MK decided to visit some of the shops that Sarah May already took her to before exploring some of the other stores. Everyone was starting on decorations for Halloween a bit here and there, as MK found out from Erika Paul, the head seamstress of Fancy Fabrics, for the excitement of the coming holiday. Erika showed her the progress of her dress.
"Wow! You've done this much in just a few days?" she exclaimed, looking over the progress of the pale, cardinal red dress.
"Oh, putting the basic dress pieces together is the easy part. The additions and all of the accents are the harder parts. And actually, I'm glad you're here, I wanted to suggest a few changes, if you don't mind."
"Oh no, I'd like to hear, not sure if I'll like them, though."
Erika grinned, "Actually, I think you will. You had stated that you wanted circles at the bottom in a dark brown-green. I was thinking I could do a Celtic knot instead, it looks like this." Erika produced a picture of the Celtic knot she had in mind, it looked like there were winged serpents intertwined in the circle.
"Wow, that's . . . wow. You can do that?"
Erika nodded, "Mmm-hmm, it will take some time, but I can definitely do that, no biggie. So, do you like it?"
"Yeah, yeah, I like it a lot. Thank you!" MK hugged Erika.
Erika grinned, "No problem! If you're still not sure if I can do it, I can show you a few examples of some similar designs."
"Well, I'm sure you can do it, but I would like to see the designs."
"OK, they're in the back, come on." Erika led the way to the back of the store where tons of fabric, thread, buttons, sequins, and other sewing items lay about, eager to be used for a new dress or outfit. Erika passed all of that and took MK into a walk-in closet at the very back.
"Wow, you do dresses and outfits on the side, for fun?"
"Yup, I've always enjoyed sewing and all of that, Alannah tends to take care of the financial process. She's good at that, and I'm good at this, we make a pretty good team."
"Looks like it."
"Ah, here's one! The inspiration for this dress hit me during the St. Valentine's Day preparations, got it finished on the day itself."
"Whoa," breathed MK as she took a good, long look at the cerise gown, with white swans kissing to make a heart with their elegant necks. Their feathers glittered with sparkle, and a wreath of dainty flowers made of faux gems enveloped each neck. "Erika, this is amazing!"
Erika giggled, "Thank you! Just wait until you see the others!" She went back to the hanging rack, and pulled out a pale, creamy yellow dress with green buds and giant leaves that, at first glance, looked like angel wings. "This was partially inspired by Easter. Those are actually snowdrop buds with oak leaves."
"Wow, this is beautiful!"
"There's just one more," she stated, back at the hanging rod. She produced a soft, coral orange gown, the hem dotted with mauve berries and flowers.
"Wow, Erika, you are amazing! Are, are these for sale?"
"Um, not right now, not sure if I want to just yet. Why?"
"Oh, two of my childhood friends, they would love these. One of them is actually a ballerina," MK grinned, holding out the cerise gown.
Erika laughed, "So you thought of Swan Lake, huh? What about the other one?"
MK laughed, "She couldn't dance even if it was to save her life, so she tends to stick to her books. She is really shy too. She would look great in this." She held up the coral gown.
"What about the cream one?"
"Mmm, no, neither of them. Sorry, can't think of anyone else."
"That's alright, I might be able to sell the other two if I can keep this one. I'll still have to think about it, and it would be best if your friends could come here and try them out. I don't want you to get something, only to find out that it won't fit."
"True, well, thanks for showing me these. Looks like my dress is in the right hands."
Erika took the gowns from MK, "Thanks, I'll work on it right away, I want it to be finished before our busy time. Oh, when it's done, would you like me to send it to your hotel room, or leave it here until you need it?"
"Hmm, maybe you should send it to Sarah May Bernard's apartment, I'll double check with her to see if it's alright, but I'll probably be getting ready at her place."
"Very well, I shall send it there unless stated otherwise. Oh, excuse me, it looks like I have a customer. Have a nice day, MK!"
"Thanks, you too!" MK walked towards the door, pausing when she heard Erika address the customer.
"Hello, Mrs. Hawkins, may I help you with something?" MK turned, the blonde woman stood at the counter, dressed in rich clothes. She ducked behind a rack to get a better look.
