Belly Literary Universe (part 2)

Camilla's Clothes Part 15: Connection

Hands in his pockets, the rugged ginger Zach Carpenter waltzed into Camilla's shop. He whistled as he looked at the forest of fabrics hanging from repurposed sawmill machinery.

Camila stared from afar for a moment. The pant legs were long. The sleeves, a little too short. Fabric bunched up around his waist. Camilla knew a set of off the rack clothes when she saw them. Still, she smirked - he at least put in a little effort to look nice.

She took another moment and straightened her own clothes. Her self made red cotton dress cascaded asymmetrically past her knees. She had on a pair of strappy heels that she jokingly thought belonged on a woman half her age. Still, with her hair freshly straightened, nails all shaped and painted red to match her dress, and makeup applied, she felt sexy for the first time since the surgery.

Zach scoffed in surprise as she waded through the rows of cloth stacked tables. Though visibly impressed, he didn't just stand and gawk. "I don't know what's easier on the eyes, your shop or you." He looked down at the floor with an unrestrained grin. "I can't say how happy I am to see you Camilla."

Camilla chuckled and dismissed his pickup line with a wave. "Oh honey, don't get used to it. I dressed up nice for you but usually I'm a bit more rugged of a dresser."

"I'm a carpenter with the last name of my profession. Trust me, I'm fine with functional wear."

Camilla walked over and tugged a bit at Zach's loose dress shirt. "I appreciate you dressin' up for me, but in the future, if you wanna really look nice, let me dress you. I don't have a lot of male clients, but I can get you fixed with something really handsome."

Zach smiled at the teasing and nodded along. "I must look like I'm dressed for my first ever job interview. Hah. Looking back, it was silly to think that I have any sort of fashion sense."

Camilla chuckled, crossed her arms and leaned against the table piled high with lace patterns. "So aside from my dress, what do you think of the place? You were really curious about it before."

Zach looked up into the rafters again. "Yep. It's definitely a sawmill. I love what you've done with it. I just wish I could have seen it when it was in operation. It looks ancient."

"I got it for a steal at an estate auction. Probably got pictures of it buried somewhere. All the machinery and stuff came with it. The gentleman who owned it was the last employee, and up until his death, he maintained all the equipment. I dunno - he had some sort of crazy idea that the logging industry in these parts would start back up. Died thinking a windfall was just around the corner."

"Now that's a guy I wish I could have talked to."

"Can't help you with that I'm afraid." Camilla tapped her nails on the table and frowned. "Listen darling, I'm sorry I've been sort of out of touch the last few weeks. Been busy with a bunch of different jobs. Normal stuff. Secret Advisor stuff."

Zach took a couple frantic steps toward her. "No! No, don't worry about that. I get you to have a life. And..." he calmed a bit and smiled. "You know what they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder."

"Well that's good to hear." Camilla said, crossing one leg over the other, while hoisting herself onto the table."

"But it has been awhile, I'm curious how your recovery has gone. How are you feeling? You look great!"

"Getting up and moving around has really been great for healing. I'm not quite 100 percent yet, but give me a couple weeks and I should be there."

"I'm glad to hear that. Really I am."