Under The Willow Tree • Louis Tomlinson

ii.

ii. designs & unanswered questions

— • —

[6 months later] 

The apartment was hot and stuffy. I really disliked spring weather because it was always unpredictable. It was only early and already the London sky was a pale grey colour. After a few minutes of procrastinating I finally decided to get out of bed. I had a few clients visiting the store today. They even decided to book specific fitting times. Great.

The apartment was small, it sat above my dress store. It was tiny as well. I only had to leap a few steps to the bathroom. If I could call it that. The shower was tiny, the vanity could barely hold my toothbrush and the Toilet was squashed into the corner like an unwanted piece of clothing. I had a shower, letting the icy water cool me down. The shower was a great time to think. Today I thought about the rent. Not the most appealing thing to focus on. When I hopped out I decided to tackle my hair with a brush. My hair was curly, very curly. The only time I could get either a brush or comb through it was when it was wet. After I got most of the snarls out I prayed that the spring air wouldn't turn it into a frizz ball.

After I got dressed and ready I headed into the kitchen. The fridge was bare. I didn't have the time or money to shop on luxuries. So I had to suffice with Nutella on Toast. It was yummy, don't get me wrong. But after having it for breakfast day after day it got boring. I kept reminding myself that this wasn't forever. Once I got my feet fully on the ground I would be able to pay for all those luxuries I used to have before moving to London.

I opened my store an hour early. 9am seemed like a pretty civilised time. My early opening time would also give me time to think on some designs for a new Summer range. The store was not as hot as it was upstairs. I thankfully had Air Conditioning in here. Though when the store was full of curious passers-by it seemed as if the Air Conditioning never existed.

On the strike of 10am my first booking arrived. I was halfway through painting my nails a bright pink when she entered. Jenna looked straight at me with raised eyebrows "I see that you're very busy with work." She hissed through her usual sweet smile.

"Good Morning to you to Jenna" I replied, closing the nail polish bottle. "I was drawing some designs last night. If you see any you remotely like you can tell me what you want changed."

"So...  Rose, Where are they?" She asked, flipping her bleach blonde hair from her shoulder.

"Patience is the key" I replied through gritted teeth. I quickly rummaged through my pile of designs until I found the few I drew for Jenna. "Here you go" I said as I handed her the drawings.

I watched her contently as she studied the pieces of paper. Her face changed repeatedly, from a genuine smile to a confused look and back again to the smile. When she finished  looking through them she flipped the pieces of paper, revealing their back. "Is this sheet music?" Jenna asked me with a confused look.

"So did you like any of the designs? If you didn't I can start–"

"I didn't know you played the Violin" Jenna stated, interrupting me mid-sentence.

"Yeah It a side hobby of mine. I'm not very serious with it though. But back to the designs..." I tried to pronounce my words so Jenna didn't hear my annoyance with her.

"Oh yeah. The designs are great. I really liked the Third one. But maybe in a blue. It will accentuate my eyes." Jenna just kept on smiling. I really didn't understand how she could smile so much, fake or not.

I nodded picking up the chosen design from the pile. It was a flowing dress, very angelic. "A sky blue would suit the style." I then glanced up at Jenna, "What is this for? I mean I don't want to sound nosey but I'm just curious."

"It's for my birthday. May 17th!" She answered, bouncing around like she just told me the best news.

"May 17th. That is a week away Jenna! I know you come here often but you could have given me more warning!"

"I'm sorry Rose." Jenna frowned, it did not suit her. "I would have given you more warning but I know how quickly you can make beautiful dresses."

I tried to smile. The due date seemed to close for my liking. "Alright then. Let's get you fitted"

— • —

Jenna's fittings had been easy. She had gained an inch on her waistline but I didn't tell her that. I think she would have splayed me from here to Australia if I revealed her true measurements. No matter how hard I had tried to get her mind off the music subject, she always seemed to come back to asking me questions about my hidden musical 'lifestyle.'

I was getting ready for my next fitting while Jenna roamed the shop, just staring at dresses. I had just started to resume my nail painting when out of the blue Jenna asked me a question.

"Rose, do you get star struck?"

"Depends on who it is and where I am. Why do you ask?" I felt flustered from the question. "Wait... are you a TV personality? If so I'm so sorry but I don't watch TV often these days."

Jenna's sweet laugh filled the shop. "Of course not Rose. It's just that the fitting I booked for tomorrow won't be for me. It will be for two friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah! You didn't expect me to get fitted twice did you?"

"I guess not." I sighed, "Are you going to tell me who they are?"

Jenna shook her head as she opened the shop door. "You'll just have to wait and see.