#mable able

“Yes, yes, welcome all, welcome all! I do hope you’re enjoying your shopping experience!”

Tom strutted down the wide corridor of his extravagant store, a spring in his step as he tipped his hat and waved to passersby. A few of them gasped when they met his gaze, almost dropping the items they were perusing in their surprise. There wasn’t a single frown to be seen on any of his customers’ faces, which made his heart skip a beat or two (maybe even three!).

It had been a success! He had finally done it! The pride brimming inside of him hadn’t gone away since the day his department store had opened a few months ago, located at a prime location right in the heart of the hustling, bustling city. Many animals had said it couldn’t be done, that he was a fool to believe he could ever open such an establishment. Ho ho! How wrong they had been! All of his determination and hard work had paid off. His dreams had come true, even bigger than he’d imagined, and he couldn’t be happier.

As he reached one of the grand lobbies of the department complex, he couldn’t help but tilt his head towards the ceiling and marvel at how beautiful the construction had turned out. Of course, he had been through this section many times before, but the white marble walls and golden gilded accents – not to mention the grand, glittering chandelier hanging above – were so striking that… well, he chuckled to himself, he was just so pleased that everything had turned out just the particular way he had planned it. It was almost like he was living inside of his own fairy tale, and here he was: king of this glorious castle, built entirely by his own design.

“Mom, Mom, over here!”

Tom turned around to where he had heard the voice. A young cat was excitedly jumping up and down as she pointed at an extravagant mountain of teddy bears on display. His staff was so very talented, he thought with pride. They could make the simplest products look so incredibly tempting.

The girl’s mother, in comparison, looked worse for the wear, pushing a stroller with a baby kitten sleeping inside. She sported an exasperated expression on her face, her ears dropped in exhaustion. Her eyes traveled almost immediately towards the price placard on the display.

“Oh, sweetheart, they’re very lovely,” she sighed. “But we came here for a new pair of school clothes for you. You don’t need any more toys.”

The little girl pouted as she looked back and forth from the bears to her mother, slumping her shoulders as she began to step away.

Well, well! Tom shook his head. This just simply wouldn’t do. He breezed over to the mother and her daughter and, plucking the object of her affections off of the table, he knelt down to the girl’s level and held it out to her.

“For you, young lady,” he smiled, “This fellow is on me.”

Her eyes widened as she grabbed the bear from him. She hugged it so tight that he swore the stuffing was about to pop from its seams.

“Oh, sir,” her mother began to protest, “That’s very generous of you, but we don’t–“

“Nonsense, nonsense, it’s quite all right. I only want my customers to be happy!” he chuckled, standing back up. He took out a green ticket from his suit’s inner breast pocket and handed it to her.

“Once you make your way to the children’s department, please, let my staff know that Tom Nook himself has given you a 50% off discount on any article of clothing you choose to buy.”

To say that the expression on her face changed dramatically would be an understatement as her jaw dropped.

“Th-the Tom Nook?!” she stammered, inadvertently wrinkling the ticket as she clutched it. “Why… why, you’re as generous as they say you are. Thank you so much!”

He nodded, and tipped his hat.

“No trouble at all! Have a good day, yes yes!”

An extra spring had been added to his step as he made his way back through the corridors of his store. This was how one should run a business, he thought to himself. For his whole life, he had ascribed to one motto only: dreams before money. One could have all of the riches in the world if they so wanted. They could bleed their customers dry and swindle them out of their hard earned savings just to get the money they coveted. But dreams? Dreams were priceless. His dream had come true in a very big way, so it only seemed fitting for him to grant the dreams of others in return. Besides, he couldn’t stand to see a frown on someone’s face. It just didn’t feel right. Some had chastised him for having such a generous spirit in the past, saying that others might one day take advantage of him for it, but he didn’t know about any other way to act. And so far, it hadn’t hurt him, so why should he act any other way?

Ah, yes, he sighed happily as he entered one of the executive elevators and made his way up to his office. His life was almost like a fairy tale. Almost. There was another reason why today was such a happy day for him: he was determined to change that “almost” into an “entirely.”

“Good afternoon Mr. Nook!” his secretary chirped as he exited the elevator, a clipboard in her wing as she followed him down the hallway. “All of the arrangements have been made and your limousine leaves in 15 minutes.”

