The Able Sisters

Chapter 41

The bedroom was hot. Sable was awoken by the loud chirping of cicadas and the hot heat that filled the room. Sweat dripped down her body as she woke up. 

She opened her eyes, finding Mabel had already left. Sable smiled a bit. Her sister was now eight years old, and even able to make breakfast on her own some days.

Sable groaned and got out of bed, shutting the window. It was only morning, yet outside it was already burning. She stepped outside to find Mabel sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning," she told Sable.

"Morning," Sable muttered, pouring herself a cold glass of water.

"It's so hot today," Mabel complained.

"Tell me about it," Sable replied, taking a seat. "Why don't we go down to the beach if we have time?"

"Yes!" Mabel exclaimed. "I can wear that new swimsuit you just made for me."

"Yeah," Sable replied. Her sister's positivity did not seem to dampen with age. Sure, Mabel was able to think for herself more and more, but she never seemed to be wrought with negativity.

"Oh, Pete stopped by earlier," Mabel said.

"How late did I sleep?!" Sable realized. She glanced quickly at the clock and then sighed in relief, seeing that opening wasn't for another hour.

Mabel giggled. "You're fine."

"What...what did he bring?" Sable asked.

"Some packages over there," Mabel said, pointing to the boxes on the counter.

Sable lingered over to the boxes. They were mostly just supplies she had ordered, but she scanned for a paper letter somewhere among them.

"He...didn't bring by a letter, did he?" she asked.

Mabel shook her head.

Sable let out a sigh and sat back down.

"He'll send a letter soon," Mabel promised, but even Sable could detect the uncertainty of her voice.

Tom had been gone for two whole years. It was hard for Sable to even believe. Not once had he returned, and not once had she visited the city.

She wasn't sure where their relationship stood at this point. Like he had promised, the letters were frequent when he first left--a couple of week.

But as the months and seasons went by, they kept dwindling down to once a week, once every two weeks, once a month. She was lucky to get a letter once a month.

Sable had sent the same amount at first, usually a letter a week. But now, she only sent monthly letters since he didn't seem to bother to reply half the time anymore. She told him all about Animal Village and how everyone was getting along and always included an "I miss you" at the end.

His letters were vague and ambiguous. He never seemed to spill any new details, only that he was working hard to start his business, his family was well, and he was well. 

She knew he had not started a business yet, and she figured he was struggling a bit, yet he'd never outright say it. Her concern for him had almost motivated her to visit the city, but her fear of running into Label usually stopped her.

Mabel had seemed to finally go mute over Label. She obviously understood her parents' deaths a lot better, and she'd sometimes ask Sable for stories about them since she was too small to remember a lot. But it was almost an unspoken rule between them that Label was not to be discussed.

She was sure that even Mabel was still confused about why Label had taken off in the first place, but her younger sister never asked about it. Sable was content just speaking about their parents for now.

Besides Sable's growing business and her growing sister, there wasn't too much going on. Nothing exciting had really happened in town besides the usual holidays, but she was content with that.

It was summer right now, and she liked listening to the bugs chirp at night and going swimming and sewing new summer clothes. She was content, as she normally was. Too much excitement would stress her out too much.

At 10am the shop opened and Sable went to work. Mabel was now working more alongside her sister. She was still learning basic sewing patterns, but she would help customers out as best as she could. Sable wondered what it would be like when Mabel was as skilled as her.

When the shop closed for the day, Sable kept her promise about swimming. The sun was still bright in the evening, and the air was still hot.

Both of the girls got on their swimsuits, grabbed their towels, and headed down to the beach. She remembered the summer days she and Tom would spend together down at the beach with Mabel splashing in the waves. She silently wished those days would come back.

"Let's go!" Mabel called, rushing into the waves.

Sable was distracted from her train of thought and nodded, leaving the towels spread out on the beach. She stepped in, surprised by the cold water, until the water became cool and relaxing.

"Feels good, huh?" Sable asked.

Mabel nodded, splashing around in the waves. They only stayed in the water for a little bit until it became too cold for both of them. Then, Mabel began building a sandcastle on the shore while Sable sat on her beach towel, looking over more possible sewing patterns.

"Look, sissy!" Mabel exclaimed, revealing a large sand castle, complete with its own sand towers as well.

"Aren't you getting too old to call me that?" Sable called.

Mabel giggled and shook her head, continuing her work. Sable grinned and continued thinking of what sewing designs she would work on when she went home. She glanced over at Mabel, missing her innocent childhood days.

She shoved her sewing book aside and got down in the sand with Mabel.

"Can I help out?" she asked.

Mabel nodded.

"You can find seashells," she told Sable.

Sable nodded and ran around in the sand, picking up various seashells that were buried deeply into the sand. She grinned to herself. What kind of eighteen-year-old ran around collecting seashells like this? 

She shook her head and brought her shells to Mabel, who added them onto her sand castle as decoration.

"Great job," Sable told her.

"I think I do a better job at sewing," Mabel told her.

Sable laughed and nodded. The sun was beginning to set now, and both of their stomachs were growling.

"Ready to go home?" Sable asked.

Mabel nodded and clutched onto Sable's hand. Mabel had stopped holding her hand a year ago, so Sable was a bit surprised by this action, but she gladly squeezed Mabel's hand in return as they began walking home.