By the following winter, she could finish a length of cloth without Sella hovering over her shoulder, but that did not stop the woman from finding faults.
"The edge is uneven."
"It won't be once it's cut."
"And if the customer wants the entire width?"
"Then the customer should have paid for it."
Sella tried to maintain her disapproving expression, but she still managed a laugh. Kali found herself smiling as well.
Life in the riverside quarter was seldom comfortable. They worked long hours, argued over prices, and sometimes ate the same thin stew for several days. Still, the workshop stayed warm in winter, and when business was good, Sella bought honey cakes from a woman near the bridge.
Kali always complained that she bought too few. Eventually, they could afford a second loom, then a new roof.
Then, after years of saving, the little room adjoining the workshop.
