bella donna

“I’m flattered.” And he was. “I don’t think anyone has ever called me eye catching before, but there’s a first time for everything.” Angel ran a hand down his thigh. He flirted a lot, and he always appeared self-assured, but compliments made him uncomfortable to some degree. “How’d you end up getting into fashion anyway?”

“Well you are so you might as well as own it,” Bee said with a wink. She knew some people weren’t comfortable with compliments, but she was also of the mind that when a sincere compliment is given one should take it and store it away in a safe place for bad days. “I just always loved dresses really and then I got obsessed with costuming as a kid and it snowballed and here I am.”

           “Hey, Bea?” Eden curiously called over to her friend. “Is that yours?” Sitting up slightly, she gestured toward the article of clothing off to one side of the room. “I mean, obviously it’s yours. But yours like you made it, or like you bought it?” ( @beatrixblake )

Bee grinned at Eden. “Why, yes, that is mine, and I did make it. It’s kind of my pet project for now. The embroidery has been killer, but it’ll be so worth it when I finally finish it. You like?” She looked at Eden expectantly, hoping that she did like it. 

Tatum chuckles and nods. “I’m 35 actually, I had her when I was young as I’m betting you could have guessed but yet she’s 17.” She pulls up her phone so she can share a picture of her daughter. She was very proud of the young dance, she had an amazing passion. “This is her, her name is Seraphina” 

“I never would have guessed you were 35. I had a moment where I was like, ‘Wait...did she have a baby when she was like a baby?’” Bee laughed at her own silly joke, but for a second she was legitimately terrified that Tatum had had a child at ten or some other legitimately frightening age to have a child at. “She’s gorgeous, not that I’m shocked that she is because look at you.”

“Oh, I’m not going to wild on your cloth samples, miss. It’s just that both Arlo and I feel that citron is much too strong of a colour. Hurts the eyes, makes this old guy bark like it’s the end of days. So anything in the yellow family can…just leave the template, thank you.”

“Got it,” she said, feeling immensely relieved. “I can be a little to enthusiastic about yellow shades that I forget not everyone else shares my deep love for them. Sorry about that.”

Tatum chuckles and shakes her head. “Well she’s 17 so I wouldn’t say early. She is a dancer so she spends much of her time doing that. As much as I love her dancing and I believe in her I’d love for her to find another hobby or atleast something to study to fall back on” 

“Are you kidding me? There’s no way you have a 17 year old. What are you? Like thirty? I kept picturing like a five year old at oldest.” Bee couldn’t believe that the woman before her could in anyway be the mother of a teenager let alone a 17 year old.

“I mean, honestly? I think it’s pretty shite, but I think everything is pretty shite. So make of that what you will.”

“I didn’t know that you felt that way about that certain color, but I will definitely note that,” Bee replied, mentally tucking it away for safekeeping. 

“Miss it? What do you mean? You still don’t do the family book club? Which btw I may steal just to see if I can get my daughter into more books really” 

“Not like we used to. My sister is barely a year younger than I am, and she’s abroad working on her MA and being a kick ass TA, so she’s busy. You should totally do that. The earlier you can get kids into reading the better.”

“That’s even more interesting. That he does both. Is his artwork posted anywhere in the city?” Elliot curiously asked. “It certainly sounds to have paid off. There’s nothing better, you know? Liking what you do.” He nodded, knowing that despite everything else, he certainly did and wouldn’t take following those aspirations for granted one bit either. And from her elated demeanor, Elliot could easily tell, she felt the same regarding her fashion designs.  “And I can see the creative knack must run in the family.” Elliot remarked with a grin. “Thanks. Your compliments are quite good, I’ll have to use them and let you know how it works out.” Especially with how his sister, and practically over half the room was angry with him. Which was mostly his own fault. “— You don’t happen to make suits as well, do you?”

“Not publicly, but he does have a few hanging around some fancy houses. He’s made some sales to both some dignified looking elderly ladies and a few young men that my mother called nouveau riche. Pretty sure they were some tech hipsters trying to impress people,” she said with a small laugh. Her mother was perplexed mildly perplexed by the men, but Bee knew that they were just somewhat intelligent jackasses and that those types could be exhausting. Bee perked up at the mention of suits. “I do. I love doing menswear. A lot of people think it’s constricting, but you can do a lot with a suit. It doesn’t have to be the regular black standby.” 

Maya: [there's a brief chuckle, an odd sound to Maya's own ears] I...It's appreciated. Really...[sighs] It's been a weird couple of days. I think? I don't know what day it is.

Maya: I have a doctor's appointment, but I'm too afraid to even step out of my room, you know? I just...it's been too much.

Maya: And I never even talked about the Saboteur! I don't exactly remember what I said to Olivia, or even Violetta for that matter...but I know I didn't say that I was S. I think I'd remember that part.

