"That'll be $ 35.96 with tax," Marinette said to the mother in front of the counter. As the woman began to dig into her wallet to find the cash, Marinette smiled down at the little girl next to her.
The girl sported a huge grin and was practically bouncing with excitement. Marinette figured she couldn't be older than five. Her wild red curls were falling into her face, but they didn't seem to bother her.
Marinette finished folding the pile of dresses in front of her. She began placing each one in a spotted bag, smiling at each design that she had made. Of course, the last one to go in the bag was one of her favorites, as well as a best seller. The reversible Ladybug and Chat Noir dress was a design that had taken so long to get right, but it was totally worth it.
Marinette sat the bag on the counter in front of her, and watched as the mother handed the girl the money. The girl's grin somehow got even bigger when she stood on her tiptoes to hand Marinette the money.
"She's been saving up to get dressed from your shop for two months," the woman said as Marinette counted the change. "She got a few for her birthday and they are her absolute favorite now. And so incredibly sturdy."
"Yeah!" The little girl chimes in. "My best friend Kristy has the ladybug one and I got it too so I can be her Chat Noir!"
Marinette smiled at the girl, handing her the bag of dresses. "Is Chat Noir your favorite?" The mop of red curls bobbed up and down enthusiastically. "Well," Marinette began, "he's my favorite too. And I've been working on something new that I think you would like."
Marinette turned around really quickly to her storage counter. On top sat her sketchbook, endless mugs that once held Coffee, and plenty of fabric. She lifted a scrap piece of fabric littered with bumblebees, and another, this time with little foxes, before finally finding what she was looking for.
"I was trying to design some new bows for some dresses, and this is one of my mockups for a Chat Noir bow." She handed the girl the bow. "You can have it to match your dress."
The girl squealed and said thank you so many times that Marinette lost count. Her mother gave her a small smile and followed her out the door.
Marinette loved making people happy. That's why she opted to run one of her boutiques by herself. Of course, she did online orders, Alya had designed the website after all, but there was something genuine about managing Bugaboo Boutique by herself.
The other store, located in London, was partly managed by Manon. That was when she wasn't taking classes, of course. And both shops had plenty of workers to stock shelves and run the register.
But Marinette's shop was special. Because all the clothes were sewn there. In the back was a spacious room full of sewing machines. And Marinette hired people to come in a sew every piece. Of course, she still sewed too. But between designing, managing, and also shipping the clothes where they needed to be, there left little time for her to sew more than 30 of each item ever.
What did she design and sell? Well, the Bugaboo Boutique was children's clothes. They allowed Marinette to have more creative choices and be more extravagant than adult designs. Of course, she did custom orders too, but clothing for kids allowed for cute casual wear, fancy outfits for special occasions, preppy outfits, and pajamas. Needless to say, Marinette loved it.
She grabbed her sketchbook, and flipped it to a bookmarked page. This design was to fit with the new collection of footie pajamas for toddlers.
Hawkmoth had been defeated by the heroes when they were in university. Carapace, Rena Rouge, Queen Bee, Chat Noir, and Ladybug made up an amazing team. And thankfully, none were forced to give up their miraculouses. Because there were other miraculous jewelry pieces to save from corruption. In fact, with the peacock and butterfly added to their team, they had already recovered three that now reside in the jewelry box.
