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Sable would like to say that it had been entirely Mabel’s idea. These sorts of things usually were. But alas, it had been her own words that had spurred the whole thing. (She would like it to go on record – at least in her own diary – that she had never imagined it would snowball as it did however.)
She and Mabel had been enjoying a cozy cup of tea in the evening. It was just an idle conversation – until it wasn’t.
“Mabel, did you hear about the latest construction project? Chadder told me today that a giant robot has been built on the eastern side of the island.” Sable quietly shared the latest gossip she’d heard from one of their customers.
“Oh, that’s right! Ribbot was super excited about it! It’s apparently surrounded by giant statues of bugs that Flick designed. Oh, I can’t imagine what it all must look like! Teeheehee!”
Sable reached over to rescue the teacup from her giggling sister, absent-mindedly agreeing, “I can’t imagine it at all either.”
Before she could withdraw her claws (teacup now safely in her grasp), Mabel seized them abruptly staring her directly in the eyes (and spilling the remaining tea onto the arm of her chair). “We should go see it,” she said earnestly. “We’ve been living on this island for more than two years, and we’ve never taken the opportunity to walk around and see all the new building projects, or even just admire the flowers. We need a DAY OFF.”
“But Mabel, the store…”
“…can be closed for ONE day.”
“No, we can’t just abandon our customers like that. What would everyone think? We couldn’t possibly keep the store closed for a whole day.”
“Sable. My darling Gray-ble. Our neighbors will understand, especially if we post a sign to give everyone warning – you know, like Blathers does when he closes the Museum for a day, or Timmy and Tommy do when they close for a day. We are the ONLY ones who never close. Everything will be fine.”
It wasn’t that simple, but with enough arguing and cajoling, Mabel eventually convinced Sable to concede.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although Sable had agreed to the theoretical idea of a day off, there was always a reason for it to not be this week. Finally, one morning – after her sister had offered to take care of all the morning preparations for opening the shop – Sable entered to find Mabel had just gone ahead and marked a date on their calendar, as well as written up a nice notice which was already posted on the door declaring that The Able Sisters’ Tailor Shop would be closed the following Saturday.
They couldn’t possibly close on a Saturday! She always got the most work done on Saturdays when everyone else was resting.
“But Mabel,” Sable protested, “What if someone needs a new outfit? Or if there are visitors from out of town? I don’t want them to have a poor impression of our island.” Surely, a different day would be better: maybe a calm Monday, or no, maybe a Wednesday, or… Mabel’s voice cut through her contemplations of why no day of the week was a good one to be closed.
“Then they can plan ahead and buy multiple new outfits earlier in the week! And we can see what everyone else does on the weekend.” Mabel deliberately turned to straighten the notice and nodded firmly to herself, signaling she would not be swayed by any further arguments. It was so nice to see how decisive Mabel had grown up to be, but did it have to be at her poor sister’s expense?
Sable went to her sewing machine and started working before Mabel could get any ideas about sending Sable to go deliver a note to Isabelle about sharing the closure information in the morning announcements. Sable was far too busy to go over to see Isabelle if they were going to be closed soon. Plus, she might run into Tom there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Saturday came, Sable anxiously began her morning ablutions. How did she let herself get talked into this again? But when she re-entered her bedroom she found a new garment draped on her bed, with a beaming Mabel standing nearby.
“Do you like it? I made us both new dresses especially for today. I may not be as good with sewing and patterns as you and Label, but I did learn a thing or two from you.” Mabel wore a bright smile, but she was wringing her paws together as she awaited Sable’s verdict.
Aw, her little sister had grown up so well! Sable pulled her into a tight hug. “Mabes, you didn’t have to do that. Our aprons would have been fine. …But thank you.”
(And if one sleeve fit a little tighter than the other, well, Sable still remembered the ill-fitting gloves that had been her first attempt at sewing something for Mabel many, many years ago.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sable inhaled deeply and felt the way the crisp winter air filled her lungs as they exited the shop. Winter had always been her favorite season – admittedly because it was perfect for staying inside and sewing by the fire with a warm mug of tea. But it also brought back memories of spending time with her family – both when she herself had been a little hedgehoglet, and then later when she had suddenly been in charge of raising Mable.
Yes, winter was a time for memories, and since she had promised Mable, she would try her best to create as many wonderful new memories as possible.
The two sisters followed the path to the plaza in front of the Resident Services building. (Sable wondered who had designed the flag, as she had seen a few residents wearing shirts of the same design.)
