Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing (40 page)

Scarlet perked up. “What do you mean, ‘cutting him off’?”

“He owns a portion of House of Tijeras, but other than that, he is a salaried employee,” Louisa said. “He’s assuming when Daisy, err… I mean Rosa, dies, she is going to leave everything to him. However, that is far from the case.

“Ladies, remember the first day of class when we talked about the patterns in our lives? I said I wanted to preserve mine. If I leave it to Johnny, he’ll shred it to pieces,” said Rosa. I came to this conclusion a few years ago, and have been in search of a replacement for me—and Daisy. Not just any replacement, the
perfect
replacement. And it’s you, Scarlet.”

“What?” Scarlet asked, spreading her hand out on her chest. “Me?”

“Yes, dear,” Rosa said. “I took your class to see if you were as smart and kindhearted in real life as you are on your blog.”

“What does it all mean? I start my new civil engineering job on Monday.”

“Well, if you accept, you’d have to cancel that. We want you to take over as CEO of Casa de la Flora Enterprises. Louisa will be your senior vice president and will handle the daily operations so you can focus on the long-term vision. You’d have to fly out here and stay while we set everything up. We have a team in place to guide you.”

“I am so honored to keep Daisy’s designs alive. I’ll make you proud, Rosa,” Scarlet said.

“Good. But we also want you to launch your own Scarlet Santana brand too. Mexibilly Frocks and accessories to match. And because we want your own brand to thrive, I’m also handing over the property on Central Avenue in Phoenix. Use it as a remote location, maybe for your Scarlet Santana headquarters idea, whatever you want. You’ll want to appoint someone in charge of that.”

“I can hire my sister!” Scarlet said. “Yay, Scarlet can blog again!” Olivia cheered.

Scarlet laced her fingers in front of her face and ducked behind them. She paced a few times and spun around. “This is huge. You really have that much faith in me?”

“Of course. Daisy and I see you as our long-lost granddaughter; we trust you. Do you accept?” Rosa asked.

“Yes!” Scarlet said. “Yes!”

“Great,” Rosa said. “We’ll announce it at the fiftieth-anniversary party at the Met tomorrow night. There’s going to be a fashion show of Daisy’s and my dresses, so I bought some of your dresses from your online store for us to wear. It will be a nice way to introduce you. We already called Eva Alegria; she’ll be wearing a Scarlet original as well.”

Joseph pulled a red cloth off of a rack of clothing. Scarlet gasped. “My Mexibilly Frocks are going to the Met?”

“They sure are,” Louisa said. “They’re gorgeous, Scarlet. We do fittings in the morning.”

Scarlet and the other women exchanged glances and approached Rosa’s bedside. “Was pretending to be sick part of the plan?” Scarlet asked, hoping for Rosa to answer yes.

“My illness is what triggered the plan,” she replied. “I have stage-four cancer. In early November, my doctor gave me a month to live.”

“Oh, Rosa,
nooo,
” they all said in unison.

“No, it’s beautiful,” she said. “I’m seventy-four. I’ve lived my life to the fullest and accomplished everything I wanted. And of all the places I’ve traveled and the sights I’ve seen and the people I’ve known… nothing touched my heart more than meeting all of you. Scarlet, your class was one of my most favorite experiences. After my diagnosis, I came home and spent days in bed, waiting to die. But Daisy wouldn’t let me. I’d pass my office on the way to the kitchen and I’d see your blog about your class on the laptop screen. I talked Joseph into joining me on an excursion to Glendale, Arizona.”

Mary Theresa had always wondered about the odd relationship between Joseph and Rosa. With so many juicy details swimming around the room, she couldn’t help but ask him.

“It’s another story for another time,” he said, glancing at Rosa.

Rosa threw her hands in the air. “There is no more time, dear,” she told him. “Joseph used to be married to Saide, but he left her for Daisy.”

“He’s Javier! Her Madgesty’s Closet,” Stephanie said. “Scarlet wrote about him in her blog. You were the owner that flirted with Saide. You fell in love with Daisy too?”

“Yes, he sure did. To make a long story short—she nags him, too. He has stayed on as my confidant and house manager. But he’ll be retiring soon. Now it’s time for us to get some sleep. Reyna has arranged all your rooms. We have a big day tomorrow.”

J
ohnny Scissors cursed before punching the button on his Bluetooth. He listened to the first few words and talk-shouted to the public-relations director of the Met.

“For the last time, my aunt cannot make it tonight; she asked me to represent her at the anniversary celebration. I’m going to need her reserved seats, but thirty more in the front row for my entourage. I’ll be backstage to follow the models when they finish the runway show.”

He held his finger to the earpiece and shook his head. “What do you mean she already collected the tickets? She’s supposed to be on her deathbed somewhere. Cancel her seats. Actually, never mind, I’ll take care of it myself.”

Johnny removed the earpiece and tossed it on the desk in front of him. “Always last-minute drama,” he said with a pout. “Tonight is my night, not hers. She steals everything from me.”

“Hello, Johnny,” Rosa said from the other end of his grand living room. Behind her stood a fleet of well-suited lawyers, as well as a few of Johnny’s inner-circle executives.

“Auntie Daisy!” he said, perking up like a mischievous schoolboy who had just been caught red-handed. “You came! Thank
goodness you made it!” he said, gushing as he swiftly weaved his way through his faux-fur-covered chairs and end tables. Johnny, like his aunt, loved excess.

“No thanks to you,” she said. “We’re here to discuss your future at Casa de la Flora.”

He slapped his arms on his legs. “Now? I have a big event in about two hours. Can’t it wait until morning? Louisa, what is going on here?”

“You’re fired,” Louisa said.

