Growing Strong

[elsie--bishop]

@cassbishop

[elsie--bishop]

“What? I’ve…never heard of that before. Are you sure she said a second pinch of salt for luck?” He was trying to remember now if he ever had any of her grandmother’s cooking and if so, was it any good? It didn’t matter in the end. All that mattered to him was that Elsie got to submit a pie that would dazzle the judges. “Alright. But if you change your mind, my kitchen is always open.”

“Sorry, I know. I just…I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, you know? Especially when I know the person was trying to do something nice. Which you were and it wasn’t that bad? I’m sure if we had a second bite…” He trailed off, not knowing how to end that note positively. Thankfully the pie was discarded and he couldn’t test the theory. “Baked goods and booze? Elsie Bishop, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to win me over,” he joked as he walked toward the cabinets to grab a couple of wine glasses for them.

“I’m like 70% sure.” Her Grandma Bishop was an interesting twist of practical and suspicious. “But maybe I’m getting the season wrong. Salts good for so many things in her book. It doesn’t matter though. It won’t happen this year, or maybe next year, but eventually I’m goin’ make somethin’ so good it will ruin all other strawberry pies for the rest of the judge’s lives.”

She poured them both a portion of wine, biting at her bottom lip. “Well Lucas, I’d have to be even a remote possibility if I was tryin’ to lock you down.” Her eyes dropped from his briefly. “You know, back in school I assumed you only ever put up with me for Danny’s sake.”

[caroline-dalton]

Customer service was the worst. Caroline had been on the phone practically all day and she just couldn’t handle being left on hold any longer. “I swear to God, you better put me through!” She yelled, before she felt her body bump into another’s. “I’m so sorry!” She yelled, her face falling into a frown. “Are you alright?” / @frostfordstart​

[elsie--bishop]

Elsie was leaning up against one of the benches on main street, iced coffee in hand when Caroline bumped into her. She narrowly managed to save her white blouse. “Yeah, I’ll make it.” She said. “Who you fixin’ to kill?”

[ceydatekin]

Drinking alone had its own little charms. People-watching was a big one, and especially so for Ceyda; but people-watching required relative solitude, like a seat in a corner booth where no one else thought to venture. And the night in question made that next to impossible. A singles mixer was in full bloom, the nervous-looking group of adults taking up one side of the venue and forcing the rest of the patrons to make do with the other. The place was packed, and the only available spot was by one of the round bar tables closest to the singles mixer, where someone had already made themselves comfortable. “Hey,” Ceyda greeted them a little too quietly, prompting her to clear her throat as she leaned against the table. “Are you part of the group, or just… enjoying the show, as they say?” // @frostfordstart

[elsie--bishop]

Fruity cocktail in hand, Elsie was settled against the back of the venue, her eyes scanning the crowd. "Spectator to sure," she told the woman. "Though I'm sure my mama would prefer if I got myself out there and mingled a bit." She'd had more push back this year over getting herself locked down than ever before. Apparently she'd run past the statute of limitations on grief. "What about yourself?"

[elsie--bishop]

“Had a feelin’ you’d say that.” He chuckled and shook his head. Her following words did surprise him, though, and Frank’s brows quirked up at this as he looked at her with puzzled and amused eyes, head tilted to a side and a smirk on his lips. The way she blushed was… adorable, lacking of another word, and it pretty obvious in the day light, which was definitely not helping him to focus on something else as the sun made her hair shine and her blue eyes brighter. Frank laughed when Elsie added the last bit, but even if she hadn’t planned to, she had lead him on. His head bobbing up and down. “Right, of course, chances are anyone could’a come for the cow.” Though both knew that wasn’t truth. “So, since it seems I ain’t that special I’ll… get back front…” His voice trailed off. “It was nice seein’ ya’, Elsie.”