Audie, who had been sweeping away the snow to clear the plaza, immediately ran over when she saw them. “Ohmigosh, Mable and Sable!! I heard that you two were closing the shop today, but I totes didn’t realize that you were going to be out and about today! Tank and Octavian are meeting me here soon for some yoga, you totally have to stay and try some yoga with us!!!”
“Well, I’ve never… that is, we…” Sable stuttered her way through explaining that they had almost zero knowledge of yoga and should really hurry onto the next part of the island to see. But of course, Mabel chimed in an affirmation before she could finish, shooting a firm look back at Sable. Right, they were supposed to be experiencing everything the island had to offer today.
While Audie set up a radio in the corner of the plaza, Octavian wandered over muttering to himself about having ‘creaks in his old bones.’ (Which was an interesting turn of phrase, as Sable didn’t think he had any bones as an octopus. She was also curious whether he would use all eight limbs for yoga. She certainly wasn’t sure how well she’d manage, even with only four.)
Then Tank exited the building behind them, with Isabelle at his heels. “Yo, it’s the mad Able duo! Your clothes are always the icing on the scrumptious cake that is my jaw-dropping physique! Haha! Are you gonna rock some yoga with us?”
…Which is how Sable found herself following along through a series of calisthenics, with her sister on one side and Tank on the other. (The latter of whom made a constant stream of comments throughout, such as “Feel the burn!” or “My muscles are going to have muscles when we’re done!” Mable kept giggling whenever this happened, breaking her form.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the plaza, Sable and Mable followed one of the paths to a bridge spanning the river. Rather than crossing the bridge however, Mabel proposed striking off into the snow and following along the river’s meander. “It’ll be more of an adventure this way!” Mabel had said. And it was indeed quite fun to stomp through the snow and hear the crunch beneath their feet.
They followed along the riverbank until they encountered a small pool at the base of a waterfall. Sable was breathless, the way the water iced over the rocks at the base of the waterfall created the prettiest patterns of white and gray, contrasting against the blue of the water…
“What’s up fishionistas!”
Sable turned to see C.J., Chip’s son, weaving his way through the trees. She had heard that he had taken over the family business of hosting fishing tourneys and travelling between islands to promote fishing. As someone who had also inherited her parents’ business, Sable admired that he had done so well following in his father’s footsteps.
“Hey, you’re the famous Able sisters, Sable and Mabel, right? C.J. here, coming at you live from uh…, right in front of you! Nyuk! Hey, do you two want to participate in one of my Seasports Challenges? That’ll really make the streams go wild!” The young beaver’s eyes were wide with excitement.
Mable nodded eagerly and Sable found herself nodding as well, albeit with a little less enthusiasm. Fishing was a major hobby of many of her neighbors, both here on the island and in most of the previous places they’ve lived. She wasn’t sure she would be any good at it, but maybe it would be fun to try it just this once.
C.J. beamed at them. He was even kind enough to offer them some spare rods to use and gave them a quick tutorial on how to catch fish. As he explained the mechanics of casting and reeling in a fish, he spoke a bit about his father. “I know you never spent a ton of time together, but me Dad always speaks very highly of you two, ma’ams. He’s going to be thrilled to hear you’re participating in my Seasports Challenge. In fact, I need to flood the feeds right now!” He pulled out his phone to snap photographs of them as they held their borrowed fishing rods.
Once he decided they’d gotten the hang of things – and he’d finished with all his picture-taking – C.J. stood in a more official-looking pose and issued his challenge. “I’ll make it easy for you. Collectively, try to catch five small fish, like the size of a bitterling or crucian carp. Just bring ‘em back to me when you’re done.”
Mable turned to Sable with a grin. “Let’s do this!”
The first fish Sable managed to catch was a black bass, which turned out to be too big to qualify for C.J.’s challenge. But soon she got the hang of spotting the shadows of the fish and correctly guessing their sizes. The way the shadows refracted through the water was kind of like polka dots hidden under layers of tulle…
When they brought their hard-caught haul back to C.J. he happily purchased them all and went crazy with snapping numerous photographs again. With a wave, he eventually sent them on their way. “Thanks for participating! I can’t wait to call me dad tonight and tell him!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Turning away from the waterfall and walking along the base of the cliff, she and Mabel stumbled upon a lovely orchard. The orchard not only contained fruit trees native to this island, but several other varieties besides. Nearby there were vegetables and other plants neatly arranged in rows, including tomatoes, carrots, and pumpkins in a variety of colors. She hadn’t even known that pumpkins could grow in all those colors! Clearly, she needed to involve more white and green with the orange and yellow in next year’s autumnal outfits…
Sable wasn’t sure about the protocol here however – could just anyone come along and pick some produce? The island is supposed to be a cooperative venture, correct? …And Mabel had already started gathering some fresh fruit and vegetables for a little snack. …And they had worked up an appetite with all that fishing.
