The Memory Weaver and The Billionaire

Chapter Four

Emilia could see Amelia's face now and saw the smile she was trying so hard to hide. She breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't made her angry, hitting her lightly on the shoulder, which made Amelia burst out into laughter, her body vibrating with the force of the sound that came out of her mouth.

“You could have seen your face,” Amelia said when she had finally regained control of herself, holding her ribs, which had started to hurt slightly.

“You could have seen your face," she added, pulling Emilia in for a side hug.

“You know I can never be mad at you, and besides, I knew you were only just joking," Amelia said, tapping Emilia lightly on the nose, then pecking her on the forehead.

They were about the same age, but Amelia always found a way to act older than she actually was, acting like a mom for both of them.

“Come on," let's get to work. Jolting them out of the silence, dragging Emilia to the basket in which she had placed the cottons

“We are starting with cotton, right??”

“I don't know," Emilia answered, her face turning pale for a moment, worried lines forming on her forehead and by the side of her eyes.

She looked up at Amelia; sweat was starting to form on her forehead and nose, a sign that she was overthinking and her brain was in overdrive.

“Calm down, Ly." “You are going to outwork yourself and not get anything done if you continue like this. Calling her by the pet name she had given her and she loved so much, using her fingers to wipe the sweat off Emilia's face.

“We are going to start with the cottons, then move to the other materials.“ “Mrs Adelaide and Mr Wilders' clothes comes first.

“If we are not able to finish Mrs. Georgina's outfit, we send the ones we can, and if she still wants us to do the rest, we do it.

“If not..." “we let her be.”.

“Besides”, I am sure she would be more than excited to have Ly's creations in her possession”. Amelia said, winking at Emilia.

“I guess you are right," Emilia chuckled for a moment, the worried lines disappearing instantly.

Going to remove the cottons from where she had placed them in the basket.

Emilia put on the cotton gin, gathering fists full of cotton and tossing them inside for the gin to remove any tiny stones or pebbles that could spoil the arrangement of the cotton.

While she put the cotton into the ginning machine to purify it, Amelia was on standby waiting for it to be done cleaning and then taking the neat cotton and placing them into the carding machine for it to be aligned and arranged properly.

The whole ginning and carding process took more time than they had planned, and Emilia was starting to feel exhausted from the whole process, but soon they were done and she could focus on the combing, Amelia helping out with it.

“I still don't understand why you don't just get finished materials instead of doing this all the time; it could save loads of time.”

Amelia chirped in, cutting through the sound of machines.

“Or you could hire people to do it for you." “I mean, I am sure you could afford it,” she added.

Her hands were starting to ache from all the movement, and she just wanted to take a break, but she knew it would make Emilia worried again.

“I don't have as much money as you think; actually, send them off most of the time to people who need it more than I do.

“And I just feel nobody would be able to get the texture like I want it to be," Emilia said, looking at Amelia sheepishly, exhaustion and tiredness cutting through her voice.

Amelia opened her mouth to say something but thought against it, keeping her mouth shut and concentrating on the work at hand.

They were soon done with the cotton and had moved to the other materials, which also took a long period of time, and by the time they were done, it was already late.

“I think I am done here," Amelia said, looking to Emilia for a response.

"Gosh, I am soo hungry," her stomach reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything since she got back from the bakery.

She looked at Emilia immediately, remembering that Emilia hadn't eaten anything since she got back, and knowing Emilia she wouldn't have eaten anything before leaving.

“Seems to me you are reducing Emilia; have you been eating?" Amelia asked, moving closer to lift Emilia's hand.

"Yes," I have; you are just imagining things. Emilia smiled, lying through her teeth; she couldn't remember the last time she had cooked a proper meal.

She had been so busy with different clothes preparation that she had always skipped her meal.

Amelia stared at Emilia for a while, shaking her head after. She knew she was lying, but she let it be.

Going in the direction of the kitchen to prepare meals for the both of them.

Being as careful as she could to avoid hitting any of the materials that lay about.

She didn't know and couldn't understand how Emilia had arranged all the machines she used in her sowing business in her house in such a way that it didn't clash with each other and there was still enough space to pass through in the room where her sowing magic happened.

Emilia gave Amelia a grateful smile, knowing what she was going to do, although Amelia had turned by then, so she was certain she hadn't seen the smile.

She gathered the semi-finished cotton, taking them to a corner where she was going to have them dyed, dried, and then completely ready to be used.

She was certain there was no way she was going to be done sowing Mrs. Adelaide cloth that day or even starting it; she could try waking up very early to start or later in the night, but that was something she found difficult to do.

She brought out the last piece of dyed cotton, taking them out to dry, coming in at exactly the same time Amelia was done with the meal.

She smiled, offering series of thank yous, grateful for the little break she was getting.

Taking the tiny stride to the dining area, she took a seat, picking up her fork and putting a mouthful of the food that had been prepared by Amelia in her mouth, savouring each taste, taking her time to let the food melt on her tongue, and eating each bite with relish. Amelia watching her, laughing at what she was doing

Amelia was a great cook, so each time she was opportuned to eat what she had prepared, she always took her time to relish the moment.

Amelia, on the other hand, was too tired to relish the moment and was eating her food in large quantities, taking tiny breaks in between to laugh at her best friend.

She was soon done, cleared her dishes, and headed to the room she had once stayed in when she had nowhere to go, falling asleep immediately. She knew she wasn't going to make it to her house without passing out on the way, and she was certain Emilia would have no problem with her sleeping over.

She had been completely and totally exhausted; the bed and room were welcoming, so falling asleep hadn't been a problem.