Both Bianca and Julian soon found their way in and around guesthouse Bloemenhof.

Together with Margreet and Lisa, Bianca started doing the housework, with Bianca initially pushing herself. However, Margreet and Lisa had assured her that it was more pleasant if she worked in peace, that it was really allowed, that it was much better for herself too. But also very honestly they told her that they recognised it, that they themselves had been the same way.

.

After a few days, Margreet and Lisa arranged an outing for Bianca. They took her to the thrift shop and Action to find some stuff for the attic floor. Julian lay downstairs with Annerieke in the kitchen, making some noices in the playpen until he fell asleep there and was covered by Annerieke with a blanket. She carefully placed a double-folded tea towel under his head, because she found the plastic playpen mat so sweaty under his head.

Huib had made a simple but solid stair gate, which he fitted to the top of the attic stairs while the ladies were out and about. And now that he knew for himself that he could very easily make it himself, he decided to keep the model for their own house and, if they wanted, for Sjaak and Lisa as well.

Bianca was pleasantly surprised when she discovered the stair gate when she got home, not even so much because of the gate in itself, but mainly because someone had taken such care of her and her child. And because she had no idea who had done so, she told Annerieke that afternoon while cooking that there was suddenly a stair gate in the attic.

"Do you have any idea who made that there?"

"I haven't heard about it. What does it look like?"

"Made of wood, simple, so wide that it can't fold the wrong way through the stairwell. It comes up against that post of the surrounding fence and is fixed there with a lock that a toddler won't get loose. It actually looks new, like someone just made it. Yes, it must be, because I also smelled the wood smell like it was brand new. Wait, would Huib have done that, just like that in between?"

"There's a good chance of that, just ask him! How was your time with the girls in the village?"

Bianca sighed deeply as she continued cutting the vegetables. "It was so nice, Annerieke, those girls are really great. It feels like they really want to be friends to me, not just as a casual fling, but real." She saw that Annerieke nodded affirmatively. "And that thrift shop, how beautiful and big it is. I didn't expect that in a village! Margreet got all lyrical when she saw a rocking chair on display. She said she had exactly the same one, and that you also had one. I liked it too, and it sat comfortably, so I took it. According to Margreet, that chair is great when feeding, or for reading a book. She told me you gave your cushion a different cover."

"Yes, that's right, the cover that was around it was really not pretty. I had another bright red cloth lying around, I put it around it, sewed it closed all around and fastened it with a few buttons in the middle, just like they often did early on, a button on the cover, thread through the button and all the way through the cushion and then fasten it. I did buttons on both sides, so I can also turn the cushion over. Do you feel like stopping by tonight when Julian is awake? I mean, you don't have to wake him up for it."

Bianca liked the idea and promised to come by after she had fed Julian.

"By the way, I bought a baby monitor from Action. Then I don't have to take him downstairs all the time, he can sleep peacefully. It's a nice thing, it transmits sound to my mobile. When Julian starts crying, that baby monitor transmits a buzzing sound to my mobile. If I click on the app, I get a kind of phone connection with the baby monitor and can hear exactly what sounds he is making. So I don't even have to take a baby monitor downstairs with me."

"That sounds great! That helps for Julian as well as for you! Peace of mind for both! And how do you like it here so far?"

"Really incredibly well! Housework isn't the most fun I can think of, but I think it's perfect for now. I do still want to try to discover what I like to do in my free hours. I don't fill those hours just by taking care of Julian and our laundry."

"What did you like to do as a child?" asked Annerieke.

"Reading and sewing. I loved making clothes for my dolls, eccentric clothes, the kind no one wears. I could sew well, sew neatly, and I could totally express my imagination in it. It gradually disappeared as I got older. I didn't play with dolls anymore, I never really did, I only sewed for those dolls... strange, yet the clothes sewing for those dolls also disappeared. Well, maybe I should make something special for myself. Or buy a mannequin and make something special for that. So apart from that, I love reading and I heard from Margreet..."

"... that you can borrow books from me?" Annerieke chuckled. "Those girls have both soon found their way to my bookshelf, and if you manage to come for that pillow tonight, you should also browse the bookshelf. I love it when you enjoy my books with me, so you can borrow as much as you like! By the way, I also have lots of old rags of fabric, so if there's anything in there you like for the cushion of your chair..."

"I'd love that, because the cover that's on it now isn't great. But I don't have any sewing stuff here yet."

"I do have those things, and you can collect them at the thrift shop in between, that's where Margreet got her things from too."

"It moves me, everything, the contacts, that stair gate, everything you offer me as if it were the most normal thing in the world. My parents are not unkind, but quite measured. I don't know your ways at all."

"How did your parents feel about you moving in and working here?"

"I felt they found it a relief. They were horrified that I had become pregnant. They didn't believe anything about me being forced to have sex by Julian's father; they thought I should have been more careful. And they regularly expressed that they were glad Julian didn't cry a lot. In fact, they preferred not to look after him either. I pumped my milk, froze it, and even that they didn't like. I mean, that milk in their freezer constantly confronted them with a grandchild who shouldn't have been there yet. Something like that..."

"Too bad, they are missing a sweet little guy and so can't experience their daughter being a fine mother to him. A real pity, for them, and for you too, of course."

They put the washed vegetables in the pan and looked at each other: "So, the main work is done, the rest the cooker can do. Let's just unload the dishwasher and take the crockery next door. Or wait, I have to stay here with the sauce anyway, will you take care of the dishwasher?"