While Mabel crunched on a bright red apple, Sable sampled a juicy peach. Mmm, the sweetness, with just a bit of tang to provide the perfect balance. And then that color, pink and orange and yellow all blended together – maybe she could design a dress with those colors?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Refreshed from their snack, they climbed some steps as they continued towards the north end of the island, searching for that giant robot that had spawned this whole venture. On the way, they passed a small campground and some statuary surrounded by flowers. (It was astonishing to see so many flowers growing even through the snow! They must be very hardy breeds.)
They saw the robot long before they reached it. It was huge! And standing on the highest point at the back of the island, it stood like a beacon to the surrounding area.
Just as Chadder and Ribbot had said, the behemoth was encircled by enlarged statues of bugs: a butterfly, a moth, a dragonfly, and several types of beetles. Sable had never been particularly interested in insects – certainly never in the way that Flick or his father Nat were – but these were certainly works of art! In fact, in their enlarged forms it was much easier to see the fine details of their patterns. Some of these would be fantastic as clothing designs! Maybe she would share whatever she created with Flick, as thanks for his amazing sources of inspiration.
So busy examining the insect models in closer details, Mabel had to call her twice to ask her opinion on the robot hero. (“Yes, Mabes, if you changed the color just a bit it would look exactly like the one from that show you used to watch.”)
In a clean patch of snow beyond the oversized robot and insects, Sable saw another insect …rolling a snowball? She had never heard of such a thing. She called Mabel over to look as well.
“Hey that’s the perfect idea, sis – we should make snowballs and have a snowball fight!” Mabel’s enthusiasm unfortunately scared off the small bug, but the snowball remained behind where Mabel promptly picked it up.
Sable ducked behind a tree. “I’d really rather not throw anything at you, Mabel. Maybe we could try building a snowman together instead?”
Rolling the snowballs together was quite fun and reminded Sable so much of happy memories of the past. “Do you remember doing this together when you were a wee hoglet? I remember you always had to get the face and decorations just right!”
“Of course I did!” Mabel replied. “What kind of tailors would we be if we couldn’t get the snowman’s clothes right?” Sable smiled as Mabel giggled.
When they completed their snowman, he complimented them on their excellent job, saying he was sure to be the best-dressed snowman at the Mr. Snowman competition. (Mabel shot her a rather smug look.)
With their snowman complete, Sable blew on her paws a bit to warm them. She had forgotten just how chilled her claws became while playing in the snow! Mabel rubbed her own paws together and suggested heading to the museum and the coffee shop inside.
“I wish I had remembered to bring gloves,” Mabel bemoaned, “I remember the first thing you ever sewed for me was a pair of gloves.”
Sable laughed lightly. “I don’t think those would fit you anymore – and besides they wouldn’t help since you insisted on wearing them on your ears instead!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were still laughing together and warming their paws as they approached the museum. Before entering however, their attention was caught by the hedge maze growing outside. Sable had always secretly wanted to try a hedge maze! As a pattern designer, she always found the asymmetry of mazes fascinating. This one was not a particularly complex maze, and the hedges were too low to get lost, but it was still fun to run through all the various paths.
(She was a little embarrassed to have gotten so caught up in it – Mabel had slapped her arm with a “Tag, you’re it!” and had darted laughingly into the maze, so Sable had obviously had no choice but to follow.)
Inside the museum, they were greeted by Blathers. “Good evening, welcome to the Museum! I had heard rumors that this island’s own talented tailors were roaming about today, but I had no idea that you would be visiting our humble museum. Hoo! I’m all aflutter! Yes, indeed, come in, come in. It has gotten rather dreadfully cold, and visiting a museum is always the prefect way to spend a chilly winter day, I say. Although, there are certainly creatures who prefer the colder weather. There are even some hardy types of bugs who survive out there in the snow. I shudder to even think! But look at me rambling on and on when you haven’t even had a chance to look around. Let me know if I may be of any assistance and please enjoy the rest of your visit.”