Anyone who knew her, knew that Elsie had a problem with sticking her foot in her mouth. She was certain that several people would add on her lack of boundaries and need to be in control. She could see the minute her words sunk into Frank and hear them ringing in her own ears. Dammit, she thought and then out loud. "Dammit. I didn't mean that. The last part. You've known me over twenty years Frank, how can you not know when I make a hash of somethin'." She was certain her cheeks were bright red just then. She shook her head, pushing the strands of hair away from her face. Over the past years she'd learned the hard way that she wasn't as smooth or as open as she'd once been. "Your family's great, but they ain't you."

[elsie--bishop]

“You are an actual angel from heaven, has anyone ever told you that? You even look like an angel.” The planner was a bit intimidating, Cal had to admit, but it was also promising that maybe she could actually work some magic with him. He rubbed his hands together. “Alright, what do we do? Where do we go? I am ready and willing to do whatever you ask.”

Laughter bubbled out of her, bringing color to her cheeks. “Flattery isn’t goin’ to make me go any easier on you Wesley.” She jotted down the hours she’d be spending with Calvin before snapping the planner closed and slipping it back into her bag. “Well what are we workin’ with? You got a resume? What’s your experience like? What kind of references can we pull up for you.”

[elsie--bishop]

The possibility of true love. He’d never felt very energized by that thought, but he could relate to the espresso. “True love. I’ll have to try some of that when I have to be up for a four am shift. Coffee hasn’t been doin’ the trick lately. Little did I know all I was missing was a Disney princess movie.”

“Yeah, less Disney more romantic comedy.” Her thumbs slipped into the belt loops of her jeans. “Less talking woodland animals, dead mothers, and curses. But I hope you are putting in a basket. The bids will be intense this year.”

[accolalove]

Candice photographed by Amanda Peixoto-Elkins

[elsie--bishop]

Ricky nodded. “I’m sure your grams will enjoy it. Just make sure to have some water on standby.” He chuckled, closing another book. “I’d say I can relate, but instead of cider, there was usually a margarita machine running instead. Nothing is more embarrassing than being drunk under the table by your grandma.”

“My kind of grams then.” Was there any better kind? She got some of the best and most embarrassing stories out of her Grandma Bishop when she’d been tucked into her bottle for a bit. “You know I got a theory on that. They’ve had about fifty plus years to build up their tolerance. Diminutive or not that’s got to count for somethin’.”

[elsie--bishop]

The smile on April’s lips softened significantly as Elsie spoke, the lines of her face blossoming with affection. “You’re right,” she nodded. “And that’s what makes you the best woman for the job. Seriously, those people are lucky to have you.” Even though her sister had healed somewhat since Danny’s death, any topic that had to do with weddings was one April approached either with great care, or as some kind of joke; simply because an innate part of her wanted to do anything to shield Elsie from harm. But she so often forgot that her sister was a strong, kind-hearted woman whose hand didn’t necessarily need to be held. “You kidding? If I were just a smidgen more generous-feeling, I’d pay your whole bill tonight. Lucky for me, I ain’t,” April joked, bumping her shoulder into Elsie’s and signalling the bartender for another drink. “Well, I unknowingly flirted with a home-owner in front of his wife for about thirty minutes before my dumb ass realized she wasn’t his sister like I thought, so I don’t know about better, but… it sure entertained my coworker.”

“WHAT!” Elsie dropped her glass back onto the bar as she swiveled completely in her stool to face April. “Way to bury the lead sis! I’ve got to know it all. Is it someone I might know? What did he look like? What kind of flirtin’ are we talkin’ about? Like overt arm touches, hair flippin’, secret glances? What did his wife do?” Her voice was at a whisper, but it could barely contain her excitement. “I though me sister was a home inspector not a home wrecker.”

[elsie--bishop]

“But I like being sober! I like bein’ able to take dumb pictures of my friends while they’re all drunk an’ I like knowin’ that they’ve made it home safe after doin’ said dumb things. How else am I gonna post this stuff to my instagram while they’re sleepin’?” All said dumb pictures could be found in a highlight on her instagram but she’d cycle through and delete certain ones now and again simply to keep things fresh. Mari trusted plenty of people but she didn’t exactly trust people to see in that kind of situation. She was that person for people. Not the other way around. “But that’s so hard when I’m The Mom Friend! The Mom Friend doesn’t need someone to help them.”