“Excellent!” he beamed. “And my luggage?”

“It’s with Mr. Lyle at the north exit. That’s where they’ll be picking you up.”

“Wonderful! Absolutely splendid, thank you!”

His secretary laughed as they entered into his office, light pouring in from the large window overlooking the rest of the city.

“Well you’re certainly in a good mood!”

“Is there ever any reason not to be in one?” He made his way towards his office desk, circling around it. “I’ll make my way downstairs in a moment. I just need to get the rest of my affairs in order first.”

“Absolutely!” She began to leave, but poked her head back in after a moment. “Don’t forget to really enjoy that fresh country air while you’re gone. They say it does a body a lot of good!”

He chuckled as she left for the hallway, and began to stack some papers he had left on the top of his desk. Most of the matters that he needed to take care of before he left were complete, and he made a mental checklist of some of the essentials he had packed. Phone, wallet, watch, extra shirts, and had he remembered to bring a toothbrush? Of course, he was sure he had. He opened up one of the side drawers of his desk and rifled through some stray notepads and pens until he found the last item he needed. Quickly he replaced it with the last few discount vouchers he had had as he dropped it into the breast pocket of his suit… and paused. His heart began to pound in his chest, and he clenched his fists as he looked out the window at the streets below. He couldn’t help but smile.

This was happening. Another chapter of his life was being written, and he was more than sure that it would be the most splendid one yet.

🍃

The sun was beginning to set, and warm rays of pink and orange were beginning to shine through the windows on the clothing in the shop. A handful of customers still milled about as the hum of the sewing machine filled the room. Sable bit her lip as she finished the hemming on a periwinkle colored dress, pulling it from the sewing machine bed as she began to snip off the stray threads.

“Whoa, that is SUCH a pretty color!” exclaimed a white rabbit, her eyes shining as she checked out Sable’s newest creation. “I want it soooo bad, but I pretty much just blew all of my bells on shirts.”

Sable chuckled, smoothing out the fabric.

“This one won’t be done for a while, anyway,” she said, picking her scissors back up again. “I still need to add some lace to the hem and the sleeves, and a bow in the back, and–”

The rabbit gasped so sharply that Sable jumped, almost cutting the fabric of the dress in surprise.

“That. Is gonna look. So. CUTE! I hope I’m able to buy it once you’re done.“ She squirmed in place worriedly, a tiny sweatdrop forming on her forehead. “How many bells is it?”

Sable hesitated for a moment, holding the dress up as she considered its worth. “Well… hmm…”

“Two thousand!”

Mabel skipped next to her sister, beaming at the rabbit as she held out a small cloth bag.

“By the way, Ruby, you almost forgot to take everything you bought!”

“Ugh, I’m SUCH a space case lately. Thanks Mabel!” Ruby took the bag and rose her paw to her chin, considering the price of the dress. “Two thousand bells isn’t that bad, I guess.”

“Sable could always make another for you special later, if you weren’t able to buy it right away,” Mabel cheerfully offered. “Isn’t that right Sable?”

“Oh, yes, of course!” Sable nodded.

“That’s good to know. I hope I’m able to snatch it up before anybody else, people would be SO jealous of me!” Ruby laughed, and walked towards the exit as she waved. “See you later, girls!”

The two hedgehogs waved back. One by one the other customers in the shop began to leave, and when the last one had gone, Mabel hopped over to the front door and turned over the wooden sign in the window to read “CLOSED.”

“Phew! What a day.”

Sable let out a loud sigh, stretching as she stood from her sewing stool. It has been a particularly busy afternoon, and she had hardly taken a break from sewing. …well, who was she kidding, she thought. She rarely ever took a break!

She grabbed a pile of clothing from the back closet to restock the shelves with, handing a few to Mabel as they began to tidy up the shop together.

“Boy, it must have been quite a day if you forgot what day it even was,” Mabel grinned at her sister as she buttoned a shirt on a mannequin.

Sable turned from folding a stack of pants and eyed Mabel suspiciously.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know!” Mabel laughed as she finished buttoning. “Come on, you couldn’t have forgotten, right?”