While they had warmed up a little by simply entering the building, the sisters still decided to start their visit with some hot coffee at The Roost, which they’d long heard other residents rave about. The coffee was indeed delicious and warmed Sable down to her quills. Brewster was certainly a bird of much fewer words than Blathers though, as he’d greeted them with barely more than a “Coo.” (Then again, Sable herself spoke very little until she got to know someone better.)
Touring the exhibits actually proved quite fascinating too. They started on the second floor with the Art Wing, which although it had some odd holes as if it were waiting for more artwork, still had so many interesting pieces reflecting different artistic styles. She particularly enjoyed examining all the different outfits shown in the paintings or sculptures. The colors! The artistry! The draping!
Next was the Insect Display. Although the patterns weren’t as easy to study as Flick’s oversized models, there was still an exciting barrage of colors and movement. The spots on that beetle! The color gradation on that butterfly!
The design layout of the Fossil Hall was impressive, following the threads of color across the floor. It’s amazing how all the pieces of a skeleton fit together to make a whole pattern!
The Fish Aquariums proved much more interesting than they otherwise might have, after having tried some fishing earlier in the day. She and Mabel could even pick out some of the types of river fish that they themselves had caught! But it was also remarkable to see how much variety there was in the fish and sea creatures surrounding their island. All those scale patterns! The bright colors of the reef fish! The way the shimmers of light reflected through the deeper water!
Overall, a very worthwhile visit. It was hard to believe everything inside the museum had been found on this island!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After exiting the museum, rather than climbing upwards again, they worked their way down to the beach. They picked their way along the ocean shore for some time, admiring the lighthouse and rock formations, as well as the many different types of shells. (Mabel gathered up some of the shells to bring home. Sable thought about how the concentric spirals would make an interesting pattern.)
As they got close to the southwestern corner of the island, Mabel suddenly began looking a little secretive and anticipatory. Sable well remembered the look from Mabel’s teen years. She wondered what her sister was planning now, so late in the day.
Ahead of them was a lovely little café, set up with cozy tables and chairs spread across a patio situated just up off the beach. Mabel went to place their order while Sable claimed one of the tables. She wondered what was causing Mabel’s secretive mood.
When the chair pulled out opposite of her, Sable turned to ask her sister about it – but it wasn’t her sister! Or rather, it wasn’t the sister she was expecting. Label was here! That must have been what Mabel was scheming about. Oh, those two making plans to surprise her!
“Sable! I can’t believe I’m getting to see you and Mabel outside of the shop!” Label reached across the table to grasp paws. “I’m sorry I couldn’t share the whole day with you; there was a fashion show this morning with some of my ‘Labelle’ line that I simply couldn’t miss. But I couldn’t possibly miss the chance to see you two taking a day off either!”
There was a time when Sable would have been bitter about how Label had put her career before her family, but now she was just proud of how successful her sister had become and grateful for the time they did spend together. After all, Label had still flown over to their island after what had no doubt already been a busy day.
Together the three sisters enjoyed pastries, tea, and gossip. As they chatted, the sun slowly sank below the western horizon and a beautiful sunset painted itself across the sky. Sable didn’t think she was the only one at the table holding her breath with awe. With the shop always open until later in the evening, she didn’t get to witness that many sunsets, although she’d heard that this island was particularly known for them – certainly much better views than when they lived in the city. And indeed, while there have been lovely sunsets in several places she lived, somehow watching from the shore of this island surrounded by her sisters it seemed especially vivid. All those gorgeous colors…
Tearing her eyes away from the sky for a moment, Sable glanced across the table at Label and saw the same glint of inspiration.
“You’re imagining new outfits with those colors too, aren’t you?” Label stated more than inquired. “I think using purple and orange together is underrated, but somehow the pink draws it all together.”
Sable nodded, “The dusky blues at the edges too.”
A wave of giggles from Mabel interrupted any further design talk. “Oh, you two! Always thinking of new designs, aren’t you? I suppose that’s why you’ve both been so successful.”
“Well, we are all cut from the same cloth,” Label answered with a smile.
With the last streaks of pink and purple fading in the sky, the three sisters leisurely walked back along the beach. At the airport, Sable and Mabel saw their middle sister off with loving hugs and well wishes.
