll find some options for you next Friday.”

“That’s a whole week away. I need to escape the daily Mom-and-Steve show before I swear off sex forever.” I reached for my purse on the other side of the wardrobe moving box stuffed with dress designs. “And my old room is too tiny to make Becca’s bridal gown, eight bridesmaid dresses, and one flower girl’s dress. Fuck me, it’s so many.” I wanted to cry every time I remembered.

“Just get me the necklace from the time capsule, and I’ll pay you back. I gotta go. My Lyft’s here. I’ll see you tomorrow night at the shower, okay? Bye!”

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