The Blue Bottle Club
Penelope J. Stokes
Language: English
Pages: 263
ISBN: 1401685315
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Four friends gathered in a cold, dusty attic on Christmas day to make a solemn pact.
"Our dreams for the future," they whispered, placing tiny pieces of paper into a shimmering blue bottle.
But that event happened in 1929, and it is decades later when local news reporter Brenna Delaney stumbles upon that bottle . . . and into the most meaningful story of her career.
Life has taken those four girls' dreams of love, fame, and faith on a path fraught with seduction, betrayal, and loss. Little has turned out as expected-and yet every choice, every tear has led each of them to a special place.
Brenna's search will uncover the secrets of that Blue Bottle Club . . . and her own life will never be the same.
"A beautiful novel about friendship and the power of faith to renew our dreams."
-Angela Hunt, author of Magdalene
shrugged. "The countenance of God was always there," she said simply. "It's everywhere, all around us. We just have to open our eyes to see it." August 2,1932 Mary Love knelt in the chapel, her eyes fixed on the flame that cast a wavering light over the altar. Her mind seethed with conflicting emotions, and her stomach churned. Reverend Mother had sent word that today, after midday prayers, she was to report to the office to discuss the issue of her reception as a novice. Reverend Mother had
shifting shadow She looked up. Beyond the boxes, hanging from a rope tied around the rafters. A body. Her father's body. 7 NIGHTMARE Letitia sat on the sofa in the front parlor, squeezed between her mother and Adora Archer. Everyone was there—Pastor Archer and his wife; both Eleanors, Big and Little; Philip and his parents; Mary Love Buchanan; even the Buncombe County sheriff. She had barely had time to dress, let alone tend to her hair. But this was not the time to be concerned about her
How could I help but love you and want to marry you?" Ellie looked into Rome's face and saw no trace of mockery or deception. "You really think you might love me?" "I really know I do love you," he answered. "The only question is, can you love me in return?" Yes! Yes! She wanted to shout it, to throw her arms around him and accept his love without reservation. But something inside held her back. She couldn't answer him—not now, not yet. She had to make sure she wasn't responding to him out
ago, exactly nine months from the first day he had appeared on her doorstep. It had been his mother's ring, he explained, willed to him at her death—the sole item of value in her estate. On several occasions he had been tempted to sell it. Times were hard for everyone, and his mother would have understood. But somehow he couldn't bring himself to part with it, even when he desperately needed the few dollars he might get for it at a pawnshop. A hot meal and a dry bed weren't worth bartering his
"Where's Rome?" "He's upstairs, reading to Mother. She doesn't respond, of course, but he does it anyway. She seems to rest easier with him around and with the cat curled up at her feet. I think they're about halfway through the new Hemingway. He's so good with her, Tish. Takes a lot of the burden off me." " I . . . I'm glad." Something about the way Tish said it left Ellie with the impression that a great deal was being left unsaid. But Tish just sat there, her eyes darting around the room,