Sable looked up at the ceiling in thought. Today was a Friday, which meant that there would be more customers during the weekend. Was there a festival going on in town that she had forgotten about? Ugh. Sable was so bad at remembering dates. She had even forgotten her own birthday a couple of times. Her mind was always so laser-focused on her sewing work that sometimes things tended to slip from it, no matter how important they were.

She was about to give up on guessing when she turned back to Mabel, who was sporting one of the toothiest grins she’d ever seen. Her sister began to giggle, and it suddenly dawned on Sable what day could possibly make Mabel so giddy.

“No!” she shouted, and abandoned her folding as she dashed up the stairs of the store to their home above. Mabel cackled, chasing after her as Sable fled to her bedroom and looked in the mirror.

“Ohhhhhh, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a week. I look like a wreck!” The rings beneath her eyes were way too dark, and her complexion was so pale from being cooped up in the store this summer. She threw off her work apron and ran to the closet, frantically trying to find a dress to wear that wasn’t too wrinkled.

Mabel sat herself on the corner of the bed, kicking her legs as she watched the entertainment playing before her.

“We even closed early today. I can’t believe you forgot!”

“I can’t believe it either!” Sable yelled from the closet. Finally, she emerged with a pink striped dress that she had begun half putting on, fumbling with the zipper on the back as she looked in the mirror.

“You know,” Mabel said as Sable fussed with her outfit, “Tom’s not going to care what you look like.”

Sable shot a look at Mabel.

“We haven’t seen him in a while,” she countered. “And I just want to look my best. Is that such a bad thing?”

All Mabel responded with was a sly smile. She jumped off the bed and wandered out of the room as Sable turned back to the mirror to fix her collar.

She began thinking about the last letter she had received from Tom. He’d told her that he’d be visiting the town later that month. It came as such a surprise to her that he’d even consider coming back, what with everything that was going on with him. He had apparently had lots of luck living in the city, and had opened up a giant multi-level department store that carried more products than she had ever thought possible to sell in one place. Tom had even sent photos of it as it was being built, and she had to admit that it looked incredibly elegant and luxurious.

But she was thrilled that he was visiting, even though he hadn’t told her how long he’d be staying. After he had left, she had prayed for him every single day, asking whoever was listening that he would be kept safe. She was very grateful that her prayers seemed to have been answered. Admittedly, she had missed him very much, and a small part of her was dismayed when he had finally told her of his store’s opening. Of course she was immensely proud of his achievements. What kind of friend would she be if she wasn’t? But so many people had been lost to her because of the city, she thought, a feeling of sadness beginning to creep up on her. She hadn’t wanted to lose her best friend as well.

…and that was something she was still worried about, despite everything. He seemed like the same old Tom in his letters, but almost three years had passed since they had last seen each other. Three years was certainly a long enough time for someone to change. She glanced at herself in the mirror and smoothed a stray quill back in place. Part of her hoped she hadn’t changed too much, or at least that he wouldn’t notice any drastic changes in her that she hadn’t paid attention to. In those three years they’d been apart, she had worked very hard to make her parent’s old store even more of a success, not to mention that she had single-handedly taken care of Mabel in the process. All of that work felt like it had taken such a toll on her, mentally and physically, and from the stories she had heard, the city was filled with tons of beautiful, glamorous animals. As she looked in the mirror, her reflection frowning back at herself, she felt far from glamorous.

“There’s a limo outside!”

“A limo?!”

Sable ran downstairs to find Mabel, but she had already left, the front door of the store swinging behind her. There was a limousine parked outside on the road across the way, and Mabel had run out to greet it. Sable peeked from behind the open door as she saw the limo driver rush out to open the passenger’s side. Her eyes narrowed: was Tom really coming back to a humble little town like this in such an ostentatious way?

“Mabel!”

Tom excitedly leapt out of the passenger door as he picked Mabel off of her feet and spun her around, the two of them laughing. Sable quickly hid herself behind the door. Her stomach dropped, and her heart began to pound a mile a minute – it was him! She was so nervous that she had to pause for a moment and take a deep breath. It’s okay, she thought. Tom’s your best friend. He’s not a stranger. You know him. He’s practically family, and he’s kind and sweet and…

“Where’s Sable?”

“She’s inside. I thought I heard her following me.”

