“Well, I would like to get started with the latest measurements. I got them from your agency, but I like to do my own.” Madison closed the front door and locked it.
“No, problem. Where would you like to do it?” Becky looked around.
“I do my designing at my kitchen table, so let’s go there.”
“Ok.” Becky followed Madison into the dining room.
“Let me pull the blinds, and then if you can take your shirt and pants off, I’ll get the measurements. I do have part of it cut out so I’m going to pin it on you too if that is ok?”
“Sure.” Becky set her things on the countertop
“I like to leave a large border so I can take it out if I need to and still have fabric without needing to insert a panel.”
“I’ve never worked with a designer that has done that before.” Becky removed her top and bottom
Madison was light and bubbly at being called a designer and hung her tape around her neck.
“What’s that smile for?”
“No one has ever called me a designer before. It feels nice.” Madison grabbed her notepad.
“Not even your family?” Becky held her arms out to make a T with her body.
Madison remembered her conversation with Henry and measured Becky’s arms.
“Oh, you guys don’t get along?”
“No, we do. They, well, my mother doesn’t see it as a good career.” Madison measured Becky’s neck.
“My parents at first weren’t too crazy that I wanted to be a model, but they’ve become more supportive. I don’t know how I would have done this competition without them being there for me.” Becky turned to the side.
“Yeah, it is hard.” Madison’s mind turned to Dante and how he supported her last night when she told him her dreams.
“You don’t have anyone?”
“No, I do.” Dante believed her designs were good.
“Is it a guy?”
“Yeah, it’s not serious though.” Madison wrote the latest numbers down next to the ones the agency had given her.
“But you want it to be?”
“I wish it could be, but it’s not our deal.” Madison hung up the muslin she had cut out and placed pins in to hold the design together.
“Oh.” Becky made a face.
“Oh no, did I poke you?” Madison pulled the pin out.
“No. It’s just I was in a relationship like that and it ended.”
“Not well?” Madison poked herself on the next pin.
“Well for me. I wanted more, but he didn’t. But my family has been great, and my girlfriend reminded me that you can never turn a booty call or friends with benefits into more than what it was, but you can ruin the friendship.”
“Oh.” Madison rubbed her finger where the needle had pricked her skin.
“That’s kind of where we were at. I can’t be happy for him when I see him with another girl, so our friendship suffered. I don’t know if it will come back, and it sucks because he was a great friend.”
