Being Mrs. Kane

Chapter 22

The fox has many tricks. The hedgehog has but one. But that is the best of all.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Oh my gosh, this looks beautiful," I said in awe as I stood in front of Diana's workshop. It was not what I was expecting. The design of the atelier was simple and complex at the same time. At first glance, it looked like a building you'd likely see at an arboretum but after a deeper look, you could mistake it for a small museum. It was really like a brick house with pillars and glasses in the right places.

It sort of reminded me of Shelby's home for the elderly, only that it wasn't the same architectural style but it had the same homely aura.

As got in, I was greeted by a woman who introduced herself as Thabisa. She had long braids and I was sure it had all the colors of the rainbow if not more. I could see streaks of red, orange, purple, black, grey, green, or lemon?

"Dakota?" She asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Diana's expecting you, come on," she said with a smile and I followed into what I concluded was another world. The fashion and textile dimension. We took the stairs and on our way, we passed a large room with probably over 50 seamstresses and another room that was large glass doors making the interior visible. The room had bare brick walls and a floor to ceiling window giving it adequate lighting. I could spot three mannequins and a large round table filled with knick-knacks.

Thabisa seemed to have noticed my interest. "That's the color room," she said and I furrowed my eyebrows. The what? I asked internally but I didn't press.

We met Diana at her office, all regal as usual. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was staring intently at a paper.

"Dakota, I'm glad you came," she said with a smile.

"I'm glad you invited me,"  I said and she chuckled waving it off.

"Your hair looks a little lighter," she commented and I touch my hair in surprise. "Nah it's not, I think it's just the light," she said and on cue, my gaze turned the window with its opened shutter.

"What do you think of this design?" She asked passing me the paper she had been holding. On the paper was a pencil sketch of what looked like a dungaree but the end was like a flowing skirt with colorful flowery patterns. Next to the sketch was the same design but with colors this time. The way colors could bring simple drawings to life amazes me.

"It's colorful," I said with a smile.

"I knew it was too bright," she said as she crumpled the paper into a ball and dumped it into the dumpster that I didn't even notice was there before.

"It was an intern's doing," she said with a smile and I just chuckled awkwardly. I actually thought the design was beautiful in a playful way. Poor intern.

"Would you come with me to my color lab?" She asked and I didn't hesitate to jump at the offer. "Did you know that seamstresses' area of this workshop was inspired by Coco Chanel's first couture house?" She asked as we made our way to the lab.

"Really? Wow."

"Yeah, I got that idea from my friend Alexandre Durand, a milliner based in Paris. His workshop was designed after John Boyd's first one too,"

"Oh?"

Who the heck was that?

"He was the official milliner of Princess Diana," she answered my mental question with a smile that honestly looked like her silent way of saying like you should know this!