Ratidzo was smiling minutes later, her face shining with joy as Tapiwa massaged her hands.
Even though she had fallen earlier, it didn't hurt all that much. And watching her older sister caressing her with a troubled expression on her face made everything worthwhile.
'She genuinely cares about me! She doesn't despise me as much as I believed.'
Ratidzo felt as if Tapiwa didn't like her after she escaped her hug earlier, even though she didn't express it, and this thought disturbed her greatly.
Ratidzo began to ponder on herself when Tapiwa lifted her from the floor, apologized, and began to methodically massage her with a worried expression.
She could tell Tapiwa was closeted and didn't discuss much about herself when she first met her.
Apart from the fact that Tapiwa lives in Namwapa, a town many days away from Karoba, she knew nothing about her until now.
'I won't try to be more enthusiastic the next time. Let's take things slowly at first. I wouldn't want her running away from me,' Ratidzo reasoned.
"I really apologize. You surprised me, and I reacted accordingly." Tapiwa apologized once more as she finished her massage.
Ratidzo gave Tapiwa a toothy smile, her face soothing, and added dismissively, "It's okay. That was something I should not have done in the first place. Anyway, let's go on to something else. Are you planning on going out?"
Ratidzo inquired about Tapiwa's clothes while simultaneously changing the subject.
Tapiwa felt glad when she noticed Ratidzo changing the subject and didn't bother returning to it.
"Yes, I want to go out and check the market," she replied to the younger woman, "I haven't checked in much since I arrived."
Ratidzo's eyes lit up, and she excitedly clapped her hands, saying, "That's great then. I'd like to invite you to my shop as well. Do you recall that design you gave me? I finished a prototype, and I'd like you to look at it and tell me what you think."
Tapiwa couldn't say no when she saw Ratidzo's desire, so she consented. She was also curious to see what Ratidzo created from that design, and if it was okay, she planned to take a few orders and bring the set of garments back home.
"Sure, I'll go with you," there was no reason to refuse, and she was going to take advantage of the opportunity to do what she wanted in the first place.
"Okay, let's go now."
Tapiwa didn't have much to prepare other than the pouch of money, so she left her room with Ratidzo.
They said their goodbyes to the Michaels couple before heading to Ratidzo's shop.
The shop was over an hour away, so the two of them took a carriage, with Ratidzo paying the fee. Using a carriage also made travel easier and shorter.
Tapiwa was taken aback as Ratidzo showed her around her establishment. The shop wasn't on a busy street since busy streets generally had exorbitant rentals, which newcomers couldn't afford.
So, Ratidzo's shop was a little concealed, but despite this, there were still people inspecting other shops, indicating that business was still good, which was already fantastic.
Tapiwa began to examine the finished clothes hanging on the racks as they entered the shop.
"You're a fantastic tailor, Ratidzo!" Tapiwa exclaimed as she examined the garments.
Ratidzo, who had just returned from the inner room, blushed tremendously upon hearing that, "Thank you, very much."
Tapiwa wished she had seen Ratidzo's look because she would have had shivers all over.
"I'm just being honest! What are you holding there?" Tapiwa asked, raising her head to gaze at Ratidzo.
When Ratidzo heard the question, she became very animated and signaled for Tapiwa to come over to where she was standing at the counter.
Tapiwa didn't ask many questions and merely walked over, expecting what Ratidzo might show her.
"This is what I made, and I want you to look at it," Ratidzo stated eagerly, her attention fixed on Tapiwa.
Tapiwa nodded, her face brightening, and said, "Sure, let's see it."
Ratidzo excitedly revealed her art piece, which she had covered with another fabric, in front of Tapiwa's expectant gaze.
Tapiwa offered Ratidzo some underwear designs as a way of thanking her for her hard work and friendship.
Lingerie was relatively uncommon in this age, and what was already there was so nasty that wearing it was a nightmare.
This was not generally the case before she had that dream, but after viewing a lot of comfy underwear from many dream worlds, she wanted to wear something similar.
However, she lacked patience, and with more pressing tasks to attend to, creating garments was not a priority.
Choosing the first item, a knee-length silk nightgown, a fair size of clothing considering how women were meant to wear long dresses all the time, it was already a marvel seeing this in person and on this planet.
The nightgown had few decorations and was plain, but the stitching was excellent and demonstrated how experienced the tailor was.
The nightgown had no sleeves but thin straps to link the remainder of the garment and was appropriate for warm and hot seasons.
"It's pretty good. Even if it is like this, you will be drowning in money as long as you find ladies who appreciate it. Believe me," Tapiwa responded in a praising tone, as she placed the garment on the counter.
She then chose the second piece, which was underwear(pants and bra). The panties were high-rise briefs, which were appropriate at the time because ladies wore shorts with drawstrings or loincloths.
The bra was a bralette, meaning it had no underwire, padding, or cups.
It was still too early for that, and she didn't even comprehend the reasoning for cups and paddings.
Just something different from what she was wearing at the time, a cotton piece of clothing with four strings to tie around her waist.
It was a little unpleasant to wear, so having something else would be quite beneficial.
Tapiwa was in wonder when she saw all three parts together because Ratidzo had truly demonstrated her talent and ability to bring these drawings to life.
"It's just what I imagined and thought. This is fantastic!" Tapiwa truly and warmly appreciated Ratidzo, her eyes twinkling.