A Life Less Pink by Zenina Masters Page B

take it all in in one afternoon.”
    “I know, I know, it isn’t fair. Funny though.”
    She had fitted costumes on folks with cutouts for all sorts of piercings but those piercings had been done long before she saw the folks. Here, men were waddling around with a pound of gauze in the front of their trousers because they thought something seemed like a good idea.
    “Very funny. Where does he get the inks that he needs?” She switched topics.
    “He has a link with some of the mages. Many are willing to trade tattoos for the inks.”
    “Nice. So, the barter system is alive and well.”
    “It is.” He laughed.
    As they went through the expo, she collected temporary tattoos, multi-coloured and flavoured condoms and a clip-on nose ring.
    Back at their hotel room, she settled in with an embroidery hoop on her lap and started stitching while he went back to the literal drawing board.
    It was a strange but companionable moment as they each fell into their own worlds, side by side.
     
    The next day, Artur attended a few of the seminars and returned to her exhausted and in need of a backrub.
    She worked out the knots and smiled. “Was it worth hauling me along?”
    He groaned and dropped his head forward. “Every moment of it. Those who recognized me from being with Arkenon swarmed me after the hygiene seminar. They want to know his secrets for colour and precision. No one is ever satisfied with the word practice .”
    “Poor baby. Nina got a request for all of my Regency costumes today. I told her to go ahead and sell them.”
    “Good. Are they hard to replace?”
    “I rarely have call for them unless there is a literary convention in town, then everyone has to dress like Jane Austen’s characters.”
    She used her elbow to work his muscles loose, and finally, he was relaxed enough for her to get him a cup of coffee.
    “Here you go.”
    He smiled. “Thank you.” He took the coffee from her, set it on the nearby table and pulled her into his lap.
    Artur buried his face in her hair. “This is what I have been waiting for all day. The scent of your hair is better than a dozen massages.”
    She sighed and settled against him. “It has been a fun trip. I have to say, I shook Tyla’s hand yesterday and there was this weird zap.”
    His body began to shake, and soon, he was laughing loud enough to make her ears hurt. Finally, he wiped his eyes and said, “Be prepared to have a wave of success come your way. Tyla is literally the golden goose.”
    Cori stared at him in shock, and he started laughing again.
    “Whatever business plans you have, now is the time for them, Cori. There won’t be a better one.”
     
    A few weeks later, Tyla looked around and grinned. “Do you know what you are going to design for me?”
    Cori smiled and pinned the picture to the corkboard above her workstation. “What do you think?”
    “I love it. It looks fun but comfortable.” Tyla clapped her hands. “Where do we start?”
    Artur glanced at her from the clean room he was setting up with Arkenon. It was easier than cleaning the space over and over in the coming days. The frame created a twelve by twelve room that wouldn’t be disrupted by her working and fibres in the air.
    “We start with a fitting. I already created the base unit for the costume, the rest is the corset.”
    Tyla was amazed, but she followed Cori behind the screen and her street clothing was flipped over the edge of the modesty barrier in a minute.
    When Tyla was wearing the majority of the costume, Cori pulled out the corset she had guessed at and wrapped it around her new friend. She turned Tyla and did up the busk before turning her again and tightening the laces.
    Tyla smoothed her hands over the front of the outfit and grinned. “Can I see it?”
    “Of course. Come this way to the mirrors.”
    Three mirrors were arranged so that Tyla could see herself from more angles. The kimono-based robe was slit up the side to mid-thigh. It was covered with heavy