“You know I have a friend like that,” she wasn’t sure that was the correct word for Lucas, seeing how they were still repairing all those years apart. “Not the kind that posted all our craziness on instagram, but the one that was always our DD, always the dad friend. I’m sure he’d say the same thing. It’s not about needin’ someone it’s about knowin’ they are there. Knowin’ they got ya even without havin’ to ask. My philosophy is that it’s always better to be in the pictures then the one takin’ them.”

[elsie--bishop]

“Damn. I didn’t think about that.” Luca looked down at his own watch. Two hours. He couldn’t hope to cobble something together in two hours that would actually be worthwhile. “How do you people have the energy to do all this? We just came off a festival that felt like it lasted two weeks. I’m still exhausted.”

“Well that’s just a little pro tip you get from someone who’s been doin’ this for the last decade.” She laughed at his comment. Between work, DAR obligations, helping out at the farm, and friends she had a pretty packed schedule. “Oh, we just run off of the possibility of true love. That and some very good espresso machines.”

[elsie--bishop]

There was a flicker in his eyes when she said that. “Wait, are you bein’ serious? You’re gonna have to tell me right now if you’re bein’ serious because I would kill to have someone help me out. I love my mama dearly, I do, but I have got to move out of her house if I’m gonna stick around Frostford.”

She paused, weighing the options between her current workload. “Don’t go sayin’ I didn’t warn you ok?” She pulled her organizer out of her bag, everything organized with colored tabs and checked a few things. “Alright, Cal I’ve got a couple hours. Operation fly the nest has now been put into order.”

[elsie--bishop]

“Hitched? I hope not.” He replied initially, brow slightly knit up at the idea. Greyson was slowly picking up on all the town idioms, and he was certainly not  eager to get married just yet. “Another one of the unspoken rules of Frostford? I admit, I take a bit of interest and amusement in hearing about these sorts of things.” And chances were he’d end up writing about it too, then hating it.

“More like one of the sacred laws of growin’ up to be a proper Alabama lady.” Her grin was lopsided, if a bit sour. The most recent generation was bucking that tradition hard, and she was looking to be one of them shortly. “If you’re single and out of college than your granny’s definitely workin’ hard for you at Sunday church.”

[elsie--bishop]

Frank

Her words were a little slurred from the whiskey. “A girl never forgets her first crush. My mama used to call him ‘that moody one’ but I thought he was just shy. I probably made a fool, a big fool of myself when I was little. Always carryin’ baskets of sweets over and overstayin’ my welcome. He never made me feel bad though. And damn did he grow up fine.”

[elsie--bishop]

frankshep‌:

It was, in a certain way, funny how he eventually had pull off his “resting bitch face” — as his sister liked to call it — with Elsie but it had been hard not to when time after time she would go to the ranch and watch the horses and therefore, him. There was no turning back now even if he tried as she had him figured out and was probably one of the few who wouldn’t buy it if he happened to glare at her; he had tried.

“Damn, sorry ‘bout that.” He said, running a hand through the cow’s side, he was sorry but still found it amusing. “I’ll pay it back. Maybe.” He added as a joke even if his face didn’t show it. “Thanks for bringing her back. Feels like a deja vu, ain’t it? I should pro’lly start payin’ you for all the times you brought the cattle back.”

“Not a chance Frankie. You ain’t goin’ to pay me a dime. My parents have more carrots than brains most summers.” Despite the frustration the beast had caused her, as she walked toward Frank one of her hands rested against it’s side. She loved the feel of the fur between her fingers, the sounds of it’s breath. There weren’t really any animals on the Bishop Farm. “Plus I get to see you every time I bring someone back.”

Frank was like the town in a lot of ways. The same year after year. She’d grown up, gone to college, and come back and he’d remained there on the grounds. That type of steadiness appealed to her. A bit of color came to her cheeks however when she realized what she said. “I mean, all of you Shephards. The whole family.”

[elsie--bishop]

Meme Me

Charlie ll Elsie