Ella.
“Belle, I’m a one woman welcome wagon at the moment. I hope I’ve done Manteo proud.”
“No worries. I can’t imagine better food or better company. Thank you so much for the meal. I haven’t had bread pudding since I was a kid.” Ella was careful not to say too much.
“Well that my friend is a crying shame,” replied Lacey.
Ella quickly asked about Melody’s décor choice for Pinkie’s before Lacey began inquiring about Ella’s history with bread pudding and the obligatory “Who’s Your Momma?” question that would surely follow.
“This place used to be called the Wheelhouse or something and after my Dad passed away, it went up for sale. My Momma said she was sick of nautical themed restaurants and she went to the SBA in New Bern and got a small business loan and bought the place. She wanted to try to tie the theme in with the whole sixteenth century English Lost Colony thing, but she figured diseased, starving colonists didn’t sound appealing so she thought about decorating it in the style England would have had at that time. Like a place the colonists would have been missing while they were over here fighting Indians and eating tree bark to live or something.”
Ella liked Melody’s idea. From the large windows you could see The Lost Colony Park entrance across the bay. There were reenactments of how the Indians and the colonists lived, and there was a large amphitheater where a drama was performed telling the story of the failed expedition. Ella especially liked the idea of having the brutal life of a colonist juxtaposed with that of an Englander of the time.
Ella snickered at the tree bark comment, but she knew that in modern day North Korea some citizens ate it while the round, crazy little dictator ate off gold spoons. “That’s a communist country for you,” BeBe would say.
After swallowing one of her last bites of the bread pudding Ella commented, “Well, your mother did a great job. I kind of like the pink and the blue although I have to admit that your neutral baby shower gone bad comment was pretty funny.”
Lacey scanned the room. “She fudged a little but we figured nobody would find out and they probably wouldn’t care if they did.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ella.
“Toile wasn’t even invented until the 1700’s, a full century after the Roanoke fiasco. Momma just hated the dark brocades and cut velvet that were popular at the time. She always says that living around dark colors makes her want to blow her brains out.”
Ella thought about how much like BeBe Miss Melody sounded. “Anywho,” Lacey continued, “when Momma was googling stuff - God forbid. That woman is dangerous with a computer. She’s discovered Ebay. Anyway she came across the Pinkie painting which was actually painted in the 1700’s and since it was painted by a fellow named Gainsborough and that was Daddy’s last name, she thought she was being directed by the hand of God.” Now why Momma thought that God would ever have an opinion and put his hand in interior decorating is beyond me.”
Ella laughed and said, “Well I’ve seen a lot of places I wish he’d put his hand in.”
Lacey smiled and went on. “Since Daddy had just passed away Melody Gainsborough was a woman on a mission and took the bull by the horns and decorated everything around that big ass Pinkie painting. She was happier than a fly in a pie when she discovered Toile was an eighteenth century fabric. Then when she saw her Aunt Imogene had a little picture of blue boy on her vanity she got that painting, pointing to the life sized representation of the boy in blue. She thought she’d died and gone to Heaven. So she and I painted the place. We went to Atlanta to a used hotel furniture store and got all these chairs, and Momma taught herself how to upholster on YouTube.”
Ella was amazed at the ingenuity of Miss Melody. She was a woman after Ella’s own
“Belle, I’m a one woman welcome wagon at the moment. I hope I’ve done Manteo proud.”
“No worries. I can’t imagine better food or better company. Thank you so much for the meal. I haven’t had bread pudding since I was a kid.” Ella was careful not to say too much.
“Well that my friend is a crying shame,” replied Lacey.
Ella quickly asked about Melody’s décor choice for Pinkie’s before Lacey began inquiring about Ella’s history with bread pudding and the obligatory “Who’s Your Momma?” question that would surely follow.
“This place used to be called the Wheelhouse or something and after my Dad passed away, it went up for sale. My Momma said she was sick of nautical themed restaurants and she went to the SBA in New Bern and got a small business loan and bought the place. She wanted to try to tie the theme in with the whole sixteenth century English Lost Colony thing, but she figured diseased, starving colonists didn’t sound appealing so she thought about decorating it in the style England would have had at that time. Like a place the colonists would have been missing while they were over here fighting Indians and eating tree bark to live or something.”
Ella liked Melody’s idea. From the large windows you could see The Lost Colony Park entrance across the bay. There were reenactments of how the Indians and the colonists lived, and there was a large amphitheater where a drama was performed telling the story of the failed expedition. Ella especially liked the idea of having the brutal life of a colonist juxtaposed with that of an Englander of the time.
Ella snickered at the tree bark comment, but she knew that in modern day North Korea some citizens ate it while the round, crazy little dictator ate off gold spoons. “That’s a communist country for you,” BeBe would say.
After swallowing one of her last bites of the bread pudding Ella commented, “Well, your mother did a great job. I kind of like the pink and the blue although I have to admit that your neutral baby shower gone bad comment was pretty funny.”
Lacey scanned the room. “She fudged a little but we figured nobody would find out and they probably wouldn’t care if they did.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ella.
“Toile wasn’t even invented until the 1700’s, a full century after the Roanoke fiasco. Momma just hated the dark brocades and cut velvet that were popular at the time. She always says that living around dark colors makes her want to blow her brains out.”
Ella thought about how much like BeBe Miss Melody sounded. “Anywho,” Lacey continued, “when Momma was googling stuff - God forbid. That woman is dangerous with a computer. She’s discovered Ebay. Anyway she came across the Pinkie painting which was actually painted in the 1700’s and since it was painted by a fellow named Gainsborough and that was Daddy’s last name, she thought she was being directed by the hand of God.” Now why Momma thought that God would ever have an opinion and put his hand in interior decorating is beyond me.”
Ella laughed and said, “Well I’ve seen a lot of places I wish he’d put his hand in.”
Lacey smiled and went on. “Since Daddy had just passed away Melody Gainsborough was a woman on a mission and took the bull by the horns and decorated everything around that big ass Pinkie painting. She was happier than a fly in a pie when she discovered Toile was an eighteenth century fabric. Then when she saw her Aunt Imogene had a little picture of blue boy on her vanity she got that painting, pointing to the life sized representation of the boy in blue. She thought she’d died and gone to Heaven. So she and I painted the place. We went to Atlanta to a used hotel furniture store and got all these chairs, and Momma taught herself how to upholster on YouTube.”
Ella was amazed at the ingenuity of Miss Melody. She was a woman after Ella’s own
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