Page 2 of British Daddy to Go
He claps his hands together again. This must be his signature move. It fits with his tall leprechaun image. “Excellent!” He glances around the room and hones in on a woman my mother’s age who’s taking a seat at one of the tailor stations. “And Gloria has arrived! Let me introduce you to her, and she’ll get you started.”
My flamboyant boss skips to Gloria’s desk. “Gloria!” he practically shouts. “This is your new assistant tailor, Maggie. Maggie, this is the head tailor, Gloria.”
Gloria lifts her eyes to meet mine. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maggie. Do you have experience with sewing?”
Roger sighs. “Do you think I’d hire her if she didn’t?”
“Yes.”
He laughs. “Well, this one does. She brought clothes she made herself to her interview!”
Gloria’s eyes light up. “Perfect.” To me, she adds, “The last assistant he brought me didn’t know a bobbin from a Barbie doll.”
I gasp. “No!”
“Yes!” she laughs. “It was awful. The poor girl didn’t last a week. I think you’ll do fine.”
“I hope so.”
Roger claps again, causing Gloria to roll her eyes. He doesn’t catch the motion, though I don’t think he would mind. Roger seems to have a soft spot for Gloria. That’s even more reason for me to stay on Gloria’s good side. I want them both to like me.
“I’ll leave you two to it, then!” he exclaims. “If you need me, I’ll be in my office. And welcome to the team, Maggie!”
He’s behind the thick, black curtain in just a few long steps. I stare after him, trying to get a read on my new boss. Does he like me? Does he hate me? I can’t tell. Half of the time, Roger was harsh during our walk through the store. Just now with Gloria, though, he seemed almost warm toward me. I wish I could figure the guy out! My people skills are pretty good from working at the dry cleaner, but this guy eludes me. I’ll get there eventually. Maybe Gloria can give me some tips.
“Why don’t you pull your chair over to my station for today and get a feel for what you’ll be doing? Have you ever tailored before?”
I nod. “My parents like to buy secondhand clothes that don’t quite fit any of us. I learned early on to use a sewing machine to make them wearable.”
“That’s good, practical experience. You won’t be sewing anything secondhand here, though. We only sell brand new, custom-tailored suits, tuxes, and other men’s clothing. For now, you’ll be working on just the suits since they’re the easiest to tailor. Mostly adjusting sleeves and pant legs.”
I quickly drag my chair over to Gloria’s station and watch as she pulls out a pair of chalk-marked slacks. “I have seven regular clients who come in monthly for a new suit. On top of that, I’ll work with a few newcomers or one-time shoppers. We have the quickest turnaround on Madison Avenue, which keeps us busy. Our goal is to have full custom suits fitted and out the door within a month.”
“A month?” I ask. “Isn’t that nearly impossible?”
She laughs sweetly. “Not impossible, dear. But certainly not easy. Monday mornings are slow, which is why most of our tables are empty. This room is usually filled with whirring sewing machines. And we do all of the tailoring in-house. That’s how Havisham’s has done it since the beginning, and we’re not about to change that anytime soon.”
“Good,” I say. “It’s better to have in-house tailors. Especially if someone needs multiple fittings.”
“You do get it!” Gloria says. “I’m going to like you.”
“I hope so.”
I watch silently as Gloria cuffs the pants and sews off a new hem. The work is relatively quick but meticulous. Gloria squints at the plunging needle as she carefully feeds the pant leg through the machine. When she finishes one, she immediately gets to work on the other.
“Sorry I’m not talking much, dear.”
“It’s okay,” I tell her. “This is more of an observation kind of job. I can learn just by watching you.”
“That’s good,” she replies. “I’ll grab a suit jacket next so you can see how I work on that.”
Gloria pulls a navy blue jacket from her stash of projects. No one else has a rolling cart of drawers beneath their desk, so I’m guessing Gloria gets special treatment. The rest of the projects are hung or folded in the back of the room next to the assignment sheet.
“This jacket is unique because we’re actually pulling it in a bit. More work than the usual sleeve adjustments.”
I watch in awe as Gloria makes quick work of tailoring the jacket. It’s the same piece of fabric when she’s finished, but it looks like a brand new coat. “That looks amazing!”
She smiles. “Thank you, dear. How about you try the next set of pants?”