Chapter 59

A knock on the door startled me out of my focus. I almost pinched my finger with the needle, but I luckily stopped on time. I was using white thread! If I spilled blood on it… 

I looked up as the door opened and saw Jean's head leaning in. "Hi!" She cheerfully greeted after seeing me. "Long time no see! How have you been?" She walked in after the door behind her and happily skipped towards me. I was surprised when she threw her arms around me in a hug. 

Fortunately, she minded the dress I had on my lap and did not lean on me. She also quickly released me. "Hi, Jean. It has truly been a while." I smiled at her. I was not going to deny that I was happy to see her. 

"I heard you talk with Mrs. Priddy earlier. I'm working right beside you. The month's stuff, you know." I nodded in understanding. She looked down at the dress I was embroidering and gasped. "Is that the Commissioner's order?"

"Yes. Mrs. Priddy was generous enough to leave it to me." I carefully put the dress on the table so Jean could see it. What I was looking for, though, was an opinion about the design I was embroidering. 

Jean gasped again, and her eyes shone. "It's so beautiful!" She reached out, but took her hand back. "How did you do it?"

I looked at my design and almost split my mouth from the wide smile I sported. It had been a bit difficult as it was not a simple design like the ones from pillow cases or handkerchiefs. The hardest part of it all was to make it look elegant, but still with that illusion of curves. 

Starting from the top, there were a few tiny flowers adorning the shoulders, then thin vine-like stems coiled down until the chest area where big leaves unfurled and cupped it to simulate a bigger chest. More vine-like stems fell in a curve to accentuate the waist. Then, the same type of flowers from the shoulders, just bigger, were embroidered at the hips to give more fullness. 

I was missing some details here and there, but I considered the design almost done. 

"Well, Mrs. Priddy said the girl needed a favor and this is what I came up with." I told Jean who nodded, understanding the situation.

"She's going to love it. I love it already! I want one!" I looked at her from up to down. 

"You're perfect like this." I told her.

"You! That's so sweet!" She blushed and squealed. She really behaved the age she was. "Right! I came to invite you to eat at the restaurant. My Husband wants me to eat there." She stated the reason why she had come to interrupt. 

Well, not interrupt as it did remind me it was time to eat. And, more importantly, that Ethan had not returned from his job hunting. Was he doing well?

"I, um, I have to wait for Ethan to eat together." I said with an apologetic smile.

"Ethan…? Oh! The man from before?" I nodded. "When's he coming? We can go together!" She proposed.

"Is it fine?" I hesitantly asked. I did not want to impose after all. 

She waved her hand. "Of course! If my Husband denies two dishes of food to my friends, then he'll sleep on the floor tonight!" She triumphantly said. It seemed it was not the first time her husband slept on the floor. 

I helplessly chuckled. "Fine then. Though, I am not sure when Ethan will come." A knock on the door interrupted our conversation. The one who opened the door was another employee at the workshop. I had seen her before, but I did not know her name.

"Um, I-Isabelle… a man's looking for you..." She shyly relayed. Talk about the devil!

"Thank you..." I trailed off, prompting the young woman to present herself.

"Patricia." She softly supplied.

"Thank you, Patricia. I will go down now. Is it fine if I leave the things here like this? I will return after eating." I gestured at the unfinished dress and the threads I was using. 

"Um, yeah, it should be fine. Amelia – the other employee – already left home. It's just me and you two in the workshop." Patricia started to get some confidence the more she talked, which relieved me as I did not want to have a bad relationship with my coworkers. 

After thanking Patricia, I arranged the things at a corner to not confuse other threads and make it easier for me to work on it once I returned. Only then, I joined Jean to leave the workshop. We found Ethan standing outside the establishment. He had a serene expression on his face. That meant he had no luck at looking for a job.

"This is Jean, one of the employees at the shop, and my friend." I immediately presented her to Ethan who nodded in greeting. His luck must have been really bad if he did not even speak. "And, this is Ethan. I will happily marry him in the future." I clung to his arm, pressing my breasts to cheer him up. 

