3 Wanted “Customer”

It had been a month since Sierra moved in with the kids in their new apartment. They were doing pretty well, especially with their finances when Sierra started accepting a commission job.

Sierra was amazing at designing clothes and making them. She had a natural knack for it, which she honed with practice over the years. She bought a sewing machine with her saved-up money and posted her designs online where one could see and request a customized design from her.

Her business idea started better than she imagined. In a week, she received three requests and all of them offered her a good amount of pay which made Sierra ecstatic. With each job, Sierra got more confident in her work, slowly building up an array of clients who sought out her services to make their unique garment wishes come true.

Each design came out better than expected; the colors that Sierra chose were vibrant, the cuts intricate yet simple, and the shapes flattering on any body type. The fabric selection was always spot on - from light airy fabrics for the summer days to heavier ones for winter clothing pieces - showing just how much knowledge and skill she put into every single design. However, things weren’t always as good as they seemed.

“Hello,” Sierra greeted as she answered the call. “Mrs. Smith, thanks for checking on me. Yes, I’m doing fine. The dress? Yes! I’m almost done with the details. I can bring it over in a couple of days from now… Oh.” Sierra’s energetic voice was replaced by a halfhearted laugh. “I see. The event is canceled so you no longer need the dress.”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I don’t want to waste your time but I can no longer wear the dress after all,” Mrs. Smith replied. “I have to cancel this order.”

Sierra pulled herself together. She couldn’t force someone to pay and wear the dress she made. “I understand. Thank you for letting me know, Mrs. Smith. Have a nice day,” she said and hung up the call. “Ah. What a shame! I think she’d look good in this dress though.”

Sighing, Sierra put down the phone and the scissor she was holding. She was almost done with the dress but the order was canceled. It would be hard to sell it again after she customize the design to its supposed owner— Mrs. Smith. “What now? It’s not like I can put this on sale. If I have to, this will require a lot of changes in size and color.”

“Mom.” London’s soft and gentle voice filled the quiet room. “I thought you might be thirsty,” he added and handed Sierra a glass of water. “Is there a problem?” He asked, taking a seat next to her.

Sierra took the glass with a smile. “Thanks, honey. Now that I think about it, I’m quite thirsty.” She chugged down the water from the glass. “Ahh! That was nice,” she commented and gave back the glass to the boy before patting his head. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” London replied. “So, what’s the matter? I can hear you whine from the kitchen earlier.”

‘Seriously. Am I going to be comforted by a little boy?’ Sierra thought. “Look a this,” she said, standing up and showing the dress she was making. “What do you think?”

London’s eyes glowed a bit as he stared at the emerald green dress. “Beautiful,” he commented.

“Right? But the one I was making this dress for just called to cancel the order. This one has a lot of details so it’s taking me some time to finish but she said she no longer needs it,” Sierra explained.

London nodded his head, understanding what she said. “Okay. You should add Mrs. Smith to the blocklist then,” he said casually.

“Huh?”

“There are other people who want to buy the dresses you make and they’re all willing to be added to the waiting list. Mrs. Smith was lucky to be one of the first 3 customers who placed an order but since she canceled it, she should be added to the blocklist,” London explained. “Taking for granted the privilege given to her. It’s her loss, Mom. Not yours,” he added with a blank expression on his face.

Sierra wouldn’t deny the fact that she sometimes gets scared when London talks like that. But looking at him, he was still a growing boy and she should be more patient to understand him. “Don’t you think it’s too harsh to blocklist her? She has a valid reason to cancel though,” she commented.

London shook his head. “If you don’t blocklist her, she would think it’s okay to cancel her future orders even without any valid reason. As for the dress, we can rent it out instead of selling it.”

Sierra’s eyes widened. She didn’t think about renting the dresses she make. Oh my! You’re a genius, honey. That’s a wonderful idea. Let’s rent out the available dresses. Mm. I have other dresses that weren’t sold and weren’t worn yet. We can rent them out too!” Although the dresses she was talking about were the ones she made for practice, they turned out petty well-made that even she wanted to keep them for herself.

“Ah. I already asked my friend for help with the website,” London said. “He said you can start using it tonight. I will get the account credentials needed so we can check it out later,” he continued.

“Huh?” Sierra looked at the boy, confused. “What website? Which friend?” She knew London loved to interact with people on social media using his tablet which she bought on his birthday the previous year but she only expected him to write comments and reviews on the shows he was watching online.

London sighed and held her hand. He led the way to their bedroom where others were sleeping and took out his tablet. “I have some friends who know about this stuff. He wouldn’t stop bragging about how good he was so I told him to prove it by making a website for his business. Isn’t it hitting two birds with one stick?” He grinned and started doing something on his device.

“It’s ‘stone’, honey. Not stick. The sayings go like ‘Hitting two birds with one stone’,” Sierra corrected him.

“Mom, only those who want to fail would hit the birds with a stone.” London shrugged. “I don’t want to fail so it’s better to aim at them with a stick.”

“Err,” Sierra laughed awkwardly. “I guess. If that’s what you want then.”

“Hello?” London greeted as he spoke to someone on the call. “Mr. Bennett! How’s the website going?”

“Good morning to you, Mr. L.” A grown-up man’s voice responded.

“London, who is that man?” Sierra asked.

“Shh!” London gestured for her to be quiet and blinked his eyes a couple of times.

“Oh. Is that your mother? Can I talk to her?”

London frowned at the man’s request. “No. My mom has nothing to do with this. I’m only checking if you’re done with the website you promised,” the boy said. He was quite confident when talking although Sierra always thought he was only being his usual self.

“Haha! Yes, of course. But your mother is the one who’s going to use the website, right? I need to talk to her about it,” the man said. “Don’t worry. I won’t bite your Mom.”

“Of course, you can’t.” London’s eyebrows furrowed even more. “You just need to answer whether you’re done with the website or not,” he insisted.

“Honey, aren’t you being too rude?” Sierra whispered. London may sound like an old man when talking but he was still a child after all.

“Yes. I’m done with it. You can use it today if you want. But before that, I need to talk to your mother. Can I?”

London looked at Sierra, feeling defeated. “I think that’s fine. I’ll have to ask her first,” he said and covered the mic on his tablet. “Mom, he said he needs to talk to you.”

Sierra nodded her head. “Sure, honey. I also want to talk to this man who seemed to be very ‘friendly’ with you,” she said and took the tablet from London. “Hi! This is London’s mother. I see that you’re quite close with my boy—”

“Are you the boy’s mother?” The man asked right away, cutting off Sierra’s introduction.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sierra replied. “Yes. I’m his mother,” she replied. “I don’t know what he has been telling you but I would appreciate it if you forget everything. My boy tends to talk about interesting stuff and speak his mind. So, in any case, if he asked you to do something, you don’t have to listen to his request—”

“Cut it off, Stella.”

“What?” Sierra was dumbfounded. She didn’t remember telling the man her name so why would he even call her that?

“Are you so desperate for money that you’re using an innocent child to mooch off me? Clothing business? You can’t even sew in the first place. Why would you open a clothing business? Don’t make me laugh, Stella—”

“Shut up.” This time, it was her turn to cut him off. “I don’t know what you’re talking about or whoever you are but you have no right to discriminate against me or my family. You said I can’t even sew? Why, Mister? Do you even fucking know me?” Sierra was too annoyed that she ended the call.

“What happened?” London asked, cluelessly.

“Nothing, honey.” Sierra cupped the boy’s face and looked at him in the eyes. “However, I’d be glad if you stop talking to that man, understand?”

London didn’t say anything else. When Sierra left the room, he dialed the same number.

“What did you tell my Mom?”