“I’ll be back for another fashion check before you know it!” Label called before boarding. “Take care you two! Enjoy the rest of your day off!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After exiting the airport dock, Sable wasn’t sure what more there was to do, but Mabel dragged her off towards where strains of music could be heard coming from the plaza. Oh right! The famous K.K. Slider always came to the island every Saturday night to hold a concert. She had listened to many of his albums, but had never had time to hear him in person. Well, she’d never had time to attend any concert before, so this would be another new experience!
K.K. called out to them as they approached, “Unreal. Like, out of sight. I hoped you two would stop by for one of these jams. You in the mood for a tune?”
Mabel told him she’d love to hear something to match her good mood, then the two of them headed over to some of the stools someone had set up in the plaza. Sherb, Whitney, and Merengue were already seated and eagerly waved them over.
K.K. Slider sure did have an amazing range! From mambo to mariachi and calypso to country, it seemed he could mimic just about any style of music. It was hard to believe he was getting all these completely different sounds from just his guitar and his voice.
Mabel became particularly excited when K.K. began to play “Bubblegum K.K.” which was one of her sister’s favorites. Sable personally preferred some of his more mellow pieces as her favorites, but she didn’t want to interrupt his playing to request a specific song just for her, and she did enjoy the experience of hearing the live performance regardless of the songs.
“Alright, cool cats. Who’s in the mood for an encore? I’m feeling a groove coming on for our two special guests tonight. Ya’ dig?”
K.K. Slider was dedicating a song to them!? Sable wasn’t sure whether to be touched and excited or die of embarrassment as the other islanders attending the concert all looked over to clap for them. It was a pretty tune though, and it almost felt like having their own theme song.
After “Able Sisters” was finished, Sable showered the musician with profuse thanks, then begged off further listening to beat a hasty retreat. (His response to the praise was merely a laidback, “Cool, cool.”)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sisters left the plaza together and Mabel led her up to the top of one of the taller hills at the back of the island where they could see that the stars had begun to come out. There was a lovely little bench, and with such a clear night the view of the stars was breathtaking. It reminded her of stargazing with Tom on top of the old Observatory back in their hometown. She wondered if he still remembered those times, he had changed so much after leaving for the big city after all.
Mabel leaned her head onto her shoulder with a content sigh. “We should come up here more often. We don’t even have to take off an entire day, we can just come up here after work.”
Sable found herself agreeing with a smile. She had missed the stars.
“I’m glad we came up here last,” Mabel said. “Mr. Nook was right. The view of the sunset is best from the beach, but the view of the stars is best from up here. When I delivered the note to Isabelle, he specifically suggested we come up here in the evening.”
Oh… he remembered. It was funny how your connections with people changed over time. It had been so many years since she and little Tom Nook were small and carefree, and although they’d worked nearby in several different towns and cities before ending up together again on this island, they’d rarely spoken over all that time. It was good to know he still remembered those times, watching stars together from the roof of the observatory and dreaming of the future.
“Hellooo!” a voice called.
Both hedgehogs turned to see Blathers’ sister Celeste popping up behind them. “I hoped I’d find you up here! I’m always so inspired with creating new star designs – I heard you are too?”
Well, if someone wanted to talk design inspirations…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sable softly closed the door behind her and brushed the snow off of her spines. Today had been a good day. She immediately went for the drawer in her sewing desk, where she kept her notebook of ideas. She had been inspired with so many new ideas today! She couldn’t wait to get back to work tomorrow!
In the kitchen, Sable could hear Mabel bustling around heating up the tea kettle, and likely pulling out a few cookies to go alongside. Shifting the notebook to her pocket, she stepped up behind Mabel and swept her up into a hug.
“Thank you for today. It was… really nice.” Sable knew that was insufficient praise, but Mabel seemed to understand.
“Aw sis, I’m so glad you had fun! I loved being able to see so many new things and talk to all of our neighbors outside of the shop, especially when…”
“Er Mabes,” Sable interrupted, “I’d love to talk with you about everything we saw today, but do you mind if I finish taking notes first?” She pulled out her notebook. “It’s just that I have so many ideas! Maybe a new star pattern, or something with those lovely peachy shades, or the ice crystal fractals…”
Mabel burst into giggles as Sable began scribbling in her notebook. “That’s so like you sis. We take a day off, and you can’t wait to get back to work.” Nevertheless, she set a cup of tea and a small plate of cookies within easy reach, and left Sable to her notes.
There was just so much to do! It would take weeks to realize all of these new designs. Not to mention the ones that really had to wait for other seasons…
But despite all the exciting work looming in front of her, Sable decided that maybe she could be convinced to do this again. At least, every once in a while.