"Ah yes, I would like a dress made for the Halloween ball, and this is what I had in mind." Esther handed Erika a piece of paper, Erika's eyes widened at what she saw.
"Um, Mrs. Hawkins, I don't have some of this."
"Oh, quite alright, get it as close as you can, you're the best after all."
"Alright, I will do my best. That will be sixty dollars."
"Uh, is it alright if I pay half now and the other half when it's done?"
"Of course!"
"Great!" Esther pulled out her wallet and handed $30 to Erika. "Have a nice day!"
"You too!" Esther walked out the door, but from where MK stood, watching, it seemed as though her whole demeanor changed the instant she walked out. MK quietly followed her out, wanting to know where she was going. But all hope of following Esther was dashed as she got into a taupe car and drove off. Sighing, MK decided to check out a few nearby shops before stopping for lunch. She sat by herself at the Goodie Tree Diner, eating her sandwich slowly, going over everything she had seen and heard that day. No clues to the man who hated winter as of yet, but she hadn't checked the rest of the stores, so there might be something there. But she couldn't shake Esther Hawkins from her mind. Something was definitely wrong with that woman. To be honest, she couldn't shake the feeling that something in the whole town was off. Jack seemed to know what was going on, but wouldn't tell her because she wasn't ready, whatever that meant. She also had a sneaking suspicion that Mavis knew, and didn't want her to know at all, meaning she would have to trust Jack for now, until she was ready, whenever that would be. She paused mid-bite, what if Esther was working for Mavis? That would certainly explain a lot, which could also mean that she would find Esther at town hall. Maybe she should head that way, using her status as a tourist as an excuse. She quickly finished eating, paid the bill, and walked back to the hotel to get her car. Driving up Bear Valley Drive, she took note of the other shops that she saw, minus the one area that she had come to know rather well in the five days she had been there. She let out a breath, only five days, and a lot had happened, it seemed, in this quiet little town, in just five days. What could happen within five weeks, before she leaves in November? Well, there was only one way to find out, one day at a time. She parked her car in Sarah May's apartment complex and walked the rest of the way. She decided to duck into Glittering Gewels before making her way to the town hall.
"Well, hello there, welcome to Glittering Gewels, the place where you can watch us make your jewelry before you buy it . . . unless you see something here in the front that's already been made. I'm the owner, George Goodwin, nice to see a new face in town. Where ya from?"
"Oh, I'm MK, and I'm from Las Vegas."
"My, you're a ways from home, aren't ya? How are you liking Cedar Grove?"
"So far, so good, haven't been able to explore everything, I only got in a few days ago."
"Oh, that's alright, we're much smaller than Las Vegas, so I'm sure that you'll get to see everything before you leave. When are you planning on leaving?"
"After the Halloween Ball."
"Oh, excellent, are you looking for some jewelry to go with your dress?"
"Maybe, I'm kinda waiting until it's more complete before I make any final decisions on what to get to go with it."
"Ah, good idea, well, go ahead and browse, get an idea of what you'd like."
"Well, thank you."
"Not at all, I'll be in the back. If you need anything, just holler."
"OK," MK stated as she started to glance around. She glanced up when George opened the door and saw something akin to a smithy on the other side before he closed it again. Shrugging it off, she went back to glancing over the jewelry. A smooth swan caught her attention first, dangling from a shiny, silver chain. Then she saw a perfect leaf cut from a pale green stone looking very elegant set against the bronze chain. Not far from that sat a more white silver chain clutching a pale pink blossom. She glanced around some more, thinking that a pendant matching her dress would be around here. It took her a while, but she finally found it. The Celtic knot had one winged serpent wrapped around it and it looked to be made of a brown-green gem, the gold chain adding sparkle to the piece. But the pieces laid out next to it made her mouth drop. The first one was a silver circle pendant with two crystalline lightning bolts streaking across, the second one was an onyx dragon with its tail wrapped around a bear made of tiger's eye. They matched the descriptions of the necklaces in Brown Bear of Norway and Myrsina, looking exactly how the pictures portrayed them.