"It is happening!" Isabelle excitedly announced. The customers inside the store looked at her with startled gazes. "Ah. My apologies." She quickly bowed her head and returned to the dress.
Organza is saving the dress!
It was still working hours, so she had to quell her enthusiasm and need to yell her success to not bother the customers. The onlookers outside smiled at her reaction. Some of those onlookers passed by daily and they were witness to the progress of the dress. They were also witness to the many expressions on Isabelle's face through the sewing.
For the past few days, she went from contentment, to uncertainty, to distress and finally relief.
Isabelle was indeed relieved. She was starting to lose hope on the skirt's shape, resigned that it would never have the intended volume to make it as impactful as she envisioned. And the answer all this time had been Organza! Well, gathered Organza. Strips of gathered Organza! The pinning had to be very tight and close together to get a very wavy texture.
With this discovery, she planned to add a couple more layers on the Dupioni fabric and then cover it with Zibeline fabric to add as much volume as possible. Either way, Zibeline was very light and was unable to distort the effect created by Organza.
She was so excited that she wanted to finish the skirt as soon as possible to see it done. Even if she had to miss meals and sleep at the shop!
"Go eat." A tap on her head.
Of course, with Mrs. Attile present, it was unthinkable to do that.
The older woman always had to remind the younger one to feed herself because the latter tended to lose the notion of time while focused on the dress. It was a useful to completely focus on something, yet not to the point of losing oneself in the process.
Isabelle blinked and looked up at the unimpressed face of Mrs. Attile. Sometimes, when the older woman reprimanded her, she felt some sort of… melancholy. If her wonky memories were not lying, then, her own mother was not the perfect representation of motherly love. Yet Mrs. Attile, somehow, had that impression. That she was a real mother.
It was a feeling that filled the young woman with envy. Envy for Mrs. Attile's son.
What would it have been like to grow up with Mrs. Attile as her mother?
Would she even be there, in that village, in that town?
Well, with Mrs. Attile's family having settled in town due her husband's job at the barracks, then, it was a given that she would be living in Basin Town.
But would she have met her husbands if that were the case?
Would she have even looked their way?
Would she have been willing to marry the four of them, or just…?
"Is everything alright?"
Ethan's voice took her out of her wandering thoughts. They were both eating their lunch at the restaurant's employee's room. Ethan's lunch was, of course, made by the chefs at the restaurant while Isabelle's was made either by Felix or herself. It depended on who woke up earlier. Regardless of the origin of their food, that did not stop them from sharing with the other.
Isabelle had not touched anything on her plate after Ethan had served the food, though; hence the question.
"I am fine." His Wife swiflty responded, grabbing the cutlery and starting to eat. Although skeptical, Ethan did not push. He had learned to identify some of her expressions, and the one she had been sporting was the same as when she thought of her forgotten past. Or returning memories. It was those moment that kept him on tenterhooks, wary of what she would do.
He was learning to let those pesky feelings go. A hard task if someone asked him, but a necessary one. After all, his marriage and his future depended on it.
And talking about their future…
"With the others, we're thinking of building another room just for yourself." Ethan started, then expounded on the new room's idea once he got her attention.
The change of topic threw Isabelle for a loop, but she gladly grabbed onto it. And how could she not? The more Ethan explained the purpose of the room, the more excited she became! Sleeping with her husbands was wonderful, yet she also needed her own space. Her space to create, to relax, to be intimate with one, two, three or four of her husbands, to care for…
All her enthusiasm vanished at her last trailing thought. It showed on her face.
"What's wrong? You don't like it?" Ethan queried, worried.
Isabelle shook her head. "It is a marvelous idea. It is just that..." She bit her lip.
"What?" Ethan tenderly grabbed her hand.
Hesitation halted her words. When her bleeding days came, a thought had crossed her mind. She had buried it at that moment because of the pain, yet now that she was pondering about mothers and children, it surfaced like a drowned corpse. She had not wanted to get pregnant; which made her wonder if she disliked kids.
Was it because of a bad experience with a past fling? Or had she actually gotten pregnant but she...?
Thoughts kept invading her mind.
"Are we prepared to have kids?" She softly wondered, trying to diverge her thoughts to a more explainable course that did not depend on her past self's perceptions on the matter, or even questionable actions.
With their latest coupling, disregarding all measures to avoid a pregnancy, it would not be surprising if they had already conceived a little life. In hindsight, perhaps they should have talked about it beforehand and not let their bodies, their desire, do the whole conversation.
The questions remained:
Were they prepared to have kids? Truthfully, she was of the idea that parents might plan to have kids, yet nothing prepared them for actual kids. It was a certain relief in her book. Also, knowing the brothers had been expecting kids for a while was also comforting. If anything, they could support each other.
