Page 91 of Make You Mine This Christmas

‘They’re thinking. Or they’re probably going to say something super blunt and are trying to be nicer.’

‘Oh, great.’

After a much longer stretch of time than Haf was expecting, Ambrose’s eyes open and they lean forward.

‘Okay, so I really like the bottom half of that first one, and I like the idea of creating a little capelet that was in idea... three? But overall, it’s just...’ They pause, clearly trying to find thepolite way of saying it for Laurel’s benefit. ‘I’m not sure how else to say this, but I think all these options are very heterosexual.’

Ambrose and Haf fall apart laughing, and Laurel makes a sudden loud, ‘Oh!’

‘Oh?’ asks Haf.

‘Oh, I just didn’t realise you were queer. It makes sense that Kit likes you, I mean. You know,’ Laurel stumbles over her words. ‘Anyway, I see it now. Yes, it’s a bit too “I’m going to marry my extremely straight husband in my extremely heterosexual but slightly kooky wedding”, isn’t it? You want something with a little more of an edge?’

‘You can find it. I’ve seen your feed; I know you can do it,’ Ambrose says.

Laurel clutches at her chest, shocked at the compliment that has snuck in among the criticism.

‘Just as long as you don’t lean so far as something like that God awful Peg-the-Patriarchy bullet vest. Just like... a bit of sauce to it.’

‘What if...?’ Laurel says, but trails off, handing the phone back to Haf. She grabs a notebook and starts sketching, creating a miniature Haf outline on paper, surrounded by a halo of floaty material, plus a deep plunging neckline.

‘What about this?’

‘Wow, she’s going to need some serious tit holders if you’re going to pull that off.’

Ambrose is not wrong.

‘I have some ideas on how to construct it. It’ll be clever...’

Their conversation flies over Haf’s head again, but she takes the paper dress in her hands and says, ‘I like this.’

‘It’s settled then!’ says Laurel, rushing to the other side of the room. From a drawer, she pulls out an armful of black gauzy material, which she brings over to Haf and shakes out. It sparkles in the light, and as Laurel holds it up against her body,Haf can see that it’s subtly patterned with stars. But not just stars, it’s the constellations of the night sky.

‘With that pattern and this fabric, it’s going to be very Alexander McQueen. Plus, what’s queerer than astrology?’ Ambrose says with a wink.

‘Isn’t this technically astronomy?’ asks Laurel.

‘Who cares, I love it,’ Haf says breathlessly, taking the fabric in her hands. ‘But... umm. This fabric must be really expensive and your time and it’s like literally tomorrow. I don’t know if I can afford—’

Laurel stills her with a hand on her shoulder. ‘You’re giving me an opportunity to create something beautiful with a fabric that has been sitting in that drawer for years, and I get to show everyone I know how good a designer I am? Seriously, this isn’t purely altruistic. I just ask that you’ll let me take some photos when you’re all dolled up.’

‘Okay,’ she says.

‘This is going to be so hot. Laurel, DM me updates, I wanna see them. Haf, call me later, you dodo.’

Ambrose disappears from the screen, and Laurel does a deep breath out. ‘Wow, they’re so cool.’

‘They’re something all right.’

‘Now, look, darling, I hope this isn’t awkward, but the best measurements will be if you whip everything off and stand there in your underwear. Bra can stay, but I might ask you to do a few for me without it if needs be. Is that okay with you?’

At this point, Haf doesn’t think she can really object to stripping off in front of Laurel, and so she does. Luckily, it’s not as cold as the Calloway house, and Laurel works quickly, whipping around her with a measuring tape before swapping to pinning strips of calico fabric together on her body.

‘Are you looking forward to the party tomorrow night, then?’ Haf asks her, needing to spark up a bit of conversation so shemight be able to ignore the fact that Laurel is extremely close to her mostly naked body.

‘Oh, yeah, it will be great, once it happens.’ She sings a little laugh. ‘The build-up is always a lot. Takes a few months, as Mummy always wants to change the theming and food and music.’

‘I bet it’ll be nice to finally enjoy it.’