8. Hartley
8
HARTLEY
“You made these?” Ava asked as she ran her fingers along a sweater I had on a mannequin.
I was in the middle of making a pair of butter-soft slacks to go with it. They were for Jordan’s nephew. He wanted something out of his usual to wear when he had to travel, so he wasn’t in a suit all the time. This way, he still looked professional. He was a lot like Jordan in that regard. Always wanted to have a commanding appearance and make a good impression. Or any impression, for that matter, where Jordan was concerned.
“I did.” I grinned. There wouldn’t be a moment when I wasn’t proud of my work. This was where I thrived, and I loved every second of it.
Ava walked from table to table around the shop after she looked at the mannequins. Hazel was in the studio today, even though it was Saturday. I didn’t mind paying her overtime as long as she knew she didn’t have to work it. Everyone deserved rest. The people who worked for me were no exception. If they weren’t happy with their job, it would come through here, which I didn’t want.
“Wow, this scarf…” Ava said, lifting the silk. It had big, bold, deep purple flowers on it with a silver backdrop. The edges of the scarf were a delicate purple stitching. I didn’t want to hide the detail there. Instead, I brought it to life and made it part of the design. She turned it over and found my initials stitched on the corner. “HW,” she murmured.
Lifting her head, she turned to look into the floor-length mirror I had propped against the wall. It was arched at the top and trimmed in silver, lightly brushed with lilac paint, so some of the metal shone through. Ava carefully draped the scarf around her neck and turned to see it from another angle.
I slowly made my way over to her so as not to startle her, then lifted my hands, giving her ample time to move away before I adjusted the scarf just so. It sat beautifully on her. Ava’s dark hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and the scarf made her features pop. On anyone else, it wouldn’t have looked as good.
“Keep it,” I told her.
Her eyes widened before she spun to face me. Quickly, she unraveled the scarf from her neck and held it out to me. “I couldn’t. I’d ruin it. It’s too nice.”
“Ava, it’s meant to be worn. It’s okay if it gets a little beat up along the way. Every one of those flaws in the fabric will tell a story, part of your story.” Lifting the scarf, I put it on her, letting it drape in the front. “It was made to be yours.”
“Didn’t you design it for someone else?”
“Sometimes I just make things with no one in mind. I’ll see fabric I just have to buy. I might not know what I’ll do with it at the time, but an idea will come to me. Like this scarf. It’s not what I usually make. Once I did, I found I wanted to make more accessories. I didn’t know what to do with this one. It was waiting for you.”
Facing the mirror again, Ava traced her fingers lightly over the fabric. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Anything I could do to make her smile was well worth it. “Would you like to help me make another one, so you’ll have two? You can pick the fabric and the thread. We’ll add any flairs you’d like and the color stitching of your choice. It will be an Ava original.”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course. Let your creativity out.”
Ava and I walked into the back, looking at the silk and other fabric I had on hand. She ended up selecting black silk that had the tiniest white stars on it. I couldn’t even tell what they were until I was close to the material. She was instantly drawn in.
We took it out front and I sat her down at the sewing machine to teach her. Instead of doing the stitching the same as on the one I’d done previously, she wanted to fold the edge of the fabric and sew that instead. With a black thread, I helped her do it. There were a couple of missteps where she apologized profusely.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said to her. “Do you know how many times I messed up when I was starting out? Oh, the stories I could tell you.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Not everyone falls into a job and immediately thrives. Mistakes have to be made in order to grow.” It was the same with most things in life. There wasn’t a guidebook or a manual to walk me through every day of every year. I wasn’t perfect. But there were people who taught and encouraged me. Who didn’t see my flaws but urged me to try again. I wanted to do that for Ava.
Ava’s eyes drifted toward the front of the studio where Rory stood outside, daring anyone to fuck with Ava and me. “Does he care that he’s out there?”
“Rory? Nah, he’s fine. I’d worry if there was snow on the ground or if the sun baked the city, but it’s nice out today. Believe me, I’d drag him in if I thought he was suffering.”
She nodded and focused on the scarf again. When she was done, I offered to help her put her initials on it, but she insisted I do it. She could ask me just about anything and I’d do it for her.
“There,” I said when I was done. I held up the scarf. It really came out nice. “What do you think?”