Jean covered her smile with her hand at my action. "My, my, so lovey-dovey in public." She giggled. I smiled at him and he finally smiled back, holding my hand in his bigger one. "Let's go! Time to eat."

On the way, I explained Ethan Jean was going to invite us to eat. I understood his mild uncomfortable expression, but he said nothing. Though, I was sure he was going to leave some money to 'pay' for the food.

I was also planning to do that. I knew Jean and her character, but I knew nothing of her Husband. It was better to be careful, to not let others think we were taking advantage of the couple.

"Jean!"

Mr. Dodds was… I didn't want to make assumptions of a person. But, it really never occurred to me that Jean's husband was so short. I was not tall by any means. I was perhaps of average height as I have seen taller women in town. Mr. Dodds was a smidge shorter than me. 

And, again, I never try to assume, yet for being a restaurant owner, he was very thin. Even thinner than Ethan who had suffered malnutrition when growing up. However, seeing Jean and her husband so close and in love made me tighten the hold on Ethan's hand. 

"So you're Isabelle. Jean has told me about you." Mr. Dodds finally remembered they were not alone and addressed me.

"Only good things, I hope." I joked. 

He laughed. "Of course."

When we entered the restaurant and went up to Mr. Dodds office, I realized the restaurant's facade was a bit deceiving with its small entrance and low wall. Inside was a very big business. 

The ground floor was one immense room with lots of tables (and lots of customers). Mr. Dodds had explained that area was the common area. It was meant for those people who quickly came in, ate, and left with no regard to the place. 

The first floor had screens separating the tables which were placed with some distance apart. It gave some sense of privacy to the customers. There were also a few potted plants that gave it a lively and natural touch. 

Finally, the second floor had the private rooms. There were not many rooms, but each could house at least ten people and still have space to spare. The table inside was very big and it could also be divided in case there were not that many people who search for a room. 

The whole restaurant had an elegant decoration, like wallpaper, hanging decorations and the potted plants. However, the private rooms each had their own theme for their decoration. 

For example, there was the room with a panoramic room which had a huge removable sliding door that gave a nice view to the far green mountains. The wallpaper in the room also portrayed more mountains in different seasons. 

According to Mr. Dodds, that room was the most expensive to book.

Perhaps the restaurant was not the best in town, but it was well planned in what it could offer. 

I wondered if, one day, we will be on par with Jean and Mr. Dodds. Well, those were thoughts for another time. At the moment, we were reading the menu with its delicious-sounding dishes. The dishes even have descriptions!

"You ready to order? Don't worry about the price, this time it's on the house." Mr. Dodds said with an amiable smile. From the time we sat at the table of his office (because of course his office had its own dining room!), he had not stopped playing with Jean's fingers.

"How can we do that? Jean is my friend, yes, but business is business." I told the man, whose smile turned sharp for a moment. Ah, of course I encountered a business shark! He even stopped Jean from speaking by squeezing her hand.

"Take it as a token of appreciation, and for my love to her." He turned to smile at Jean who beamed back at him. Basically, he was buying me with food in exchange of my friendship with Jean. An honest friendship. It seemed whatever Jean told him about me left a good impression.

It was not good to waste this chance to create connections with someone well-positioned in town.

"Then, we will accept it. Only this time." I had to also mark a limit for his control over her life. I did not want to get involved in his games. I generally had had a good impression on him by letting Jean work. But, it looked like a screen to keep her happy and not make trouble. "I will have the Lobster Bolonnesse with Truffle Sauce. How about you, Ethan?"

"I, um… the Grilled Chicken." Although he stuttered, he successfully made his order. 

It was most likely the only dish he could read, but I was still proud of him. I placed my hand on his thigh to express my happiness to him. He grabbed my hand and refused to let go. I noticed he was heavily sweating. 

Oh, my poor Ethan! To face such a hurdle so soon!

Mr. Dodds just nodded and jingled the bell to call for the person that waited outside the office to tend to his calls and placed the order. Obviously ordering something for Jean without asking her.