Sable mustered up enough courage to emerge from behind the door, taking a step outside as she nervously strayed in the doorframe. Tom’s eyes met hers, and suddenly all of the feelings of her happiest moments with him came flooding back: playing games together in the forest, goofing off at all of the annual town festivals, watching the stars past midnight and sharing their dreams together… his eyes still sparkled like they did the day that he left to follow those dreams. Her heart felt like it was radiating happiness through every single inch of her body.

Before she knew it, he had ran up and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She threw her arms around him too and hugged him back, a laugh escaping her lips.

“Oh, Tom, I’m so glad you’re back!”

He couldn’t help but laugh too, and finally let go of her, looking into her eyes as he grinned.

“I’m glad I am, too.”

🍃

Tom had completely forgotten just how delicious the apples from his hometown were. They were so good in fact that he felt a little bit greedy as he wolfed down the slices that Sable had cut up for him. He couldn’t help it, though. It had been so long since he’d eaten one! Nostalgia swelled inside of him as the sweet but slightly sour taste of the fruit hit his tastebuds. Of course he had purchased many an apple in the city – he even had a cafe on the lower level of his store that prepared gourmet dishes using all varieties of fruit – but there was just something different about a freshly picked apple from a local tree compared to millions of wax covered ones picked days or weeks ago from farms far, far away.

The three newly reacquainted friends had spread out an impromptu picnic on the front lawn of the shop. They had all agreed that the summer weather was much too lovely to waste, so the girls had brought out a couple of containers of food and fresh fruit, and set up an electric lantern nearby for when it began to grow darker. Wispy streaks of clouds lit orange by the setting sun peeked from the leaves in the trees while, high above, the purple sky was only just allowing some of the stars to begin to shine. Even a number of fireflies were starting to make an appearance, the soft glow of their blinking lights slowly emerging from the woods and surrounding the house.

A slight breeze rustled through the trees as Tom took in a deep, refreshing sigh. It was so nice to be back home like this, surrounded by familiar sights, sounds, tastes… and surrounded by two of the animals he loved the most in the world, ones hadn’t seen in years. But strangely enough, despite the fact that he had been gone from them and from the town for so long, it kind of felt as if no time had passed at all.

“Sorry about all these leftovers,” Sable apologized, loading up a small plate with a mix of vegetables. “We’ve just been so busy that I had forgotten to make something special for when you arrived”

“Oh please, don’t worry. This is wonderful! I take it that the shop is doing well then?” Tom asked.

“We’re doing great!” Mabel exclaimed behind an open mouthful of potato salad. “We have tons of customers. You should see the size of some of the crowds that come in. Sable’s even been teaching me to sew so we can start making twice as many clothes!”

“Mabel, honey, chew,” Sable sighed.

“I am!”

Tom couldn’t help but laugh at their banter. Time may have felt like it hadn’t passed, but at least Mabel was there to remind him that it certainly had. She seemed to be getting even more outspoken since he saw her last. …goodness, she had only been 8 years old when he had gone to the city. She was so much taller now, but still just as much of a chatterbox as always.

And Sable… well, so far she seemed to be the same caring and hard working hedgehog he’d always known. Before he left, Tom was worried that things would seem weird between them after having only corresponded through letters for a few years. But from the moment he had hugged her, his worries had instantly melted away. Talking to her was as natural as anything. …of course, he thought as he took another apple slice, at first he was so taken aback by how much prettier she had become since he’s last seen her that he’d been afraid he wouldn’t even be able to move.

“So…” Sable began, pausing for a moment as she hovered her fork over her plate. “…I don’t think you said in your last letter how long you’d be visiting for.”

“Oh, about a week or so. Maybe a little longer.”

“Where are you staying?” Mabel asked.

“In a house not too far away from your shop. It was actually quite fortuitous,” he continued as he loaded his own plate with some of the potato salad Mabel had been enjoying. “The last owner had recently decided to leave town for a fresh start, so the place is furnished. I decided to rent it while I’m here.”

“Awwww!” Mabel stuck out her bottom lip and frowned. “You could have stayed with us!”

“I didn’t want to intrude,” Tom replied, shaking his head. “Besides, I have some business while I’m here in town, aside from the business of visiting the two of you, of course.”