What if their income was not enough to raise kids? Any expense related to child rearing was not stipulated in their current money management. Which was an oversight from everybody. Granted, their first step: talking about having kids, had not been made. So, it could not be entirely blamed on them to not take it into account. They could only blame their own lust.
Was the house equipped to have kids roaming around? Ethan shared the same worries as Isabelle, yet his main one was tied to this last matter. That was why he had proposed his brothers to build another room. They had not opened up with Isabelle about the idea before because he, too, had expected to sit down with everybody to plan for that pregnancy.
He should have seen it coming though. Village people always had a first unplanned pregnancy. Why? Because once married, a couple just basked on the pleasure of their first times together, and forgot all about the consequences. At his 26-years-old, he had believed he would be smarter. Thinking of the first time he did it with Isabelle proved he was not.
Ethan sighed. "Let's talk about it together with the others." He squeezed her hand, and let it go once she nodded.
The rest of their meal was a bit subdued. Their conversation was light, unwilling to go back to heavy topics. And when it was over, their mood returned to peaceful. Before Isabelle left, they shared a tender kiss; as if reassuring the other that things would be fine once spoken. With those lingering feelings, each returned to their own jobs.
Ethan was obviously ribbed by the other waiters for kissing his Wife in such a public place (the two obviously having forgotten where they were). Isabelle, on the other hand, was greeted by the picturesque scene of Mrs. Attile having a merry conversation with a young woman.
"Ah, so you need a dress to impress a young man." Mrs. Attile surmised everything the young woman in front of her had told her.
"Yes." The young woman flushed and nodded. Her tall frame curling a bit once her reason for being there was summarized in such a way.
Having heard the jingling of the door, and with Ginna out having her meal, Mrs. Attile turned to receive the newcomer, thinking it was another customer, only for her face to lit up seeing who had entered.
"Oh, Isabelle! Good you're back. And right on time, I must say." The older woman beckoned the other. "I present you Suzie Bonnay, a scholar in the making. She came to ask for a dress." Mrs. Attile gestured at the woman sitting in front of her, then moved onto her seamstress. "Miss Bonnay, this is Mrs. Edris. She can make your dream dress come true."
Isabelle's eye twitched. "You praise me too much, Mrs. Attile." Inwardly, she sighed. Of course, the shop's owner would not turn down a business opportunity. Even if that meant she would be swamped making yet another dress. The woman that stood up to properly greet her stole Isabelle's attention.
Suzie Bonnay was… tall. Not as all as her Husbands, but definitely taller than her and Mrs. Attile. Her mind unwittingly started flashing her with ideas. Ideas for women with long legs.
"Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Edris. I heard good things from Mrs. Attile about you." Suzie said in a pleasant-sounding voice, taking the other out of her thinking stupor.
"Very nice to meet you, too." Isabelle's body quickly straightened and properly curtsied to the polite young woman. It was done out of reflex. Not because the other was superior to her, no, it was because she identified a well-educated woman. A future scholar indeed. "So, what is this about a dress?" She queried, eyeing the two.
Mrs. Attile turned towards the other woman, who flushed and started her story once again.
Suzie Bonnay was the daughter of an office worker. Her father was an assistant at the Commissioner's office who had struggled to get where he was. So, Suzie started her education late. When most kids started at 10, she started at 14. Now, at 20 years-old, she was soon going to graduate.
But the matter about the dress started when she was 18.
In her class, the majority of kids had the appropriate age, though, of course, there were a few who were older. Among these was her and another boy who was two years younger than her. He was studious, collected and gentle. Never once he made her feel like a failure for starting her education so late, understanding her circumstances.
Needless to say, she started developing feelings for him.
It all changed when the, then, teen went to study at Silk Town. It was not a strange occurrence as the top schools from Basin Town and Silk Town did exchanges to offer students a new learning environment to better hone their abilities. In that year's exchange, the teen had caught the eye of a teacher from Silk Town's school and became the latter's direct disciple.
It had to be said that the education at Silk Town was better than at Basin Town, so the teen decided to transfer even before the exchange was over with the help of the teacher who took him in. It would have meant the end of her love story, what with him away. However, she was given a chance to know if her feelings could be reciprocated.
The Principal always organized a meal for the top students who were about to graduate. Since she was at the top, she was attending. This year, though, the meal was going to be a conjoined effort. Both Basin and Silk Town schools' top students were participating. And that included him! It was her chance to confess!
And, she wanted to do it in a nice dress.
"I saw you making the dress from outside. I think it's going to come out very beautiful." Suzie praised, looking at the skirt that was still in progress. "So, I thought you could make one for me." A small and demure smile perched on her face. Having such a calm, quiet, gentle and graceful demeanor, both Mrs. Attile and Isabelle thought many guys must like her.