Johnny turned and walked over to his bar and poured himself two fingers of gin. “Ha! I own this place. I run it while my loca aunt over there goes to work the sewing machines in China. She lost sight of the company a long time ago.”

“Actually,” Louisa said, “she traveled there as part of the International Council of Garment and Fashion. Your aunt’s firsthand experience of working conditions has helped improve the lives of seamstresses and factories across the world. And throughout all that time, Johnny, she’s been correcting, sometimes preventing, all your costly mistakes here at House of Tijeras.”

Johnny threw back his gin. “Auntie, I love your old-school Cubana drama. Is all this because you want to come back on board? I guess we can add an extra chair to the conference table. Will that make you happy?”

Rosa slowly approached him and glared into his eyes. “I’m sorry your mother died, and you never were able to bond with her. I miss her too. But I did everything in my power to raise you and teach you right. I wanted to hand all this over to you, but mijo, you are not meant for this.” She raised her crooked finger and tapped his chest. “There is something else inside you that you need to discover and nurture. Your time here has run its course.”

“You’re mad because my line is more popular than yours; you
think I’m stealing your limelight,” he said, slamming his glass back onto the bar.

Out of nowhere, Scarlet popped out from behind Louisa. “Don’t try to give her the royal shaft,” Scarlet snapped. “It’s the other way around, mister. Daisy’s good name and history are the lifeboat that keeps you afloat. Instead of coming up with your own signature style, you copy and steal. Don’t you dare disrespect her!”

Scarlet slipped her arm in Rosa’s. “Come on, let’s go. You need to rest up.”

“We’ll handle it from here, Ms. de la Flora,” Louisa said, putting her arm around Rosa and patting her back.

“I love you, little John,” Rosa said. “I tried to make it work, I really did, but we want this company to last well into the next century. We feel there is only one person who can lead the way. The paperwork has been completed; security is here to escort you out.”

“What the hell?” Johnny sputtered.

“Johnny,” Rosa said, “I’d like you to meet the new CEO of Casa de la Flora, Miss Scarlet Santana.”

*   *   *

The changes at Casa de la Flora were the buzz of the night at the Met gala. Rumors bounced from one cluster of gossipers to the next. Eva Alegria indeed arrived and kissed Scarlet’s cheek to congratulate her. Turns out, Eva had been singing Scarlet’s praises to the press ever since the material makeover in the ladies’ room.

The only person missing from the big night? Johnny Scissors, who supposedly went crying to his lawyers, only to learn he didn’t have a dress form to stand on.

Scarlet couldn’t wait to get started on her new career. She
hadn’t quite wrapped her head around how big of a challenge awaited her. But she didn’t intend to worry about it now. The weekend was all about celebrating friendship and fashion—and most of all Daisy and Rosa.

When they returned to Rosa’s house, the women changed into silk pajamas that Reyna and Enid had set out for them. “This is so cool. It’s like a slumber party,” Jennifer said. Joseph promised to take them on a sightseeing tour of New York for the rest of the weekend, but before they retreated to their rooms for the night, they all met in the large seating room to wind down.

“That was the most grand diva entrance I’ve ever heard of, even better than the movies,” Mary Theresa said to Rosa. “The way they piped in the mambo music and then those two hunky guys slowly opened those mile-high golden parlour doors…”

“And the twinkling light show and all the exotic feathers they dropped from the ceiling on us when they carried you out on that big crystal-covered chair!” Stephanie dreamily recalled as she crossed her skinny legs and rested her chin on her hand.

“I got goosebumps when they held those huge feather fans over your face and then lifted them so everyone could see you,” said Olivia. “Did you hear how loud everyone gasped and then whistled? It was like you were a queen.”

“She is a queen,” Scarlet said. “Rosa, I don’t know what I would have done if I never met you. Next to my Nana Eleanor, you changed my life. And I’m not talking about all this, or Daisy. I’m talking about you, Rosa. Right here, you from the class. Thank you. I’ll spend every day doing right for the sake of Casa de la Flora.”

“For the sake of fashion!” Rosa corrected. “And please, take care of that nana of yours. We are thankful to her for priming you for us.”

Mary Theresa, Olivia, Jennifer, and Stephanie gathered around to be with Rosa. No one spoke of the invisible giant in the room—her illness. They listened in awe as she shared even more stories about her childhood with Daisy. She made them giggle until their sides hurt and made them cry until Jennifer had to sprint to the other room for tissue. When they finally decided to go to bed, they escorted Rosa to her room and hugged her good night.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go to the former home of Her Madgesty’s Closet!” Rosa promised. “That’s where my sister made her window display and got her big break!”

After the girls left Rosa’s room and turned out the lights, the surviving de la Flora sister sighed and rested in her canopy bed. It had never felt more cushiony and comfy. She tugged the coverings under her chin and looked to the dresser by the window. The small flame of a lone white prayer candle waved and flickered, casting a warm glow against the wall and ceiling.

Content and fulfilled at last, Rosa silently made her peace with God, creation, and her sisters. Her gaze followed the beads that hung from the top of her bed and blurred into a kaleidoscope of memories: emotions, images, and sounds she loved and cherished. They swirled through her mind as she began to doze off to sleep.

“I did it. I feel so free now,” she mumbled just before she slipped off to neverland with a petite grin of accomplishment and pride.

The vibe of the mansion shifted, as if the house felt relief from the tension of the past few years. A heavy silence permeated the property, and with a sudden gust of wind, the prayer candle on Rosa’s dresser went out, plummeting her room into darkness.

Rosa opened her eyes to an exceptionally bright morning light that filled her room with a warm yellow glow. If she didn’t know
better, she’d swear it was the bedroom she’d once shared with her sisters at Coconut Grove. She then heard familiar voices chatting and giggling at the vanity dresser next to her closet door.