Her bottom lip trembled as her eyes filled with tears. “Mama would have loved it. She tried to teach me to sew, but I couldn’t do it like she did.”
“She’d be very proud of you. I am.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I wanted to wrap her in my arms but held back. The only one Ava hugged was Vail. She was getting used to Jordan and me, spending time with us, and talking more. It was moments like this I cherished. Not her being upset, never that, but sharing a special moment with her.
“Do you want to make something else?”
“Like what?”
“Hmmm…” I tapped my chin to delay this a bit because I wanted to make her smile but didn’t think this through.
“Leggings?”
“Those would be easy to make, but I’d need the right material. What do you say to a quick shopping trip to pick out what you’d like? ”
She nodded and smiled.
Pulling my phone out, I sent a quick text to Vail and Jordan, letting them know Ava and I were going to run an errand. Jordan shot a quick message back, telling me to buy Ava whatever she wanted. I didn’t bother texting if I left when it was just me. Rory was always accessible, and I didn’t go anywhere without him or one of the other guards. Today I had Julia here too. She was content to keep watch inside, near the back.
I texted Julia and Rory next instead of going outside. They met us and together we left to get into one of the many SUVs Jordan had. Since this was for Ava, I took her to a store where there was a decent selection, especially for what she wanted. A lot of what she wore were dark colors. That didn’t mean she’d want to wear that all the time. At least with this store, she could pick out what she liked.
Inside, Julia stayed with us while Rory kept the SUV idling, just in case. With Gil finally gone, I didn’t have many worries for myself. Ava was another story. I didn’t want anything to happen to her, so I didn’t mind the extra precautions when she was with me.
Ava browsed the aisles and stopped when I pointed out which would work best. She first chose a solid black, which I expected. But then peered up at me like that was it.
“You don’t want more?” I asked.
“This is enough.”
“Ava, Jordan is paying. He has more money than he’ll ever know what to do with. Please pick out more. Consider this part of your school clothes.”
She bit her lip and glanced at the fabric, her eyes bouncing between two particular colors. I knew she wouldn’t say anything. Ava wouldn’t ask for too much. I’d learned that already. She didn’t want to be a burden. She couldn’t be. We’d do anything for her.
Instead of waiting for her to tell me, I took the two choices, and we brought them over with the other to be cut. “Do you want pockets in the leggings?”
“Can they be small, hidden ones?”
“Sure. How about just big enough to fit your phone?”
“Yes, please.” She didn’t have a big phone, so it would be easy to stitch in a pocket to fit it.
I had them cut generously. If Ava loved these, I could make her more. Leggings would be easy compared to some of the other articles of clothing I’d designed. I could also make a line of leggings for men. There was something to consider. Maybe I’d make a pair for myself and test out the reaction with Jordan and Vail. At home and only when Ava wasn’t around because I had a feeling my men would like the tight material on me very much.
Shaking my head, I focused on the task at hand again.
We got what we needed and paid. Rory drove us back to my studio, where I took Ava’s measurements. I offered to have Julia do it instead. It would be easy to tell Julia how to. But Ava asked me, so I did it as efficiently as possible so we could move on to the fun part.
Ava and I sat down to sketch the design. Sure, it was a pair of leggings, but we could have fun with them. Add different color stitching, more pockets, whatever Ava wanted. I didn’t even care if she hated them when they were done. What mattered was bonding with her and watching the smile bloom on her face as she got excited to talk about what we were doing.
“I’ve never made clothes before. This year in school I’m learning how to sew, but it’s not like this. We’re doing it by hand.”
“Well, if you need any help, I’m here and have tricks I can teach you. Once you know how to sew, you’ll carry it with you and fix your own clothing. You can even make more of your own designs.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Anything you want. We can have a lot of fun.” I didn’t want to persuade her to do more with me, but if she found a hobby where her mind was busy, that was a good thing. And when she was done, she’d have something to show for her hard work.
My other tasks were pushed aside while I spent the rest of my Saturday with Ava as we made multiple pairs of leggings. She said she couldn’t wait to go home and show Vail and Jordan. She even called Julia in to show her as well.
What surprised me most was when Ava hugged me. She put her arms around me and thanked me for teaching her today. If my eyes were a little misty, well, that was because of dust getting in them.