Alas! The beauty only had eyes for one man.
Mrs. Attile had been married for close to 20 years. She had a 15-year-old son that was too obsessed with military affairs. Unfortunately, or not so much, he did not have the body to become a soldier. He, instead, became a crazy for military strategies. If her son ever looked at a girl, Mrs. Attile hoped the girl was like the young woman in front of her.
Isabelle, from her part, was troubled. She wanted to help the young woman. There was nothing more impressive than a woman fighting for her own happiness! However, she was very behind with making the dresses for the showroom. There was no way she wanted to add more work for herself.
"And, you said the meal is in four days." Mrs. Attile added, less to confirm and more to let Isabelle know.
Suzie nodded. "It's going to be at night." Isabelle rose an eyebrow. Had she not suggested that to Mr. Dodds? It seemed he decided the idea had some merit.
But that was not the point there. Isabelle straightened in her seat and directly looked at Suzie. "I am going to be very honest with you, Miss Bonnay. I have to sew two dresses for an upcoming wedding in three weeks. I am very pressed with time. If you want me to sew you a dress so soon, then it is going to cost you a lot." She stated, trying to gauge the other woman's reaction.
Suzie nodded. "I understand. How much are we talking about?"
Isabelle paused, not thinking the other would be so decisive. Truthfully, she had no idea how to price her dresses. The very first ones were going to be sold by Mrs. Attile at a city. Prices between a city and a town differed greatly so she had no specific range. But it was best to shoot a price to start somewhere. "40 coins. That is without counting the fabric, which you will have to buy."
Suzie's eyes widened. "I…" She had no idea it would be that expensive. Her family no longer struggled, yet she could not say with conviction that they could easily fork out that amount. "Even if it's a simple design?" The most she could do was to bargain.
No response came from Isabelle. She just took out her notebook and pencil from her handbag and started drawing. The shop was filled with the rapid scratching of the pen flying over paper. Soon, three designs appeared. "Choose one."
Suzie looked down at the designs and gaped. "These… are not dresses."
All three designs were a combination of a suit with a dress. Or, it was best to say that if looked from behind, due to the drape, it looked like a dress; but up front, it was the same as looking at a suit. Very few could pull up the design, yet Isabelle was sure that Suzie could. Her height and slim figure were perfect for them.
"30 coins. Upfront. The amount will cover the fabric." If Suzie gave her the chance to sew any of these designs, then Isabelle could compromise. She had even thought of the perfect fabric combinations and colors.
Suzie pursed her lips, now hooked. It was a better offer than before, the designs though…
Staring at the drawings, her logical mind resisted the ideas. She had grown being taught that dresses were for girls and suits for men. Never in her wildest dreams she considered dressing like a man. Yet her pounding heart was betraying her excitement.
In her class, there had only been two girls. The other one, however, dropped out because she was getting married. It was common for women to do that. No one really expected them to finish their education. But Suzie was different. Her father encouraged her to graduate. Even her mother saw the pros of her being a scholar; never once mentioning marriage or any of the sort.
She did not want to let any of them down.
And these designs were opening up yet another path for her.
She was a woman! And she was capable!
So, she once again looked at the designs with those thoughts in mind. One she easily discarded; it was too fancy. Scholars needed to portray their acquired knowledge without vaunting it. Out of the other two, one was perfect. A high neck, long sleeves and a modest way to show her figure.
But she was going to attend that meal with the idea to be seen.
So...
"This one." In the end, she pointed at the last design that boasted a long-sleeved top with a plunging cleavage, a wide belt that would pronounce her waist, wide legged pants and the drape-like skirt. The suggested colors were also to her liking.
"Perfect. Now, I will only need your measurements and the payment." Isabelle smiled.
The first, Suzie had prepared them beforehand. The measures for the pants were added, though. The second, the young scholar had to return to her house to gather the rest of the money as she did not have it all. Once back at the shop, Isabelle was already working on her commission, which emboldened Suzie to voice out what crossed her mind on her way home.
"Is there a way you can make more of these? Perhaps simpler. A complete wardrobe." Suzie hopefully asked, giving the money to Mrs. Attile while looking at Isabelle with high expectancy.
Isabelle blanked. Let it be known that she was grateful that people approached her for big commissions like those; that meant money! However, it was overwhelming to stack commission after commission. When would she ever rest?
Mrs. Attile had to elbow her to react.
"I… It will take a while to finish it." Isabelle feebly replied.
"It is fine. I'm graduating before winter, so there's time before I get a job." Suzie brightly rejoined, happy that she got a positive outcome. After finagling some details about the urgent commission plus the not so urgent one, Suzie left the shop with a skip in her steps.
The shop remained silent until Ginna voiced out what Isabelle did not want to acknowledge: "You're fucked!"