“Hmm,” Sable wondered aloud, “And whatever could that business be?”

She pressed the tines of her fork to her lips thoughtfully as she looked off into the forest. He could have sworn she was looking in the direction of Town Hall. If that was the case, he thought, she might already be on to him. She knew him best, after all, better than himself sometimes.

Tom smirked, and gave her a wink.

“It’s a secret.”

He went back to eating his food, and for a moment she looked as though she was about to press him more about it. But she stopped, and continued eating as well, a smile slowly forming on her lips.

They continued their meal and their conversation, and it was filled with tons of laughter and fond memories. The girls gossiped about what had gone on in town while he had gone, and he in turn gave them gossip on how things were back in the city. He told them all about his adventures: reaching the city almost penniless, meeting new people who gave him information on what investments to get into, and his stroke of luck reaping the benefits of their advice after he had finished his third odd job in the city and almost lost all hope. They were all stories that he had written in his letters, but now he could see their reactions to it in real time. Sable seemed a little indifferent to his stories about city life, although Mabel listened to everything he had to say with rapt interest.

The sun finally set and the food disappeared. The three friends began cleaning up, bringing all of the dishes and picnic accessories back inside, and Tom helped out with some of the washing up in their kitchen.

“I suppose I should probably leave for tonight,” he said as he finished drying off one of the last plates.

“Do you need the lantern for your way back?” Sable asked as she took it from him and placed it back in the kitchen cupboard.

Tom considered it for a moment, and nodded. The three of them went back downstairs, and Sable grabbed the lantern she had left outside and handed it to him.

“Be careful, it can get a little hot,” she warned.

“Make sure to stay safe!” Mabel said. “We’ll see you tomorrow, right Tom?”

“Bright and early!” he confirmed as he started making his way down the front walkway. “Have a good night, ladies!”

He watched as Sable and Mabel waved to him from the doorframe, then turned back to begin down the road to his rented home for the week. What a great day, he thought to himself, and took in a huge, refreshing breath of air, sighing it out happily. Luck must have really been on his side with everything going so well already. Hopefully the rest of his time here would continue to go on just as—

“Oh, wait, Tom!”

He hadn’t even made it that far when Sable came running after him, and he turned to meet her as she finally caught up with him, huffing and puffing in exhaustion.

“I… I just…”

She hesitated for a moment, not saying anything as she continued breathing. He studied her and noticed that, even with just the glow of the lantern lighting her face, her cheeks were beginning to turn a little pink. Was it from running, or…? Suddenly he began to feel a twinge of nervousness, hoping he didn’t seem flustered to her in any way. It had been so long since he had hung out with Sable and her sister, but it had been even longer since he had spent any sort of time alone with her.

“…I just wanted to let you know that the lantern knob is a little finicky.” She took the lantern from him and pointed it out. “Sometimes it gets stuck and doesn’t turn off all the way.”

“Oh! Yes, yes, I see.” He fiddled with the knob a little bit before taking the lantern back from her. “I’ll be sure to not let the battery run down.”

She nodded, and hesitated again, twiddling her fingers together.

“And you… wouldn’t be meeting with Mayor Tortimer tomorrow, would you?”

He’d been right. She had been looking towards Town Hall earlier.

“Well, not tomorrow, but–“

She surprised him with a little gasp as she smiled, clasping her hands.

“So you’re thinking of meeting with him? Does it… would it have anything to do with your business?”

It was impressive how close to the truth she was getting, but how could she ever know what his plan really was? And what could he say? He had it in mind to tell her after the next few days, after they had finally got time to be alone together again, but he had to admit that now he really wanted to just tell her and be done with it.

Now it was his turn to hesitate as he felt his own cheeks reddening, fiddling with the lantern’s handle. He finally took one of her hands in his, and smiled softly.

“You know what I’ve always said: dreams before money, right? Well… I’m preparing for another dream, and that’s all I can really say right now. But I think it’s going to be wonderful, absolutely wonderful… for both of us.”

Her smile fell a little bit as she gave him a puzzled look, and he swore he could see the pink in her cheeks growing. It also felt like the gaze between them might become inescapable, and he knew he had to tear himself away. He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back before they both let go, even though he desperately didn’t want to.

“Have a good night, Sable.”