Fallen

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dinner was much like breakfast. Men retrieve food first before the women from the long table in the front of the Hall. The meal was just as quiet as the breakfast and just as quick. It felt like we had just sat down when we had to stand back up to leave.

April folded her hand around mine. "The shops are open for two hours after dinner, come on I want to get you some fabric."

Around us, people went separate ways. Most of them headed to the houses to the right. A lot of men went back to the fields. Ben was one of them. I could see him speaking to another man in the group of field hands.

"When does the workday finish?" I asked.

"For most of us at six when we have dinner. The shops are open until eight, that gives us who work all day to do some shopping."

"What about them?" I nodded toward the field hands. A grimace fell over April's face. The look took me by surprise, I thought she would like to watch the young men. It was clear she did not want their company though a few of them weren't ugly.

"Them? They work until their work is done. Sometimes seven sometimes nine or ten at night." Green eyes gave me a warning look. "Don't waste your time with them. They aren't too special. Not bright either."

A smug smile was trying to force itself on to my face but I bit my lip. According to April, Ben wasn't bright and I could see his eye roll when I informed him later.

April wrapped her arm around mine. "What you want is a stable hand. Or better yet, Orion."

We rounded the corner and were on the main street. "Orion?" I asked.

April nodded excitedly. "Orion. He's a hunter and he has a star constellation. I don't know who Orion was or why there's a constellation made for him, but we have hunters here in the Settlement. We call them Men of Orion or just Orion."

"What do they do?" We cross the street to the fabric shop.

"They hunt! Hunt meat or they retrieve stuff from the city. Only the best of the best is an Orion." The door's bell rang violently when we entered. "Oh! Here we are!" April went straight to a light pink fabric. She looked at me with a bright smile but I was already shaking my head.

"Practical colors." I wanted to fit into this place as fast as I could. At dinner, I felt a few occasional glances my way to inspecting me. "Where are these Men of Orion?"

"They are out. They should be back any time." April was pawing through the different colors, obviously bored of the conversation.

I let the conversation drop and took in the world of fabric that surrounded me. Glancing back to April, she disappeared into the colors and patterns. The material sat folded on low shelves while others hung on rods. Most of it was solid colors and plaid patterns, but as I walked further into the store, the rarer the designs became. I could tell it was an old world and they must have found the fabric in the city. One was pink with rubber ducks on it. Another one was blue and had cowboys. Taking a wild guess, I assumed these were not bought often.

"Oh, you are in the kid blanket section," April appeared beside me. Bundles of fabric already underneath her arm. There were a few different plaids and solids. A dark green, blue, and brown. The last one took me by surprise.

"Burgundy?" I touched the last color.

"I picked this one up to make you an Outing Dress. I hope you don't mind, I thought it would be pretty with your blond hair."

"Outing Dress?" I took a few of the bundles from her arm.

"It's just a fancier dress. We don't wear them often but you'll need one." April stepped past me and I followed through the tight quarters of fabric.