Maya: But enough about...me and my problems. How are you? How's your weekday going?

Bee: Do you want me to go with you? I can totally go with you if you need me to.

Bee: I doubt anyone really thinks you're S. If I were a betting woman I would put money down on that this whole thing was somehow orchestrated by the real S. That might sound a little The X-Files, but I wouldn't be shocked.

She chuckles and shrugs. “it’s a good way to spend their time really. I mean atleast they are reading and sharing that with others. I mean I feel like people don’t look at the upside of book clubs nowadays” 

“We basically had an in family book club. We passed books back and forth and discussed them a lot. I really do miss it,” she admitted. 

“A model?” The look on Angel’s face should’ve been answer enough. He knew he was good looking and that he cleaned up well when he took the time to make sure that there wasn’t grease on his shirt or that his jeans weren’t sporting rips, but modelling had never been an option. Life hadn’t allowed it. “Do I look like the kind of person who sits around all day getting pampered?”

“There’s a lot more to modeling than getting pampered,” Bee replied, tilting her head to the side in an amused manner. “You’re basically a business person. A model is helping sell the clothes. You, my friend, wear clothes well and you have a nice face. You’re eye catching.” She knew Angel wasn’t into the frills and glitz of the fashion world, but everyone did need nice clothes regardless of what they did in life. 

“That’s interesting. He doesn’t keep up with the painting any more at all? And honestly? I don’t blame them for heading back home, where it’s a bit more peaceful than here.” Maybe one day, he’d do the same. But at the same time, Elliot had a career in what he always wanted in the fast-paced business of the film industry he couldn’t see giving up any time soon. “Well, you should. It’s well deserved.” He told her before nodding at the mention of Violetta. “Maybe I should write that down too to tell her. Might make her less angry with me.” He muttered.

“He does, but I think he found more fulfillment doing both if that makes sense. Both of my parents are the kind of people who like to wear many hats so to speak. I think they wanted some place smaller and quieter to focus on their work and then my sister and me in addition to that work.” Her voice always took on a warm quality when discussing her parents. They were such beautifully passionate people and the older she got the more she appreciated those facets of them. “Thank you again. I like to think it’s my own personally calling. There’s really no better feeling in this world than watching someone’s face light up with they put on something you made for them. The right dress or the right blouse can give a person a world of confidence they didn’t have before. Compliments are always a good way to soothe the soul. I won’t pry into your sibling drama, but compliments do help most situations.”

Maya picks up the ringing phone, a familiar name flashing on the screen. It felt weird, that she was going to use her own voice again, for the first time in a while.

Maya: hey Bee...thank you for calling. I---...How are you?

“Yeah, a mix of being a film editor and my dad being a part of over-seeing this hotel. Can see why we’ve both had to endure from them. But an art professor? That’s interesting. Is he one in the colleges around here?’ Elliot curiously asked before nodding in understanding at her remarks. “Either way, that’s impressive. You should be a big name, yours looks great.” He motioned forward with his hand.  “And uhh, you know my sister?”

“He painted full time before he found his calling as a teacher. Now he’s Dr. Blake. He and my mother both used to teach here in the city. That’s how they met, but now they both teach back home, which is Delaware.” Both of her parents had a distinctly eccentric bent. “Thank you. I need to write that down and save it for when I need the encouragement. I do know her. I’ve made a few things for her actually. She’s gorgeous. I could literally make her a dress out of potato sacks and she could make it look good.”

“Well, you’re kind of speaking my language. This is what I tell my clients sometimes, about how nice it feels to be kind, but some people just don’t get it. It’s so strange.” Maya shrugged, moving her head as she spoke. “People who are mean for the sake of being mean are just awful, I totally get that. And aww, thank you. People have said things like youthful, and someone even asked if I’m Canadian, but seriously, thank you. If you were 

“Kindness is a form of self care, whether you are being kind to others or yourself or both,” she said with a nod. She was used to people with selective kindness or those that chose to be outright nasty. “You’re welcome. You’ve got a good aura. It’s approachable. Like I wasn’t totally terrified that you were going to backhand me or haul me off and pull a Hannibal Lecter.”

“Exactly” She chuckles and shrugs. “It seems criticizing people for being basic is actually what’s becoming basic these days. That trend in making fun of others for liking mainstream has just made itself mainstream. It’s hilarious” 

“It’s a whole conundrum, and I love the irony. My mom and sister are big proponents of love what you love and then sort out the good from the bad later. Both are literature people, so they’ve spent a lot of time fighting with people over the literary merit of this book and that book. Both love to quote Germaine Necker de Stael when talking about this stuff.” Bee missed her mom and her sister and it was nice to actually bring them up in a conversation. It made her feel less alone in this world.