"Yeah, no problem!"

On the table, Bianca piled up the plates from the dishwasher and took them to the dining room. She took the cutlery tray from there back to the kitchen and refilled it from the dishwasher. She brought it back to the dining room, almost bumping into her former employer there.

"Ha Bianca, how are you?"

"Good, yes really good. The room is wonderfully spacious, the work is absolutely fine, and the contacts, the atmosphere here, that's the most heartwarming thing!"

"I did expect it, but I'm glad it feels the same for you! I instructed Johan from the administration to prepare your discharge papers, and he just informed me that he had sent them here. I'll just ask Huib in a moment if I can print them out here. I already know his answer, probably he will first refuse me quasi indignantly, then give me a hearty pat on the back and then say of course I can do that! By the way, how did you like his stair gate?"

"So anyway, I didn't know where it came from, but suspected Huib had made it. So that's right?"

"Yes, that's right, I was there when he was working on it. He enjoyed it, as always. These people here like to make someone else happy with the things that make them happy themselves. Huib loves working with wood, and if he can then make something for you that makes you happy, that's double pleasure for him!"

"So cool! And that all has to do with living from your inner self, that's what Margreet and Lisa said."

"Right yes, in your soul, in your inner self, you know exactly what you would love to do. You are doing housework here now, but that is not what your heart is in, not what suits you first. It's kind of a stopgap for a while. I don't know if you already know what you would most like to do, but I hope that once you know, you will also discover a way to earn your money with that."

"Yes, that would be nice, but then they would have to find another person to do the housework here."

"That will work out, you saw that now. Those young ladies are moving on with their baby and the work that has their heart, and that's a great opening for you to jump in. But you, do you have any idea what you would really enjoy, what you would prefer to earn your money with?"

"Yes, I think I know what I would like to do, but it's not feasible to make a salary out of that. It might be nice as an extra, but not beyond that. No, business-wise it's not an option."

"Hmm, Huib said that too, when Margreet suggested that he should make his hobby his job. And he started very simply, but is busy enough to fill a week with it. He has set up a website, along with two others. And they promote their work on Twitter and Facebook. It's running like hell, especially for Huib! What is it you would like to do?"

"Sewing clothes, not even so much to wear, but to dress dolls and mannequins with them. Clothes that are different, fantasy, craziness, something like that. Annerieke just asked about it, what I liked to do as a child. Well, so this, and I immediately felt that desire was still there. So I think, for now, I'm going to do it as a hobby."

"Now if you buy some dolls at the thrift shop, and start sewing for them. Make some nice ones and when you really enjoy it again, consult Huib. There's a good chance you'll be able to join their website. Who knows what that will do. You can always try it right?"

Bianca had been nodding thoughtfully, feeling a desire to start sewing again, letting her imagination flow into it. She remembered, when she was a child, when it came to sewing doll clothes, nothing was too crazy. Coarse silly clothes, but also very pretty ones, like it was fine lace she was working with. She was really getting into it again!

With a happy smile on her face, she turned back to Anton: "I'm going to buy fabric and sewing stuff from that thrift shop, and a doll. And I'm just going to get started. Anton, I'm looking forward to it!"

"I can see it in you, and that makes me happy! Enjoy the anticipation in advance!" he said, smiling. "And I won't keep you any longer, I think you were still working."

.

Over dinner, Bianca thanked Huib for the stair gate, said it had surprised her so much that someone was looking after her.

"Glad to hear it, Bianca. I would have liked to make it a bit nicer, a bit more ornate, but I didn't have much time for that at the moment. For now, this one is fine, just practical, but I think I'm going to make more, also for our own house, and then I'm going to see if I can make them a little less stiff anyway. I just love that. Maybe I'm going to make the one in the attic more beautiful as well, so that it's not only practical, but also a pleasure to look at."

"Well, either you're an artist or you're not. Through a question from Annerieke, what I enjoyed doing as a child, I also rediscovered my 'art form'. As a child, I used to sew the most diverse clothes for my dolls. I really had an infinite imagination in that. And I find that I am itching to get started again. Don't you think that's crazy by the way, after all, I'm an adult now?"

"Well no, art is art," was Huib's opinion. "If silly and beautiful ideas bubble up in you to make doll clothes, that's creativity of your soul. That has nothing to do with age, your soul is ageless. The only thing that ages here on earth is our body, but who we are is timeless."

"Gosh, that makes me want to get back into it even more! I think it just suits me perfectly. I definitely need to go to that thrift shop again to buy what I need with it!"

"You should definitely do that, Bianca. The joy radiates from your face and that tells me enough! You've found your way."

"Yes, you know, Anton also asked about it, about what I really like, like to earn my money with. Well I don't see myself doing that with sewing at the moment. So I'm glad I have a basic income here, so that in my free hours I can look at how I can take it further, how I can set it up. Anton also mentioned a website, from you and a few others."

"Right, in combination with social media. I can't say it's taking a storm, but we have enough responses to not get bored. My woodwork in particular is in sufficient demand, which is important because it does constitute a large part of our income for me. So I am the only one registered with the Chamber of Commerce, Margreet and Elly do it more as a hobby. If you are ready to show your sewing to the world, come and have a look at that website to see how we offer it. I can add a part for you if you like. Plenty of possibilities!"

Bianca nodded. Just imagine, she could keep working here for the time being and in the meantime pick up something as fun as her old hobby, and maybe even earn a little extra with it. She stared ahead, daring to dream again...

To chapter 11. Into the depths together

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