Page 67 of Authentically, Izzy
You have a house called Waithcliff? If you tell me it is set on a cliff, I may think our entire relationship is one long daydream. Waithcliff? Brodie! That is a very bookish sounding name. Is it an old house? Damaged by war or age? Are there ghosts in the shadows? Or wives in the attic?
You must tell more on our next video call, because I have a girlish addiction to manor houses. Don’t ask Luke about it! He may share too much information, especially in regard to my junior year of high school, a beach trip, and an unfortunate accident of breaking and entering.
Izzy
PS: I like to sing, but that doesn’t mean I’m good at it.
PPS: And let’s not discuss my drawing abilities.
From: Penelope Edgewood
To: Izzy Edgewood
Date: April6
Subject: Brodie is CoMiNg!!!
Brodie is coming to visit!!! Sorry, I just saw your email. I’ve been in the throes of helping the community-theater kids performMary Poppinsand even let them use my very own carpetbag purse as a prop. That should tell you how much I love them.
Oh my heart! Izzy, do you realize how much your life is like a movie? And all this time I thought you were more of a secondary character in a Hallmark show, when really... you’re the heroine! I can practically hear the perfectly placed “Christmas magic” chime in the background. You must take Brodie on the Parkway and to a Friday night bluegrass jam session. Can he dance? If you bring him to church, maybe you should choose the early service instead of the regular service in case Eli shows up. Plus the nosy church-lady group comes to the late service, so you can sneak out without an assault.
I feel certain all this is due in part to the new shade of lipstick I gave you for Christmas, your decision to update your wardrobe, and your new hairstyle. The photo you sent is fabulous. The new cut frames your face so wonderfully, yet still keeps its length. Men respond to those sorts of little things, you know? If you start using perfume, just think how many men you’ll have dueling over you.
Penelope
PS: In preparation for Brodie’s visit we’re going shopping when I come in two weeks. All I’m going to say is... ankles are everything.
From: Izzy Edgewood
To: Josephine Martin
Date: April7
Subject: Decisions
Josephine,
I talked to Aunt Louisa today and told her how much I appreciate her faith in me, but I’m not certain I want my future to be at the library. You know I love it, but recently I’ve felt the need to expand upon a dream. I know the bookshop isn’t your favorite idea, and it might not end up being mine, but I need to try something new. And if it turns out to be a failure, then it’s mine to mourn and grow from on my own. I can't really explain it, but I feel as though I need to escape my own life. Or... start living it, maybe? Whatever that means, it begins with investigating and maybe trying to see beyond my current horizons. I don’t know that I’ve ever really been brave enough to step outside of what was expected of me.
I know as the eldest in our family you feel responsible for the hearts of so many, and despite my exhaustion at your attempts to manufacture my happiness, I know the sentiment comes from a loving desire. But Josephine, it’s okay for me not to know exactly what my plan is. And it’s okay for my not-knowing to be different than YOUR plans for my life.
It’s okay for me to find happiness in simple things like books and tea and children’s laughter. I don’t have to have all the answers right now, but for the first time I have this wonderful hope of a dream coming true. Whether that ends up being the bookshop or the library or something I can’t even fathom, it’s mine to decide. I want you to always be on my journey with me, just as I want to be on yours, but I’m still the one who has to live with the choices . . . so I need to be the one who makes them.
I love you bigger than the sky.
Izzy
PS: I have a friend coming to visit in a few weeks. I met him on Heart-to-Heart and he’s... well, not from our country. I thought I ought to prepare you.
PPS: He doesn’t look like Clark Gable, but he has a fantastic accent.
From: Izzy Edgewood
To: Luke Edgewood, Penelope Edgewood
Date: April7
Subject: The transformation of Eli Montgomery
